Owing, no doubt, to the preponderance of horizontality over verticality
in the construction of the horse, there results a considerable
difficulty in administering medicine to that quadruped, and he
frequently has to undergo what may be said to amount to cruelty in
the endeavor to persuade him to swallow the unpalatable dose. It is
therefore with satisfaction that we bring under our readers' notice
a simple and effective invention which promises to do away with this
difficulty, and from humanitarian motives we hope to see it widely
adopted. It is the joint production of Mr. Philip Fonnereau, of Masons'
Arms Yard, Maddox Street, and Mr. Willoughby Fielding, of Lisle Street,
Leicester Square, London. The inventors have adopted the sensible and
very obvious plan of utilizing that which the horse is trained to
tolerate--viz., the bit. It will be seen from the annexed engravings
that the invention consists essentially of a tubular bit, with a funnel
attached, as shown at Fig. 1. The bit has a hole, which is close to the
horse's tongue when in its mouth. The upper part of the apparatus is
fitted with a rope, which is passed through a ring in the ceiling of
the stable. By this rope the horse's head is gently elevated, so as to
prevent the medicine from going in any other direction than down its
throat. When it has been properly adjusted, as shown at Fig. 2, the
medicine is poured into the funnel, and it immediately runs through
the hole into the horse's mouth, and the animal cannot help swallowing
it. The apparatus is then removed, and rinsed out for future use. Of
course the invention is adapted to liquid medicine only, but we believe
it is as easy to prepare medicine in a liquid form as in any other,
and therefore there need be no difficulty on that account. We commend
this invention to all having the care of horses as a practical means of
obviating the perpetuation of a hitherto necessary but now unnecessary
cruelty to animals.--_Iron._
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
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