The perfect horseman, or, The experienced secrets of Mr. Markham's fifty years practice shewing how a man may come to be a general horseman, by the knowledge of these seven offices, viz. the breeder, feeder, ambler, rider, keeper, buyer, farrier / and now published by Lancelot Thetford, practitioner in the same art for the space of forty years.

Title

The perfect horseman, or, The experienced secrets of Mr. Markham's fifty years practice shewing how a man may come to be a general horseman, by the knowledge of these seven offices, viz. the breeder, feeder, ambler, rider, keeper, buyer, farrier / and now published by Lancelot Thetford, practitioner in the same art for the space of forty years.

Author

Markham, Gervase, 1568?-1637.

Publication

London :: Printed for Humphrey Moseley ...,

1656.

Rights/Permissions

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Subject terms

Horses.

Horses -- Diseases.

Horsemanship.

Link to this Item

https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A51971.0001.001 content_copy

Cite this Item

"The perfect horseman, or, The experienced secrets of Mr. Markham's fifty years practice shewing how a man may come to be a general horseman, by the knowledge of these seven offices, viz. the breeder, feeder, ambler, rider, keeper, buyer, farrier / and now published by Lancelot Thetford, practitioner in the same art for the space of forty years." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A51971.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 12, 2024. content_copy

Contents

• frontispiece
• title page
• TO THE READER.
• table of contents
• The office of the BREEDER.
  • Chóice of Grounds.
  • Change of Grounds.
  • Choice of Stallions and Mares
  • The Age of Stallions and Mares:
  • When to put Horse and Mare together.
  • When Mares are fit for the Horse.
  • How to put them together.
  • How many Mares for one Horse.
  • Ordering after Covering.
  • To help Mares in Foaling.
  • How long Foals to run with their Dams.
  • To know a true Shape, Spirit, and Height.
  • To know Goodness.
  • Weaning of Foals.
  • Separating of Colts:
  • Gelding of Colts.
  • Taming of Colts.
  • To Break Colts.
  • Coiling of the Stud.
• THE OFFICE OF THE RIDER.
  • Times to handle Colts.
  • When to Saddle.
  • Of Mothing
  • Of Backing.
  • Helps at first Backing.
  • What Lessons for what Horse.
  • Helps and Corrections.
    • Voice.
    • Rod.
    • Bit or Snaffle.
    • Calves of the Legs.
    • Spur.
    • The Ground.
  • Of large Rings.
  • Of Stopping.
  • Advancing.
  • Retiring.
  • Of Bitting.
  • Of strait Turns and Turnings.
    • The first strait Turn.
    • The other strait Turn.
  • How to help an ill Rein, and cure a Runaway Jade.
  • The Help.
  • Another help for inconstant Carriage.
  • How any Lady or Gentlewoman shall spur her Horse as well as any man, yet unperceived
• THE OFFICE OF THE FEEDER.
  • The first ordering of the Running-horse, ac∣cording to the several estates of their Bodies.
  • The first Fortnights feeding of an Horse for Match that is fat, foul, and▪ either new∣ly taken from Grass or Soil.
    • Four considerations in giving of Heats.
  • The second fortnights feeding.
    • The first Bread:
    • The first Scouring:
    • Ordering of the Horse after his scouring.
  • The third fortnights feeding.
    • The second Bread.
  • The Fourth and last fortnights feeding.
    • The last and best Bread.
  • Certain necessary Observations and Ad∣vantages for every Feeder to observe in sundry Accidents.
    • Of meat and Drink
    • Observation for Lameness.
    • Observation from the estate of the body.
    • Observation from the privy parts.
    • Observation for the Limbs.
    • Observation for water.
    • Observation for the ground to run on.
    • Observation from Sweat.
    • Observation from the Hair.
• THE OFFICE OF THE KEEPER.
  • How to keep any Horse for plea∣sure, Hunting or Travel, &c.
  • Of Dressing and Watering.
  • Ordinary-Keeping
  • Keeping in Travell and Sport.
  • Of giving Heats, Hunting and Travell.
  • Ordering after Labour:
  • Some especiall Precepts.
  • Of washing and Walking.
• THE OFFICE OF THE AMBLER.
  • Observations in Ambling.
  • Mens opinions and Errors.
  • Ambling by the plowed field.
  • Ambling by the Gallop▪
  • Ambling by Weights.
  • Ambling in hand, or not ridden▪
  • Ambling by the help of Shooes.
  • Ambling by the help of fine Lists.
  • Ambling by the Hand only.
  • Ambling by the Tramell.
    • Errors in the Tramell.
  • The best way to amble an Horse.
  • The form of the Tramell.
  • The true use of the true Tramell.
  • When to alter the Tramell.
  • When to mount his back.
  • When to journey.
• THE OFFICE OF THE BUYER: Wherein is shewed all the perfections and imperfections that are or can be in a Horse.
  • Observations and Advertise∣ments for any man when he goeth about to buy an Horse.
  • The end for which to buy:
  • Election how divided.
