Natura exenterata: or Nature unbowelled by the most exquisite anatomizers of her. Wherein are contained, her choicest secrets digested into receipts, fitted for the cure of all sorts of infirmities, whether internal or external, acute or chronical, that are incident to the body of man. / Collected and preserved by several persons of quality and great experience in the art of medicine, whose names are prefixed to the book. Containing in the whole, one thousand seven hundred and twenty. Very necessary for such as regard their owne health, or that of their friends. VVhereunto are annexed, many rare, hitherto un-imparted inventions, for gentlemen, ladies and others, in the recreations of their different imployments. With an exact alphabetical table referring to the several diseases, and their proper cures.

An Order how to breed Horses.

The choice of your Stallion and Studd Mares.

FIrst and principally you must force, that your Stallion and Studde Mares be both of good and lively nature, and not subject to any naturall diseases. For as heavy horses and Mares will breed Colts of roilish and heavy nature, so if they be in∣fected with any naturall disease, their Colts for the most part shall be troubled with the same disease.

Wild Mares be not best to keep for the Race.

IT shall be well done that you handle all your Studd Mares•• and make them tame, and easie, whereby besides the comm••∣ditie you may have of their work which cannot hurt their tame∣ing if they be soberly handled, you may be sure at all times to remove them from one Pasture to another, to bring them to be covered, and to take their Colts from them without great trouble, whereas wilde Mares be not only combersome to keep but also often times do destroy the Coults in their bellies with their rashnesse when you should handle them or any of their fellows.

At what age your Mare is first to be handled and covered.

THe best age to take up your Mare to make her tame, and to break her, is, when shee shall be two years old, and the van∣tage, and so you may the yeare following, when she shall be ful∣ly three years old, and upward put her to your horse to be cove∣red, which in my opinion is the best age to put her first to the Horse. Although some Writers be of opinion, that it is best that shee be first covered at two yeare old.

How to inforce your Mares to come to be strained.

YOu may most conveniently bring her to be covered of your Stallion, if four or five dayes before you will bring her to your great Horse, you cause to be put to her in some close Pa∣sture kept and fensed for that purpose, some small stoned Nagg to woe he•• that she may abide your great horse, foreseeing that he be in no wise unfettered longer then some diligent man doth look on, for if the Nag be at liberty at any time after she is dis∣posed to take the horse, she will be sure to be covered of him, though he be lower then she by a cubite.

The Order of covering.

VVHen you do perceive that your Mare will abide the Nagg, and doth show other tokens that she is desirous to be covered, you must cause your great horse that shall cover her to be provendred, and not to drink much the night before he shall cover her. Then in the morning following at the Sun rising, you may bring him to your Mare, or her to him in some such place, as neither of them can leap out of, where when he hath covered her twice or thrice, let him remaine feeding on Grass with her Colt kept by her without water, but let your horse be taken up, well rubbed and well provendred to the next evening. And then put him to your Mare againe where you left her, and let him cover her as often as he will that night ex∣cept you see your horse chafe so much that he will marre him∣selfe.

How to use your Mare whic his covered.

ANd so must you of force be driven to take him from her the second time till the morning following, at which time, (except your Mare be satisfied with that which was done before) you must put to your horse the third time, and when he hath covered her as often as he will, between foure of the clock in morning and eight of the clock before noon, take up your horse, and let your Mare be led into some water, to the mydd∣side at the least, where she may drink water, but not too much, and then let her be led and turned to the hole studd, where no other horses must come f•••• a whole Mon••th at the least to bea•• her.

How to make that no Mare shall go barren.

ANd when you have thus severally caused to be covered all your Mares, you must about Lammas in the month of July, or beginning of August, get a Mare or two which have not beene covered that yeare before, and inforcing them to be horsed by such means as before appointed when they shall be readie to be covered, you must turne them with some other stallion, whom you esteem not as your best horse amongst your studd of Mares, and so he covering that Mare or Mares, you turned in with him unto the studd, shall cause the rest (if any of them have not conceived at their first covering) to come to that horse againe, whereby you shall be sure to keep no Mare barren all the yeare, but to have of every Mare a Colt, though not by your best horse, you may suffer that horse to runne amongst your Mares, three weeks or a moneth. But if you turne him into your studd putting no Mare in with him ready to be covered, he will at his first entry beat all your Mares, and so happily hurt all your Mares which had conceived before, and so do more hurt then good.

What time of the yeare is best for your Mares to be covered.

THe best time of the yeare to have your Mare covered, is, from the end of May to the end of July, and then shall your Mare, which alwayes goes with foale one year lacking a moneth Foale in such time of the yeare as she shall find plenty of grass to nourish her self and her Colte withall. Whereas if you suf∣fer her to be covered in February, March or Aprill, she will foal•• so rathe in the yeare, that often times being bare and not co∣vered of the Winter past, she doth hunger both her selfe and marr her Colt for lack of feeding.

To Dyet your Stand for the time he shall cover.

HEre is to be noted that although your stalland standing ••t hard meat will not miss to get a Colt on your Mare going to Grass (if she be ordered and inforced as before) yet the best dyer for him for the whole time he shall cover is to feed on grass

when he hath tasted of the grass with them, he will like his Hay the worse, and also there is more danger in breaking of his wind in feeding rather on Hay then Grass.

How your breeding Mare is to be used when she shall Foale.

YOur breeding Mare that hath a Colt in her belly must four∣teen or fifteen dayes before she Foal be taken from the stud, and with some other gentle Mare or gelding be put in some o∣ther rank pasture well fensed for that purpose, which will not only make her Lusty, and soon ready to be covered, and able to Foale without danger, but also give plenty of Milk to her Colt when he is first Foaled.

