JOHNA.SEAVERNS 
 
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 Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at 
 Tufts University 
 
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 CLATER'S EVERY MAN HIS OWN FARRIER. 
 
 LONDON: SIMPKIN. MARSHALL, AND CO. 
 
EVERY MAN 
 HIS OWN EARRIER; 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, AND MOST APPROVED METHODS OF CURE 
 OF THE DISEASES OF 
 
 HOUSES AND DOGS. 
 
 BY FRANCIS CLATER, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "EVERY .MAN HIS OWN CATTLE DOCTOR. 
 
 THE THIRTY-FIRST EDITION, 
 
 EDITED AND BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME, 
 
 BY EDWARD MAYHEW, M.R.C.V.S. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 LONGMAN AND CO.; WHITTAKER AND CO.; HOULSTON AND CO.: 
 C. CRADOCK. A.ND CO. ', ROUTLEDGE AND CO. ; J. CORNISH \ 
 HALL AND CO.; RELFE AND CO.; AND 
 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. 
 
 1861. 
 
1161 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 THIRTY-FIRST EDITION. 
 
 It cannot be otherwise than highly gratifying to the 
 publishers to perceive that their endeavours to render 
 the present diminutive volume one of the best and 
 cheapest practical Veterinary Manuals are fully ap- 
 preciated by a discerning public. The thirtieth large 
 edition has how been disposed of. The book in the 
 hands of the reader has again been thoroughly re- 
 vised and corrected by the gentleman whose name 
 stands first in his peculiar branch of literature. 
 
 Canine Pathology is too much neglected by those 
 who profess to study the Diseases of Animals. The 
 publishers have, however, specially desired that this 
 division of the present book should be fully brought 
 down to the advanced and extended knowledge of 
 the existing period. On the last-named branch of 
 Veterinary science they have requested the Editor to 
 bestow particular attention ; and they are pleased to 
 be enabled to state, that the latter portion of the 
 volume has been almost entirely re-written. 
 
 January, 1861. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 THE HORSE. 
 
 PA OK 
 
 Introduction — The Anatomy and Physiology of the Horse . 1 
 
 The Head 2 
 
 The Nostrils 3 
 
 The Eye 5 
 
 The Ears ib. 
 
 The Teeth 8 
 
 The Neck 10 
 
 The Chest ib. 
 
 The Withers, Spine, and Back 12 
 
 The Stomach 15 
 
 Tlie Intestines 16 
 
 The Liver 17 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 1. Inflammation, and its Treatment 19 
 
 2. Inflammation of the Brain (Phrenitis) . . . .29 
 
 3. Vertigo (Megrims) 34 
 
 4. Stomach Staggers (Indigestion) . .... 36 
 
 5. Rabies, or Hydrophobia (Madness) 39 
 
 6. Inflammation of the Eye, or Common and Specific Ophthal- 
 
 mia 41 
 
 7. Inflammation of the Tongue — Blain or Aptha ... 53 
 
 8. Inflammation of the Palate — Lampas .... 55 
 
 9. Inflammation of the Membrane of the Nose — Corvza . 5G 
 
 10. Glanders .57 
 
 11. Inflammation and Ulceration of the Superficial Absorbents 
 
 — Farcy 65 
 
 12. Inflammation and Suppuration of the Cellular Substance 
 
 under the Jaw — Strangles . . . . . .71 
 
 13. Inflammation of the Glands and Throat . . . .76 
 
 14. Bronchitis — Inflammation of the Bronchial Tubes . . 84 
 
 15. Epidemic Catarrh — Mucous Fever — Distemper — Influenza 87 
 
 16. Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs — Thick Wind — 
 
 Broken Wind — Chronic Cough— Roaring ... 92 
 
 17- Pleurisy— Hydrothorax 110 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 18. Carditis and Pericarditis — Inflammation of the Heart and 
 
 its Investing Membrane 119 
 
 19. Spasm of the Diaphragm 123 
 
 20. Tetanus— Locked Jaw— Palsy 127 
 
 21. Inflammation of the Stomach — Poisons — Rupture of the 
 
 Stomach— Bots— Worms 138 
 
 22. Inflammation of the Intestines — Peritonitis — Enteritis — 
 
 Dysentery — Spasmodic Colic — Flatulent Colic — Im- 
 
 pactment — Strangulation — Calculi in the Intestines . 147 
 
 23. Inflammation and other Diseases of the Kidneys and Blad- 
 
 der 162 
 
 24. Castration and Diseases of the Generative Organs . . 174 
 
 25. Operations on the Tail— Docking — Nicking . . .187 
 
 26. Diseases of the Skin — Want of Condition — Hide-bound — 
 
 Surfeit— Mange— Moulting 190 
 
 27. The Treatment of Excoriations — Wounds and Ulcers — 
 
 Poll Evil — Fistulous Withers, &c 200 
 
 28. Injuries and Lameness of the Fore Extremities . . 210 
 
 29. Injuries and Lameness of the Hind Extremities . . 234 
 
 30. The Structure and Diseases of the Foot .... 254 
 
 31. On Shoeing 294 
 
 DOGS. 
 
 1. Compression of the Brain 302 
 
 2. Rabies— Madness 304 
 
 3. Canker of the Ear 308 
 
 4. Diseases of the Eyes 312 
 
 5. The Tongue 318 
 
 6. The Teeth 320 
 
 1. Inflammation of the Membrane of the Nose . . . 323 
 
 8. Inflammation of the Glands, and of the Cellular Substance 
 
 beneath the Throat 324 
 
 9. Cough — Asthma 331 
 
 10. Distemper 332 
 
 11. Fits 336 
 
 12. Inflammation of the Lungs L40 
 
 13. Worms 341 
 
 14. Colic — Inflammation of the Bowels — Diarrhoea — Protru- 
 
 sion of the Rectum — Piles 344 
 
 15. Parturition 347 
 
 16. Diseases of the Skin 351 
 
 Index 355 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HORSE. 
 
 To preserve a uniformity between the present work 
 and that on " Cattle," this book will commence with a 
 short sketch of the structure and proper form of the 
 Horse, which adapt that animal to the various pur- 
 poses to which his strength and speed are devoted : 
 but, to avoid all tedious repetition, the introduction 
 to the former work will be referred to for a descrip- 
 tion of general anatomy, or the structure and uses 
 of bone, muscle, membrane, &c; also for the func- 
 tions of the different organs, as the heart, the stomach, 
 and the lungs; including a history of the processes 
 of circulation, respiration, digestion, &c. 
 
 A naturalist would say that the proper characteristics 
 of the Horse are 3 three cutting or fore teeth in the upper 
 and three in the under jaw ; two tushes in the upper 
 and two in the under jaw; a space between the tushes 
 and the molar teeth or grinders; and six grinders upon 
 each side of either jaw having several ridges of enamel 
 running down the bodies of the teeth. The eyes are 
 / B 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 large ; the ears erect ; the upper lip capable of more 
 motion than is usual in herbivorous animals; the foot 
 having but a single toe, and that toe enveloped in 
 thick horn constituting a hoof; the tail surrounded by 
 long hair ; two teats ; one stomach, but the lining of 
 it composed of two different membranes; the stomach 
 small, and the intestines proportionably large. 
 
 Tke Head. — The head of the horse should not be too 
 large, for that usually makes the saddle-horse heavy on 
 the hand. A head small in proportion to the size of 
 the horse is a fair proof that he has some Eastern 
 blood in him, and is not devoid of spirit. Occasionally 
 the horse with a small head is vicious, and the shape 
 therefore is of equal importance with the size of the 
 part. A head, being of a fair proportion to the general 
 make, and the bulk consisting in breadth of forehead 
 rather than length of face — the eye likewise being a 
 little prominent and lively — these peculiarities will in 
 most cases indicate the manageable and serviceable 
 horse. The breadth of the forehead, and the short- 
 ness of the face, should be particularly regarded and 
 sought after for general and light, yet lasting work ; 
 but the narrow forehead and long face may do well in 
 the quiet, strong horse of heavy work. For common 
 purposes, a horse with a sinking or hollow across the 
 nose, a little below the eyes, should seldom be chosen ; 
 it too often tells of ill temper, especially if joined with 
 a more than usual display of the white of the eye. 
 The line of the face should be nearly straight, yet a 
 little prominence will generally characterize the good- 
 tempered, good-feeding, strong, lasting, manageable, 
 but not very light or speedy horse. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 The Setting-on of the Head. — There are few things 
 more connected with the comfortable use of the horse 
 than this. A great deal of the pleasure of riding and 
 of driving depends on the manner in which a horse 
 carries his head. It must form a certain curve with 
 the neck, so as to play easily, or the mouth cannot 
 be light and pleasant. A horse boring with his nose 
 before him will tire any man's arms, and will always 
 be unsafe. 
 
 The Lips. — If we take the parts of the face indivi- 
 dually, the lips are of more importance than is gene- 
 rally imagined. A firm and compressed lip is a pretty 
 sure pledge that the muscles every where have consi- 
 derable power. A horse with his lips flabby and 
 hanging down is sure to be diseased or sluggish, or 
 old. The sense of touch resides in the horse's lips, 
 and, if they are pendulous, the energy is weakened ; 
 and this loss of energy will interfere with that delicacy 
 on which the easy management of the animal so much 
 depends. 
 
 The Nostrils. — So far as speed and spirit are con- 
 cerned, the form of the nostrils is of considerable 
 moment. The horse breathes through the nostrils ; 
 and therefore, as all the air which inflates the lungs 
 must enter at the nose, a large nostril is indispen- 
 sable. The capacities of an animal should control 
 the purposes to which mankind compel him ; and if 
 a horse has much speed and endurance, a large nostril 
 generally gives notice of his innate properties. The 
 dimensions of this part constitute a main difference 
 between the blood and the country horse. A brisk 
 trot of a few minutes' duration will leave no doubt 
 b 2 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 about the expansibility of the horse's nostril. The 
 thinness of the skin covering' the nostril is another 
 indispensable accompaniment of speed and wind. The 
 nostril of the cart-horse, with its thick skin, cannot 
 possibly expand to the extent which a blood horse 
 requires when at full speed. 
 
 The False Nostril. — There is a curious formation 
 connected with the nostril of the equine race which 
 we do not observe in other animals. The whole of 
 the external opening does not conduct to the cavity 
 of the nose, but on the outer side there is a blind 
 pouch, called the false nostril, and formed by a doub- 
 ling of the skin. The use of these cavities is to 
 admit of that distention which the habits of the horse 
 necessitate. In the quiescent state, they permit of 
 the openings being diminished, without destroying 
 the symmetry of the face ; and, being muscular, they, 
 by their expansion, remove the atmospheric pressure 
 from the true nostril, when the passage of a greater 
 quantity of air is required. They permit the perfect 
 adaptation of the parts, without interfering with that 
 beauty of form which Nature, in all her works, studies 
 to preserve. In smell they are not concerned, but in 
 voice, neighing, &c, they are employed, giving cha- 
 racter and strength to the sounds emitted. 
 
 The Cartilaginous Division of the Nostrils. — A piece 
 of cartilage runs up the centre of the nose, dividing it 
 into two cavities. There is, concerning this cartila- 
 ginous septum, or dividing wall, one circumstance 
 which deserves remark. From the more flexible 
 nature of the nostril, more of the membrane that 
 covers it is seen in the horse than in the ox ; and the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 practitioner avails himself of this circumstance, in 
 order to judge of the existence of inflammation in the 
 deep-seated parts. The membrane covering this car- 
 tilaginous wall, is a continuation of that which lines 
 the windpipe, lungs, and intestines; therefore, by its 
 redness, or its paleness, it denotes the conditions of 
 those hidden structures. 
 
 The Eye. — No horseman needs to be told how justly 
 he judges of the horse by the appearance and expres- 
 sion of the eye. The countenance of the human 
 being is not a surer guide to the temper of a man 
 than is the eye to that of the horse. We always like 
 to see a large eye in the horse, and one a little pro- 
 minent. The character of the eye is likewise to be 
 observed. If the eyelid swells or projects over it, and 
 gives it a sunken appearance ; that eye has been in- 
 flamed. If one eye is somewhat larger than the other, 
 inflammation has existed. This, however, will be dis- 
 cussed more fully in its proper place, when other mat- 
 ters concerning the eye will also be mentioned. 
 
 The Frontal Sinuses.— In the ox there is a free 
 space under the forehead, and between the plates of 
 the skull, running from the end of the nose to the 
 very top of the horn. In the horse these cells, which 
 are termed sinuses, extend but a little way up the 
 forehead ; and behind them, a complicated plate of 
 bone defends the brain. 
 
 The Ears. — Considerable attention is always paid 
 to the ears. They should be small, erect, and active. 
 A large and lop ear is a sad blemish; and generally 
 tells tales as to. the breeding of the horse and his 
 degree of activity. Some people have endeavoured 
 
 b 3 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to remedy this by cropping the ears. It was once 
 the fashion to crop all horses, whether the ears were 
 large or small. It was a barbarous practice : it gave 
 an unnatural appearance to the horse ; it interfered 
 materially with the hearing, for the vibrations of sound 
 could not be so numerously and perfectly collected : 
 it sometimes produced inflammation that led on to per- 
 fect deafness. 
 
 The inside of the ear is lined with soft hair. — It was 
 placed there to keep out insects. The groom, how- 
 ever, finds great fault with it, and often cuts it out 
 with his scissors, or singes it away with his candle. If 
 he does not make very troublesome sores, and render 
 the horse difficult to halter, he will at least expose the 
 animal to annoyances from which nature had pur- 
 posely given a defence. 
 
 The Tongue. — There are some peculiarities in the 
 mouth of the horse with which horsemen should be 
 acquainted. The tongue is considerably shorter than 
 that of the ox. The horse does not, like the ox, 
 gather its food with the tongue; neither does the 
 sense of touch reside in the tongue of the animal ; 
 therefore the reason for the difference is perceived. 
 
 The Bars. — The palate is divided into numerous 
 transverse ridges, called bars. They are duplicatures 
 of the membrane of the palate, and contain a con- 
 densed tissue which is highly vascular. They are 
 arranged in different directions; one half, which are 
 placed forward, looking towards the throat; the other 
 half facing the mouth. Consequently, they retain upon 
 the tongue any portion of the food that has been per- 
 fectly masticated; and until the muscles of degluti- 
 
INTRODUCTION. / 
 
 tion are called into action, there can be no clanger of 
 the morsel passing onwards towards the windpipe, or 
 chance of its falling from the mouth. 
 
 The Soft Palate. — The horse is the only animal 
 who cannot, except under the most violent excitation, 
 vomit through the mouth. This peculiarity is caused 
 by a species of curtain at the back part of the tongue, 
 which separates the mouth from the gullet. It hangs 
 down from the backward edge of the palate. There 
 is, in other animals, room between the bottom of the 
 curtain and the tongue for the food to be returned; 
 therefore, in them, whatever the stomach casts up, 
 passes through the mouth. But, in the horse, the 
 curtain forms a perfect division, and rests upon, not 
 only the back part of the tongue, but against the for- 
 ward portion of the larynx. It is so contrived that, 
 when the food has been gathered and fully masticated, 
 the morsel is, by the action of the tongue, pressed 
 against the hard palate, and is thus propelled back- 
 ward, or it is pushed against the curtain or soft palate, 
 which gives way ; but if the pressure comes on the 
 other side, the inclination of the curtain backwards 
 effectually prevents it yielding, and the contents of 
 the stomach are carried outwards through the nostrils. 
 It is not, therefore, any thing about the palate which 
 renders the act of vomition so difficult in the horse ; 
 the formation of the palate simply forbids passage by 
 the mouth. But the difficulty of vomiting in the 
 horse depends on the peculiar construction of the 
 stomach, which shall be described in the proper 
 place. The length and singular attachment of the 
 soft palate, however, prevents the horse from breath- 
 is 4 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ing through the mouth, as well as causes him to 
 vomit through the nostrils. 
 
 The Teeth. — The manner in which the age of the 
 horse may be determined by an inspection of the 
 teeth will be presently considered ; but there is some- 
 thing in the situation and construction of these parts 
 that deserves notice. The nippers placed in the front 
 of the mouth, in order to cut the grass, are covered 
 with a hard substance called enamel. The enamel 
 passes over the top of the tooth, to be indented and 
 sunk into its centre, forming a pit or hollow. In pro- 
 cess of time, however, this pit or hollow is worn away 
 or ground out ; thus the black marks in the fore teeth, 
 which were nothing but the inside of these hollows, 
 rendered dark by the food getting within them, gra- 
 dually disappear. 
 
 The Tushes. — There is a small space between the 
 nippers and these teeth, as well as between the tushes 
 and the grinders. The tushes are weapons of offence 
 and defence, and very much of the severity of the 
 enraged horse's bite depends upon these teeth. 
 
 The Grinders. — Behind the tushes are the grinders, 
 and they are very curiously constructed. It would 
 not be enough for the food of the horse to be cut and 
 bruised; it must be actually ground down, in order 
 that it may be digested. The back teeth are so formed 
 as to constitute the most perfect grindstones that 
 can be imagined, by means of the roughened surfaces 
 which they present. That these surfaces may not be 
 worn down, or even worn smooth, the enamel is wove 
 in with or twisted about in the substance of the tooth, 
 and is externally covered with a very tough substance 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 termed the crusta petrosa. The body of such a tooth 
 is long wearing down ; and when it does wear away, 
 the bony matter inside, and the crusta petrosa out- 
 side, yield first, and the enamel is left projecting; so 
 that they will always present unequal surfaces. To 
 this must be added that they are formed with long 
 fangs and are pushed upwards into the mouth after 
 they are fully cut ; and the grinding surfaces of these 
 teeth consequently will stand at nearly the same 
 height so long as the horse may live. 
 
 Wolves' Teeth. — There is often found before the 
 grinder an additional tooth, which is always of small 
 size: strange stories are told of the injury these 
 trivialities sometimes occasion. There is no proof of 
 the mischief which they accomplish, They have been 
 seen in the mouths of horses sixteen years old, that 
 have never appeared to suffer the least inconvenience. 
 Should it ever seem desirable to remove them, this 
 may be easily effected with the common keyed instru- 
 ment used for extracting human teeth, or even with a 
 pair of small pincers, for they are not firmly rooted in 
 the jaws. 
 
 The Lower Jaw. — Some attention should be paid 
 to the size of what is called the channel, that is, to the 
 space between the branches of the lower jaw. If it is 
 narrow, the head will sit awkwardly ; for the rounded 
 termination of the windpipe cannot be readily re- 
 ceived between the approximated branches ; the head 
 will then always be poking out, diminishing mate- 
 rially the beauty of the horse, and being a sad incon- 
 venience to the rider. There are few things of so 
 much importance to the pleasure of the rider or driver, 
 b5 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 as the setting-on of the horse's head— and this de- 
 pends as much upon the width of the channel, as upon 
 the form of the neck. 
 
 The Neck.— On the shape of the neck I need not 
 say much: it should be proportionate to the body; 
 neither too long nor too short. Plenty of muscle, 
 nevertheless, should always be found at the base of 
 the neck ; otherwise there will be a looseness in the 
 part disagreeable to the rider. An ewe-necked horse 
 is an unpleasant goer ; for there cannot be that curve 
 formed between the head and the neck on which the 
 management of the mouth essentially depends. 
 
 The Chest. — Although many horsemen too care- 
 lessly regard the chest in their examination of the 
 horse, it is by far the most important part about the 
 animal, for it contains most of the vital organs. 
 There are two main things to be considered about the 
 chest of the horse. In the first place it must be capa- 
 cious. The size of the chest portrays the dimensions 
 of the lungs. Big lungs will allow all the blood to 
 be easily oxygenated, and thus enable the horse to 
 live through a struggle which would more than inca- 
 pacitate his narrow-chested competitor. 
 
 There is, however, a point connected with this sub- 
 ject which is frequently overlooked — the form of the 
 chest. We want the chest to accommodate itself to 
 the different degrees of exertion. It has not only to 
 prepare and circulate sufficient blood, but has to 
 do this when the energy is exhausted by rapid mo- 
 tion. Therefore we must have a deep as well as a 
 wide chest. A circular chest can never change its 
 form so as to make it contain more than its passive 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 shape accommodated. A deep chest, however, may 
 enlarge, it may become more circular; with every 
 movement of the ribs, therefore, the lungs can ex- 
 pand, admit air, and arterialize the blood. Where- 
 fore, we sanction the circular chest in the heavy 
 draught horse, whose labour is slow and methodical ; 
 but from the hackney to the horse of light work, we 
 occasionally demand both pace and continuance. 
 
 For another reason we want the deep chest. The 
 circular chest will be weighty in front ; its very form 
 will require thick and heavy shoulders. This will 
 give a slowness of action, a battering of the fore feet, 
 and a want of safety. The deep chest usually has 
 its principal fulness behind the elbow, and the absence 
 of weight in a forward position renders the paces 
 light and graceful : therefore the form for saddle pur- 
 poses will be that of moderate depth at the girth, and 
 a barrelling behind the elbow. 
 
 There ought to be plenty of room ; the chest should 
 be long; the ribs should be somewhat apart from 
 each other, so that they may reach back towards the 
 hips. We have then more room for the organs of 
 respiration. The spine is then firmly supported, and 
 the lungs are better able to discharge their healthy 
 functions. Therefore, a horse ribbed home, or having 
 but a small space between the last rib and the hip- 
 bone, is almost sure to be strong and enduring. He 
 may not be very speedy ; but he may be depended 
 upon for a good constitution, and as being capable of 
 every ordinary service. If we require from the horse 
 only occasional exertion, we may excuse a little hol- 
 lowness of the flank ; for there will be more room for 
 b6 
 
1*2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the full stretch of the hind extremities, and, therefore, 
 for a longer stride, and greater speed. 
 
 The Withers. — There are a great many important 
 points connected with the spine. The withers ar.e the 
 upright projections of the six first bones of the back. 
 High withers have, in the opinion of every judge of 
 the horse, been associated with superior action. In 
 proportion as the withers are high, the muscles con- 
 nected with them and the shoulder-bones have the 
 advantage of more extensive motion. Therefore, if 
 the other parts correspond, we have generally high 
 action connected with the withers. For the horse of 
 quick work, high withers are desirable ; but not for 
 animals of heavy draught; for in proportion to this 
 power of elevation, there is usually a lightness, which 
 would be a considerable defect in him whose excel- 
 lence depends on the weight which he is able to throw 
 into the collar. Hig-h withers would be a defect 
 rather than an excellence in the dray-horse. In 
 race-horses, too, the withers may be too high, as, by 
 causing the action to be lofty, this formation dimi- 
 nishes the length of the stride. 
 
 The Spine of the horse is a beautiful contrivance. 
 The chest and abdomen contain organs of the greatest 
 importance, and essentially connected with life. If 
 they were suspended from an unyielding bar, as of 
 iron, the concussion would be fatal. If the back were 
 unyielding, who could bear to be jolted upon the 
 horse for a single mile ? — On the other hand, if it 
 yielded too much, it would betray a weakness incom- 
 patible with strength. The spine is therefore divided 
 into numerous bones, forming so many joints; each 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 of these joints possesses a little motion ; the aggregate 
 motion of the whole, however, gives sufficient ease to 
 the rider, without destroying the firmness of the back. 
 The strength of the spine is secured by a mechanism 
 that deserves peculiar attention. Small processes 
 project- and repose within indentations suited to their 
 figure ; moreover the round head of one bone accu- 
 rately corresponds with a cup or hollow in that before 
 it, and between them is placed an elastic substance ; 
 there are also strong ligaments as well as short 
 muscles above and below, and on either side, so that, 
 although we sometimes hear of a fractured spine, the 
 joints are rarely dislocated. 
 
 Man, however, will sometimes overload the horse, 
 or urge him to too great exertion : then there is so 
 much stress on these joints, that the ligaments are 
 injured, and inflammation ensues; bony matter is 
 thrown out, and the joints are destroyed. The back 
 then becomes stiff, and the horse turns with difficulty ; 
 he will rarely lie down : he is " chinked in the chine" 
 and materially lessened in value. 
 
 The Length of the Back. — Few, except those who 
 have closely examined the structure of the horse, are 
 aware of the difference which exists in the length of 
 back among animals of the same height. Compare 
 the short Suffolk punch and the lengthy Cleveland 
 bay in this respect. There can be no doubt that the 
 long-backed horse is easier in his paces, for a long 
 spring has a gentler motion than a short one. The 
 long-backed animal will usually be speedy, for he will 
 be able to bring his hind legs with more advantage 
 under him: but just in comparison to the length of 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the spring will be its weakness ; in proportion as the 
 distance between the hind and fore legs increases, will 
 strength be wanting in the back. On the other hand, 
 a back a little too short may promise strength; but it 
 will be accompanied with rough action, by a defi- 
 ciency of speed, a tendency to unsafeness, and par- 
 ticularly to overreaching. However, for general pur- 
 poses, a short rather than a long-backed horse is com- 
 monly preferred, as possessing all the strength that 
 can be desired ; a hardihood of constitution which in 
 a manner bids defiance to disease; and as much of 
 speed as is usually required. 
 
 The Line of the Back. — The proper form of the back 
 is a depression immediately behind the withers, and 
 then a straight or gentle-rising line to the loins. 
 There are two deviations from this, the saddle and the 
 roach back. In the saddle back there is a hollowness. 
 This betrays some degree of weakness, but is accom- 
 panied by easiness of action, and generally with an 
 arched neck. It is scarcely an objection if the horse 
 has to carry a light weight ; and it gives nobleness to 
 his appearance in single harness. The roach-backed 
 horse, whose back bends up, is dear at any price ; for 
 there is no keeping the saddle upon him, or preventing 
 his back being galled: his hind legs are awkwardly 
 doubled under him, his head is low, and he is heavy 
 on hand. 
 
 The Loins. — The loins should be most carefully 
 examined. They are rightly considered as significant 
 of the general strength or weakness of the animal. 
 If they are broad and muscular, he will be equal to 
 considerable work : but, if there is no substance 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 about them, he is of little worth for the saddle or the 
 collar. 
 
 Referring the reader to the Treatise on Cattle, for 
 an account of the contents of the chest and belly, it 
 will be sufficient here to notice a few peculiarities in 
 the structure of these parts in the horse. 
 
 The Stomach. — There is a strange difference be- 
 tween the four stomachs of the ox and the single 
 stomach of the horse. That of the last animal is 
 comparatively smaller than that of any other creature. 
 It will not contain one-half of that which the ox would 
 eat at an ordinary meal. The horse is essentially an 
 animal of speed, and is liable to be called on to exert 
 himself at all hours. His stomach is placed close 
 against the diaphragm, which is a principal agent in 
 respiration. In every act of inspiration the diaphragm 
 presses against the stomach, and more or less displaces 
 it. If the stomach were large, this singular muscle 
 would have to move it when full, and the horse would 
 be soon exhausted by the violence of the requisite 
 exertion. Therefore this small stomach was given to 
 him, that he might with greater ease display the 
 speed which is his most striking characteristic. He 
 can even work upon a full stomach better than most 
 animals ; but many a horse is destroyed by being 
 hurried after a plentiful meal. 
 
 The stomach is not only small, but its structure is 
 singular. One half of it is cuticular, like the whole of 
 the paunch of cattle, and constitutes a mere reservoir 
 for the food. The food, after it has been chewed, is 
 retained awhile in this cuticular portion, in order that 
 it may be macerated. After that, it passes into the 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 other part of the stomach, where the process of diges- 
 tion commences. Therefore it is improper to give 
 the horse for a meal more food than the cuticular por- 
 tion of the stomach could hold. This sac has also a 
 peculiarity in the arrangement of its muscular coat. 
 The layers of fibres which compose it are so disposed 
 that the opening into the stomach is much stronger 
 than the exit from it. The former opening could not 
 therefore be easily forced open in case of revulsion, 
 but the stomach would sooner be burst (as indeed 
 often happens) before the entrance to the sac would 
 give way. This is the secret of the horse not being 
 able to vomit. 
 
 The Intestines. — Digestion continues to be carried 
 on in the intestines after the food has passed the 
 stomach. There are six intestines — three of which 
 are large, and three small. The small lead from the 
 stomach, and are named, the duodenum, the jejunum, 
 and the ileum. The large terminate at the anus, and 
 are called the csecum, the colon, and the rectum. 
 The duodenum or first gut is larger in the horse than 
 in most other animals. The process of digestion still 
 proceeds in the intestines, and is not perfected until it 
 has passed through the larger intestines. The duo- 
 denum has the pancreatic and biliary duct emptying 
 into it. The jejunum in the horse is a mere arbitrary 
 name copied from the human anatomy, and given to 
 the beginning of the ileum, which is the longest of all 
 the intestines, and empties into the first of the large 
 bowels. The ccecum, a blind pouch often called the 
 icater-gut, is continuous with the small intestines; 
 and the more fluid part of the food seems to fall into 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 the caecum, which will contain at least four gallons of 
 water. It is thrown into cells like the colon which 
 are plainly designed for the same purpose, the reten- 
 tion of the aliment. The colon, which is of an enor- 
 mous size in the horse, will usually contain about 
 twelve .gallons of fluid. Here a provision is made for 
 the yet imperfectly digested food. The colon is 
 curiously puckered into a great many deep cells, in 
 which the food is for a while detained. When the 
 contents of the stomach, after having passed through 
 all this complicated apparatus, have at length reached 
 the rectum, or last intestine, a very small portion of 
 refuse will remain, and that is evacuated as dung. 
 
 The Liver. — Two fluids enter the duodenum by 
 the same small orifice, in order to contribute to the 
 process of digestion. The one is called the pancreatic 
 juice, and is in nothing different from that which has 
 been described in cattle; but the bile in the horse 
 comes immediately from the liver, instead of any por- 
 tion of it passing into a gall-bladder. The horse has 
 no gall-bladder : his stomach is small ; it must, there- 
 fore, be oftener replenished ; the food must be often er 
 passing out of it ; and there can be no necessity for 
 the gall being detained in any reservoir for use at a 
 distant time. 
 
 There is nothing peculiar about any of the other 
 contents of the belly, and therefore the diseases of the 
 animal Will be immediately considered. 
 
EVEKY MAN 
 
 HIS OWN FARRIER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ON INFLAMMATION. 
 
 A very great proportion of the diseases of the horse 
 are connected with Inflammation ; for the heart and 
 arteries are large, the arterial system is strong, and 
 the animal is exposed to many causes of irritation. 
 Inflammation is an increased flow of blood, inducing 
 an unnatural secretion ; the heart or the vessels act 
 with too much energy, and the blood is driven along 
 too rapidly, or in too great a quantity. Inflammation 
 may be either local or general. We may have inflam- 
 mation of the eye, of the lungs, or of the foot, and 
 in each of these the constitution may not be much 
 affected : the inflammation is then said to be local : 
 but, after a while, the vessels of the whole frame will 
 take on the same action as those of the diseased part, 
 and symptomatic fever, or a general inflammatory 
 state is produced. In some cases the action will be 
 general from the beginning, or rather, we are unable 
 to ascertain the part which was first affected: this 
 defused form of inflammation is termed fever. All 
 these will in turn pass in review before us. 
 
20 INFLAMMATION. 
 
 Inflammation may be either acute, subacute, or 
 chronic. It may have suddenly arisen, may be ex- 
 ceedingly violent, and may endanger life; but by- 
 prompt treatment it may speedily disappear, leaving 
 scarcely any trace behind. At other times it may 
 rapidly destroy the part by its intensity. This is 
 called acute inflammation. Sometimes it will have 
 gradually commenced ; — it may never reach any great 
 degree of intensity, but it is evidently doing per- 
 manent mischief: — it is altering the structures, as well 
 as disarranging the functions of organs. This kind 
 of inflammation lasts a long time, and hence is termed 
 chronic. The subacute is a variety not very well 
 defined, but it runs between the two which have been 
 already mentioned. 
 
 The treatment will vary according to the nature of 
 the organ attacked and the violence of the inflamma- 
 tion; but among the successful opponents of inflam- 
 mation when established, are bleeding and purging, 
 although it is a better plan to support the strength in 
 the first instance and thus afford nature a chance of 
 mastering the disease. 
 
 BLEEDING. 
 
 In general inflammation blood should be extracted 
 from a large orifice, and the jugular vein is the most 
 convenient vessel to extract blood from, because it 
 may be readily got at and easily fastened up again. 
 In violent inflammation of any part which has 
 acutely involved the whole system, the practitioner 
 should bleed. The precise quantity of blood that 
 
BLEEDING. 21 
 
 should be abstracted, cannot be previously deter- 
 mined; but the old rule was that the finger of the 
 operator being kept on the artery, the blood should 
 be permitted to flow until the pulse became materially 
 softer, or fluttered; but the better and the newer 
 practice seems to be to take only such a quantity as 
 causes the horse to sigh, yawn, become quiet, or ex- 
 hibit an altered aspect and disposition. These are 
 the general rules in the treatment of inflammation — 
 to bleed promptly — until the system is affected, or 
 until the excited character displayed by the animal 
 seems changed. 
 
 Of equal importance with it is the quickness with 
 which the blood is abstracted. The loss of one quart, 
 poured out in a full stream, from a large orifice, will 
 affect the horse more than double the quantity suf- 
 fered to escape in small current, from an insufficient 
 opening. The fleam or the lancet should, therefore, 
 be sufficiently broad-shouldered. 
 
 The lancet is the most portable instrument; and, 
 after a little practice, may be even more depended 
 upon than the fleam. 
 
 When a sufficient quantity has been taken, and 
 before the blood is sponged away from the neck, the 
 edges of the orifice should be brought together. This 
 should be done without lifting the skin more than is 
 necessary, and by means of a rough or an angular- 
 pointed pin, passed through the integuments, around 
 which a small quantity of tow is twisted. After this 
 the horse's head should be tied up, and on no account 
 ought it to be turned out to grass. Care should be 
 taken not to pin any hair in with the wound, for 
 
22 INFLAMMATION. 
 
 bleeding in the horse being often followed by bad 
 consequences, every precaution is required to prevent 
 such results. 
 
 Should swelling appear, then the lips of the wound 
 will open ; a thin fluid is discharged from the wound ; 
 the neck feels hot; when the pin ought to be with- 
 out delay withdrawn, and the part should be imme- 
 diately stimulated by the application of a mild blister. 
 
 Sometimes the first indication of an inflamed vein 
 is a swelling of the part, which often increases rapidly 
 above the seat of bleeding ; because the inflamma- 
 tion of the vein obstructs or stops the flow of blood. 
 When this is the case, it becomes a somewhat serious 
 affair. The vessel feels like a hard cord under the 
 fingers, and if left alone, abscesses form along its 
 course, and the brain may at length become affected. 
 
 The head of the horse should be tied to the rack, 
 and his diet consist wholly of mashes or gruel, so as to 
 avoid the movement of the jaws as much as possible. 
 The orifice should be kept open, though it seldom is 
 disposed to close, and a blister, without loss of time, 
 should be applied over the enlargement. The blister 
 should be washed off the second day, and repeated ; 
 only on the second occasion it should embrace a 
 larger surface ; and blister after blister, as quickly as 
 the circumstances of the case will allow, should follow 
 one another until the desired effect is attained. If 
 any matter exude from the orifice, it may be en- 
 larged, and, if any pipes or sinuses^ form, these should 
 be laid open. The abscesses merely require to be 
 treated after the manner recommended under that 
 head in another part of this work. 
 
BLEEDING. 23 
 
 With this treatment, the horse will frequently be fit 
 for work in about a month or two, although the vein 
 will generally be lost ; yet the swelling will subside, 
 the blood find new channels, and little after-inconve- 
 niences will ultimately be experienced. The horse, 
 however, that has lost a vein, will not be suited for 
 fast work until twelve months have expired. Slow- 
 work he may perform, but the collar should be dis- 
 carded for a breast strap, and the horse must on no 
 account be turned out to grass. 
 
 When there is much mange about the neck, there 
 is always considerable hazard in bleeding from the 
 jugular. The skin is already in an irritable, if not 
 inflamed state : this is much increased by the wound 
 inflicted by the lancet; and troublesome swellings, 
 sinuses, and sloughing often ensue. Fortunately, 
 however, bleeding is never imperative in this disease. 
 
 If the practitioner should fail to open the vein at 
 the first attempt, it will be better to bring the second 
 thrust exactly above the orifice he has made, and to 
 strike again more gently upon it, than to make a fresh 
 wound; but, if it is necessary to have recourse to 
 bleeding three or four hours after the first operation, 
 the old wound should not be re-opened, but a new 
 incision always made. 
 
 In cases of local inflammation, the bleeding should 
 take place as near as possible to the diseased spot. 
 It will be easily comprehended that by acting upon 
 the immediate part we gain all the good effects of 
 general bleeding at a much less loss to the animal 
 system. This object may be accomplished in several 
 ways. Punctures or incisions may be made, and 
 
24 INFLAMMATION. 
 
 fomentations or a poultice applied over them to pro- 
 mote the bleeding-. A piece of a vascular surface 
 may even be cut out, as is generally done when the 
 horse is bled from the foot, or a vein in connexion 
 with the diseased surface may be opened. The 
 proper bleeding-places will be pointed out as we con- 
 sider the inflammatory diseases of different parts. 
 
 PURGING. 
 
 There are few medicines so abused by the groom, 
 and sometimes by the proprietor of the horse, as pur- 
 gatives. They are given without any rhyme or reason, 
 and sometimes in fatal doses. Perhaps it may be 
 affirmed that more horses are destroyed by physic 
 than by any one disease to which they are subject. 
 On the other hand, there are no medicines so useful 
 as purgatives when judiciously employed. They are 
 especially useful in inflammatory complaints. They 
 produce, while acting or preparing to act, a kind of 
 nausea which is attended with a general relaxation, 
 highly to be desired in complaints that are accom- 
 panied by general excitement of the nervous and 
 vascular systems. They remove from the stomach 
 any cause of irritation which may have existed there, 
 and which might prolong, if it did not produce the 
 complaint. They diminish the temporary supply of 
 nutriment to the frame — for the food is hurried along 
 the intestines and expelled, instead of being converted 
 into chyle and taken up by the lacteal absorbents ; 
 and more especially they lessen the quantity of fluid 
 circulating through the system. The bulk of aqueous 
 
PURGING. 25 
 
 matter discharged by the action of a purgative is 
 sometimes enormous ; being, in consequence of the 
 stimulating action of the purge, poured forth by the 
 secretive membrane lining the intestines. 
 
 In the early stages of fever, physic must be given 
 with some caution ; but, in local inflammation, except- 
 ing where the sympathy between the injury and the 
 general system is apparent in evident debility, it is 
 sometimes beneficial. When the lungs are inflamed 
 it is a common saying, " purge and kill," and this 
 maxim has almost grown into a rule of practice. 
 
 Horses that are fat and plethoric are rarely bene- 
 fited by physic, yet more so than by bleeding. The 
 regular purging at certain times of the year cannot 
 be commended. It is a good maxim " to let well 
 alone;" yet at all times mild physickings are much 
 more harmless than small bleedings, for the first 
 simply evacuates the bowels. The effect of bleed- 
 ing on a fat horse is doubtful even at the time, and 
 most certainly injurious afterwards: for it takes that 
 fluid from the animal of which a fat horse always has 
 too little, and may generate the weakness which shall 
 terminate in dropsical effusion or lead to various ill 
 effects. 
 
 In greasy swellings of the legs; lameness attri- 
 butable to the joints ; old cough ; worms ; and mange, 
 physic may occasionally be useful. 
 
 The purgatives of the horse are few in number. 
 The superior efficacy of the Epsom salts was spoken of 
 in the work on Cattle as applicable only to the ox ; 
 they are uncertain in the Horse, although given in 
 enormous doses ; and occasionally they will produce a 
 
 c 
 
26 INFLAMMATION. 
 
 terrible attack of colic. They are useful only in 
 clysters. Glauber salts have no better or more cer- 
 tain effects. Castor oil, mild and harmless as it is in 
 the human being, is in the horse seldom to be relied 
 upon where an immediate result is desired. Linseed, 
 olive, and neafs-foot oils are better things; they will 
 rarely do harm, but they are improved in their action 
 by a drachm of chloroform being added to the pint 
 dose of either. Almost the only purgative that can 
 always be depended upon is Barbadoes aloes. 
 
 There has been a great dispute about the kind of 
 aloes. The Cape is the cheapest, and the Barbadoes 
 usually the dearest. The Barbadoes are the most cer- 
 tain in their effect, and can alone be depended upon. 
 The Cape will sometimes gripe, but the Barbadoes 
 will less frequently do so. 
 
 The following will be a good physic mass, though 
 the animal being subjected to constant work is more 
 likely to be ill through exhaustion than to be dis- 
 ordered by repletion. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 1). 
 Physic Mass. 
 
 Take — Barbadoes aloes, very finely powdered, fifteen pounds ; 
 
 Ginger, powdered, one pound ; and 
 
 Soft soap, seven pounds and a half: 
 Beat them well together, and keep them in a jar closely covered. 
 
 A very mild ball of this mass will weigh three 
 quarters of an ounce ; the quantity may be increased 
 to an ounce and a half, beyond which the dose should 
 not be carried, except under the direction of a prac- 
 titioner. 
 
PURGING. 27 
 
 In some cases, as in inflammation of the brain, it is 
 desirable that the physic should act as quickly as 
 possible. There is another purgative which may then 
 be resorted to, but which, from its irritating properties, 
 should otherwise be avoided, and that is, the croton 
 nut, or oil. 
 
 The following would be the prescription : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 2). 
 
 Very strong Physic Ball. 
 
 Take — Physic mass, 10 drachms ; and 
 
 Croton nut, from 10 to 15 grains : 
 Beat them together, and make them into a ball, or dissolve them 
 in warm linseed tea. 
 
 This dose may be given in the first instance, if it 
 is wished to produce purgation without loss of time ; 
 but if medicine has been already administered, then 
 ten grains of the croton nut may be made into a ball 
 with a little linseed meal and honey. 
 
 The preparation for physic is as important as the 
 physic itself. A horse should, when possible, be well 
 mashed for twenty-four hours before he has physic ; 
 mashes made of bran and water, should also be given 
 during the operation of the laxative. 
 
 The management of a horse after it has received 
 physic is also deserving of consideration. If the 
 weather and the disease will permit, the horse should 
 be walked out for a quarter of an hour three or four 
 times on the day when the physic is administered. 
 On the following morning he should be exercised 
 again; but no quicker pace than a walk must be 
 allowed. If at the end of the second day the physic 
 c 2 
 
28 INFLAMMATION. 
 
 should not operate, nothing" should be immediately 
 done except to administer injections of warm water, 
 in each of which half a pound of Epsom salts has been 
 dissolved; these will generally do good, and can 
 hardly be prejudicial. If all fails, another ball may 
 be given four days after the first was administered, 
 should such a measure be absolutely required. 
 
 As soon as the horse begins to purge, all exercise 
 should cease. The horse, upon exertion, certainly 
 purges more, but more than any rational man would 
 wish ; he is likewise often griped ; now and then 
 inflammation of the bowels supervenes — an inflamma- 
 tion that is not easily subdued. 
 
 From the time of administering the physic the 
 water should be given to the horse lukewarm, if he 
 will drink it so; at all events its coldness must be 
 removed. No corn should, as a general rule, be 
 allowed until the action of the medicine has ceased ; 
 however oats, if imperative, may be mixed with bran, 
 either dry or made into a mash, as the animal can be 
 induced to eat it. 
 
 Back Raking. — The introduction of the hand into 
 the rectum, and the removal of any dung which it may 
 contain, is a useful operation. It should be always 
 practised when physic is slow to work : not only a 
 portion of dung is removed, but the excitement of the 
 rectum, by the introduction of and the movement of 
 the hand, extends to other parts of the intestinal 
 canal, and they are disposed more readily to respond 
 to the stimulus of the purgative. 
 
 Injections are too much neglected, especially in 
 cases of retarded purgation, and in those where speedy 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 29 
 
 purgation is required. Warm water, or soap and 
 water, or a solution of Epsom salts, half a pound at a 
 time, answer very well in ordinary cases. Half a 
 pint of the spirit of turpentine, combined with two 
 quarts of soap and water, is more active, and in flatu- 
 lent colic may be of much use. In gripes, opium is 
 often excellent in its action, administered in this 
 form; but injections can be infinitely varied, and their 
 varieties will hereafter be dwelt upon. In every large 
 establishment, the patent injection pump has super- 
 seded the use of the old bladder and pipe, or even of 
 the syringe, on account of the ease with which any 
 quantity of fluid may be introduced by its means. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PHRENITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN); 
 STAGGERS. 
 
 The term staggers, by which several of the diseases of 
 the head used to be designated, should now be com- 
 pletely laid aside. It was derived from the staggering 
 gait which frequently accompanied particular affec- 
 tions : but several diseases are occasionally accom- 
 panied by such symptoms, and these by the retention 
 of the name may be confounded. 
 
 Inflammation of the brain may be either of its sub- 
 stance or its membranes, or it may be of both. It 
 may be produced by over-exertion in close and sultry 
 weather; especially if the horse is gross, and has 
 lately had but little work. It is sometimes consequent 
 c 3 
 
30 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 upon other diseases. It may spring" from metastasis, 
 or change of inflammation from one organ to another. 
 Inflammation has suddenly left the bowels, the foot, or 
 the lungs, and attacked the head ; but this disorder is 
 oftener connected with some affection of the stomach. 
 
 A distinction should be drawn between inflamma- 
 tion of the brain and congestion of that organ. In 
 the latter case the activity is decreased ; consciousness, 
 if not entirely lost, is in a great measure gone. During 
 the first symptoms of compression of the brain the 
 horse is dull, hanging his head as if he were half 
 asleep. In the midst of eating, a lethargy will come 
 over him; he will droop his head, with his tongue 
 hanging out of his mouth, the saliva dribbling from it, 
 and he will stagger or almost fall. If he is suddenly 
 roused, he will look vacantly around him, and dose 
 again. If he falls, he will appear to be frightened and 
 scramble up, but it will only be to stagger and to fall 
 again. This state is caused by determination of blood 
 to the head, pressing upon the source of the nerves, 
 and producing unconsciousness. 
 
 This continues for twelve or for twenty-four hours, 
 and sometimes even longer. Then the scene suddenly 
 changes. The nature of the disorder has altered, and to 
 congestion inflammation has succeeded. The horse is 
 all alive ; his ears are pricked ; his eyes are glaring ; 
 he is shifting his posture every moment, pawing and 
 stamping. For a little while he seems to know where 
 he is and what he is about, but that soon passes over : 
 his flanks heave ; his nostrils expand ; he whinnies, 
 roars, dashes, plunges, bites, and kicks, without ob- 
 ject and without consciousness. There are periods of 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 31 
 
 remission. He exhausts himself by the violence of 
 his efforts, and remains tranquil for a brief time; so 
 he goes on, until he has probably ruptured some 
 vessel, and then perfect stupor ensues; or he wears 
 himself out by his continued struggles. 
 
 If he is seen in this violent state, there can be no 
 doubt about the disease : it is pure phrenitis, or in- 
 flammation of the brain. Then, with due regard to 
 his own safety, the practitioner must endeavour to 
 open both j ugulars, and to let the blood flow as long 
 as it will. The only hope is in producing faintness 
 and temporary collapse. If it can be effected, in some 
 moment of comparative quietude, a purgative should 
 be administered in the form of a strong solution of 
 aloes, with croton farina. The following is a good 
 formula for such an occasion : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 3). 
 
 'Strong Physic Drink. 
 
 Take— Barbadoes aloes, one ounce ; 
 
 Gum-arabic, one ounce ; both being powdered : 
 
 Pour on them a pint of boiling water. A portion of the aloes 
 will be dissolved, and the greater part of the remainder suspended 
 by the solution of the gum. Ten ounces of this may be taken, and 
 ten grains of the farina of the croton nut thoroughly rubbed down 
 with it, and the rest cautiously added; the entire mixture for one 
 dose should be given every twelve hours until it operates. 
 
 If this cannot be administered in consequence of its 
 bulk, thirty drops of croton oil should be given in the 
 most convenient form possible. If the horse seems to 
 recover a little from the attack, he must be let alone ; 
 his diet should be very spare, and must consist of 
 
 c4 
 
32 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 mashes, by which his fever will not be increased while 
 his bowels are kept sufficiently relaxed. 
 
 We know but of two diseases with which it is at all 
 possible that this complaint can be confounded — they 
 are colic and hydrophobia ; but in the first the horse 
 strikes and stamps his belly ; he rolls rather than 
 plunges, and looks piteously at his flanks, and is per- 
 fectly conscious. In hydrophobia, although the ani- 
 mal plunges about, and does much mischief, there is 
 method and perfect consciousness in that mischief. 
 Any sudden and violent disorder may to a degree 
 approach in its symptoms to inflammation of the 
 brain ; but scarcely any to that extent which can be 
 positively deceptive. 
 
 The most puzzling case is when congestion of the 
 brain is present. It is absolutely necessary to get at 
 the cause of the stupor, or the mode of treatment 
 cannot be determined. If the horse is at grass, the 
 practitioner should carefully inquire whether he has 
 been lately turned on to a richer pasture ; if he is in 
 the stable, whether he may have got at the corn-bin 
 and gorged himself; whether he has been lately 
 worked long and hard on an empty stomach, and 
 then fully fed. If the cause can be traced to an 
 overloaded digestion, water must be withheld, for it 
 would swell the mass which is already distending the 
 stomach. A strong purgative (Recipe No. 3), to 
 which may be added two drachms of carbonate of 
 ammonia and three ounces of sulphuric ether, should 
 be administered without delay, and the stimulant 
 (omitting the purgative) ought to be repeated every 
 hour. The body should be clothed, the legs ban- 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 33 
 
 daged, and friction applied to the skin. The animal 
 ought to be got into a loose box, and, if possible, a 
 little very gentle walking exercise enforced. Enemas 
 of turpentine ought to be thrown up every hour at. 
 least, especially if they are not retained. Should no 
 improvement be witnessed in six or eight hours, a 
 pint of oil, in which a drachm of camphor and the 
 same quantity of chloroform has been dissolved, may 
 be given, and embrocations applied to the legs and 
 abdomen. The carbonate of ammonia, after the 
 second trial, may be changed for the chloride of zinc, 
 a scruple being dissolved in a pint of cold water, and 
 the sulphuric ether should be persevered with. After 
 another six hours the horse may be bled ; but it is 
 not well to do this at first, as the strength is wanted 
 to rouse the system if possible. Now, however, fear- 
 ing the supervention of inflammation, bleeding is 
 adopted ; not because it is absolutely necessary, but 
 because we wish to anticipate the consequences we 
 know are too likely to ensue. Till inflammation 
 threatens, stimulants must be employed; but at the 
 same time, knowing the probable issue, the horse 
 must be carefully watched, and on first perception of 
 the eye brightening, the breathing becoming more 
 sharp, the pulse quicker and harder, and the surface 
 of the body hot, depletive measures must be adopted, 
 although the chance of saving the animal is indeed 
 remote, and the prospect of its so far recovering from 
 the depletion as to be of service to its owner almost 
 hopeless. 
 
 If some other disease has preceded the attack, then 
 the circumstances of the case will suggest the treat- 
 c5 
 
34 VERTIGO (MEGRIMS). 
 
 ment which cannot here be fully described. On such 
 occasions, however, the stupor too frequently proceeds 
 from debility, and the attendant should be cautious 
 .how he sets to work depleting a system which may 
 already suffer from exhaustion. 
 
 When an attack of phrenitis is anticipated, let 
 every means be employed to draw the blood from the 
 brain. Stimulants must not be given, but purga- 
 tives, as before recommended, should be administered. 
 The feet and belly, and even the haunches, should be 
 rubbed with embrocation, or a blister even may be 
 applied. The liquor ammonia, sprinkled on a cloth 
 several times doubled and covered by another, held 
 close to the abdomen, will be a speedy and effectual 
 counter-irritant. A sheepskin to the loins is also of 
 benefit. Sedatives are required. Digitalis in drachm 
 doses every fourth hour, combined with a drachm of 
 aconite root in infusion, may do some good. Warm 
 water to the head, in this stage, has been of service. 
 Enemas should be copious and frequent ; but, after 
 all, it is seldom that the issue is successful, or that 
 many of these directions can be followed, because of 
 the violence symptomatic of the disease. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 VERTIGO (MEGRIMS). 
 
 This is the mildest form under which congestion of 
 blood in the vessels of the brain shows itself. A 
 horse will commence his journey apparently well, but 
 
VERTIGO (MEGRIMS). 35 
 
 the day is hot — he is a little too full of flesh — he has 
 not been lately in full work — or he has been driven a 
 little faster than usual — or he wears a collar a little 
 too tight : all at once he begins to falter — he shakes 
 his head repeatedly — looks around him half uncon- 
 sciously, or perhaps stops short and trembles. If the 
 driver is aware of what is the matter, and will give 
 him a minute's rest, he will sometimes recover and go 
 on again, although not quite so freely as before. But 
 at other times, either without warning, or any warn- 
 ing that the driver has observed, he drops — he lies 
 for two, three, or five minutes apparently insensible, 
 and then scrambles up, and goes on again ; or he 
 falls, and violent struggles commence, which, how- 
 ever, in a few minutes subside. The horse gets up, 
 looks wildly about him, and continues his journey; 
 yet somewhat oppressed and exhausted : but he will 
 occasionally drop and suddenly expire. 
 
 The method of giving present relief is simple and 
 effectual enough. The journey should be discon- 
 tinued, and the horse led to the nearest stable. If 
 that be impossible, the collar should be looked to and 
 the bearing-rein let down. A wet cloth should be 
 kept upon the head, and the pace should be more 
 moderate. Bleeding is not necessary ; it has been 
 largely tried, and has been proved to do no good. 
 
 When the horse gets home he should be well 
 mashed, and, if he can be spared, a dose of physic 
 should be given. When the physic has set, some 
 alterative medicine may or may not be serviceable ; 
 but should any be given, a ball of the following 
 c6 
 
36 STOMACH-STAGGERS. 
 
 nature may be administered every night, for ten days 
 or a fortnight. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 4). 
 
 Alterative Ball. 
 
 Take — Powdered nitre, two drachms ; 
 Sulphur, two drachms ; 
 
 Black sulphuret of antimony (black antimony), two drachms ; 
 Linseed meal, two drachms : 
 Beat them into a mass with palm oil. 
 
 A horse that has once had megrims is generally 
 subject to them again; and the honest man will not 
 sell, and the prudent man will not keep, the wretched 
 animal likely to injure himself or others when it may 
 be attached to an ordinary vehicle. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 STOMACH-STAGGERS. — INDIGESTION. 
 
 The primary symptoms of this disease have been 
 sufficiently described. In a confirmed case of this 
 nature, however, the staggering and unconsciousness, 
 with hard breathing and fixed eye, continue, and the 
 animal becomes more and more insensible and help- 
 less. These drowsy symptoms sometimes subside, 
 and are succeeded by violence, of the same kind as 
 that of phrenitis : this may be followed again by 
 stupor. Or the animal may perish without the vio- 
 lent stage appearing. 
 
STOMACH-STAGGERS. 87 
 
 It is essentially necessary to ascertain the cause of 
 this disease. A very frequent one is over-distention 
 of the stomach. The horse may have got loose in 
 the night, and filled himself with corn, beans, or 
 chaff; he may have been worked longer and harder 
 than usual, and have had a double feed given him 
 upon reaching the stable. The powers of the sto- 
 mach having been exhausted with those of the frame, 
 have been consequently unable to act on its contents, 
 or to expel them. If no positive information can be 
 obtained, the appearance of the horse may direct the 
 judgment as to the probability of these having oc- 
 curred ; for the animal will be evidently bloated, 
 much swollen, and the lethargy will be more complete 
 when it originates with over-gorging than when it 
 springs from other causes. 
 
 This disease has often made its appearance in 
 large establishments, where horses have been kept 
 long fasting, and then allowed an unlimited quantity 
 of dry food. In these cases the desire for provender 
 has been awakened by prolonged abstinence, and has 
 then been unrestrictedly gratified; the brain has be- 
 come affected from the pressure of the stomach upon 
 the diaphragm obstructing the circulation and pre- 
 venting the perfect oxygenation of blood. 
 
 This disease, however, will sometimes occur from 
 simple indigestion without such strange distention of 
 the stomach ; yet not without evident affection of that 
 viscus. When the hours of feeding are irregular, the 
 stomach becomes weakened by being long empty, 
 and is then oppressed even by an ordinary meal. 
 This happens to farm horses after too long a day's 
 
38 STOMACH-STAGGERS. 
 
 ploughing, and especially if the food with which they 
 are afterwards supplied be not very good. It is 
 foolish economy to keep the half-mouldy provender 
 of the farm for home-consumption. Old horses are 
 particularly subject to stomach-staggers from the 
 digestion sharing the general debility of the system. 
 They are so, especially if they should get a few days' 
 rest, and be fed somewhat better than usual. The 
 weakened stomach will not be able to bear the un- 
 usual stimulus, and indigestion will ensue. In some 
 cases stomach-staggers has prevailed as an epidemic, 
 and has appeared amongst horses at grass, as well 
 as in stable. Then though the symptoms have been 
 very similar, yet they could not be referred to dis- 
 tention, but might, in a great measure, be traced to a 
 loss of vital energy. 
 
 The treatment must be principally directed to the 
 removal of the offending body. If there seem de- 
 pression of the system, bloodletting should be ab- 
 stained from. Liquids ought to be withheld, save 
 where they are required in the form of medicine, and 
 no time should be lost in administering a diffusable 
 stimulant, consisting of sulphuric ether, four ounces; 
 chloride of zinc, one scruple ; water, one pint. The 
 effect should be watched, its benefits being first seen 
 on the altered countenance of the animal. 
 
 The above drink may be repeated every half-hour, 
 should no amendment ensue upon its administration. 
 The relief of the stomach will be shown by the abate- 
 ment of the symptoms long before the bowels act, 
 and to relieve the stomach every artifice must be em- 
 ployed. When this is accomplished, the diet should 
 
RABIES (MADNESS). 89 
 
 consist of green food, carrots, or mashes, in spare 
 quantities; and the following ball may be adminis- 
 tered daily, for three or four days. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 5). 
 
 Tonic Ball after Indigestion. 
 
 Take — Powdered nux vomica, half a drachm; 
 Sulphate of zinc, one drachm ; 
 Extract of gentian, two drachms ; 
 Powdered ginger, one drachm : 
 Beat them together, and make them into a ball. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 RABIES, OR HYDROPHOBIA (MADNESS). 
 
 There is a disease, and one of the nervous system, 
 which may be occasionally confounded with phrenitis, 
 and which may now be conveniently considered, viz., 
 Rabies. 
 
 If a horse has been bitten by a mad dog, or his 
 muzzle (the corners of the mouth having been galled 
 by the bit) has been licked by one of those dogs 
 which are within the stable, and which has become 
 mad, the horse will most probably, in his turn, also 
 become rabid. The disease will suddenly appear, 
 and at the commencement, bear considerable resem- 
 blance to phrenitis. The animal will stop, look about 
 him, stagger, and fall. He will immediately get up 
 again, and proceed on his journey, but presently he 
 will begin to stagger once more ; and the sooner he 
 is got home the better. The difference between rabies 
 and phrenitis, in this stage of the disease, is that the 
 
40 RABIES (MADNESS). 
 
 rabid horse preserves his consciousness throughout ; 
 which in phrenitis is lost from the beginning. Before 
 a very brief but uncertain period has expired, the 
 mad animal usually becomes violent to an extraordi- 
 nary degree ; stamping, kicking, biting, tearing, and 
 demolishing every thing within his reach. Here, 
 again, the difference between the two complaints is 
 sufficiently manifest ; — the rabid horse knows what he 
 is about, and is trying to do mischief, — the phrenitic 
 horse is struggling and plunging without design or 
 intent to injure. 
 
 There is no remedy but the bullet, and the sooner 
 that is applied the better. 
 
 Although hydrophobia, or the dread of water, is the 
 characteristic of this disorder in the human being, it is 
 singular that, in domesticated animals, and particu- 
 larly in the dog, by whom the disease is often est com- 
 municated to man, it should have no existence. The 
 horse, however, is sometimes an exception to this, for 
 he does occasionally exhibit hydrophobia — either he is 
 unwilling to drink, or the head is violently snatched 
 from the pail in the midst of his drinking ; the muscles 
 of the face are strangely distorted; or he trembles 
 from head to foot. He sometimes falls to the ground 
 convulsed at the sound of dripping water. 
 
