The unspeakable utility of the horse to man in all conditions of life, civilised and uncivilised, has naturally led scientific and professional individuals to devote much anxious consideration to the physiology of the animal, and to the determination of the means of healing the diseases which horse-flesh “is heir to.” Buffon placed the horse next to man in the order of creation; and certainly if the anatomical structure of the equine species be alone regarded, an argument is provided in favor of the consecration of thought and intelligence to the establishment of curative remedies for its disorders. But the service which the noble animal has rendered in all ages and countries where the breed is known—his docility, instinct, patience, and courage, have entitled him to the advantages of human intelligence upon the high ground of gratitude; and, accordingly, for many years past, the veterinary art has been pursued with remarkable zeal and earnestness; the loftiest minds not conceiving the study and practice thereof below their attention. If, however, the attainment of perfection in the faculty of curing the bodily ailments of man is a work of tardy progress, how much slower must be the advancement of a science of posterior introduction? It was but in the last century that the circulation of the blood was discovered, and vaccination introduced; it is only within the last six or seven years that the vast utility of hydropathy has come to be appreciated. There is now, however, less excuse for dilatory improvement in veterinary practice than there was when the alleviation of human suffering was in its infancy. The physiology and pathology of the quadruped being understood, the value of the immediate adoption of the remedies applicable to man is at once determinable by anatomical analogy. Hence the introduction of new systems of treatment has been almost simultaneous, and in very many instances the results have been correspondingly fortunate. Hydropathy is a very remarkable case in point, and the following pages will illustrate its value.

Priessnitz’s precepts recommend themselves as much to the veterinary surgeon as to the medical practitioner; the success of his treatment of the diseased animal being, perhaps, even more easy and certain than of man.

To understand this it will suffice to compare the habits and mode of living of each. A further investigation will account for the general health of untamed animals, and the host of maladies that result from civilisation. On one side all is nature, on the other all is artificial.

As the treatment of the horse or cow at GrÄfenberg is not of very frequent occurrence, Priessnitz has not laid down any positive rules for the manipulation; that must therefore depend upon the ingenuity, observation, and experience, of the practitioner.

If, for instance, a horse or cow is attacked with fever, cholic, etc., reference should be made to the treatment of man affected with such complaints. All that has been said on the subject of drugs, the lancet, cold ablutions, and the importance of the skin applies equally to all animals.

How can we expect to cure horses with poisons?

How get them into condition, by depriving them of their blood?

A gentleman of high standing in society, and well known in the sporting world, having, some years since, derived great advantage from the Water-cure, determined on trying its effects upon animals, by becoming his own veterinary surgeon; the consequence is, that for five or six years he has not spent one shilling upon drugs of any kind. On being applied to for his opinion as to the effect of the treatment upon horses, he favored the author with a letter of which the following is an extract:

“With respect to the treatment of horses, my groom can give no information, excepting indeed, that he can verify the good effect of the treatment insisted upon by myself; and such is his prejudice (exactly similar to that of the Medical Profession) that he would, I am sure, revert to his former practices if he dared. But I can most safely affirm that the effect of the Hydro-therapeutic Treatment of Horses, is most wonderful. I have, with coach horses and hacks, say forty horses. I never allow of any bleeding or physic. When the hunters are to be prepared for the season, two or three of a day are whisped over with cold water, a linen cloth of fifteen or sixteen yards in length, dipped in cold water and well wrung out, is then lapped round from their heads to their tails, covered over with rugs, and bound pretty close by surcingles: thus they remain for an hour or so, when they are again rubbed over with cold water, followed by rubbing with dry cloth or whisps quite dry, and then sent out to exercise for twenty-five minutes, or half an hour. This treatment is continued twice or thrice a week, for at least half a dozen times; and I’ll venture to say that nobody’s horses can look, or go better; and they never ail. I will just relate one fact. I bought a horse for Mrs. —— seven or eight years ago, a most excellent lady’s horse, but he coughed so badly (always) three or four years since, that we thought she would be obliged to give him up, he has been treated as above for two years; I rode him a gallop a few days ago, when he had not a symptom of cough. Many dealers have been through my stable:—Smart, Elmore, etc. etc., and they have all adopted my plan of bandaging the legs of their horses, which I do for two days after a day’s work; and as Elmore said last spring, they looked ‘as if they were going to begin a season instead of ending one,’ so clear were their legs.

