“ The horse (including under his name the asses and zebras, as well as the true horses—see Equidæ) is unique among modern animals in the fact that it walks on the extreme tip of the central digit of the foot, corresponding to the middle finger-nail of man, and that all the remaining toes have completely disappeared. The feet are greatly elongated, so as to equal the other segments of the limbs in length, and to raise the animal much higher above the ground than if he walked, as does a man or a bear, on the sole of the foot. ”

“ Philadelphia boasted the speediest and finest horses, and pacers were the most fashionable and popular. New Jersey supplied itself from New York and Pennsylvania, and by the beginning of the eighteenth century racing had become so common as to be a nuisance: so much so that in 1748 there was enacted a law for the suppression of ‘running, pacing, and trotting races.’ The year before the Colony of Maryland, which had in all probability received its supply of horses from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, passed a similar law. ”

“ The Indians, who had domesticated the llama, the alpaca, and the dog, knew nothing of the horse, and were astonished and terrified at the sight of the strange and unfamiliar animals which the newcomers rode. Yet, when introduced by the white races, the horse ran wild and flourished and increased greatly in the same regions where its native cousins had formerly lived, showing how well the country was suited to their needs. ”

“ A timid horse is usually narrow between the ears, and a stupid one, narrow between the eyes.
Diseases of the Horse. No other domestic animal is so large a sharer with humanity in the accidents and dangers incident to modern civilized life as the horse. It is practically a co-partner with man in every detail of his life and work, and yet no other animal suffers so much from ignorance, abuse, maltreatment, and quackery. Modern civilization is doing much to alleviate the condition of the less fortunate of his kind, notably the various societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals. ”

“ Punctured wounds of the anterior parts of the sole are the more dangerous because of the possibility of injury to the coffin-bone, the most serious wounds being those which puncture the centre of the foot. Sometimes it happens that a nail has penetrated the frog and remained there for several days without causing lameness, the first evidence of an injury betraying itself when the foot is being cleaned. It must be remembered that if the injury is not too deep, suppuration will be established before lameness develops, so that the feet should always be most closely scrutinized. ”

“ Grass is the natural food of the horse, but it is not sufficient to keep it in condition for work. The amount of water required by the horse varies according to the character of his food; but roundly stated, about eight quarts a day will be a fair average. When resting, water should be given three times a day; when at work, more frequently. The very prevalent impression that when a horse is warm he should not be allowed to drink is very erroneous. No matter how warm a horse may be, it is always safe to allow him from six to ten swallows of water. ”

“ It is impossible to over-estimate the value of sound eyes in a horse, for not only does disease or injury depreciate the selling price of the animal, but it is a great source of danger at all times. Some diseases, like recurring inflammation or moon-blindness, as it is called, are congenital. ”

“ Indigestion is imperfectly performed digestion, which in the horse causes symptoms closely resembling those of dyspepsia in man. A great cause of indigestion with the horse is found in the food itself. (See section on Care of the Horse.) The teeth are in many instances to blame, their sharp, irregular, or decayed condition preventing any perfect mastication, and causing the animal to swallow his food before it receives the requisite admixture of saliva. The principal seat of indigestion is in the stomach or small intestine. ”

“ It is very difficult, if not impossible, to formulate any rules by which the age of a horse may be accurately determined. To an expert horseman the lightness and elasticity of step of the animal under examination will afford a general clew; or better still, the contour of the lower jaw, which grows more and more angular with increasing age. ”

“ The animal loses flesh, and the skin becomes hard and dry and hide-bound. The treatment usually consists of a careful regulation of food as regards quality, quantity, and time of feeding, and an exercise of similar care as regards the water-supply. The condition of the mouth and teeth must also be attended to, and the teeth if sharp or irregular must be rasped down, or extracted if decayed. If the indigestion is caused by ravenous eating, the animal should be fed from a manger sufficiently wide to allow the spreading of the grain, which will usually compel the horse to eat slowly. ”