 When a horse is known to have been bitten by a 
 mad dog, the wound should either be cut out, or the 
 lunar caustic applied to it, so as to destroy every part 
 of it. If this is carefully done, the probability of 
 danger will be removed. The lunar caustic is the 
 most effectual preventive : a skilful veterinary surgeon 
 should, however, be employed. Medicine will be 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 41 
 
 completely useless ; and all the pretended nostrums, 
 which are celebrated in various parts of the country, 
 are mere delusions. After the disease has once ap- 
 peared in the horse, no man should be permitted to 
 hazard his life in the attempt to administer medicine ; 
 and it should be remembered that the attendant on 
 the rabid horse is always in danger, since the saliva 
 that falls from its mouth, or is thrown furiously about, 
 if received upon a wound, or the slightest abrasion, 
 may produce as dreadful effects as those caused by 
 the bite of a rabid dog. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE, OR COMMON AND 
 SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA. 
 
 Specific ophthalmia is one of the most annoying 
 maladies that the practitioner has to deal with. A 
 horse, and particularly a young horse, may be per- 
 fectly well on a certain day ; but when he is examined 
 upon the following morning, his eyelids are swollen : 
 they almost cover the eye, — they are hot and tender ; 
 —the eye itself may or may not be cloudy ; but the 
 conjunctiva, covering the white that surrounds the 
 coloured part of the eye, and forming the lining of 
 the lid, is much reddened : there is a considerable 
 flow of tears, while the horse hangs his head, and is in 
 evident pain. It will be always prudent to examine, 
 in the first place, whether these symptoms may not be 
 the effect of accident ; whether the horse may have 
 
42 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 been bitten by his companions, or struck by his 
 attendant ; whether a bit of hay or husk of oat may 
 not have got into the eyes, or other injury may not 
 have happened. In the majority of cases, however, 
 nothing of this kind will be detected. Sometimes the 
 horse will have catarrh, and discharge from the nose ; 
 but oftener the eye alone will be the part affected, 
 and this without any appreciable cause. 
 
 Young horses, about four or five years old, are most 
 subject to it; they are approaching to or have reached 
 their full growth, and they have the consequent ten- 
 dency to inflammation. Black horses are said to be 
 more subject to inflammation of the eyes than those of 
 any other colour; but this assertion requires to be 
 substantiated. Now and then ophthalmia will be very 
 prevalent in some particular neighbourhood ; or two 
 or three horses in the same stable will be attacked at 
 the same time ; — it is epidemic — it is dependent on 
 some peculiar atmospheric influence ; but it does not 
 seem to be in any case infectious. 
 
 Improper management may lay the foundation of 
 this disease. If the horse is kept in a close stable, 
 and his eyes daily exposed to the stimulating ammo- 
 niacal fumes which arise from the animal's urine, it is 
 easy to suppose that the eyes will be weakened and 
 predisposed to disease. This, however, prepares for, 
 but does not produce ophthalmia, which sometimes 
 occurs even in a colt at grass. There is, probably, 
 no complaint that is more hereditary; and it has 
 spread over whole districts from the incautious use of 
 a blind stallion ; or of one that had suffered from 
 serious disease of the eyes. 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 43 
 
 The practitioner, or the owner of the animal, will 
 carefully examine the circumstances under which the 
 disease appears. If it is connected with cold or 
 influenza, he will treat the horse as for those diseases; 
 paying little attention to the eye beyond ordering it 
 to be kept clean, and trying to soothe the pain by 
 the use of anodyne washes. Generally, the inflam- 
 mation of the eye will disappear with the disease with 
 which it is associated. If any foreign agent, such as 
 hay-seed, dirt, &c , be discovered in the eye, of course 
 it must be removed, and after that a soothing wash 
 may be employed. If there is considerable heat, 
 swelling, weeping, impatience of light, and general 
 cloudiness of the eye, it may be well to do something 
 besides simply bathing the part with soothing lotions. 
 While the inflammation is most active, warm water 
 may be applied. 
 
 Where the inflammation is severe, the angular or 
 eye vein may be opened, and a little food placed 
 upon the ground, supposing the horse to eat, will 
 assist the flow of blood; as the motion of the jaw 
 and position of the head promote the bleeding. Or 
 the practitioner should open the eyes, and turn the 
 lids upwards and lightly scarify them with a keen 
 lancet. The abstraction of even a few drops of blood 
 from the immediate seat of inflammation will often 
 be productive of the very best effects. The fomen- 
 tations should, in the last case, be more diligently 
 continued, in order to encourage the bleeding. 
 
 Some sedative application may afterwards be used 
 to the eye. Either of the following lotions may be 
 tried : but there is often a peculiarity or caprice 
 
44 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 about this complaint ; and that which will succeed at 
 one time will have no effect at another. It would, 
 therefore, be proper to apply the following* receipts in 
 the order in which they stand : 
 
 RECIPE (No. 6). 
 
 Strongest Wash for the Eyes. 
 
 Take — Aconite root, one drachm ; 
 Laudanum, half an ounce : 
 Steep the aconite root in one pint of boiling water ; when cold add 
 the laudanum and use 
 
 RECIPE (No. 7). 
 
 Anodyne Wash for the Eyes. 
 
 Take — Laudanum, or tincture of digitalis (the latter to be preferred), 
 half an ounce ; 
 Distilled or soft water, eight ounces. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 8). 
 
 Take — Sulphate of zinc, one drachm : 
 Dissolve in half a pint of water. 
 
 These must not be wasted about the outside of the 
 eye, but, with a camePs-hair brush, they must be 
 gently placed upon the globe. 
 
 If these lotions should not remove or abate the 
 complaint, that which the human practitioner finds 
 so useful, but which is not always so beneficial in the 
 horse, may be tried — viz. the vinous tincture of 
 opium ; two or three drops of which should be placed 
 in its pure state upon the outer corner of the eye by 
 means of a camePs-hair brush. 
 
 If, however, this inflammation of the eye should bid 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 45 
 
 defiance to these applications, the owner immediately 
 pursues another method. 
 
 In the treatment of a lingering attack of specific 
 ophthalmia it is of the utmost importance to consider 
 the condition of the animal ; for the disease being of 
 a constitutional nature, general rather than local mea- 
 sures are to be adopted. Should the horse be poor 
 and exhausted it must be supported, and nothing 
 ought to be given calculated to increase the debility. 
 The digestion must be regulated by mashes and 
 clysters without any laxative. Soft and nourishing 
 food, with pure air, and a loose box somewhat dark- 
 ened, are required. To the eye a camel's-hair pencil 
 dipped in hydrocyanic or prussic acid diluted with 
 twice its bulk of water may be applied thrice a day ; 
 and a ball containing a drachm of powdered colchicum 
 and half a scruple of calomel may be administered 
 night and morning. Tonics even may, in extreme 
 cases, be freely given, notwithstanding the presence 
 of apparent inflammation : they are in these trouble- 
 some cases often the most powerful and only active 
 opponents to the disease. Gentle measures, there- 
 fore, are required when the state of the animal appeals 
 to our forbearance ; but if the horse is in high work- 
 ing condition, irritable and strong, mild means are not 
 to be depended upon. The degree to which severe 
 remedies are called for, the judgment must decide; 
 but, in an aggravated case, the following is the 
 plan of treatment commonly pursued by most prac- 
 titioners : — 
 
 " He administers a dose of physic ; not because he 
 often sees any immediate good effect from it, but 
 
46 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 because it seems to be one of the means by which he 
 has the fairest chance of success : and he bleeds if he 
 imagines that there is much fever ; and, if the in- 
 flammation is very intense, he bleeds largely from the 
 jugular, and to this he adds a local bloodletting. He 
 gets as much blood as he can from the angular vein ; 
 that vein which is to be found at the inner corner of 
 the eye, and which comes from the orbit of the eye ; 
 for, by bleeding there, he will be most likely to unload 
 the congested vessels of the part. He continues 
 diligently, and for weeks together, to apply local ap- 
 plications ; giving a fair trial to each, and changing 
 them as each seems to lose its effect ; he inserts a 
 seton under the jaws, to which he perhaps adds two 
 setons in the cheeks. He regularly administers the 
 medicines which he would use in cases of fever, with 
 a view to lower the circulation." A good fever-ball 
 for the horse, and one which is applicable to most 
 cases, is the following : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 9). 
 
 Fever Ball. 
 
 Take — Extract of belladonna, one drachm ; 
 Emetic tartar, half a drachm ; 
 Sulphur, one drachm ; 
 Linseed meal, two drachms : 
 Beat together with palm oil. 
 
 There is one thing which he should never do, 
 although it is the continual practice of the farrier. 
 The haw may partake of the general inflammation, 
 and be enlarged. It is drawn over the eye in order 
 to protect it from the light, and on account of its 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 47 
 
 enlargement, it may not be easily retracted. To the 
 ignorant observer it would seem to be an injury, and 
 a nuisance to the eye. When the general inflamma- 
 tion is abated, it will become of its natural size and 
 return to its place of concealment. If the practitioner 
 cuts it away, he may give a little relief by the bleed-, 
 ing which will follow; but he would give a great deal 
 more if he had scarified the eyelid, or opened the 
 angular vein ; and he would not have deprived the 
 horse of the means of defending his eye from the dust 
 of the roads. He would not by scarification have 
 prevented the animal wiping away the dirt when it 
 gets into the eye ; or have entailed upon the horse a 
 degree of suffering of which the pain that a man feels 
 under similar circumstances will give but a faint idea. 
 The haw is no unnatural excrescence; it is a very 
 useful part, enlarged by sympathizing with the general 
 disease. 
 
 After a great deal of trouble, perhaps the eye gets 
 better; but there remains a cloudiness about it, and 
 of a very singular character. It is thick to-day, and 
 . may seem to be clearing up to-morrow : on the third 
 day, however, it often becomes more opaque than 
 ever, and at length is in a manner fixed. 
 
 The cautious practitioner will pay small attention 
 to the local affection ; his chief endeavour being di- 
 rected to eradicating the disease from the system, 
 which the cloudy eye testifies is not yet accomplished. 
 He will again resort to constitutional measures. He 
 will give doses of colchicum, or such tonics or altera- 
 tives as the case seems to require, only bathing the 
 affected eye with some cold spring water, to every 
 
48 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 pint of which an ounce of laudanum has been added. 
 Under such a system the eye may become bright; 
 success may seem to have been secured. But let not 
 the exultation be too boisterous. Three or four months 
 pass over, and too often the disease again appears, 
 and attacks either the same eye, or perhaps the other. 
 Specific ophthalmia often changes about from side to 
 side in a manner which is most annoying. This 
 attack is got rid of with greater difficulty; after that 
 another follows : and the horse ultimately loses one 
 eye or both. Hence comes the necessity of being 
 aware of the traces, oftentimes difficult to be detected, 
 which this complaint leaves behind it. The slightest 
 cloudiness of the cornea will engender suspicion that 
 the eye has not been at all times right ; and this will 
 be confirmed if the eyes, or rather the openings of 
 the eyelids, are different in size ; if one of the lids is 
 thicker than the other, and particularly if towards 
 the inner angle there is a little puckering of the lid. 
 There may also be a dim line around the cornea; 
 perhaps a very minute and scarcely detectable spot in 
 the centre of it, — a haziness rather than a spot, — and 
 faint lines radiating from it. Where such signs are 
 detected, a suspicion of the previous existence of 
 ophthalmia is warranted ; and if the horse is young 
 he should be rejected, for in all probability he may 
 shortly suffer another attack of the disease. As spe- 
 cific ophthalmia, however, is not generally seen in 
 matured animals, if the horse be more than seven 
 years old, the above indications should be considered 
 only as they have affected the sight and deteriorated 
 the value of the animal. 
 
 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 49 
 
 It is important to distinguish between such appear- 
 ances and those which are caused by a blow or external 
 injury. In the latter case, after the inflammation has 
 subsided, there is frequently left an opacity of the 
 external cornea, which sometimes extends over half 
 the eye. The internal parts of the eye, however, 
 will appear perfectly clear and free from disease; 
 also vision will only be interfered with by the opacity, 
 which on examination is discovered to be confined to 
 the conjunctiva. Sometimes, when the injury proceeds 
 from the lash of a whip, one or two white and opaque 
 streaks will be found upon the eye, the other parts 
 being perfectly clear. In old cases of this description 
 it is best to attempt nothing medicinally, for the in- 
 jury is established ; but when the case is recent, and 
 all sign of inflammation has subsided, the white place 
 may be lightly touched over with a stick of lunar 
 caustic, or an ointment may be used composed of 
 a grain of cantharides to an ounce of lard. 
 
 The natural course of specific ophthalmia is to 
 involve the capsule covering the crystalline lens ; 
 either this or the lens itself may become wholly or par- 
 tially opaque. Such opacity is termed Cataract. The 
 effect of it is either imperfect vision or blindness — 
 irremediable blindness ; for if the operation for cata- 
 ract, which benefits the human being, were success- 
 fully performed, and the lens removed, the horse, not 
 being fitted to wear spectacles, could have no distinct 
 vision ; he would be deprived of that which refracted 
 the rays of light, and regulated the picture which is 
 impressed upon the retina. 
 
 A very considerable change has lately taken place 
 
50 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 in the opinion of veterinary surgeons on the subject 
 of cataract. It is supposed to be capable of forming 
 in much less time than was once thought to be pos- 
 sible. It may appear, and become almost perfectly 
 formed, in the space of from one to six days. 
 
 It is also ascertained that cataract may appear 
 without any previous active inflammation, or without 
 any apparent disease of the eyes. It is now fully 
 proved, that partial cataract, that is, slight specks or 
 spots on the lens or its capsule, do occasionally dis- 
 appear. They are only thus transitory, however, 
 when they are of spontaneous origin, or spring from 
 causes which are not to be traced. When they are 
 the consequences of injuries or disease, the cataract is 
 stationary, and seldom disappears. If their appear- 
 ance be spontaneous, mild constitutional measures 
 and local stimulants to the eye are often successful. 
 When they are the result of violence, the mild or the 
 opposite course of treatment is the most beneficial. 
 
 When a cataract supervenes after inflammation of 
 the eye, it is generally the case that the disease does 
 not a^ain recur: if the cataract should involve the 
 entire lens of one eye, the other is generally pre- 
 served. So, also, if the remaining cataract is partial, 
 or admits some degree of vision, the eye is likely 
 afterwards to continue in this state. The last termi- 
 nation is, however, hardly desirable, as the horse 
 with defective vision is more apt to make mistakes, 
 and to become a dangerous possession, than is the 
 animal afflicted with total blindness. 
 
 The chief inconvenience experienced from small 
 cataracts, or partial injuries, springs from their ren- 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 51 
 
 dering the horse's vision imperfect, and causing the 
 animal to shy. Many a valuable steed is parted with 
 for this cause; and as such a habit materially de- 
 preciates the value of a horse, it therefore behoves 
 horsemen to think twice before they strike an ani- 
 mal over the head, to indulge a temper which, in the 
 end, may cost them rather dear. 
 
 With regard to specific ophthalmia, where the dis- 
 ease is not hereditary, another attack may be pre- 
 vented ; and even should it be inherited, some good 
 will be accomplished by attending to the ventilation 
 of the stables. The drains should be looked to, and 
 the height of the roof considered ; any dung or litter in 
 the neighbourhood ought to be scrupulously removed. 
 Foul atmosphere engenders ophthalmia ; and there is 
 nothing so preventive of the disorder as pure air. 
 
 GUTTA SERENA, OR GLASSY EYE. 
 
 There is a species of blindness, which, although it 
 cannot in every case be traced to inflammatory action, 
 ought to be noticed. The cornea is perfectly trans- 
 parent, but the iris has lost its power of contracting; 
 the pupil is permanently dilated, and the eye has a 
 peculiar bright and glassy appearance. This fixed 
 condition of the pupil is caused by loss of vitality in 
 the optic nerve; and as it is by means of this nerve 
 that animals are able to see, of course when its func- 
 tion is destroyed the horse is blind. This is fre- 
 quently overlooked, and especially when confined to 
 one eye. Gutta serena may be the consequence of 
 pressure on the brain. If a horse has had several 
 d2 
 
52 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 attacks of staggers, and ultimately recovers, this spe- 
 cies of blindness will often be left behind ; no opera- 
 tion can remove this affliction, which is beyond the 
 reach of medicine. 
 
 When, however, gutta serena, or amaurosis, is the 
 consequence of any affection of a temporary cha- 
 racter, it sometimes, but very rarely, disappears with 
 the cause to which it owes its origin. With the re- 
 storation of strength the sight may be recovered ; for 
 weakness is a well-recognized cause of this affection. 
 Exhaustion from fast driving may induce it ; so also 
 may excessive bleeding, lingering disease, or con- 
 tinued debility arising from any source. Blows upon 
 the head may also occasion it, by inducing congestion 
 of the brain, or effusion and pressure upon the optic 
 nerve. Cart-horses are too frequently struck with 
 the butt end of the whip upon the poll ; and gutta 
 serena is not rare among animals of this description. 
 Such horses are predisposed to congestion, because of 
 their loose and flabby structure. These horses are 
 also very irregularly and badly fed; nothing more 
 disposes to staggers than the too suddenly overgorging 
 the stomach with food containing much water and 
 small nutriment after long-continued fasting. The 
 introduction of the nose-bag has greatly contributed 
 to render this disease less frequent th n it used to be ; 
 but a change of diet and of treatment is required 
 to eradicate it. . 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE TONGUE. 53 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE TONGUE — BLAIN OR 
 APTHA. 
 
 This disease is neither so frequent nor so fatal with 
 the horse as among cattle ; but it does sometimes oc- 
 cur, and when present in the equine species, is desig- 
 nated Aptha. The horse will refuse his food, hang 
 his head, and a considerable quantity of ropy fluid 
 will be discharged from the mouth. If his lips are 
 closed, he resists the opening of the jaws to such a 
 degree, that the suspicion may arise the animal has 
 locked-jaw. When the mouth is opened, it requires 
 some force to close it; and this also may cause the 
 idea of locked-jaw to occur to the mind of the owner. 
 The observation, however, that all the leading symp- 
 toms are absent, which will hereafter be described as 
 characteristic of Tetanus, will forcibly point out the 
 distinction between the diseases. 
 
 Upon examination, the tongue will be found con- 
 siderably enlarged ; running along its sides will be 
 reddish or dark-purple bladders, which sometimes pro- 
 trude between the teeth. Likewise, upon the lips 
 are found smaller vesicles which contain a clear gela- 
 tinous fluid. The salivary glands are enlarged, and 
 the discharge from the mouth is very great; while 
 the soreness of the swollen parts causes the horse ob- 
 stinately to resist every motion of the jaw. 
 
 The cause of this inflammation of the tongue is 
 unknown. Sometimes it seems to proceed from indi- 
 gestion. In such cases the breath and the faeces are 
 d3 
 
54 INFLAMMATION OF THE TONGUE. 
 
 foetid. At other times it accompanies various inflam- 
 . matory complaints. It may be seen in violent catarrh, 
 and in epidemic fever or influenza. It is sometimes 
 an accompaniment of locked-jaw. 
 
 The cure of it is very simple — the bladder must be 
 cut through from end to end. There will not be any 
 great flow of blood ; the tumour seems to be chiefly 
 filled with a red-coloured gelatinous fluid, which will 
 ooze out, exposing a raw surface. After this, in the 
 course of four-and-twenty hours, the horse will often 
 be much relieved, if not completely well. A little 
 prepared food will commonly correct the digestion ; 
 and if any remaining fever be perceptible, a few of 
 the balls (Recipe No. 9, p. 46) may be useful. 
 
 If the disease is neglected, the bladders will burst, 
 when foul ulcers will remain ; these being exceed- 
 ingly offensive, and difficult to heal. The stench may 
 be removed by a solution of the chloride of zinc. This 
 will at the same time usually give a healthy appear- 
 ance to the ulcers. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 10). 
 
 Solution of Chloride of Zinc. 
 
 Take — One drachm of the chloride of zinc, and dissolve it in three 
 pints of water. Keep the bottle closely stoppered when not in use. 
 
 Should the wound seem to require any thing else, 
 the following possesses the property of bracing those 
 parts to which it is applied. It may be used as a 
 gargle, by raising the horse's head, and pouring a 
 little into his mouth ; then moving the head up and 
 clown, and ultimately letting go the hold, when the 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE PALATE — LAMPAS. 55 
 
 fluid will flow upon the ground, though it will do no 
 harm if it should be swallowed. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 11). 
 
 Infusion of Catechu. 
 
 On two ounces of powdered catechu pour two quarts of boiling 
 water. Keep it in some covered vessel for an hour, occasionally 
 shaking it : then pour off the clear liquor, and bottle for use. 
 
 Should both of these fail, the solution of common 
 alum may be resorted to. It is a powerful astringent 
 in these cases ; but it sometimes renders the skin of 
 the mouth so harsh, that the horse refuses his food. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 12). 
 
 Solution of Alum. 
 
 Dissolve two ounces of powdered alum in two quarts of water, and 
 keep it for use. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE PALATE LAMPAS. 
 
 The old remedy for this imaginary disease, is either 
 to fearfully burn or deeply scarify the horse's mouth. 
 The symptom of lampas is the horse being off his 
 feed. The presence of the disease is, to the groom's 
 satisfaction, detected by the forward bars of the mouth 
 being found upon a level with the upper nippers. 
 In this situation they would always be found in 
 young horses, did the groom more frequently examine 
 the mouths of such animals. 
 d 4 
 
56 INFLAMMATION OF THE PALATE LAMPAS. 
 
 Lampas, however, is in fact a purely imaginary- 
 disease. It is seen only during the period of the per- 
 manent teeth being cut ; and that which is viewed as 
 a malady, is nothing more than the table of one of the 
 temporary molars being cast off. This is the regular 
 process of shedding these teeth, the roots of which 
 are absorbed ; of course the horse refuses to feed as 
 usual, while the organs of mastication are irregular 
 and imperfect. 
 
 But how is it the application of the firing-iron to 
 the roof of the mouth appears to cure ? Why, of 
 course, the horse with a piece burnt out of his palate 
 cannot be expected to feed. The groom is content 
 the animal should for a period reject his provender. 
 Time is gained; when the mouth has healed, the 
 molar has thrown off the shell of the temporary tooth, 
 and the horse can eat as usual. 
 
 Such is the termination of lampas ; the horse would 
 have got well, and even have been better, had his 
 mouth not been pierced by a lancet, or a heated 
 iron. When a groom informs his master that an 
 animal has the lampas, the best and wisest thing the 
 proprietor can do is to throw up the services of the 
 horse for a short time. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE MEMBRANE OF THE 
 NOSE — CORYZA. 
 
 The essence, and nearly the substance of cold, at 
 its commencement, is inflammation of the membrane 
 
GLANDERS. 57 
 
 of the nose. It is characterized by redness of that 
 membrane ; increased discharge from the nose ; weep- 
 ing from the eyes ; a little general heaviness, and a 
 slight degree of fever. It is that which a warm mash, 
 a comfortable stable, and some warm clothing, will 
 frequently remove without any medical treatment; 
 but which, if neglected, degenerates into catarrh, 
 cough, sore throat, or inflammation of the lungs. 
 There is, however, affecting the nose and involving 
 also other parts, another disorder of a very singular 
 nature — it is truly a specific one, and demands most 
 serious attention. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 GLANDERS. 
 
 This is a sad and intractable disease. At its com* 
 mencement it seems to be confined to the sinuses of 
 the nose, the membrane of which is not characterized 
 by the usual florid red of inflammation, but by a 
 leaden or purple colour, sometimes by a very pale 
 hue, and generally so at the commencement of the 
 attack. Glanders commences with a very slight dis- 
 charge ; generally from one nostril only, and that 
 frequently the left one. At first it can scarcely be 
 distinguished from the natural moisture of the nose, 
 — it is thin and transparent like it. In the beginning 
 it seems to be merely this normal secretion a little 
 increased in quantity. It may continue in this deceit- 
 ful state for many weeks or months, and even two or 
 d 5 
 
58 GLANDERS. 
 
 three years. There may be no cough ; no loss of 
 appetite; no apparent illness of any kind; scarcely 
 any enlargement of the glands beneath the lower jaw; 
 yet the horse shall be glandered, and capable of com- 
 municating the infection. 
 
 By degrees the disease proceeds. The discharge 
 becomes decidedly, although to a very slight extent, 
 increased; but it is still watery and transparent, and 
 is to be distinguished from the natural secretion only 
 by a slight degree of stickiness when it is rubbed 
 between the fingers. It is also distinguished from 
 the discharge of catarrh by its being constant ; not at 
 one time almost ceasing, and at another being poured 
 forth in large quantities. The glands beneath the 
 jaw sympathize with the membrane of the nose ; they 
 enlarge, and the horse is what the stableman calls 
 iugged. The kernels may swell in catarrh ; but the 
 enlargement characteristic of glanders is distinguished 
 by the glands not being tender ; and still more par- 
 ticularly by the glands seeming to adhere to the inner 
 side of the jaw r -bone. They are hard, and the altered 
 condition which they exhibit is unattended by any 
 enlargement of the surrounding parts. 
 
 By degrees the discharge increases ; it becomes 
 more adhesiv r e ; it sticks about the nostril ; it is still 
 often confined to one nostril, and the hardened gland 
 is found on that side alone. It is now, perhaps, 
 recognized for the first time, by the owner of the 
 horse or his servants ; but the mischief has been done 
 — it is highly probable that no medical care can now 
 save the animal, and he may have propagated the 
 disease among his companions. 
 
GLANDERS. 59 
 
 Hence the necessity of attending to the very earliest 
 symptom which possibly may indicate the presence 
 of this complaint; of seriously regarding a slight 
 increased discharge from the nose, or altered colour of 
 its membrane — whether it be accompanied by enlarged 
 submaxillary glands, or even should no tumour be 
 detected. 
 
 The disease may be long stationary. Entire teams 
 of these horses draw waggons, or are employed upon 
 the roads : they outwardly seem to work well for 
 months and years. This should not be permitted, for 
 the contagion of glanders is often widely spread by 
 such means. 
 
 In the next step the discharge is rapidly augmented; 
 from being mucous or glairy, yet transparent, and 
 always, without smell, it becomes purulent, opaque, 
 yellow and foetid. If the nose is then examined, 
 chancres may be seen upon the membrane of the car- 
 tilaginous septum between the nostrils. They are 
 plainly not the excoriations which are sometimes 
 observed in violent catarrh, but they are distinct 
 ulcers, with ragged edges, surrounding surfaces which 
 look sore, but want the red, even, vascular or puru- 
 lent aspect of ordinary wounds. 
 
 , Rarely after this does the horse retain his condi- 
 tion, appetite, and capability for work; but in all 
 exceptional cases the period is uncertain, and gene- 
 rally short. The constitution is then affected. The 
 virus empoisons the whole frame. The horse loses 
 flesh, appetite, and spirit ; the coat is pen-feathered ; 
 the skin is harsh, and clings to the bones. The in- 
 flammation extends down the windpipe, and the 
 d 6 
 
60 GLANDERS. 
 
 lungs become implicated. A hollow cough bespeaks 
 the mischief which is going on within the chest. The 
 ulcers extend in the nose ; they become larger and 
 more numerous ; the membrane thickens ; the nostrils 
 and the whole of the external openings swell ; the air 
 passages are impeded; the horse is threatened with 
 suffocation ; and a grating noise attends every act of 
 inspiration. The discharge from the nose is in- 
 creased; blood mingles with it; it assumes various 
 colours ; scabs, or pieces of cartilage, or even of bone 
 are cast forth. Now it is that stench, which during 
 the early stages was almost absent, is powerful and 
 offensive. Symptoms of farcy appear. Ulcers break 
 out in various parts, and the animal at length dies 
 apparently from suffocation. 
 
 This is the usual progress of the disease when it is 
 bred in the animal, or produced by bad stable manage- 
 ment; but there is another species of the malady, 
 termed, from the rapidity of its progress, the acute 
 glanders. When the disease is communicated by in- 
 oculation, its march is sometimes fearfully quick. 
 The disease is the same; but the peculiarity consists 
 in the violence of the symptoms, and the rapidity 
 with which they succeed to each other. 
 
 Sometimes, after the disease has proceeded slowly 
 for many a month, the complaint all at once takes on 
 the acute form, and speedily destroys the animal. 
 
 Glanders may thus be produced by various causes; 
 such as contagion ; exposure to a foul atmosphere ; hard 
 work ; high feeding, and by any thing which shall sti- 
 mulate, but undermine the constitution. 
 
 The treatment of glanders is very unsatisfactory. 
 
GLANDERS. 61 
 
 There are eases on record in which horses appear to 
 have been cured by every variety of treatment ; and 
 there are some instances of animals recovering when 
 all medical treatment was neglected. It is very pro- 
 bable that in every reported cure of glanders, nature 
 did a great deal more than medicine, or that the true 
 nature of the affection was mistaken. 
 
 The method, however, which has oftenest suc- 
 ceeded, is that of strengthening the constitution 
 against the continued influence of the disease, by the 
 administration of stimulating food and tonics. The 
 following ball has often been serviceable ; and it has 
 sometimes apparently cured the horse, but far oftener 
 has stayed the disease only for a time. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 13). 
 
 Ball for Glanders. 
 
 Take— Sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) powdered, from half a 
 drachm to a drachm : or sulphate of iron a drachm to 
 two drachms ; 
 
 Cantharides finely powdered, five grains ; 
 
 Ginger and gentian, of each a drachm ; 
 
 Palm oil, sufficient to make a ball. 
 
 One of these balls should be given morning and 
 night for a fortnight ; and then daily as long as may 
 be necessary. Or the constitutional treatment, but 
 more energetic than that recommended in the next 
 chapter for farcy, may be adopted. Some of the 
 relapses after the seemingly successful treatment of 
 glanders are readily explained, by the disorder not 
 being regular in its symptoms, but always of a most 
 deceptive nature. 
 
 If any of our readers should feel inclined to expe- 
 
62 GLANDERS. 
 
 riment with the cure of glanders, it must not be for- 
 gotten that the disease is notoriously contagious, and 
 every horse suspected of being affected ought to be 
 kept where he can have no possible communication 
 with other animals. 
 
 Care should be taken that the hands of the person 
 who administers the balls are perfectly sound, for the 
 disease is unfortunately as dangerous to the human 
 being as to the horse. The most prudent method 
 would be never to ball a glandered horse without the 
 balling-iron and gloves. 
 
 What, then, is the practitioner to do when consulted 
 respecting a case of glanders? In such a case, having 
 a regard for his own reputation, and a sincere concern 
 for his employer's interest, the best advice he can 
 give is, at once to destroy the horse. The first loss 
 will certainly be the least. 
 
 If, however, the owner wishes medical treatment 
 should be adopted, let the animal be removed to some 
 place where he can be secure and alone. If in the 
 stable the glandered horse originally inhabited there 
 were other horses, let these be brought out one by 
 one, and carefully examined. They ought not to be 
 driven out all at once, lest confusion arise ; any that 
 exhibit a symptom which is suspicious should be put 
 apart by themselves. Those which are hopelessly 
 diseased should be sent in an opposite direction to be 
 slaughtered ; those that have confirmed glanders, but 
 may be worthy the hazard of a cure, despatched an- 
 other way; and those that are apparently not glan- 
 dered put into a fresh stable ; but all communication 
 with each other be forbidden, lest the disease should 
 
GLANDERS. 63 
 
 after a time be developed in one, and the remainder 
 become inoculated. The stable must then be looked 
 to before the horses are allowed to re-enter it ; but 
 on this subject ample directions will be given pre- 
 sently. 
 
 In the course of medical treatment, the practitioner 
 should never be induced to practise cruelty. Opera- 
 tions of various kinds have been attempted, and the 
 absurdity of most of them clearly demonstrated. No 
 injection through a hole bored in the forehead can 
 possibly be of service — for it can only be brought into 
 contact with a very limited portion of the diseased 
 surface. Irritating lotions can only add to the inflam- 
 mation, and increase the sufferings of the animal, 
 adding intensity to the disorder. 
 
 When considering glanders, however, it may be 
 truly said prevention is better than cure ; for after it 
 has been apparently cured, the disorder has fre- 
 quently returned ; and the practitioner will be best 
 able to prevent the disease when he thoroughly un- 
 derstands the nature and the cause of it. It is in its 
 nature a constitutional affection, the earliest percep- 
 tible symptom of which is traced to the nose. The 
 disease, however, is in the system ; and not confined 
 to the part where it first announced its existence. In 
 very many particulars, glanders is closely allied to 
 consumption in the human being; for the lungs of 
 the glandered horse are generally found tuberculated, 
 and the disease is the wind-up of an exhausted con- 
 stitution. Neglect on the part of the horse-owner is 
 by far the most frequent cause of glanders. Foul 
 stables, and excessive work, with high food acting 
 
64 GLANDERS. 
 
 upon a young constitution, will always in the end 
 start up this pest. The post-master generally knew 
 it too well — the barge-horse is commonly its victim. 
 Among the cabs and omnibuses of London the disease 
 is by no means a rarity. During a campaign, glan- 
 ders is to the horse a fearful enemy. Among the 
 cavalry kept for home service the disease is unknown. 
 In the better class of stables it is sometimes seen, 
 but only in rare and solitary instances, which can be 
 traced, in the majority of cases, to contagion. Where 
 the horse is hardly worked, poorly housed, and highly 
 fed, glanders becomes, as it were, the possessor of the 
 building. The three causes conjoin to produce the 
 one effect. When these provocatives act together, so 
 virulent is the disease, that sometimes a particular 
 place seems to breed the disorder ; every animal that 
 enters it is sacrificed. Formerly, the evils not being 
 appreciated, were amended one at a time. The food, 
 perhaps, was improved — but no good resulted ; then 
 the work was decreased — still the horses failed ; and 
 lastly, the stables were attended to — yet it was found 
 the disease was not checked. Hope, then, was aban- 
 doned, and superstition took its place. The spot was 
 thought to be the birthplace of contagion, and every 
 thing it contained was supposed to be infected. De- 
 struction went to work. Horses were slaughtered ; 
 the buildings were pulled down, and all which they 
 contained was burnt. This was sad folly. There is 
 no occasion for such ruthless waste. If glanders 
 appear constantly in a stable, let the proprietor set to 
 work resolutely, and the disease may be conquered. 
 In the first place, the horses must be inspected. 
 
FARCY. 65 
 
 The food must then be improved, the stable manage- 
 ment amended, and the work diminished. After this 
 has been done, or at the same time, the building 
 must be surveyed. The drains must be cleared, and 
 the ventilation must be especially considered. The 
 harness, &c, must be well washed and thoroughly 
 cleansed with the chloride of zinc lotion — one drachm 
 to the quart. With regard to the stables, the whole 
 of the interior should be first scraped and then satu- 
 rated with water. After that every crevice should be 
 stopped, and the place should be subjected to the 
 action of chlorine gas. The easiest means of doing 
 this is to place a saucer over a lamp. The saucer 
 should contain sulphuric acid and common salt. The 
 lamp being lighted and the saucer properly supported, 
 the light ought to be placed beneath it, when chlorine 
 will be given off in abundance. The fumigation 
 ought to be thrice repeated on different days, and 
 after that the pest will, supposing every thing to have 
 been well done, be entirely destroyed. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 INFLAMMATION AND ULCERATION OF THE SUPER- 
 FICIAL ABSORBENTS — FARCY. 
 
 In the Cattle Doctor the absorbents were described as 
 vessels which are distributed to every surface and 
 every part of the body : they are carrying away the 
 worn-out portions of the frame, or the fluids that fill 
 
66 FARCY. 
 
 cavities — and are doing this for the purpose of con- 
 verting them again into nutriment, or of expelling 
 them from the frame. These vessels follow the course 
 of the veins, and are, like them, furnished with 
 valves ; so that, located amidst the muscles, their 
 contents never retrograde, but pursue a forward 
 course to their proper destination. In proportion as 
 the body is weakened, so is the deposit decreased, and 
 the absorption increased. If, therefore, from con- 
 firmed weakness, the absorbents have more to do than 
 they are capable of performing, some of them become 
 clogged. The current which should be constantly 
 flowing is stopped, and the fluid being stagnant de- 
 generates. Inflammation commences, and there are 
 formed little tumours, which suppurate, burst, and 
 ulcerate. 
 
 The absorbents on the surface of the body are in 
 Farcy most affected : where they are diseased there 
 are to be seen small hard cords running along under 
 the skin by the side of the veins; while at certain 
 intervals, there are small tumours or knots (farcy- 
 buds) which break, and small ulcers (farcy-ulcers) 
 remain. 
 
 These buds have some resemblance to the patches on 
 the skin which are known by the name of surfeit ; but 
 they may readily be distinguished from them by their 
 hardness, by their running in lines, and also by the 
 excessive tenderness of every Farcy-bud. 
 
 By degrees the deeper-seated absorbents are in- 
 volved, while the debility naturally induces effusion, 
 and there results painful swelling of the limbs. The 
 disease often commences in, and is sometimes altoge- 
 
FARCY. 67 
 
 ther confined to, one of the hind legs ; at other times 
 the head and the muzzle are first affected ; there is then 
 swelling of the lips, and a discharge of an offensive 
 matter from the nostrils. The characters which it 
 assumes are various, and often puzzling ; but during 
 the whole course of the disease, the horse is hide- 
 bound, and is losing flesh or strength ; he ultimately 
 dies a mass of corruption. 
 
 Farcy is, like glanders, contagious. It usually runs 
 its course more speedily than glanders, although some- 
 times, like that malady, it may lurk long in the frame 
 before it produces its destructive effects. It is nearly 
 always present during the latest stages of glanders ; 
 and it is essentially the same disease, but under a dif- 
 ferent form. 
 
 Although it is thus identified with glanders, it is 
 somewhat more manageable than that complaint. 
 There are very many cases of the apparent recovery 
 of the farcied horse, and not a few in which the disease 
 has been permanently eradicated ; but it is only when 
 it is confined to the corded absorbents, or superficial 
 ulcers, that it admits of cure : when the body generally 
 is involved, or the constitution is implicated, the case is 
 as hopeless as that of confirmed glanders. 
 
 The treatment is both local and constitutional. The 
 first consists in the dispersion or destruction of the 
 farcy-buds, and the healing of the farcy-ulcer. The 
 method of procedure in order to accomplish this is 
 simple enough. The tumours must be opened and the 
 pus which they contain evacuated. They should be 
 freely divided with a knife, and then the budding-iron, 
 at a black heat, applied to the internal surface. 
 
68 FARCY. 
 
 When the disease is ascertained, the buds should 
 always be opened and cauterized as soon as they 
 appear. It would be useless to attempt to disperse 
 them by any embrocation or discutient fluid. When 
 they have been thus opened, some stimulating' lini- 
 ment may be applied; and the sores treated with an 
 ointment composed of a drachm of the diniodide of 
 mercury to an ounce of lard ; or the ulcers may be 
 washed with a solution of the chloride of zinc. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 14). 
 
 Lotion for Farcy. 
 
 Take — Half an ounce of chloride of zinc, and dissolve it in three 
 quarts of spring water. 
 
 The ulcers should be freely bathed with this lotion 
 morning and night. 
 
 The constitutional treatment will consist in the ad- 
 ministration of tonics, in order to support the system. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 15). 
 Ball for Farcy. 
 
 Take — Corrosive sublimate, ten grains ; 
 
 Powdered gentian root, two drachms ; 
 Powdered ginger, one drachm ; 
 Oak bark in powder, half an ounce : 
 Make the whole into a ball with palm oil. 
 
 This ball should be given morning and night for a 
 fortnight. If advantage then appears to have been de- 
 rived from it, the quantity maybe gradually increased 
 to fifteen grains of the sublimate in each ball ; but the 
 horse must be carefully watched, lest salivation or vio- 
 lent purging should be produced ; the instant either is 
 
FARCY. 69 
 
 perceived, the mercurial balls must be discontinued. 
 In salivation the mouth should be frequently washed 
 with the solution of the Epsom salts, an ounce dissolved 
 in a pint of water ; and a drachm of sulphuric acid 
 should be mixed with every pail of water from which 
 the horse drinks. When Farcy is present, purgatives 
 are not proper, and must not be given. 
 
 If much purging and griping have been produced, 
 let plenty of thick starch or arrow-root be horned down, 
 and the following drink given morning and night : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 16). 
 
 Drink for Purging from Corrosive Sublimate. 
 
 Take — Powdered opium, two drachms ; pi'epared chalk, two 
 drachms ; liquor potassse, one ounce : mix and gradually pour to them 
 half a pint of thin cold gruel. 
 
 If two days should pass and the purging not be 
 relieved, continue the starch and arrow-root, and give 
 the following drink : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 17). 
 
 Astringent Drink. 
 
 Take — Prepared chalk, an ounce ; 
 
 Powdered catechu, two drachms ; 
 Powdered opium, one drachm ; 
 Powdered ginger, one drachm ; 
 Powdered oak bark, half an ounce. 
 Rub them well together, and gradually add a pint of thin gruel. 
 This mixture should be given morning, noon, and night until the 
 purging begins to cease. 
 
 If, after a fair trial of the corrosive sublimate, no 
 benefit seems to have been obtained, recourse should 
 be had to the sulphate of copper (blue vitriol). 
 
70 FARCY. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 18). 
 Another Ball for Farcy. 
 
 Take — Blue vitriol, one drachm ; 
 
 Powdered gentian, two drachms ; 
 Powdered ginger, two drachms ; 
 Powdered oak bark, three drachms ; 
 Palm oil, sufficient to make a ball. 
 
 This ball may be given morning and night, and con- 
 tinued with perfect safety as long as may be deemed 
 necessary; but if, after the trial of a fortnight, no 
 ground has been gained, the ball may be changed for 
 the following: — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 19). 
 
 Another Ball for Farcy. 
 
 Take— Powdered sulphate of iron, two drachms ; 
 Powdered cantharides, ten grains ; 
 Extract of gentian, half an ounce ; 
 Powdered capsicums, half a drachm. 
 Dissolve in a quart of stout, or strong ale, and give night and 
 morning. 
 
 In farcy, even more than in glanders, green meat 
 is necessary ; and if the horse can be turned on spring 
 grass, or into a salt marsh, report asserts it will 
 always be productive of temporary benefit at least. 
 A run at grass, however, should always be accompa- 
 nied by even more than a full allowance of oats and 
 beans. 
 
 A medicine called diniodide of copper has been used 
 with some success in farcy, and in discharge from the 
 nostrils resembling glanders. The dose is from half a 
 
 
STRANGLES. 71 
 
 drachm to a drachm and a half, combined with gentian 
 and other vegetable tonics, and given once a day. The 
 ointment of iodine has also been rubbed on the corded 
 swellings with advantage : but of all these prepara- 
 tions one drachm of the iodide of lead mingled with one 
 ounce of simple ointment may for external use be 
 employed with the greatest advantage. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION AND SUPPURATION OF THE CEL- 
 LULAR SUBSTANCE UNDER THE JAW STRANGLES. 
 
 Strangles is a disease from which few young and 
 stabled horses escape. 
 
 At some time, usually between the third and fifth 
 year, the colt will be out of condition and spirit, and 
 have a slight husky cough ; the appetite will fail ; there 
 will be occasional discharge from the nose, and weep- 
 ing from the eyes; he may continue in this state for 
 several days, or even during some weeks; not de- 
 cidedly ill, but evidently far from well. The horse- 
 man, when he sees a young animal thus affected, says 
 that the colt is " breeding the strangles," and he is 
 generally correct in his assertion. 
 
 The owner suspects the real nature of the disease 
 on account of the age of the animal ; the appearance 
 of some purulent matter with the discharge from the 
 nose, and sometimes a drivelling of thickened, ropy 
 saliva from the mouth ; the continuance of the fever 
 after the nasal discharge has fairly set in; cough, 
 
72 STRANGLES. 
 
 sore throat, and general lassitude, more marked and 
 of longer duration than is common to ordinary catarrh. 
 
 The cough becomes at length more troublesome, 
 and the nasal discharge and weeping increase, until a 
 fulness appears under the lower jaw, and occupies 
 the channel. It is hot and tender ; the swelling in- 
 creases until it assumes the form of a denned hard 
 tumour in the centre of the channel, and along the 
 course of the parotid glands. The breathing now 
 becomes distressed ; it is sometimes almost suffo- 
 cating. The tumour increases ; at length it comes 
 to a head or points; if suffered to take its natural 
 course, it bursts, and a considerable ulcer remains ; 
 but after the matter has fairly run out, the ulcer 
 speedily heals and the colt is well. The disease is 
 essentially marked by the formation and suppuration 
 of a large tumour beneath the jaw. 
 
 If the proprietor of the horse does not intermeddle 
 too much, it is rarely that much danger attends on 
 strangles. Some weakness may remain ; but that 
 gradually disappears, and the colt enjoys far better 
 health than he did before. 
 
 There should be no bleeding while strangles is 
 coming on, or the tumour is forming ; nor should 
 any physic be administered — mashes and green meat 
 being depended upon, if the animal be costive ; for 
 the quantity of corn ought not to be much diminished. 
 Bleeding or physicking will only weaken the colt, and 
 retard the progress of the tumour, or possibly prevent 
 its coming to maturity. 
 
 As soon as the fulness under the jaw is marked, the 
 progress of the tumour should be hastened by the 
 
 
STRANGLES. 73 
 
 application of stimulants to the part. There is evi- 
 dently a struggle going forward between nature and 
 the disease, while the tumour is proceeding to suppu- 
 ration ; and the duration of this produces that ex- 
 haustion after recovery from strangles, which some- 
 times alarms, and is not always speedily removed. 
 The object, therefore, should be to promote the pro- 
 cess of suppuration, by which the disorder is termi- 
 nated and the animal relieved. 
 
 Many persons employ fomentations to the part. 
 The effect of these is doubtful. The hair cannot 
 always be perfectly dried after the fomentation has 
 been used ; and the cold produced by evaporation from 
 the damp surface will do more harm than the warmth 
 of the fomentation had done good. A mild embroca- 
 tion, which by stimulating the skin shall draw blood 
 to the surface, and thereby hasten suppuration, is 
 much to be preferred. After the following has been 
 applied with all proper regard for the highly sensitive 
 nature of the swelling, the throat should be warmly 
 encased in flannel, as the cold would retard that pro- 
 cess it is the intention of the embrocation to quicken. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 20). 
 Stimulating Embrocation. 
 Tincture of capsicums, two ounces ; 
 Tincture of cantharides, two ounces ; 
 Tincture of opium, two ounces ; 
 Oil of camphor, two ounces ; 
 Solution of soap, one quart : 
 Apply three daily until vesication is produced — then withhold the 
 embrocation : but when the part is nearly restored to a healthy con- 
 dition, the stimulation may be renewed if necessary. 
 
 After the stimulant has acted, and the tumour is 
 
 E 
 
74 STRANGLES. 
 
 coming forward, it should not be suffered to take its 
 natural course. No good could accrue did we let the 
 pus increase, and by pressure cause absorption of the 
 skin, leaving an ulcer which, when healed, might 
 establish a permanent blemish; and such probably 
 would be the result of the spontaneous bursting of 
 the abscess. As soon, therefore, as a tolerable quan- 
 tity of fluid can be detected, by its fluctuating under 
 the pressure of the fingers, or the skin begins to be 
 prominent and soft in some part of the swelling, the 
 knife should be used. The incision should be of a 
 fair size, proportioned to the magnitude of the en- 
 largement ; that all the pus may escape and the 
 orifice be in no danger of closing before the matter 
 is discharged. There should be no squeezing of the 
 tumour, in order to force out the fluid; and the nasty 
 practice of inserting the finger and raking it about 
 should never be indulged. The abscess having been 
 opened, Nature has been placed in a position to heal 
 the parts, and all that is necessary, is to bathe the 
 wound occasionally with the chloride of zinc lotion, 
 to promote cleanliness and assist the restorative en- 
 deavour of Nature. 
 
 The horse will usually begin to mend as soon as the 
 abscess is opened; yet the owner must not be in too 
 great haste to open it. The matter should be suffered 
 evidently, and in some quantity, to form. If the 
 tumour be opened prior to this, the suppuration will 
 be delayed, and in some cases, altogether prevented: 
 the horse will then linger on, neither sick nor well, 
 for a long time; he will never after thrive so 
 thoroughly as when, by a copious discharge from 
 
STRANGLES. 75 
 
 the abscess, lie has got rid of that which was preying 
 on the constitution. 
 
 The medical treatment of strangles will depend on 
 the degree of fever that accompanies the formation of 
 the tumour. It is a rule without exception, that a 
 horse should never be bled in strangles. The accele- 
 ration of the pulse and heat of mouth, which usually 
 accompany the disease, even if they are well marked, 
 are best combated by gentle stimulants, such as a 
 handful of beans or a little scalded malt. Mashes 
 should always be given to open the bowels, and green 
 meat if it can be obtained. 
 
 If there should be very violent fever, purgatives 
 are quite unnecessary during the active stage of the 
 disease ; and after the crisis has passed no physic must 
 be administered under the idea of removing lurking 
 humours. Good nursing and nourishing diet will, in 
 the latter case, alone be requisite to counteract the 
 debility which the disorder has left behind. 
 
 The weakness which sometimes accompanies the 
 latter stages of strangles, or remains when the disease 
 has passed, may, in most cases, be left to the slow but 
 renovating power of nature. If, however, the weak- 
 ness should continue or increase, or be accompanied 
 by evident loss of flesh, — malt mashes, green meat or 
 carrots, will be serviceable, with two or three feeds of 
 corn daily : nevertheless it should not be forgotten 
 that too much hard and stimulating food is often 
 dangerous, therefore the judgment must be exercised 
 to proportion the quantity to the necessity. 
 
 Should the weakness continue, a few tonic balls 
 may be administered. 
 
 e2 
 
76 INFLAMMATION OF THE GLANDS. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 21). 
 
 Tonic Balls. 
 
 Take — Sulphate of iron (green vitriol), two drachms; 
 Extract of gentian, three drachms ; 
 Ginger, two drachms : 
 Make into a ball, and give daily. 
 
 Occasionally the internal membrane of the nostrils 
 becomes violently inflamed, but no discharge accom- 
 panies the indication. In such case it is by no means 
 a useless resort to fill a large nose-bag with scalded 
 bran, and to hang it on the horse's head, as the inha- 
 lation of the steam favours the discharge of strangles. 
 In fact, the treatment of strangles consists in assisting 
 nature, and when the disease terminates fatally, that 
 result is generally brought about by the officiousness 
 of man throwing that, which the body was labouring 
 to eject, back into the animal system. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE GLANDS AND THROAT. 
 
 In every case of severe catarrh, and frequently even 
 in milder cases, the glands of the mouth and throat 
 are affected ; they will become hot, swollen, and 
 tender. This may be evident externally, or will be 
 shown by the horse quidding Ms food ; that is, drop- 
 ping it from his mouth partly chewed ; it will be also 
 indicated by the animal gulping the water when it 
 drinks, and by the fluid returning through the nostrils, 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE GLANDS. 77 
 
 because when the glands are enlarged, the act of 
 swallowing is both painful and imperfect. 
 
 In common sore throat the part which, by its in- 
 creased size, first attracts attention, is the parotid 
 gland. In its healthy state it reaches from the root of 
 the ear to near the angle of the lower jaw, and is not, 
 to the generality of persons, very conspicuous; but 
 when it is a little enlarged by inflammation, it can 
 plainly be seen, and gives an awkward appearance to 
 the juncture of the head and neck. 
 
 The horse, for inflammation of the glands, should 
 be treated as described under the article catarrh ; 
 bleeding is never required, but the animal should 
 have sedative medicine according to the degree of 
 suffering which accompanies the sore throat. The 
 head and neck should be covered with a hood ; and 
 the following embrocation should be well rubbed in, 
 reaching from ear to ear, extending over the greater 
 part of the channel, and about three inches down the 
 windpipe. 
 
 RECTPE (No. 22). 
 Embrocation for Sore Throat. 
 Take — Common liquid blister, one ounce ; 
 Hartshorn, one ounce ; 
 Olive oil, two ounces ; 
 Oil of origanum, one drachm: 
 Shake them well together. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 23). 
 Strong Liquid Blister. 
 Take— Dilute spirits of wine, one gallon. Pour that upon one 
 pound of Spanish flies, coarsely powdered. Let the flies macerate a 
 month, daily shaking them ; then allow the liquid to remain sta- 
 tionary one day, and pour off the clear fluid ; add half a pound of 
 camphor and it is fit for use. 
 
 e3 
 
78 INFLAMMATION OF THE GLANDS. 
 
 The last recipe will be the liquid blister in its 
 strongest form, and such as will very rarely be re- 
 quired : when a blister is mentioned in the course of 
 the work, the common liquid blister is alluded to, 
 unless otherwise directed. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 24). 
 
 The Common Liquid Blister. 
 
 Spanish flies, in coarse powder, one part ; 
 Olive oil, twelve parts : 
 Macerate one month, and filter for use. 
 
 The embrocation (Recipe 22) should be applied 
 twice daily until considerable scurfiness appears. 
 
 In a few cases, however, the gland will continue to 
 enlarge until suppuration takes place. This is a 
 serious business, and requires the attendance of a 
 skilful Veterinary Surgeon. The abscess, when form- 
 ing, must be promoted as much as possible by the use 
 of the embrocation, aided by warmth. Only when it 
 fairly points, ought the knife to be introduced ; and 
 even then care should be taken not to puncture the 
 body of the gland. 
 
 Sometimes the duct of the parotid gland is opened 
 by the knife of the inapt surgeon, and it is frequently 
 not easy to close such a wound. The saliva escapes 
 and jets forth when the horse is feeding. The animal 
 becomes unsightly ; and the loss of that fluid, which 
 mingled with the food, and was designed to aid diges- 
 tion, is injurious to the health. A blister round the 
 orifice should be first tried; liquids such as gruel 
 constituting the food, in order that the jaws may not 
 be moved, and by their motion prevent the parts 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE GLANDS. 79 
 
 uniting. The blister having failed, a false opening- 
 has been made into the mouth, or the gland itself 
 has been intentionally destroyed. We make no men- 
 tion of the budding-iron, because it is a destructive 
 instrument, and it never ought to be seen in humane 
 or scientific hands. Far less ought so dangerous an 
 application to be used by the professional man upon 
 the property of other people. His duty is to do no 
 harm if he can do no good ; and happily a mode of 
 cure for fistulous parotid gland has been discovered, 
 which promises to fulfil every intention of the very 
 best surgery. A very little liquid blister is used to 
 aid the knife in removing all the schirrus round the 
 opening. This being accomplished, a pledget of lint 
 is put upon the orifice ; and this is forcibly retained 
 in its situation by means of short pieces of darning 
 cotton passed over it. The ends of the cotton are 
 made firm by the application of collodium ; which is 
 nothing more than gun-cotton dissolved in ether. 
 The heat of the body causes the ether to evaporate, 
 leaving behind the gun-cotton, which forms an admi- 
 rable glue. This excellent mode of curing fistulous 
 parotid was the discovery of Mr. T. W. Govving, of 
 Camden Town, to whose genius Veterinary Science 
 is so much beholden. Of course when the last method 
 is pursued, the horse's head is tied up, to prevent him 
 rubbing the part against the manger : and the animal 
 is barely supported upon liquids, to render unneces- 
 sary the movement of the jaw. 
 
 The other glands which supply the mouth with 
 saliva will also generally share in the inflammation of 
 the parotid. The submaxillary glands from close 
 e4 
 
80 INFLAMMATION OF THE PAPS. 
 
 approximation will be oftenest affected. It is very 
 rarely indeed that the horse has cold without the 
 lymphatic glands in the channel being implicated. If 
 these last are neither very large nor very tender, it 
 will be best to let them alone. The swelling will 
 subside when the cold or fever is removed. Should 
 they, however, attain a considerable size, and remain 
 under the name of 
 
 V1VES, 
 
 the embrocation (Recipe, No. 22, p. 77) may be as 
 well rubbed in. 
 
 These indurated glands will generally be dispersed 
 by the application of an embrocation like that recom- 
 mended; if, however, it should fail, a little of the 
 following ointment should be rubbed in daily. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 25). 
 
 Iodide of potassium, one drachm ; 
 Lard, one ounce. 
 
 In obstinate cases, the application may be assisted 
 by the administration of a drachm of the iodide of 
 potassium given every day in a ball. 
 
 BARBS OR PAPS. 
 
 The submaxillary glands, by two small teat-like 
 bodies, open into the mouth, on either side of the 
 bridle of the tongue. When there is much inflamma- 
 tion of the glands, the terminations to the ducts 
 enlarge; and their increased size may cause them to 
 be slightly excoriated, and to appear like diminutive 
 swellings. 
 
GIGS, BLADDERS, FLAPS. 81 
 
 The proper way to treat those swellings is to com- 
 bat the inflammation which produced them, giving 
 some sedative medicine, and paying extra attention to 
 the food : as soon as the inflammation begins to abate, 
 the barbs or paps will diminish, and all will be well. 
 No ointment or lotion should be applied to them ; for 
 the cause ceasing, the effect will presently disappear. 
 The farrier who proposes to cut or to burn them off 
 shows the most disgraceful ignorance. He will not 
 only put a noble animal to much unnecessary torture, 
 but the new inflammation which he will produce in 
 the part may close up the orifices of the ducts. The 
 secretion of the saliva, nevertheless, would go on : and 
 if it cannot be discharged into the mouth, it must 
 accumulate somewhere; and in consequence of the 
 accumulation causing pressure, the duct will ulcerate : 
 and under the jaw will be formed a fistulous wound 
 which the best practitioner may be unable to heal. 
 
 GIGS, BLADDERS, FLAPS. 
 
 These are names for enlargements of the openings 
 of numerous little glands under the tongue and within 
 the cheek, whose function is to pour forth a secretion 
 which mingles with the saliva. They too, sometimes, 
 being affected by adjacent inflammation, become 
 enlarged, and look like little pimples scattered about 
 the mouth. In most cases nothing should be done to 
 them ; or if any thing, the Infusion of Catechu 
 (Recipe, No. 11, p. 55), or the Alum Wash (Recipe, 
 No. 1*2, p. 55), may diminish the swelling, and heal 
 any ulcers which may exist. 
 
 E 5 
 
82 SORE THROAT. 
 
 SORE THROAT. 
 
 This affection frequently is present as a symptom of 
 other diseases ; but sometimes it exists by itself, or 
 seems to be an independent disorder. Beside being off 
 his feed, the horse coughs; gulps the water as he 
 drinks, a portion of the fluid returning by the nostrils : 
 — in the stable the animal is continually swallowing 
 his saliva, each act of deglutition being well marked or 
 accompanied with a sense of effort. The space which 
 lies between the mouth and gullet, as well as also 
 between the nostrils and the windpipe — the interme- 
 diate part where the respiratory and digestive tracts 
 meet and cross one another, is inflamed — tender — 
 perhaps ulcerated and painful. All the air entering 
 the lungs, and all the food taken into the stomach, 
 must pass through this affected part, which is techni- 
 cally called the fauces. It can have no rest, and 
 would seem to be, therefore, almost incapable of cure. 
 Fortunately, however, sore throat, though here for the 
 purpose of arrangement treated of as a distinct dis- 
 order, is not often met with in an isolated shape. 
 When it does appear in such a form, it depends gene- 
 rally on digestive derangement. A mild physic-ball 
 and soft food with a warm box will generally settle 
 the business. If it is obstinate a blister may be 
 applied, or even a seton inserted under the throat; 
 and after the bowels have been opened, a few fever 
 or sedative balls may be given. When all irritation 
 is subdued, a tonic ball night and morning to strengthen 
 the stomach will be of service. 
 
 In all cases of sore throat the nose-bag will be found 
 
LARYNGITIS. 83* 
 
 exceedingly useful. In common cases, scalded bran 
 may be sufficient. It should be almost or quite at the 
 boiling temperature, the bag, however, being suffi- 
 ciently deep to secure the muzzle of the horse from 
 being scalded. In bad cases, and attended with much 
 difficulty of breathing, fresh yellow deal sawdust may 
 be used instead of bran. 
 
 LARYNGITIS. 
 
 At the top of the windpipe there is a cartilaginous 
 box called the Larynx. This part is lined by mucous 
 membrane, which is characterized by its extreme sen- 
 sibility. The smallest particle of dust getting upon 
 this irritable membrane will cause the most violent 
 coughing ; and inflammation is attended with not only 
 excessive pain, but very acute symptoms. The breath- 
 ing is affected : the glands are generally enlarged — 
 the cough is frequent and painful — the horse resists 
 if any attempt be made to touch the throat. The 
 pulse is sharp and quick — the membranes are more 
 red than in health, and an audible sound may accom- 
 pany every inspiration. 
 