How many years a horse will serve to cover your Mares.

YOur Stallion used as is before wil serve fot six or seven years to cover every yeare seven or eight Mares, and do you service the rest of the yeare besides, whereas turned a∣broad to your Mares, he can do you no other service, neither will he last above three years.

The best age for horse or Mares to get or beare Colts, and how many years they will continue good.

THe best age for Horse or Mare to get or bear Colts, is for the Mare from three years old till ten. And for the horse, from four or five years ••ill twelve, and after that age the Colts of them wax heavy, weak and slothfull:

What time of the yeare is best to wean the Colts from their Dams.

THe best time of the year to wean your Colts is at Candlemas or shrove-tide, after the time as your Colt is Foaled where∣in you must use much diligence, for if your Colt be not well weaned, well Summered, and wel Wintred, the three first years, and namely the first yeare when he moaneth for his dame, he shall seldome or never come to a good horse. And therefore when you weane your Colt, you must bring them to some

house ordained for the same purpose, clean out of the hearing of their Dams, wherein they must be pinned and not to come abroad the first fourteen dayes out of the hearing of their dams whereunto you must have pasture adjoyning wherein they may play, and feed every faire day after the fourteen dayes past from the time ye begin to wean them till grass be fully sprung in May, and put them into some such pasture, as commonly your Milch-kine be fed in, where they may neither feeding in high and rank grass hurt their Reyns, or grow thick-necked, nor for lack of feeding hinder their growth, but feed in a short sweet grass may prove well till they have forgotten their dams.

What feeding is best for Colts, from two years old upward.

THis is a generall ground, that we lying and lack of fee∣ding in the winter, and old rank feeding in sommer from two years old forwards doth mar the more part of our whole breed in England, which in my opinion well ordered would breed the best horses for all kind of service, of the whole earth, for as wet lying and lack of good feeding in the winter, doth breed a hartless ill shapen horse subject to all cold and water diseases both in his body and limbs, so over rank feeding in the Summer chiefly from two years old upward doth breed an evill rayned, and a slothfull horse, ever ready (being over laden with fat flesh to be more▪found and to catch the glanders and cough upon every cold. And therefore your best feeding of your horse Colts, from two years old upward, for the summer feeding is where he may have a large walk, and hungry short feeding, and not yet so bare but that he may, (travelling for it) feed him selfe full once in a day, and that he hinder not himselfe of his growing, but in any wise keep your horse colts for knowing any Mare till they be five years old.

Why Englishhorses be taken up so young, are not good.

THe cause why our English horse be taken up so young as I have heard of sundry of our chief hors-masters say, is for that our horse being great and well fedd, if they should runne, till they should come to their full strength, would be so sturdy and mischeivous to break, that they would rather mischeive themselves, and their breaker then to to be made tame, which in m•• fancy is but a vaine opinion. For there was never so sturdy, nor so wilfull a horse, which would not be tame, and easie to handle with watch and hunger, within one moneth at the furthest, if his Keeper will use diligence.

The way to handle a sturdy Horse.

ANd that may most conveniently be brought to passe if at the first comming into the house before he will suffer his Keeper to handle him, and to take up his feet, he do put no meat before him, but let him take all his feeding at his Keepers hands, and so shall you make him gentle and tame without stripes or striving, and the order before appointed in his break∣ing being the Colt of a tame Mare, and feed some part of eve∣ry winter at hand in the house wil acquaint him with the man, and make him almost tame before he be taken up, which Colt shall seldome prove a fearefull o•• a blenching horse.

The using of horse after they be handled.

ANd for Conclusion whosoever doth use to keep his horse bridled after riding till he ••e in good temper, and almost cold, and doth not give him water nor meat, being hot, neither doth ••ide him fast upon a full stomach shall seldome or never have his horse lame or sick if he breed him as is aforesaid, before he take him up.

What feeding is best in Winter for Mares, Weanlings, and two years old.

AND for the winter feeding you must use one order for your Mares, and weanlings two years old in several places, which is a hovel or house made for them adjoyning to your winter pa∣sture, wherein you must somtime in the evil weather, in a rack made for that purpose, give them some fodder, and be sure that they be brought into that house every night that is like to prove wet, but in the frosty days and nights, it is best to pin them abroad,

You must in any wise keep one pasture nigh to the house that you feed your mare Colts in the winter time, which pasture may not be fed in before Shrovetyde, because that time and the mid∣dle of May, (before which grasle is not sufficiently sprung in most places for horses to feed on) is the most time of danger to hunger bane of all the yeare, in which time, if your colts grow∣ing all the summer following, will make your colt mares so bare that they shall not be able to foale, nor give their colts suffi∣••ientl suck.

At what age Colts may best be handled.

WHen your Horse-colt hath been bred as is afore appoint∣ed, the best age in my opinion to take him up to break, is when he shall be full four years old and the vantage, or if you may spare him and have good close ground to keep him in, rather at five years old and the vantage, for then will his joynts and sinews be strong, and wel knit, his hoof ever tough, and not brittle, his eye-sight good, his chin strong, so that you can∣not hurt him, neither in breaking nor in reasonable riding, besides he will last a good Horse till he be 24: or 25. year old, wheras if you will take him up at two or three years old, as we commonly do, you shall find him afterward▪ many times blind, brittle hoofed, weak backd, full of windgales and splints, and shew himself to be an old stiff Horse, before he come to be ten years old, as the most part of their Spanish Horse do, because they are taken up so young; which is, because that in Spain they have no good close ground to let their Colts run longer in, and not for any other Commodity.