“ A fluid discharge from the mucous membrane. Inflammation, as a rule, extends to the membrane of the sinuses of the head, and of the larynx and pharynx, causing the added complication of sore throat. Frequently the eyes are also affected. At the first stage of the attack the membrane is dry and irritable, followed by a watery discharge from the nostrils. Fever, more or less, makes its appearance, which is usually detected by placing a finger in the animal's mouth. In itself the disease is not very serious, but if neglected, or treated wrongly, may become complicated and dangerous. ”

“ Flat-footed horses are liable to corns, pumiced sole, bruises of the sole, and kindred troubles, owing to the fact that the soles of their feet have little, if any, convexity. The flat foot has no arch, so that the weight of the animal falls on the entire plantar surface instead of on the wall, which allows of little, if any, elasticity in the sole. In clubfoot the feet have the wall set nearly perpendicular, and consequently the heels stand high and the fetlock joint is either thrown forward or knuckled, and the weight of the animal is thrown onto the toes. ”

“ If suppuration, however, has already commenced, the horn of the frog and of the bars and branches of the sole, if necessary, is to be pared thin in order that the foot may be poulticed and all pressure removed. When the lameness has subsided and the exposed part covered by a new layer of horn, the foot may be shod. Punctured wounds of the foot are of everyday occurrence, and when they, as frequently happens, involve the more important organs contained in the hoof, no disease or wound can be more serious. ”

“ The best hay for horses is ‘timothy,’ but care should be taken that it is about one year old, of a greenish color, and possessing a sweet aroma. A horse fed on grain should be allowed from ten to twelve pounds of good hay a day. Straw should not be fed unless cut and mixed with hay and crushed grain. Wheat and rye chaff should never be used. Of the grain foods, oats easily take the precedence. The best oats are one year old, plump, short, hard, bright, and sweet. They are given either whole or crushed. A fair allowance for the average horse is about twelve quarts of good oats a day. ”

“ Another very prevalent cause is faulty shoeing, although it sometimes happens that it results from other diseases of the foot, as, for instance, thrush, side bones, corns, etc. The disease is indicated by a pinched and shrunken frog, high heels, long bars, straight walls, and hoof so dry that it is almost impossible to cut it. The treatment consists first of all of preventive measures. The feet are kept moist and the horn is prevented from drying out by the use of moist sawdust, occasional poultices of boiled turnips, and a free use of greasy hoof ointments to the sole and walls of the feet. ”

“ In health, each biped as well as each individual leg has to perform an equal and uniform duty and carry an equal share of the total weight of the body, so that the result ought to be a regular, evenly balanced, and smooth displacement of the body. ”

“ It is the recognition of this value that has been the important factor in the evolution of the horse, an animal especially plastic in the hands of the breeder. His size, form, action, and instincts are subject to modification to a degree unknown in that of any of the other larger species. ”

“ Since the middle of the eighteenth century the practice of interbreeding with Oriental blood has been discontinued, and although half-bred horses were raced until the first part of the nineteenth century, the thoroughbred has ever since the foundation of the ‘racing calendar’ been the recognized race-horse, and his pedigree has been strictly and authentically kept. During the seventeenth century speed was not the sole qualification of a race-horse ”

“ The American horse was for two hundred years the sole means of travel, and the great essential to all business in and between the various colonies of the country. Improved roads have made him a driving horse, and none of the inventions of modern times, from the introduction of railroads to bicycles and horseless vehicles generally, has affected his popularity or his value. ”

“ In crooked foot one side of the wall is higher than the other, causing the animal to be pigeon-toed as well as making it ‘interfere.’ Interfering is when one foot in action strikes the opposite leg. Knuckling is another fault, which causes stumbling, and while not always an unsoundness in itself, yet frequently leads to fracture of the pastern. It is a partial dislocation of the fetlock joint, and is caused more often by heavy work in hilly districts or fast work on race-tracks or hard roads than anything else. ”

“ Horse-racing was introduced by Governor Nicholls, of New York, in 1665. He established a race-course on Hempstead Plains, Long Island, which was the first official and properly organized race-course on the Continent. It is supposed that the horses were of the Dutch breeds, because the people attending were largely of that nationality. The English race-horse was not at that time thoroughly developed, and in any case was not imported into New York until nearly one hundred years afterwards. The New England colonies played a very important part in the development of the modern American horse. ”