 No time should be lost in combating this disease, 
 which, if neglected, may either involve the lungs, or 
 may become settled, and produce roaring or chronic 
 cough. In such cases all coarse or violent measures 
 are to be avoided ; as during Laryngitis considerable 
 debility is invariably present within the animal's 
 system. A mild physic-ball should be given, and 
 fever medicine combined with sedatives administered. 
 The following will answer very well : — 
 E 6 
 
84 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRONCHIAL TUBES. 
 RECIPE (No. 26). 
 
 Take — Extract of belladonna, one drachm ; 
 Aloes, one drachm ; 
 Calomel, a scruple ; 
 Tartar-emetic, half a drachm : 
 Make into a ball with linseed meal and honey, and give night and 
 morning. 
 
 The throat should be blistered, and the counter- 
 irritation may be carried down the front of the neck. 
 If the case is more than usually severe, a seton ought 
 to be inserted under the jaws. Under any circum- 
 stances the nose-bag with deal shavings should be 
 employed as directed for sore throat, and the general 
 mode of treatment pointed out in the previous affec- 
 tion should in this disease be followed. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BRONCHITIS INFLAMMATION OF THE BRONCHIAL 
 
 TUBES. 
 
 This disease consists of inflammation of the mem- 
 brane lining the air-passages of the lungs; and is 
 generally accompanied by a similar state of the wind- 
 pipe and the larynx. It is produced by the same 
 causes as a common cold ; and not unfrequently is the 
 extension of inflammation from the throat downwards. 
 It is a very insidious disease ; though sometimes it may 
 be slight, and free from danger. It frequently creeps 
 on so gradually that it fails to attract the attention until 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRONCHIAL TUBES. 85 
 
 too late. It is not uncommon for a cough and a slight 
 diminution of the appetite to be the only symptoms 
 noticed for several days; although, if the animal were 
 carefully examined at this stage, he would be found 
 to have a quickening and a disturbed pulse with slightly 
 laborious breathing. A discharge from the nostrils is 
 also an early symptom. The disease, after creeping 
 on in this manner for several days, sometimes exhibits 
 on a sudden the most dangerous symptoms; the pulse 
 being exceedingly quick and weak; the respiration 
 greatly accelerated; the membrane of the nostrils and 
 eyelids of a red colour, and the discharge suspended. 
 When bronchitis presents itself in this form, it is very 
 commonly fatal — the membrane of the nostrils becomes 
 of a purple hue, and death too frequently closes the 
 scene in the course of a week or ten days. 
 
 The disease fortunately does not always exhibit 
 itself in this severe form. We often find the first 
 symptoms are a loss of appetite, dulness, discharge 
 from the nostrils, and cough; it can only be dis- 
 tinguished from a common catarrh by the quickness of 
 the pulse and the disturbance of the breathing. From 
 common inflammation of the lungs it may be distin- 
 guished by that warmth of the surface and of the ex- 
 tremities which usually prevails, and by the more 
 moderate acceleration of the pulse and respiration. 
 It should, however, be observed, that it is by no means 
 uncommon for this disease to be complicated with 
 inflammation of the lungs ; and when such is the case 
 it is the more dangerous. It is sometimes attended 
 with costiveness ; the dung being often offensive, and 
 coated with mucus ; and yet the membrane lining the 
 
$6 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRONCHIAL TUBES. 
 
 bowels is so irritable as to be violently acted on if 
 physic is administered. On applying the ear to the 
 chest, instead of the healthy murmur, we generally 
 hear a wheezing or sucking sound, sometimes one 
 resembling brickbats being rolled down from a con- 
 siderable height is audible, owing to the air struggling 
 with the mucus; but this, of course, will depend very 
 much on the quantity of this secretion which is effused. 
 The breath is warm, and the mouth usually hot and 
 perfectly dry. 
 
 There may be a seeming necessity for bleeding ; 
 yet, violent as the symptoms may appear to be, the 
 patient will not often bear the loss of blood. There 
 is no rule which admits of so few exceptions as this, 
 that a disease of the mucous surfaces (and this is 
 one) requires prompt and decisive treatment; but 
 at the same time very cautious remedies, from the 
 rapid debility which is connected with all these affec- 
 tions. 
 
 It is better bleeding should be abstained from. 
 Such a bloodletting as we dare hazard in bronchitis 
 is not likely materially to affect the disease; while 
 the smallest abstraction of the vital fluid is sure to tell 
 with dangerous (perhaps fatal) certainty during the 
 subsequent debility. 
 
 Although it will be desirable to relax the bowels, 
 aloes will be dangerous, except in the quantity of one 
 or two drachms, and not repeated ; but it will be better 
 to substitute a pint, or nearly so, of linseed oil guarded 
 by a drachm of chloroform, and to assist its action by 
 glysters if there is costiveness present. 
 
 Sedative medicine, such as the fever-ball, should 
 
EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 87 
 
 be given twice a day ; and after the severity of the 
 inflammation is in some measure diminished, setons 
 or rowels may be inserted in the brisket. 
 
 The liquid blister rubbed upon the throat down the 
 course of the windpipe and upon the chest will, after 
 the first symptoms have abated, often be attended with 
 the best effects. 
 
 Gruel and green meat should constitute the only 
 food of the horse ; and even these should be offered 
 in limited quantities. 
 
 The disease of the lungs, however, will not always 
 thus decidedly attack the bronchial tubes alone; it 
 will more often have a diffused character, and be con- 
 nected with the inflammation of other parts. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 EPIDEMIC CATARRH — MUCOUS FEVER — DISTEMPER 
 
 INFLUENZA. 
 
 This disease is not at all times distinguished by any 
 common and characteristic symptom ; but strangely 
 differs in different years and seasons of the year; it 
 has a great variety of names, and has been subject to 
 a greater variety of treatments. 
 
 The attack is usually sudden, and may appear during 
 the night. It at first simulates the commencement 
 of catarrh : — the horse shivers ; the pulse is generally 
 weak and not always quickened ; the mouth is hot ; 
 the coat stares; the belly is tucked up; the membrane 
 of the nose is red ; the eyes are red and weeping ; the 
 
88 INFLUENZA. 
 
 appetite fails ; the flanks heave ; and there is more or 
 less cough. 
 
 This may be mistaken for cold; perhaps at the 
 beginning it is nothing more. It cannot be inflam- 
 mation of the lungs, for there are no deathly-cold ears 
 or feet: in general the extremities are hotter than 
 usual. One general symptom, however, forbids its 
 being confounded with pneumonia. Early in the 
 attack swellings appear. The eyes are watery and the 
 lids, half closed, are enlarged. The legs and joints 
 are often increased in size, and motion is evidently 
 painful. The head sometimes becomes of enormous 
 bulk, and below the belly a number of dropsical 
 tumours may be seen. 
 
 The second day seldom passes over without a de- 
 gree of weakness which does not accompany any affec- 
 tion of the chest. There may be a disinclination to 
 move in inflammation of the lungs ; but it is down- 
 right incapacity for motion in influenza. We are then 
 aware this peculiar disease is present — epidemic 
 catarrh, or distemper, or mucous fever, or influenza, 
 for it is called by each and by all of these names, 
 although the last term is now generally adopted. 
 Epidemic it is : whether it be contagious is a ques- 
 tion that has not been fairly settled ; but when it once 
 gets into a stable, no horse is secure from an attack, 
 nor any one certain of a visitation ; but it frequently 
 runs from stable to stable throughout the neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 When it is established, another train of symptoms 
 succeeds, plainly characterizing the peculiar nature of 
 the disease. There is sore throat to a far greater 
 
INFLUENZA. 89 
 
 degree than in catarrh; while sometimes in inflam- 
 mation of the lungs there is no sore throat at all. 
 The horse gives up eating, and, day after day, he 
 obstinately refuses to feed. The nose is first inflamed, 
 but dry. There is no discharge, but actually a want 
 of moisture in the early stage. If he case, however, 
 is to do well, the discharge will shortly appear, and in 
 much greater quantity than in catarrh. The appear- 
 ance of the deflexion is desired; for with it the 
 severity of the symptoms generally abate. If by in- 
 judicious treatment the discharge should be checked, 
 the weakness becomes excessive. The nasal mem- 
 brane loses its red hue, and assumes a dull-purple 
 colour. A thin, discoloured, and stinking fluid drains 
 from the nostrils, for the thick full stream that an- 
 nounces recovery is no longer beheld. The breathing, 
 which at first was not violently affected, although the 
 horse was tucked up, becomes laborious, and the animal 
 dies from inflammation of the bowels or lungs, or 
 more commonly from dropsy of the chest. 
 
 The measures adopted in the treatment of influenza 
 must be cautious. Blood must not be taken. 
 
 Purgation is often present when influenza sets in, 
 and even if the bowels are costive, physic is not safe. 
 If the proprietor will give it, let him be cautious 
 how he administers even one drachm and a half 
 of aloes in any form. Half a pint of linseed oil, 
 in which a drachm of camphor and the like amount 
 of chloroform have been dissolved, is much better 
 than aloes; but no laxative is demanded. If the 
 fever be great, the following drink may, with ad- 
 vantage, be given night and morning, or in very 
 severe cases even thrice a day: — 
 
90 INFLUENZA. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 27). 
 
 Take — Sulphuric ether, one ounce ; 
 
 Tincture of opium, one ounce ; 
 Water, one pint. 
 
 Soft food, gruel, and a cool, loose box will be required. 
 The legs should be well hand-rubbed to restore the 
 circulation; and the swellings may be e rbrocated, in 
 the hope of promoting absorption, although there is no 
 absolute necessity to attend to these — they usually 
 disappear with the disease. If there is soreness of 
 the throat, as there generally is, the part may be sti- 
 mulated with a little embrocation, yet even here it is 
 better to yield to the obvious desire of nature, and to 
 permit sickness to escape from the annoyance it desires 
 to avoid. Nothing whatever must be done to the eyes, 
 however bad they may appear to be. There is one 
 plan which will generally succeed, and which should be 
 regarded as an indispensable portion of the treatment 
 of distemper, not to give one drop of water, but to 
 hang up in a box a pail containing very thin gruel, 
 from which the horse may quench his thirst as often 
 as he pleases. Some degree of nutriment will be thus 
 got into him, which could have been effected by no 
 other means. 
 
 When the inflammatory appearances are abated, and 
 much weakness remains, we may have recourse to 
 mild tonics, such as the following : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 28). 
 Mild Tonic Ball for Influenza. 
 Takh — Gentian, half an ounce ; 
 
 Powdered ginger, two drachms ; 
 Cascarilla bark, half an ounce : 
 To be made into a drink with a quart of ale or stout. 
 
INFLUENZA. 91 
 
 This drink may be given morning and night. The 
 proper treatment in the after stages of this disease, 
 when the bad symptoms are slowly abating, is to sup- 
 port the system ; and to leave nature, as much as may 
 be, to herself. 
 
 If, however, from the employment of too active 
 measures the horse continues to lose flesh, and 
 strength, and spirits — if the first tonic has produced 
 no febrile reaction, a stronger one may be tried, and 
 Recipe, No. 21, p. 76, may be given as a drink, the 
 ball being dissolved in a quart of ale or stout. 
 
 Should the membrane of the nose become of a 
 leaden colour ; or the flanks begin to heave ; the 
 extremities to feel cold ; the countenance to appear 
 haggard, and the pulse to quicken — powerful stimu- 
 lants will be required. These ought to be admi- 
 nistered of a strength wholly disproportioned to that 
 of the animal. No rule can here be laid down, but 
 the judgment must decide upon those measures which 
 the case demands. Typhoid symptoms are best pre- 
 vented by abstaining from the use of debilitating 
 medicines in a disease which is certainly accompanied 
 by weakness. To promote a copious discharge from 
 the nostrils should be the primary object of our treat- 
 ment; and to forward this end the employment of 
 the nose-bag, as before directed, will be found to 
 be of importance during the primary stages of in- 
 fluenza. 
 
 This disease has been very fatal to many horses ; 
 but it is doubtful whether it was not made so by the 
 means adopted for its cure. Now, fortunately, it is of 
 a milder character, and if the proprietor can have 
 
92 PNEUMONIA. 
 
 sense enough to aid nature in her efforts towards 
 recovery, it does not generally terminate in death. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PNEUMONIA, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS 
 
 THICK WIND, BROKEN WIND, CHRONIC COUGH, 
 AND ROARING. 
 
 Pneumonia, or general inflammation pervading the 
 lungs, is not a malady so frequent as some have ima- 
 gined ; for it has been too much the fashion to consider 
 every disease of the chest as inflammation of the lungs. 
 
 We have hinted that it is an occasional consequence 
 of the other chest diseases which have been described. 
 Common catarrh, and, much oftener, influenza and 
 bronchitis, may, if neglected, terminate in inflamma- 
 tion of the lungs. The disease will proceed along 
 the air-passages, until the very substance of the lungs 
 becomes affected. It may also be caused by exposure 
 to cold; neglect after being heated by exercise; 
 change from a cold to a hot stable ; over- exertion : in 
 short, any thing that may lead to common cold is 
 capable of producing inflammation of the lungs. 
 
 It is of great importance to be able to distinguish 
 the symptoms of pure pneumonia, in order that the 
 proper treatment may be adopted ; for, on account of 
 the faulty management of the stabled horse, and the 
 injury which the Lungs receive from occasional cruel 
 exactions, there is much predisposition to acute in- 
 flammatory action in those parts. Many horses die 
 
PNEUMONIA. 93 
 
 of inflammation of the lungs within twenty-four hours 
 from the commencement of the attack. In extreme 
 cases they have perished in twelve, and even in 
 six hours ; therefore not a moment should be lost. 
 When a fatal result takes place so rapidly as this, the 
 lungs are found completely black, being engorged or 
 suffocated, as it were, with dark venous blood. This 
 variety of disease has recently been termed pulmo- 
 nary apoplexy; and is generally brought on by over- 
 exertion. It is characterized by a more rapid and 
 distressed breathing than exists, in other affections; 
 also by a more oppressed pulse. 
 
 The first symptom of pneumonia usually is a shiver- 
 ing: fit. This is a circumstance which should never 
 be overlooked by the attendant. The moment a horse 
 is seen to shiver, he should be most carefully ex- 
 amined ; and if there are other suspicious circum- 
 stances about him, and the pulse is feeble or sup- 
 pressed, he should without delay have a drink com- 
 posed of sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each one 
 ounce, cold water one pint. Some endeavour to cut 
 the shivering fit short by brisk exercise. The horse 
 is taken out, briskly trotted or galloped; then well 
 groomed, and a hot mash put before him. This 
 sometimes succeeds, and inflammation is prevented 
 by rousing the system to throw off the evil; but on 
 the other hand, there are thousands of cases in which 
 the disturbance of the system has been increased, and 
 a fatal result has been induced by the ill-judged ex- 
 ertion during a state of transition. 
 
 The nature of the shivering fit should be carefully 
 observed. If one or more of the legs are icy cold, 
 
94 PNEUMONIA. 
 
 there is a decided attack of inflammation of the lungs. 
 There are few symptoms so invariable as this. In 
 common catarrh, in influenza, or in bronchitis, the 
 legs may occasionally be cool ; yet often their tempe- 
 rature will be above the natural standard, or it may 
 be variable ; but a fixed icy coldness marks an attack 
 of pneumonia. 
 
 The pulse should be anxiously examined. In in- 
 flammation of the lungs the pulse will seldom be hard; 
 it will occasionally be scarcely detectable, but it 
 nearly always has an obscure oppressed feeling; 
 which will give the idea of fluid labouring onwards 
 with difficulty. The careful observer in it will have 
 a palpable demonstration, that the blood is congested 
 within the substance of the lungs ; that the heart like- 
 wise lacks the power to urge forward its contents. 
 
 The flanks will heave quickly and laboriously : 
 there will evidently be much painful effort on the part 
 of Nature to force the blood through the lungs; the 
 idea of suffocation will be presented to the attendant. 
 Suffering is sometimes indicated by the anxious gaze 
 at the side; a symptom, which is not usually observ- 
 able in the chest affections that have subsequently to 
 be considered. 
 
 In addition to all this, there is a stiff manner of 
 standing — an evident attempt to make the limbs the 
 fixed points ; that the muscles which are common to 
 the thorax and the extremities may be employed in 
 aiding to expand the chest. For the same reason, a 
 horse affected with pneumonia can scarcely be in- 
 duced to move : and he will not lie down, but obsti- 
 nately stand until he drops from fatigue, or falls to 
 
PNEUMONIA. 95 
 
 die. Other symptoms are the expanded nostril; the 
 head drooping ; the mouth hot ; the membrane of 
 the nose red; the appetite nearly, if not entirely, 
 lost. 
 
 The treatment of inflammation of the lungs is 
 simple enough. 
 
 Purging must not be attempted here, for there is 
 too close a sympathy between the lungs and the intes- 
 tines ; and the affection of the one might very possibly 
 be extended to the other : but if, as is usually the 
 case, costiveness is present, half a pound of Epsom 
 salts may be dissolved in each pailful of water, and 
 kept constantly before the animal. The salts are a 
 febrifuge in their action, and in the horse will rarely 
 indeed effect more than relax the intestines. When 
 this effect is produced, or when one pound has been 
 imbibed, the salts should be withdrawn; for pushed 
 further than this they are apt to gripe ; and every 
 affection of the bowels is of the utmost importance 
 during pneumonia. Some fever medicine will also be 
 beneficial, and the following draught may be given 
 twice a day : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 29). 
 
 Take — Liquor ammonia acetatis, four ounces; 
 Tartar-emetic, half a drachm ; 
 Extract of belladonna, half a drachm ; 
 Digitalis, half a drachm : 
 Rub down the belladonna ; dissolve the tartar-emetic in a suffi- 
 ciency of water ; and mix the other ingredients. 
 
 This should be continued until the symptoms sub- 
 side, or until the pulse begins to intermit; when it 
 ought either to be withheld, or administered in de- 
 
96 PNEUMONIA. 
 
 creased quantities, according to the symptoms of the 
 case. 
 
 During the continuance of pneumonia should the 
 horse appear to be griped — should the symptoms 
 seem not to be sufficiently energetic — should blowing 
 announce that faintness is on the eve of mastering the 
 animal economy — at once, and without hesitation, 
 resort to sulphuric ether, and tincture of opium, an 
 ounce of each in half a pint of water. This medicine 
 may be repeated whenever the symptoms appear to 
 require it. It is equally potent and harmless. It 
 acts with magical speed, and does so without appa- 
 rently leaving behind any of those after-effects which 
 render us unable to resort to too many of the best 
 forms of medicine. 
 
 When the active symptoms are reduced, counter- 
 irritation should be adopted. Before this, the appli- 
 cation of a blister would have added to the consti- 
 tutional irritability ; probably it would have done 
 little else ; for during the existence of violent internal 
 inflammation, it is seldom that the benefits of a coun- 
 ter-irritant can be obtained. The liquid blister is to 
 be preferred ; and it should be well rubbed along the 
 windpipe and between the fore legs, and even con- 
 tinued, in severe cases, along the belly. Some per- 
 sons apply the blister to the sides ; but as the horse 
 lies upon its side, this is objectionable: because 
 through the soreness which it induces the horse may 
 be prevented lying down ; also because it makes the 
 motion of the ribs painful ; and in pneumonia the 
 respiration, however laboured it may be, is always, to 
 a considerable degree, suppressed, and because the 
 
PNEUMONIA. 97 
 
 practitioner dates recovery as certain, after lie has. 
 beheld the animal which is suffering pneumonia repos- 
 ing upon the ground. 
 
 A seton in the chest is generally inserted : but it 
 does no good, and by annoying the horse must do 
 some harm. It is of service only by informing the 
 practitioner of the chance of recovery ; for if the 
 seton produces no suppuration the case looks badly • 
 but if it causes a plentiful secretion, the discharge 
 denotes that the body is recovering its functions, and 
 a cure generally ensues. Moreover pus is secreted 
 at much expense to the system. To institute a drain 
 is certainly an odd practice, when it is desired that 
 the animal should speedily regain strength and re- 
 cover from the late attack of a debilitating disorder. 
 
 When blistering the horse for pneumonia there are 
 two ways of proceeding : — either with the blistering 
 ointment, or according to the most humane and the 
 better plan with the simple liquid blister, thoroughly 
 rubbed upon the parts ; no previous preparation 
 being necessary excepting the removal of the hair, 
 though even the last measure is not absolutely im- 
 perative. The ointment will require the less fric- 
 tion, as many small pieces of cantharides are retained 
 within the fat; and these particles can act upon the 
 skin after the lard has been dissolved. Such small 
 pieces of cantharides, however, often cause fearful 
 sores, and continue the action long after the pro- 
 prietor wishes all the irritation should cease. A 
 liquid blister, however, requires to be rubbed in for 
 some time; the period differing with the state of the 
 weather. Ten minutes of brisk friction will be suffi- 
 
98 PNEUMONIA. 
 
 cient in the summer; but during the winter it should 
 be rubbed into the part for at least a quarter of an 
 hour. The liquid form of blister therefore may give 
 the groom a little trouble, but it is more beneficial 
 in its operation, more gentle in its action, and alto- 
 gether more manageable in its effects. In all good 
 practice it has entirely surperseded the old and filthy 
 form of blistering ointment. 
 
 Let the reader, however, not forget the hints which 
 have been thrown out concerning the proper period 
 for resorting to counter-irritation. The inflammation 
 should have diminished before the blister is applied. 
 During the intensity of the disease a blister will 
 not rise at all; or it may increase the general irri- 
 tability and thus augment danger ; but when the 
 primary inflammation has to a certain degree abated, 
 the blister is an excellent adjuvant. It is always 
 an unfavourable symptom when the blister does 
 not rise. Either the original inflammation is too 
 intense, and absorbs too much of the vital power 
 to permit any other part to be excited ; or the 
 favourable moment has passed, and the system is 
 utterly exhausted. 
 
 The horse should be turned into a cool, but not 
 cold box. A cool and airy situation will be likely to 
 lessen the inflammation and fever ; but air too cold 
 w T ill drive the blood from the skin and (he extremities, 
 and determine it still more injuriously to the inflamed 
 part. For this reason, while the air is cool, the clothing 
 of the animal should be rather warm, the legs should 
 be bandaged, and the perspiration, sensible and in- 
 sensible, should be promoted, as causing a salutary 
 
PNEUMONIA. 99 
 
 determination of blood to the surface, and relieving- 
 the diseased organ. 
 
 The same consideration will show the propriety of 
 hand-rubbing the extremities, and covering them well 
 with flannel rollers. This may be greatly assisted by 
 rubbing in a liniment composed of equal parts of the 
 oil of cantharides, and of hartshorn, diluted with four 
 parts of olive oil. The intense coldness of the legs 
 shows that little of the vital current reaches them: 
 but when a comfortable warmth has been restored, 
 and the proper amount of blood has been solicited 
 back to the feet, proportionally less will flow to the 
 inflamed and overloaded parts. 
 
 As for food, the horse will rarely touch any : and if 
 he were disposed so to do, he should not be allowed 
 more than an exceedingly small portion of green 
 meat. To water he may have free access ; a pailful 
 should always be slung in his box, it having been 
 previously boiled, and when at its greatest heat poured 
 upon a large handful of flour, the whole being stirred 
 well and long afterwards. 
 
 No secondary drain upon the system is required, or 
 is in any case allowable. Weakness is sure to ensue, 
 upon violent inflammation ; while effusion into or 
 dropsy of the chest is a termination to pneumonia 
 much to be expected, and of course is proportionably 
 to be guarded against. This can only be done by 
 husbanding the strength to that degree which the 
 disorder will permit. The old practice of draining- 
 the life out of a horse, under the notion of conquering 
 some remnant of inflammation, is now wisely dis- 
 carded ; and it is known that what was formerly mis- 
 f2 
 
100 PNEUMONIA. 
 
 taken for a lingering fever, is nothing more than the 
 natural effects of the weakness consequent upon the 
 attack and the treatment the sufferer has undergone. 
 
 Supposing that the case has gone on well, and the 
 patient is slowly returning to health, the care of the 
 practitioner should be wholly devoted to assisting the 
 restorative efforts of nature. The owner may be im- 
 patient, and the practitioner may not be sorry to get 
 the case off his hands ; but there is an old caution, 
 seldom more applicable than here, " not to make 
 more haste than good speed." After pneumonia, as 
 well as influenza, when health is returning, nature 
 will work more securely, and should be assisted only 
 with considerate hesitation. Above all things, there 
 must be no imprudent haste in putting once more to 
 work the horse that has recovered. Rest for some 
 time, with an airy lodging, sufficient exercise, and 
 nourishing food are now imperative. The food should 
 not be too stimulating. A couple of feeds of bruised 
 and scald oats is the most that can with safety be 
 allowed during a state of recovery. Beans, gruel, and 
 other temptations are not to be permitted after the 
 medical attendant has retired. Nature is then labouring 
 to repair the damage she has lately suffered ; and good 
 wholesome food, sweet water, pure air, and sufficient 
 exercise, are the materials she works with. 
 
 That which has been said about pneumonia sup- 
 poses the disease to be of an idiopathic kind. No 
 remark has been made upon that form of this affec- 
 tion which is termed congestion of the lungs, or pul- 
 monary apoplexy. This last form of disease is caused 
 by over-exertion ; and is, therefore, most common in 
 
PNEUMONIA. 101 
 
 the hunting-field. The horse drops ; he lies ex- 
 hausted ; the pulse is weak ; the breathing is in the 
 highest degree laborious. If a vein were now opened, 
 a quart or two of blood might be obtained ; and this 
 probably would prevent much of the evil which other- 
 wise must ensue. Should a short time be allowed to 
 pass over, and the attempt be then made to bleed, no 
 blood will flow. It will trickle slowly down the neck, 
 instead of jetting out into the vessel held to catch it. 
 It will be black and thick, and look somewhat like 
 treacle. When this is the case, it is of no use to per- 
 severe ; but the orifice ought to be at once closed. 
 A stimulant should be administered, in the hope of 
 restoring the congested circulation. Three ounces of 
 sulphuric ether, one ounce of laudanum, four of liquor 
 ammonia acetatis, and one pint of water, may be given 
 every hour, or oftener. When the medicine begins 
 to act, the pulse may be distinct at the jaw, and then 
 blood could be obtained ; but it is not then desirable 
 it should be abstracted. The result it was wished to 
 expedite, or the restoration of the -circulation has been 
 accomplished, and sickness can afford to part with 
 none of its diminished strength. The stimulants may 
 be repeated as the symptoms require the administra- 
 tion of them, and the horse generally recovers 
 quickly. If improper measures, however, are pur- 
 sued, the case soon terminates. The respiration be- 
 comes more quick ; a thin bloody discharge issues 
 from the nostrils; the breath grows offensive; and 
 the animal dies. After death, the lungs are found 
 black, sometimes in places mortified, or going on 
 
 f3 
 
10*2 THICK WIND. 
 
 towards putrefaction ; they are, in fact, what the 
 farrier calls rotten. 
 
 It is not invariably, however, that under the best 
 treatment, even when the horse does not die, he 
 is perfectly restored. The life may be saved ; but 
 the disease may have produced changes such as no 
 human power could counteract. The horse may ap- 
 parently be restored to health ; but he will never be a 
 sound horse. He may have 
 
 THICK WIND. 
 
 There is usually a great deal of congestion of the 
 lungs in pneumonia. Many of the air-cells may then 
 be clogged, or the adjacent vessels then be loaded; 
 and when these last have long been distended, the 
 blood becomes in a manner organized. The cells 
 through the obliteration of their vessels soon cease to 
 exist. The function of respiration, however, must be 
 carried on ; and if one portion of the lungs is thus 
 taken away, that which remains pervious must work 
 the quicker; the acfc of breathing will be more labori- 
 ously performed ; it must be more rapidly repeated, 
 and the horse will have thick wind. 
 
 Thick wind is sometimes the consequence of bron- 
 chitis, or influenza. Then it arises from the air-pas- 
 sages having been thickened by the inflammation, 
 and the lining membrane of the air-tubes having be- 
 come impervious ; consequently? not only a smaller 
 quantity of air is admitted into the lung, but of this 
 smaller quantity the thickened membrane allows no 
 particle to come in contact with the blood. The 
 
THICK WIND. 103 
 
 breathing must, therefore, be more laborious ; and 
 that consequence will sometimes exist to such a degree 
 as, during excitement, to threaten suffocation. 
 
 Symptoms of thick wind, however, may arise from 
 other causes. Most round-chested and very fat horses 
 are disposed to become thick- winded ; because the 
 cavity of the chest cannot sufficiently enlarge to foster 
 the health of the body. This fixed diameter of the 
 chest will not permit the lungs to expand freely and 
 fully during active and continued exertion. A horse 
 may be kept too much in the stable, and, from a want 
 of needful exercise, become thick-winded ; because the 
 lungs cannot instantaneously accommodate themselves 
 to the full and deep breathing which occasional exer- 
 tion demands. A horse working on a full stomach may 
 become thick-winded, because the diaphragm being 
 forced forward by the loaded digestive organ, there is 
 not room for the lungs perfectly to expand ; and 
 during the struggle which necessarily ensues, the de- 
 licate air-cells are ruptured. 
 
 The frequent occurrence of thick wind after inflam- 
 mation affords additional proof that prompt treatment 
 should remove the congestion, and anticipate the effu- 
 sion of febrine ; this takes place towards the termina- 
 tion of inflammation, causing hepatization of the lung, 
 or the converting it into a solid substance, like liver ; 
 and consequently rendering the portion thus changed 
 unfit for the purposes of respiration. 
 
 Of the medical treatment of thick wind little can 
 
 be said. The cells once obliterated can never be 
 
 restored. All that can be done may be comprised 
 
 under the following heads : — attention to diet ; giving 
 
 f 4 
 
104 BROKEN WIND. 
 
 the food in as small a compass as possible ; more corn 
 and less hay ; not working on a full stomach ; regular 
 exercise ; and exacting from the horse only that 
 degree of exertion of which he is capable without dis- 
 tress. Such care will gradually increase the animal's 
 capability of endurance, and his power of performing 
 profitable labour will reward the consideration of his 
 proprietor. By these means, a thick-winded horse 
 may often be made serviceable for all ordinary pur- 
 poses, though the animal thus affected should never 
 be driven hard or forced to undergo unusual exertion. 
 
 BROKEN WIND. 
 
 This is sometimes the consequence of violent and 
 protracted inflammation of the lungs ; and it is also 
 the result of low diet and over- work ; more frequently 
 it is owing to bodily exertion upon a loaded stomach ; 
 and not unseldom it is produced by coarse or watery 
 food deranging the digestion. It is precisely what 
 its name imports : it is a rupture of some of the cells 
 of the lungs. The consequence of this is, that the 
 integrity of the lung is destroyed ; certain of the finer 
 tubes leading to the ruptured cells are obliterated ; 
 the entire structure is as it were confused ; the air is 
 readily admitted into the lungs, but the elasticity 
 being lost, cannot without great difficulty be forced 
 out again. This satisfactorily accounts for the pe- 
 culiar method of breathing which distinguishes the 
 broken-winded horse. He inspires spasmodically ; 
 the expiration, or return of the air from the lungs, is, 
 however, accomplished by a double effort ; one suc- 
 ceeding to the other, the first being consequent upon 
 
CHRONIC COUGH. 105 
 
 the contraction of the ribs, followed by a desperate 
 attempt of the abdominal muscles to complete the 
 respiration, and the last being the more evidently la- 
 borious. 
 
 Broken wind is accompanied by other symptoms. 
 The horse has a ravenous appetite. The abdomen is 
 enlarged ; he is constantly breaking wind, or is habi- 
 tually flatulent. A short hacking cough exists ; and 
 is easily recognized as characteristic of the disease. 
 The muscles are pale and flaccid ; the coat rough and 
 staring; the countenance dejected, and it is almost 
 needless to state that such an animal is not in pos- 
 session of its natural powers ; it is decidedly unsound. 
 The low horse-dealers know this, and employ many 
 practices to conceal the disorder. They give the horse 
 large quantities of fat or tar, or shot, or sedative medi- 
 cine ; and for a time these will render the symptoms 
 less conspicuous: but the disease certainly returns, 
 and often the horse perishes, in consequence of the 
 treatment to which he has been subjected. A full 
 draught of cold water will generally expose this trick ; 
 or by coughing the animal, the sound emitted will de- 
 clare the state of his wind. 
 
 Nothing can be done for a broken-winded horse in 
 the way of medicine. The disease, however, may be 
 palliated to a considerable extent, by attention to diet 
 and exercise, in the manner just described when 
 treating of " Thick Wind." 
 
 CHRONIC COUGH. 
 
 This is a frequent consequence of chest diseases ; 
 but still more so of laryngitis, or of confirmed in- 
 f 5 
 
106 CHRONIC COUGH. 
 
 digestion. Whenever the membrane of the windpipe 
 is inflamed, great soreness and irritability of the 
 larynx will long remain. When the membrane is ir- 
 ritable, a very trifling cause will produce cough. The 
 act of coughing is a proof of this irritability: the 
 effect increases the cause; and the cough speedily 
 becomes habitual : therefore it is that chronic cough 
 is so difficult to remove ; for we can neither get at the 
 disease, nor stop the coughing, which is hourly in- 
 creasing its intensity. Chronic cough, however, often 
 exists to such a degree as to interfere with soundness ; 
 therefore every reason exists why we should be anx- 
 ious for its removal. As it can be traced to chronic 
 inflammation or to irritability of the larynx, a mild 
 blister, extending from ear to ear, may be tried. It 
 cannot do much harm ; and the slight blemish which 
 it occasions will soon disappear. However, it is rare 
 for a blister to do any vast good. 
 
 Medicine will sometimes relieve the cough, and may 
 be tried to a certain extent. If the cause is unknown, 
 a sedative medicine that will gradually allay the irrita- 
 bility, and yet not interfere with the appetite, may be 
 daily given. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 30). 
 BallfQr Chronic Cough. 
 
 Take — Belladonna, one drachm ; 
 
 Tar and linseed meal sufficient to make a ball : 
 
 Let this be given every night. 
 
 In a few instances chronic cough seems to be con- 
 nected with worms ; and the groom oftener attributes 
 it to this cause than he is justified in doing. If, 
 
CHRONIC COUGH. 107 
 
 however, the coat is unthrifty; the flanks tucked up; 
 if there be mucus around the anus; and particularly 
 if worms are discharged in the faeces, it will be proper 
 to put the connexion between the worms and the 
 cough to the test. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 31). 
 
 Worm Ball. 
 
 Take — Emetic tartar, two drachms ; 
 Linseed meal, four drachms : 
 
 Make them into a ball with palm oil. 
 
 One of these halls should be administered every 
 morning, a quarter of an hour before the horse is fed. 
 A dozen may be thus given, and afterwards a physic- 
 ball. If the cough is lessening but not gone, another 
 dozen of the balls will probably remove it ; but, even 
 should no benefit have been obtained, it neverthe- 
 less may be worth while to incur the expense or trou- 
 ble of the second course of the medicine. 
 
 Some benefit will be effected by attention to feed- 
 ing. The oats and the hay should be good ; a full 
 allowance of the former, and a somewhat diminished 
 one of the latter, should be given ; all food being 
 warm and scalded ; especially carrots should be allowed 
 if this is at all practicable. Cough is occasionally 
 produced by gastric derangement; and, therefore, 
 while the food is improved, the bowels should be 
 regulated by mashes or by green meat, and the 
 stomach strengthened by a daily allowance of good 
 stout. In colts, however, while the teeth, and more 
 especially the tushes, are being cut, cough is fre- 
 quently present; and then the treatment will consist 
 f 6 
 
108 ROARING. 
 
 in lancing the gums, feeding upon prepared food, and 
 thus abating any immediate symptoms, without at- 
 tending to the cough, which will subside when den- 
 tition is perfected. 
 
 ROARING. 
 
 This consists in any unnatural sound emitted during 
 inspiration. Some horses make a noise in breathing, 
 even when standing still ; but in general the sound is 
 heard only during exertion. It is caused by any 
 impediment to the passage of the air through the 
 nostrils, fauces, larynx, or trachea. 
 
 Roaring is either acute or chronic. Acute roar- 
 ing is consequent upon some disease, and usually 
 subsides as the disorder which occasioned it is mas- 
 tered. Chronic roaring, which is decided unsound- 
 ness, is not so easily got rid of. Any tumour in the 
 nostrils, or thickening of the nasal membrane; any 
 effusion into the fauces, or enlargement of the glands, 
 may produce it ; and then it will occasionally yield 
 to treatment, but it requires a Member of the Royal 
 College of Veterinary Surgeons to point out the mea- 
 sures which should be adopted. It is very frequently 
 induced by the colt being cruelly lunged, or by its 
 head being unnecessarily reined up during the process 
 of breaking. If the animal escape this danger, how- 
 ever, should he be destined for one of the carriages 
 of the nobility, he will generally upon being taken 
 into work become a roarer. Fifteen out of every 
 twenty roarers are carriage-horses. These animals 
 are not more than others disposed to exhibit this affec- 
 tion : but it is the fashion to rein them tightly, in 
 
ROARING. 109 
 
 order to arch their necks. This silly and cruel prac- 
 tice either paralyses the nerves of the larynx, and 
 thus produces absorption of the muscles of the part 
 and falling in of the cartilages : or occasions distor- 
 tion of the larynx or the windpipe. Bands of lymph 
 across the windpipe have also induced roaring ; but 
 they are by no means so common as is supposed. 
 
 To detect a roarer, the horse may be suddenly 
 frightened, when a grunt will be emitted. The cough 
 also is peculiar, and should be studied. It is not 
 difficult to recognize it; but it is almost impossible to 
 describe a sound. These proofs are, however, not con- 
 clusive : but the animal should be galloped up-hill, or 
 over heavy land, and then the point will certainly be 
 decided. 
 
 The cause must be discovered if possible. It will 
 be readily suspected in a carriage-horse; and the 
 anatomist will detect it by a careful examination of 
 the part. If there is distortion, the case is hopeless : 
 but when being of the acute kind it can be connected 
 with disease, and is not thoroughly established, seda- 
 tive medicine, blistering, and setoning may upon 
 consideration be tried. The tar-ball recommended 
 for chronic cough (Recipe No. 30, p. 106) may also 
 be given. In the majority of chronic cases, however, 
 the labour of the practitioner will be lost, and the 
 roarer may be dismissed as incurably unsound. The 
 horse nevertheless may be highly useful. For speed 
 or for long journeys he certainly is no longer avail- 
 able ; but were such an inquiry practicable, it would 
 surprise the reader to learn how many confirmed roarers 
 are working at the present time in London streets. 
 
110 PLEURISY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PLEURISY. 
 
 This is inflammation of the membrane covering the 
 lungs and lining the chest. Its causes are the same 
 as those of inflammation of the air-passages or the 
 substance of the lungs, viz., exposure to cold ; sudden 
 alternations of temperature; hard riding; to which may 
 be added, as more likely to produce pleurisy than 
 pneumonia, the absurd practice of leading horses, when 
 hot, into cold water, in order to save a little trouble in 
 washing them. Riding against a sharp wind in a 
 cold winter's day has produced pleurisy ; and wounds 
 which have penetrated into the chest, and injured the 
 pleura, without reaching the lungs, have given rise to 
 it in intensity. 
 
 A careful observer will easily distinguish between 
 inflammation of the investing membrane of the lungs 
 and that of the lungs themselves. Many of the symp- 
 toms in both cases are alike. The preceding shivering 
 fit ; the loss of spirits and appetite ; the hanging of 
 the head ; the disinclination to move — all are the 
 same ; the cough, also, is similar ; excepting that it is 
 shorter and more painful in the present disease ;— all 
 these for the most part are characteristic of both dis- 
 orders; but there are other symptoms peculiar to this 
 complaint. 
 
 The breathing is different. In pneumonia it is 
 quick, but laborious, and the flanks heave. So, also, 
 in pleurisy the breathing is quickened ; but its cha- 
 racter is altered. It is sharp, spasmodic, and catch- 
 
PLEURISY. Ill 
 
 ing. The horse must inhale the air; but he evidently 
 obeys the necessity with reluctance. The inspiration 
 is timid and cautious ; but it must be made. It is, 
 however, never full ; before it can be completed, the 
 pain which it induces obliges the animal to desist, and 
 with a jerk the breath is expelled. 
 
 The ear applied to the ribs of a horse suffering 
 from pleurisy will detect a grating sound. When 
 that is heard, the evidence as to the nature of the 
 disease may be regarded as conclusive; but, if farther 
 proof be wanted, it will generally be seen in the 
 quivering of the muscles, or circumscribed corrugation 
 of the skin upon the fore parts of the body. 
 
 This disease being inflammation of the lining 
 membrane of the chest, the sides will also be more or 
 less tender, and sometimes excessively so. This will 
 be rendered evident by tapping, or even pressing 
 between the ribs ; for the horse will then shrink 
 under the hand. The inflammation of pneumonia is 
 more deeply seated ; and, although in both diseases 
 the horse shows that he feels pain by looking anx- 
 iously at his sides, he does so more frequently, and 
 the tenderness externally is more generally present 
 during the existence of pleurisy. 
 
 In this disease, indeed, the pain is sometimes so 
 severe as to induce the horse to lie down and roll. 
 
 One of the most characteristic circumstances, how- 
 ever, is the colour of the membrane of the nose. In 
 pneumonia, this membrane, being a continuation of 
 that which is inflamed, is intensely red ; but there 
 is no connexion between the membrane of the nose 
 and the pleura ; therefore it is never so highly red- 
 
112 PLEURISY. 
 
 dened as in the forementioned disease : sometimes 
 during pleurisy it is scarcely changed until the lungs 
 begin to be generally affected. 
 
 In pneumonia one foot may be cold, and the rest of 
 the natural temperature ; in pleurisy two or three may 
 be cold, and, where coldness is not felt, a more than 
 ordinary heat may be detected : and the pulse, which 
 in pneumonia was oppressed, and often scarcely 
 quickened, is here both hard and rapid. It is of 
 importance to attend to these distinctions ; because 
 the treatment of the two diseases is somewhat dif- 
 ferent, and in their terminations they are altogether 
 distinct. 
 
 In its main features, the treatment of pleurisy may 
 resemble that of pneumonia. Bleeding will be the 
 first step, and blood will have to be taken until the 
 system responds, or until the characteristic harshness 
 has quitted the pulse. 
 
 Bleeding will be followed by the use of sedative 
 medicines; which should be perseveringly administered. 
 Aconite root, in doses of half a drachm, every hour 
 until the pulse is softened, and twice a day subse- 
 quently, should be immediately administered. Counter- 
 irritation will be indicated ; but the reader must not 
 forget the remarks which were made when treating of 
 pneumonia. In pleurisy the sides must not be 
 blistered ; for the disease being near to the surface, 
 the irritation would be more likely to increase than 
 to divert the inflammation which it is the object to 
 remove. The surface of the body however is large 
 enough. It presents plenty of choice as to the situa- 
 tion of a blister ; for that part of the frame which is 
 
PLEURISY. 113 
 
 most remote is still no more than a portion of one 
 general system. 
 
 The bowels, if costive, as they usually are in this 
 complaint, should be relaxed by drachm doses of 
 aloes ; for in pleurisy purgation is not attended with the 
 same danger as in pneumonia; clysters should also be 
 early and repeatedly employed. 
 
 The diet should be spare; and should consist chiefly 
 of mashes, or of green food. The box should be airy, 
 yet comfortable; and the clothing, without being 
 heavy, should be warm. If the inflamed membrane 
 is so near to the surface, there is a better chance of 
 diverting: some of the blood from it to the skin when 
 the animal is clothed comfortably ; and the reader 
 may be certain that he will send more blood from the 
 skin to the inflamed part, if he suffers the animal to 
 stand exposed to the cold. 
 
 If the horse goes on well, the pulse will soon change 
 its character ; it will be both slower and softer ; gentler, 
 but at the same time more uniformly powerful. Next 
 to this, the cough will be essentially changed : it will 
 lose its short, stitchy sound, and its evident expression 
 of intense pain ; becoming more loud and full. The 
 horse will not gaze so intently at his flanks; and he 
 will move about more freely. 
 
 There is, however, even more danger attending 
 pleurisy than pneumonia; and the following are 
 symptoms which denote that the case is going on 
 badly. The horse is fidgety — uneasy — pawing; he 
 will suddenly stop, to bend round his head ; bringing 
 his muzzle in contact with his side, and gazing mourn- 
 fully on the seat of pain. All at once the pleuritic 
 
] 14 PLEURISY. 
 
 stitch will start up, and he will again begin to paw 
 his litter. He will prepare to lie down in order to 
 try whether change of posture will give him a little • 
 ease ; he will put himself in the position for it again 
 and again : but he is afraid ; he shifts, crouches, bends, 
 trembles, sweats, sometimes groans, and then all at 
 once he drops as if he were shot. 
 
 It will only, however, be for a short time that he 
 can lie down. The muscles of his shoulders and chest 
 are required in order to enable him to accomplish the 
 now difficult act of breathing. His pulse gets quicker, 
 smaller, and yet more wiry ; patches of sweat break 
 out all over him, and particularly about his sides. 
 All at once, however, he appears to be getting well ; 
 the pulse drops perhaps twenty beats in a minute ; the 
 face becomes more composed ; the horse looks better ; 
 he is quieter; the pain has evidently abated; but other 
 symptoms, and fearful ones, appear. The flanks, which 
 before were comparatively quiet, are now worked vio- 
 lently. He obstinately stands fixed like the horse with 
 pneumonia ; he not only, like him, is unwilling to 
 move, but, at the slightest motion, his pulse beats ra- 
 pidly ; he looks wildly around him ; every limb trem- 
 bles, and he appears as if he would instantly fall ; but 
 he recovers himself, and slowly moves with a stagger- 
 ing gait. The short, stitchy inspiration is now gone ; 
 it is all labour ; protracted suffocation. Swellings 
 appear under the chest ; the pulse becomes faster, but 
 weaker than it was before ; till at last the worn-out 
 animal falls suddenly and dies. 
 
 The natural consequence of inflammation of a serous 
 membrane has for some time been going on. The 
 
HYDROTHORAX. 115 
 
 secretion from the membrane has been increased, and a 
 fluid -of a various character has been rapidly effused 
 into the chest : it has been pressing upon the lungs ; 
 it has prevented their expansion. As the cavity has 
 filled, a greater portion of the lungs has been com- 
 pressed ; and the animal has experienced the horrors 
 of lingering suffocation. 
 
 The chest of the horse which has perished of pleu- 
 risy may, on one side, or perhaps upon both sides, be 
 filled with a serous fluid, — pale or yellow, or bloody : 
 flakes of coagulated lymph may be floating in it ; or 
 these may have been only deposited over the pleura, 
 thickening and discolouring the membrane. The 
 pleura in a horse which has died of pleurisy generally 
 peels easily off; but at other times it will closely 
 adhere to the ribs ; while bands of lymph may be 
 thrown across ; connecting the pleura upon the lungs 
 with that on the sides of the chest. The lungs are 
 not gorged and black with congestion : but they are 
 of a dingy leaden-purple colour ; often so collapsed 
 as to appear not more than one-fourth of their natural 
 size. 
 
 In other fatal cases of pleurisy, no water will be 
 discovered in the chest ; but the membrane lining it 
 will be found thickened, opaque, red, and, in rare 
 instances, almost gangrenous in patches. 
 
 HYDROTHORAX. 
 
 It is of great consequence to detect the commence- 
 ment of effusion, in order that measures may be taken 
 which will give a chance of arresting its progress. 
 The first symptom, and one that can scarcely be over- 
 
116 HYDROTHORAX. 
 
 looked, is the gradual diminution of pleuritic pain. 
 The next requires a little tact in the medical attendant, 
 in order to be discovered. Horsemen begin now to 
 be aware that, by applying the ear to the side of the 
 animal, the murmur of the air as it passes in and out 
 of the lungs, can be distinctly heard. The effusion 
 of hydrothorax, as it is secreted, falls to the bottom of 
 the thorax; it is there interposed between the lung 
 and the ear of the listener; and being thus placed, 
 prevents the murmur from being heard. When, there- 
 fore, the ear being applied close to the bottom of the 
 chest, can detect the natural murmur, the examiner 
 may be assured that there is no fluid yet thrown out. 
 But when all is silent there, although the murmur 
 continues to be heard when the ear is placed a little 
 higher up, it is quite certain that effusion has com- 
 menced, and will probably proceed. A diarrhoea very 
 difficult to check, and a rapid wasting, may accompany 
 effusion into the chest. 
 
 In the majority of cases it is only at the commence- 
 ment of the effusion that it can be attacked with any 
 well-grounded hope of success. It is the signal that 
 inflammation has reached its termination ; that debility 
 has succeeded; and common sense will dictate that 
 the line of treatment must be essentially altered. The 
 measures must be immediately changed. Every thing 
 must be done to counteract the exhaustion, which the 
 effusion will increase. No diuretics must, on any 
 account, be given, under the idea of exciting the 
 kidneys. Such medicines are weakening; the only 
 hope of saving the animal now lies in the chance of 
 our being able to invigorate the system. Tonics are, 
 
HYDROTHORAX. 117 
 
 therefore, indicated; but, at the same time, we desire 
 to promote absorption. Happily we possess a medicine 
 in which these valuable properties are combined. The 
 iodide of iron is both powerful and safe ; it will answer 
 the intention admirably, and may be given in the fol- 
 lowing form : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 32). 
 
 Take — Iodide of iron, a drachm ; 
 
 Powdered nux vomica, a scruple ; 
 Gentian, four drachms : 
 Make into a ball with honey, and give thrice a day. 
 
 As, however, the iodide of iron is of a very perish- 
 able nature, and on that account may not be always 
 obtained in country places ; and as, moreover, when 
 it can be procured, it is an expensive medicine ; the 
 following may, under circumstances, be substituted 
 for it : — 
 
 Iodine, a drachm ; 
 Sulphate of iron, a drachm. 
 
 The other ingredients are to be retained ; and the 
 ball to be administered at the periods before directed. 
 
 At the same time the food should be of the best 
 kind. Ground and scalded beans and oats, with malt 
 mashes, should be freely allowed ; and whitened water 
 or thin gruel must not be withheld under the idea of 
 drying up the fluid by keeping the horse in an agony 
 of thirst. Let him drink as much as he pleases — the 
 draught will add to his strength, and check rather 
 than increase the disease. 
 
 The effusion, however, being established, the prac- 
 titioner should think seriously of getting rid of the 
 
118 HYDROTHORAX. 
 
 fluid by an operation ; thus relieving- the lungs from 
 oppression ; encouraging the return of strength by 
 enabling the compressed lungs to expand and arte- 
 rialize the blood. If, by the stillness at the bottom 
 of the chest, and by that stillness advancing upwards, 
 he is assured of the existence of effusion ; the practi- 
 tioner should have recourse to tapping the chest, and 
 evacuating the fluid. If he does this early, he will 
 secure the following very important advantage — the 
 lungs will sooner return to the discharge of their 
 proper function ; for the portion which has long been 
 compressed by the fluid, and rendered flaccid, very 
 slowly, or never, recovers its healthy action. 
 
 The operation is simple in the hands of a skilful 
 surgeon, and to him it must be consigned. To him, 
 however, it may be hinted, that the che.st should after- 
 wards be frequently examined, by applying his ear to 
 the side ; that if fluid continues to be effused, and to 
 occupy the chest, it must be drawn off again. The 
 most desperate cases will thus be, occasionally, at least, 
 successfully combated. One of the reasons why this 
 operation has been so seldom successful is — because the 
 practitioner has contented himself with having once 
 evacuated the chest; and has not considered the dis- 
 position to effusion must remain until by good food, 
 kind nursing, and proper medicine the weakness left 
 by an acute disease has been destroyed. 
 
 In man, however, when the effusion has once 
 commenced, it will continue in spite of all that can be 
 done; in the horse, should the animal apparently 
 recover, there is no disease after which he is so liable 
 to a relapse. The horse reviving from pneumonia 
 
CARDITIS 119 
 
 must never be securely reckoned upon: the horse 
 saved from an attack of pleurisy will long be an object 
 of suspicion. The pleura has to recover from its 
 maceration — the lung has to recover from its collapse : 
 the cough, the swelling of the legs, the disinclina- 
 tion to work, and the occasional stitchy pains, will 
 often remind the owner that the horse is not altogether 
 safe. 
 
 It must not be forgotten — indeed, cannot be too 
 often repeated — that the various diseases of the chest 
 often coexist, rendering the symptoms more obscure 
 and dangerous. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CARDITIS AND PERICARDITIS; INFLAMMATION OF 
 THE HEART AND ITS INVESTING MEMBRANE. 
 
 The heart is the grand agent in circulation. It is the 
 central pump, by the power of which the vital fluid is 
 distributed to every part of the frame. It sympathizes 
 with every irregularity in the various structures which 
 compose the body. If there is inflammation in any 
 part, it is sure to be marked by the throbbing and 
 increased action of the vessels of that part ; and it 
 will not be long before the heart partakes of the irri- 
 tation, and the pulse will be evidently affected. But 
 the heart is subject to disease, independent of any 
 sympathy with the different portions of the frame. It 
 is itself the seat of inflammation. Carditis is a disease, 
 not of frequent occurrence ; but which is sometimes 
 seen, and requires the most careful attention. 
 
120 CARDITIS. 
 
 It is recognized by a quickness and strength of 
 pulse, referable not to any general affection, but to 
 the heart. Not only by applying the hand or the ear 
 to the side is its violent action ascertained; but the 
 pulse is seen to beat in places where during health it 
 cannot be detected. If the left side of the horse is 
 regarded with attention, the chest evidently vibrates ; 
 nay, the pulsations are also to be heard ; they are heard 
 as soon as the practitioner, if he listens attentively, 
 enters the stable; and sometimes they are so audible 
 as to force themselves on the observation of those who 
 stand outside the building. At the same time there 
 is an unnatural fire, a peculiarly haggard expression 
 in the countenance of the horse during this disease. 
 
 The real character of the disease being understood, 
 there can be no doubt as to the treatment that should 
 be pursued. The horse must be bled. The morbid 
 excitement of disease must be lowered, by taking 
 away some of the stimulus which feeds it. There 
 must be no delay about this ; for, if an organ that is 
 always at work is over-excited, and called upon to 
 perform double labour, it will necessarily quickly be 
 exhausted. 
 
 The bleeding should be closely followed up by 
 laxative medicine; linseed oil being the safest, of 
 which two pints may be given. Sedatives should 
 quickly succeed, particularly powdered aconite root 
 in doses of two drachms each : while all food should 
 be removed, or, at most, mashes only be allowed. 
 
 Although a violent disease, it usually yields very 
 readily to this prompt treatment. 
 
 Inflammation or over-action of the heart itself has 
 
PERICARDITIS. 121 
 
 hitherto been spoken of; the covering of the heart is 
 also liable to inflammation equally dangerous; and 
 the disease is termed — 
 
 PERICARDITIS. 
 
 This disease, however, can seldom be recognized in 
 a living horse; or, at least, Veterinary Surgeons have 
 not yet sufficiently agreed on its distinguishing symp- 
 toms; nor has the cause of it been clearly ascer- 
 tained, excepting as connected with carditis, or with 
 pleurisy. In the first case, the symptoms of carditis 
 continue for a while ; the throbbing of the heart is 
 seen, producing a spasm of the whole frame; at 
 length, when a fluid begins to be effused within the 
 bag, there is an irregular action of the heart, attended 
 with laborious breathing, and a feeling of suffocation. 
 The horse is dull, weak, and languid. He sighs 
 frequently ; but rarely turns his head to his chest. 
 The pulse, at first regular but bounding, becomes 
 irregular, weak, intermittent ; it is roused to a rapid, 
 fluttering action by the least motion ; and it gradually 
 sinks again to almost absolute cessation. 
 
 This, however, is so identified with the kind of 
 breathing arising from the pressure of fluid on the 
 lungs, that the one cannot always be distinguished 
 from the other ; and, if it could, we should have less 
 power over dropsy of the heart than over that of 
 the lungs. In addition to which it may be stated that, 
 from the situation of the pericardiac bag, effusion 
 of the fluid would be far more difficult to remove than 
 in the case of the chest. The heart, however, has 
 been tapped through the ensiform cartilage of the 
 
1*22 PERICARDITIS. 
 
 sternum ; but the operation is seldom successful, and 
 can be performed only by a Veterinary Surgeon who 
 is well acquainted with anatomy. The general treat- 
 ment, in other respects, would be the same as for 
 hydrothorax ; therefore, to that article the reader is 
 referred ; it being fortunate that two diseases, which 
 in their symptoms so closely simulate one another, 
 require similar measures for their relief. 
 
 ENLARGEMENT OF THE HEART. 
 
 The heart is liable to several morbid changes ; the 
 most frequent of which is hypertrophy, or increase of 
 its substance. This is sometimes so great as to 
 double the natural size of the organ, and may be 
 attended with an increase of, or a diminution of its 
 cavities. 
 
 Sometimes this morbid growth of the heart is of a 
 cancerous nature. We have known the heart double 
 its natural weight, and altered in form, by fungoid 
 growth. The symptoms were principally an irregu- 
 lar pulse with a strong bounding action of the heart, 
 while the horse at length died suddenly. 
 
 These cancerous diseases of the heart are, however, 
 uniformly fatal sooner or later ; nor is there any treat- 
 ment which can be absolutely recommended. The 
 symptoms are during life never understood, nor does 
 medicine yet possess the power to check the corroding 
 effects of cancer. 
 
 However, the interest of the master will be best 
 consulted by man showing kindness to his servant, 
 so true is the teaching which instructs us that kindness 
 is its own reward. 
 
SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 123 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 
 
 This disease is introduced here because it may be 
 confounded with carditis, and should be carefully 
 distinguished from it. 
 
 Let it be supposed that a horse a little out of con- 
 dition, and perhaps with a full stomach, has been 
 ridden far and fast. He is pushed onward after he 
 has shown symptoms of distress ; or his own courage 
 carries him forward until he comes to a perfect stand- 
 still ; then, or soon afterwards, the following symp- 
 toms appear : he stands with his legs fixed ; his neck 
 stretched out; his nostrils expanded to the utmost; 
 every limb trembling; the flanks heaving, and the 
 countenance exhibiting anguish ; there is seen, at the 
 same time, a convulsive jerking similar to that which 
 has been described under the head of carditis; the 
 thumping noise which accompanies disease of the 
 heart is also heard, only louder and more marked. 
 
 An inexperienced person might confound this with 
 carditis ; and he would set to work to bleed the horse ; 
 and as surely as he did so he would destroy the ani- 
 mal. Although this sound is heard from the chest, 
 the heart has little to do with it. It is spasmodic 
 action of the diaphragm. 
 
 The diaphragm is one of the agents in respiration ; 
 it acts principally when the breathing is quiescent; 
 but has had more than its usual share of labour to per- 
 form during the late exertion because the system was 
 exhausted. The diaphragm however continued its 
 
 g 2 
 
124 SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 
 
 action after the muscles of the chest had ceased to 
 contract, because being more independent of the will 
 it was not in the same degree subject to the influence 
 of the sensations. Thus the diaphragm continued to 
 move till that which at first was normal, in the end 
 became a spasmodic action. 
 
 A little care will clearly ascertain this. The beat- 
 ing is from the posterior of the chest ; but if the ear 
 is applied to the side, the chief sound is perceived not 
 to come from the heart ; for the beating of the heart 
 can be heard distinct from the sound which is charac- 
 teristic of the disease. It can be most readily detected 
 at the sternum, a little below and behind the heart ; 
 from that point if a line proceeding obliquely upwards 
 and backwards be traced towards the commencement 
 of the loins, the thumping will be heard all along the 
 course marked out. The beatings of the heart and 
 this noise do not correspond. The heart throbs half as 
 quickly again. The diaphragm beats violently ; the 
 heart feebly. There can be no mistake about the 
 matter. As convulsions usually mark the last efforts 
 of expiring nature — thus spasmodic action generally 
 denotes extreme exhaustion, and therefore is a proof 
 of immediate danger. 
 
 No one would bleed an animal in a state of utter 
 debility; the horse then wants a stimulant, for a 
 sedative would probably extinguish the flickering 
 flame of life. Bleeding would probably be fatal, and 
 too often the horse is murdered in this way. The 
 proper treatment would be first to administer a 
 diffusible stimulant in a fluid form ; it will have the 
 quickest and the most powerful effect. 
 
SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 125 
 
 RECIPE (No. 33). 
 
 Cordial Drink. 
 
 Take — Powdered ginger, a drachm ; 
 Tincture of opium, an ounce ; 
 Sulphuric ether, two ounces ; 
 Good ale, a pint. 
 
 Let this potion be administered with all considera- 
 tion for the state of the animal. Make no more haste 
 than good speed, and remember the slightest impa- 
 tience may now cause the death of the sufferer. 
 
