Medicine horn for drenching cattle
Date made: 19th century
Description: This animal horn was used in the 19th century for administering medicine to cattle. The head of the animal would be held upwards whilst a drenching gag was placed across its mouth to keep its jaws open. The gag would have had a hole in the centre, and the horn was placed in this in order to pour the medicine down the beast's throat. It was found in the cellar at Berrag, a farm in Jurby once occupied by the Corlett family.
The object consists of a simple cattle horn, hollowed out and with a copper band around the broad end. A wooden stopper with handle closes off this end.
In Jurby parish dairy cattle were more numerous than beef cattle, but both were less significant than sheep which were the main form of livestock raised in this part of the Island in the 19th century.
Measurements: 43 x 12 x 12 cm
Materials: Horn, copper alloy, fibre: vegetable, iron
Object name: medicine horn
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1954-5924
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