“ All food should be wholesome and clean; the animal should be fed regularly, and because of his small stomach, in small quantities, and frequently. A horse should never be fed too soon after a hard day's work. ”

“ Lameness of the shoulder from sprain is the most frequent, and is popularly described as slip of the shoulder. With draught-horses it frequently is caused by the effort necessary to move off a heavily loaded vehicle. In the great majority of cases a rest is all that is necessary to effect a cure. Under the general classification of diseases of the fetlock, ankle, and foot are to he found many of the most common as well as most fatal (so far as the value of the animal is concerned) diseases known to veterinary science. ”

“ When it is contemplated to change the food, care should be taken to make the change very gradually, and in any case, the quantity of food given must be in a direct proportion to the amount of labor performed. Should the horse stand several days in the stable, his food should be of a more laxative nature. ”

“ A disease corresponding to that of ‘hoven’ or ‘blown’ in cattle, and frequently due to the overloading of the stomach with young, succulent herbage, which, after its arrival in the stomach, liberates quantities of fermentation gas sufficient to distend the stomach seriously. Over-feeding is a very frequent cause of stomach-bloat, particularly if the overfeeding is followed immediately by hard work. The symptoms are very much the same as for stomach staggers, and the treatment must be at once vigorous and immediate. ”

“ Spavin (q.v.) , or exostosis of the hock-joint, is a disease of the most serious kind for many reasons, not the least of which is the slowness of its development and the insidiousness of it growth. Fractures are of less serious consequence in the horse than in man, but nevertheless they are always a matter of grave import and demand at once a most skillful treatment. Wind-galls (q.v.) is a name given to the dilated bursæ found at the posterior part of the fetlock joint. Sprains are diseases of the muscles and tendons. ”

“ When the shoe of the hind foot strikes the heel or quarter of the fore foot the animal is said to overreach, a trouble common to trotting and running horses. When the hind foot catches well back on the heel of the fore foot the horse will frequently be thrown on his knees or the shoe torn from the fore foot, an accident known colloquially as grabbing. ”

“ The flank is that part of the horse's side between the loins, ribs, thigh and hip-joint, and the belly. The hollow of the flank is the upper portion of the flank. The belly is the cavity which contains the stomach, liver, spleen, intestines, kidneys, bladder, etc. The brisket is the lower part of the chest. ”

“ The species responsible for the above-named disease infest chiefly the stomach and duodenum—a small gut leading from the stomach. Nearly all country horses, as well as those experiencing their first year in the city, have the bots, but the common opinion that bots frequently cause colic pains is erroneous. If in large enough numbers they may sadly interfere with digestion. The animal may not thrive and emaciation may follow, but beyond this they are harmless. ”

“ Why the earlier native horses became extinct is a problem not yet solved.
In Central Asia, two wild races, Przewalsky's horse and the Asiatic wild ass, or kiang (q.v.) , persist to the present day; others were domesticated by man in the earliest times, and their use in Chaldea and Egypt for draught and riding is depicted in the ancient mural paintings. In Africa the larger species became extinct, but the smaller zebras still survive in the southern part of the continent, and the African wild ass in the northern part (Somaliland) . ”

“ It has been suggested that the different breeds of the modern domestic horse have been developed out of the interbreeding of several original wild species; this, however, is only conjecture. What is known is that domestic breeds have existed in Europe from prehistoric times, and also that they have been improved continually by blending with Oriental horses. ”

“ The practice of veterinary surgery has become one of the most exacting and advanced of professions, and diseases long considered incurable are now amenable to treatment. In European countries the horse is an object of governmental solicitude, as much for his value as a factor in warfare as for purely humanitarian reasons ”

“ A lean head and neck, firmly set on good oblique shoulders; a strong back and loin, deep body, wide hips, good quarters, and firm legs and feet. Among horsemen the following terms are in use: A stallion is a male horse, and when gelded is termed a gelding. A mare is the female. Animals of both sexes when young are termed foals; the male foal is a colt, and the female a filly. Young animals become ‘of age’ when the outer incisors (corner nippers) are developed. A horse is ‘aged’ when in its eighth or ninth year, a fact determined by the front teeth. ”