 If in the course of a quarter of an hour no effect is 
 produced, the drink may be repeated again and again, 
 for in cases of this kind there is no time for delay. 
 Do not, however, be advised to give any thing solid. 
 The digestion is too much enfeebled to appropriate it. 
 If ordinary work will arrest the digestive process, 
 how much more capable is total exhaustion to render 
 the stomach inactive. 
 
 A cordial ball is an excellent thing in its way, but 
 however good on general occasions the best would 
 here be sadly out of place. However, the following 
 is a good one of its class, and upon the symptoms 
 subsiding, one of these dissolved in lukewarm w T ater 
 may be attended with good effect. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 34). 
 Cordial Ball. 
 
 Take — Powdered capsicums, half a drachm ; 
 Extract of gentian, two drachms ; 
 Carbonite of ammonia, one drachm ; 
 Powdered camphor, a scruple ; 
 Linseed meal, a sufficiency : 
 Mix with honey and give. 
 G 3 
 
126 SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 
 
 This will form the common cordial ball; but, in 
 spasm of the diaphragm, half a drachm of opium with 
 two drachms of the subcarbonate of ammonia should be 
 reduced to fine powder, and beaten up and blended 
 with the other ingredients ; while thin gruel, or white 
 water, warm, should be put in the manger; and 
 the horse should be suffered to drink as much as he 
 pleases. 
 
 This plan of treatment will rarely fail of having its 
 effect in rousing the general powers ; although it may 
 not immediately reduce the violence of the spasm. 
 But the energy of the system having been revived, 
 more reaction may be excited than is wished. It may 
 be even dangerous ; it may possibly run on to inflam- 
 mation. This is to be guarded against ; and should the 
 violence of the pulse denote any fire about to kindle 
 in the frame, the attendant must seize the opportunity 
 and bleed. Six pounds of blood should be taken 
 away ; plenty of gruel ought to be supplied ; and the 
 horse be left for a while to himself. In less than four- 
 and-twenty hours all will generally be quiet ; and a 
 few tonic diuretics will alone be required to complete 
 the restoration. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 35). 
 
 Tonic Diuretic Ball. 
 
 Take — Extract of gentian, two drachms ; 
 Powdered ginger, half a drachm ; 
 Sulphate of iron, two drachms ; 
 Nitrate of potash, one drachm ; 
 Oil of juniper, ten drops : 
 Beat them well together with so much treacle as may be required 
 to constitute a mass. 
 
TETANUS. 127 
 
 This may be given night and morning for a few 
 days, and then changed for the tonic balls if the 
 animal appears to require more medicine. 
 
 The diaphragm has sometimes been ruptured; which 
 maybe produced by too severe exertion. The symp- 
 toms are often very obscure, but the most frequent 
 are those of severe inflammation of the lungs com- 
 bined with signs of aggravated colic. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 TETANUS — LOCKED JAW — AND PALSY. 
 
 Tetanus is spasm of the muscles of voluntary motion : 
 it is called locked jaw, because the muscles of the 
 jaw are generally among the earliest affected. It 
 is rarely preceded by any serious illness ; but usually 
 appears suddenly, the earliest symptoms being mostly 
 discovered when the stable is first entered in the 
 morning. 
 
 There are two kinds of tetanus. To distinguish 
 them, they are called traumatic and idiopathic. 
 
 Traumatic tetanus is caused by wounds. Any 
 injury, however small or great, may produce it; 
 but cuts over the eye, punctures into the foot or 
 tendons, have most frequently been followed by it. 
 When caused by a wound, tetanus is more rapid in 
 its course, more violent in its symptoms, generally 
 being of the most acute kind. Traumatic tetanus is, in 
 fact, rarely relieved. Idiopathic tetanus can be traced 
 to no known cause. It comes on without our being 
 
 G 4 
 
128 TETANUS. 
 
 able to account for its appearance. It is more mild, 
 more slow, and more often conquered than is that 
 kind of tetanus which springs from injuries. A case 
 of the idiopathic kind, therefore, holds out some hopes 
 of treatment being successful. 
 
 The symptoms which denote that the horse has 
 been attacked by tetanus should be universally known, 
 as every thing will depend upon the disease being 
 recognized in its earliest stage. 
 
 The horse is unable to turn his head easily round to 
 his flank ; the whole body must turn together, like a 
 deal board ; the muscles of the neck are rigid and 
 hard ; the nostrils are dilated to the utmost ; the ears 
 are erect ; the eyes retracted ; the haw drawn over 
 them; the countenance of the horse the picture of 
 mute despair. The muscles of the extremities, al- 
 though less affected, are considerably involved; the 
 poor animal is conscious of his loss of power over 
 them, and fixes himself as securely as he can ; no- 
 thing but absolute force can induce him to move. 
 The fore legs are wide apart, and inclined forwards ; 
 the hind legs are strangely straddling, and inclined 
 backwards ; the tail is erect, and in a constant, qui- 
 vering motion. As the disease proceeds, the horse 
 becomes more and more a fixture ; and the jaws are, 
 at length, so firmly clenched, that nothing can be 
 forced between the teeth. 
 
 This is a disease of extreme suffering to the poor 
 animal. The human being undergoing the like afflic- 
 tion tells us that his tortures are great indeed ; the 
 pain which results from the cramp of one muscle will 
 give some idea of the horrible suffering that must 
 
TETANUS. 129 
 
 attend universal spasm, continued, without intermis- 
 sion, for many days. The cramp, however, forms but a 
 portion of the agony which the horse during an attack 
 of tetanus must undergo. The system is in a state of 
 unnatural excitement ; the entrance of any one into 
 the stable — a hand laid upon the body — even the 
 noise of an approaching foot — any sight, sound, or 
 touch, may throw the animal into convulsions, or pro- 
 duce such aggravation of the symptoms as shall con- 
 vulse the entire frame. 
 
 In every case of tetanus, we are, of course, most 
 anxious to learn the cause ; probably, upon pushing 
 our inquiries, we may gain some information on this 
 head. There has, perhaps, been some slight injury ; 
 a nail has been driven too close ; or a piece of glass 
 has cut the foot; or a blow has been lodged just above 
 the eye ; or the knees have been recently broken ; or 
 the stable fork has been used to strike the horse about 
 the legs, and the point of it has only gone a little 
 way into the back sinews. Sometimes an operation 
 has been recently performed: and let not the pro- 
 prietor blame the surgeon, if such should have been 
 the case. Any puncture, however small, may pro- 
 duce tetanus ; but it may not follow the most severe 
 and the largest wounds. No means we know of can 
 start it up, and no care or skill can prevent its appear- 
 ance. We may learn, however, that the tail has 
 been docked or nicked. The wounds have very 
 nearly healed, and they may look as well as could be 
 desired; or they may all at once have assumed an 
 unhealthy appearance ; a thin ichorous fluid may be 
 discharged from them, and there may be a spongy 
 G 5 
 
130 TETANUS. 
 
 appearance around the openings. Most commonly 
 the wounds have nearly healed ; or are at the moment 
 of closing, without any seeming unhealthy change of 
 appearance, when this strange affection bursts forth. 
 
 It is a nervous affection. A fibre of some nerve 
 has been injured, — irritation ensues, — it rapidly 
 spreads along the various branches of that nerve, and, 
 through the spinal marrow, affects the entire body. 
 
 For the relief of tetanus there are some persons who 
 adopt very decisive and severe measures. They bleed 
 largely in order that they may gain the full advantage 
 of its sedative influence. When this plan is pursued 
 the blood should flow in a free full stream ; it should 
 flow on until the circulation is evidently affected. 
 That will not soon happen, for the irritation is too 
 great, and too general, readily to yield to any seda- 
 tive ; and more than ten or twelve quarts of blood will 
 sometimes be lost before the pulse indicates that any 
 effect has been produced on the circulation. 
 
 The consequence of this copious depletion will 
 generally be a temporary remission of the symptoms; 
 and, advantage being taken of the relaxation of the 
 muscles, a strong purgative ball or drink is given. 
 
 Having proceeded thus far, the next aim is to at- 
 tack the disease as much as possible locally. It is 
 evidently a nervous affection. The practitioner, 
 therefore, who admires the severer plan of treatment, 
 endeavours to bring the principle of counter- irritation 
 to bear as far as may be practicable. A blister is 
 applied from the poll to the rump. The common 
 liquid blister (Recipe 24, p. 78) will be as effec- 
 tual as any. Some practitioners have carried the 
 
TETANUS. 131 
 
 principle of counter-irritation a great deal further — 
 they have blistered almost the whole of the sides and 
 the belly. They have by this means excited such 
 extensive inflammation of the skin, that the original 
 affection of the spinal cord has occasionally dis- 
 appeared. Setons also have been inserted along the 
 course of the spine ; but they have rarely been pro- 
 ductive of decided good effect. In order to produce 
 more determination of blood to the skin, and thus re- 
 lieve the spinal inflammation, sheep-skins, applied 
 warm, should be placed on the horse's back ; reaching 
 from the poll to the tail, and these should be changed 
 as often as they become offensive. 
 
 Another way of treating the disease locally is, to 
 find out the injured part from which the mischief has 
 proceeded. Some nervous fibre may be compressed 
 there : — a few deep incisions across the wound may 
 liberate it. Upon the chance of some morbid action 
 within the wound having produced this sad affection 
 of the nerves, the cautery, or the caustic, has been 
 applied ; and rarely, though occasionally, such irrita- 
 tion is said to have been cured. If the disease is from 
 docking, another of the caudal vertebrae has been 
 removed ; if from nicking, the incision has been made 
 deeper ; or another wound closer to the root of the 
 tail has been incised. 
 
 In many cases, however, there may not appear to 
 have been any local injury; but exposure to cold; 
 the dripping of water on the back ; indigestible food ; 
 or various diseases, are imagined to have produced 
 tetanus ; and then general means alone can be adopted. 
 
 The physic having begun to work, or having been 
 g 6 
 
132 TETANUS. 
 
 repeated until the effect is produced, the practitioner 
 next looks around him for some sedative medicine, in 
 order to allay the dreadful excitation of the nervous 
 system. Opium is thought to be the sheet-anchor here ; 
 and, in conjunction with camphor, it is supposed to be 
 almost uniformly beneficial. Two drachms of opium are 
 given as a first dose, with one drachm of camphor ; and 
 a drachm of opium, with half the quantity of camphor, 
 is afterwards given four times in the day. Such is the 
 plan perhaps most generally followed ; but by no means 
 attended with such results as will establish it to be 
 the only mode of treatment worthy pursuit. In fact, 
 the measures required to cure tetanus have yet to be 
 discovered. The most opposite methods have from 
 time to time succeeded, but all of them have more fre- 
 quently failed. In the course described as generally 
 practised, depletion carried to the utmost point is 
 depended upon ; but stimulants also have been pushed 
 to the extreme, and these likewise have appeared to 
 subdue the disease. Sudden shocks; repeated drench- 
 ings with cold water ; or pails of water thrown upon 
 the animal ; burying up to the neck in a dunghill ; 
 turning into a river ; and the injection of warm w r ater 
 into the veins, are each reported to have been success- 
 ful; but none of these plans have, upon being tested, 
 proved to possess much influence over the disorder. 
 
 This being the fact, we inquire if the severe treat- 
 ment is absolutely necessary ? In tetanus the pulse 
 is not always accelerated ; and bleeding, therefore, is 
 not in every case indicated. The bowels are not in 
 every case constipated ; and purgatives are not always 
 required. The benefit of violent counter-irritation is 
 
TETANUS. 133 
 
 not demonstrated, and its employment, therefore, is 
 not justified. The best practitioners begin to doubt 
 the efficacy of the active tortures of the old school; 
 and to think that perfect quiet is of more use than 
 violent medicine. If the horse be costive, they ad- 
 minister a purgative, and a bold one; because an 
 ordinary purge will have no effect during the exist- 
 ence of tetanus. They then place the animal where 
 it cannot be disturbed and take care to visit it as sel- 
 dom as possible. The door is locked and the horse is 
 left alone ; every precaution being taken to prevent 
 the slightest noise. The absolute quietude thus ob- 
 tained has been found to be of more service than any 
 thinsr else : and the horse which has been thus shut 
 up in silence has more frequently recovered than the 
 one which has been continually annoyed under the 
 pretence of effecting its restoration. 
 
 As for food — the horse is not able to take any solid 
 nourishment; but he may have a malt mash more 
 than usually wet in his manger, and a bucket of gruel 
 may be slung in some part of the box ; from either or 
 both of which he may, perhaps, contrive to extract a 
 little nourishment. The appetite of the tetanic horse 
 rarely fails him; though he may be unable to eat, he 
 will, under the influence of hunger, manage to imbibe 
 enough for his support. Even if he makes no attempt 
 to touch that which is placed before him, he should be 
 left some days before any effort is made to drench 
 him ; and if he takes only a little nourishment, a fur- 
 ther period should elapse before he is annoyed by 
 forcing food upon him. Should he, however, appear 
 to be losing strength and to be sinking, of course he 
 
134 TETANUS. 
 
 must then at every hazard be supported. Should it 
 be possible to insert a small horn or the neck of a 
 small bottle between his tushes and his grinders, al- 
 most any quantity of gruel may be given him ; and 
 when he is in a manner starved, it is interesting to 
 see how eagerly the poor creature will take the 
 nourishment which is offered him in this way. The 
 dreadful cramp of the muscles of his neck should not, 
 however, be forgotten ; and the gruel should be given 
 to him as gently as possible, and without elevating 
 his head more than is absolutely necessary. Fre- 
 quent injections of arrow-root or gruel may also be 
 thrown up. Where, however, the proprietor is pos- 
 sessed of the instrument, the ordinary horse catheter, 
 with Read's pump attached to it, will enable any 
 amount of gruel to be thrown into the stomach of an 
 animal which suffers from lock-jaw of the chronic or 
 slow description ; not only quickly, but without the 
 necessity of elevating the head. The horse catheter 
 is simply passed up the nose, along the floor of the 
 nasal chamber ; and being pushed onward it will en- 
 ter the gullet. When the tube is inserted its full 
 length, the fluid may be injected. This stratagem 
 answers admirably ; and subjects the horse to little 
 annoyance. Some animals, especially when acutely 
 affected, are so irritable, that any interference throws 
 them into convulsion ; and, in such cases, perhaps the 
 injection of nutritive liquids into the rectum is even 
 more than the symptoms will permit to be done. 
 
 In a disease of this nature the humanity and pa- 
 tience of the attendant must, however, be exerted. 
 These virtues will aid him more in the end than all 
 
FALSY. 
 
 135 
 
 his science ; however learned he may be. The dis- 
 ease may terminate quickly. We have known a horse 
 to die of it in less than thirty hours. So speedy a 
 close, however, is rather unusual. The animal with 
 idiopathic tetanus often lingers. It occasionally hap- 
 pens that the horse does not begin to amend until ten 
 or twelve days have elapsed ; and in one case that oc- 
 curred in the practice of the editor of this work, a month 
 passed without more than an occasional remission of 
 the symptoms. The treatment was, nevertheless, 
 persevered in, and the animal eventually recovered. 
 
 When the horse does begin to get better, not a 
 particle of medicine should be administered. By 
 giving tonic medicines much dangerous excitation 
 may be produced. The best tonic is nourishing food, 
 and even that should be supplied with caution. Green 
 meat will in these cases be useful. If the weather, 
 however, will admit of it, after the recovery is con- 
 firmed, a run for two or three hours every day will be 
 of essential benefit. 
 
 PALSY. 
 
 The horse is seldom or never subjected to that kind 
 of palsy which oftenest attacks the human being, — 
 palsy of one side; nor has he ever general palsy. 
 When it does occur in its most developed form, it is 
 usually paralysis of the hinder limbs, and then it is 
 rarely complete ; but the motion of the parts is rather 
 deteriorated than lost. It may be the consequence of 
 disease. Much stiffness of gait always accompanies 
 inflammation of the kidneys, and sometimes it degene- 
 rates into palsy; which has also been the consequence 
 
136 PALSY. 
 
 of inflammation of the bowels — severe purging — ex- 
 posure to cold, excessive exertion, and poisons ; but it 
 is oftener the result of injuries of the spine, caused by 
 accident or brutality. Falls in rapid action, and 
 more particularly in leaping; awkward casting, or 
 violent struggles after casting ; blows on the back or 
 loins ; a heavy rider urging a small or weak horse too 
 far or too fast; — all these may be causes of palsy: 
 yet most frequently when the affection appears it can 
 be traced to no well-marked source. 
 
 If palsy is the result of previous disease, it will 
 sometimes disappear when its cause is removed. 
 Should it not, warm clothing, and the application of 
 stimulating liniments, as the mustard poultice, or the 
 common liquid blister (Recipe No. 24, p. 78), must 
 be resorted to. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 36). 
 The Mustard Poultice. 
 
 Take — Of mustard flower and linseed meal equal parts, and mix 
 them together with a sufficient quantity of warm, not hot, vinegar. 
 
 This is a powerfully-external stimulant, and per- 
 fectly safe. 
 
 When palsy is the result of accident, the horse 
 should be examined ; and if there is occasion for it, 
 the back or loins may be well fomented several times 
 in the day, for two or three days ; at the end of which 
 period should the palsy be present the mustard poul- 
 tice or liquid blister should be applied. Slight con- 
 tusions or sprain of the spine may be thus relieved : 
 and then a charge should be placed over the back 
 and loins, and the horse having a fair allowance of 
 
PALSY. 137 
 
 oats should be turned out to grass. However, when 
 the spine is decidedly fractured, all treatment is hope- 
 less. These lesions may spring from seemingly in- 
 adequate causes ; the only proof of the existence of 
 such a fracture being the animal sitting up on the 
 haunches like a dog ; but, at the same time, having 
 lost all sensation and power of motion in the hinder 
 limbs. 
 
 The action of medicine is uncertain in this disease ; 
 but the iodide of iron and the nux vomica in powder 
 have appeared to do good. They may be used sepa- 
 rately or together; working the dose of each from 
 half a drachm to as much as the horse can bear. 
 Then the quantity of each must be lowered to half a 
 drachm, and both be administered in combination. A 
 ball is the best vehicle for these medicines; and the 
 bulk required may be created by linseed meal and 
 treacle, mixed together ; or gentian and ginger occa- 
 sionally may be substituted for the first ingredient. 
 It is scarcely credible to what extent the spine will 
 often appear to have suffered upon examination after 
 death. Anchylosis, or loss of motion in the joints, 
 has, in aggravated cases, extended along almost the 
 whole of the back. A very common and unsuspected 
 cause of this is the narrow stall of some crowded or 
 ill-built stable. The horse is often compelled to 
 bend himself into a half-circle in order to turn. The 
 ligaments of some of the joints of the spine must be 
 stretched by this ; and especially when the animal is 
 forced to bustle round as quickly as he can at the 
 command of a brutal servant. Such injury may ap- 
 pear to be slight at first; but its frequent repetition 
 
138 INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 
 
 causes inflammation, and converts the ligaments of 
 the spine into bony matter. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH POISONS RUP- 
 TURE OF THE STOMACH — BOTS — WORMS. 
 
 The stomach of the horse is very small compared 
 with the bulk of the animal. Nature designed this, 
 in order that its weight might not rest too oppres- 
 sively on the diaphragm, interfering with the action 
 of that important respiratory muscle. 
 
 The stomach is not only small, but it is singularly 
 constructed. More than one-half is covered with in- 
 sensible cuticular membrane; and the remainder is 
 enveloped in villous membrane, similar to that which 
 lines the intestines. The food is first macerated 
 within the cuticular portion of the stomach ; and then 
 by the muscular portion of the part moved to the 
 villous coat, where it undergoes digestion. Inflam- 
 mation of the stomach, unless caused by eating too 
 large a quantity of food, is not characterized by any 
 symptoms which can readily be interpreted ; signs of 
 acute colic attended with violent thirst would, in such 
 cases, be exhibited. 
 
 The stomach, however, occasionally becomes in- 
 flamed through the administration of poison. The 
 most common vegetable poison is the yew. The 
 horse will rarely eat it when green : but the half- 
 
poisons. 139 
 
 dried clippings of the yew-tree are now and then 
 picked np and devoured by horses. This distinction 
 should be well remembered when any case of sup- 
 posed poisoning by yew occurs. The horse may 
 often graze without danger, although there are yew- 
 trees about ; or although the field may be surrounded 
 by a yew-hedge. Natural instinct will teach him to 
 avoid that which would be hurtful; but when the 
 clippings are dried, the smell of the yew is consider- 
 ably changed, and danger naturally results. 
 
 The principal symptom of this kind of poisoning 
 is a strange sort of drowsiness. The horse stands, 
 propped up by a gate or wall, with his head hanging 
 down almost to the ground ; and he is regardless or 
 unconscious of every thing around him. At other 
 times he lies down, breathing loudly and hardly ; and 
 is with difficulty roused to momentary attention, while 
 it is almost impossible to make him rise. In this way 
 he sleeps 'or dozes on, until slight convulsions occur, 
 when he may die suddenly. 
 
 The nature of the poison having been ascertained, 
 with this knowledge, likewise, comes the fact, that no 
 known antidote has yet been discovered for this vege- 
 table poison. It is, however, powerfully narcotic in 
 its action ; and consequently the following measures 
 are indicated : to keep the animal constantly upon 
 the move ; never to allow him to rest till the potency 
 of the poison has been overcome ; to administer stimu- 
 lants of the most active kind; such as ammonia in 
 solution* ether likewise dissolved; spirits of turpen- 
 tine ; strong ale, and even pepper. 
 
 The Mayweed (a species of wild camomile, Anthe- 
 
140 POISONS. 
 
 mis cotala) has sometimes, like the yew, caused vio- 
 lent illness and death. This is seldom eaten when 
 found green in the field ; but when mingling in its 
 dried state with the hay, it has produced mischief. 
 The animal in this case should be drenched with the 
 gruel and vinegar; and if costiveness follows, sixteen 
 or twenty ounces of linseed oil, guarded by half a 
 drachm of chloroform, should be given every six 
 hours, until the symptoms improve. 
 
 The Water Parsley has sometimes produced palsy ; 
 and the Water Dropwort has poisoned the horses that 
 have eaten it. When this occurs the animal should 
 be treated as in the previous case. 
 
 If horses are destroyed by the mineral poisons, it 
 is generally to be attributed either to design or un- 
 skilful treatment. All of the mineral poisons, in cer- 
 tain doses, are useful in many diseases ; in fact, they 
 sometimes constitute almost the only means of cure : 
 but the dose being too large, or the use of the drug 
 too long persisted in, the animal may be destroyed 
 instead of the disease. 
 
 It is fortunate for the horse that Arsenic is not 
 frequently resorted to, as an internal medicine. It 
 was always a dangerous tonic, and especially after 
 acute disease. In cases of worms it has been given 
 with fatal effect. It may be used with less danger as 
 an external application : but it has occasionally done 
 mischief even here, and there are many safer and 
 better caustics. 
 
 The symptoms of poisoning by arsenic fire — the 
 evident expressions of intense pain ; the presence of 
 excessive thirst; the eager gaze at the flanks; the 
 
POISONS. 141 
 
 pawing and rolling; the membrane of the eye is of a 
 deep scarlet ; the saliva runs from the mouth : while 
 the purging is profuse, fetid, and sometimes will be 
 passed with blood. 
 
 The case may not always be quite so plain ; but 
 the owner may wish to ascertain the truth or falsehood 
 of some horrible suspicion. The presence of arsenic 
 is very easily detected by chemical analysis properly 
 conducted. The process, however, is too complex to 
 be here detailed ; and the reader is therefore referred 
 to any of the many excellent works which dwell par- 
 ticularly upon this subject. 
 
 The treatment will rarely be successful. The poi- 
 son will too frequently have done its work when the 
 symptoms become sufficiently urgent to be recognized. 
 Plenty of thin gruel or whitened water, which the 
 horse will drink with avidity, and two drachm doses 
 of opium repeated every half-hour, afford the best 
 chance of saving the animal. 
 
 Poisoning from Corrosive Sublimate is usually 
 the result of unskilful treatment. Lotions of it are 
 employed for the cure of mange ; or for the destruc- 
 tion of vermin ; and, unfortunately, it is much more 
 easily absorbed than arsenic. Sometimes, also, the 
 animal may lick from its body a fatal portion of the 
 drug. 
 
 The symptoms are nearly the same as those from 
 poisoning by arsenic. The remedy will consist of the 
 whites of eggs mixed with starch or gruel, and the 
 frequent administration of opium. 
 
142 RUPTURE OF THE STOMACH. 
 RUPTURE OF THE STOMACH. 
 
 The horse not being able to vomit if the stomacbTbe 
 distended, and by the distention not paralyzed, it will 
 contract upon its contents; but, not being able to urge 
 them forward or to cast them upward, the viscus is 
 often torn asunder by the efforts which nature makes 
 for its relief. This is always fatal ; and yearly de- 
 stroys many animals. Old horses, those which are 
 kept long out fasting ; then brought home to have a 
 loaded manger placed before a ravenous appetite : 
 these are the animals which most frequently die 
 from rupture of the stomach. The work and long 
 fast deaden the sensibility. Hungry and weak, they 
 feed and feed without nature warning them that the 
 stomach is full. At length a drowsiness ensues : 
 symptoms of colic may follow ; but more often they 
 do not appear. The animal then suddenly seems 
 better; but the lesion has taken place; and the horse 
 experiences only a temporary relief. The signs which 
 are generally regarded as indicative of violent colic 
 now commence in earnest. The pulse is quick but 
 sharp, although, at the same time, small. There are 
 efforts to vomit ; and the horse not only rolls, but he 
 may sit upon his haunches. The head is turned to 
 the side, and with the foot the belly is struck. The 
 pulse becomes more hurried. The breathing grows 
 quicker; the brain at length sympathizes; the horse 
 wanders about for a time, and then expires. 
 
 In these cases nothing can be done ; and, in fact, 
 could the existence of the injury be correctly ascer- 
 tained, the knacker should be employed instead of 
 
WORMS. 143 
 
 the Veterinary Surgeon. As, however, the symptoms 
 are very close to those of general abdominal disease, 
 it would be wrong to abandon every animal in which 
 the possibility of ruptured stomach was suspected. 
 The proper course, therefore, will be to treat the 
 horse in such a manner, as, in the opinion of the prac- 
 titioner, the symptoms require; and on this subject 
 direction may be gathered from those found under the 
 heads of colic, inflammation of the bowels, and of the 
 peritoneum. 
 
 WORMS. 
 
 Bots are the larvse or maggots of a species of gadfly 
 (the (Estrus equi), that deposits its eggs on those parts 
 of the horse which the animal is most apt to lick. The 
 egg is hatched by the warmth and moisture of the 
 tongue; the newly-born worm is conveyed into the 
 mouth ; thence carried down the oesophagus into the 
 stomach. It adheres frequently to the cuticular coat 
 of the stomach, by means of little hooks, with which 
 its mouth is furnished ; and there it remains from the 
 summer of one year to the spring of the next ; nou- 
 rished by the mucus of the stomach, or by the food 
 which it contains. Then, having attained its full 
 size as a maggot, it loosens its hold ; it is carried 
 along the intestines, and evacuated with the fseces. 
 Before it drops, it generally clings for a while to the 
 verge of the anus; w T hile doing this it tickles and 
 teases the horse. When the groom sees the bot 
 under the tail, he is alarmed; and administers inju- 
 rious purgatives, to get rid of the evil. 
 
 Bots, except they exist in considerable numbers? 
 
144 WORMS. 
 
 may do no great harm during their residence in the 
 stomach of the horse. The advice, therefore, to the 
 owner would be — let them alone; or, at most, be 
 content with having them picked off when they appear 
 beneath the tail. There are two good reasons for 
 this ; —the first is, that there is not any medicine that 
 will expel them : the strongest and even the most 
 dangerous purgative is for this purpose insufficient. 
 The horse may be injured or destroyed by the violent 
 measures adopted ; but the bot sets all physic at defi- 
 ance. The second reason is : that, if the bots are let 
 alone, they will, in due time, all come away without 
 our meddling. At the latter end of the spring, the 
 larva detaches itself from the stomach; is carried 
 along the intestines ; drops on the ground ; burrows into 
 it ; and becomes a chrysalis or grub. In a few weeks 
 it undergoes another and more wonderful transforma- 
 tion ; — it awakens from a state of sleep ; bursts through 
 its horny shell; and assumes the form of a fly, to lay 
 eggs and give rise to bots in some other animal. 
 
 There are, however, Worms in the intestines which 
 are more often inj urious to the horse ; yet seldom to 
 the extent which is feared. The small intestines 
 contain a round white worm, from six to fourteen inches 
 in length. This worm (the Lumbricus teres) in its 
 general figure very much resembles the common 
 earthworm ; and it lives either upon the mucus of the 
 bowels, or the nutritive part of the food. A dose of 
 physic will often expel an almost incredible number. 
 The appearance of one or two will at once suggest 
 the propriety of adopting measures for the removal of 
 that which is then known to exist. 
 
WORMS. 145 
 
 When the bowels are full of these parasites too much 
 nourishment is taken from the animal ; and they con- 
 stantly irritate the coats of the intestines. The proof 
 of the existence of these worms will be the unthrifty 
 appearance of the horse ; the enlarged belly ; the 
 staring coat ; the ravenous appetite ; or a harsh hollow 
 cough. 
 
 Even now it will not be necessary to have recourse 
 to any violent measures. No strong mercurial physic, 
 which endangers or half kills the horse, is needed. 
 The following ball will usually be effectual in the 
 expulsion of the parasites. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 37). 
 
 Worm Ball, for Long, round Worm. 
 
 Take — Emetic tartar, two drachms ; 
 
 Powdered ginger, half a drachm ; 
 Linseed meal, six drachms : 
 Make into a ball with palm oil. 
 
 One of these balls should be given every morning, 
 half an hour before the first feed ; and, after ten or 
 twelve of them have been taken, the horse should 
 have a dose of common physic. 
 
 The owner should not be dissatisfied if only a few 
 worms are voided. They are usually destroyed within 
 the intestines ; and, the preservative power of life 
 being lost, they are digested. The best proof of the 
 medicine having been effectual will be that the worms 
 cease to appear ; and the horse improves in condition. 
 
 Another kind of worm (the Ascarides) inhabits 
 the larger intestines; and particularly the last of 
 them— the rectum. It is a little worm, one inch and 
 
 H 
 
146 WORMS. 
 
 a half in length, and not thicker than ordinary thread; 
 but these annoyances often exist in very large quan- 
 tities. They are rarely dangerous ; but they occasion 
 distress ; causing great irritation and itching about 
 the anus ; and provoking the horse to rub the hair off 
 his tail against the wall of the stable : sometimes, though 
 seldom, they have produced extensive inflammation. 
 The strongest physic, as it is usually administered, 
 will seldom expel the ascarides. They must be attacked 
 in their stronghold. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 38). 
 Injection for Ascarides. 
 
 Take — Powdered aloes, half an ounce ; 
 
 Powdered gum-arabic, half an ounce: 
 Pour on them half a pint of boiling water ; shake the mixture well 
 until the aloes are dissolved or suspended, blend with the yolk of an 
 egg, and add 
 
 Train oil, one quart. 
 Stir the ingredients well together until they are thoroughly incor- 
 porated. 
 
 Let this be injected into the rectum every morning, 
 as long as any ascarides are voided. 
 
 There is another slender worm which somewhat 
 resembles the ascarides, though rather longer and 
 larger : it is called the Strongylus, and, when voided, 
 its body is dark. 
 
 In the treatment of them, as well as other kinds, 
 due regard should be paid to the general health. 
 Powerful medicines should not be given, as great 
 debility may be present; but vegetable tonics should 
 be first employed to amend the condition of the ani- 
 mal, especially as science is yet unacquainted with the 
 drug which has power to destroy the Strongylus. 
 
147 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES PERITONITIS 
 
 ENTERITIS — DYSENTERY — SPASMODIC COLIC — FLA- 
 TULENT COLIC — IMPACTMENT — STRANGULATION 
 
 CALCULI IN THE INTESTINES. 
 
 Under the general name of inflammation of the 
 bowels there are included two diseases which are pro- 
 perly distinguished by different names. 
 
 PERITONITIS; INFLAMMATION OF THE EXTERNAL OR 
 SEROUS COAT OF THE INTESTINES. 
 
 This is a very frequent disease. It is caused by 
 the application of cold water to the belly of the horse ; 
 either by taking him into the pond, or washing him 
 with cold water ; and sometimes by suffering him to 
 drink plentifully when he is heated. Exposure to 
 rain; over-exertion on a full stomach ; and injuries, 
 have produced it; also it not unfrequently occurs 
 during the later stage of inflammation of the lungs ; 
 but the disease will likewise sometimes occur without 
 any assignable cause. From whatever source it arises, 
 it runs its course with fearful rapidity. Like pneu- 
 monia, it sometimes destroys the horse in less than 
 twenty-four hours ; and occasionally in less than 
 twelve. 
 
 The symptoms of peritonitis should be carefully 
 
 studied ; for many a horse will be lost if they are not 
 
 early recognized. One of the earliest symptoms is 
 
 the expression of very acute pain. The animal paws ; 
 
 H 2 
 
148 PERITONITIS. 
 
 strikes at, although he only lightly touches his belly ; 
 looks at his flanks with a more sudden turn, and a 
 wilder gaze than during inflammation of the lungs ; 
 rolls, struggles violently ; lies upon his back, groans ; 
 the legs are cold ; the mouth dry, sometimes hot, and 
 rarely cold ; the membrane of the nose is a very little 
 reddened, sometimes paler than the natural hue; the 
 flanks heave violently ; the horse shivers and sweats ; 
 the pulse is quick and hard ; while the belly is hot and 
 exceedingly tender. The violence of the symptoms, 
 however, soon abates ; and the horse rapidly becomes 
 scarcely able to stand. 
 
 This disease may be distinguished from colic by the 
 pain, which, though less violent, is without remission ; 
 also by the character of the pulse ; by the tenderness 
 of the abdomen ; and by the fasces being covered with 
 mucus. 
 
 The treatment is plain. The patient must be bled ; 
 the stream must flow until the character of the pulse 
 has changed. In the early stage the horse will lose a 
 certain quantity of blood almost with advantage : but, 
 twelve hours having passed, the strength of the ani- 
 mal will be exhausted; and copious bleeding will not 
 be practicable, or, if it were, it would not be safe. 
 Then refuse to bleed, but in lieu of it, administer 
 drachm doses of aconite root in water, and repeat the 
 medicine every half-hour until the pulse amends its 
 character. Do this also, if after the bleeding the 
 pulse should again become hard or strong. 
 
 The next thought should be about some agent to 
 relieve the bowels of their contents; which if retained, 
 would probably increase the disorder. Strong physic 
 
PERITONITIS. 149 
 
 is- out of the question; the bowels are already too irri- 
 table ; it would be adding fuel to fire : but a mild 
 aperient may be administered. Linseed oil, how- 
 ever, is the only aperient that can be ventured on. 
 A pint. may be given, guarded by a drachm of chloro- 
 form, and the following should shortly afterwards be 
 administered : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 39). 
 
 Take— Tincture of opium, two ounces ; 
 Sulphuric ether, two ounces ; 
 Cold water, one pint. 
 
 This medicine may be repeated every third hour 
 after the oil has been exhibited. Frequent injections 
 of a warm, but of a sedative nature, should likewise be 
 thrown up. 
 
 Next comes the important principle of counter- 
 irritation. The whole of the belly should be stimu- 
 lated. Hot fomentations to the abdomen should be 
 employed ; and, in cases where hot water is not to be 
 obtained, cloths soaked in the coldest spring water 
 may be applied, each being removed and renewed so 
 soon as it shall become warm. Where a speedy and 
 powerful vesicant is required, and the necessary drugs 
 are at hand, the strong liquor ammonia, diluted with 
 six times its quantity of water, will be found to an- 
 swer every purpose. 
 
 A thin cloth, once or twice doubled, should be made 
 wet with the liquid, and placed next to the skin ; while 
 over the cloth another, thicker and larger, several times 
 folded, should be held to prevent evaporation — thus 
 subjecting the body to the action of those ammoniacal 
 h 3 
 
150 PERITONITIS. 
 
 fumes, which would otherwise escape. In this way 
 all the effects of the most powerful blister may be ob- 
 tained in a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. 
 The horse, at the same time, should be warmly 
 clothed, and his legs bandaged ; for these may cause 
 some determination of blood to the skin, and thereby 
 relieve the inflamed part. 
 
 Of course the horse should, as quickly as possible, 
 be got into a loose box, which ought to be well littered 
 down. Clysters and back-raking are suggested by the 
 very nature of the disorder; and beside all this, a 
 drachm of calomel and two drachms of powdered 
 aconite root, or of powdered opium, ought to be 
 shaken upon the tongue every hour. Peritonitis is so 
 rapid in its course that there need be no caution 
 about the mercury producing salivation ; and the 
 Opium is imperatively required to deaden pain; for, 
 unless the suffering can be softened, the system will 
 soon fail from sheer exhaustion. 
 
 The food, supposing the horse to survive, should 
 consist of mashes and thin gruel ; except green meat 
 can be procured, which may be given in moderate 
 quantities. It should be perfectly evident that the 
 disease has entirely subsided before any hay or corn 
 is allowed; and, even then, the horse should very 
 slowly return to the use of hard meat. 
 
 A quantity of red and often thickish water will be 
 found inside the abdomen of the horse which has 
 perished of peritonitis ; and the external membrane of 
 the intestines or the peritoneum will be seen inflamed. 
 Such appearances are conclusive as to what was the 
 character of the disease ; and it is by no means rare 
 
ENTERITIS. 151 
 
 to discover such indications in the colt which has died 
 soon after castration. Peritonitis, indeed, too fre- 
 quently follows that operation ; but the proprietor 
 must not, therefore, conclude it has originated from 
 any want of skill on the part of the practitioner. It 
 will best be prevented by observing the condition of 
 the colt before the operation is performed ; and as to 
 requisite precautions at that period the farmer is too 
 often sadly neglectful. 
 
 ENTERITIS — INFLAMMATION OF THE MUSCULAR COAT 
 OF THE BOWELS. 
 
 This disease, if not in the first instance energeti- 
 cally combated, may, in eight hours, reach a fatal 
 termination. It rarely lasts in its intensity more 
 than twenty-four hours. It is often the consequence 
 of gripes or colic; and therefore it appears to endure 
 much longer than it really does. The wiry pulse, 
 with tenderness of the abdomen, and continuous 
 pain, distinguish this attack from gripes ; but from 
 peritonitis it is only to be separated by the faeces being 
 in small black lumps and covered with a bilious 
 secretion rather than coated with mucus ; perhaps, also, 
 by the belly being not quite so painful upon pressure 
 as in the last affection. 
 
 The causes are nearly the same as induce peri- 
 tonitis; but to these acrid or unwholesome food may 
 be added : and enteritis may no£ be, like the former 
 disorder, so frequently connected with injuries and 
 with inflammation of the lun^s. 
 
 In every case of enteritis, spasm is present ; and, 
 as this is associated with inflammation, bleeding is 
 h 4 
 
152 DYSENTERY. 
 
 demanded. The horse should be bled. A purgative 
 combined with an antispasmodic should then be admi- 
 nistered, and the following will answer the purpose : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 40). 
 Drink for Enteritis. 
 Take — Solution of aloes, four ounces ; 
 Extract of gentian, four ounces ; 
 Laudanum, two ounces ; 
 Sulphuric ether, two ounces : 
 Add a pint of cold water and give. 
 
 A drachm of opium, combined with half a drachm 
 of calomel, may afterwards be administered every 
 hour ; and, if the pain has not abated, the sulphuric 
 ether may be repeated at the same time as the mer- 
 cury. The other measures are the same as re- 
 commended in peritonitis ; namely, back-raking, clys- 
 ters, counter-irritants to the belly, &c. ; but, after 
 enteritis, the food should be given sparingly ; and 
 nothing which is of a hard or dry nature placed before 
 the horse for some time. 
 
 DYSENTERY ACUTE DIARRHCEA, OR VIOLENT IN- 
 FLAMMATION OF THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE OF THE 
 BOWELS. 
 
 This is too frequently the consequence of physic ; 
 either of bad quality, or given in an over-dose ; or 
 administered under circumstances which should have 
 warned the practitioner of the consequent danger of 
 purgation. If physic has not been given, yet the 
 horse may have been ridden or driven far and fast, 
 with nothing but green meat in his belly ; or inflam- 
 mation of the lungs may have quitted its primary 
 
DYSENTERY. 153 
 
 situation, and have attacked the mucous membrane of 
 the intestines. Being inflammation of the internal 
 coat, the numerous vessels which secrete the mucus of 
 the intestinal canal share the irritation ; they at the 
 commencement pour out an increased quantity of fluid, 
 and purging generally ensues, but towards the end 
 all secretion ceases, and either purgation ceased, or 
 the intestine having become disorganized, perpetual 
 and foetid stools ensue. 
 
 This disease can hardly be confounded with the 
 foregoing. The pulse, although hard in dysentery, 
 is not so much so as in enteritis, nor is it so wiry. 
 The muzzle and extremities are not so cold in the last 
 disorder. The horse suffering dysentery shows that 
 he endures intense pain ; he looks anxiously round at 
 his flanks; he is continually shifting his position : he 
 lies down, and immediately rises again ; but he never 
 rolls so violently as in enteritis ; nor does he kick so 
 desperately ; nor is there so much tenderness of the 
 belly. At the same time he is purging instead of ex- 
 hibiting the obstinate costiveness which too frequently 
 accompanies enteritis. 
 
 Thousands of horses are destroyed every year by 
 over-physicking; for should the purging run on to 
 inflammation of the mucous membrane, it can seldom 
 be effectually stopped. The first inquiry should be 
 as to the length of time during which the purging has 
 existed; the degree of pain that the animal has 
 evinced; and the nature and quantity of the dis- 
 charge. If not more than twenty-four or thirty-six 
 hours have elapsed since the physic began to work ; 
 if the dejections are not very foetid, even although 
 h 5 
 
154 DYSENTERY. 
 
 the discharge should be. frequent, we may not de- 
 spair; but we must not be too sanguine in our expec- 
 tations. There may as yet be more irritation than 
 positive inflammation of the parts; and, while we 
 wish to stop the excessive discharge, we also desire to 
 support the strength ; to sheathe the bowels, and calm 
 the excitement. Opium will answer one of these 
 intentions. Plenty of tolerably thick gruel or starch 
 should be horned down ; as well as thrown up in the 
 form of injections; and with it, every hour, one ounce 
 of opium should be given. The starch will possibly 
 sheathe the coats of the bowels, which, by the pur- 
 gation, have been deprived of their protecting mucus; 
 and, the opium also allaying the irritability, perhaps 
 the purging may gradually stop. If, however, eight- 
 and-forty hours have passed, and the discharge con- 
 tinues as abundant as ever ; or, although it may have 
 decreased, it is voided with pain, and mingled with 
 much slime ; while the mouth is hot; the countenance 
 anxious ; the flanks heave ; the pulse is much acce- 
 lerated, and at the same time small, the case is almost 
 hopeless. Bleeding is never safe where mucous mem- 
 branes are affected ; and here, after purgation, it 
 would be absolute murder. A blister may be applied 
 to the whole extent of the abdomen ; and a sheep-skin 
 to the loins will do no harm. The chief dependence, 
 however, will be placed in sulphuric ether and lauda- 
 num ; two ounces of the latter with three of the 
 former being given every quarter of an hour in three 
 quarters of a pint of cold water. If no marked effect 
 should follow upon three or four doses, the like quan- 
 tities should also be exhibited in the form of injection. 
 
SPASMODIC COLIC. 155 
 
 When any foetor is detected, the chloride of zinc, in 
 scruple doses, dissolved in a pint of water, should be 
 given both by the mouth and thrown up the rectum. 
 
 If the purging should abate, the medicine should 
 be discontinued ; or, if the horse appears to be nar- 
 cotized, no more should be given than is necessary to 
 keep up this effect. It will be a good symptom if 
 the injections are retained ; and, that they may be 
 retained, they ought never to exceed in quantity a 
 quart at a time. 
 
 After the purgation ceases, supposing the animal 
 to survive, obstinate constipation generally follows. 
 This will sometimes continue for a week. Let not 
 the proprietor be alarmed or seek to remove it. After 
 some time has elapsed nature will resume her functions ; 
 and in the interspace gruel or green meat should con- 
 stitute the food ; but no mashes of bran ought on any 
 account to be given, as these irritate the bowels. 
 
 This is the disease which the groom designates 
 " molten grease" It must not be confounded with a 
 little spontaneous purging or simple diarrhcea ; which 
 is often an effort of nature to cast off something that 
 is injurious to the system; and therefore is best re- 
 lieved by an oily laxative, which in dysentery would 
 aggravate the disease. 
 
 SPASMODIC COLIC 
 
 This is a very frequent disease. If it is timely 
 attended to, little danger appears to accompany it. 
 However, almost every groom has a supposed specific 
 for it, and one that is often successful, but one which 
 in severe cases frequently wastes valuable time. The 
 h 6 
 
156 SPASMODIC COLIC. 
 
 chief object is to know the disease when it occurs; 
 not to confound it with inflammation of the bowels, 
 which requires an altogether different treatment. The 
 symptoms by which the one may be distinguished 
 from the other should never be mistaken after one 
 or two cases have been witnessed. In both there is 
 pain ; stamping ; looking at the flanks ; and rolling : 
 but in inflammation of the bowels the pain is con- 
 stant ; in colic there are periods when the horse en- 
 joys a total relief from pain, and turns to the manger 
 to feed. In the first, although the horse stamps 
 violently, he takes great care to touch his belly ten- 
 derly : in the second disease he often strikes his belly 
 desperately with his hind feet. In the one, the belly 
 is hot, and pressure on it gives much pain ; in the 
 other, there is no heat, and moderate friction evi- 
 dently affords relief. In inflammation of the bowels, 
 the pulse is, from the beginning, wiry and quick ; the 
 mouth is at the commencement hot, and then clammy, 
 or deathly cold ; in colic the pulse is not always 
 affected at first, although after a while, it quickens; 
 and the mouth is of its natural temperature until colic 
 merges into some more serious affection. Through- 
 out there are usually some premonitory symptoms — 
 as dulness, loss of appetite, and constipation — belong- 
 ing to an attack of inflammation ; colic comes on sud- 
 denly, without any warning. Motion sadly aggra- 
 vates the pain of inflammation ; a horse with colic 
 may become a little easier if he is walked about ; 
 though it is always safer to let him have a loose box, 
 and take what exercise he pleases. 
 
 The history of the case should also be inquired into. 
 
SPASMODIC COLIC. 157 
 
 If the horse, previously in perfect health, has, when 
 heated, had access to cold water ; or been exposed to 
 a cold wind ; or, if he has been exercised violently on 
 green meat ; either colic or inflammation may be the 
 result;, but if the symptoms follow a little sluggish- 
 ness at work, and want of appetite with constipation 
 for a few previous days, it is most probable that in- 
 flammation will be present. 
 
 Having, therefore, considered the history ; and ob- 
 served the symptoms ; and decided that the horse is 
 labouring under an attack of spasmodic colic, the 
 following drink should be given in a pint of ale or 
 cold water : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 41). 
 
 Colic Drink. 
 
 Take — Solution of Cape aloes, six ounces ; 
 Sulphuric ether, one ounce ; 
 Laudanum, two ounces. — Mix. 
 
 If in half an hour or an hour relief is not obtained, 
 the draught should be repeated; only the aloes must 
 not be again administered ; but their place should be 
 supplied by one drachm of camphor, ground to a fine 
 powder, with a few drops of spirits of wine. The abdo- 
 men also should be well rubbed or fomented. 
 
 After the second drink has been given without re- 
 lief, it is often necessary to moderately bleed the 
 horse ; not only to reduce the spasm, but to antici- 
 pate the inflammation which will probably ensue upon 
 a prolonged attack. After this the drink should be 
 repeated; two drachms of powdered opium may be 
 
158 IMPACTMENT. 
 
 given in an injection, and a stimulating embrocation 
 may be rubbed over the belly. It is very rare for an 
 attack of colic to continue longer ; but if it should, the 
 rubbing and the drink should be persevered in ; or 
 even the ammoniacal blister previously described may 
 be applied to the abdomen. 
 
 A horse recovering from a fit of spasmodic colic 
 should have his water a little warmed for several suc- 
 cessive days. 
 
 IMPACTMENT. 
 
 This is generally found only in old horses which 
 have immoderate appetites and weak digestions. It 
 is produced by masses of dung accumulating in the 
 bowels and stopping up the passage. It is distin- 
 guished from colic by there being no periods of per- 
 fect ease ; and from inflammation by the absence of 
 pain on pressure ; and by the character of pulse, 
 which will be changed, but not so much affected as in 
 positive enteritis. The disease, however, generally 
 continues for a longer time than does simple colic, 
 and more frequently terminates in inflammation. The 
 object is to relieve the bowels ; and large quantities 
 of oil with half a drachm of chloroform to each pint, 
 back-raking, and frequent injections, are employed 
 for this purpose. Bloodletting is also proper; and 
 often immediately will be followed with a free dis- 
 charge of fseces. A drink composed of sulphuric 
 ether and laudanum, of each two ounces, may be 
 administered thrice a day; or even oftener if the 
 symptoms are severe ; and the abdomen may likewise 
 be fomented or stimulated. 
 
FLATULENT COLIC. 159 
 
 FLATULENT COLIC. 
 
 This species of colic, although essentially different 
 from the spasmodic, both in its nature and treatment, 
 is recognizable from it, even in the early stage of the 
 disease, by its being more continuous and less violent 
 in its symptoms. The one is a spasmodic constriction 
 of the bowels ; the other is distention of the bowels 
 from the extrication of gas. There is during spasmodic 
 colic uneasiness ; pawing ; rolling ; with little change 
 in the pulse or the temperature of the extremities ; 
 but in flatulent colic the animal is rather uneasy than 
 furious; the distention of the stomach or bowels, or 
 both, after some period, causes an evident enlarge- 
 ment of the abdomen ; while, at the same time, the 
 discharge of flatus per anum characterizes the last 
 affection. 
 
 The drink for colic (Recipe No. 41, p. 157) should 
 be first administered ; but, if this does not give relief 
 in the course of an hour or two, the drink as amended 
 by the addition of camphor should be given ; while 
 frictions to the belly and frequent purgative enemas 
 are exhibited. The horse, however, should be left 
 quiet ; and not be trotted or galloped under the idea 
 of thereby getting rid of the wind. 
 
 Sometimes the disease is very obstinate, and re- 
 quires repeated changes to be made in the medicine 
 before it will yield. If such prove to be the case, a 
 drachm of carbonate of ammonia may be used instead 
 of the camphor. If no good is done, the ammonia 
 may be exchanged for half the quantity of chloride of 
 zinc; or linseed oil and chloroform may also be 
 
160 STRANGULATION AND CALCULI. 
 
 administered: always, however, continuing the lauda- 
 num and sulphuric ether, which will in the end gene- 
 rally be successful. 
 
 In some cases, however, all our labour is to no 
 purpose. The horse continues to swell ; he is blown 
 up as tight as a drum, and his breathing becomes 
 laborious. It will now be imperative to relieve him, 
 or the animal will die ; and a mode of treatment has 
 been suggested, founded upon the means used to re- 
 move the hoove in cattle, namely, to puncture the 
 caecum, as the rumen of the cow is sometimes punc- 
 tured. This might answer in the hands of a skilful 
 veterinary surgeon ; but no other person should at- 
 tempt the operation. It is often performed by the 
 French veterinarians; and has been lately recom- 
 mended by some Scottish practitioners. This danger- 
 ous operation, however, should only be employed as 
 a last resource. 
 
 STRANGULATION AND INTROSUSCEPTION OF THE 
 INTESTINES. 
 
 When the symptoms of severe spasmodic colic do 
 not readily yield ; either inflammation of the bowels 
 is at hand, or strangulation — twisting of the intestines 
 — may have taken place so as to cause an insuperable 
 obstruction to the passage of the feeces. Occasionally, 
 spasmodic action being long continued, one portion of 
 the gut will enter and be confined within a neighbour- 
 in^ portion ; and thus an insuperable obstruction will 
 be formed. No good can be done in either case ; and 
 we can only guess at what has taken place by the 
 obstinate costiveness of the horse : by the animal ex- 
 
ABDOMINAL CALCULI. 161 
 
 hibiting some symptoms which are not natural to 
 inflammation of the bowels ; or by its not exhibiting 
 some symptoms which are characteristic of that dis- 
 ease ; to which both strangulation and introsusception, 
 in their general features, bear so marked a likeness, 
 that without close observation of the symptoms they 
 cannot be distinguished. 
 
 ABDOMINAL CALCULI. 
 
 In some horses, and particularly in those that work 
 in dusty mills, calculus is by no means unfrequent. 
 A small portion of stone, or of iron is swallowed, and 
 becomes lodged in some part of the intestinal canal ; 
 particles of earthy matter gradually surround it, 
 being bound together by the mucous secretion of the 
 part; until the stone attains almost incredible size, 
 having, in extraordinary instances, weighed twenty- 
 five pounds. These have been found after death, up 
 to which period the horse had seemed to enjoy perfect 
 health ; at times he might have been off his feed, or 
 have had colicky pains; or he has sometimes been 
 almost incapable of rapid action. 
 
 The last attack, however, is invariably protracted ; 
 and the symptoms are more violent than is usual in 
 other abdominal diseases. The duration of the disease 
 and the acuteness of the suffering— especially in the 
 early stage, when the horse dashes about and injures 
 himself— together with the fact of his having been, 
 from time to time, affected with colic ; alone enables 
 us to guess that calculus is present. The strongest 
 purgatives administered in the largest doses generally 
 
162 DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS. 
 
 have for a season afforded relief; but the attack 
 assuredly returns, and ultimately destroys the horse. 
 
 These calculi are generally found in the colon : but 
 others consisting" of hardened faeces termed dung-balls ; 
 or composed of the matted hairs of the oat, and called 
 oat-hair balls, are met with in the rectum. Back- 
 raking should, therefore, always be practised in every 
 case of abdominal disease, more especially if the 
 symptoms are at all dubious. Measures calculated to 
 allay the pain, such as the frequent exhibition of drachm 
 doses of powdered aconite root, are likewise called 
 for, but we know of no means by which these deposits 
 can be removed or dissolved, although two drachms of 
 hydrochloric acid mingled with each pail of water 
 may prevent such accumulations from increasing in 
 size. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION AND OTHER DISEASES OF THE 
 KIDNEYS AND BLADDER. 
 
 The kidneys are actively employed in separating the 
 watery parts of the blood, as well as a peculiar princi- 
 ple, the urea; which, if it were suffered to accumulate 
 in the circulation, would prove poisonous. The prac- 
 titioner is sometimes anxious to remove some of the 
 serum from the vital current; because, by diminish- 
 ing the natural quantity of blood, he rouses the absor- 
 bents to take up certain dropsical effusions in different 
 parts of the frame. Therefore it is that he some- 
 
PIIOFUSE STALING. 1(53 
 
 times gives diuretics ; and places reliance upon them 
 in cases of anasarca, or swelled legs. 
 
 Experience, however, proves that every organ over- 
 worked is subject to disease; and few organs are more 
 overworked and abused in common stable manage- 
 ment than the kidneys. If the gland is too much 
 irritated by the improper use of diuretics ; or if any 
 kind of food that stimulates the urinary organs be 
 given, one frequent consequence is 
 
 PROFUSE STALING. 
 
 This is an annoying and a very weakening com- 
 plaint. The horse affected with it cannot endure 
 much hard work : it indicates weakness of the part, 
 and leads to general debility of the frame. Some 
 persons bleed and physic in this affection ; but those 
 measures generally aggravate the symptoms. Others 
 give astringents ; and if that line of treatment is 
 adopted, the following ball may be daily adminis- 
 tered : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 42). 
 
 Catechu, two drachms ; 
 Opium, a drachm ; 
 Oak bark, in powder, two drachms : 
 Make into a ball with treacle. 
 
 A more generally successful method, in every case 
 of profuse staling, is to change the food, no matter how 
 good it may appear to be. This is always safe, and 
 frequently it is of every importance. Let hay and oats 
 be obtained from a new quarter; and then let the 
 horse constantly have before him a pail of thin lin- 
 seed gruel, from which he may drink as much as he 
 pleases ; which will usually be a considerable quantity. 
 
164 DIFFICULTY OF STALING. 
 
 This does him no harm ; but, on the contrary, soothes 
 the irritability. As for medicine; iodine is here the 
 best that we are acquainted with, and it may be given 
 in the form recommended under the head of hydro- 
 thorax (page 117). 
 
 After the discharge has abated, a few tonics ; very 
 gentle work; and some slight nursing, will usually 
 restore the horse to its former health : but during the 
 attack the animal should remain an inmate of the 
 stable. 
 
 DIFFICULTY OF STALING. 
 
 There is sometimes another and an opposite conse- 
 quence of bad food ; or the affection may be also 
 caused by tampering with diuretic medicines; it is 
 more dangerous than profuse staling. The horse 
 strains to void his urine ; the effort is evidently attended 
 with pain : and, after all, he is only able to evacuate a 
 small quantity. The groom, little thinking that this is 
 owing to the muscle of the urethra being constringed ; 
 either from spasm or sympathy with the surrounding 
 substances; gives a diuretic ball to overcome the stop- 
 page. He often does overcome it : for he determines 
 a quantity of fluid to the part, which no obstacle can 
 resist; but he does this at the hazard of producing 
 inflammation, or causing rupture of the bladder. 
 
 In mild cases, gentle measures will be all that 
 is required. In other instances, however, the symp- 
 toms will be violent and alarming; the paroxysms 
 being most severe, and the brain even becoming 
 affected. The horse should at once have the catheter 
 passed; but no violence should be used if the spasm 
 resist its entrance. The hand should be introduced 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 165 
 
 into the rectum, and pressure made upon the distended 
 bladder ; which will be readily felt. Should the agony 
 be great, injections of not more in quantity than a 
 quart each ; containing three ounces of sulphuric ether, 
 and two ounces of laudanum, may be employed every 
 hour until ease is procured. The like quantities of the 
 active medicines diluted in the same amount of water 
 should also be administered at the period stated by the 
 mouth. But during the time when all this is being 
 done, gentle attempts should be made at intervals to 
 pass the catheter ; and to press out the urine by means 
 of the hand within the rectum. 
 
 If the treatment recommended be pursued and per- 
 severed in, this disease, in nearly every instance, is 
 ultimately conquered. It bears some resemblance to 
 gripes ; but is distinguished from that disorder by the 
 straddling of the hind legs, roached back, and con- 
 stant ineffectual efforts to urinate. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 
 
 This is a very serious disorder; and not unfrequently 
 a fatal one. Inflammation of the kidneys can scarcely 
 be mistaken by an observant practitioner. There is 
 considerable fever ; even more than when other organs 
 of greater bulk are affected. This is clearly indicated 
 by the heat of the mouth; the heaving of the flanks; 
 and the acceleration of the pulse. The feeling of 
 very acute pain is plainly shown by the frequent 
 stedfast gaze at the affected part ; that part being 
 pointed out by the direction of the muzzle to the loins 
 more than to the belly. There is disinclination to 
 move; because the kidneys being closely related to 
 some of the muscles of the loins, the least motion will 
 
166 INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 
 
 give intense pain. In order that there shall be as 
 little stress as possible upon these muscles, the back 
 is arched or roached ; and the hind legs are straddled 
 very curiously and widely apart. The disinclination 
 to move, or rather the inability to move, without 
 agony, assumes, in bad cases, the appearance of palsy 
 of the hinder extremities. It seems to shift from side 
 to side ; and from leg to leg ; in proportion as the 
 inflammation moves from one kidney to the other. If 
 the hand is now placed on the loins, an unnatural 
 warmth is felt; and the poor horse shrinks, trembles, 
 and crouches under the slightest pressure. 
 
 The urine, which at the very beginning was voided 
 more frequently ; and with perhaps greater difficulty 
 than usual as the disease proceeds, escapes in smaller 
 and smaller quantities. It becomes high-coloured, 
 perhaps bloody. It diminishes by degrees; until only 
 a few drops are voided at a time ; and at length it 
 ceases altogether to appear ; yet the horse may strain ; 
 because the bladder is sympathetically affected; yet 
 every strain is accompanied by increasing agony. 
 