“If a new horse (which is often the case) comes down by railroad, he generally gets a sore throat and cold, this, I need not tell you, is soon got rid of, as above.”—May 4, 1848.

The following extract is from a letter to the author—written by a gentleman whose health has been re-established by the Water-cure; who, during the last forty years, has been the possessor of hundreds of horses, and is said to be one of the best judges of a horse in England.

“I will not defer answering your interesting letter, although I know not that I can write anything to be of much use to you. The manner in which I have treated my horses for the last thirty years is as follows:—If it is in my power I always bring a horse in cool, my groom first puts a common watering bridle on, takes one girth off, and slackens the other, the reason why I do not remove the saddle immediately is, because the back becomes tender; the horse is then taken into the pond, the boy holding up his own legs, the higher the water gets towards the back the better; that is, let the animal go as deep into water as he can, not to swim; this takes two or three minutes, then two men take scrapers, and with these press out the dripping water, after this, with straw whisps, the animal is washed for about ten minutes, he is then covered up with two blankets, and his legs bandaged; the ears are now well rubbed and pulled until dry: this is all I do to a horse. He does not break out into cold perspirations during the night, and next morning he is perfectly clean. By putting your hands under the blankets when he is done up for the night, you will find a genial warmth pervading the whole body. Blood horses, however fatigued, are usually very sensitive to the brush and whisp, consequently cleaning tires them still more, which causes them almost always to break out into cold sweats. The ventilation which ought to be at the top of the stable, must be good, otherwise the system works ill. Owing to the unusual good health that I have had in my stable, I was led to think most seriously of applying water in a similar way to the human subject, so that after reading your book, I became at once a confirmed Hydropathist. Many people will say, my system was that pursued in the post-horse stables; but the contrary is the fact. The post horse was washed, and his heels clipped close, and left to dry without friction, evaporation was great, grease and other maladies attacked the animal. I know a coach master who saved £400 per annum by giving up washing upon this old plan. You have now got the result of my experience. I have had fewer roarers than most men for the number of horses in my possession, in fact, only two, one of these went so, when lent and out of my stable. The loss in valuable horses from roaring is enormous. I think a friend of mine lost £700 in one season from roarers, I have the confidence to think that had he pursued the Water-system all his horses would have been saved. Be assured, water is as applicable to the animal as the human subject—fever is the bane of the one as much as the other, and water is the antidote. Why are cart-horses so much healthier than higher fed horses? simply because the former live much more after nature than the other. A cart-horse goes to a pond and drinks what he likes, not so with the blood horse, he must only have a certain quantity, and this at stated periods; this I conceive to be wrong, and have in consequence for the last six years always kept buckets of water in the horses’ boxes, so that they might drink when they liked. My friends have often said, ‘But you do not allow them thus to drink when going to hunt?’ ‘Certainly’ was my reply: if the animal always has access to water, he never distends his stomach, and by constantly sipping, fever is kept down. We do all we can to encourage fever, and then have recourse to strong drastics and bleeding! Constant water cools the animal, and the gentle sweats, which the blankets produce, operate as safety valves.”—January 5, 1848.

When in Ireland, visiting the far-famed dairy farm of Mr. Jefferies, in the neighbourhood of Cork, I was informed by the bailiff, that out of every seven cows attacked with an epidemic which raged at that time, on an average five had died, and that the loss on that estate had not been less than 2000l. On my suggesting hydropathic treatment, the bailiff said that some time ago a traveller by that means had cured him of rheumatism; this determined him on trying it upon the cows: success crowned his efforts; instead of losing five out of seven, he saved seven out of nine; this treatment, however, at once so novel and so troublesome, he found extremely difficult to prosecute, servants could not be induced to use the necessary friction, or endure the toil which a number of sick animals entail: this, together with the discouragement and ridicule thrown upon his proceedings by the veterinary surgeon, caused him to desist. The following is a letter which I subsequently read from the bailiff—

“Dear Sir—I am most anxious to communicate with you as to the efficacy of the cold-water cure, when applied to cattle affected with the late epidemic.

“About six months ago, I had it tried on nine head of horned cattle; seven out of the nine recovered, and are now doing well. I feel quite confident that, if the cure be generally known, and properly applied, much may be done in the recovering of diseased cattle.