    • The generall Rule.
      • Of Breed.
      • Of Colour.
      • Pace, as Trotting.
      • Ambling.
      • Racking
      • Galloping▪
      • Stature:
    • The particular Rule.
      • How to stand to view.
      • His Eares.
      • His Face.
      • His Eyes.
      • His Cheeks and Chaps.
      • His Nostrils and muzzell.
      • Teeth.
      • His Breast.
      • His Fore-thighes.
      • His Knees
      • His Legs.
      • His Pasterns.
      • His Hooves.
      • The setting on of his Head, his Crest and Mane.
      • His Back, Ribs, Fillets; Belly, and Stones.
      • His Buttocks.
      • His Hinder-thighs.
      • His Cambrels.
      • Hinder-Leggs.
      • His Tayle▪
  • An uncontrollable way to know the age of an Horse.
    • His Teeth.
    • His Hooves.
    • His Tail.
    • His Eyes.
    • His Skin.
    • His Hayr▪
    • His Barrs.
• THE OFFICE OF THE FARRIER.
  • The Signes of all Sicknesses, and how to discern them.
  • Signes from the Dung.
  • Signes from the Urine.
  • Of sickness in generall.
  • The true manner of making the true Diahexaple,
  • The vertues of true Diahexaple.
  • A Drink to open an Horses body, and cleanse it.
  • The true manner of making those cordial Bal, which cure any violent cold or Glanders which prevent heart-sickness. which purge away all molten grease, which recover a lost stomack, which keep the heart from faint∣ing with exercise, and make a lean horse fat suddenly.
  • For the Bots or any Worms.
  • Another for Worms more ready, more easie.
  • A Purgation when an horse is sick of grease, or costiveness.
  • For Laxativeness, or extream Loosness.
  • For the stone, or pain of urine by winde causing sickness
  • For an Horse that staleth blood.
  • For a growing cold.
  • For a more violent cold causing rotting in the head.
  • For a desperate dry cough.
  • For a cold long setled.
  • For a dry Cough, or wasted Lungs.
  • A Cordiall powder for any ordinary cold, and to prepare a horse before travell, to re∣fresh him in travell, and to preserve him from mischief after travel.
  • To break a festred cold to dry up glanders, and to heal the ulcer, or canker in the nose.
  • For the Glanders.
  • To stay the glanders for a time, being incurable.
  • For decayed or stopped Lungs, which we call Broken wind.
  • A scouring when others will not work.
  • OUTWARD SORRANCES.
    • The Signes of outward Sorrances.
    • For soar Eyes, dim Eyes, and Moon eyes
    • Another for eyes of like nature.
    • For a white Film or Skin over the Eye.
    • For any sorenses in the eyes, as Pearl, Pin or Web, or Bruise.
    • For foul eyes, sore eyes or sight almost lost.
    • The Master Medicine for a back sinew∣strain, or any strain, shrinking, or numbness of sinews.
    • Another in nature of a charge, for a back sinnew-strain.
    • For a strain in any yart, new or old.
    • For a strain or sinew-bruise.
    • For old strains, or cold cramps.
    • A sudden cure for a knock or brnise on the sinews:
    • For a strain newly done to help it in 24 hours.
    • Markhams own Balme which hath never failed him for any strain in the shoulder or other parts, hid or apparent, or for any wind-gall or, swelling,
    • For Sinews that are extended, overstrai∣ned, and so weakned, that the mem∣ber is useless.
    • Another of the same nature but, more gentle.
    • A charge for a new strain or grief, pro∣ceeding from heat.
    • For Aches, Cramps, and hid paines.
    • For swelled or garded leggs, whether by Grease or other accident.
    • For sweld leggs, whether by grease, goutiness, wind, or travell.
    • For gardings in joynts.
    • For Scratches at the first appearance.
    • For Scratches of long continuance.
    • For Scratches held incurable.
    • For any Splent, Spaven, Curb, Ringbone or Excression.
    • Another for a foul Splint.
    • For a Splint, and to dry up windgalls.
    • For Pains, Mles and Rats-tails.
    • For Malander or Selander.
    • For the Swift-cut and to heal all wounds.
    • For any Maunge or Scab in a clean fed Horse
    • For any Maungie or universall Leprosie in a foul surfeited Horse.
    • For a Canker, foul Ulcer, Leprosie, and to make hair grow.
    • For a Fistula, or Pol-evill.
    • For a foul Farcy.
    • For a most desperate Farcy.
    • For any Founder or Frettize wet or dry.
    • To make Hooves to grow quickly, and to be tough and strong.
    • For brittle Hooves.
    • For Surbat or soarness in the Feet, whether by travell, too near paring, or other accident.
    • For a Quitterbone.
    • For Saddle-bruises, hard swellings, and Impostumations.
    • Another for a soar back.
    • For a prick with a pitchfork on the Crownet or other part.
    • For any chafing or galling.
    • A generall salve for any sore, swelling, prick, cloying, or tread.
    • To make hair grow in bald places.
    • To stanch blood.
    • For Enterfering.
    • To tame an unruly Horse that he may be drencht or drest of anygrief.