 The mere difficulty of staling, however, and its 
 gradual ceasing, may be referable to another cause, 
 namely? spasm of the urethra. It is therefore neces- 
 sary to settle that point before any treatment is com- 
 menced. The hand well oiled should be introduced 
 into the rectum. If there is inflammation of the 
 kidney, the mere approximation towards the organs 
 will communicate a sensation of heat and call forth 
 the most piteous symptoms of supplicating distress. 
 But, if it is spasm of the urethra, the distended bladder 
 cannot possibly be mistaken. 
 
 Inflammation of the kidneys, however, is the sub- 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 167 
 
 ject now under consideration. The case must not be 
 played with. The secretion of the urine is one that 
 cannot be suspended a little while without manifest 
 danger or certain death. The patient must be bled 
 until evident relief is afforded. 
 
 To this must succeed physic ; but it must be physic 
 which will not irritate the neighbouring parts. Aloes, 
 because this drug contains resin, ought not to be 
 given, and even the solution of this drug is not quite 
 safe. A pint of linseed oil, in which are mixed ten 
 drops of croton oil, guarded with half a drachm of 
 chloroform, may be administered ; and half the dose 
 repeated every eight hours until purging is produced. 
 Plentiful injections of warm soap and water should 
 be thrown up ; for they will answer a double purpose ; 
 — they will assist the physic, and act as useful fomen- 
 tations in the immediate neighbourhood of the inflamed 
 part. 
 
 To these, as in other cases, will succeed counter- 
 irritation. The part should be frequently fomented 
 with hot water, or, what is far better, the hair of the 
 loins should be made wet with the tincture of croton 
 and immediately covered over with a fresh sheep-skin. 
 The majority of the blisters, in common use, have a 
 diuretic as well as a vesicatory effect ; therefore these 
 must not be resorted to. Turpentine and cantharides 
 must be avoided as pregnant with mischief. The 
 .mustard poultice, when properly made, will be very 
 effectual ; and it has no stimulating effect on the 
 urinary organs. It will also be assisted if a sheep- 
 skin is also placed upon the loins. 
 
 While the inflammation is high, little food, and that 
 
168 INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 
 
 of the mildest nature, should be given. The patient 
 may have a bran mash before him, and a bucket of 
 linseed tea within his reach. Most medicines should 
 likewise be avoided until the physic has ceased to 
 operate; and the only drug that can be given with 
 safety is the white hellebore. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 43). 
 
 Hellebore Ball in Inflammation of the Kidneys, or as a Sedative 
 generally. 
 
 Take — Fresh white hellebore root, powdered, half a drachm ; 
 Linseed meal, four drachms : 
 
 Make into a ball with treacle. 
 
 One of these may be given morning, noon, and 
 night while the inflammation is acute; but they must 
 be suspended when the disease begins to subside. The 
 balls ought also to be discontinued should saliva flow 
 from the mouth ; or should the horse hang his head 
 with any appearance of stupidity or unconsciousness; 
 such indications denote the system to be under the in- 
 fluence of the medicine, and are warnings to withhold 
 its administration. The bowels should, at the same 
 time, be kept in a rather softened state by means of 
 small doses of linseed oil. 
 
 This is a disease which often leaves mischief behind 
 it. There may for a long time be a tendency in the 
 affection to return, and perhaps there may also exist 
 an incapacity for very hard work. The strictest 
 attention should be paid to the food. Green meat 
 will be useful. A ramble in the paddock for an hour 
 or two, when the weather is fine, is always desirable 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 169 
 
 during inflammation of the kidneys. The hay and 
 corn should be carefully examined; and no diuretic 
 medicine should even be brought into the stable. If 
 the horse is worked at all hours, and in all weathers, 
 he should have his loins protected by a leathern flap ; 
 if he is a saddle-horse, the rain should not be suffered 
 to drip on him as he stands waiting for his rider. 
 After a very severe attack of this disease, should the 
 horse not gain the full and free use of his hind limbs, 
 a charge over his loins will be of very great service. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 44). 
 A Charge for the Loins. 
 
 Take — Pitch, thi'ee pounds ; 
 Tar, one pound ; 
 Bees'-wax, half a pound : 
 Mix them together, and, when they are cool enough to be conve- 
 niently applied, spread the charge thickly over the loins, and scatter 
 some flocks of short tow over it before it gets quite cold and firm. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 
 
 Inflammation of the mucous membrane, lining the 
 bladder, is sometimes coexistent with inflammation 
 of the kidneys. The nature of the urine is changed 
 by the condition of the vessel into which it falls, but 
 still more by sympathy with the disease of the glands 
 which secrete it. It is acrid, and irritates the coat of 
 the bladder. Stimulating food ; some poisonous her- 
 bage ; or the presence of any strange body, such as a 
 
 i 
 
170 INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 
 
 stone, are occasional causes of this disease. It is 
 recognizable by the frequency of the staling ; by the 
 mingling of mucus, or pus, or blood with the urine ; 
 by the additional heat which is felt when the hand, 
 introduced into the rectum, rests upon the bladder, 
 which will be small, hard, and empty ; and also by the 
 acute pain which pressure to the flank occasions, as 
 evinced by the actions of the animal. 
 
 Little can be done in such a case. Bleeding and 
 mild physicking would perhaps be indicated, with 
 plenty of linseed tea : and some relief might be ob- 
 tained by the injection of linseed tea, in which seda- 
 tives, as opium or belladonna, are dissolved, into the 
 bladder, which may be accomplished by means of a 
 horse catheter invented by the late Mr. Read. The 
 aloes, if any be given, must be good, and not in too 
 great quantity; for the lower intestines generally 
 sympathize considerably with the irritable state of the 
 bladder; and if there is not much purging there may 
 be dangerous inflammation of the bowels. 
 
 A slighter degree of inflammation, properly de- 
 scribed as " irritability of the bladder," is frequently 
 observed. The urine dribbles away in small quan- 
 tities, and is occasionally mingled with blood, the 
 consequence of some previous disease of the bladder, 
 or, perhaps, of some derangement of the digestive 
 organs. This is suffered to continue and increase 
 until the horse loses condition ; the appetite is im- 
 paired, and the animal becomes unfitted for work. 
 
 Small quantities of aperient medicine, with vege- 
 table tonics, will be serviceable in this case. 
 
GRAVEL AND STONE IN THE BLADDER. 1 71 
 
 RECIPE (No. 45). 
 
 Drink for Irritable Bladder. 
 
 Take— Linseed oil, six ounces, and beat it up with the yolk of an 
 egg ; then add chloroform, one drachm ; 
 
 Extract of gentian, two drachms ; with 
 Opium and Uva Ursi, of each one drachm. 
 Give this every third morning. 
 
 GRAVEL AND STONE IN THE BLADDER. 
 
 These are far from being unusual complaints. It is 
 very common to see a horse discharge a great deal of 
 gravel with his urine. Several pounds have been 
 evacuated in the course of a few months. 
 
 The symptoms of stone in the bladder are well 
 marked. In the first place the urine is thick ; loaded 
 with mucus or pus ; or it may contain blood. This 
 would lead attention to the urinary organs ; but, in 
 addition, is the manner of staling. The horse dis- 
 charges the fluid freely ; but the current stops sud- 
 denly ; and after it has done so, the animal continues 
 straining violently, though nothing passes from him. 
 
 The nature of the complaint being suspected, it is 
 very easily put to the test; for, as was observed when 
 the diseases of the bladder were described, that viscus 
 is readily felt from the rectum ; the presence and size 
 of the stone may be thus ascertained. 
 
 Nothing but the removal of the stone can give relief. 
 To accomplish this there are two methods, either of 
 which the proprietor may adopt. The urinary calculi 
 in the horse are composed mostly of the carbonate of 
 lime or chalk. This substance is readily dissolved by 
 muriatic acid ; and as the mineral acids in their pas- 
 sage through the body undergo little or no change, if 
 i 2 
 
17*2 THE OPERATION OF LITHOTOMY. 
 
 this agent be given by the mouth, it will reach the 
 bladder in a state fit to act upon the calculus we wish 
 to remove. It will dissolve the calculus, or at all 
 events prevent its increase, the solid matter in a state 
 of solution being conveyed away with the urine. A 
 drachm of the acid may be mixed with every gallon of 
 water which the horse drinks. This process is not 
 satisfactory, but in certain cases, the owner may, rather 
 than submit to delay, prefer hazarding an operation. 
 That will settle the business more quickly, and, to 
 the horse, is not so dangerous as to the human sub- 
 ject. Nevertheless, before an operation is resorted 
 to, it is only prudent to regard it in conjunction with 
 the animal upon which it is to be performed ; and 
 the circumstances to be taken into consideration, with 
 regard to the performance of that operation, are the 
 age, and health, the value of the horse, and the size 
 of the stone. 
 
 The operation being resolved on, the horse should 
 be thrown, and a whalebone staff, with a groove at the 
 end of it, passed up the penis ; until its point can be 
 felt about an inch and a half below the anus. The 
 staff being held firm by an assistant, the operator 
 makes an incision directly upon the groove, and into 
 the urethra, where it winds round the arch of the 
 ischium : into this he introduces a dilator (which is an 
 instrument that can be made to expand), and passing 
 it into the bladder, he causes its enlargement ; and 
 thus widens the mouth or neck of that organ, until it 
 will admit of the passage of the stone, the size of 
 which has already been ascertained through the rec- 
 tum. The forceps are then introduced into the blad- 
 
THE OPERATION OF LITHOTOMY. 173 
 
 der, and the stone is seized; the right hand being in 
 the rectum will materially assist in accomplishing 
 this. The stone having been firmly grasped, ig 
 attempted to be withdrawn with a gentle movement 
 of the forceps, from side to side ; in order to surmount 
 any difficulty in the passage, and to prevent contusion 
 or laceration. After the stone is once grasped, the 
 operator must be careful not to lose hold of it until it 
 is extracted. 
 
 In a great many cases, perhaps in the majority of 
 them, the forceps will be unnecessary ; as, the fingers 
 of the left hand being carried through the external 
 wound into the bladder, the right hand introduced 
 within the rectum will not only direct the stone to 
 them, but assist in forcing it through the orifice. No 
 stitches are passed through the edges of the wound. 
 The urine at first flows almost wholly through the 
 opening ; but the orifice, which should be bathed thrice 
 daily with the weaker solution of the chloride of zinc, 
 will gradually close ; for, at the expiration of about a 
 month, it will usually be healed, and the whole of the 
 urine be discharged through the urethra. 
 
 In the foregoing description the operation has been 
 considered as it would be practised upon the horse ; 
 but in the mare it would be much more simple. No 
 staff would in the female be required, and no cutting 
 need be resorted to. The dilator can be at once in- 
 troduced, and that invented by Mr. Simonds is to be 
 preferred for the mare. After it has sufficiently ex- 
 panded the short urethra of the mare, the rest of the 
 operation is proceeded with in the same way as has 
 been already pointed out. 
 
 i 3 
 
174 CASTRATION. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CASTRATION, AND THE DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE 
 ORGANS. 
 
 Custom, and indeed the pleasant and safe use of the 
 horse, require that the colt should usually be gelded. 
 The operation of 
 
 CASTRATION 
 
 is performed with greater safety before the foal is 
 weaned; but, as the glands commonly have not de- 
 scended at this age, it can rarely be accomplished so 
 early. The form of the neck and shoulders is materi- 
 ally affected by the length of time the colt remains 
 perfect; wherefore the carriage-horse, and the horse 
 of heavy draught, should never be castrated before he 
 is a twelvemonth old. If the fore quarters are then 
 large and muscular, the sooner the colt undergoes the 
 operation the better ; if they are weak and thin, he 
 should be allowed some further time. Many dealers 
 do not castrate until the colt is two years old ; and, in 
 particular cases, the operation is even delayed till the 
 animal has attained his fourth year. 
 
 A great many new methods of castration have been 
 lately promulgated ; and each has had its defenders. 
 As a general rule none of these are very dangerous ; 
 and it is difficult to decide which is, in every respect, 
 the best. Place and season seem to influence the 
 result. For a long period one plan may be practised 
 with success ; but all at once, without any reason 
 being obvious, the deaths by the method may be fre- 
 quent; and, perhaps, the system which previously 
 
CASTRATION. 175 
 
 was found injurious will then answer admirably. Be- 
 fore a colt is cast for castration, it should be care- 
 fully inspected. Any symptom of disease; or any 
 appearance even of dulness, should be removed before 
 the operation is undertaken. Upon no account ought 
 the colt labouring- under, or breeding strangles, to be 
 operated upon. If the animal be in perfect health, and 
 the weather be also favourable; a few bran mashes 
 and a dose of physic will make the operation more 
 safe ; but in very many instances it is performed with- 
 out any preparation, and nevertheless the colt steadily 
 progresses. It is well also to know that, though pre- 
 cautionary measures lessen the dangers, nothing that 
 man can do will possibly render the operation entirely 
 free from hazard. 
 
 Wooden clams, with and without caustic, with the 
 testicle covered and uncovered, are by some practi- 
 tioners strongly recommended ; but the old method 
 with the knife and iron is, perhaps, most generally 
 practised ; and, with common care, there is compara- 
 tive little danger about the operation. 
 
 A collar of the common girthing web is to be placed, 
 not too tightly, about the neck of the colt; and he is 
 then to be thrown on the left side. The croup is to be 
 raised a little ; and the right leg draw T n up as far as it 
 can be towards the collar. Some persons, however, pre- 
 fer to draw up both legs, and turn the colt on his back. 
 
 The operator should then place himself behind, or 
 somewhat to the left of the patient, according to the 
 manner in which he has been thrown ; and begin to 
 examine the scrotum, more accurately than he was 
 before enabled to do. This is necessary in order to 
 i 4 
 
176 CASTRATION. 
 
 ascertain the situation of the testicles; and whether 
 they have so thoroughly come down as to enable him 
 to grasp them firmly. It is not always that he can do 
 so. If the operator, however, anticipates difficulty in 
 retaining them in his grasp, let him pull them down 
 as low as he can, by steadily and gradually applying 
 force, but without violence. 
 
 It will be, on the whole, more convenient for the 
 operator to begin with the left testicle first ; the man 
 at the head being on the alert, and the twitch having 
 been put on, the operator grasps the gland, pushing it 
 down to the bottom of the bag ; the testicle thus 
 making the scrotum tight and smooth over. Then 
 he, with one incision from before, backwards, and 
 along the whole extent of the scrotum, cuts through 
 the integument ; the dartos muscle ; and the tunica 
 vaginalis : when the testicle slips out. 
 
 The operator must now shift his hand downwards, 
 and seize the testicle, holding it steadily ; not draw- 
 ing it out, but humouring the struggles of the ani- 
 mal ; while the man at the head is steady, and the 
 twitch is tightened. 
 
 The struggles of the animal, which will probably 
 be great at this time, having somewhat ceased; the 
 operator draws the testicle down a little farther, and 
 places the clams upon the cord ; having wound a little 
 tow about them, that they may press more equally 
 and securely upon the cord, and perhaps deaden 
 pain, as well as prevent bleeding. The vas deferens 
 should be divided with the knife ; as by so doing the 
 colt will be saved much unnecessary pain. The point at 
 which the cord should be divided having been settled ; 
 
CASTRATION. 177 
 
 leaving it neither so long as to protrude from the 
 scrotum, nor so short as to be laid hold of with con- 
 siderable difficulty : let all be steady. 
 
 The cord is now to be divided. It would appear to 
 be the most surgical way to do this with the knife ; 
 and afterwards to sear the end of the cord, in order to 
 prevent subsequent haemorrhage ; but haemorrhage 
 will sometimes occur afterwards, to the great trouble 
 and mortification of the operator. A better way is, 
 to draw a blunt firing-iron, which must not be too hot, 
 repeatedly across the cord, until it is divided; the 
 vessels will thus be in some measure torn asunder, 
 and quite as much stimulated by the heat as burned 
 by the fire; and much bleeding will rarely ensue. 
 The clams should therefore be a little loosened : that 
 the operator may see whether the bleeding is effec- 
 tually stopped. If there is oozing of blood from the 
 end of the cord, it is much more prudent to again 
 apply the firing-iron, which should be only at a dull 
 black heat ; than to run the risk of the vessels being 
 gradually forced open by the pressure of the blood. 
 There is no point, however, about which the surgeon 
 should be more anxious, than to apply the iron with 
 just sufficient severity to accomplish the intended pur- 
 pose, and no more; for it may be suspected %that 
 many of the colts which are lost in castration die from 
 inflammation produced by the needlessly severe ap- 
 plication of the cautery. 
 
 The same mode of proceeding being adopted with 
 
 regard to the other testicle, the operation is at an end, 
 
 except the mere cleansing of the part with cold water. 
 
 The colt should be turned into a paddock; for the 
 
 i 5 
 
178 CASTRATION. 
 
 little exercise, which he can then take, will assist the 
 escape of any pus, or other fluid, from the bag, and 
 will prevent both swelling and inflammation; but a 
 full allowance of oats and beans should be given. He 
 should even be made to walk about three or four 
 times daily; some digestive ointment having been 
 smeared over the wound to keep off the flies ; if the 
 operation should have been performed during the heat 
 of summer. 
 
 Little attention is afterwards necessary. There 
 will sometimes be a considerable degree of swelling; 
 this perhaps extending beyond the scrotum, and along 
 the belly; but if, on the third day, there is a dis- 
 charge of healthy pus, there will be no cause for fear ; 
 as the swelling will gradually subside ; if, however, 
 there is no discharge of pus ; whether there be or be 
 not any swelling, it will be prudent to open the 
 wounds a little with the fingers, in order that the pus 
 which is pent up in the scrotum may escape. Should 
 much fever ensue after castration, and the colt begin 
 to be evidently ill, the peritoneum is probably in- 
 flamed ; for that membrane in the horse is continuous 
 with the internal covering of the scrotum. Warm 
 fomentations to the parts, with such measures as have 
 been* advised under the head of peritonitis, should be 
 resorted to. Very great swelling of the scrotum, 
 evidently containing fluid, is best treated with slight 
 scarifications and fomentations. 
 
 A mode of castration by means of the clams has 
 been lately introduced; and somewhat extensively 
 practised. A dry branch of elder, or of some other 
 wood, is selected ; about an inch in diameter, and five 
 
CASTRATION. 179 
 
 or six inches long. This is sawn or otherwise cut 
 lengthwise through the middle; and the internal sur- 
 face of each thus exposed is smoothed ; and, by re- 
 moving the pith (or, otherwise, if a simple piece of 
 wood be used), a groove along the entire length is 
 made. About half an inch from either end, a niche 
 is cut sufficiently deep to hold a strong waxed string ; 
 by means of which they are tied together at one end, 
 their flat surfaces being* opposed to each other. 
 
 Into the groove is put a paste of a caustic nature ; 
 as, one part of sulphate of copper with two parts of 
 wheaten flour ; or one part of nitrate of silver, or of 
 the bichlorite of mercury, with four of flour, moistened 
 with a little water. There are, however, many forms 
 for making these pastes; each practitioner generally 
 having one to which he attaches much importance ; 
 but, so it be of a caustic character, it does not signify 
 of what it may be composed. After all it is doubtful 
 whether the caustic is of any material service ; for the 
 clams applied without it have been found to answer ; 
 though, perhaps, the after-consequences have, in a 
 greater number of cases, been more severe. There 
 is, however, no proof of that fact, but it is the general 
 belief; and certainly the caustic has never been 
 thought to do harm. It should, therefore, be used ; 
 but at the same time it is well to know it is not abso- 
 lutely necessary. The clams act by pressing upon or 
 strangulating the cord ; which is placed between them, 
 and the free ends are then tied as firmly and closely 
 together as possible. The current of blood is thus 
 cut off from the part below ; which consequently dies, 
 and sloughs away. The full action of the clams is 
 
 i 6 
 
180 CASTRATION. 
 
 obtained in twenty-four hours ; but sometimes they 
 are left on two or three days. But the shorter period 
 is sufficient. At the end of the time the practitioner 
 with a knife divides the strings at one end ; and either 
 the clams instantly fall off, or they are allowed to 
 remain till they do so. 
 
 There are two ways of applying these clams ; the 
 operation, according as they are used, being called 
 the covered and the uncovered. For the covered, 
 which, in certain cases, as when scrotal hernia exists, 
 is the preferable way, the bag is grasped by the 
 hand ; an incision is made through the skin ; and the 
 dartos muscle ; taking care not to divide the tunica 
 vaginalis, which is the lining membrane of the scro- 
 tum. The outer coverings, the skin and dartos, are 
 then carefully dissected from the inner membrane ; 
 the sac of which is preserved entire. Then, care 
 being taken that the tunica vaginalis contains nothing 
 but the cord and testicle, the clam is placed over it; 
 and so closely and firmly tied as completely to stop 
 the circulation of the blood. In the other, or un- 
 covered operation ; before the application of the 
 clams, the tunica vaginalis, as well as the skin and 
 the dartos, is cut through, and the cord pulled gently 
 down. The clams being sufficiently pressed together 
 and secured ; the testicle is usually cut off, in order 
 that the weight of the gland may be removed. The 
 principal art in the performance of this operation is 
 to make the clams press equally and sufficiently firm. 
 
 This mode of castration is almost uniformly adopted 
 in France; but many English practitioners adhere to 
 the old practice of the knife and iron. Another mode 
 
SWELLING OF THE SHEATH. 181 
 
 of castration has been attempted with occasional suc- 
 cess; which, from the comparative little pain which 
 it inflicts on the animal, is well worthy of some further 
 trial. The horse is secured, and an incision made 
 through the scrotum. The vas deferens and the 
 cellular membrane above the epididymis are then 
 sundered ; and the testicle is left attached by the 
 spermatic artery and vein alone. A pair of forceps 
 constructed for the purpose, and called the "torsion 
 forceps," are then applied to the spermatic artery, 
 three inches from the epididymis; and the testicle is 
 cut off. The forceps being then turned about ten or 
 even twenty times, the cord is suffered to retract as 
 far as it will; the forceps which have been firmly 
 held that a clot of blood may be formed, are then 
 opened ; and the operation is at an end. This mode 
 of proceeding, however, experience has shown to be 
 not so safe as it appears to be humane. The twisted 
 artery has given way; and fatal haemorrhage has 
 ensued. 
 
 SWELLING OF THE SHEATH OF THE PENIS AND 
 AMPUTATION OF THE PENIS. 
 
 Sometimes at the close of severe illness the sheath 
 of the penis will suddenly become enlarged, or 
 cedematous. The treatment will depend on the cir- 
 cumstances of the case ; but generally speaking, a 
 more liberal diet, a few tonic balls, with gentle exer- 
 cise, will effect the cure. At other times, a swelling, 
 not so large, but hard and painful, will proceed from 
 the accumulation of oily dirty matter within the 
 
182 WARTS. 
 
 sheath. The sheath of every horse should be occa- 
 sionally examined, and cleaned out with soap and 
 water. The filth being long suffered to remain un- 
 noticed will sometimes cause excoriations and ulcers ; 
 producing such a mass of disease on the glans penis 
 as renders it necessary to amputate the member. 
 Whenever any sore is detected within the prepuce the 
 part should be repeatedly washed with a dilute solu- 
 tion of the chloride of zinc; which will allay any 
 irritability; remove any fcetor; and speedily heal the 
 part. Masses of fungoid substance, weighing three 
 or four pounds, will, in neglected cases, sometimes 
 cover the glans. It is useless to attempt to remove a 
 growth like this with the knife; for it will in all pro- 
 bability very soon sprout again. Amputation of the 
 penis is the only remedy; and this is an operation 
 neither difficult nor dangerous. 
 
 The penis should be drawn out as far as possible ; 
 and then cut through at one or two incisions ; as far 
 behind the diseased part as may be deemed necessary. 
 The remaining portion of the penis will be retracted 
 within the sheath. Little haemorrhage will follow; 
 excepting that a slight bleeding may sometimes be 
 perceived for a few days during the act of passing 
 urine. The orifice of the urethra is kept sufficiently 
 open by the gush of the fluid; and it is very seldom 
 that any unpleasant circumstance occurs. 
 
 WARTS. 
 
 A collection of these growths on the glans of the 
 penis will sometimes make it impossible to retract 
 that member when protruded, and render the opera- 
 
 
INVERSION OF THE WOMB. 183 
 
 tion last described absolutely necessary. They are 
 frequently found upon the sheath of the penis, and 
 sometimes also extend along the groin. In a few 
 cases they are located upon the eyelids; the nostrils 
 or the muzzle. The most effectual way of destroying 
 them is by cutting them off with a sharp pair of 
 scissors. The ligature is a cruel, tedious, and uncer- 
 tain mode of getting rid of them. To cut them off is 
 the best manner of removing them ; and causes not 
 only less pain, but leaves less blemish. The bleeding 
 which will follow is not of much consequence ; a little 
 astringent wash will readily stop it. But frequently 
 the warts will reappear, in whatever manner they 
 may have been removed ; some horses having a con- 
 stitutional predisposition to throw out this species of 
 tumour. 
 
 INVERSION OF THE WOMB. 
 
 This is a very uncommon case ; and is the conse- 
 quence of violent throes in parturition. The protruded 
 mass will sometimes reach even to the ground. If 
 the mare has not been perfectly exhausted by the 
 length and violence of her labour ; if a skilful prac- 
 titioner be at hand before the uterus is excoriated, 
 there always is considerable probability of the animal's 
 life being saved. Assistants must support the pro- 
 truded mass by means of a strong moist cloth ; while, 
 with his arm bare to the shoulder, and well covered 
 with oil, the surgeon, placing his closed hand against 
 the fundus of the womb, endeavours to force it gra- 
 dually back again into the vagina. After working 
 hard, for a long time, he may succeed: but he has 
 
184 INVERSION OF THE WOMB. 
 
 to keep the parts in their situation : for the throes are 
 apt to return under the name of after-pains ; and the 
 womb will be propelled out again. There are two 
 methods by means of which this is attempted to be 
 accomplished. 
 
 The first, and one which never ought to be 
 resorted to, is, to pass strong stitches through the 
 lips of the vulva ; but the after-pains may return so 
 strongly, and the violence of the throes may be so 
 increased by the irritation of the stitches, that the 
 fastenings may give way, and the womb be driven 
 forth once more. 
 
 A more successful way is to employ a proper har- 
 ness made for these occasions; or by the exercise of 
 a little ingenuity to adapt such as the stable may con- 
 tain to the purpose — the object being to fasten a 
 compress over, or, better still, to retain straps before 
 the vulva; so as to prevent any thing being ejected. 
 Before the harness is applied, cold water should be 
 freely thrown into the womb, and suffered to flow out 
 again. This is readily accomplished by means of 
 the injecting pipe. The operation should be con- 
 tinued until the mare showing symptoms of pain, 
 gives notice that the uterus has been excited to con- 
 tract ; for, when that has taken place, it will afterwards 
 be retained, The harness should then be fixed ; and 
 the animal treated according to circumstances. In 
 the generality of these cases the mare will be ex- 
 hausted, and stimulants will be needed in the first 
 instance : but they must not be too powerful or be 
 continued too long, as there is danger of inflamma- 
 tion starting up. The most speedy in its effects is 
 
INVERSION OF THE BLADDER. 185 
 
 one ounce each of sulphuric ether and of lauda- 
 num, blended with a pint of cold water, and followed 
 by a wholesome meal of bruised and scalded oats 
 and beans with a pailful of smooth, well-made 
 gruel. 
 
 The probability of ultimate success, however, must 
 in a great measure depend on the practitioner being 
 called in early and setting to work immediately. 
 
 INVERSION OF THE BLADDER. 
 
 In some rare cases the pains have been so strong 
 as to cause protrusion of the bladder ; a circumstance 
 that might be deemed almost impossible. The in- 
 verted bladder has been mistaken either for the uterus 
 itself, or for a polypus in the vagina. The hand 
 passed into the passage will soon distinguish it from 
 the first by finding its connexions; and, as the 
 bladder is generally inverted before parturition 
 is accomplished, that fact alone ought to prevent 
 its being confounded with the womb. A polypus 
 is of a shining vascular appearance; its contents 
 quite fill the interior, rendering the substance bulky, 
 and its covering tense. The difference is there- 
 fore great; for the bladder when inverted is cha- 
 racterized by many peculiarities. If traced into the 
 vagina, it will be found attached to the bottom of, 
 and only a little way up, the passage. Its inner 
 "membrane is also shown when the viscus is turned 
 inside out or inverted; this is of a mucous nature, 
 soft and flocculent, or villous. On observation 
 the urine will be seen to drop from its surface; 
 
186 POLYPUS IN THE VAGINA. 
 
 and, when handling it, it will feel like a wet and 
 empty bag". 
 
 All ingenuity must be exerted to return it as 
 speedily as possible. The mode of proceeding is 
 similar to the replacement of the womb. Cold water, 
 to every quart of which an ounce of the tincture of 
 galls has been added, may be injected until the 
 returned bladder has contracted. But, if it is again 
 and again rejected, the delivery should be proceeded 
 with; after which the efforts maybe renewed; and 
 whenever it is replaced, cold water should be freely 
 pumped into it, allowing the stream to flow back 
 until excitation of the muscular portion of the organ 
 has been produced. 
 
 If, however, the bladder cannot be replaced ; the 
 mare will ever after be subject to incontinence of 
 urine ; which will dribble constantly down the thighs, 
 and render the animal an offensive spectacle. The 
 bladder in these cases has sometimes been cut off. 
 Part of the unsightliness has thus been got rid of; 
 but the urine still drained continuously down the legs. 
 Whenever this operation is resorted to, a ligature 
 should be employed ; care being taken that it does 
 not enclose the ureters ; but perhaps it would be more 
 humane to have the animal destroyed. 
 
 POLYPUS IN THE VAGINA. 
 
 This also is not of frequent occurrence ; but it has 
 been found, and of immense size. Its removal must 
 be attempted by a ligature ; attached as nearly to the 
 root of the pedicle as possible. This ligature should 
 be tightened daily ; and in the course of three or four 
 
DOCKING, 1S7 
 
 days the pedicle will generally be cut through ; and 
 the tumour will drop off. 
 
 Some have attempted to remove the polypus by 
 means of the knife. The objection to this is the 
 bleeding which will often follow, especially if the 
 tumour is large; but, if the ligature is used, although 
 the pedicle is thick and not readily divided; the 
 polypus may be safely taken off by the knife about 
 an inch from the ligature. The pressure will close 
 the vessels, and no hemorrhage will take place ; or 
 if any should ensue, the tightening of the ligature 
 will command it. The ligature may, however, be 
 objected to; and a more speedy mode of proceeding 
 desired. Then, let the practitioner firmly grasp the 
 polypus with a pair of forceps, made for the purpose; 
 and twist it round and round. This twisting may be 
 continued until the pedicle gives way ; or the rupture 
 may be anticipated by the knife. Of these two 
 methods, the use of the knife is to be preferred: 
 because we cannot make certain of the tumour being 
 torn off above the twisted pedicle ; and if it be not, 
 fearful haemorrhage is likely to ensue ; and because 
 the knife abbreviates the operation, and cuts short the 
 sufferings of the animal. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 OPERATIONS ON THE TAIL DOCKING. 
 
 Fashion and convenience formerly determined that 
 the tail of the horse should be shortened. The length 
 
188 DOCKING. 
 
 of the portion removed depended upon the caprice of 
 the owner; or upon that of the operator. Many 
 breeders docked the colt a few days after it was 
 born; and they acted with judgment in selecting so 
 early a time ; for the little animal is more manage- 
 able ; the haemorrhage is less ; the pain is evidently 
 not so great; and inflammation at this early period 
 very rarely occurs. The operation, however, is sub- 
 ject to the objection that the young animal is by it 
 deprived of that weapon, which nature furnishes for 
 the purpose of keeping away flies. 
 
 The length of the tail being determined on, the 
 operator searches for the nearest joint above or below 
 the place indicated. The hair which grew round the 
 joint is cut off; and that which was growing above 
 the joint, turned up and confined by a string. The 
 side line is next put on, and the twitch tightened ; 
 then availing himself of the partition between the 
 stalls, or in any other convenient shelter, the tail was 
 cut off at one blow; either by the instrument made 
 forthe purpose, or with a mallet and the carving-knife. 
 
 The gush of blood was considerable. It would 
 rarely happen that any danger ensued if the tail were 
 left to bleed ; but, as the proprietor might be a little 
 alarmed at the quantity of blood lost; it was usual 
 barbarously to stop the haemorrhage by means of a 
 circular piece of heated iron affixed to a handle, and 
 with a hole in the centre of it. 
 
 Should the iron come in contact with the bone, and 
 sear it with any severity, exfoliation must take place ; 
 or even some danger was incurred of the bone slough- 
 ing out so far as the next joint. 
 
NICKING. 189 
 
 In a very few cases, however, the bleeding was 
 troublesome : then a large pledget of tow, dipped 
 in the following styptic wash, was placed upon the 
 stump ; and using some of the long hair of the tail 
 instead of strings, these were tied so as to retain the 
 application firmly in its situation. After twenty-four 
 hours the hairs may be loosened ; but the tow should 
 not be touched — it should be suffered to drop off. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 46). 
 tic Wash. 
 
 Take — Ergot of rye, one ounce ; 
 Make a tincture of it, by adding twice the quantity of turpentine. 
 Mix this with two ounces of the tincture of galls. Bottle for use. 
 
 This bleeding having been arrested, no other treat- 
 ment is required in the majority of cases; and the 
 horse will do much better at work than standing idle 
 in the stable. This, however, was a very foolish and 
 cruel practice. It was frequently followed by lock- 
 jaw. It was supposed to amend the appearance of 
 the animal; but no cruelty can make a bad form a 
 good one. The horse's tail was shortened ; but, as 
 regards quality, he still remained such as nature 
 made him. • 
 
 NICKING. 
 
 Docking was a practice formerly fashionable ; now 
 happily abandoned. Nicking, however, was a filthy 
 operation, and had nothing to plead in its excuse- but 
 the supposed better carriage of the tail which by the 
 barbarity was produced. A horse, nevertheless, with 
 his tail always on the cock, was at length perceived to 
 
190 WANT OF CONDITION. 
 
 I 
 
 be a rather ridiculous object; and the practice has 
 been abandoned : for nothing man was able to per- 
 form, could change the position of the extremity ; or 
 render that, which nature had formed badly, of a good 
 shape. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE SKIN : WANT OF CONDITION 
 
 HIDE-BOUND SURFEIT — MANGE — MOULTING. 
 
 WANT OF CONDITION. 
 
 The connexion between the skin and the healthy 
 state of the horse generally is much closer than horse- 
 men seem at all times to imagine. A soft, loose, 
 mellow coat, easily raised from the muscular sub- 
 stance beneath, is considered in cattle indicative of a 
 disposition to thrive ; and in horses such a state of the 
 integument is proof of condition : but the connexion 
 between these things and the stomach is too much 
 overlooked. Condition in the hackney, the hunter, 
 the race-horse, or the common cart-horse, are very 
 different things ; but they all insist upon such a state 
 of skin as has just been mentioned. 
 
 The skin is pierced by innumerable pores; .through 
 which exudes an unctuous matter, that gives a pecu- 
 liar, softness to the healthy skin. If there is any 
 peculiar mismanagement in the feeding; if, without 
 any care bestowed upon such a subject, the horse is 
 removed from the straw-yard to the full allowance 
 
HIDE-BOUND. 191 
 
 of the stable; if the grooming, the clothing, or the 
 exercise are neglected, or improperly managed; the 
 evil effect is speedily shown by the want of elasticity 
 in the skin, and the accumulation of scurfy matter 
 upon it. 
 
 The treatment of want of condition will somewhat 
 vary with the cause of it. Should the horse be very 
 plethoric, or in high working condition, a mild dose 
 of physic may be required. From six to eight 
 drachms of the physic mass (Recipe No. 1, p. 26) 
 should be given. A second or third dose at proper 
 intervals may follow, if the bowels be much confined ; 
 but otherwise, an alterative ball (Recipe No. 4, 
 p. 36), given on eight or ten successive nights ; 
 with proper attention to clothing, temperature, ex- 
 ercise, and, above all, a gradually increased quantity 
 of good food, will be every thing required. 
 
 HIDE-BOUND. 
 
 This is not only a suspended secretion of the oily 
 matter intended to keep the skin supple, but also 
 feverish excitement of the contractile substance of the 
 skin itself; and, in consequence, not only does the 
 skin feel harsh, but it is very difficult to raise it from 
 the muscles below. From the tightness of the cover- 
 ing, the horse with hide-bound has a peculiar tucked- 
 up appearance. It is a state of the skin produced by 
 a diseased state of the digestive organs generally. 
 
 A few tonic balls, together with a judicious allow- 
 ance of oats, beans, mashes, green food, and espe- 
 cially carrots ; good grooming, and regular exercise, 
 will be the most effectual remedies for hide-bound. 
 
192 SURFEIT. 
 
 SURFEIT. 
 
 This consists of lumps which appear on the skin of 
 the horse, oftener in the spring than at any other 
 season. They are sometimes scattered all over the 
 animal : at other times they are thicker upon his neck 
 and fore parts ; or sometimes they are seen on the 
 loins or quarters alone. Occasionally they are at- 
 tended by a great itching ; but in other cases they do 
 not seem to inconvenience the animal. They usually 
 appear with little or no warning, excepting a very 
 slight listlessness ; and they not unfrequently go 
 away as suddenly as they came. This is particularly 
 the case when they seem to run in lines ; and have an 
 appearance very similar to the wheals from a whip. 
 Sometimes, however, the eruption assumes the form 
 of a pustule which breaks, and the viscid fluid that it 
 contains clings about the roots of the hair : the hair 
 comes off, leaving a bare place so far as the pustule 
 extended. The hair in process of time grows upon 
 these spots, and there remains little trace of what has 
 happened ; but in some instances, when the pustules 
 have been numerous and large, surfeit degenerates 
 into mange of a virulent character. 
 
 The term surfeit seems to refer the eruption of the 
 skin to indigestion. There is no doubt that violent 
 indigestion will produce in most animals inflammation 
 and pustular eruption on the skin. Surfeit has been 
 traced to kiln-burnt oats ; to mow-burnt hay ; or to 
 poisonous plants : but oftener it has followed the ap- 
 plication of some direct stimulant to the skin; as 
 exposure to cold when the horse was hot, especially in 
 
MANGE. 193 
 
 the moulting season. Whatever shape the surfeit may 
 assume, the complaint is evidently caused by the ob- 
 structed pores of the skin. 
 
 It would seem to be a curious circumstance that 
 physic rarely does immediate good in this affection, 
 and sometimes is decidedly injurious; but the expla- 
 nation of this circumstance must be referred to the 
 connexion between the skin and the stomach. It 
 explains why a purgative, which for a while deranges 
 the stomach and bowels, also aggravates the skin erup- 
 tion. The alterative medicine (Recipe No. 4, p. 36) 
 will be highly useful here ; and the disease will gene- 
 rally yield to it, without the inconvenience produced 
 by physic. The evening will be the best time for the 
 administration of these alteratives ; and if the animal 
 be warmed by an extra rug during the night, that 
 will cause the antimony and sulphur to act bene- 
 ficially upon the skin. Strict attention should always 
 be paid to the clothing of the horse while he is taking 
 this medicine. 
 
 MANGE. 
 
 This filthy disease is produced by various causes. 
 Ill-treated or inveterate surfeit will occasionally as- 
 sume the character of mange. A sudden lowering 
 of diet may sometimes produce an eruption on the 
 skin, which speedily degenerates into mange. Poverty 
 and neglect are yet more frequent causes. Diseases 
 of the digestive organs will lay the foundation for 
 affections of the skin ; for it is easy to imagine that 
 such deprivation as will debilitate the frame may 
 affect the surface of the body. There are in these 
 
 K 
 
3 94 MANGE. 
 
 days very few who are so devoid of feeling, as to turn 
 their horses out in the winter ; when the atmosphere 
 is bleak and the food scanty. Horses treated so in- 
 humanly come up starved and unfit for work; and the 
 neglect will often have laid the foundation of a violent 
 mangy affection. 
 
 Contagion is, however, the chief source of mange. 
 There is no disease, not excepting glanders itself, 
 which is more quickly caught. If it once appears in 
 a stable, in a straw-yard, or on a common, scarcely a 
 horse will escape contamination. 
 
 When there is considerable redness on any part; 
 when, as the inflammation subsides, the skin is left 
 dry, harsh, and somewhat scurfy, having the hair 
 thinned, the integument thickened and corrugated, 
 this is most assuredly mange. The bare spots, which 
 accompany surfeit, are produced by the hardening of 
 the matter discharged around the roots of the hair, 
 causing it to fall off; while the coat around the de- 
 nuded place is perfectly natural, although the skin 
 may not be so smooth as in health, from the attendant 
 want of condition. Mange, on the contrary, pro- 
 duces, especially about the extremities and the hind 
 legs, a loss of hair ; even where there is no eruption. 
 A looseness of the hair, particularly at the edge of 
 the mane, is a prevalent symptom of mange. If to 
 these circumstances are added an almost insupport- 
 able itching ; with hide-bound ; sore places and scabs 
 here and there ; a tucked-up belly ; a staring coat ; 
 and an appearance of poverty, the case can rarely be 
 mistaken. 
 
 The treatment of mange is sufficiently plain. 
 
 
MANGE. 195 
 
 Bleeding is never required and never safe. The dis- 
 eased state of the skin might retard the healing of the 
 puncture ; or the itchiness might occasion the pin to 
 be rubbed out and the orifice re-opened. Moreover it 
 argues, great folly to bleed for a disorder of debility. 
 
 Physic, in drachm or two drachm doses may be 
 administered ; unless the animal is poor in condition, 
 and then tonics should be given. 
 
 After this it will be desirable to give the following 
 alterative, in order to charge the system w T ith sulphur. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 47). 
 
 Flowers of sulphur, half an ounce ; 
 Black antimony, one drachm : 
 Mix and give once a day in the food for ten days or a fortnight. 
 
 Medicine, however, will only assist in the cure. 
 Mange is a local disease, and must be treated locally. 
 Sulphur, mercury, and oil of juniper are the agents 
 which will have most efficacy here. The following 
 ointment should first be tried. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 48). 
 
 Ointment for Mange. 
 
 Take — Flowers of sulphur, eight ounces ; 
 Common turpentine, two ounces ; 
 Strong mercurial ointment, two ounces; 
 Oil of juniper, four ounces ; 
 Lard, one pound : 
 First ruh down the sulphur with a fourth part of the lard ; then 
 mix the turpentine with the oil of juniper and the mercurial oint- 
 ment ; afterwards gradually add the remainder of the lard. 
 
 Let the horse first be curried ; as thoroughly as the 
 tender state of the skin will permit. Then let all the 
 k 2 
 
196 MANGE. 
 
 scurf be well brushed or whisked out of the animal's 
 coat; next with the hand (there is no danger to the 
 man) let the ointment be well rubbed in all over the 
 horse. This should be repeated after three days ; 
 and, on the fifth day, the ointment which is already 
 about the horse should, as much as possible, be rub- 
 bed in. Every part should be carefully gone over. 
 On the seventh day the whole should be thoroughly 
 washed off with soft soap and warm water; it will 
 then be seen what progress has been made towards a 
 cure. The skin will assuredly have been prepared for 
 a repetition of those dressings, which will, in the 
 majority of cases, be necessary, and almost always 
 expedient. 
 
 If, after the second course of dressings, no ground 
 appears to have been gained; the application must 
 be changed. The next remedy that should be tried 
 is the following : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 49). 
 
 Take — Balsam of sulphur ; 
 Oil of turpentine ; 
 
 Oil of tar, of the three ingredients equal parts : 
 Mix these well together, and rub them fairly all over the animal, 
 in the manner before directed, when describing the way to use the 
 previous ointment. 
 
 In cases of mange arising from neglected or in- 
 veterate surfeit, and which are always the most diffi- 
 cult to be cured, it may be prudent, should the previous 
 compositions have altogether failed, to proceed to a 
 very strong application, which may torment the horse 
 for a while, but will generally get rid of the disease. 
 
MANGE. 197 
 
 RECIPE (No. 50). 
 
 Mercurial Soap for Mange. 
 
 Take — Soft soap, eight ounces ; 
 
 Mercurial ointment (strong), four ounces ; 
 Carbonate of potash, two ounces : 
 Smear this mixture well over the horse. After two days take a 
 soft scrubbing-brush, and the same quantity of glycerine as of warm 
 water, and then scrub the hide till it is white with lather. Upon 
 the fifth day re-apply the ointment. This dressing with another 
 scrubbing will in the generality of cases be sufficient. 
 
 The application may appear to give the horse con- 
 siderable pain. It is likewise possible that some 
 thickening of the skin may be produced, but this will 
 shortly pass away ; and when all subsides the mange 
 will mostly have disappeared. However, as mercurial 
 soap is by no means a very safe application, the horse 
 subjected to it should be carefully clothed ; and there 
 should be absolute necessity, before so dangerous a 
 cure is resorted to. 
 
 The practitioner, who has once been plagued with 
 mange, will be to blame if he suffers any considerable 
 itchiness to continue without endeavouring to subdue 
 it. If it continues obstinate, he will endeavour to 
 persuade the owner of the horse to throw up the 
 animal for a few days ; during which he will apply 
 the mange ointment (Recipe No. 48, p. 195). 
 Many a troublesome attack of mange will thus be 
 prevented; and no harm can possibly be done by the 
 dressing beyond the temporary loss attendant upon 
 the necessary sacrifice of the horse's labour. 
 
 Little spots of mange often appear about the tail or 
 mane; and sometimes under the collar; which should 
 k 3 
 
198 MOULTING. 
 
 be dressed with the ointment, or got rid of, before 
 the disease is confirmed. 
 
 The practitioner needs not to be told how necessary 
 it is that every thing about the horse, or with which 
 he could by possibility have come in contact, should 
 be thoroughly cleansed after the disease has subsided. 
 Infection lurks in every thing about the animal ; in- 
 fection of which the horse may again become the 
 victim ; and from which other horses will not escape. 
 Every article that is capable of being washed should 
 be thoroughly scrubbed, first with soap and warm 
 water. The manger, the racks, the partitions, 
 should also undergo an ablution with soap and warm 
 water, which last should be employed as hot as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 There is however one thing absolutely imperative 
 towards the cure of mange. The majority of pro- 
 prietors are top apt to imagine a local disease requires 
 only local remedies ; but let them inquire a little 
 deeper. What gave rise to the disease ? Enfeebled 
 digestion always engenders it, when it is bred by the 
 system. Therefore, the best of all alteratives, — 
 good, nutritious, and carefully prepared food, with 
 wholesome lodging, — is quite as needful as drugs, 
 when the eradication of mange is desired. 
 
 MOULTING. 
 
 This cannot be considered as a disease. The chang- 
 ing of the coat is a natural process, which takes place 
 every spring and autumn. It is, however, a critical 
 time with the horse ; and he frequently shows indis- 
 
MOULTING. 199 
 
 position to some extent. The truth is, that the vital 
 energy, which should render him equal to his work, is 
 partially depressed. More than the natural share of 
 animal power is expended upon the skin, and is em- 
 ployed in the reproduction of the hair. Therefore 
 there is a degree of languor, and incapacity for work, 
 about the animal : he sweats with the slightest ex- 
 ertion ; he is partially off his feed ; the pulse is some- 
 what quickened ; and he clearly labours under a slight 
 degree of fever. 
 
 In cases of this kind we shall do well, if we endea- 
 vour to aid nature in her effort to cast off the old coat 
 and produce the new one. Where there is work to be 
 done, whether by the body or the legs, the strength 
 must be supported. Tonics are now, therefore, of 
 service ; and may be given daily while the horse is 
 exempted from violent exertion. A couple of pints 
 of good strong ale every day is sometimes quite as 
 good for the horse as for the master ; and now it may 
 be tried. Mashes occasionally — good food always — 
 and sufficient exercise, will tend to bring the annoy- 
 ance to a speedier termination. 
 
 Attentive grooming also is now more than ever 
 beneficial. It will loosen the old hair, and hasten 
 the growth of the new ; and that being once accom- 
 plished, the horse will regain his former spirits, 
 appetite, and health. In short, better diet and lessened 
 labour, with all those many nameless attentions, which 
 humanity would suggest should be expended upon 
 the sick, will now be amply repaid, by the rapid im- 
 provement of the animal that receives them. 
 
 k 4 
 
200 SADDLE-GALLS — SIT-FASTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE TREATMENT OF EXCORIATIONS, WOUNDS, AND 
 ULCERS POLL EVIL — FISTULOUS WITHERS, ETC. 
 
 Among the more frequent excoriations are those pro- 
 duced by an unequal pressure of the saddle or any 
 part of the harness, and termed 
 
 SADDLE-GALLS. 
 
 If properly treated before they become too large, 
 or too much inflamed, or begin to deeply ulcerate, 
 they are easily cured. The saddle should be carefully 
 examined, and all inequality of pressure taken away 
 by padding or chambering. The only inequality 
 which should be permitted, and that only a temporary 
 one, should be to prevent any bearing upon the sore 
 part of the body, 
 
 The wound should be bathed two or three times 
 every day with the following lotion : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 51). 
 Lotion to heal the wound left by Saddle-Galls. 
 
 Take — Chloride of zinc, one drachm ; 
 Water, one quart. 
 
 SIT-FASTS. 
 
 These bear a marked resemblance to the corns of the 
 human foot, like which they are no more than an un- 
 natural thickening of the cuticle, consequent upon con- 
 tinued pressure. Most persons know that corns are 
 
SUPERFICIAL WOUNDS. 201 
 
 not easily removed ; and these horny bodies, termed 
 sit-fasts, when once established, remain firm in their 
 situations : hence, to distinguish them from fluctuating 
 or moveable tumours, they are designated sit-fasts be- 
 cause they require forcible removal before they will 
 disappear. 
 
 To get rid of the sit-fast is not difficult. It may be 
 dissected out; but the wound is sometimes long in 
 healing, and it is oftener made so by the horse being 
 put to work before it has thoroughly closed. A blis- 
 ter also will likewise cause a slough ; but, when the 
 animal must work on, perhaps it is to be preferred to 
 the knife; because, while removing the growth, it 
 also stimulates the flesh beneath, and thus disposes it 
 to heal. A little of the blistering ointment ought to 
 be daily rubbed upon, and a small distance around, 
 the substance it is desired should be cast off. This 
 stimulates the secretive surface, and causes it to pour 
 out a quantity of fluid under the cuticle, which, being 
 thereby separated from the* true skin, comes away, 
 and with it also the sit-fast. The blister, however, 
 will generally have altered the action of the part; 
 and, when it recovers from the first effect, healthy 
 skin may be produced. 
 
 SUPERFICIAL WOUNDS. 
 
 Few ointments agree with the horse; wounds, 
 whether superficial or deep, will in general be more 
 speedily healed by the application of tinctures or 
 lotions. The tincture of aloes is cheap, and for or- 
 dinary purposes as good as many others. 
 k 5 
 
202 INCISED AND LACERATED WOUNDS. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 52). 
 
 Tincture of Aloes. 
 
 Take — Barbadoes aloes, powdered, eight ounces ; 
 Myrrh, powdered, two ounces ; 
 Proof spirit, two quarts : 
 Let them infuse for a fortnight, shaking them well daily. 
 
 The wound should be bathed with this twice every 
 day. If there is no danger that the horse will lick or 
 nibble it; or that dirt and gravel will get into it, the 
 wound will sooner heal by being kept open than if 
 the air be excluded. Should the surface of the sore 
 become unhealthy; and especially should fungoid 
 granulations threaten to spring up; the sore should 
 be washed with the following lotion. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 53). 
 
 Healing Wash for Wounds. 
 
 Take — Chloride of zinc, one scruple, and dissolve it in a pint of water. 
 
 If this is not sufficiently strong to repress the fun- 
 gus, use a drachm of the chloride to a quart of water. 
 But as this application is more cleanly than the fore- 
 going tincture, and appears also to be more healing in 
 its operation, the preparation of aloes may be dis- 
 pensed with where the cheaper chloride of zinc wash 
 can be obtained. 
 
 INCISED AND LACERATED WOUNDS. 
 
 The grand principle in the treatment of these 
 wounds is to close them as much as possible by the 
 first intention. This is not to be attempted imme- 
 diately. The bleeding should first be allowed to 
 cease. All decided moisture ought to have evapo- 
 
INCISED AND LACERATED WOUNDS. 203 
 
 rated ; and the divided surfaces should have become 
 sticky. Then, if the parts be brought together and 
 firmly retained in that position, perfect union will 
 frequently take place. Jf it is a simple cut, the 
 edges are to be neatly brought together and kept 
 thus by a bandage or by sutures ; but, as the horse 
 cannot be made to hold the wound in perfect rest, the 
 speediest mode of union is rarely obtained in that 
 animal; our endeavours, however, in every case 
 should be exerted to bring it about. 
 
 In a lacerated wound, all the parts of it may be 
 brought together; and perhaps a portion of divided 
 surfaces may heal by first intention. It is, however, 
 absolutely necessary in these cases to leave a free 
 space in the most dependent part of a lacerated 
 wound; in order that the natural discharge may 
 readily escape; for the major portion of the injury 
 is certain to unite by the suppurative process. 
 
 The wound should, in the first instance, without 
 loss of time, be carefully cleansed from dirt, gravel, 
 and extraneous matters. If there is much bruise it 
 should be repeatedly moistened with a lotion com- 
 posed of tincture of arnica, one ounce, water, one 
 pint, no attempt being made to close the injury. This 
 application should be continued till a slough has fallen 
 off, or until the surface commences to discharge good 
 pus. 
 
 Supposing the wound to be of great depth, nothing 
 should be done so long as Nature appears to be 
 performing her reparative task, well and speedily. If 
 the suppuration becomes thin; does not flow forth 
 freely ; or should fungus sprout ; the weaker solution 
 k6 
 
204 POLL EVIL. 
 
 of the chloride of zinc ought to be injected thrice a 
 day. If the discharge grows offensive, the solution 
 composed of a drachm of chloride of zinc to a quart of 
 water should be employed ; and tonics with the food 
 should be given to stimulate the system. 
 
 After contusion producing effusion into the cellular 
 membrane, an abscess is sometimes formed. The 
 horse is particularly subject to two of these, namely, 
 to poll evil, and to fistulous withers. 
 
 POLL EVIL. 
 
 The horse occasionally receives a violent blow on 
 the back part of the head, and the cellular substance 
 of the poll becomes bruised. Inflammation follows; 
 the part becomes hot and tender ; it enlarges, and for 
 a long period the skin above remains entire. At 
 length it breaks, and an ulcer difficult to heal is 
 formed. This happens much oftener in country than 
 in town practice, either because in rural districts the 
 roof, or the beam of the doorway, is too low. Thus 
 a horse in the least degree restive bruises himself 
 against them. Or because country horses are far more 
 exposed to brutal treatment than the owners dream 
 of. The practitioner always looks at a case of poll 
 evil with a great deal of suspicion, and institutes 
 every inquiry. The owner should never spare the 
 fellow whose passion has caused such mischief. 
 
 The Veterinary Surgeon when called in to a case of 
 poll evil should commence his treatment with the 
 knife. Although the skin be entire, he should with- 
 out delay cut down upon the most prominent part of 
 the swelling until the tumour is laid well open. By 
 
POLL EVIL. 205 
 
 thus proceeding he will save much time; and spare 
 the proprietor considerable expense and disappoint- 
 ment, as well as spare the animal much suffering. 
 
 Should suppuration have commenced, or should the 
 smallest opening only exist, he must still cut freely 
 down to reach the seat of the evil. If he be careful 
 to avoid the wings of the atlas, or the first neck bone, 
 there is no important artery to be injured. A large 
 gaping wound may, therefore, be fearlessly made; 
 and the tumour well cleaned out. The horse, subse- 
 quent to the operation, should be better fed ; have a 
 fair allowance of corn given to him, not abandoned 
 to mashes, or turned to grass. 
 
 We must not, in these cases, expect to find the 
 usual indications which denote the presence of matter. 
 The abscess is generally situated under the expanded 
 tendon of the splenius muscle, and will very seldom 
 come fairly to a head. If allowed to remain, the 
 pus, unable to break through the surface, will, by its 
 pressure, cause absorption of the internal and deep- 
 seated structures; producing sinuses, which have even 
 reached the brain. Without, therefore, waiting for 
 the tumour to become soft; or watching for the 
 throbbing of the pulse and the shivering of the 
 horse ; the signs of general fever, together with the 
 duration of the case, will enable the practitioner to 
 form a tolerably accurate opinion as to the presence 
 of pus. Then the swelling should be immediately 
 opened. If the suppuration is left to go on and 
 should break, much mischief will have been done, 
 while the wound will be unnecessarily large, and will 
 not so easily be healed. 
 
206 POLL EVIL. 
 
 The tumour having been freely opened, the ab- 
 scess should be carefully examined with a probe, and 
 the deepest part of it ascertained ; and through that a 
 seton may be passed, coming out on the side of the 
 neck below the tumour. Two objects will thus be 
 accomplished ; no matter will lodge at the base of the 
 abscess, for it will run out as rapidly as it is formed ; 
 and the internal surface of the ulcer will be disposed 
 to fill up. 
 
 The tumour should be daily examined ; in order to 
 discover whether there are any little pipes running 
 from the interior of the sac. Very often numbers of 
 these are found; and while one is left the wound will 
 never close. Therefore, wherever one is discovered, 
 a seton may be passed through it. Setons may be 
 inserted in this way through every distinct sinus; 
 only care is required to keep the lower opening free 
 by daily moving the tape. 
 
 This being accomplished, the course is simple ; and 
 a speedy and complete cure will sometimes be 
 effected. In most cases it will be sufficient to wash 
 the wound well out with the stronger solution of the 
 chloride of zinc. This will sweeten the part, which 
 usually smells most abominably. It will also prevent 
 the sprouting of fungus : and being changed for the 
 weaker solution will favour the secretion of healthy 
 pus. Nothing more will be required : but if the case 
 does not go on favourably, repeat the examination ; 
 for there remains something which necessitates the 
 knife to be again employed. 
 
 The scalding mixtures, to which so many farriers 
 cruelly resort, are always injurious. They destroy 
 
FISTULOUS WITHERS. 20 7 
 
 the living surfaces to which they are applied ; and 
 often increase the mischief they should heal. 
 
 There is, however, another and a better mode of 
 treating poll evil ; and this speedier plan principally 
 consists in the fearless employment of the knife. 
 
 With regard to the knife, no hesitation should be 
 exhibited in its use when poll evil is to be cured ; but 
 every pipe, however large or small, ought to be slit 
 up, as the healing process is then quickened ; care 
 being used to spare those important arteries which run 
 upon the wings of the first bone of the neck. The 
 opening being large, advantage is taken of it to 
 remove any sloughing portions of tendon, &c. : and 
 any accumulation of foul, thick pus. Then mild 
 caustic is applied to the exposed surfaces where they 
 seem to require it; the part is afterwards treated as a 
 common wound. This is a very proper and efficient 
 mode of practice ; but where the practitioner is not 
 fitly instructed, the system of setoning is the safest. 
 
 FISTULOUS WITHERS. 
 
 If the saddle has not been properly chambered, or 
 the padding has shifted, so that the saddle presses 
 upon the edge of the withers; if the horse is struck 
 violently on this part, or has a habit of rolling in its 
 stall; this* affection may be produced — in fact, any 
 injury which can produce contusion may end in fis- 
 tulous withers. In the first instance it is a swelling. 
 A perfect abscess follows ; and if that be neglected, as 
 in the previous disease, pipes or sinuses result, and 
 the existence of these constitute fistulous withers. 
 Therefore any swelling upon the withers should be 
 freely cut open : thus converting that which either is 
 
208 WOUNDS IN THE CHEST OR BELLY. 
 
 an abscess, or which would speedily become one, into 
 a common wound. Fistulous withers are quite as 
 serious as poll evil; for the sinuses may penetrate 
 between the shoulder and the ribs even to the chest. 
 Wherever they go they must be followed, and setons 
 passed through the more deep of them. For this 
 purpose, which involves a very dangerous operation, 
 an instrument termed a concealed seton-needle should 
 be employed : because the part through which the 
 sinus travels being crowded with arteries and nerves, 
 the use of a common needle increases the peril of the 
 operation. This being effected, the same mode of 
 treatment that has been recommended in poll evil 
 may be adopted, and with equal success. The knife, 
 however, must be boldly employed by a scientific 
 hand. The orifice must be kept open ; or where it 
 is possible to do so with safet}^, the sinuses should be 
 slit up, the after treatment consisting merely in the 
 liberal use of the chloride of zinc wash. Fistulous 
 withers are more likely to return than poll evil is, 
 from the pressure which may be too soon brought to 
 bear on a tender and an irritable part. 
 
 WOUNDS PENETRATING THE CHEST OR BELLY. 
 
