¶ A plaine and easie way to remedie a Horse that is foundered in his Feete: By whiche vsing this remedie (within .xxiiii. howres after his instaunt foundering) you maye within .xxiiij. howres after the cure vsed, trauell your Horse, and iourney him at your pleasure, as if he had not bene foundered at all.
Set out by Nicholas Malbie Gentleman, seruaunt to the Queenes moste excellent Maiestie.
Imprinted at London by Thomas Purfoote, dwelling in Paules Churchyarde, at the signe of the Lucrece. 1576.
To the right Worshipfull master Edward Fitzgerald Esquire, Lieuetenaunt of the Gentlemen Pencioners.
SIR at my late beeing at the Court (which as I remember was about .xij. monethes now past, at what time I came out of Irelande) and nowe agayne at my present beeing heere, I haue bene requested by sundry honest Gentlemen, some my good freends and olde acquaintaunce: some other, who knowing more my name then my selfe, haue repayred vnto me with like request, to instruct thē, in the curing of a foundered Horse. Whose fauours dyd moue me to offer and promise vnto them, to put the same in print. Partly for their friendshippes sakes: and partly to make a present thereof vnto all my Countreymen that eyther be or intend to be trauailers on horsbacke. Reputyng it also conuenient to publishe the same in common, the rather, for that I iudge the poorest sort shall receiue most benefyt thereby. And bycause it is not meete that this excellent cure should want thē reputation it deserueth, neyther to be accounted a vaine thing not worthy the hauing, as many be that being printed haue smal credit notwithstanding they cary, probatum est, I do dedicate the same vnto you, both for the friendly affection I ovve you, and for that you can giue good testimonie of this cure, by an experience made vppon an Horse of your own. I haue caused the same to be printed, as wel to ease my selfe of the trauayle I should haue to answere euery mans request: as to satisfie my friends, to whom I haue made promise, and all others that are desirous to vnderstand the knowledge thereof. Which I pray you may be vnder your protection, and presented to as many as you shall please, and of the rest let the Printer make his profite. So God keepe you.
To the Reader.
AMong many diseases whiche do raigne in a Horse, I haue seene that the foundering hath bene reputed the moste difficult to be cured. And as the goute in man is accompted an infirmitie incurable: so is the foundering in a Horse (of most men) thought irrecouerable. I wishe I could as well heale the one, as (by Gods sufferaunce) I can giue remedie for the other, I would as willingly present vnto you both, as I doo this one. Notwithstanding accept this as it is, and refuse it not, as sundry curious & scornfull Farriers haue done vnto me, who neither knowing howe to remedie the disease, nor willing to learne, haue reiected at my hands the vnderstanding of the cure, and as it were, in spite of arte & cunning, cut out the sowles of the horses feete (a thing commonly vsed among suche ignoraunt persons) by whiche any Horse so misused shall neuer haue his feete sound agayne, (whatsoeuer they promise you,) where by this which I do here set out, neither shall you once remoue your horses shoes, neither yet touch any part of his hoofe or feete, and yet shall your Horse be as sound as euer he was.
Farewell.
London first of Aprill. 1576.
The way and meane touching the sayde Remedie.
WHen you find your Horse to be foundred in his feete, which you shall perceyue by drawing in all his fowre legges together, & by his standing crooching as though he stoode vpon nedles, & wil [Page] be loth to goe: you must cause him to be let blood on his two brest vaynes of his two forelegges somewhat aboue the knees. Let him also blood on his spur vaynes on both his sides, and on y e vaynes of his two hinder feete a little aboue the hoofe, betwene the hoofe and the pastorne, as you may perceiue by this Picture.
Let the vaynes bleede well, to the quantitie of a quart, or three pintes. which blood you must saue in some vessell, & stirre it with a sticke to keepe it from cluttering: and when he hath bled as abouesayd, put it al into one vessel: then stop the wounds with some horsedung, or some earth, and make a [Page] Charge with the blood in this sort:
Take as muche wheate meale (as it commeth from the mill) as will make the blood somewhat thicke and put it into the blood. Take eight or ten egges raw, and breake them also into this blood, shelles and all: Take a pint of strong viniger, and a quantitie of Bole Armoniack brayed, and put thē into the same blood also. Which done you shal stirre them all together. Then shall you with your hand lay the sayd Charge all along vpon the raynes of the Horses backe, vpon his buttocks, and downe his shoulders: as by this picture you may see.
[Page] When you haue layde on this Charge thus, you shall take two Linnen ragges dipped in the same Charge, with which two rags so dipped, you shall garter the Horse aboue the knees of his two forelegges somewhat harde. (That done) cause him to be walked vpon the hardest ground you can finde, for the space of two or three houres: if he be loth to go (as commonly he wil be) let one folow him and beate him with a sticke or wand to force him to go, Then after this walking let him be set vp & tyed to the racke that he lye not downe, and there let him rest two or three howres: which done, let him be walked agayn two or three houres more, as aforesayd. Then set him vp and let him feede, and when you giue him drinke (which you may doo within two or three houres after his feeding) let the water be heated somewhat hot, and put some grounded malt, or some bran into it, and let him drinke it blood warme, and feede a little after it, Then ride him a little, and if you let him stand an howre or two in a poole of standing water vp to y e belly, and one vpon his backe, it is good to doo it, and after that ride him agayne a little. Then let him be set vp, well dressed and couered, and so by little and little ride him a day or two, and then may you boldly iourney him, for it is riding that bringeth the Horse to the perfectnes of his feete, and you shall finde our Horse as sounde as euer he was, for this cure is infallible. I haue my selfe helped and cured about a hundred Horses, and for sundry of them so cured by me, I haue good testimonie of diuers Gentlemen nowe presente at the Court.
Certayne notes touching this cure to bee obserued.
YOu shall not neede to take of the Horses shoes, nor to touche them at all, except it be to amende them for some other needefull cause.
You must after xxiiii. houres rubbe of the Charge from the Horse backe.
You muste take of the Garters after xii. or xiii. houres, and rubbe his knees vp and downe with your handes, to put the numnes away.
You shall also vnderstande that I haue helped many Horses, eyther withoute Viniger or Bole Armoniack, for that I haue bin in place where I could not haue it. I haue also vsed Oten meale when I could not haue wheate meale.
I haue also healed a Horse by letting him blood in the necke, when he woulde not bleede in the vaynes before prescribed, and vsed and compounded the same blood, as aboue is written.
I doo also seldome vse the standing of the horse in a poole of water, as before is sayde.
But if you doo all, as is first written, it is the best and surest way no doubt: but if you be in place where you can not attayne to all the premisses, you shall make good shifte with part of it. And surely I doo finde that it is the taking of the blood that is the cheefe and principall cause of the cure.
And where I doo write also that you must take your Horse in hande (to cure him) within xxiiii. howres after his first foundering, I thinke good to let you vnderstande that it is best so to doo, and yet did I once helpe a Horse of mine owne that [Page] had bene foundered fiue dayes, and he was verywell cured, but he asked foure or fiue dayes more to come to the perfectnes of his feete, then vsually the Horses doo; that be taken in hande, as aboue sayde.
This cure hath also this vertue, that your Horse beeing once cured, shall not commonly or neuer founder agayne. I neuer heard of any that so did but one, whiche was M. Edward Fytzgeraldes Horse, whom he helped presently agayne with the same cure, and he hath the same Horse at this day as sounde as euer he was.
Thus muche I haue thought good to say touching the obseruation of the cure vpon any necessitie; when you can not be in place to prouide you of all such things as be requisite for the same.