“I am, Dear Sir, your obedient servant,
[“]Thomas B. Martin.

[“]July 14, 1843.[”]

It is possible that the omission of any reference to the mortality under the old treatment, as stated verbally to me, may have arisen from motives of delicacy towards those who recommended a perseverance in that treatment.

It would be easy to multiply instances of the effect of the application of the cold-water cure, but as the limits to which the author intends to confine himself, at present preclude their accumulation, he must be content with those proofs of its efficacy already cited, and proceed to the subject of treatment.

An opinion is held by many inexperienced persons that disease in a horse is a perpetual disqualification; that the physical evil is irradicable, destroying the animal’s title to a future warranty, and rendering him only fit for the paddock or the knacker’s yard. Such notions are as great an outrage upon the usefulness of veterinarianism as they are contradictory to all experience. The late Sir Astley Cooper, one of the most eminent surgeons that ever dignified the profession by his talents, was said to have taken a peculiar pleasure in purchasing horses which their owners had condemned, and applying himself to the cure of such maladies as they might be afflicted with, then putting them into condition and selling them. He never, for many years before his demise, gave more than seven pounds for a horse, and has been known to sell them afterwards for considerable sums. When the horse is well-bred, and his wind is unimpaired, however reduced he may be, and suffering from enlarged joints and tender feet, he is still susceptible of cure; and no system is so conducive to this end as the hydropathic process. Indeed, the writer of these pages is quite satisfied that an Establishment devoted entirely to the invigoration of worn-down animals, and the complete cure of the diseased, would demonstrate the utility of hydropathy, and prove a most lucrative undertaking.

Without further preamble we proceed to details.

Ventilation.—The introduction of fresh air, day and night, into stables, is of primary importance. Stables should be lofty, and ventilated from the top.

Many years ago, Mr. Horne, the coach-proprietor of Charing Cross, lost nearly half his horses from glanders. He called in a new veterinary surgeon, who instantly broke most of the windows in the close foetid stable. “If,” said he, “the stable is cold, cover the horses better, but let them have fresh air.” By this means the stable was rendered wholesome, and the horses that were afterwards put into it continued healthy. All horses would be the better for standing in water occasionally. All hunting establishments should have a box with a clay floor, into which water could be introduced, so that a horse might have a foot bath every day, especially when the feet are hard and dry.

Food and Exercise.—The arguments made use of against highly nutritive food, and the necessity for exposure to cold and exercise for man apply with equal cogency to animals.

Mr. Newman, the postmaster in Regent-street, has no racks in his stable; but his horses, at stated periods, eat chaff and oats mixed together: he gives them no hay. This method of feeding horses is found economical and healthy. A friend of mine feeds all his farm horses as he does his oxen and pigs, upon Indian corn, oil cake, chaff, and bruised beans boiled up together. He never gives them any oats, and no horses in the kingdom look in finer condition.

Sudorific Process.—This is the same for horses as for men; and is often sufficient to effect a cure, as the greatest part of the diseases of horses proceed from suppressed perspiration. In a general way packing-sheets and consequent ablutions will effect all that may be necessary to cure a horse or a cow of an acute attack, but instances as in man, may occur, when sweating would be desirable.

To produce perspiration in a horse the same objection to the use of hot-air or vapour baths, exists as in the treatment or man; but as the animal’s skin and nervous system is less excitable, it does not apply to the same extent.

To sweat a horse, that is to bring out of his system a certain amount of caloric. Throw many pails of water over him, let his body be rubbed with wet whisps for from five to twenty minutes, and then rubbed dry. Next envelope him from head to foot in blankets, and over them throw a Macintosh cover. This might be made to be put on with very little trouble. After the horse has perspired, for an hour or two he must have a cold bath or undergo the process of water being thrown over him, of being wet, whisped, and dried as before. And the whole should be renewed a second time during the day. Or varied by the packing sheet.

External use of Cold Water.—Friction with coarse wet cloths or whisps, packing-sheets, sweating, entire-baths, hip-baths, foot-baths, douche-baths, and bandages, constitute all the external treatment requisite for a horse. Friction by rubbing the body of the animal for some hours with coarse cloths, and whisps of wetted straw, is an operation of great efficacy in bringing out stagnant humours, reanimating half paralysed limbs, and in strengthening the joints. The douche, where no other can be had, is applied by means of a fire-engine. The baths have the property of giving a tone to the skin and the nerves. The bandages for the horse are the same as those used for man; they are of two sorts, heating and cooling.