 The horse is not so subject to these as cattle are; 
 but he is now and then staked and occasionally 
 gored. If the wound is on the side, its direction and 
 locality will explain whether it has penetrated the 
 cavity of the chest. This fact will likewise be told 
 by a peculiar hissing sound at each act of breathing ; 
 and by a bloody froth being about the mouth of the 
 wound. These wounds must be closed as quickly and 
 as accurately as possible ; a pledget of lint moistened 
 
WOUNDS IN THE CHEST OR BELLY. 209 
 
 with the chloride of zinc wash should be put over the 
 wound; above this a larger piece of oil-silk, and 
 above all a broad bandage, which last, by straps 
 extending between the fore legs and over the shoulder, 
 may be securely retained in its place. 
 
 The bandage should not, if possible, be removed 
 during the first three or four days. The wound, in a 
 great many cases, will then be nearly or quite closed. 
 If necessary, a fresh pledget must be put on, and the 
 bandage replaced. The chance of healing the wound, 
 and avoiding fatal pleuritic inflammation, is obtained 
 by keeping the opening perfectly closed. 
 
 In wounds of the abdomen it will be necessary to 
 cast the horse, in order to favour the return of any 
 protruded intestine. The part that has escaped must 
 be carefully cleaned and returned; and great care 
 taken that no portion of it is wounded by, or included 
 in, the sutures, by which the orifice, if large, must be 
 brought together. Some have advised to include a 
 small portion of the peritoneum in the stitches, in 
 order to secure more rapid adhesion. It must be 
 remembered, however, that when this method is 
 adopted there is considerable danger of inflamma- 
 tion ; it should, therefore, be recollected that there is 
 a choice of evils, and neither one plan nor the other 
 should be carelessly followed. 
 
 In either case some means should be resorted to, in 
 order to avoid inflammation. This, however, can only 
 be done by attending to the symptoms that are pre- 
 sented ; for these will vary with the nature or extent of 
 the injury, and with the condition and temperament of 
 the animal. 
 
210 SHOULDER LAMENESS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 INJURIES AND LAMENESS OF THE FORE 
 EXTREMITIES. 
 
 SHOULDER LAMENESS. 
 
 This, in a few instances, occurs, but not so frequently 
 as the farrier imagines. The proof of the lameness 
 being in the shoulder, and not lower down, is the 
 peculiar gait of the animal. The horse suffers pain 
 at every motion of the shoulder, and therefore limits 
 the action of the bone as much as he can by not lift- 
 ing or advancing the foot ; but dragging it after him 
 along the ground. This is the principal and most 
 general symptom. When the lameness is in the foot 
 or leg, the foot is readily lifted ; in an affection of 
 the shoulder the foot may not be raised at all. 
 
 Another, and even a more certain mode of distin- 
 guishing between lameness of the foot and the shoulder, 
 is to lift the foot; and then gradually extend the 
 limb forward. If the injury is in the foot, the horse 
 will generally suffer no kind of pain from the exten- 
 sion of the leg; but if the shoulder be injured, he will 
 exhibit very great agony when it is attempted to 
 bring the limb forward. 
 
 The shoulder should be well fomented; a calkin 
 put on the heel of the shoe ; blood taken from the 
 toe of the foot or the plate vein ; and a dose of physic 
 administered. If the lameness continue after this, a 
 liquid blister, diluted by the addition of its own bulk 
 
SPRAIN OF THE FORE-ARM. 211 
 
 of oil, should be rubbed on the shoulder daily, until 
 it causes considerable swelling- ; when it should . be 
 discontinued; but afterwards repeated if necessary. 
 
 Dislocation of the shoulder very rarely happens ; 
 for the mass of strong muscle accumulated upon and 
 around .the bone, renders it almost impossible ; should 
 it, however, occur, there is no method by which a 
 sufficient power can be applied to replace the bone. 
 
 The point of the shoulder, however, is exposed to 
 injury from its situation. Fomentations, with water, 
 one quart; tincture of arnica, two ounces; will form 
 the best application, in any serious case of bruise of 
 this part; and there can hardly be 'a better one for 
 dispersing any swelling, or for removing coagulated 
 blood. Local bleeding will not be required, unless 
 the suffering be extreme. Physic is best not given : 
 but if the fever run high, a pound of Epsom salts may 
 be dissolved in half a pail of water, and placed before 
 the patient. If, however, the shock seems to have 
 debilitated the system : if the pulse be weak, but quick, 
 a drink composed of sulphuric ether and laudanum, of 
 each one ounce, with water one pint, should be admi- 
 nistered ; but neither bleeding nor physic thought of. 
 If any portion of the bone of the shoulder-blade, or of 
 the fore-arm, should appear to be fractured; the 
 whole joint should be covered with a charge, and 
 the horse be well fed and kept quiet in a stall. 
 
 SPRAIN OF THE FORE-ARM. 
 
 The muscles of the fore-arm are occasionally 
 sprained; such an injury is readily ascertained by the 
 heat and tenderness of the part. The same kind of 
 
212 INJURIES OF THE ELBOW-JOINT. 
 
 fomentation as is mentioned in the preceding article, 
 followed by the like stimulating application and rest, 
 will be useful here. 
 
 INJURIES OF THE ELBOW-JOINT. 
 
 The most frequent injury of the elbow-joint is a 
 tumour (capped elbow) usually at first soft, and situ- 
 ated on the point of the olecranon. The capped elbow 
 arises from various causes ; the most frequent is the 
 pressure of the calkin of the shoe on the elbow, caused 
 by an awkward doubling up of the fore legs when 
 the horse is lying down. The heels should be ex- 
 amined, and the calkins lowered. 
 
 While the contents of the tumour are yet fluid, it is 
 best to waste no time with lotions, or washes, in the 
 hope of dispersing the swelling. Cut at once boldly 
 upon it, and afterwards either dissect out the sac, 
 or destroy it effectually by the application of caustic. 
 The frequent bathing of the part with the weaker 
 solution of the chloride of zinc, is all that will be 
 necessary afterwards ; though frequently wounds upon 
 the joint of the elbow, engendered by the cap being 
 neglected, are long in healing. 
 
 As the tumour enlarges, its weight often causes it 
 to become pendulous. It likewise may change its cha- 
 racter, and become hard or scirrhous. An incision, in 
 the latter case, should be made through the skin the 
 whole length of the enlargement. The skin should be 
 carefully dissected back, and the tumour taken away 
 entire. This is the preferable way of proceeding. 
 No seton (consisting of coarse tape) should be passed 
 
BROKEN KNEES. 213 
 
 through the body of the swelling. Such things may 
 irritate but cannot remove the tumour. 
 
 The elbow-joint is occasionally opened by kicking ; 
 or by a cut from the broken shafts in falling; or by 
 the carelessness or brutality of the carter. The exist- 
 ence of this may be suspected from the rapid and very 
 great swelling of the joint; its extreme heat and ten- 
 derness, with most piteous lameness ; it is also clearly 
 ascertained by the glairy nature of the discharge. 
 The treatment of this injury will be indicated when 
 "opened joints" come under consideration. 
 
 In a few cases fracture of the bone of the elbow has 
 occurred. This is a very serious business ; for, when 
 the immense stress on the point of this bone is consi- 
 dered, it cannot be expected that union can take 
 place, however skilful may be the treatment pursued. 
 
 BROKEN KNEES. 
 
 Any division of the skin of the knee is known by 
 this name; and the common cause is falling down. A 
 simple graze or scratch may be of little consequence 
 when rightly treated ; but, if neglected, a portion of 
 the skin may slough, which will be very serious busi- 
 ness, as it affects the value of the horse. When the 
 knees are injured, the parts should be thoroughly 
 cleansed ; and if they are, as they generally will be, 
 bruised, fomentations composed of tincture of arnica, 
 two ounces; water, one pint; should be diligently 
 applied night and day, for four days or a week — 
 until the swelling subsides or a slough takes place. 
 At the expiration of that time, the weaker solution 
 of chloride of zinc ought to be employed: and perse- 
 
214 OPEN JOINT. 
 
 vered with throughout the healing process. When 
 the wound has healed, if any hair be wanting, leave 
 the reparation to time, which in a month or two will 
 narrow the cicatrix, and thus conceal the blemish. 
 Ointments or bandages will but render the deficiency 
 larger and more permanent. 
 
 Broken knees, in fact, are no more than simple 
 wounds ; and all the directions which have been given 
 as to the manner of treating those lesions must be 
 applied to these accidents. 
 
 OPEN JOINT. 
 
 Many a valuable horse is destroyed by this accident. 
 The ligaments of the joint being cut through, two bad 
 consequences ensue. The air has access to a cavity 
 unused to its stimulus, and inflammation ensues : the 
 joint-oil also, which was interposed between the bones, 
 in order to prevent friction, having escaped, the ends 
 press upon one another, and a still more violent in- 
 flammation is established, under which the powers of 
 nature soon fail. Therefore the object to be accom- 
 plished is to close the joint, and that as speedily as 
 possible ; in order that the air may be excluded, and 
 the escape of joint-oil once more prevented. 
 
 The wound must first be thoroughly cleaned; so 
 that the part may be fairly examined, and every par- 
 ticle of foreign substance removed. This can only be 
 effectually done in the first instance, or very soon 
 after the accident has occurred. When newly opened, 
 the joint is not sensitive ; and the practitioner should 
 avail himself of this fact to make a thorough examina- 
 tion. After a day has passed, however, inflammation 
 
 
OPEN JOINT. 215 
 
 will have commenced ; and the part which previously 
 could be probed and handled, without causing any 
 pain, becomes so acutely sensitive, that the horse will 
 not allow it to be touched. The nature and extent 
 of the wound must, therefore, in the first instance, be 
 carefully ascertained. The probe will generally 
 determine very speedily whether the ligaments of 
 the joint have been cut through. The peculiar jar 
 and grating of the bone underneath, when the metal 
 is brought into contact with it, can scarcely be mis- 
 taken. 
 
 If the orifice is large, and extends, as it were, 
 across the knee; is much lacerated and very ragged 
 at its edges, it will probably be a serious matter ; for 
 in such a case the tendons of the extensor muscles, in 
 addition to the ligaments of the joint, must have been 
 separated, and it may be merciful to destroy the horse. 
 It certainly will be serious if the wound is between 
 the upper row of the knee and the bones of the arm ; 
 for a great deal of action will necessarily take place at 
 this joint. If it be opposite to the midddle row of the 
 joint, the case is more favourable, for there is less 
 action in these parts. 
 
 The old way of closing the wound is by manv 
 persons much admired; and the practitioner, whore- 
 solves to employ it, will go to work at once, before 
 the membrane of the joint has taken on inflammation, 
 Any of the adjacent parts being much lacerated must 
 be removed ; but as little as possible should be taken 
 away. The common firing-iron should then be taken ; 
 and brought almost to a white heat ; and run rapidly 
 over the wound and with a medium pressure; the 
 
216 OPEN JOINT. 
 
 lines being of a lozenge form and near to each other, 
 more particularly at the centre of the wound. 
 
 The object of this is to produce considerable in- 
 flammation, with consequent swelling ; and so mecha- 
 nically to close up the wound. A pledget of tow 
 dipped in tincture of aloes must now be placed over 
 the part, and bound down by a calico bandage four 
 inches wide, and about four yards in length ; which 
 must be applied as equally as possible, and not re- 
 moved for six or seven days. 
 
 There must be very great swelling, and the horse 
 must be suffering considerably, in order to justify the 
 removal of the bandage before its time ; but two or 
 three little snips in it, above and below, may give 
 some ease. 
 
 It will seldom be found that when the bandage is 
 first removed the orifice will have been perfectly 
 closed ; therefore the iron should be ready, and be 
 applied again, but not so extensively or so severely. 
 The budding-iron may also be resorted to, in order 
 more effectually and deeply to sear the edges of the 
 central opening. Once more the wound should not 
 be opened for a week ; and even then a third applica- 
 tion of the iron may be necessary. This plan of 
 treatment, however, is very severe ; and certainly is 
 not to be justified by any appeal to scientific principles. 
 The iron does no more than the bandage would do 
 without it ; for the last, quite as much as the swelling 
 induced by the fire, stops the flow of the joint-oil; and 
 the cautery cannot be supposed to expedite the heal- 
 ing process. The cautery, moreover, induces a slough ; 
 and suppuration must ensue. Now, to dam up pus is 
 
OPEN JOINT. 217 
 
 one of the measures abhorrent to all modern surgery ; 
 and, therefore, it is wrong to apply a bandage after 
 using the iron. The hot iron, moreover, is a most de- 
 structive tool. If it does no good, it must do harm ; 
 and consequently it should rarely be found in the hands 
 of the Veterinary Surgeon who has to deal with other 
 people's property. 
 
 A simple bandage kept moist with cold water, and 
 retained on for ten or twelve days, has m rare instances 
 effected a cure ; but such an application has far 
 oftener failed, and so have many other things, for the 
 applications used to open joints are very numerous. 
 Quicklime; alum ; sulphate of copper ; the bichloride 
 of mercury dissolved in spirits of wine; and nearly 
 every astringent and caustic, mild or powerful, have 
 been tried in turns; and all are reported to have 
 been successful. All, however, are too well known 
 to have frequently failed. The caustics require to be 
 repeatedly applied ; that is, they must be resorted to 
 as often as the joint-oil appears. And not unseldom, 
 by destroying the surrounding structures, they enlarge 
 the orifice which they were intended to plug up; 
 thus aggravating the very evil they were employed to 
 remedy. 
 
 No poultice or ointment should be applied to an 
 open joint ; the simple object to be pursued is to close 
 the opening. This such applications will retard. 
 Knowing they have that effect, some persons use 
 them in doubtful cases ; that the poultice may aggra- 
 vate the lesion, and, if the joint be opened, not allow 
 the oil to escape. This is a cruel folly, and should 
 never be practised. In every suspicious case the 
 
218 OPEN JOINT. 
 
 simple lotions just recommended are the very best 
 medicaments ; for they may prevent that which the 
 poultice induces. If the joint-oil escapes, it is easily 
 recognized by its peculiar odour ; by its glairy nature ; 
 by its being thick, sticky, and transparent ; very much 
 resembling the white of an egg. But the chloride of 
 zinc lotion coagulates the synovia, and this forms 
 the most effective and the most natural of bandages. 
 
 The Surgeon, moreover, will be enabled by the 
 wound being left uncovered to determine at all times, 
 whether he is making progress towards a cure ; and 
 he should recollect that nothing will excuse his pro- 
 longing torture when hope has fled. 
 
 Altogether the best plan of cure for open joint is, 
 however, that which we are about to describe. After 
 the wound has been cleansed it is to be bathed day 
 and night with the solution of the tincture of arnica 
 for four days. At the expiration of this time the 
 slings must be put under the horse. The head having 
 been tied up from the first, a horse thereby being 
 kept standing, will generally take to the slings with 
 evident gratitude. The arnica lotion is then to be 
 cast aside; and another consisting of a scruple of the 
 chloride of zinc to a pint of water assiduously employed; 
 the liquid being squeezed from a sponge upon the 
 limb, but above the wound, and allowed to gravitate 
 over the knee. This is all the process. No stench 
 will arise from the sore. All the pus which is secreted 
 will rapidly escape. The horse will be put to no 
 torture ; for the cool lotion is rather pleasant than 
 otherwise to the feverish wound. No spurious granu- 
 lation will spring up ; but every thing will go on well. 
 
SPEEDY CUT. 219 
 
 Neither fire nor caustic will be necessary ; and very 
 few precautions need be taken to secure success. 
 Amongst these, however, are the tying- up of the 
 horse's head — the manner of applying the lotion — and 
 prudence in not touching the wound. In the first 
 place; the head must be so tied up, and the slings so 
 fixed, that the animal may not either strike or rub his 
 knee against the manger, or any substance in front of 
 him. In the second place, the wash is not to be 
 clashed upon the wound ; but a sponge is to be satu- 
 rated with the solution, and this sponge is to be 
 squeezed dry above the sore upon a sound part of the 
 leg. The liquid is then to be suffered to trickle over 
 the injured joint. And in the third place ; although 
 a bunch so large as a man's closed fist should form 
 in front of the part, it must upon no account be 
 touched, or in any way disturbed. Every thing, in 
 short, ought to be done to promote and to preserve 
 such a growth. It is coagulated synovia ; it is plug- 
 ging up the orifice ; and, when the pendent lump of 
 coagulated synovia appears, the main difficulty is 
 surmounted. 
 
 This method of cure is so sure, so speedy, so hu- 
 mane, and so cleanly, that it requires no word here 
 to recommend it. The joint is generally healed in a 
 month, or in six weeks; and in another period all 
 blemish, supposing the injury not to have been un- 
 usually severe, has disappeared. 
 
 SPEEDY CUT. 
 
 Another serious evil presents itself immediately be- 
 L 2 
 
220 SPLINT. 
 
 low the knee, in the form of a scar, wound, swelling, 
 or bony enlargement, upon the inside of the leg. 
 This is mostly found in horses with high action ; the 
 hoof or edge of the shoe being struck against the 
 inside of the opposite leg ; the blow is sometimes so 
 violent, and the pain so great, that the horse suddenly 
 drops, to the imminent danger of the rider. A speedy 
 cut materially diminishes the value of the horse i for 
 such an animal can never be considered as safe. 
 
 Should the injury be fresh, the part must be pro- 
 tected, and treated as a common wound. If the place 
 has healed, but still continues sensitive, the tender- 
 ness may be abated or removed by means of cooling 
 applications ; or, should it be accompanied with much 
 enlargement, perhaps the swelling will require pro- 
 tection by means of a leathern covering.. But, if the 
 evil is ever to be prevented, it may be by filing away 
 any projecting edge of the shoe; by rasping down 
 the inside quarter of the hoof; by the use of a shoe 
 one side being higher than the other, and the nails 
 confined to the outer side alone; and especially by 
 not over-weighting the horse, or putting it beyond its 
 pace. Moreover, every one possessing an animal 
 which has recently exhibited this defect should at 
 once attend to the system generally, and not begrudge 
 to an exhausted nature a necessary period of rest. 
 
 SPLINT. 
 
 Splints, strictly defined, are ossifications of a pecu- 
 liar fibro-cartilaginous substance, by means of which 
 the small bones are joined to the large bone of the 
 eg: horsemen, however, agree in calling any little 
 
SPLINT. 2'21 
 
 bony tumour below the knee and above the pastern a 
 splint. Their causes are various : early and hard 
 work ; over-weighting of the horse ; exhaustion and 
 external violence. 
 
 The most general cause of splints is hard trotting 
 under a heavy weight. Young horses are most sub- 
 ject to them ; for then the parts are not sufficiently 
 consolidated to endure the strain which an older 
 animal might sustain without injury. The inside of 
 the leg is the place where they generally appear. 
 Inflammation is first produced, accompanied with heat, 
 swelling, and pain. The horse shrinks back when 
 the part is pressed; he does not, when in motion, 
 freely bend the leg; but often exhibits that peculiar 
 action which is denominated "dishing;" which word 
 implies that when the fore leg is raised and in the air, 
 it is decidedly inclined in the outward direction. 
 Lameness, of course, is present; but, as a general 
 rule, it exists only while the inflammation continues. 
 This is, in a great measure, consequent upon the 
 swelling rendering the periosteum tense ; or upon the 
 fibrous covering to the bone, beneath which the en- 
 largement is situated, being stretched on the tumour 
 during the action of the limb. When the inflamma- 
 tion abates, the swelling is converted into bone ; and 
 with the change sensation departs. The horse becomes 
 sound ; the splint being of no further importance than 
 so far as its size may be a deformity, or expose it to 
 being struck ; or so far as it may interfere with the 
 springy action of the animal, which, however, it 
 seldom does to any sensible degree. In some few 
 cases, however, a splint will be so situated as to inter- 
 im 3 
 
222 SPLINT. 
 
 fere with the knee-joint, or with some tendons of 
 the leg ; it then causes either imperfect action, or, it 
 may be, permanent lameness ensues. If it does not 
 interfere with the action of the joint, or the play of 
 any ligament or tendon, and is not in an active or 
 growing state, a splint may be unsightly — but it may 
 be of little further detriment to the horse. Some 
 knowledge of the anatomy of the leg or considerable 
 observation as to the effect of splints is necessary to 
 decide on their importance, and to define the hopes 
 that may be entertained from their treatment. 
 
 If they are productive of lameness, poultices or 
 fomentations having been first employed to abate the 
 inflammation ; the hair should then be cut very 
 close around the cause of mischief: a little mercurial 
 ointment may be well rubbed in for three or four 
 days ; or, what is still better, a compound of iodine 
 with mercurial ointment should be used, to which a 
 blister may succeed. The blister should be actively 
 rubbed in on the fourth or fifth morning, the former 
 application having been washed off. If one blister 
 makes no change in the size of the splint, another 
 should be applied: but beyond this it is not worth 
 while to go ; for it will often happen that the effect 
 of the blister is not immediately beneficial ; but begins 
 to become apparent a week or a fortnight after the 
 practitioner imagines he had been labouring in vain. 
 
 In some cases, however, it may be desirable to 
 combine the benefits sought for in the treatment just 
 described : and, when this can be attempted, the 
 following ointment is often used with the best 
 possible effect. 
 
splint. 2-2:3 
 
 RECIPE (No. 54). 
 
 Ointment for Splints. 
 
 Iodine, two drachms ; 
 
 Mercurial ointment (strong), one ounce ; 
 
 Spermaceti ointment, two ounces. 
 
 Rub the ointment well down with the spermaceti ; 
 to this add the iodine ; having thoroughly mixed these, 
 the preparation is fit for use. A portion of this may 
 be applied with a half-hour's friction daily, till the 
 place becomes sore ; when it should be for a time dis- 
 continued ; but again resorted to, so soon as the con- 
 dition of the tumour permits. 
 
 These means will not, however, always succeed; 
 but sometimes an operation gives speedy relief. 
 
 A small incision is made through the skin below, 
 and also above the splint ; next a blunt seton needle 
 is passed in at one opening, and brought out at 
 the other, so as to make a channel under the skin ; 
 into this a bistoury is introduced, and the operator 
 cuts down on the splint so as to divide the periosteum ; 
 then withdrawing the knife, he inserts from the upper 
 to the lower incision a small seton, which is allowed to 
 remain in for ten days or a fortnight. This operation 
 will sometimes succeed in removing the lameness; 
 and in diminishing the enlargement of young horses, 
 although its success is by no means certain. 
 
 Splints are oftenest seen in colts ; generally they are 
 not perceived in old horses, being removed by the pro- 
 cess of absorption, which we have little power to hasten 
 or retard. 
 
 l 4 
 
224 SPRAIN OF THE BACK SINEWS. 
 
 SPRAIN OF THE BACK SINEWS. 
 
 This calamity is often occasioned by the horse 
 being over-weighted, and ridden far and fast, espe- 
 cially if the animal's pasterns are long : but it may 
 be produced by a false step ; or from the heels of the 
 shoes being too much lowered. The thin-heeled shoes 
 that were once in fashion did irreparable mischief in 
 this respect. 
 
 Sprain of the back sinews is detected by swelling 
 and heat at the back part of the leg; puffiness along 
 the course of the sinews; extreme tenderness, so far 
 as the swelling or the heat extends ; accompanied by 
 very great lameness. 
 
 The first object is to abate the inflammation; and 
 this should be attempted by local applications to the 
 back of the leg, in the form of fomentations, suffi- 
 ciently hot, and frequently repeated. The solution 
 of arnica is an excellent and a fashionable application 
 to inj uries of this kind. Or a cold poultice may be 
 made with the tincture and placed upon the part; 
 at the same time as much strain as possible should 
 be taken from the sinew by putting on to the horse's 
 foot a high-heeled shoe. 
 
 The horse should be put upon mash diet for a day 
 or two, and have physic, should not purging ensue. 
 When, in the course of a short time, the leg will bear 
 a little pressure, a different course should be pursued. 
 The inflammation having been abated, the practi- 
 tioner should think of reducing the enlargement, lest 
 it should become organized or confirmed ; when, if 
 it did not perpetuate the lameness, it would at least 
 
WIND- GALLS. 225 
 
 interfere with the motions of the body and limit the 
 action of the limb. 
 
 It is too frequently the absurd practice of the farrier 
 to attempt this by means of hot oils or blisters, imme- 
 diately after the accident, and before the inflamma- 
 tion is subdued. By doing this he increases the 
 inflammation, and aggravates the evil ; often render- 
 ing a thorough cure impossible. 
 
 The first application, with a view to promote the 
 absorption of the matter thrown out, should be pres- 
 sure; cautiously applied at the beginning, and only 
 increased as the animal can bear it. The bandage 
 being wetted with water, in order that the leg may be 
 kept cool; thus, not only the inflammation will be 
 lessened, but the tone and strength of the parts in 
 some degree restored. 
 
 In slight cases, when the tenderness, heat, swelling, 
 and lameness have all subsided, the horse may go to 
 work, if he does not go too far or too fast: but, if 
 the sprain has been severe, considerable enlargement 
 will remain after the absolute lameness has disappeared. 
 This will materially interfere with the free and safe 
 action of the limb ; therefore, and especially where 
 quick work is required, it will be expedient to rub the 
 injury morning and night with a little ointment, formed 
 by mixing one drachm of iodide of lead with one 
 ounce of lard. 
 
 WIND-GALLS. 
 
 At the back of the leg, just above the fetlock joint, 
 Mr. Varnell has shown that the flexor tendons are 
 encased in a synovial sheath. Its use is to facilitate 
 the motion of the various structures upon each other ; 
 
 l 5 
 
2*26 WIND-GALLS. 
 
 but, if irritated by excessive work, the synovial sac 
 appears to bulge out at the weakest parts of the 
 confining membrane. These enlargements constitute 
 wind-galls, which rarely lame, unless they are very 
 large or start up suddenly ; being then evidently pro- 
 duced by violent action, and attended with inflamma- 
 tion. They are, however, always blemishes; and 
 generally pretty certain evidence that a horse has 
 done some heavy work. 
 
 The mode of treatment is the same as in sprain of 
 the back sinews. When there is much heat about the 
 part, fomentations will be useful ; but the wind-gall 
 will sooner bear pressure than the sprained sinew will. 
 An indian rubber bandage confining pieces of cork 
 which rest upon lint placed over the wind-galls should 
 be applied, and if the lint previous to its use is tho- 
 roughly wetted it will be of greater service. 
 
 If the wind-galls will not yield to this, a portion of 
 the iodide of lead ointment, recommended to be used 
 in the previous article, may be daily rubbed over the 
 enlarged sacs. This keeps a constant stimulus upon 
 the part ; not sufficient to blister or to cause lameness, 
 but enough to rouse the absorbents to more powerful 
 action. Should, however, any soreness be induced, 
 the ointment must be omitted for two, three, four 
 days, or longer, till all irritation has disappeared. 
 
 The wind-galls, how r ever, are not so difficult to 
 remove as to prevent returning upon the slightest 
 work. For this reason these enlargements in all 
 horses kept for actual service, not for show, had 
 better be let alone unless they occasion deformity or 
 produce lameness ; as the proprietor will thus spare 
 
SPRAIN OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT. 2*27 
 
 himself much loss in keep, expense in treatment, and 
 very probably ultimate disappointment. 
 
 SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK JOINT. 
 
 Fortunately this is a rare occurrence ; but, when it 
 does happen, it is a serious business, because of the 
 pain produced by the slightest action of the joint, of 
 the enduring character of the inflammation, and of 
 the bones being apt to enlarge, and to interfere with 
 the proper use of the foot. It may be generally 
 distinguished from sprain of the back si?iews, by the 
 heat and tenderness and enlargement being clearly 
 around the fetlock, and in a manner confined to it; 
 but occasionally the animal is slaughtered without the 
 fetlock joint even being examined or suspected. 
 
 The mode of treatment is still the same. Fomen- 
 tations will be as effectual as in strains higher up ; 
 and these must in their turn give way to pressure and 
 cold water. Firing is never necessary ; but the horse 
 can seldom be safely returned to his work without an 
 active blister finishing the treatment. 
 
 RUPTURE AND SPRAIN OF THE SUSPENSORY 
 LIGAMENT. 
 
 At the back of the fetlock are two little irregularly- 
 shaped bones, attached to the joint, and forming part 
 of it; they are called the sessamoid bones. A liga- 
 ment, descending from the back of the knee as well as 
 the back of the hock, and descending behind the bone 
 of the leg, is, at the fetlock, attached to the upper part 
 of these bones, which it extends below and divides, 
 the extremities being ultimately inserted into the 
 
 l 6 
 
228 SPRAIN OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT. 
 
 small pastern bone. It is called the suspensory liga- 
 ment ; because it materially assists in supporting the 
 weight of the frame whenever the leg is placed upon 
 the earth. 
 
 It must have been observed how the pasterns and 
 the fetlock yield; how these parts are brought almost 
 to the ground in the rapid action of the blood-horse, 
 particularly if he has long pasterns. This ligament, 
 though quite as muscular as elastic, sustains the 
 weight of the horse ; for the principal yielding is con- 
 fined to the pastern. The foot being again lifted, 
 the ligament contracts to its natural length, and the 
 sessamoids, which had been forced downward, reoccupy 
 their former places. In this gradual play of the 
 suspensory ligament, consists the easy and pleasant 
 action of the horse with oblique pasterns. In the 
 horse with short and upright pasterns, which are 
 capable of little motion, the weight and concussion 
 are thrown more on the bones, and the action is jolt- 
 ing ; hence the greater liability to sprain and enlarge- 
 ment of the fetlock joint. 
 
 This ligament, as it may be easily imagined, is 
 subject to serious injury. It is sometimes ruptured; 
 and the horse is said to break down. The fetlock, no 
 longer supported by the suspensory ligament, touches 
 the ground ; the lameness is dreadful. This lowering 
 of the fetlock will distinguish rupture of the ligament 
 from sprain of the back sinew. The injury, how 7 ever, 
 in breaking down is seldom strictly confined to the 
 suspensory ligament ; but the integrity of the pastern 
 joint is destroyed, and other ligamentous structures 
 are also torn asunder. 
 
CUTTING. 229 
 
 This is a serious, and, generally speaking-, an irre- 
 parable injury ; for it will be almost impossible to keep 
 the divided edges of the various parts long enough 
 in contact for reunion to take place. A shoe with a 
 high heel must be put on ; the leg must be well ban- 
 daged, and perfect quiet must be enjoined. Inflam- 
 mation may be generally kept under by the applica- 
 tion of the cold solution of the tincture of arnica; but 
 no stimulating application must be used until all in- 
 flammation is removed; when the leg having been 
 repeatedly bathed with the solution of chloride of zinc, 
 the iodide of lead ointment may be freely used to 
 reduce the swelling. 
 
 A much more frequent injury than that just de- 
 scribed, though fortunately one much less severe, is a 
 strain and enlargement of the suspensory ligament; 
 sometimes on one, but often on both sides. The 
 treatment should be similar to that before advised ; 
 that is, first to place on a high-heeled shoe ; then to 
 remove the inflammation by cooling lotions; and 
 ultimately to stimulate the enlargement by employing 
 the ointment just named. 
 
 CUTTING. 
 
 The inside of the fetlock is often bruised and cut 
 by the opposite foot. This is particularly the case 
 in young horses, before the joints attain their proper 
 strength ; for the same reason animals when they are 
 tired frequently cut, for the legs can no longer pre- 
 serve their perpendicular motion. 
 
 There are few things more difficult to cure than 
 cutting : the inner heel has been raised and lowered ; 
 
230 SPRAIN OF THE COFFIN JOINT. 
 
 the outer heel lias been raised and lowered also ; in 
 both cases occasionally with good effect; but, oftener, 
 the horse continues to cut, no matter to which side the 
 bearing is thrown. That which has oftenest suc- 
 ceeded, is the level paring of the foot, with the level 
 surface or bearing of the shoe ; at the same time an 
 additional nail being put on the outer side, and only 
 one nail on the inner side of the shoe — and that one 
 near to the toe. This unfettered way of shoeing, while 
 it gives perfect security to the shoe, permits the foot 
 in some degree to expand ; hence straightforward and 
 safe motion is the more likely to be preserved. At 
 the same time any projecting edge of the shoe beyond 
 the crust should be carefully filed down ; and the in- 
 side quarter, and particularly if there is any appear- 
 ance of the hoof bulging, should be gently rasped; 
 for the horse as often bruises the fetlock with the side 
 of the opposite foot as he cuts it with the edge of the 
 shoe. 
 
 SPRAIN OF THE PASTERN JOINT. 
 
 This joint is not often injured; but has sometimes 
 been severely sprained. The seat of the injury may 
 be detected, as in the other cases of a similar nature, 
 by the heat, swelling, and tenderness ; the same 
 course of treatment must be pursued. 
 
 STRAIN OF THE COFFIN JOINT. 
 
 The symptoms which are strictly proper to this 
 injury can hardly be stated; since, whenever the 
 coffin joint is sprained, the surrounding structures 
 must certainly be involved. Heats, swelling, lame- 
 
RING-BONE. 231 
 
 ness, tenderness upon pressure, and disinclination to 
 bend the joint, will be present. The treatment should 
 consist in bleeding* the toe ; after which the foot should 
 be bound up in cloths wetted with tincture of arnica ; 
 and subsequently treated with the ointment of iodide 
 of lead. 
 
 KING-BONE. 
 
 From the great action of the pastern joints, and the 
 injuries to which the bones and ligaments are exposed, 
 inflammation is often accompanied by the deposition 
 of bony matter ; ring-bone, so called because it 
 sometimes extends round the pastern, being the sad 
 consequence of sprain. Occasionally it begins as 
 high up as the superior articulation of the larger pas- 
 tern bone ; sometimes about the joint formed by the 
 two pastern bones; and generally it involves the 
 lower pastern and coffin bones. As a consequence of 
 inflammation bone is deposited ; and apparently cer- 
 tain structures entirely change their natures under 
 the action of disease. The lateral or side ligaments 
 are those that are oftenest or soonest affected ; ring- 
 bone is then discovered, in its early state, by a 
 rounded hard projection on each side immediately 
 above the coronet. 
 
 Ring-bone is always accompanied by lameness at 
 the commencement: but the extent of the after lame- 
 ness depends on the degree in which the bony tumour 
 interferes with the action of the joint. In some cases 
 it disappears altogether, particularly in the hind feet; 
 where the concussion is not so great, and the inflam- 
 mation is not generally so intense. In the fore feet, 
 
232 GROGGINESS. 
 
 which support more of the weight of the body, the 
 bony deposit is usually greater; it commonly involves 
 one or both of the pastern joints. Lameness, and 
 of an incurable nature, is the result should side-bones 
 also exist, or if the ring should extend under the 
 cartilages; and it not unfrequently happens that the 
 coffin joint, being surrounded by unyielding bone, is 
 entirely lost. 
 
 It is of little use to meddle with ring-bone unless 
 we begin at its commencement: and then it should 
 be attacked in good earnest. Local bleeding, and 
 lotions, should be first employed ; the inflammation 
 being removed, the repeated and persevering use of 
 the iodide of lead ointment should be adopted, not so 
 much with a view of causing absorption as with an 
 expectation of checking any further deposit of bony 
 matter. All, however, will, often fail; for the inces- 
 sant action of the parts, and the pressure on them, 
 render it very difficult to arrest the progress of the 
 inflammation. In a confirmed case of ring-bone, 
 especially where the joint is lost, it would be the 
 height of cruelty to subject the poor animal to the 
 useless torture of the iron ; and when side-bones and 
 ring-bones exist together, neurotomy is the only 
 means which can afford temporary relief. 
 
 GROGGINESS — KNUCKLING, ETC. 
 
 This is a frequent tremulous motion of the fore leg, 
 with a bowing of the knee, and some degree of knuck- 
 ling of the fetlock ; while upon the slightest tap be- 
 hind the knee the joint yields. There is an evident 
 loss of power and energy in the limb, and though in 
 
FRACTURES. 233 
 
 some measure a natural defect, it is often a proof that 
 the horse has been hard worked ; it is probable that 
 he can then endure little further exertion. 
 
 The various structures which compose the limb 
 have been overtaxed ; they have become weak ; the 
 flexor tendons have been irritated to contract, and thus 
 the limb is greatly thrown out of the perpendicular. 
 There is little remedy for it but the constant appli- 
 cation of cool lotions with rest, while the horse enjoys 
 the salutary and bracing influence of cold effusions 
 on the legs and feet. 
 
 FRACTURES. 
 
 A horse is often condemned without cause, on 
 account of fracture of the bones of the fore legs. 
 Either the practitioner dislikes the trouble; or the 
 proprietor is loth to make the proper remuneration. 
 The only circumstances that will justify the abandon- 
 ment of a horse with fractured leg are when it is a 
 compound fracture ; the integument and muscular 
 parts being lacerated as well as the bone broken into 
 numerous pieces ; then, indeed, the case is hopeless. . 
 
 The cure of fracture of the shank-bone may be un- 
 dertaken with fair prospect of success. All that is to 
 be done is to cut the hair closely off the part ; to bring 
 — and as gently as may be — the divided edges of the 
 bones in apposition : to retain them there by means of 
 splints, which shall reach a considerable way above 
 and below the injured part. 
 
 The limb should first be well encased in cloth ; 
 then upon the outside of the cloth, wood which has 
 been well boiled should be annlied. In this condition 
 
234 FRACTURE OF THE HAUNCH. 
 
 wood may be modelled to the inequalities of the limb, 
 if used before all the heat has departed. The splints 
 are to be firmly bound by a broad canvas bandage, 
 and the whole kept constantly wet with cold water. 
 
 This should be done in the box or stall, in which it 
 is intended that the horse should remain. He should 
 then be left as much as possible to himself. He will 
 take care of his broken leg; he will not press upon it 
 for many a day ; and not at all, until he can do so 
 without much pain ; and, in many more cases than 
 some have imagined, the fractured bone will unite, 
 and the horse will do well. 
 
 Slings should not be used in the first instance; but 
 the horse should have his head tied up for four nights, 
 and then the slings may be offered, but these reliefs 
 should not be continued too long. The excoriations 
 and other inconveniences occasioned by the long use 
 of the slings have, more than any thing else, brought 
 the treatment of fractures into disrepute. 
 
 Fractures of the hind extremities are more serious 
 affairs, and should be undertaken with great caution. 
 But after either injury a long rest should be allowed, 
 and a full allowance of the best food supplied. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 INJURIES AND LAMENESS OF THE HIND EXTREMITIES 
 FRACTURE OF THE HAUNCH. 
 
 The point of the hip, or haunch, is exposed to con- 
 siderable danger from accident or brutal force. Either 
 
 
SPRAIN OF THE ROUND BONE. 235 
 
 in consequence of falling, or being run violently 
 against, or receiving a heavy blow, the prominent 
 parts of the haunch may be broken off. There is an 
 immense mass of powerful muscle here ; so that it 
 would be utterly impossible to keep the disunited 
 pieces of bone accurately together : yet nature will do 
 much towards it ; for if, after the inflammation has a 
 little abated, a thick charge be put over the loins, the 
 fractured portions may some months afterwards be 
 found connected with the part from which they had 
 been separated. There wall always, however, be some 
 difference in the appearance of the two hips, yet very 
 rarely any lameness ; and the horse will perform its 
 work with tolerable ease, but never with the former 
 pleasure to itself. 
 
 SPRAIN OF THE ROUND BONE. 
 
 One would think it was impossible that the liga- 
 ments connecting the thigh-bone with the haunch 
 could be subject to sprain ; the enormous mass of 
 muscle by which they are surrounded seems to bid 
 defiance to any power of extension. Dislocation, or 
 even strain of this joint, does not occur so often as the 
 groom imagines. Lameness from sprain of the round 
 bone is sometimes characterized by the horse dragging 
 his toe behind him ; and other times by a very pecu- 
 liar rotatory, indecisive motion of the limb. The best 
 proof, however, of the lameness being seated here is 
 the pain evinced by the animal when this joint is 
 firmly pressed upon. There is seldom much enlarge- 
 ment, and the injured part is too deep for the heat to 
 be always felt. 
 
236 STIFLE LAMENESS. 
 
 If washes are applied at all in the treatment of this 
 lameness, they should be as cold as they can be pro- 
 cured, and frequently repeated ; but it will generally 
 be the best practice to have immediate recourse to 
 stimulants. Rest is absolutely necessary, and, should 
 the lameness long continue, a charge should be placed 
 on the part ; the horse being housed to prevent the 
 annoyance of flies, and liberally fed. 
 
 STIFLE LAMENESS. 
 
 Than the round bone there is much oftener lame- 
 ness in the stifle, and there are few places where the 
 actual cause of lameness is so deceptive, or so little 
 understood. There is seldom sprain of the joint; but 
 frequently dislocation of the patella. The horse is 
 found standing with his hind leg thrust backwards as 
 far as possible ; resting upon the fetlock, the pastern 
 being perfectly bent and the limb fixed. The ani- 
 mal is evidently in great pain ; perspiring profusely 
 and heaving sadly at the flanks. 
 
 The case, however, is easily treated. Some persons 
 proceed in a very summary way: they give the horse 
 a lash or two with a whip, and by his violent effort to 
 get away from the punishment, the limb sometimes is 
 flexed, when the bone which answers to the knee-pan 
 in man returns into its place. This, probably, would 
 not succeed in many cases, for there is some danger 
 attending so rude an operation ; the ligaments of the 
 patella may be sprained, or even ruptured, by the 
 sudden and violent action of the muscles. 
 
 The dislocation can be reduced without much trouble 
 or any danger. It always takes place outwardly. An 
 
THOROUGH-PIN. 237 
 
 assistant should lift the lame leg-, and carry it forward, 
 while the surgeon presses upon the edge of the patella ; 
 the bone will then be returned to its natural situation 
 with a facility that would scarcely be expected. If 
 some hours should have passed between the dislocation 
 and its attempted reduction, the ligaments will have 
 been weakened; and the bone sometimes slips out 
 again as soon as the pressure is removed : it will 
 always, therefore, be prudent to let some one remain 
 pressing against the part for several hours, and to 
 bathe the joint with cold lotion; or to stimulate the 
 part at once, if the bone has previously been subject 
 to dislocation. Should not the ligaments even then 
 have regained sufficient strength, the cautery will 
 probably be needed. Much inflammation, and en- 
 largement of the joint, and even fracture of the patella, 
 arise from contusions received in hunting, or when a 
 horse is running away. Rest, fomentation, and, if 
 unavoidable, blistering, are the proper remedies for 
 ordinary accidents ; but fracture of the patella seems 
 to be beyond the aid of Veterinary Surgery. 
 
 The muscles of the thigh, generally, and particu- 
 larly of the inside of it, have sometimes been severely 
 sprained in hunting, where the country is deep and the 
 fences high. Rest and fomentation, with gentle medi- 
 cines, are the remedies indicated here. 
 
 THOROUGH-PIN. 
 
 Above the hock we sometimes find a soft swelling. 
 It generally projects on both sides, and is therefore 
 called a thorough-pin. This tumour is situated in 
 front of the point of the hock ; and is commonly con- 
 
238 CAPPED HOCK. 
 
 nected with the hock joint itself. It is not necessarily 
 a cause of lameness; it comparatively seldom is so, 
 unless, by its bulk, or by its being near to the flexor 
 tendons, it interferes with the action of the joint. 
 
 If the tumour is small, and there is no lameness, it 
 is better to let it alone ; but if it is evidently increas- 
 ing, or there is the slightest lameness, an attempt may 
 be made to subdue it by treatment the same as that re- 
 commended for wind-galls, similar to which thorough- 
 pin springs from a like nature and a like cause, Or 
 should the measures proposed appear too troublesome, 
 the following ointment affords some hope of a cure 
 being effected. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 55). 
 
 Take — Biniodide of mercury, one part ; 
 Lard or palm oil, seven parts : 
 Rub together in a mortar. 
 About the size of a hazel-nut should be rubbed on the part, and to 
 be repeated daily until a considerable scurf is produced. 
 
 Constant pressure, however, kept up by means of 
 an indian rubber bandage, or a kind of truss made 
 for the purpose, has been found to answer more fre- 
 quently than any stimulating application, which, in 
 too many instances, has increased that which it was 
 intended to diminish. 
 
 CAPPED HOCK. 
 
 At the point of the hock a tumour occasionally 
 appears ; at first soft, and containing some fluid. It 
 is usually the consequence of violence ; and is most 
 frequently produced by the animal's kicking. It is 
 
 
BOG-SPAVIN. 239 
 
 rarely accompanied by lameness; or, when the action 
 of the joint has been impeded, that has oftenest pro- 
 ceeded from injury inflicted on the hock itself, and 
 has not been caused by the cap of the hock. It 
 should, however, be removed ; for it is apt to increase 
 with a slight repetition of the first exciting cause. 
 
 The inflammation should first be reduced by cold 
 applications ; and, this being accomplished, the groom 
 should hand-rub the part for several hours in the 
 course of the day. The friction should be persevered 
 in for a considerable time ; and a small quantity of 
 the tincture of iodine may at the same time be used. 
 On no account should a seton be passed through 
 a swelling of this nature; and blistering or firing 
 generally do harm. The tumour may, however, be 
 opened. But if this is done, the sac should either be 
 dissected out or destroyed with caustic; else so much 
 irritation may ensue as will endanger even the life of 
 the animal. 
 
 BOG-SPAVIN 
 
 consists of a synovial distention of the capsular 
 ligament of the joint formed by the tibia and the 
 upper bone of the hock. When it appears suddenly, 
 and is considerable, it is attended with lameness, 
 from inflammation of the joint ; but otherwise it is 
 generally free from both lameness and inflammation. 
 
 Little can be done in these cases, beyond abating 
 the inflammation: with which object a high-heeled 
 shoe should be put on, and the part constantly wetted 
 with the solution of the tincture of arnica. Blister- 
 ing, setoning, and firing are of no use. When the 
 
240 BONE-SPAVIN. 
 
 first symptoms have subsided, the ligaments having 
 accommodated themselves to the enlargement, beyond 
 the disfigurement it occasions, bog-spavin will gene- 
 rally be of little consequence. 
 
 BLOOD-SPAVIN. 
 
 This is said to have consisted of a varicose or an 
 enlarged state of the vein which crosses the front of 
 the hock. It was never seen unless bog-spavin 
 existed; for it was the distention of the upper joint of 
 the hock which, pressing upon the vein, and prevent- 
 ing the blood from passing onward to the heart, 
 causes the vessel to dilate. Medicine here was of no 
 use, and external applications were thrown away. 
 The only means of cure was to take up the vein : and 
 an operation was required. But fortunately this 
 affection is now a thing of the past. The editor has 
 never met with the practitioner who had encountered 
 a case of the kind. But should an instance of this 
 deformity be met with by any of our readers, liga- 
 tures passed around the vessel, above and below the 
 varicosity, would be indicated as the proper mode of 
 cure. 
 
 BONE-SPAVIN. 
 
 From a consideration of the anatomy of the leg, it 
 will be evident that the weight of the horse is not 
 equally borne by all the bones. A more than pro- 
 portionate share is cast upon the small bones on the 
 inside of the hock. These also have to bear the 
 greater part of that concussion to which the hind limb 
 is subject. The inner bones support considerably 
 
BONE-SPAVIN. 241 
 
 more than their share of the burden. It has been 
 shown that this was the case in the fore leg, and that 
 in consequence of it the horse was subject to splint. 
 In the same manner the smaller bones of the hock on 
 the inner side, together with the ligaments which unite 
 them, become inflamed ; in consequence of this in- 
 flammation the ligaments become ossified, and there 
 results the bony tumour on the inside of the hock 
 which is denominated spavin. 
 
 This is always a source of pain and lameness at its 
 first formation ; but the continuance of the lameness 
 depends on the progress of this bony growth, and its 
 interfering with the action of the tendons. If it is 
 found principally below, and does not spread towards 
 the front of the joint, the bony tumour may acquire 
 a very large size, and not produce lameness. The 
 continuance of this exemption from lameness, how- 
 ever, will be very uncertain : for no one can tell, when 
 this habit of throwing out bony matter is once 
 established, what direction it will take, or what mis- 
 chief it will effect. 
 
 No treatment however can be hoped to cure bone- 
 spavin. The joint which nature has locked up, no 
 drug can be expected to set free. This fact being 
 perceived, the attempt is to limit and confirm the ab- 
 normal deposit. For this purpose, after the inflamma- 
 tion has been abated, a little of the iodide of lead oint- 
 ment, one drachm to the ounce of lard, should be well 
 rubbed into the enlargement thrice daily. 
 
 A singular, and yet sometimes an effectual way of 
 relieving, and of frequently removing the lameness of 
 spavin, is putting the horse to the plough. The slow 
 
 M 
 
24*2 OCCULT-SPAVIN. 
 
 action of the limb in ploughing can be borne without 
 very great pain ; at length ossification being perfected, 
 the parts become fixed ; and the leg is subsequently 
 used without pain. 
 
 The farrier once used to have recourse to the chisel 
 and mallet in order to remove this and some other bony 
 productions ; the spavin was sometimes punctured with 
 the awl, or perforated with the gimlet; but this, in the 
 great majority of cases, only added to the inflammation; 
 and thus aggravated the evil which was previously 
 disabling the limb ; moreover, the tumour is somewhat 
 too close to important vessels for ignorance to inter- 
 fere with it. 
 
 OCCULT-SPAVIN. 
 
 In some cases there will be lameness clearly refer- 
 able, by the action of the horse, to the hock; but it 
 will be unaccompanied by any external bony enlarge- 
 ment, The cause of this was long unsuspected : at 
 length it was recollected by Mr. Godwin, that the 
 joint consisted of several bones, having some slight 
 motion upon one another, each bone being invested 
 by its own synovial membrane, so as to form a sepa- 
 rate perfect joint; wherefore it began to be suspected 
 that the concussion which excited inflammation and 
 ossification, might produce injurious effects on some of 
 these little, but complicated joints. The examination 
 of some horses after death that had laboured under 
 obscure lameness in the hind leg, set the matter in its 
 proper light ; for there was found, deep in the internal 
 part of the hock, inflammation of the membranes of 
 these little joints, going on to caries of the bones, 
 without any external appearance to indicate such an 
 
OCCULT- SPAVIN. 243 
 
 affection. In other cases equally obscure, the same 
 diseased appearance has been found in the upper joint 
 of the hock, in which the principal motion takes place. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance to distinguish between 
 bony and occult-spavin. The first can be relieved so as 
 to render the horse serviceable to its owner; but the 
 last is too frequently unaffected by any means which 
 science has hitherto discovered. In bone-spavin the 
 horse comes out of the stable stiff, but after a little 
 while the action becomes freer ; he may be a little lame 
 at first, but when warm he grows almost sound. The 
 horse suffering from occult-spavin comes out lame, and 
 becomes more lame every step he takes. The lame- 
 ness is excessive — it is always present ; the animal 
 continuously rests the limb, and exerts himself to cast 
 no weight upon it. These peculiarities distinguish the 
 two diseases ; which resemble each other only in the 
 circumstance, that during either the horse does not 
 raise the leg freely, but scrapes or strikes the toe 
 against the ground. The two, however, are well 
 separated by the one being accompanied by a bony 
 enlargement, and the other exhibiting nothing of the 
 kind ; and also by the lameness in the one instance be- 
 ing generally relieved by treatment, while in the other 
 case the evil too often remains unaffected, however ener- 
 getic may be the means employed for its removal. 
 
 In occult-spavin, there being ulceration and loss of 
 substance upon the internal surfaces of the lower bonejs 
 of the hock joint, we cannot hope to heal the lesion, 
 which is deeply seated, and far beyond our reach. 
 Ulceration, however, is the result of chronic inflamma- 
 tion ; therefore, could we so aggravate the disease as 
 
 m 2 
 
244 ENLARGED HOCK. 
 
 to render it acute, instead of loss of substance, we 
 should have bone deposited ; and by means of this the 
 ulcerated surfaces would become united. Some por- 
 tion of the freedom of the joint would be lost; but the 
 pain would depart. The bones which before were 
 diseased, and at every step grated upon one another, 
 would grow together and form a solid body ; this is 
 that which we seek to bring about. 
 
 On no account should the horse thus diseased be 
 turned to grass, where every bite necessitating a fresh 
 step, the infirmity must be aggravated, and the animal's 
 pain be rendered incessant. No; let the animal be 
 placed in the stall of a stable, where it may almost 
 stagnate. Rest is the best medicine ; but at the same 
 time the food must rather be increased than in any 
 way diminished. The hope is to promote general 
 fever, and thus end the ulcerative action. The hock 
 must be blistered constantly ; one-half of it being 
 always kept in a state of vesication ; thus the outer 
 side is first blistered; and when that seems to be 
 getting well the inside is blistered; after which the 
 outside is again attacked ; and so on for many months. 
 This is done merely to assist the osseous process, by 
 drawing blood toward the joint, and even tonics will be 
 of service. 
 
 It may be half a year before any improvement is 
 seen ; and then a like period may elapse before the ani- 
 mal is put to work, or before it can be put to fast work. 
 
 ENLARGED HOCK. 
 
 Either from inflammation among the small bones 
 of the hock ; from debility threatening farcy ; or from 
 
curb. 245 
 
 external violence, the whole of the joint occasionally 
 enlarges, accompanied by much heat and acute lame- 
 ness: by the application, however, of proper means, 
 the heat and lameness are removed. These means 
 consist of continual rubbing in of soap liniment ; 
 followed by tonic balls ; gentle exercise ; and good 
 prepared food. If the enlargement of the hock is 
 permanent the horse should be regarded with con- 
 siderable suspicion. He may be capable of common 
 work ; but he will often fail if much extra exertion is 
 required from him, or he may suddenly be attacked 
 by the acute form of farcy. 
 
 CURB. 
 
 This is most frequent in young horses, whose joints 
 have not attained their full strength. A young horse 
 goes out of the yard perfectly sound ; he gallops over 
 heavy ground; he leaps a fence; he is pulled up 
 and thrown upon his haunches; or he makes some 
 sudden exertion and he immediately becomes de- 
 cidedly lame in one of the hind legs. Upon being 
 closely examined, there is found to be great tender- 
 ness at the hinder part of the hock, five or six inches 
 below the point of it ; and in a few hours afterwards 
 is seen an enlargement at this place. 
 
 The first object to be effected is to remove the in- 
 flammation. A high-heeled or patten-shoe should be 
 placed upon the foot, so as to throw the weight off the 
 affected part; the hock should be bathed with the 
 solution of the tincture of arnica ; at the same time, if 
 the lameness is very acute, a dose of physic should be 
 given, and absolute quietude be enjoined. 
 m 3 
 
246 SWELLED LEGS. 
 
 In three or four days the heat, which always in the 
 first instance accompanies curb, will probably have 
 subsided, and the lameness almost have disappeared ; 
 but there will remain a slight enlargement of the 
 part. 
 
 Soothing applications are by inflammation indicated, 
 and cold water is not the least operative, and assuredly 
 is the cheapest of all these ; but after the heat and 
 tenderness have disappeared a blister may be bene- 
 ficial. In some cases the enlargement continues in 
 spite of our most energetic endeavours to remove 
 it. It should, however, in all such instances be re- 
 membered that, although the enlargement of curb will 
 occasionally remain for several months in despite of 
 the blister, it disappears as time progresses. Curbs, 
 however, are apt to return if the horse is sent to work 
 too soon ; and it is almost now an established fact, that 
 the predisposition to throw them out is hereditary. 
 
 SWELLED LEGS. 
 
 This is a frequent and a most troublesome com- 
 plaint. The cause is often exceedingly difficult to 
 detect; and the disease becomes so inveterate, that 
 the practitioner has little prospect of completely era- 
 dicating it. 
 
 The fore-legs occasionally enlarge; but oftener, 
 and to a much greater extent, the hinder ones are 
 disposed to increase in size. A horse is sometimes 
 left in perfect health at night ; and is found, on the 
 next morning, with one or both hind legs enormously 
 enlarged. The skin is tense and glistening ; it is hot, 
 
SWELLED LEGS. *247 
 
 and upon the inside of the thigh exceedingly tender. 
 The horse cannot bear to have it touched ; he catches 
 up his leg suddenly ; the limb moves as if the lower 
 part of it had no joint; and in the convulsive effort 
 to snatch it out of reach, the animal not unfrequently 
 loses his balance, and falls on the examiner. 
 
 This complaint, which is known by the name of 
 ''weed" in many parts of the country, is evidently a 
 sudden and a very intense inflammation of the cellular 
 tissue. A considerable degree of general fever often 
 speedily follows ; the pulse quickens ; the mouth is 
 hot ; and the horse is entirely off his feed. Horses of 
 the coarser breeds are peculiarly subject to this ; espe- 
 cially if, after being regularly worked, they are suf- 
 fered to stand in the stable, unattended to and un- 
 thought of during the whole of Sunday. 
 
 This apparently formidable species of swelled leg 
 readily yields to proper medical treatment. The leg 
 should be frequently fomented with warm water ; 
 tonics at the same time should be given, or the tonic 
 and diuretic medicine may here be of service. How- 
 ever, this affection is a warning that farcy is approach- 
 ing, and the work should be lightened while the food 
 provided is also improved. Too much labour upon 
 green meat only will produce "weed" The swelling, 
 however, having subsided, and the tenderness having 
 gone off, the legs should be well rubbed, and then 
 lightly bandaged ; gentle exercise should be used, for 
 the disease is apt to return. 
 
 If an old horse, or a young one that has been over- 
 worked, is suffered to stand a day or two in the stable, 
 his legs often fill, but without pain or heat. The legs 
 M 4 
 
248 SWELLED LEGS. 
 
 of some horses regularly swell every night. This is 
 connected with debility, either general or of the part. 
 The case must be considered very attentively before 
 any measures are adopted. The horse may be too 
 highly kept ; then mild diuretics ; regular exercise ; 
 tonics ; hand-rubbing and bandages will be the pro- 
 per means to be adopted; decreasing a little the 
 quantity of food and giving oats with a few ground 
 beans will afford relief. The use of the bandage is 
 an excellent thing in these cases ; and has often gra- 
 dually strengthened the vessels of the part, rendering 
 the leg eventually fine. 
 
 Frequently an enlargement of the leg is connected 
 with general debility. The horse is recovering from 
 serious illness ; or he has been half-starved ; or he is 
 generally weak and the weaker parts, where the 
 blood circulates most feebly, naturally yield. A daily 
 malt mash should be given ; a fair allowance of corn, 
 with a few old beans; carrots, if they can be pro- 
 cured; gentle and regular exercise; small doses of 
 cantharides, varying from three to five or six grains, 
 and a few tonic diuretic balls (Recipe, No. 35, p. 126), 
 while the work is decreased. Every thing should be 
 done to increase the strength of the system generally; 
 and the vessels of the extremities may ultimately re- 
 gain their proper tone. 
 
 This treatment will be particularly proper if the 
 legs swell at the spring and fall of the year. The 
 horse is then shedding his coat; a process which is 
 always attended with some debility. Tonic balls will 
 here be exceedingly useful. 
 
 In every case, however, of swelled legs, a great deal 
 
GREASE. 249 
 
 more depends upon management than on medicine; 
 and there is nothing so likely to be injurious as the 
 frequent use of diuretics, of which many grooms are 
 particularly fond. The staling-ball of the stable is the 
 fruitful source of debility (the worst cause of swelled 
 legs) : it first weakens the urinary organs, and loss of 
 tone in tlje system generally succeeds. 
 
 i 
 
 GREASE. 
 
 This is irritation of the skin and glandular structure 
 of the heel. It may be traced to various causes. One 
 of the most frequent is washing of the heels when the 
 horse comes in from work. He is hot all over, and 
 the heels are as hot as any other part; but the harness 
 is scarcely taken off, before cold water is sluiced 
 plentifully over the legs, under the notion of clearing 
 away the soil that hangs about them. That could be 
 excused, if the wetted legs were rubbed thoroughly 
 dry afterwards; but the groom has too much to do, or 
 is too idle to undertake this : he, perhaps, sponges off 
 a portion of the wet, but he leaves on a great deal 
 more ; and the cold process of evaporation is imme- 
 diately established. There is hardly anything so 
 debilitating, or so likely to induce an unhealthy irri- 
 tability; and it is the prevailing cause of grease. 
 
 Washing the heels should be strictly forbidden in 
 every well-regulated stable. After the horse has stood 
 a quarter of an hour, during which time the groom 
 may be employed about the harness or some of the 
 arrangements of the stable, a great deal of the dirt 
 will have dried upon the leg, and may be easily 
 brushed off. An hour after that the rest may be 
 m 5 
 
250 GREASE. 
 
 brushed away ; and a little hand-rubbing on the fol- 
 lowing morning will restore the part to its customary 
 cleanliness. 
 
