or, a Compendium of Farriery. Wherein is fully explained the nature and structure of that useful creature, a horse; with the diseases and accidents he is liable to; and the methods of cure. Exemplified by ten Elegant Cuts, Each the Full figure of a Horse. Describing all the various Parts of that Noble Animal. Likewise rules for Breeding and Training of Colts: Practical Receipts for the Cure of Common Distempers incident to Oxen, Cows, Calves, Sheep, Lambs, Hogs, &c. By an Experienced Farrier

Bookseller Notes

A scarce little book about the care of horses and other quadrupeds, with attractive line-engraved illustrations.The title is a canny reference - doubtless intended to boost sales - to William Taplin, author of the hugely successful Gentleman's Stable Directory (first published 1788). Whilst the author may have read Taplin, this work is unique in its emphasis of maladies and cures. It provides a compendium of ailments and their remedies, by which we learn various tricks such as how to make 'horse ointment', how 'to cure the mad staggers', and how to manage a horse 'that is feeble and faint'. The author also offers receipts for common complaints in oxen, hogs, sheep, and dogs. He has a broad range of veterinary solutions, including 'for oxen that are galled or bruised in the neck by the yoke'; 'for a bullock that has the bloody scour, or the bloody flux'; 'to destroy ticks or tickells in sheep', for 'the gargut, or blood, in swine'; how 'to feed a hog for lard'; a new 'a purge for a dog if you imagine he hath been poisoned', and many more. The final chapter is simply entitled 'Moles', but he offers advice only for their destruction. As well as numerous recipes, the author gives advices on the tricks of dealers, and how to avoid being swindled by the same.Worldcat contains only one listing for it, at Texas A&M. Likely a reissue of the first edition of 1790 (BL, and Science Museum only in ESTC), with a new title page.