Internal use of Cold Water.—There are two ways of applying cold water internally, viz.: drinks and injections into the cavities; but ablutions long continued and often repeated form the most important part of the treatment.

The Strangles.—This disease is cured by the wet sheet packing, or the sudorific process, cold-ablution bandages and exercise.

It is much better, by either of these processes, to draw the humours to the skin, which they undoubtedly will, than to throw them on the lungs, whence they escape by the nostrils, a means of evacuation chosen by nature. The natural course being impeded, open the pores of the cutaneous organs, and the running at the nostrils will cease.

Foundering of horses.—Friction, the wet-sheet or sudorific process, the douche and foot-baths, are here brought into requisition.

The Staggers.—Bleeding procures a temporary relief, but does not remove the cause of this complaint, which arises from a stoppage of perspiration, and consequent inertness of the skin. The humours which ought to be eliminated by perspiration mix with and thicken the blood; this causes a general stagnation which frequently affects the brain. This, it is conceived, must be a solution of this malady, because in the beginning one single friction, powerfully applied, affords immediate relief.

In severe cases, the animal should be subjected to the sweating process, and cold ablution. The animal’s head should be wetted every hour with cold water, and green food prescribed as a diet. The douche in these cases is of the greatest utility.

Weakness of the Limbs, and Sprains.—These affections are generally successfully treated by constant friction with cold water. This rubbing subdues the heat; bandages should be continually worn. The weakness of the hips and loins soon disappears under this treatment; the douche in these cases is highly beneficial.

Broken Knees.—Let the part be carefully washed, then bandages applied above, and below, and upon the part affected, and kept continually wet as long as inflammation continues. After which, use wet bandages, covered with dry ones, until the part is healed.

External Inflammation and Wounds.—After having well cleaned the sore, it should be covered with a heating-bandage; and if the inflammation is severe, and the heat great, the bandage should be frequently renewed. The animal should take a bath, but without wetting the wound.

External inflammation proceeds from two causes; first, the tightness of the saddle, which wounds the flesh; secondly, from the blows which the horse receives. As soon as you perceive that the horse has been hurt by the saddle, take it off, and having rubbed him well dry, place upon the wound a heating-bandage, firmly tied on, and let it be frequently renewed; but always before renewing the bandage, clean the part affected with cold water; the parts near the wound must be treated in the same manner. This bandage and friction are useful in cases of throat obstructions; the bandage must be changed as often as it becomes hot. Before it becomes quite dry, it should be renewed, taking care each time to rub well the parts affected, which renders them, when exposed, less sensitive. This gives elasticity to the wound.

Tender Feet.—All horses should stand upon clay, bricks, or stones; not upon straw, as it heats the feet too much. For corns or tender feet, foot-baths for an hour or two, two or three times a day are resorted to; and bandages should be worn from the fetlock to the knee-joints, to draw the heat from the feet. A friend of the author’s, travelling on the Continent, tried this on a mare which became lame: it succeeded admirably.

Cholic.—Apply one or two clysters of cold water; wet the body, and rub the animal well for an hour with wet whisps, and then put round the body a sheet wetted and doubled several times, covered with a dry blanket. If the first operation is not sufficient, resort to the packing process, and afterwards the rubbing. This system persevered in, the cholic is sure to give way.

Lock-Jaw.—Friction, the douche, and perspiration, are the remedies resorted to. During the intervals of their application, cold bandages should be applied.

The irritation of the skin counteracts the lock-jaw. The efficiency of cold water in this complaint has been known in England for years. An article, some time ago, appeared in the Chelmsford paper, stating that the possessor of a valuable horse, which had been seized with lock-jaw, after trying all other means in vain, threw from the loft, upon the animal, a hogshead or more of water, and then had him covered up in blankets. This brought on perspiration, and a cure was the result. An acquaintance of the author’s, in Gloucester[s]hire, who treated a horse in a similar way, was equally successful.

Fever and Inflammation.—For the treatment of all fevers and inflammations the reader is referred to the method prescribed for human beings in similar cases.