 When the vessels of the heel are weakened by the 
 absurd system of washing, let it be supposed the parts 
 are exposed to the common exciting causes which 
 confirm irritability; the horse stands in a lujt stable, 
 with a draught of cold air continually blowing upon 
 his heels ; he remains day after day in the stable un- 
 exercised, until he has swelled legs ; and he has gene- 
 rated in his system a tendency to disease, which is 
 naturally ready to settle in the weakest part. 
 
 Even under careful management, the hind heels are, 
 and must be weak parts. They are farthest from the 
 centre of circulation : the fluids have up-hill work to 
 return from the legs. If all such things are taken 
 into consideration, the prevalence of grease needs not 
 to be wondered at. 
 
 It assumes different forms in its different stages; 
 but at first it is simple irritation of the skin and 
 glandular structure of the heel. The heel becomes 
 red, itchy, dry, and scurfy. The natural suppling 
 secretion from the glands is partly suppressed ; while 
 that of the cuticle is increased. 
 
 If warning is taken in time, the complaint is easily 
 arrested. No effort must be made forcibly to separate 
 the scurf from the skin beneath. There must be no 
 excoriation, or soreness, if it can be avoided. The 
 part must be kept constantly bathed with animal 
 glycerine one part, water two parts. This lotion, if 
 applied to the skin, and not wasted upon the hair, will 
 speedily remove all scurfy annoyance. 
 
GREASE. 251 
 
 The following" ointment should then be rubbed on 
 the heel morning and night. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 56). 
 
 Ointment for Scurfy Heels. 
 
 Take — Acetate of lead, two drachms ; 
 Lard, an ounce. 
 
 Rub these well together, until they are thoroughly incorporated. 
 
 This will soothe the irritability of the skin. A mash 
 should be given every night; a tonic ball twice in 
 the week ; green meat should be allowed ; and every 
 exciting cause of grease removed. 
 
 Possibly the irritation may have proceeded some- 
 what farther ; the scurf may have been suffered to ac- 
 cumulate : it becomes hard and brittle ; it cracks 
 then fissures soon extend across the heel ; while a thir 
 discharge moistens the surface. 
 
 Here no certain plan can be laid down ; but the 
 practitioner must be guided by the depth of the cracks 
 and the general appearance of the heel. The first 
 thing, however, to be done is to get rid of the scurf 
 by means of the lotion just recommended. If the 
 cracks are superficial, an attempt should be made to 
 dry them up ; and a lotion will be most conveniently 
 employed for this purpose. Fortunately, we have at 
 our command an agent which will act beneficially in 
 two ways. The chloride of zinc will not only destroy 
 the stench which accompanies the exudation, but it will 
 also heal the cracks from which the moisture proceeds. 
 
 The first application should consist of, chloride of 
 zinc two drachms, water one quart. This strength 
 may do for general cases, but many animals will re- 
 m 6 
 
25*2 GREASE. 
 
 quire a wash in which one ounce of the chloride is 
 dissolved in a quart of water, while for others a solu- 
 tion even of the first-named power will be too strong. 
 In this matter the practitioner must exercise his pro- 
 fessional judgment. 
 
 It will occasionally happen, there is at first so 
 much irritation that it will be necessary to allay it 
 before the cracks will heal. For this purpose, a 
 poultice into which charcoal and yeast largely enter 
 will be found to answer admirably. 
 
 The inflammation having been somewhat subdued, 
 and the cracks beginning to look healthy, the prac- 
 titioner should employ the lotion. This should be 
 applied morning, noon, and night. 
 
 If much swelling should remain around the pastern 
 and fetlock, or extend up the leg, a bandage moistened 
 with the weaker lotion, and not too tightly applied, 
 will be serviceable. The lotion should also be thrice 
 daily applied to the swollen part. 
 
 There must be neglect if grease proceeds farther 
 than this; and yet there are too many cases in which 
 the heels assume a dreadful appearance. The cracks 
 disappear ; or rather, as they seem to fill up, the dis- 
 ease extends, while one continuous oozing and sore- 
 ness spreads over the pasterns and fetlock. Fungoid 
 granulations start from different points; they increase; 
 they unite; and there is an irregular protruding sur- 
 face, sore, and bleeding at the slightest touch. Some 
 parts hardening, they are covered with scabs ; or some- 
 times with a spurious kind of horn. The irregular 
 surface by degrees assumes the form of knobs, run- 
 ning in lines, which often bear an indistinct resem- 
 
GREASE. 253 
 
 blance to a bunch of grapes: hence they are techni- 
 cally called "grapes." A strangely mingled discharge 
 runs from the greater part of the surface and smells 
 most abominably. 
 
 Such a condition the disease could not have reached 
 had our previous directions been attended to. The 
 chloride of zinc effectually cleanses the heels, and pre- 
 vents all spurious granulations. There must, there- 
 fore, have been sad neglect, where the grapes are 
 ever witnessed. 
 
 Severe measures alone will be of avail here; it is 
 generally the best practice to proceed to the cautery 
 at once. The scabs and the spurious horn should be 
 removed with a knife ; and then a flat-iron heated, or 
 rather rendered very warm, should be run over the 
 bleeding surface. 
 
 The part should be thrice daily washed with the solu- 
 tion of chloride of zinc, of that strength which agrees 
 with the animal ; and even cloths moistened with the 
 liquid may be kept round the legs. The food at the 
 same time should be nutritive ; but by no means bulky, 
 and above all things easy of digestion. The horse 
 ought to take all the exercise he is capable of sus- 
 taining ; for nothing promotes healthy circulation like 
 gentle motion. 
 
 A horse, however, that has once had an attack of 
 grease like this will be very subject to a relapse; 
 great care should, therefore, be taken not to expose 
 him to any of the predisposing causes. No water 
 should be suffered to go near his heels : he should be 
 well but not over fed; a mash should be occasionally 
 given ; also carrots and tonic medicine. 
 
254 STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE STRUCTURE AND DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 
 
 The diseases of the foot are those of most common 
 occurrence ; and the treatment of them is often most 
 tedious and difficult. They cannot be perfectly ex- 
 plained without a slight sketch of the structure of the 
 foot being first given. 
 
 The foot of the horse is composed of a horny box, 
 and its contents. The horny box is called the hoof; 
 the portion of it which is visible, when the foot is on 
 the ground, is the crust; beneath are the sole, the 
 bars, and the frog. 
 
 The crust has its lower edge resting on the ground ; 
 and as it ascends it takes a direction obliquely back- 
 ward. The degree of obliquity is very different in 
 different horses ; much of the usefulness of the animal 
 depends on its taking a proper direction. A com- 
 parison of different feet has taught the horseman that 
 about 48 degrees of obliquity are most consistent with 
 soundness and usefulness. If a greater inclination of 
 the foot than this is displayed, so that the crust forms 
 an acute angle with the sole, it is an indication of 
 weakness in the part. A too oblique direction of the 
 hoof is accompanied by flatness of the sole, or pos- 
 sibly by pumice foot. 
 
 On the other hand, if the crust is not so oblique as 
 it ought to be, but is becoming to a greater or less 
 degree upright, distress of another kind is indicated. 
 The heels are growing narrow; and there possibly 
 may be navicular disease. 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT. 255 
 
 When the crust is removed there are seen numerous 
 little projecting vascular lamellse, or plates, running 
 parallel with each other from the coronet to the sole, 
 over the whole of the outer pedal surface. Cor- 
 responding with these are similar horny projections, 
 or plates, springing from the interior substance of the 
 crust, which are of lighter colour and less brittle 
 nature than the horn of the coronet. 
 
 The crust diminishes in height and thickness as it 
 proceeds backward. Where it gains the sides it is 
 distinguished by the name of the quarters; being 
 called the toe in front, the quarters at the sides, and 
 the heels behind. Great attention should be paid to 
 the quarters, in all examinations of the foot. If the 
 crust decrease too much and too rapidly in height, a 
 weak foot is indicated — an inability to bear much 
 rattling on the stones, and a greater liability to being 
 pricked in shoeing. Such a horse is said to have low 
 heels. If the decrease in height is little and slow, the 
 horse is said to have high heels; and generally has 
 contraction, chronic thrush, or navicular disease. 
 
 The crust, being still continued backward from 
 where it forms the heels, turns round and takes a 
 direction again forward upon the sole, along the out- 
 side of the frog. However, the continuation of the 
 crust upon the sole assumes the name of the bars. 
 Such continuation and projection of the crust is erro- 
 neously considered an important part of the foot. It 
 used to be regarded as one of Nature's protections 
 against contraction ; and the farrier who did not know 
 anything about these suppositions, in order to give an 
 appearance of openness to the foot, frequently cut the 
 
256 STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT. 
 
 bars away altogether. This practice was by the Vete- 
 rinary Surgeons of the old school denounced as the 
 height of barbarism. The cruelty of, and the lament- 
 able consequences which were sure to follow such an 
 act, were alike pathetically dwelt upon. However, it 
 occurred to some modern practitioners to try the evil 
 which their fathers had declaimed against : and those 
 who made the trial have been so much pleased with 
 the result, that they now pare out the foot without 
 paying the slightest attention to the bars. 
 
 The heels turning inward, would leave a consider- 
 able chasm, were it not for a wedge-shaped horny 
 substance called the frog. Its office is to afford pro- 
 tection to a tendon above; on which the navicular 
 bone rests — also by its shape, and its point projecting 
 forward, to give a degree of security to the tread of 
 the horse ; and by its elasticity to give spring to the 
 movements of the animal. 
 
 The sole covers the larger part of the base of the foot. 
 
 Within the hoof is the pedal-bone, or principal bone 
 of the foot. It is fitted into the fore-part of the crust ; 
 and occupies rather more than half of the entire space 
 within the hoof. A small portion of the lower pas- 
 tern-bone is also found within the horny box ; which, 
 resting upon the bone of the foot, helps to constitute 
 the coffin-joint. Interposed between the coffin-bone 
 and the outer crust is a substance, adhering firmly to 
 the coffin-bone as well as to the cartilages, and termi- 
 nating in numerous little plates. These plates, before 
 alluded to, secrete and consequently firmly adhere to, 
 and are continuous with, the horny plates of the 
 crust. The weight of the horse is chiefly thrown upon 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT. 257 
 
 these plates; and they are of service in preventing 
 that concussion which, if unopposed, would speedily 
 destroy the whole mechanism of the foot. The union 
 of the horny and membraneous plates gives strength ; 
 while the yielding of both substances affords elasticity 
 to the motion. 
 
 The construction of the back of the foot is more 
 complicated. The pastern takes an oblique direction 
 backward. This obliquity is designed also to obviate 
 concussion; it varies the different directions of the 
 force. In the blood-horse the tuft of hair at the fet- 
 lock will often be in contact with the ground ; giving- 
 easiness of motion to the whole machine. The long 
 pasterns of the race-horse suit the springiness of his 
 action and the length of his stride; the medium ob- 
 liquity of the pasterns of the hunter is adapted to the 
 occasional speed and the untiring endurance which 
 are required from him in the field ; and the compara- 
 tively upright position of the pasterns in the road- 
 horse fits him for his daily task. There is, in the 
 last animal, sufficient obliquity to insure some plea- 
 santness of action, but not enough to endanger the 
 continuance of the pace. 
 
 The two principal of the flexor tendons, the tendons 
 by which the leg is principally bent, run along the 
 back of the pastern-bones. One of them is continued 
 low down, and is inserted into the sole of the coffin- 
 bone. There must be a great deal of motion and 
 play in this tendon, with an equal exposure to injury; 
 and the back of the foot presents contrivance to pre- 
 vent the mischief that would otherwise certainly ensue. 
 First, there is the navicular-bone, situated behind the 
 coffin-bone; with the lower pastern-bone completing 
 
258 STRUCTURE OF THE FOOT. 
 
 the coffin-joint. It is united to both ; the tendon and 
 the bone being joined to it by ligaments : and below 
 the navicular-bone presents a free polished surface, 
 under which the tendon plays. The navicular-bone 
 partially yields with every motion of the tendon ; thus 
 preventing a great deal of that concussion which must 
 otherwise have taken place, had the tendon sharply 
 turned over a fixed bone, in order to be inserted into 
 the coffin-bone. 
 
 The navicular-bone, when the pastern presses upon 
 it, descends; the tendon descends with it, and there 
 is much weight pressing upon both. Then there is 
 interposed between the bottom of the foot another 
 highly elastic substance, which is destined to receive 
 this pressure and yielding as it receives it, obviates 
 dangerous concussion : — the internal or elastic frog — 
 upon the cushion on which the tendon and the navi- 
 cular-bone rest. 
 
 This is the important function of the internal frog ; 
 but there is another quite as valuable. The horny 
 covering, which envelopes the foot of the horse, from 
 its very nature may occasionally subject the foot to 
 considerable pain and inconvenience. It contracts 
 when exposed to dryness or heat. The feet of our 
 stabled horses are too liable to injury from this source ; 
 and there is the fetter of the shoe, which still more 
 disposes the horn to contraction. But above all is the 
 stagnation to which our stabled horses are doomed. 
 Throw a part out of use, and it will very speedily be- 
 come absorbed. 
 
 The elastic frog yields to the pressure of the de- 
 scending tendon and navicular-bone ; how does it 
 yield — can it be squeezed into a smaller compass? 
 
BRITTLE HOOF. 259 
 
 No. It however shifts its situation. It presses upon 
 the sole ; and the sole being naturally concave, flattens; 
 and thus expands the lower part of the foot. When 
 the weight is taken on , in raising the foot, the sole 
 ascends with a kind of rebound ; and the frog ascends 
 too, with the same kind of springy action, and forces 
 itself against the lower part of the tendon. Thus the 
 lower part of the heels are expanded by the descent 
 of the sole; and the upper part by the elevation of 
 the frog. 
 
 To assist in this, there is another elastic mechanism, 
 placed on the upper part of the side of the foot ; the 
 lateral cartilages. These receive the pressure of the 
 frog; they receive it without concussion or shock, 
 and they increase the expansive effect. A horse soon 
 becomes lame when these cartilages are inflamed, 
 and turn into bone. 
 
 BRITTLE HOOF. 
 
 This is a very serious inconvenience with some 
 horses, especially in hot and dry weather. The hoofs 
 chip away at every shoeing; until at last there is 
 scarcely nail-hold, and the farrier is compelled to take 
 a great deal more care, than smiths in general will 
 take, to avoid pricking the horse. 
 
 This brittleness of the hoof is a natural defect in 
 some horses ; but in others it is brought on by utter 
 neglect. In such cases every care is necessary; and 
 often all that can be done is of little use. In the 
 majority of instances the horse will be required to 
 work on ; and then the best efforts must be used to 
 limit the mischief as much as possible. For this pur- 
 pose both stopping and dressing must be applied to 
 
260 BRITTLE HOOF. 
 
 the hoof. Water in cases of this kind does harm. It 
 moistens the horn for a time ; but afterwards it dries, 
 and the hoof becomes more brittle than it was before. 
 Equal parts of tar, animal glycerine, and soft soap, 
 well mixed together, will make a good stopping ; 
 which may be spread on tow, and retained against 
 the sole by splints. 
 
 Cow-dung stopping, with a small portion of clay in 
 it, to give it consistence, will never be found useful as 
 an application to sound and healthy feet ; as its con- 
 tinuous employment does injury. Linseed meal made 
 into a paste with water, is more cleanly and less dry- 
 ing; but if the linseed be moistened with the follow- 
 ing liniment, instead of water, its effects will be in- 
 creased, and the horn will be benefited. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 57). 
 
 Suppling Liniment for the Feet. 
 
 Take — Oil or spirit of tar, a pint ; 
 Animal glycerine, a quart. 
 Mix them together. 
 
 After the feet are cleaned out when the horse comes 
 from his work, let the paste, made as directed above, 
 be plastered over the sole ; and the next morning be 
 removed before the horse is taken out of the stable. 
 The quantity required will not be large; and the 
 same portion will, with very little care, answer several 
 occasions. At the same time that the feet are stopped, 
 the hoof may be dressed; which is soon done, by 
 simply dipping a brush into the liniment when it is 
 unmixed with any linseed, and well rubbing it over 
 the whole of the crust. This will tend much to pre- 
 serve the natural pliancy of the horn ; and at the 
 same time will very considerably increase its growth. 
 
SAND-CRACK. 261 
 
 SAND-CRACK. 
 
 Connected with brittleness of the hoof, and usually 
 produced by it, is a fissure or longitudinal crack in 
 the crust It may be produced in a moment — one 
 false step may cause it ; but the predisposing* cause is 
 brittleness of hoof. Sand-crack usually takes place, 
 either at the weakest part of the foot, or where there 
 is most stress and pressure; therefore it is oftenest 
 seen upon the inner quarter of the fore foot. In the 
 hind foot the sand-crack is most frequently at the 
 toe; for there is the principal stress in the act of 
 drawing heavy loads. Occasionally it begins at once 
 from the coronet; but sometimes it is first perceived 
 about the middle of the hoof. 
 
 The slightest appearance of sand-crack should be 
 attended to. It uniformly begins from without, and 
 penetrates inwardly : it may therefore sometimes be 
 arrested in its progress while it is merely superficial. 
 Whenever there is a sand-crack, no matter how long 
 or short, how shallow or deep it may be, it must be 
 cut out. The drawing knife must be used till the 
 very bottom of the crack has been gained. The side 
 of it having been removed, so as to make what once 
 was a fissure a broad groove. If the crack does not 
 reach from the top to the bottom of the crust, a line 
 should be deeply drawn with a sharp firing-iron, above 
 and below it ; so as to prevent the crack from spread- 
 ing in either direction. 
 
 If lameness accompanies sand-crack, the fissure has 
 penetrated through the horn to, the sensible parts; 
 either gravel has insinuated itself, which is giving; 
 
"262 SAND-CRACK. 
 
 pain; or a portion of the sensible part beneath has 
 protruded between the sides of the crack, and it is 
 there pressed and confined. The crack must now be 
 searched to the bottom. The sides must be pared 
 down ; and then, the fissure being freely open, the 
 sprouting granulations must be excised, and a poultice 
 must be applied to soothe the irritation and bring 
 away any sand which may have got into the crack. 
 When the dirt or gravel has been removed, and the 
 imprisoned laminse been liberated; a small piece of 
 tow, dipped in the weaker solution of chloride of zinc, 
 must be introduced into the 'crack and bound firmly 
 upon it ; while a bar shoe, with no bearing upon the 
 seat of injury, but a clip on either side of the crack, is 
 placed upon the foot. 
 
 Unless the crack is very slight, the horse should be 
 rested for several weeks. If the fissure extend from 
 the top to the bottom of the crust, a stimulating lini- 
 ment or mild blister should be applied to the coronet, 
 to quicken the downward growth of horn. As soon 
 as there is sufficient new horn above the crack, one or 
 two transverse lines should be drawn with the firing- 
 iron upon it; so as to cut off the communication 
 with the diseased horn : a little melted tar and pitch 
 covered with tow may then be applied to it, and a 
 strap buckled tightly round the hoof. A bar-shoe of 
 the description before mentioned should be put on; 
 and then if the horse is much wanted he may go to 
 very gentle work; but six or eight months' additional 
 rest would be required to insure the sound growth of 
 the new hoof, or to renovate the secretive powers of 
 an exhausted nature. 
 
TREAD OR OVERREACH. 263 
 
 In bad cracks there may, before the treatment has 
 commenced, be a protrusion of fungoid substance. This 
 causes acute pain and excessive lameness. As much 
 as possible of the sprouting flesh should be cut off; 
 the horn around pared thin, and a pledget of tow, 
 moistened with the solution of chloride of zinc, or 
 sprinkled with some powdered blue vitriol, bound as 
 tight as possible upon the part. There will be some 
 bleeding, but that should rather be encouraged than 
 checked. A little pressure with the caustic will re- 
 move any remaining portion of the fungoid substance 
 and also prevent its re-appearance. 
 
 The sand-crack being removed, care should be taken 
 to prevent a return of it. A brittle foot requires 
 every care to correct the natural harshness of the 
 horn ; hence the necessity of careful stopping at night, 
 and the occasional application of the liniment to the 
 crust or wall of the hoof. 
 
 TREAD OR OVERREACH. 
 
 This is a wound on the coronet or heel, caused in 
 the fore foot by the hind one overreaching and wound- 
 ing it; in the hind foot it is produced by the heel of 
 the fore shoe being set down upon the coronet. The 
 part should be punctured in two or three places ; 
 warm fomentations should be applied; or linseed- 
 meal poultices. The contusion will often be so serious, 
 that some degree of sloughing will ensue. In such 
 cases poultices only debilitate the part, and promote 
 fungoid growths. The weaker solution of the chloride 
 of zinc, one grain to the ounce, will correct all fcetor, 
 
264 FALSE QUARTER. 
 
 stimulate the injury, and encourage the healing of the 
 wound. 
 
 If the coronet be cut through, it is often a very 
 serious affair, and if neglected, or treated otherwise 
 than is here directed, may lead to quittor, or to false 
 quarter. The first thing to be done now is to apply 
 the solution which has just been named, and if the 
 secretive portion of the coronet is not destroyed, or 
 the injury has not by neglect become a quittor, the 
 evil will not increase under treatment. 
 
 FALSE QUARTER. 
 
 Either from neglect of sand-crack, or from the too 
 brutal use of the firing-iron, there often happens a 
 slough of the coronet ; whereby a portion of the sur- 
 face which secretes the outer table of the hoof is lost. 
 The horn at this place J?eing irremediably deficient, 
 there will ever after remain a groove upon the outer 
 surface of the wall from the top to the bottom of the 
 hoof. This is termed false quarter. It is a very 
 serious defect in the foot of the horse, and is never to 
 be cured. The strength of the hoof is materially 
 lessened; and this circumstance, by regulating the 
 uses to which the animal shall be put, may lead to 
 much annoyance. 
 
 In such a case it is hopeless to attempt a cure. The 
 part which has been destroyed can never be restored. 
 All that can be done is, to have the shoe well eased off, 
 and a clip placed on either side of the groove ; while 
 the foot should be constantly dressed with the appli- 
 cations recommended for brittle hoofs. These mea- 
 
CONTRACTION. 265 
 
 sures will, in some degree, rectify the evil, and the 
 horse may under such treatment be equal to moderate 
 work. 
 
 CONTRACTION. 
 
 The foot of the horse, in its perfect state, approaches 
 to a circular form. But he has scarcely entered our 
 service before it generally begins to assume a more 
 lengthened shape; becoming narrower every where, 
 but especially at the heel. Some horses, however, 
 have naturally narrow feet ; and in them it is, there- 
 fore, hardly a defect. The contracted foot is one 
 which has departed from its original shape — one 
 which was broad and has become narrow; and, as 
 this change seldom occurs in a like degree in all the 
 feet, the best evidence of its having taken place is 
 found in the fact of the hoofs being of different dimen- 
 sions and shapes. 
 
 Contraction, however, is rather the symptom of 
 disease than a disease of itself. The horn is secreted 
 by the internal parts ; and these internal parts must, 
 therefore, be affected before the horn, which is their 
 secretion, can be changed. When, consequently, the 
 form of the hoof alters, we have outward evidence 
 that the deep-seated structures are not healthy. But 
 their condition may be aggravated by the state of the 
 horn ; in the same way that every disease may be ren- 
 dered worse by the symptoms which it has produced, 
 and which in their turn have become the causes of 
 further evil. 
 
 To make this more plain I will narrate the history 
 of a horse's foot. The animal is taken into the stable, 
 
 N 
 
26Q CONTRACTION. 
 
 where it stands for many hours, during which in a 
 state of nature it would be walking about in search of 
 food, or playing with its companions. The foot is 
 thrown out of use, and of course it dwindles ; and, 
 to make the consequences of inactivity more certain, 
 the nails of the shoe render the crust unyielding, and 
 cause the hoof to press upon the sensitive parts. Then 
 the horse is suddenly saddled, and put to his pace 
 with a load upon his back. The feet have to move 
 rapidly over hard roads, and have to do this in tight 
 shoes. Lameness often is the consequence ; but the 
 effect does not always mount to this height. Irritation, 
 however, may be induced. The sensitive and secret- 
 ing parts of the foot become irritable ; and they pour 
 forth more of that substance which it is their function 
 to produce. The horny box is therefore thicker than 
 it would be if the feet were healthy; and the ad- 
 ditional thickness of the hoof renders it less yielding. 
 In its turn the horn presses upon the parts within, 
 and aggravates their irritability. Pressure is one of 
 the most certain causes of loss of substance ; and the 
 foot, constantly confined and squeezed, becomes 
 necessarily smaller. Thus, though contraction can- 
 not take place without more or less disease of the 
 internal parts ; contraction, however, being once esta- 
 blished, causes the foot to become yet smaller, or fur- 
 ther diseased. 
 
 The foot of the domesticated horse requires constant 
 attention ; and we must here quote some excellent 
 remarks contained in the work entitled " The Horse." 
 " There is no rule which admits of so little exception 
 as that which declares once in about every three weeks 
 
CONTRACTION. 267 
 
 the growth of horn, which the natural wear of the foot 
 cannot get rid of, should be pared off; the toe should 
 be shortened, the sole should be thinned, and the heels 
 lowered." 
 
 The heat of the stable, and the fettering of the shoe, 
 will increase the disposition to contraction ; but the 
 main cause of it is disease of the internal part of the 
 foot, however produced. 
 
 It is easy to conceive that when the foot is rested in 
 the stable and the horse favours it by going lame, 
 the want of the natural pressure must speedily oc- 
 casion still further contraction. The disease with 
 which it is mostly connected is the navicular-joint dis- 
 ease, which remains to be considered. 
 
 The treatment will consist in removing the causes 
 of contraction. Should this be ascertained to be pro- 
 duced by general irritability, inducing a fumbling gait, 
 rather than a downright lameness, something may be 
 done, providing the owner is willing to make the trial. 
 The sole must be pared all round, until the blood 
 starts as from so many little pin-holes. The strength 
 of horn must be weakened where the pressure is 
 greatest. Carefully avoiding to wound the coronary 
 ring, the quarters must be well rasped. 
 
 When evident, but too often temporary, relief is 
 thus afforded ; tips should be tacked on ; while the 
 horse should be allowed a loose box and never forced 
 to stagnate in a stall. There, he should remain until 
 the quarters are grown down ; his sole pared out and 
 his feet generally attended to once in three weeks, and 
 his food consisting of the very best. 
 
 If the case is not sufficiently severe to require or to 
 n 2 
 
26rf INFLAMMATION OF THE LAMINJE. 
 
 warrant the loss of the services, the feet should be 
 treated as is proposed for brittle hoofs, the stall of the 
 stable being at the same time avoided. The suppling 
 liniment for the feet (Recipe No. 57, p. 260) should be 
 daily used, and an unfettered shoe (a shoe nailed on 
 the outside and with only one nail beyond the toe on 
 the inside) should be applied. This shoe will be suf- 
 ficiently secure under any moderate work that should 
 in ordinary cases be required from such a nag, and 
 will leave the inside quarters at liberty to expand. 
 
 The shoe with a joint at the toe is worse than use- 
 less; for the stress on every nail soon breaks away 
 the lower part of the crust from the foot. The shoe 
 with a clip at each heel, to prevent its wiring in, is 
 also pernicious ; for the process of contraction will 
 still go on, and the clip will eat into the foot, and be 
 a source of the most frightful corns. More injurious 
 still were those screws by which it was attempted 
 mechanically to force the heels asunder. Nature 
 
 rebels against this violence ; inflammation is ex- 
 es ' 
 
 cited tenfold greater than that the screws were in- 
 tended to remove. In the work contraction is has- 
 tened, or, if the heel yields for a while to the 
 force which is used, it necessarily does so at the ex- 
 pense of some lesion within, which announces itself 
 by desperate lameness. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE LAMINiE, OR FEVER 
 IN THE FEET. 
 
 Proceeding to the diseases of the parts immediately 
 within the hoot, " Inflammation of the Laminee " first 
 presents itself. 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE LAMINJE. 269 
 
 When it is recollected that the laminae, which 
 connect the hoof to the coffin-bone, have chiefly to 
 sustain the violent concussion to which the feet are 
 exposed when in rapid action ; it will not appear sur- 
 prising that intense inflammation of these parts some- 
 times ensues. Besides this, there is no structure in 
 the body of the horse so exposed to other causes of 
 inflammation as the foot. After the animal has been 
 ridden far and fast, while he is reeking hot, he is oc- 
 casionally plunged up to his belly in the nearest pond 
 or river. Almost every groom immediately washes 
 the feet of his horse ; while very few of them will take 
 the pains carefully to dry the dripping members. 
 What is so likely to follow as inflammation ? A horse 
 may have been travelling many a mile up to his 
 coronets in snow; and when he arrives at his journey's 
 end, instead of having the warmth gradually restored 
 to his feet by half an hour's good hand-rubbing, he is 
 put up to his knees in straw ; or his legs are immersed 
 in warm water. Is it not reasonable to expect that 
 fever in the feet will follow this sudden change of 
 temperature ? In other cases, there may be a meta- 
 stasis or change in the place of inflammation : the 
 animal is recovering from inflammation of the lungs, 
 and suddenly the feet are attacked, and that without 
 any fault of the Surgeon or of the groom. 
 
 Inflammation of the laminae can scarcely be mis- 
 taken. The horse is continually shifting his posture ; 
 yet without any violent action. The feet are constantly 
 moving; but they are moved as gently as possible. 
 When the hand is passed down to them, the heat of 
 n 3 
 
270 INFLAMMATION OF THE LAMINAE. 
 
 the hoof is evident enough. The fore legs are pro- 
 truded, and the hind legs are brought as far as possi- 
 ble under the body. The feet although in motion are 
 never placed flat upon the earth ; but the wretched 
 animal having laminitis ever rests its weight upon the 
 heels. All the characteristics of general inflam- 
 mation are exhibited. The pulse is hard and fast — 
 the breathing sharp and quick — the skin harsh — the 
 mouth hot ; and the ears cold. But there are also signs 
 which indicate the seat of the disease ; for, besides the 
 hoofs being unnaturally hot, the arteries of the legs 
 throb, while the horse often points to his feet as the 
 seat of pain, by looking at them, and resting his 
 muzzle upon them. 
 
 The treatment of inflammation of the feet must be 
 prompt. 
 
 Other inflammations may possibly, to a certain 
 degree, brook delay; but here not a moment must be 
 lost. The inflammation must, if possible, be made to 
 terminate in resolution ; for, if pus as a natural 
 product of inflammation is thrown out within the foot 
 — the hoof will inevitably come off*. 
 
 Without a moment's delay the horse must be bled ; 
 and there is dispute concerning the best place to 
 abstract blood from. Some recommend taking blood 
 from the toe ; but it is not always safe to wound a part 
 during the existence of acute inflammation within it. 
 The jugular should be opened, and the stream allowed 
 to flow till the aspect of the horse improves. If in 
 five or six hours the pulse regains its inflammatory 
 character, the coronet may be punctured in several 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE LAMINiE. 271 
 
 places; yet it should be remembered that repeated 
 depletion retards the recovery, and is apt to convert 
 an acute into a typhoid disease. 
 
 A full dose of physic should be administered ; and 
 injections should be thrown up to quicken its action. 
 Sedatives and febrifuges combined should also be 
 freely given ; not only to allay the general fever, but 
 also to subdue the vascular excitement as well as to 
 deaden the pain. The following ball should be re- 
 peated every second hour until the pulse intermits, or 
 the gums become tender : — 
 
 RECIPE (No. 58). 
 
 Take — Powdered aconite root, a drachm ; 
 Opium, two drachms ; 
 Calomel, half a drachm ; 
 Colchicum in powder, a drachm ; 
 Emetic tartar, half a drachm : 
 Make into a ball with treacle. 
 
 We would desire to do something to the feet, but 
 generally the horse obstinately stands and will not 
 suffer them to be raised or touched. If the shoes can 
 be removed, they ought to be taken off; and the 
 soles, should it be possible, be pared. The feet then 
 should be put into poultices ; or constantly fomented. 
 If, however, the horse resists, these things had better 
 not be attempted. Cloths wetted with glycerine can 
 be placed upon the legs ; and these can be kept con- 
 stantly moist with the preparation. The straw should 
 be removed ; and its place supplied with damp tan ; 
 or even sawdust, which may be moistened, and will be 
 less heating to the animal's feet. The body should 
 n 4 
 
272 INFLAMMATION OF THE LAMINA. 
 
 be clothed — a sheep's skin placed upon the loins. 
 Even if the horse will eat, only a few spare bran-mashes 
 should be allowed ; but whitened water or thin gruel 
 ought to be constantly before him. 
 
 When the acute symptoms abate, the coronets and 
 legs may be blistered ; but this ought not to be done 
 until the acute stage has passed. The entire leg 
 should not however be subjected to the vesicatory, 
 for after laminitis we desire the effects of the blister 
 should last some time. Therefore, blister the outsides 
 first, and the effect having ceased, blister the insides of 
 the legs, and thus for any time the counter-irritating 
 action may be kept up. 
 
 The practitioner will carefully look out for the worst 
 symptoms, as well as those of amendment. When 
 separation begins to take place at the coronet, between 
 the hoof and the hair, it indicates that the process of 
 suppuration is established by exudation. It will be 
 useless further to punish the horse ; but some relief 
 may be obtained by surrounding the feet with poul- 
 tices. Another hoof will in process of time be pro- 
 duced; but it will be smaller and weaker than the 
 first, and more liable to accidents. 
 
 It is seldom that intense inflammation of any kind 
 terminates without effecting some change of structure. 
 Disunion to a very considerable extent between the 
 horny and fleshy laminae is a frequent consequence ; 
 and the result of that is, that the coffin-bone is no 
 longer retained in its place ; but sinks backwards and 
 downwards. A malformation which no surgery can 
 remove is the result. The sharp edge of the coffin- 
 bone rests upon the sole, and often pierces through it. 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE LAMINAE. 273 
 
 This is an incurable state of the foot. Any attempt 
 to force up the coffin-bone betrays ignorance of 
 anatomy, and of the progress of disease. When the 
 coffin-bone begins to recede from the crust, the hoof 
 follows it to a certain degree ; but its structure limits 
 this, and another process commences. In order to fill 
 up the vacuum, an unnatural quantity of plastic 
 matter is secreted by the sensitive laminae ; the crust 
 thickens, and inclines inward as the coffin-bone re- 
 tires ; it has sometimes been observed more than two 
 inches in thickness. Nature is, as it were, attempting 
 still to maintain the union between the parts. 
 
 What power applied to the sole can force back the 
 coffin-bone, pressed upon and kept down by this 
 thickness of horn ? Or what power can be applied to 
 the external sole without bruising the internal and 
 sensitive one ? Lameness, which no art can relieve, 
 ensues ; it is lasting and incurable. The horse should 
 be destroyed ; but many animals in this state are 
 forced to do slow work ; and, by the whip, compelled 
 to move in agony. 
 
 Lameness also appears in a chronic form, but is 
 always distinguished, no matter in what state it may 
 exist, by the peculiar manner of going which it in- 
 duces. The horse having had inflamed laminse, but 
 with the feet left sensitive by the disease, endeavours 
 to cast all his weight upon the heels ; in order to 
 spare, as much as possible, the wall with which the 
 diseased part is connected. The gait is peculiar, and 
 the toes pointing upwards denote the condition of the 
 animal. 
 
 Chronic, or rather sub-acute laminitis, is never the 
 n 5 
 
274 PUMICED FEET. 
 
 consequence of the acute disorder ; it comes on gra- 
 dually; and is at all times difficult to remove. It 
 comes on insidiously, and is too often not remarked 
 until the disease has terminated in dropping of the 
 coffin-bone, and permanent lameness is established. 
 Tonics, carefully prepared food, warm water to soften 
 the horn, with a long rest, are in this disease the chief 
 measures indicated. 
 
 Laminitis may appear in one or all of the feet. 
 
 Most frequently the two fore feet are attacked ; and 
 the animal then brings his hind legs under him, as 
 much as possible, with the intention of taking the 
 weight from the affected members. When only one 
 foot is attacked, the other is always the seat of poig- 
 nant lameness, and what once was the healthy limb, 
 ultimately becomes the most diseased; because the 
 animal, to spare the lame leg, continually casts his 
 whole weight upon the sound one. The horse with 
 laminitis in one hoof should be destroyed immediately. 
 With all four feet attacked, he may lie down and may 
 recover ; but, when the disease appears in one only, 
 he has no chance of being relieved ; and it is mercy 
 to shorten his sufferings. 
 
 PUMICED FEET. 
 
 The sole is naturally concave or arched ; but too 
 often, under our improper management, it becomes 
 flat ; not unfrequently, it becomes at last globular ; 
 swelling out and presenting a convex surface towards 
 the earth. Heavy horses, bred on marshy land, 
 generally have weak flat feet ; and when put to work 
 upon the road, the battering which the hoof is obliged 
 
PUMICED FEET. 275 
 
 to endure naturally affects the sole. The irritation 
 causes the coffin-bone to enlarge and bulge outward ; 
 while the secretion of horn, being originally weak, 
 affords the sensitive sole but little protection. The 
 wall becomes brittle, and also thin ; the sole is like- 
 wise thin, but generally soft ; the frog alone is always 
 healthy, being large, and amply covered by elastic 
 horn. 
 
 No art can restore the foot to its natural state ; but 
 the horse thus affected may, with care, be rendered 
 serviceable. A blister to the coronet with the con- 
 stant use of those applications recommended for 
 brittle hoof may cause a stronger development of the 
 horn, and thus procure for the smith a better hold for 
 the nails of the shoe. The sole must never be pared 
 out; but the ragged portions should be alone re- 
 moved with the knife. Some persons, when the shoe 
 is taken off, let the horse for some hours stand upon a 
 level pavement ; but there is little benefit gained by 
 this practice. The shoe is of all importance. It 
 should not be a bar shoe ; but what is termed a dish 
 shoe — that is, a bar shoe with a wide web, so hollowed 
 out, as to suit the unnatural figure of the foot. The 
 web must be broad, in order to protect the sole; 
 and the bearing must be entirely upon the crust and 
 frog. The shoe must likewise be strong enough to 
 protect the foot ; though, at the same time, it ought 
 to be as light as is compatible with the degree of 
 strength required to do this effectually. The nails 
 must be placed wherever a hold can be obtained ; and 
 there must be no complaint made if the smith should 
 gain some purchase even by fettering the heels. In 
 N 6 
 
276 WOUNDS IN THE FEET. 
 
 cases of this kind, the farrier has seldom much choice ; 
 but he is obliged to obtain his hold at any part into 
 which a nail can be driven with safety. 
 
 WOUNDS IN THE FEET. 
 
 These are generally caused either by pricking 
 during the driving of nails in shoeing ; or by sharp 
 substances upon the road over which the animal tra- 
 vels. If discovered in time, they are very easily 
 managed ; but if the process of suppuration has com- 
 menced before the injury is attended to, the cure may 
 be tedious, and not always certain. 
 
 When a horse is pricked or stubbed, the farrier 
 pares away the horn to the very bottom ; and then 
 sometimes places a bit of tow, wetted with spirits of 
 turpentine, on the part, and sets it on fire ; but, if he 
 has fairly laid open the wound, the case may do well 
 were the fire not subsequently applied ; for should 
 the flame burn the internal parts, the intended spe- 
 cific will assuredly produce all those consequences 
 which it was meant to prevent. 
 
 It is indispensable that the wound should be freely 
 opened, by cutting away the horn, to the very bottom ; 
 and then, if a bit of tow, dipped in tar, be put on the 
 wound, and a little more tow on that, and the whole 
 is confined by a firm pressure, the puncture will 
 generally heal; or should it have been more than 
 ordinarily severe, the foot may in the first instance 
 be placed within a poultice. 
 
 When the dressing is removed on the following day, 
 the wound should be carefully examined all round 
 
WOUNDS IN THE FEET. 277 
 
 with the finger-nail ; in order to discover whether 
 there is any separation between the horny and sen- 
 sitive sole, which either had escaped the first examina- 
 tion, or which has since become disunited. If it 
 exists in the slightest degree, the separated part must 
 be carefully and thoroughly removed ; — and this 
 caution must be observed at every subsequent dress- 
 ing. If there is one thing of greater importance than 
 another, in the treatment of wounds of the feet ; it is 
 to remove every portion of horn that has ceased to 
 adhere to the fleshy part beneath. Union can never 
 be re-effected ; but the horn thus detached will remain 
 as a foreign irritating body applied to the sensitive or 
 secreting surface of the foot. 
 
 If it has been necessary to open round the original 
 wound ; the exposed surface should be very lightly 
 touched with the chloride (butyr) of antimony, applied 
 by means of a feather. A pledget of soft tow, shaped 
 to the wound, and saturated with tar, should then be 
 put upon it, a larger piece over that, and the whole 
 confined as before with a firm and uniform pressure. 
 There are few wounds over which fresh horn will not 
 readily grow by means of this treatment. 
 
 However, it is not well always to disturb a dressing 
 unless imperative. Therefore, supposing the symp- 
 toms to be satisfactory, the dressing had better not be 
 removed for a week at least; or if the injury be small, 
 and no indication of constitutional disturbance be ex- 
 hibited, the dressing may not be interfered with until 
 the next time of shoeing comes round. 
 
278 QUITTOIt. 
 
 QUITTOR. 
 
 Any injury which can cause the internal parts of 
 the foot to suppurate may produce a quittor. Corn, 
 overreach, tread, bruise of the sole, stabs of the feet, 
 in short, as was before mentioned, any injury which 
 could originate inflammation of sufficient energy to 
 start up suppuration, will end in quittor. Pus is 
 secreted; but it cannot escape through the horny 
 wall, or very rapidly find its way through the fibrous 
 substance of the coronet. The matter, thus confined, 
 goes on increasing; and, as it must go somewhere, it 
 causes absorption in various directions; wherever the 
 parts are most yielding the pus penetrates, thus giving 
 rise to numerous pipes or sinuses. 
 
 Pus has been thrown out; it has found its way 
 under the crust, and among the sensitive parts. Irre- 
 parable mischief is sometimes done by this process. 
 The most favourable state of the case is when matter 
 breaks out at the coronet, soon after the lameness is 
 perceived. But, occasionally, either the farrier has 
 been very careless in his examination of the foot; or 
 no notice has been taken of the lameness until the 
 matter has burrowed in every direction; it has in- 
 sinuated itself under the cartilages and ligaments, and 
 into the interior of the foot. None but very general 
 rules, therefore, can be laid down for the treatment of 
 quittor ; and no one but a skilful practitioner should 
 be employed in such a case. 
 
 When suppuration has commenced, there is always 
 great heat of the foot, and excessive lameness. The 
 arteries of the pastern throb violently ; while the heels 
 
OUITTOR. 279 
 
 and coronet greatly enlarge. In such a case the shoe 
 should be taken off; then the sole pared out till it is 
 so thin that the blood begins to start. While this is 
 done, the practitioner watches to discover if any por- 
 tion of the horn is discoloured ; and if it be, he cuts 
 boldly down upon it. Should none of the horn be 
 red, he feels the sole well over ; and where it springs 
 most under the thumb, or at the place where pressure 
 produces most pain, he there makes an opening, and, 
 in almost every case, matter is released. This done, 
 and every particle of the detached horn removed, he 
 places the foot into a poultice, and perhaps a few 
 simple dressings afterwards may end the business. 
 
 In such a case, however, he will have anticipated a 
 quittor, not have cured one. There can be no quittor 
 until there are pipes or sinuses established; then 
 the heel or the coronet may be tender, and the last 
 considerably swollen. In the latter case he plunges 
 the lancet into the most yielding point of the swelling ; 
 and, the matter being evacuated, he then tries the 
 sole; and having evacuated the pus beneath it, he 
 next endeavours with the probe to discover how many 
 sinuses exist, and in what directions they run. If 
 there should be a sore or wound, he does not stab the 
 coronet ; but all else he does in the manner which has 
 been directed. 
 
 The great object is to ascertain the direction and 
 extent of the sinuses ; so as to form some opinion as 
 to the probability of a cure. If the matter has pene- 
 trated deep through the cartilages, a cure is very 
 difficult; if it has found its way into the coffin-joint, a 
 cure is impossible. The probe, therefore, must be 
 
280 QUITTOR. 
 
 carefully and tenderly used, in order to discover those 
 important parts which may be involved. 
 
 The matter generally finds its way out at the 
 coronet above one of the quarters ; and frequently is 
 released rather backward towards the heel. If the 
 sinuses run backward, the practitioner has a fair 
 chance of success, and may undertake the case with a 
 hope of relieving it ; but if they run forward and 
 inward, he must conduct his examination cautiously, 
 and hesitate before he delivers a decisive opinion. 
 Here a knowledge of the anatomy of the foot will be 
 indispensable. 
 
 This done, he will place the foot in a poultice and 
 return the horse to the stable. The next day he will 
 gently, or with every consideration for a painful 
 disease enclosed in a very sensitive part, have the 
 quarter rasped till every portion of the dark or super- 
 ficial covering of the crust is removed. The horse is 
 subsequently cast, and a small director passed down 
 the sinuses. Along the groove of this instrument a 
 sharp knife is slid, and thus one after another all the 
 superficial sinuses are laid open. 
 
 The horse is then allowed to get up, and is once 
 more returned to the stable. The wounds on the foot, 
 for what once were sinuses are now converted into 
 wounds, are dressed with the weak solution of chloride 
 of zinc, one grain to the ounce of water. 
 
 On the following day the foot is again examined. 
 Should there be nothing perceptible but a mass of 
 creamy, thick pus, the part merely requires a con- 
 tinuation of the lotion thrice daily to perfect the cure ; 
 but if among the opaque fluid is seen a speck of dark, 
 
BRUISE OF THE SOLE. 281 
 
 transparent liquid, such is conclusive evidence that 
 a sinus yet remains to be found out and operated 
 upon. 
 
 Any flexible probe of small size is now employed. 
 Force will not hasten but will retard the business. 
 Gently explore towards the interior, observing the 
 dark liquid just spoken of as a guide. The sinus 
 being discovered, of course the foot cannot be cut 
 further, and the knife be employed in the direction to- 
 wards which the last sinus runs. It must therefore be 
 treated with corrosive sublimate, mixed with flour, in 
 the proportion of one part of the caustic to three parts 
 of the miller's preparation. This mixture must be 
 forced into the sinus, until the whole of the hidden 
 cavity is full. 
 
 The horse will generally become very lame on the 
 two following days, but on the third a curd-like matter 
 will be discharged from the sinus, and the wound will 
 rapidly heal. 
 
 After this fashion that which, when successful, used 
 to occupy months is well over in a few weeks, but of 
 course the horn is not restored so speedily ; conse- 
 quently the animal must be shod with a bar shoe well 
 eased of the quarter in which a quittor has existed, 
 and this kind of shoe will be necessary till the normal 
 dark colour of the hoof is renewed. 
 
 BRUISE OF THE SOLE. 
 
 This is a circumstance of frequent occurrence ; and 
 of very little consequence, if timely and properly 
 treated. A horse in rapid action may tread on a 
 
282 corns. 
 
 sharp projecting stone ; or a stone may have insi- 
 nuated itself between the web of the shoe and the 
 foot ; all of these things will cause pressure upon and 
 bruise the sole. The injured part may always be 
 detected by the pain which the horse evinces when it 
 is pressed upon. 
 
 The sole, over and around the tender spot, should 
 be pared, until it yields to the pressure of the thumb. 
 The appearance of the blood, should any start on the 
 sole being thinned, will be a satisfactory proof that 
 the bruise has not run on to suppuration. Should 
 pus be present, let it freely out; remove all the 
 detached horn ; then apply a pledget of tow, tar, and 
 pressure. 
 
 CORNS. 
 
 These are bruises of a more serious nature. They 
 are situated in the angle between the bars and the 
 quarter; being generally on the inner side of the 
 fore foot. 
 
 The owner is in fault when he suffers the shoe to 
 remain upon the foot too long. It should be removed, 
 and the foot pared out once every three weeks; 
 otherwise the shoe will, in the farrier's language, 
 "grow into the foot," i. e. the shoe preventing the 
 natural growth of the horn, the crust will be pro- 
 longed, the shoe being carried forward, and the bear- 
 ing being thrown upon the unprotected heels. If the 
 shoe should become loose, gravel will frequently in- 
 sinuate itself between it and the crust. The dirt will 
 accumulate near to the bars and bruise the sole. The 
 habitual use of shoes raised at the heels is a cause of 
 
corns. 283 
 
 corn; from the disproportionate pressure and con- 
 cussion thrown on the backward part of the foot. On 
 the other hand, a foot naturally, or from neglect or 
 disease, contracted, often has corns; because the 
 thick. and hard sole does not yield when the coffin- 
 bone descends. But a low, flat, and fleshy foot is of all 
 others most likely to exhibit corns ; because the sensi- 
 tive sole not being protected as in a concave foot, but 
 being placed low, is consequently squeezed between 
 the wings of the coffin-bone and the shoe. 
 
 Bruises are accompanied by extravasation of blood ; 
 so, in consequence of a bruise between the quarter 
 and the bars, blood is thrown out, which insinuates 
 itself into the young horn, and the existence of ordi- 
 nary corn is indicated by the red appearance of the 
 horn, when the angle of the bars is cleared out. 
 
 Corns are too much trifled with in Veterinary prac- 
 tice. A horse with a corn cannot be considered as 
 sound ; for in general the animal is liable to become 
 lame without a moment's notice. 
 
 The cure is to be attempted by paring out the seat 
 of corn almost to the quick. The extent of the 
 mischief will thus be rendered evident; while the 
 horse will be relieved by the pressure being taken 
 from the part. If it is a simple bruise, without sup- 
 puration, which will be known by the starting of the 
 blood from a pin-hole or two, a little of the butyr of 
 antimony should be lightly applied by means of a 
 camel's-hair pencil ; and then the shoe should be so 
 contrived that all pressure should be taken from the 
 part. The butyr of antimony will stimulate the 
 almost denuded sole to throw out more healthy horn ; 
 
284 corns. 
 
 and the removal of the pressure of the shoe will be the 
 most likely method to prevent a return of the com- 
 plaint. If lameness, however, attends- the corn, it 
 will be most prudent to poultice the foot before the 
 shoe is applied, as this will remove the inflammation. 
 The daily use of the "suppling liniment for the feet" 
 (Recipe No. 57, p. 260) will go far to restore the 
 natural elasticity and uniform growth and bearing of 
 the horn. A bar shoe, however, will most effectually 
 relieve the pressure on the seat of the corn, and may 
 be worn for a month or two ; but it is not adapted for 
 constant use, since, although it takes away weight, 
 which the quarter will not now endure, it throws it upon 
 the frog, which was never designed to receive perma- 
 nent pressure, and which often becomes considerably 
 injured by this means. After the bar shoe has been 
 left off, the unilateral shoe will be resorted to with 
 much advantage, either for temporary or permanent 
 use. 
 
 Corn is in some cases a more complicated affair. 
 The inflammation will run on to suppuration. Matter 
 is thrown out between the horny and sensitive sole ; 
 and lays the foundation for quittor. Every separated 
 portion of horn must be removed; the separation 
 must be followed to its full extent, and the means 
 adopted which were recommended for quittor. 
 
 The farrier and the owner should make themselves 
 perfectly masters of the kind of foot which the horse 
 with corns may possess ; for different horses require 
 essentially different treatment. A horse with high 
 heels and hard hoof can scarcely have his foot too 
 thoroughly pared out at each shoeing; while the 
 
CANKER. 285 
 
 horse with low, weak heels has not a particle of horn 
 to lose ; the inner heel, the seat of corn, should more 
 especially be respected. 
 
 CANKER. 
 
 Canker is not the separation of the horn from the 
 sensitive part of the foot, but the growth of a fungoid 
 instead of healthy horn. 
 
 In bad cases of long standing, in which all the feet 
 are involved, it will rarely be prudent to attempt a 
 cure. But in milder cases every portion of diseased 
 horn must be removed ; otherwise the confinement of 
 the fungus will not only exceedingly torture the 
 horse, but by the irritation which it produces, will 
 prolong the disposition to throw out the unhealthy 
 substance. This is a rule which admits of no excep- 
 tion ; and the owner must never be terrified at the 
 extent to which the foot is laid bare : not the slightest 
 good can be effected while there is any portion of 
 fungus confined. 
 
 Having laid the unhealthy part perfectly open, 
 the practitioner will consider what kind of surface it 
 presents. If there is much fungus, he will probably 
 resort to the knife. The fungus must be destroyed, 
 and it cannot be done too soon, or with too unsparing 
 a hand. A level surface being thus produced, the 
 butyr of antimony may be lightly applied over the 
 whole of it. 
 
 There is no disease for the relief of which there are 
 more numerous remedies, all strongly recommended, 
 than for canker. All and each of these will some- 
 
286 CANKER. 
 
 times be successful ; but on other occasions every one 
 will fail. Solutions of the various caustics; the dif- 
 ferent acids, either diluted or of the full strength; 
 powders in which the sulphates or chlorides are min- 
 gled with chalk, bark, or charcoal; and compounds 
 of all kinds of things have their advocates. Nitric 
 acid and tar is in great favour with some parties. 
 Others employ verdigris, mixed with tar and treacle, 
 or honey, to which is often added a portion of sugar 
 of lead. In fact, the recipes are too numerous to be 
 repeated; but they all have one and the same inten- 
 tion, namely, to act as a caustic and astringent; 
 reducing the fungus, and stimulating the part to take 
 on a healthy secretion. No recipe can or should be 
 given in a case of this kind. The strength of the 
 agent should be suited to the state of the disease, and 
 in this particular no two cases will be alike. Let, 
 therefore, the judgment be exercised; and at the 
 same time let it be remembered that it is better to 
 change the application than to continue its use when 
 it appears to produce no marked or beneficial effect. 
 A rapid succession of different agents employed in 
 different forms will often do that which a pertinacious 
 adherence to a favourite nostrum will too frequently 
 fail to accomplish ; but, as in inexperienced hands the 
 butyr of antimony is perhaps the safest caustic for 
 general use, that compound will be alone recom- 
 mended in the present treatise. When not judiciously 
 employed, the more potent remedies for canker not 
 only destroy the surface to which they are applied, 
 but deeply and injuriously eat into the foot. The 
 butyr of antimony acts where we want it ; and mixing 
 
CANKER. 287 
 
 with the moisture which exudes, it becomes weaker, 
 and is speedily neutralized. Except it is used in out- 
 rageous quantities, it cannot deeply corrode the foot. 
 
 This being done, dry soft tow must be spread over 
 the whole of the exposed surface, and made firmly 
 and equally to press upon it ; and the horse must be 
 put into a thoroughly dry box, from which the urine 
 will immediately run off, and where no kind of 
 moisture can reach the diseased part. A cankered 
 foot, however, must not be dressed too frequently. 
 The two or three first dressings may be given on suc- 
 ceeding days ; but, when the fungus has been in some 
 degree subdued, the bandages should only be removed 
 every fourth day, or even once a week. Every time 
 that the foot is exposed it should be carefully ex- 
 amined, in order to see that there is no portion of 
 unhealthy horn ; for if there is, it must be immediately 
 removed. The appearance of the exposed surface 
 must also be inspected with great attention. Fresh 
 fungus will require a fresh application of the butyr, 
 or possibly of the knife. Every little pellicle of 
 skinny matter or soft and porous horn must also be 
 pared away. The healthy horn which has been secreted 
 must be lightly run over with the knife, and then the 
 butyr of antimony once more applied to the whole of 
 the surface. The quantity used on the different por- 
 tions of it should vary with the progress towards a cure. 
 After this the foot must be bound up as before. 
 
 A few days having passed — if the sprouting of the 
 fungus has been quite checked, but yet the horn does 
 not grow so healthily as could be wished, the butyr may 
 be omitted ; a pledget of tow should then be dipped 
 
288 THRUSH. 
 
 in the stronger solution of the chloride of zinc, and 
 spread over that portion of the foot, with more dry 
 tow placed upon that. A sudden change will, by this 
 application, often be eifected ; but, should not this 
 take place to the desired extent, the use of the butyr 
 must be for a while resumed. 
 
 The secret of the treatment of canker consists in 
 the use of superficial caustics or stimulants ; pressure 
 as firmly and equably as it can be made ; and the care- 
 ful avoidance of greasy applications, or of moisture, 
 either applied immediately to the foot, or suffered to 
 penetrate to it through the dressing. The solution of 
 chloride of zinc is an exception to this last rule ; for 
 it corrects the exudation from the foot ; stimulates the 
 sensitive parts to the secretion of healthy horn, while 
 the small quantity that need be used will be far from 
 supplying constant moisture. 
 
 If wet can certainly be avoided, a horse with a can- 
 kered foot will, immediately after the first apparent 
 growth of good horn, do much better at work than 
 standing idle in the stable. 
 
 As canker, however, is a constitutional disease, 
 local applications must not be singly depended upon. 
 It is often connected with grease ; also with grossness 
 of body. The condition of the horse must be con- 
 sidered, and those measures adopted which are cal- 
 culated to improve the system. 
 
 THRUSH. 
 
 Thrush, oftener found in the hind feet than in the 
 fore ones, is recognized by a ragged state of the frog, 
 from the cleft of which there exudes an offensive 
 
THRUSH. 289 
 
 discharge. It is caused by the irritation of the little 
 glands of the frog ; which pour forth a stinking and an 
 acrid secretion that corrodes the horn of the part. It 
 is not always accompanied by lameness ; but there is 
 a treachery about it, against which due precaution 
 should be taken. There is often more mischief done 
 than is at first indicated, and it may run on to in- 
 veterate canker. 
 
 Thrushes in the hind feet are generally the worst 
 in outward appearance ; yet they are most easily cured. 
 In most stables the urine and moisture gravitates to the 
 back part of the stall ; thus the hind feet stand in a 
 mass of wet and dung. They become thrushy in con- 
 sequence ; but, with a greater attention to cleanliness 
 and a little treatment, they are generally restored. 
 
 In the fore feet thrush is commonly only a symptom 
 of internal and deep-seated disease. Then it acts as 
 a drain, and affords relief; if stopped, lameness often 
 immediately follows. In the fore feet, therefore, as a 
 general rule, the foot should be treated and the thrush 
 let alone. But in the hind feet the disease ought to 
 be attacked, and the discharge dried up as quickly 
 as may be consistent with safety. 
 
 The frog should be carefully examined, and every 
 ragged and separated portion pared away ; when, how- 
 ever, the ragged horn is removed, a white powdery 
 substance will generally be exposed; this also should 
 be extirpated until none but healthy horn can be seen; 
 then a little of the following paste should be spread 
 on a pledget of tow, and introduced as neatly and as 
 deeply as may be into the cleft of the frog, the ends 
 of the tow being carefully tucked in. 
 
290 NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 59). 
 
 Thrush Paste. 
 
 Take — Alum ; 
 
 Blue vitriol ; and 
 
 White ditto, of each an ounce. 
 
 Rub them to fine powder. Melt together two pounds of tar and 
 one of lard, and when they are getting cool stir in the powder. 
 
 If the disease has spread so as to render a portion 
 of the frog- bare, some of the paste should be laid 
 on a piece of tow of a corresponding size, and placed 
 over the sore, and the whole covered with dry tow. 
 It occasionally may be necessary to touch the sore 
 part with the butyr of antimony. After cases of bad 
 thrush the horse should, provided the expense be not 
 objected to, be shod with leather soles, in order to 
 protect the frog from injury; and the foot should in 
 this affection be kept from moisture with almost the 
 same care as in canker. 
 
 NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE. 
 
 This is a very frequent cause of great and incurable 
 lameness ; but its nature and treatment was not, until 
 remarked on by Mr. Turner, at all understood. 
 
 The manner of the insertion of the flexor tendon 
 into the sole of the coffin-bone ; and of the navicular 
 bone lying above the tendon, in order to prevent that 
 concussion which otherwise would take place, has 
 been already explained. 
 
 The navicular bone was ordained to be in almost 
 constant motion ; to facilitate its movements a syno- 
 vial sac was given, which is constantly secreting 
 
NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE. 291 
 
 joint oil. This fluid is of all importance ; for, if it 
 be deficient, the sides of the sac, not being- properly 
 distended, rub against and chafe one another. In- 
 flammation follows ; with it comes lameness. Pain is 
 then great, and the horse rests his foot; thereby 
 aggravating the disorder by not stimulating the syno- 
 vial sac to secrete the joint oil; and by degrees ulcera- 
 tion of the lower side of the navicular bone is in- 
 duced. This may go on for a long time; the horse 
 being sometimes so lame that in mercy he is ultimately 
 destroyed. In other instances, however, the animal 
 lives; adhesion takes place between the tendon and 
 the bone: the horse is no longer lame; but he steps 
 short and is incurably groggy. 
 