For a horse in a high state of inflammation, Priessnitz prescribed his being put into a river for five minutes, then taken out, rubbed dry, for five minutes, then put again into the water and again rubbed, a process renewed until the inflammation had completely subsided. Sometimes this is effected in a short time; at others, it requires constant application for seven or eight hours. Perseverance in this treatment is certain of effecting a cure.

In an ordinary case of fever, resort to the wet-sheet packing; if necessary, change the sheet often, then administer a cold bath or affusion; repeat the operation twice a-day.

In all cases of inflammation or fever, if the body is confined, it is necessary to resort to clysters.

Want of appetite.—If frictions with wisps of straw upon a wet surface repeated three times a day do not produce appetite, the wet-sheet packing followed by ablutions and bandages must be resorted to.

To refresh and invigorate a horse.—Let him be well rubbed with coarse wet cloths or whisps of hay for an hour or two twice a day, then walked about until dry: a foot bath twice a-day for an hour each time, and the loins and legs bandaged.

If the skin of the animal is dry and contracted, use the packing sheet twice a day followed by cold-bath, or throw several pails of water over the body, use friction until the skin is dry, then bandage round the body.

If horses are allowed to be out at grass, they ought, nevertheless, to undergo the operations. With certain exceptions it would be better to keep horses up and send them out to exercise at stated times.

After every operation animals ought to be led about a little.

Murrain amongst cattle.—On the first symptom of the disease, such as the coat starting, the animal is to be subjected to the treatment until shivering is produced, and until shivering has ceased, or at least greatly decreased.

This will require, generally, one, two, or three hours. The animal should stand in a cold bath, that is, a pond or river, and water must be continually thrown over the whole body.

During the whole operation, the body and legs of the animal must be well rubbed with the hand, or with a coarse cloth or whisp (that is, whilst in the bath).

It will require two men to do this properly. Should the water be too deep for the men and sufficiently deep to cover the back, the animal must remain five minutes in the water, be then taken out and well rubbed for five minutes, and so continued till the shivering described above is produced.

Should shivering not be produced the case is hopeless.

On coming out of the bath, rub the animal for five minutes, then give him half an hour’s walking exercise, with a warm rug as a covering.

The bath is to be repeated twice a-day. After exercise a large piece of coarse cloth wetted with cold water is to be placed over the body and chest, this wet linen is to be covered with a dry one.

As soon as this bandage becomes dry, it must be re-wetted, but before replacing it, rub the beast well for at least five minutes.

This bandage is to be continued night and day and frequently changed.

Administer two clysters a day, each to consist of a quart of cold water.

Green food is best, but when this cannot be obtained, bran wetted with cold water must be substituted.

The more water drunk the better.

This treatment is to be continued until the coat looks smooth and healthy, and the appetite is regulated.

The first cold bath if carefully applied for two or three hours, will check the disease.

Two cases of cure came under notice, whilst these pages were in the press. One that of a bull of a spinal affection, and a horse with a large swelling under the belly. The bull was well rubbed all over with wet whisps, and afterwards had wet bandages, dry ones were then applied. The horse was simply bandaged, which bandages were changed when dry. He laid down the second day, which he had not done for some days before, and was well in three days.

Fits in Dogs.—Immerse the body in cold water, and let it be well rubbed until the dog recovers.

Cold water, tepid water and friction, packing sheets, the sweating process, entire baths, hip baths, foot baths, the douche, clysters and bandages, are all brought into requisition in the treatment of beasts: therefore reference should be made to the foregoing pages, in “order to understand when any one or more may be necessary.” Experience proves that their effect upon man or beast is the same.

In order to give the practitioner an idea of how he might treat a horse, I subjoin the mode of treatment I adopted upon three horses belonging to a nobleman, whilst these pages were going through the press.

Monday, 19th June, 1849.—Three horses ill, two with sore throat and coughs, and one with pleurisy. Veterinary surgeon on Sunday, bled and applied mustard poultices to the latter. Monday morning, at ten o’clock, horse no better, a doubtful case. Proceeded as follows.

Took him out of the stable, drenched his whole body with many pails of cold water, then had him rubbed for several minutes with wet whisps—more water and whisps again, and finally whisped dry. Then wet sheets, wrung out, were wound round neck and body, and covered with dry ones. Before twenty minutes elapsed he was in a glow—in this state he remained for an hour and an half, when the water and friction was again repeated. When nearly rubbed dry, a sheet was doubled, wrung out in cold water, and placed round his loins, a dry one over it, and rugs put to produce a re-action. A change for the better was so evident, that the stud groom (who at first was inimical to the process being tried), declared his conviction it would cure the horse. The whole process was repeated in the evening and next morning, when the horse’s appetite returned, and he was declared better. The same evening he was subjected to the packing-sheet and ablution, wore the bandage round the loins, and was cured. As the medicine, administered the day before, had acted on the bowels, I did not resort to clysters, which I otherwise should have done.

For the sore throat, one horse the first day was treated exactly as above described, but it was found unnecessary to resort to the cold ablution, previous to the packing-sheet process. A wet bandage covered with a dry one was worn round his waist and throat continually.

The third horse, having a sore throat and slight cough, only had a wet bandage with a dry one over it applied to the throat, and changed when dry.

Thus, these three horses, without a grain of physic, were cured in three or four days. The great advantages of being thus cured, are, that the cold water created an appetite, whilst drugs would have deprived the animals of it. It gave them strength, hardened the skin, and rendered them less susceptible to atmospheric influence than they were before, and produced effects the very opposite to those of drugs.

It must be obvious that this treatment had the effect of equalising the circulation.

Several years ago I treated a horse in a similar way, twice a day, for farcy, that is to say, I subjected him to the washing, rubbing, wet-sheet, and bandages, as before described: in ten days he was perfectly well. A friend of mine seeing a cow belonging to a relation of his in the last stage, had her well wetted and rubbed for an hour, put round her waist a wet blanket, and covered her up warm; in a few hours she was better. The treatment repeated a few times twice a day effected a cure.

Bandages.—The application of wet bandages, covered with dry ones round the loins, and to parts affected, after every application of the Water-cure, is most important.

These bandages must be worn day and night; during the day they should be changed whenever they become dry—it is not necessary during the night, except where there is great inflammation, the oftener they are changed the better.

Animals under treatment for fever, inflammations of any kind, should be allowed to drink as much cold water as they like, and eat green food.

To give a horse a hip-bath, which we call a sitz-bath, must be left to the ingenuity of the practitioner; it is of equal advantage in the treatment of horses as men, particularly in attacks of cholic inflammation, etc.

The following extract from the Weekly Dispatch, of July 23, 1847, confirms what is advanced in favour of water; and excites surprise that it did not lead scientific members of the medical profession to more extensive inquiry:—

“Effect of Prussic Acid on a Rabbit.—Yesterday se’nnight, Dr. Robinson, of London, delivered the third of a series of dissertations on poisons, before the Faculty, at the Maidstone Infirmary. The subject of the evening was principally corrosive sublimate—on the mode of detecting which, the learned lecturer imparted some valuable hints. At the conclusion of the dissertation, the effect of prussic acid was tried upon a rabbit. Three drops were administered from a glass (the surface of which, most probably, abstracted half of the quantity), and the animal immediately exhibited the usual symptoms—increased action of the lungs, dilatation of the pupils, and the peculiar shrill cry, which in such cases is usually indicative of immediately approaching dissolution. In order to give it a chance of recovery, however, a few drops of ammonia were administered, without apparent benefit. A constant stream of cold water was then poured upon the base of the skull and along the spine, when the animal very shortly exhibited symptoms of resuscitation. It was then wrapped in warm flannel. In a quarter of an hour, it was sufficiently recovered to walk. Dr. Robinson had, in a former lecture, mentioned that this mode of treatment had been discovered by accident. A cat which had annoyed the apprentices of a chemist was poisoned by them with prussic acid, and thrown away for dead. By mere accident, however, it fell under a stream of water, which was pouring from a pump; the effect of which was its gradual resuscitation. Benefiting by this hint, the same means have been since successfully applied to more than one human subject who had taken prussic acid. No instance, however, had come within Dr. Robinson’s knowledge where an animal had been restored after the symptoms which this rabbit exhibited; and the singularity of the case struck the faculty as being one, a knowledge of which it was desirable should be promulgated. The rabbit is now in full health and vigour.[”]