 The cause of navicular disease is any thing which 
 may lessen the secretion of the joint oil between the 
 bone and the tendon. Too much rest; too much 
 work; too violent exertion; or concussion to the foot; 
 each and all may be the means of setting up this fear- 
 ful disorder. 
 
 The horse with navicular disease is lame, and the 
 lame foot is hot. The animal, to take the weight from 
 it, stands pointing it in the stable; he holds the lame 
 leg more forward than the sound one ; for navicular 
 disease is not known to exist in the hind feet. These 
 symptoms are not, however, constant; but in the early 
 stage of the disease they vary. The heat is some- 
 times lost ; sometimes the foot is of its natural warmth; 
 and sometimes it is deadly cold. Sometimes the horse 
 is very lame ; goes out lame ; after a little work travels 
 sound ; and sometimes his pace is as firm as though he 
 o 2 
 
'292 NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE. 
 
 were quite sound. He may continue thus changing 
 about for months; or in a very little time he may 
 become dead lame. His manner of going is peculiar. 
 He travels upon his toe, and refuses to bring his heel 
 to the ground. He goes up hill with tolerable ease ; 
 but down hill he is very apt to stumble. He takes 
 very short and quick steps; and by the pattering 
 noise which he makes indicates the nature of his affec- 
 tion. 
 
 With this disease the shape of the foot generally 
 alters ; although this is not always the case. A horse 
 with a good open, or even a low foot, may have na- 
 vicular disease ; but commonly the heels narrow or 
 wire in ; the frog becomes dry and small ; the quarters 
 become high ; the crust becomes thick ; the sole grows 
 concave and hard. The pasterns also get more up- 
 right ; in fact, the general appearance of the foot is 
 changed. 
 
 If taken in the very earliest stage, the disease may 
 yield to treatment; but in the latter stage, though we 
 may relieve, we cannot then hope to cure. A dose 
 of physic, and a little fever or alterative medicine, ac- 
 cording to the state of the horse, will form the con- 
 stitutional measures. The foot, however, requires 
 the most attention. The treatment recommended for 
 contraction must be employed. The sole must be 
 thinned ; the quarters rasped ; blood taken from the 
 toe ; the foot placed in poultices ; very little and gentle 
 exercise being cautiously given. We would enjoin 
 constant rest; yet we fear to injure the health ; but no 
 more motion should be allowed than is absolutely 
 
NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE. 293 
 
 necessary. When the inflammation is slightly re- 
 duced, the coronets and legs of both fore members 
 should be blistered ; the feet being constantly kept 
 moist and cool by means of swabs soaked in the lini- 
 ment recommended for brittle hoof. After some relief 
 has been obtained, the horse should be put to plough ; 
 care being taken that the draught is not too heavy. 
 The regular and slow work he will thus get will do 
 him much good. He ought to have become sound for 
 three or four months at least before he is again taken 
 to fast work. This is a long business, but only by 
 such tedious means can a cure be obtained; and 
 during all this while the foot must be constantly pared 
 and stopped, the one-sided shoe or tip being worn. 
 
 Should all these means fail ; or should the disease 
 be established, neurotomy is the only resort. This 
 operation will not cure the disease ; but it will render 
 the foot insensible and enable the horse to be of ser- 
 vice to its owner. Even for neurotomy, however, the 
 foot must be selected. Where the hoof is strong, the 
 operation will nearly always be successful ; but where 
 it is low and weak; not sufficiently protected; the 
 animal, from the loss of sensation in it, will bruise and 
 injure the senseless foot. Inflammation will be excited ; 
 suppuration will follow, and the hoof will slough off. 
 In old cases, when the tendon has shared the ulcera- 
 tion ; or the bone has become so diseased as to be al- 
 most eaten through ; then, after neurotomy, the tendon 
 has ruptured ; or the bone has fractured ; the horse, 
 in either case, being necessarily destroyed. Thus 
 neurotomy for its success requires to be performed im- 
 mediately after the recognition of the disease, 
 o 3 
 
294 ON SHOEING. 
 
 Neurotomy consists in the removal of a portion of 
 the nerves of the leg ; and, of course, it can only be 
 performed by a regular practitioner. When, however, 
 the foot has been properly selected, and the operation 
 has not been too long delayed, the horse after it has 
 been enabled to hunt for years ; in certain instances 
 the lameness has never returned. In some animals, 
 however, sensation has been restored so rapidly, that 
 the lameness reappeared before the treatment was con- 
 cluded ; but these last cases are rare ; and in confirmed 
 navicular disease, as neurotomy holds out the only 
 hope of rendering the horse free from torture, it ought 
 always to be tried. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 ON SHOEING. 
 
 The principle of shoeing is to afford a secure defence 
 for the foot without interfering more than is necessary 
 with its functions. In ancient times horses went 
 unshod. The roads, where there were any, were pro- 
 bably as rough as they possibly could be ; but a de- 
 fence for the foot, though then much desired, was not 
 invented beyond a leathern case for the hoof. Our 
 horses have for many centuries been shod ; and shoe- 
 ing has become a necessary evil among us. We ob- 
 tain by means of the shoe a defence for the horse's 
 foot against the hard and flinty roads ; over which a 
 great portion of his work must be performed : but, 
 the crust being fettered through the nails, we lose 
 
THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 295 
 
 some of the natural elasticity of the hoof; careless- 
 ness or ignorance in the manner of affixing the shoe 
 often occasioning an unequal bearing on the dif- 
 ferent parts of the foot ; necessarily producing great 
 mischief. 
 
 The first object of shoeing is defence ; that is ac- 
 complished by almost any kind of shoe, the web of 
 which is sufficiently wide and thick. We prevent 
 mischief to a certain extent, by contriving to have the 
 bearing as nearly as possible where nature designed 
 that it should be. The whole weight of the horse is 
 supported by the crust when the foot first comes in 
 contact with the ground; and the sole afterwards 
 descends for the purpose of preserving the elasticity 
 of the foot. Then nature and reason demand that 
 the shoe should be constructed so that the bearing 
 shall still be thrown on the crust; and that the sole 
 shall have room and power to descend. 
 
 THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 
 
 The concave- seated shoe answers these purposes 
 well. It has a flat circle on the foot-side, running 
 round it; corresponding with the thickness of the 
 crust ; and, the lower part of the crust being pared 
 evenly round, the whole weight of the horse is placed 
 on a flat, level bearing. A shoe, however, the width 
 of the crust would not afford sufficient defence to the 
 sole ; therefore the web is prolonged on the inner 
 part of the circle, for about double the width of the 
 seated part all round. But this must not press upon 
 the sole ; for the sole will not bear the slightest pres- 
 o 4 
 
296 THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 
 
 sure without injury. Then the foot-side of the web 
 is bevelled or hollowed out, and presents a concave 
 surface to the sole ; so that, even when the sole 
 descends immediately after the foot being brought 
 into contact with the ground, there is no possibility of 
 its touching any part of the shoe. 
 
 The concave- seated shoe presents to the ground an 
 accurately flat surface ; and to the foot a surface flat 
 towards the outside, where it is to receive the crust, 
 and hollow over the sole. Towards the quarters the 
 shoe narrows, and the seating widens ; so as to afford 
 a level bearing, sufficiently broad to receive and 
 protect the quarter. 
 
 The common country-shoe is a very different one. 
 It also is flat towards the ground ; but it presents to 
 the foot either a flat surface, or a wholly concave one. 
 It is much more easily made than the other ; and that 
 is a very considerable object with too many smiths. 
 If the foot surface of the shoe is slanting, the crust 
 must be cut in a slanting direction, in order to cor- 
 respond with the shoe. 
 
 The seated shoe will suit almost every kind of 
 foot ; even that which is a little disposed to pumice : 
 whereas, the common shoe, although it may be worn 
 without inconvenience on the concave foot, must be 
 dangerous to the flat one; and almost necessarily 
 productive of evil where the sole is in the least degree 
 convex. 
 
 After all, however, more depends on the preparation 
 of the foot than on the kind of shoe. The sole should 
 be well pared out all round ; until it will yield a little 
 to the pressure of the hardened thumb of the smith. 
 
THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 297 
 
 In a state of nature the sole would be prevented from 
 morbidly thickening by the natural wear of the foot ; 
 but we prevent this wear by the defence which we 
 give to the sole. The horn, therefore, is continually 
 accumulating ; we must consequently periodically 
 remove it with the knife, or we shall lose altogether 
 that portion of elasticity which shoeing has left to us. 
 A great deal depends here on the skill of the smith ; 
 and on the nature of the foot. From some feet very 
 little can be taken away with safety. From other 
 feet too much can scarcely be removed; mischief 
 will inevitably be produced if the horn is suffered to 
 accumulate. 
 
 The sole being pared out, an even surface must be 
 given to the crust ; but it must not, if it can be 
 avoided, be brought upon a level with the sole ; lest 
 that part should be unnecessarily exposed to bruise 
 from the shoe. 
 
 The bars may be left or not, as it is most pleasing 
 to the fancy of the smith ; but the seat of corn should 
 be pared well out. Should the horse be liable to corn, 
 the horn should be removed until the blood begins 
 to start. No lameness will be produced by so ap- 
 parently severe a cutting ; but the animal will go 
 better and more safely if it be effected at each 
 shoeing. 
 
 The frog should be relieved of all ragged horn, and 
 left in a somewhat prominent state ; — it should, when 
 practicable, be rather more projecting than the heels 
 of the foot ; so that it may not touch the ground when 
 the foot is first set down ; yet be so slightly removed 
 o 5 
 
298 THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 
 
 from the level with the lower surface of the shoe, that 
 it shall certainly touch it when the ground is any way 
 soft or uneven. 
 
 The heels will form the last, and one of the most 
 important points of consideration; for, from unequal 
 or undue pressure on them, much mischief often arises. 
 The inner heel is always the weaker of the two ; the 
 principal wear will be on it ; and near to it, in the 
 majority of instances, corns will be found. The growth 
 of the inner heel must be encouraged as much as pos- 
 sible; a little only must generally be pared from it ; 
 but particular care must be taken that it is not left 
 perceptibly lower than the other. 
 
 Then comes the selection of the shoe to suit the 
 different feet. It should, with few exceptions, be the 
 concave-seated shoe; with a web equally thick from 
 the toe to the heel ; but the bearing of the shoe will 
 strangely vary with the kind of foot. It is scarcely 
 possible that a shoe, thinner at the heel than at the 
 toe, can ever be serviceable ; on the contrary, it will 
 generally occasion lameness, by throwing undue stress 
 on the flexor tendon. It will be a fruitful source of 
 sprain of the back sinews ; also of the navicular dis- 
 ease. On the other hand, a shoe a little elevated at 
 the heel may favour a leg weak in the back sinews. 
 In the hinder foot, and particularly in draught-horses, 
 custom has sanctioned the use of a shoe raised at the 
 heel by caulkins. This certainly gives the horse u 
 better purchase ; enables him to descend a hill more 
 securely ; as well as to draw a heavier load. But 
 this custom of hisrh caulkins is often carried to an 
 
THE BAR SHOE. '299 
 
 absurd and ruinous length. In many horses of heavy 
 draught, the only bearing-points — the only parts of 
 the shoe which touch the ground — are the tip of the 
 toe, and the end of the caulkin. There must be in- 
 equality of pressure here ; and by it the ossification 
 of the cartilages ; enlargement of the pasterns ; and 
 other diseases with which the draught-horse is often 
 afflicted, are too well accounted for. 
 
 Of the varieties of shoes in common use, it is neces- 
 sary to notice only the following : — 
 
 THE BAR SHOE. 
 
 This is often indispensable. It is almost the only 
 means by which the pressure can be thrown from the 
 seat of sand-crack ; but then it is thrown on a part — 
 the frog— which nature never designed to receive 
 primary pressure ; therefore, the bar shoe should be 
 left off as soon as the case will permit. On the other 
 hand, it is sometimes used to protect a tender frog 
 from injury; the hinder part of the shoe being thick- 
 ened, and hollowed over the frog; but, unless it is 
 made exceedingly heavy, it will soon be flattened ; 
 and afterwards it will most injuriously press upon 
 the heels. 
 
 For pumiced feet, a bar shoe is usually necessary ; 
 but this sort of shoe is only a make-shift ; and the 
 horse that wears it can never be said to be safe, 
 especially in frosty weather. The bar shoe may be 
 necessary at times ; but it is nevertheless an evil, and 
 should, if possible, be got rid of. 
 
 o 6 
 
300 THE ONE-SIDED NAILED SHOE. 
 
 THE ONE-SIDED NAILED, OR UNILATERAL SHOE. 
 
 This shoe generally has, upon the outer side, one 
 more than its complement of nails; generally a nail 
 at the centre of the toe, and one or two tolerably close 
 to it, but no more upon the inner side. It was 
 applied by the old farriers, and often with good effect, 
 in the prevention of cutting ; but it is now discovered 
 to have more important uses. The inner quarter, 
 where contraction usually first commences, and where 
 it exists in the greatest degree, is in a manner free ; 
 it can expand when the foot comes on the ground ; and 
 it can contract again when it is lifted in the air. This 
 shoe affords all the defence to the foot for which we 
 have recourse to shoeing; while it leaves much of that 
 natural action to the hoof, the loss of which is the 
 greatest evil inflicted by shoeing. 
 
 When adopted early, it preserves to a very material 
 degree the natural shape of the foot; and, when re- 
 sorted to, after contraction has commenced, it restores, 
 in some measure, the former width of heel. It re- 
 moves that concussion which the animal feels when 
 the shoe is firmly nailed to both quarters. 
 
 It has an appearance of insecurity about it; but 
 that insecurity is only in appearance. The shoe will 
 remain, and last its usual time on the foot of a hack- 
 ney; many stage-coach horses used to run with it, 
 and did not cast their shoes oftener than they formerly 
 did. It would not, however, suit heavy draught- 
 horses; and it might possibly be wrenched from the 
 foot of the hunter when he went over a stiff country. 
 
tips. 301 
 
 But then what form of shoe is not occasionally lost 
 during a burst over such land ? 
 
 TIPS. 
 
 These are half-shoes, extending only around the 
 foe, put on in order to preserve the crust from being 
 battered and torn when the horse is ridden or turned 
 out. The quarters are left perfectly unfettered ; and 
 it is on account of the hoofs being comparatively free 
 that the feet of a horse with contraction often seem to 
 derive so much good from a run at grass. The ad- 
 vantage of the tips may be carried still farther : every 
 horse that is soiled during the summer should wear 
 tips. If a horse be turned into a loose box, only for 
 a week or two, he should have tips. Harm can hardly 
 be produced by them ; but, on the other hand, mucli 
 benefit generally ensues from this comparatively un- 
 fettered state of the foot. Moreover, the late Mr. 
 Percival when near his death acquainted the author 
 that he had for years ridden a nag over London 
 streets and country roads with no greater protection 
 to the feet than tips could afford. Such testimony 
 from a gentleman whose life was shortened by the 
 scientific research to which it was devoted, should re- 
 ceive the consideration of every man who complains 
 of the injuries done to the horse's feet by the present 
 mode of shoeing. 
 
THE 
 
 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 In treating of the diseases of these animals, the com- 
 panions and friends of man, the same order will be 
 adopted that has been pursued in the pathology of the 
 horse. 
 
 Of inflammation generally it is unnecessary again 
 to speak; and although there are many diseases which 
 are connected with an inflammatory state of the brain, 
 a case of pure phrenitis has rarely, if ever, been seen 
 in the dog. Nor is there any thing that bears strict re- 
 semblance to either vertigo or to megrims in the horse. 
 That which comes nearest to it shall be the subject of 
 the first chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 This singular disease is thus characterized : — the 
 dog is continually running round and round ; where 
 he has liberty to do so, he will continue this action 
 almost from morning until night. He performs these 
 incessant circles in precisely the same direction, and 
 generally with his head a little inclined to the inside 
 
COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN. 303 
 
 of the circle. At first he is conscious of surrounding 
 objects; he stops for a moment when spoken to; but 
 immediately afterwards resumes his perambulations, 
 carefully steering clear of every impediment in his 
 way. After the first or second day he usually be- 
 comes both blind and deaf; yet he marches round ; 
 at length blundering against every thing; and thus he 
 continues until he is fairly worn out, when he dies in 
 slight convulsion. 
 
 On examination after death, there will generally be 
 found pressure on some part of the brain, and on the 
 side towards which the animal inclined his head. The 
 nature of that pressure is variable. Spiculae of bone 
 have been seen pressing upon, and entering into the 
 substance of the brain ; sometimes effusion of blood on 
 the brain has been found; and, oftener, an accumula- 
 tion of serous fluid in the ventricles. 
 
 This is a disease which has been uniformly fatal, 
 and the dog labouring under it should be at once 
 destroyed. For the best efforts of the Veterinarian can 
 hope only to prolong a miserable existence. The 
 most profound science can never expect to re-establish 
 the lost health. Effusion upon the brain too often 
 sets the human physician at defiance, and what medi- 
 cine has hitherto been discovered which will remove a 
 spicula of bone from the interior of the cranium? 
 When medicine cannot always cure a dropsy, which 
 is a superficial effusion of serum, and time generally 
 removes the discolorization of a bruise, which is blood 
 thrown out under the skin, what can science hope to 
 accomplish when either fluid is enclosed within the 
 bony cranium ? 
 
304 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 RABIES — MADNESS. 
 
 Rabies is said to be produced by improper food; by 
 want of water ; by hot weather ; and by various other 
 causes. If it be generated in the animal at all, it is 
 certainly most likely to be bred in the canine system 
 by that cold-blooded cruelty, which, disregarding all 
 the attractive qualities of the animal, chains it to a 
 kennel, and leaves it to howl away its existence, 
 under the pretence of such a misery being a safeguard 
 to the premises. It is, however, generally imagined 
 to have but one origin, and that one is inoculation. It 
 certainly is conveyed from one animal to another by 
 the bite ; or by the poison which resides in the saliva 
 which is received on some abraded surface. 
 
 The dog that is becoming rabid is dull ; disinclined 
 for food; more than usually ill-tempered; fidgety, 
 and discontented. If he is closely watched, there is 
 usually some part which he is eagerly licking; or 
 biting; or scratching. It may be the place where he 
 was bitten, which now seems to be itching intolerably, 
 or to give him very great pain. 
 
 Soon afterwards a very considerable change takes 
 place in his whole appearance and manner, which as- 
 sumes one of two forms. The eye may become in- 
 tensely bright, and glaring ; the dog is continually on 
 the watch; and is tracing the fancied path of some 
 imaginary object. He darts at every fly; and also at 
 many a thing that has no existence but in his own dis- 
 turbed imagination ; he makes the most violent efforts 
 
RABIES — MADNESS. 305 
 
 to escape ; he gnaws his kennel almost to pieces. If a 
 dog or a strange person comes within his reach, he flies 
 at them with the greatest fury; sometimes he does 
 not respect even his master ! 
 
 He is in incessant action : he scrapes his bed under 
 his chest : he disposes of it in a thousand ways, and 
 yet is unable to make himself comfortable; and every 
 now and then he lifts his head, and utters a howl 
 altogether characteristic of the mad dog. 
 
 If he is enabled to effect his escape, he wanders 
 hither and thither ; as though he found relief in 
 motion ; he surmounts every obstacle in order to get 
 away; he travels many and many a mile; yet he 
 seldom goes out of his way to injure any thing, but 
 he flies at the creature that may cross his path ; he 
 gives the bite, and hastens onward. If he is not 
 stopped in his career, he at length becomes wearied ; 
 he finds his way home, and curls himself up in his 
 kennel. He appears to sleep away twelve or twenty- 
 four hours ; after which, if he has the opportunity, he 
 sallies out again, and snaps at all who by coming near 
 to him excite his irritability. 
 
 His appetite is variable ; sometimes he will eat his 
 usual food, and at other times he will totally neglect 
 it. But, almost always, he is possessed by a Sin- 
 gularly depraved appetite: he eats his own excre- 
 ment; laps his own urine; and fills his stomach with 
 every abominable thing. His thirst is always in- 
 creased, and when he can get at water he may in his 
 eagerness bury his head in the fluid, but the swollen 
 state of the fauces forbids a drop to pass into the 
 parched and inflamed stomach. 
 
306 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 This stage of ferocity and danger lasts about two 
 days; and then the brightness of the eye dies away — 
 a film steals over it — the dog becomes weak — he 
 staggers about — and dies four or five days after the 
 commencement of the attack. 
 
 At other times rabies assumes a very different cha- 
 racter. The dog does not exhibit the slightest symp- 
 tom of ferocity, or even of ill-temper, unless he is 
 very much provoked ; but there is the peculiar glare 
 of the eye, expressive of anxiety and supplication ; 
 there is the same making of the bed, but not with so 
 much violence ; the same watching of imaginary ob- 
 jects, but no attempt to seize them. The dog re- 
 cognizes his owner; obeys him, and fondles upon 
 him. 
 
 The lower jaw, after the first day, begins to lose 
 its power of motion ; the dog may be able to close his 
 mouth by a violent effort, but he cannot seize and 
 masticate his food. The jaw hangs down, and the 
 tongue protrudes. There is the same thirst, but he is 
 unable to swallow ; and he hangs over the water for 
 a quarter of an hour at a time ; plunges his muzzle 
 into it up to his eyes, covering it with the spume 
 which flows from his lips ; yet is unable to get a drop 
 into the back part of the mouth. There is rarely any 
 howl, but a harsh inward sound in the throat. 
 
 The disease continues about the same time ; the dog 
 becomes weak ; he staggers ; he loses the use of his 
 hinder limbs ; and dies without a struggle. 
 
 Many humane people have, however, doubted 
 whether the latter form of disease be rightfully termed 
 hydrophobia. Assuredly, it is hard to conceive that 
 
RABIES -MADNESS. 307 
 
 two such opposite states result from the same patho- 
 logical cause. Although the author hesitates to insist 
 on his own opinion, where a doubt may entail months 
 of agony, and years of anxiety on his reader, he has 
 never known hydrophobia to be generated by an ani- 
 mal in such a condition ; and the examination, after 
 death preceded by such symptoms, always disclosed 
 the dog to have suffered not from rabies, but from 
 acute laryngitis. 
 
 The appearances after death are different in the 
 two varieties of the malady. In the first there is 
 generally great inflammation about the back part of 
 the mouth, and the upper part of the windpipe; in- 
 flammation and also corrugation of the stomach, and 
 the stomach contains more or less of the strange sub- 
 stances of which mention has been made. In the latter 
 there is more inflammation in the throat ; but less in 
 the stomach, and the stomach usually contains only a 
 dark fluid. 
 
 Of the medical treatment of rabies in the dog, little 
 that is satisfactory can be said. No man is justified 
 in keeping alive the animal concerning the power of 
 which to inflict a horrible death upon an unlimited 
 number of human beings no doubt can possibly be 
 entertained. There is no cure for rabies. The animal, 
 therefore, concerning which a doubt even exists should 
 be destroyed. The possibility of a terrible disease is 
 thereby spared to some human being, and as the dog- 
 has no foreknowledge to quicken its anticipations, 
 death to it is reduced to a mere physical agony. 
 
 As to preventives, no dependence can be placed 
 upon them; it will therefore be the duty of the 
 
308 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 practitioner to urge the destruction of every dog that 
 has been bitten, or on which any suspicion can rest. 
 Human life is far too valuable to be endangered. 
 There will always be a degree of apprehension and 
 of fear attending the keeping of such a dog ; while 
 the consciousness of not having done that which is 
 perfectly right, will materially lessen the pleasure 
 that should otherwise be felt in having the faithful 
 animal about us. 
 
 Should a human being be bitten by a rabid dog, 
 there fortunately is a remedy which if not an absolute 
 specific very rarely fails. Let the part be washed ; 
 then freely laid open, and every portion of the wound 
 exposed. The surface is next to be well and long 
 rubbed with the nitrate of silver. This salt will form 
 a solid eschar, within which the editor thinks the 
 virus will be imprisoned, and the poison thus be pre- 
 vented tainting the system. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CANKER OF THE EAR. 
 
 This is an affection attacking the ear of the dog. 
 The first symptom is shaking of the head ; if that in- 
 dication be unattended to, it is followed by the ani- 
 mal's carrying the head a little on one side, and 
 scratching with violence about the ear. On examin- 
 ing the dog, the projections about the base of the 
 inside of the ear will be found to be a little redder 
 than usual. The interior of the organ will, however, 
 
CANKER OF THE EAR. 309 
 
 have become considerably darker than natural, and 
 the opening may appear clogged with dark pigment, 
 which may be actually black. 
 
 Water and fomentations of all kinds must be avoided. 
 It is very possible to wash off the ear of the dog with 
 soap and warm water, which invariably aggravates the 
 disease ; and the editor of the present volume has not 
 encountered a single case where benefit has resulted 
 from such applications. 
 
 The canker in the ear of the dog is strictly a local 
 annoyance. It is caused by over-feeding. Long- 
 eared dogs, as spaniels, are very liable to it; and in 
 proportion to the length of the flap, is the intensity of 
 the foetor, which is one of the symptoms of the dis- 
 ease. To save the animal she is fond of those suffer- 
 ings that attend a most irritating disorder, the lady 
 should exercise discretion when proportioning the 
 food of her favourite. It is entirely caused by over- 
 feeding, or by grossness of body. If canker be 
 wrongly treated, it is not altogether free from danger. 
 The canal of the ear becomes full of a black pigment, 
 which no washing can remove. The head is at length 
 continuously lowered upon the side of the disease, and 
 after some time the animal lies down to nurse its 
 ear upon the paws. While doing this, a low whine is 
 uttered ; and if the evident signs of misery are longer 
 neglected, the canker at last finds its way to the brain, 
 and the dog perishes raving mad, but not hydrophobic, 
 or rather in a rabid condition. 
 
 All this may be hindered, however, by a cleanly 
 and a simple remedy, that converts the unhealthy back 
 secretion into a sort of white curd, which, although 
 
310 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 it may appear to inconvenience the animal and to 
 clog" the canal, nevertheless must not be washed away 
 under any notion of cleanliness. 
 
 RECIPE (No. l). 
 
 Wash for Canker in the Ear. 
 
 Take — Liquor plurabi, 
 
 To be used thrice daily ; 
 Fill the cavity of the ear with the preparation, and throw the 
 dog from you. 
 
 No creature can be more submissive than the dog, 
 when its fears are not excited. Be gentle, and the 
 animal will allow you to do as you please. But 
 exert violence, and it will require another person to 
 restrain the sufferer, and even then the object desired 
 is seldom fully accomplished. If it is cold weather, 
 warm the medicine by placing it upright in a basin 
 of hot water. In summer no such care will be needed. 
 
 Call the dog to you. Having the bottle in one 
 hand, throw back the flap of the ear with the other, at 
 the same time steadying the head. Then using the 
 phial, fill the ear with the preparation, and imme- 
 diately cover it with the flap. Either then proceed to 
 apply the liquid to the other ear, or should that be 
 unnecessary, fling the animal from you and retreat 
 yourself to the furthest point possible. 
 
 The reason for the last advice is because the dog, 
 feeling some substance to be within the ear, imme- 
 diately and violently shakes the head to remove it. 
 The liquor plumbi is by this action scattered about, 
 and wherever it falls there will remain a white spot. 
 The medicine is lead dissolved ; but by the action of 
 
CANKER OF THE EAR. 311 
 
 the air the lead is converted into carbonate of lead, or 
 into white paint, after a short exposure. Carbonate 
 of lead is not soluble in water. Therefore, always 
 employ a stoppered bottle, and never permit the 
 bottle to remain open longer than is absolutely ne- 
 cessary, for fear of the carbonate being precipitated. 
 
 No disease yields more readily than canker in the 
 dog; but if left to run its course, it gives rise to other 
 annoyances. The flap of the ear from the perpetual 
 shaking of the head becomes unhealthy. A scurfiness 
 is first exhibited about the margin, and the inner side of 
 the flap. Should this be unattended to, sores next make 
 their appearance; or if the shaking of the head be 
 very energetic, a watery abscess forms upon the inner 
 side of the flap of the ear. These affections are al- 
 ways mitigated by attention being bestowed upon the 
 internal disorder. However, that will not in every 
 case succeed, therefore apply to the scurfy or to the 
 sore part a lotion composed of pure glycerine, one 
 ounce ; camphor, one drachm ; chloride of zinc, one 
 grain. Dissolve the camphor in the glycerine, and 
 add the chloride of zinc. 
 
 When abscess is developed, at once slit it up its en- 
 tire length, and dress the wound with the solution of 
 chloride of zinc, one grain to the ounce. The injuries 
 to the flap require to be dressed only at such periods 
 as the internal ear is attended to. 
 
 By such an easy, safe, and considerate process are 
 all the barbarities which were recently practised upon 
 the ears of unfortunate dogs superseded. The danger 
 which was once supposed connected with canker in the 
 ear, was created by the mistaken measures adopted 
 
312 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 for the cure of the disease, which when taken in the 
 early stage of the disorder is characterized by its 
 tractability, only one caution is necessary. Always 
 purchase the liquor'plumbi as it is required. The 
 liquid which has been long in the house, and which 
 has covered the bottle with a white crust, is worthless. 
 The whole deposit is the lead which was once in 
 solution, and the fluid consists of little more than 
 unwholesome water. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DISEASES OF THE EYES. 
 
 The first of these belongs to the eyelid, although 
 generally accompanied by some inflammation of the 
 eye itself. 
 
 ULCERATION OF THE EYELID. 
 
 When the dog has a mangy affection about him, it 
 attacks various parts. One of the most painful and 
 obstinate of the attacks displays scurfiness, loss of 
 hair, swelling and ulceration of the eyelid. It is in- 
 flammation of the numerous little glands which secrete 
 a fluid destined to keep the lids moist and supple 
 during the waking hours; and to allow of their being 
 brought into closer approximation during sleep. 
 
 This disease will not yield to any mange remedy ; 
 but there is an ointment that will sometimes be 
 effectual. 
 
ENLARGEMENT OF THE THIRD EYELID. 313 
 
 RECIPE (No. 2). 
 
 Ointment for Ulcerated Eyelids. 
 
 Take — Quicksilver, one drachm ; 
 
 Strong nitric acid, a drachm and a half: 
 Dissolve the mercury in the acid, and while the solution is warm, 
 add six ounces of melted lard. Stir them well together until they 
 are thoroughly cold. 
 
 Some of this ointment should be rubbed on the lids 
 morning, noon, and night ; care being taken that as 
 little as possible gets into the eyes. 
 
 Should the above fail, the reader should try the 
 application recommended for scurviness round .the 
 flap, which is often spoken of as " Canker of the Ear.'* 
 
 ENLARGEMENT OF THE THIRD EYELID. 
 
 The quadruped not having hands to ward off the 
 dangers which threaten him, and to which the eyes 
 are particularly exposed, nature has given him a 
 moveable membrane, situated within the inner corner 
 of the eye ; this he can protrude at pleasure, either 
 as a defence to the eye, or to wipe off any temporary 
 nuisance. It is sometimes called, on account of its 
 function, the third eyelid. 
 
 The dog is more adroit in the use of his paws than 
 many other animals are; therefore this membrane is 
 very little developed compared with the haw or mem- 
 brana nictitans of the horse or ox. It is, however, 
 far more subject to disease than the same membrane 
 in either of those animals. A little dust or gravel 
 
 p 
 
314 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 sometimes insinuates itself within the folds of the 
 membrane; it produces much inflammation and en- 
 largement ; or inflammation and enlargement arise 
 from some unknown cause. The membrane projects 
 at the inner corner of the eye so much as to prevent 
 the lids from closing ; and becomes a source of very 
 great annoyance to the poor animal. This sometimes 
 occurs in common inflammation of the eye, and more 
 particularly in the inflammation of distemper. 
 
 Should this annoyance attend inflammation of the 
 eye, apply to the organ, with a large camePs-hair 
 brush, so often as may be convenient, a sufficiency of 
 the following wash, 
 
 RECIPE (No. 3). 
 
 Wash for Inflamed Eye. 
 
 Take — Chloride of zinc, one grain ; 
 Rose water, one ounce. 
 
 If distemper cause such an affection, let it alone. 
 Attend to the major disease, and with it all minor 
 troubles generally disappear. 
 
 WEEPING FROM THE EYE. 
 
 This is the usual accompaniment of inflammation, 
 and will abate when the inflammation subsides; or, 
 should it continue, employ some of the wash just 
 recommended. 
 
 In some breeds, however, this w r eeping seems to be 
 a natural defect of the eye. It is so in the Blenheim 
 spaniel. In such a case, do nothing. It is a natural 
 discharge, and by stopping it you may provoke the 
 
FISTULA LACRYMALIS. 315 
 
 outbreak of some fearful disorder. If men will breed 
 highly, they must accept small unpleasantnesses as a 
 consequence of the system. 
 
 FISTULA LACRYMALIS. 
 
 There is a canal below the inner corner of the eye 
 through which the superfluous tears flow into the 
 cavity of the nose. When the tears are secreted too 
 rapidly to be thus carried away, they run down the 
 cheek ; and they do so when this canal is obstructed. 
 Such obstruction may be caused by any potent inflam- 
 mation of its lining membrane ; or by the introduction 
 of a portion of hardened mucus into it. When an 
 obstruction occurs, the canal above the impediment 
 evidently must be distended with fluid. There then 
 is a soft tumour below the inner angle of the eye. 
 This, for a considerable time, alternately appears and 
 disappears. The fluid may often be pressed down 
 towards the nose, or upwards towards the eye. At 
 length, from frequent distention, the membrane of the 
 canal becomes diseased ; it is ruptured, and an ulcer 
 is seen below the eye, which is spoken of as fistula 
 lacrymalis. 
 
 The ulcer, being once formed, will never be healed; 
 it is the passage for the tears which nature has con- 
 trived, the true canal having become obstructed. The 
 old canal can never be reopened ; we have no instru- 
 ment sufficiently delicate for the purpose, or, if we 
 had, we could not insert it and give the dog patience 
 enough to wear such an instrument. 
 
 The practitioner, therefore, should confess at once 
 p 9 
 
316 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 the hopelessness of the case : and limit his directions 
 to simple cleanliness, which is best accomplished by 
 the frequent use of the weaker solution of chloride of 
 zinc, one grain to the ounce of water. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 The dog is frequently subject to pure inflammation 
 of the eyes. He seeks the darkest places — he is con- 
 tinually closing his eyes when brought into the light. 
 The conjunctival membrane, whether covering the 
 eye or lining the interior of the eyelid, is intensely 
 red. When the eye is looked into from above, there 
 is discovered a red shade, showing how rapidly the 
 interior of this organ is affected in the dog. 
 
 The animal should be placed in a dark room. The 
 eyes should frequently be bathed with warm water, 
 while the habit of the animal is observed. Should 
 costiveness exist, give half an ounce, one ounce, or 
 one ounce and a half of castor oil. If purgation be 
 exhibited, correct it according to the prescription 
 given further on ; while if neither prevail, or if either 
 have been removed, administer thrice daily one, two, 
 or four drops of liquor arsenicalis in a little sugar and 
 water. 
 
 The inflammation being a little subdued, cold appli- 
 cations will be most useful, and the wash for inflamed 
 eyes (Recipe No. 2) should be subsequently em- 
 ployed. 
 
 Inflammation of the eyes is more or less connected 
 with some other diseases ; and when such is the case, 
 the reader will be guided by the rule which enjoins a 
 
CATARACT — GUTTA SERENA. 317 
 
 local affection should be unheeded while a major 
 disease exists within the body. 
 
 CATARACT. 
 
 This is one of the terminations of inflammation of 
 the eye. It is opacity sometimes of the membrane 
 covering the crystalline lens ; but much oftener of the 
 lens itself. The dog is peculiarly subject to cataract. 
 The majority of old dogs become blind from this 
 cause. Nothing can be done, even from the commence- 
 ment of the obscurity of the lens ; for the part is too 
 deeply seated for our applications to reach it. 
 
 GUTTA SERENA. 
 
 This is another (somewhat unfrequent) cause of 
 blindness in the dog. The eye itself is perfectly 
 clear, but the retina — the expansion of the optic nerve 
 within the eye — is paralyzed, and consequently in- 
 sensible to the impression of light. There are indeed 
 very few instances of recorded successful treatment of 
 this species of blindness, and few of those recorded 
 cases will stand the test of rigid investigation. 
 
 Much, however, depends on the cause of the dis- 
 order. If it is the consequence of violence, it never 
 can be cured. If it has come on very slowly, little 
 good can be expected^ but when it appears suddenly, 
 unaccompanied by disease, there is some slight hope. 
 In the last instance, however, gutta serena is best 
 treated by being left alone. Correct the health, and 
 there always is a probability that the attendant upon 
 a bad state of body will disappear. 
 p 3 
 
313 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 PROTRUSION OF THE EYE. 
 
 This occasionally happens. The eye is forced out 
 of the socket; — the lid contracts, and may prevent its 
 return. If the accident has not long occurred, a little 
 patience will accomplish the return of the eye, with a 
 fair chance of preserving the sight. 
 
 The part must be gently but well cleansed. The 
 eye should then be oiled, and while an assistant holds 
 back the lids, the operator, having his hand covered 
 with a silk handkerchief, should endeavour to return 
 the globe. Should this be found impossible, without 
 loss of time the upper lid should be sundered, when 
 the opening being enlarged, the replacement is easily 
 accomplished. The sundered lid should be left alone 
 till all bleeding has ceased, when the sides should be 
 brought together by a single suture, and the wound 
 repeatedly bathed with the solution of the chloride of 
 zinc, one grain to the ounce of water. It is astonish- 
 ing how readily wounds on the eyelids heal, and the 
 reader may be surprised to perceive how few traces 
 such an operation will leave behind it. 
 
 CHAPTER y. 
 
 THE TONGUE. 
 
 The dog is subject to bladders under the tongue. 
 These seem to occasion excessive pain, as the animal 
 luring their existence will not eat, and touching the 
 
WORMING. 319 
 
 mouth excites an evident determination to resist, 
 while saliva is constantly running over the sides of 
 the lower jaw. 
 
 Have patience with the sick animal. Speak kindly, 
 for then the mouth will be opened, and even the 
 exhibition of his sores will soothe the sufferings of the 
 dog. This end being obtained, take a sharp pair of 
 scissors and slit up the bladders. This will cause no 
 resistance, as it produces no pain. Afterwards use as 
 a gargle the following, which will not only cleanse 
 the sore, but will destroy all unpleasant smell. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 4). 
 
 Cleansing and Healing Wash for tlie dog's mouth. 
 
 Take — Chloride of zinc, two grains ; 
 Sugar, one ounce ; 
 Water, four ounces : 
 Mix, and when dissolved, shake the bottle. To be used frequently, 
 some being poured into the mouth, and then the head released, allow- 
 ing the fluid to run out again. 
 
 WORMING. 
 
 This is sad nonsense, and the belief in its efficacy, 
 or in its possibility, is a disgrace to the present age. 
 All people, even the highest in point of birth and 
 education, however, seem to have a strange faith in 
 its wondrous preservative powers. 
 
 To suppose that a worm exists under the tongue of 
 a dog is not such utter folly, as numerous worms are 
 now known to inhabit the animal skin — human and 
 otherwise. Still the credulity must be vast which can 
 imagine a worm of a size comparable to that piece of 
 p 4 
 
3*20 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 tendon which is commonly sent back, wrapped care- 
 fully up in a piece of paper to the patroness of this 
 superstition, can exist in such a place. 
 
 The supposed worm is a portion of the tendons 
 necessary to the healthy exercise of the tongue. To 
 imagine that by torturing an animal man can prevent 
 the creature's biting, immediately after the miscalled 
 operation, or hinder the animal through life from 
 snapping, should it afterwards go mad, requires an 
 amount of credulity greater than the Editor can 
 reasonably imagine. 
 
 Those who desire the pup's inclination to gnaw 
 various articles should be corrected, may effect the 
 object by clipping off the tusks close to the gum. 
 The animal will thus be disabled from hanging to 
 and wrenching away any substance into which the 
 dental needles of the primary set of teeth may become 
 fixed. No operation can possibly prevent the mad 
 dog from snapping when the animal is irritated. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TEETH. 
 
 The full-grown dog has twenty teeth in the upper 
 jaw, and twenty-two in the lower one. The central 
 front teeth and the tusks pierce the gums shortly after 
 birth ; — the others protrude very rapidly. The first 
 teeth remain a short period compared with the horse or 
 
THE TEETH. 321 
 
 with cattle, for the teething of a spaniel is over by the 
 time the animal is seven or eight months old. 
 
 The teeth preserve their freshness and whiteness 
 until the dog is twenty months or two years old; 
 when they begin to be tarnished, and t\\efleur-de-lys 
 shape of some of the front teeth is changed to a more 
 rounded one. This is hastened or retarded by the 
 general health of the dog, and by the kind of food on. 
 which he lives; so that there is nothing about the 
 animal that will indicate the age with any degree of 
 certainty. The dog of five years old, who has plenty 
 of exercise, and is fed on soft food, will have a mouth, 
 full two years younger than another who has been in. 
 constant confinement, or who has been grossly fed 
 upon flesh. Some breeds of dogs, however, lose the. 
 teeth particularly early, and the difficulty of judging 
 of the precise age of course increases every year. In 
 the general course of things, supposing the animal to 
 be of a strong and healthy breed, the middle front 
 teeth of the lower jaw begin to be rounded at sixteen, 
 months, or between that period and two-and-twenty 
 months; the central lobe of the Jleur-de-lys is gone, 
 and the whole of the edge is level at between three 
 and four years old. 
 
 The same process commences in the next incisors 
 between two years and a half or three years, and 
 terminates between four and five ; and in. the corner 
 front teeth it commences at four years, and is com- 
 pleted at five. The wearing away of the upper front 
 teeth has not been so carefully noted, and therefore of 
 these teeth nothing can with confidence be asserted. 
 p 5 
 
322 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 The tusks do not generally appear to be rounded 
 until the front teeth are more or less changed ; and 
 they longer retain their freshness of appearance. The 
 indications of age in them are vague and variable ; 
 they depend still more on the habits and food of the 
 dog than do those of the other teeth. 
 
 The Editor, however, has seen numerous dogs, 
 both large and small, which have lost their front teeth 
 before the second year has been attained; therefore 
 no dependence can be placed upon the teeth of the 
 dog as indicative of the age of the animal, although, 
 by exceptional kinds and races, the foregoing remarks 
 of Mr. Youatt may be fully justified. 
 
 The diseases of the teeth of petted dogs are often 
 difficult, and disgusting to treat. Before the inmate of 
 the drawing-room becomes two years old, tartar begins 
 to accumulate round the roots of many of the teeth. 
 While it grows downward on the teeth, it also presses 
 against the gums; it inflames, it corrodes, and the 
 breath becomes offensive. 
 
 If the case is now neglected, the tartar will be col- 
 lected more thickly about the teeth ; it will eat into 
 the gums ; it will form extensive and foetid ulcers on 
 the inside of the lips ; many of the teeth will drop 
 out, and the breath of the animal is rendered abso- 
 lutely loathsome. 
 
 As a local application, healing the gums and sweet- 
 ening the breath, equal parts of rose water and the 
 weaker solution of the chloride of zinc, applied by 
 means of one of those brushes ladies use for what is 
 called Poonah painting, will answer every wish. A 
 
INFLAMMATION OF THE NOSE. 323 
 
 weak solution of the chloride of zinc will also be 
 found very useful for removing the present foetor, 
 especially if a little sugar be added; but it must not 
 be continued longer than is necessary ; for it can 
 destroy the enamel. None of these applications, how- 
 ever, will do more than temporary good. To per- 
 fectly destroy the nuisance, the teeth must, from time 
 to time, be scraped with instruments similar to those 
 employed by the dentist, but of a size suited to that 
 of the dog. When this is effectually done, the mouth 
 will speedily heal, upon the free employment of the 
 wash previously recommended, and the breath of the, 
 animal no longer be offensive. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE. 
 
 There are two distinct affections of the membrane of 
 the nose. The first is a peculiar violent spasmodic 
 snorting noise, made with the head generally ex- 
 tended; the nose protruded and pointing a little 
 upwards. It will occasionally last for two minutes, 
 or more, until the dog seems to be giddy ; sometimes 
 it terminates in a fit of sneezing ; it is never connected 
 with any degree of cough. It appears to arise from 
 an itching sensation within the nostril, which springs 
 from disordered digestion. Attention to the food of 
 the animal is now of every consequence. The treat- 
 ment may begin with an emetic, 
 p 6 
 
3-24 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 5.) 
 Canine Emetic. 
 
 Dissolve one grain of tartar emetic in one ounce of simple syrup. 
 
 Give one, two, or three teaspoonfuls for a dose, according to the 
 size of the animal, and repeat the medicine in twenty minutes, should 
 it not operate. 
 
 Half an ounce, one ounce, or one ounce and a half 
 of castor oil may succeed, followed by a daily quinine 
 pill, such as is recommended for distemper. 
 
 The second complaint is a discharge from the nose 
 similar to that which accompanies distemper. Old 
 dogs are very subject to it, and particularly old pugs, 
 It is occasionally a discharge of almost all colours, 
 and is highly offensive. It is ulceration of some of 
 the small bones of the nose, springing from the de- 
 bility inseparable from old age, increased by high 
 feeding and over-indulgence. The parts affected are 
 removed from sight, and all that the kindest proprietor 
 can accomplish, is effected by a frequent injection of 
 the weak solution of the chloride of zinc, with a cor- 
 rection of the folly which may previously have been 
 gratified at the expense of the animal. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE GLANDS, AND OF THE CEL- 
 LULAR SUBSTANCE BENEATH THE THROAT. 
 
 PHLEGMONOUS SWELLING OF THE THROAT. 
 
 Dogs are very subject to swellings of the neck, of 
 various kinds, which are frequent attendants upon the 
 
BRONCHOCELE. 325 
 
 latter stages of severe distemper. Sometimes on the 
 lower jaw, or on the side of the throat immediately 
 beneath it, a tumour suddenly appears; at first quite 
 circumscribed, but gradually becoming more diffused, 
 and preventing the perfect opening of the mouth. It 
 is hot and tender ; the dog is evidently suffering acute 
 pain. 
 
 After a time, which is always of uncertain duration, 
 it will point or feel soft at some part; there it should 
 be opened with a lancet. The quantity of fluid which 
 some of these abscesses contain is astonishing. More 
 than a quart has been taken from a large dog. 
 
 The contents having been evacuated, a director 
 should be inserted into the opening, and the skin, to 
 whatever extent it may be detached, be ruthlessly 
 slit up. A horrible gaping wound is thus created, 
 but the sore being occasionally gently moistened with 
 the weaker solution of the chloride of zinc, one grain 
 to the ounce of water, it is astonishing how quickly 
 the injury will heal, without leaving even a trace 
 behind. The animal will nearly always respect its 
 own sufferings, but should a desire be displayed to 
 scratch the part, of course the hind limb must be 
 encased in a wrapper. 
 
 ENLARGEMENT OE THE THYROID GLANDS — 
 BRONCHOCELE. 
 
 The throat of the dog exhibits yet another kind of 
 tumour. On either side of the windpipe, sometimes 
 high up in the neck, at others almost as low as the 
 chest, will be felt an oval, moveable, hard tumour; 
 varying in size from a bean to a pullet's egg. The 
 
3*26 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 pug, the Italian greyhound, and the Blenheim spaniel, 
 are particularly subject to these tumours. In the pug 
 they are often large. Highly bred bull terrier pups 
 are likewise subject to be thus affected. The jugulars 
 pass over the swellings, and become strangely turgid, 
 from the impediment to the circulation which such 
 tumours must cause. The dog sometimes breathes 
 with difficulty, or has in a few instances been literally 
 suffocated by these enlargements. 
 
 This is bronchocele, or enlargement of the thyroid 
 gland. Where it occasions no inconvenience, b ut 
 exists in a chronic form, the enlargement should not 
 be interfered with. However, where it is of an acute 
 nature, no time should be lost in taking the necessary 
 measures for its relief. The following pills should be 
 immediately compounded, and be thrice administered 
 during every day. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 6). 
 Pills for Bronchocele. 
 
 Take — Iodine, one, two, or four grains ; 
 
 Quassia powder, and extract of gentian, a sufficiency : 
 Make into sixteen pills: choosing the amount of iodine according 
 to the size of the animal : and give three daily. 
 
 At the same time the hair should be cut as short as 
 possible over the tumour, which should be rubbed for 
 a quarter of an hour thrice daily with some of the 
 following ointment. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 7). 
 Absorbing Ointment. 
 
 Take — Iodide of lead, one drachm ; 
 Simple ointment, one ounce : 
 To be applied as has been directed. 
 
SCH1RR0US TUMOURS OF THE TEATS. «3'27 
 
 While this treatment, which if adopted sufficiently 
 early is invariably successful, is being pursued, ail 
 requisite attention should be paid to the necessities 
 of the system; for any neglect in that respect will 
 materially retard the recovery, if not endanger the 
 life. 
 
 SCHIRROUS TUMOURS OF THE TEATS. 
 
 There are other tumours which cannot, perhaps, be 
 any where more conveniently considered than here ; 
 viz., enlargement of the teats ; or hard schirrons tumours 
 amongst these glands. 
 
 When the milk of a suckling bitch is dried away too 
 rapidly; or when the teats fill with milk at the time 
 she would have pupped had she been allowed the dog ; 
 and more especially when an animal is denied her 
 natural longing for maternity, there may sometimes 
 remain permanent enlargements around the base of 
 the teats ; or numerous small, hard, kernel-like sub- 
 stances will be found in the midst of the glands. 
 
 The moment one of these little hard bodies can be 
 detected, remedial measures should be energetically 
 adopted. An operation or removal of the enlarge- 
 ments with the knife has been recommended. But 
 the editor is not so fond of cutting living flesh when 
 the result is doubtful ; and no wound can correct the 
 disposition of the system to throw out such swellings. 
 Therefore the pursuit of the same measures as were 
 advised for the cure of bronchocele, is here proposed : 
 and if this treatment in the course of a month does 
 not change the nature of the tumours, they had better 
 be let alone. 
 
328 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 Numerous animals have survived to a good old age, 
 having the mammary glands disfigured with such en- 
 largements. However, where it is determined to 
 forego all treatment for an evident disease, the con- 
 dition of the animal should be specially regarded. 
 The food should be sufficient; rather spare than 
 otherwise. No meat or milk should be allowed to pet 
 dogs. They are fond of such feeding, but they 
 perform no work, and a stimulating diet therefore 
 does injury. Castor oil or other physics should be 
 used, as they may be needed. 
 
 Where, however, the tumour enlarges so as to trail 
 upon the ground, and the animal is a pointer, hound, 
 or other creature having definite uses, the extirpation 
 of the growth is absolutely imperative. Should it be 
 loose it may be surrounded with a ligature, and thus 
 got rid of. If it is fixed, the knife with all care is the 
 only resort. In either case the iodine pills should be 
 exhibited, and the wound should be subsequently 
 moistened with the solution of the chloride of zinc. 
 
 ADIPOSE TUMOURS ABOUT THE TEATS. 
 
 It is not every tumour of the teats that becomes 
 schirrous. Some of them that have been separated 
 from the neighbouring substance seem to be composed 
 of mere masses of fat. They seldom grow to any 
 very large size, and they never ulcerate. They are 
 not often attached to the teats ;" they are more be- 
 tween them, and they may be known by their uniform 
 smoothness and softness. Such growths should never 
 be interfered with, for being lowly organized the 
 wound left by an operation may be difficult to heal. 
 
ENCYSTED TUMOURS. 329 
 
 ENCYSTED TUMOURS. 
 
 Other enlargements, oftenest encountered upon the 
 mammary glands, are encysted tumours. They are 
 composed of a cyst including a fluid of uncertain 
 character. An enormous tumour may sometimes be 
 composed of a single cyst, which may ulcerate, but the 
 fluid contents having escaped, the ulcer does not 
 become of a malignant nature. They are always dis- 
 tinguishable from the schirrous tumour by the greater 
 evenness of their surface, and by their not possessing 
 the peculiar unyielding character of the former, or 
 more malignant growth. 
 
 Such tumour should be freely opened, leaving a 
 large, and certainly an ugly wound. This, however, 
 should be treated with the chloride of zinc wash, when 
 it generally closes, leaving no trace behind. 
 
 The compound encysted tumour is more common 
 than the simple one. One cyst being formed, another 
 unites itself to it, or seems to grow upon it ; another 
 and another follow, until there is an accumulation of 
 cysts, and the growth becomes of an enormous bulk. 
 This species of tumour, when in consequence of its 
 weight it hangs down, or rubs against the ground, 
 occasionally ulcerates ; and the ulceration from the 
 repetition of the cause is constantly being soiled and 
 cannot heal. 
 
 The ulceration does not open all the sacs, and there- 
 fore, although it causes agony to the animal, it in no 
 appreciable way decreases the magnitude of the en- 
 largement, which is only to be eradicated by the 
 fearless but skilful employment of the knife. 
 
330 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 WARTS. 
 
 Dogs are subject to warts. They appear scattered 
 over various parts of the body ; either of a simple 
 form, or with spreading, fungoid heads. If a strong- 
 solution of the nitrate of silver is applied to them with 
 a camePs-hair brush, they will often dwindle away 
 without pain. 
 
 Sometimes they appear on the lips ; and frequently 
 the whole of the interior surface of the mouth becomes 
 covered with warts. This is a sad business for the 
 dog ; he can eat no solid food ; and can scarcely lap 
 enough fluid to keep himself alive. 
 
 Now and then warts accumulate upon the eyelids ; 
 and if they should incline to the inner edge, they 
 then occasion much misery to the animal. Severe 
 inflammation of the eye has been produced by the 
 constant irritation of a wart; and the disease has 
 occasionally gone on to absolute blindness. 
 
 The method of removal will depend on the situation 
 and the size of the growth. If it should be small, and 
 lie towards the inside of the lid, it may be cut off with 
 a sharp pair of probe-pointed scissors ; and the root 
 lightly touched with lunar caustic. If it lies more on 
 the outside, it will be best got rid of by means of a 
 ligature of very fine waxed silk ; for the bleeding of 
 the wart will thus be avoided. 
 
 With regard to the treatment of warts generally, as, 
 save at their bases, they are composed of non-sentient 
 cuticle, the lunar caustic may be freely used to destroy 
 them ; or the saturated solution of chloride of zinc 
 may be substituted, when the head of the tumour has 
 
COUGH — ASTHMA. 331 
 
 been removed, should the root display a disposition to 
 sprout. 
 
 When, however, such growths attack the internal 
 cavities of the body, the last exertion of authority 
 then becomes the highest mercy. Certain people have 
 pretended to cure such visitations. These quacks have 
 produced vast suffering, and have exacted heavy 
 charges ; but the asserted remedy has in the end, 
 after having embittered the animal's life, rendered 
 necessary the resort which was suggested above. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 COUGH — ASTHMA. 
 
 The dog is as subject to colds, as are other animals. 
 
 Some of these creatures will cough violently after 
 the slightest exertion, and the spasm terminates with 
 an apparent attempt to vomit; but nothing is ejected, 
 except a little frothy mucus, generally discoloured 
 with bile. The dog is usually middle-aged, if not old 
 when thus attacked ; and the cough does not seem to 
 affect the health in the slightest degree. 
 
 Emetics will afford the most certain and the greatest 
 relief. A dose proportioned to the size of the animal 
 may be given every third or fourth day. 
 
 After the third dose of emetic has been exhibited, it 
 must not be longer continued, but some of the fol- 
 
332 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 lowing drops should be administered three times in 
 the course of every day. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 8). 
 
 Cough Drops. 
 
 Take — Extract of belladonna, one drachm and a half ; 
 Tincture of squills, four drachms ; 
 Tincture of ipecacuanha, two drachms and a half ; 
 Water, three-quarters of a pint. 
 
 Rub down the belladonna in the water, and when it is perfectly 
 dissolved, mix. 
 
 Give half a teaspoonful to one or two teaspoonfuls for a dose. 
 
 At the same time attend to the food. Put out the 
 allowance for the day first thing in the morning, but 
 give this at four different periods, so that a loaded 
 stomach may at no time distress the breathing. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 DISTEMPEIt. 
 
 This is rather a distressing than a fatal disease; and 
 it is one which most animals seem doomed to undergo 
 at least once during their existence. An attack of it 
 is indicated by a gradual loss of appetite, spirits, and 
 flesh, without any peculiar local affection ; by mucus 
 collecting at the corner of the eye ; and by a husky 
 cough, which is rather an apparent attempt to re- 
 move something from the throat, than the sound indi- 
 cative of true laryngeal disease. Soon after this, the 
 usual watery discharge from the nose will cease ; — it 
 
DISTEMPER. 333 
 
 will gradually thicken and stick about, or plug up the 
 nostril, till at length it becomes thick and purulent. 
 These are the general characteristics of distemper in 
 every dog, except the greyhound ; in which it is often- 
 characterized by emaciation alone ; then, however, it 
 is rapid and exhausting. 
 
 Appetite is at the confirmation of the disease gene- 
 rally lost; fresh symptoms make their appearance. 
 The dog begins to purge, and this symptom ra- 
 pidly becomes worse. At first an absence of bile is 
 plainly indicated by the discharges, which, however, 
 soon consist only of the sheltering mucus of the in- 
 testines, soiled with more or less of blood. Fits come 
 on, ushered in by a peculiar champing of the lower 
 jaw; and which, if only a second appears, too fre- 
 quently bid defiance to all medical aid. Sometimes 
 the eyes become inflamed. A film spreads over them ; 
 a small ulcer appears in the centre of the transparent 
 cornea : it deepens and spreads ; the contents of the 
 fore part of the eye are evacuated ; and the sight then 
 is too frequently lost. 
 
 There is scarcely a sportsman or a whipper-in who 
 has not some infallible cure for distemper; but it 
 must be sufficiently plain that the treatment of a dis- 
 ease so violent in its symptoms is not to be eradi- 
 cated by pretended spells. However, because the 
 appetite during distemper is too frequently depraved, 
 and the stomach is often loaded with the most unna- 
 tural substances, our treatment should commence with 
 a mild emetic. So soon as the system has recovered 
 its quietude, beat into a mass the following ingre- 
 dients, and administer the medicine as directed. 
 
334 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 9). 
 
 Distemper Pills. 
 
 Take — Quinine, one ounce; 
 
 Powdered quassia, one ounce ; 
 Extract of gentian, three ounces. 
 
 Give five, ten, or twenty grains for a dose, according to the size of 
 the dog. Three pills to be given daily. 
 
 At the same time there should be administered the annexed drops. 
 Liquor arsenicalis, twenty-four drops ; 
 Simple syrup, three ounces. 
 
 One to two or three teaspoonfuls constitute the dose for different 
 dogs. 
 
 This treatment should be persevered in, for dis- 
 temper approaches nearer to continued fever in the 
 human being than any other disease to which the dog 
 is subject. By a steady adoption of the above treat- 
 ment, many of those symptoms which are aggrava- 
 tions induced by mistaken measures will be avoided. 
 While, however, pursuing this treatment, the food 
 should be nutritive, but not too abundant. A suffi- 
 ciency, nevertheless, should be allowed, only no coax- 
 ing, no tempting to eat should be indulged. 
 
 If the case be not taken in time, but the fits should 
 appear, the treatment is all but hopeless. However, 
 then make some of the strongest possible jelly, and 
 when sufficiently warm to be barely liquid, to every 
 ounce of this add a teaspoon ful of sulphuric ether. 
 Force that upon a middling-sized dog every hour, 
 increasing or diminishing the quantity according to 
 the magnitude of the animal. 
 
 Should purgation start up, the subjoined mixture 
 may be given after every discharge : — 
 
CHOREA. 335 
 
 RECIPE (No. 10). 
 
 Astringent Mixture. 
 
 Take — Prepared chalk, five drachms; 
 Liquor of potash, five drachms ; 
 Laud'anum, one drachm and a half ; 
 Tincture of catechu, one drachm and a half ; 
 Tincture of ginger, one drachm and a half ; 
 Sulphuric ether, seven drachms ; 
 Water, half a pint : 
 
 One or two or three teaspoonfuls constitute a dose according to 
 the size of the dog. 
 
 When, however, fits and purgation conjointly ap- 
 pear towards the end of distemper, the case is almost 
 hopeless : more especially should the animal be much 
 emaciated prior to the advent of the symptoms. But 
 in all other circumstances, and it is wonderful how 
 multiform are the aspects which the disease can as- 
 sume, a steady perseverance in the course which has 
 here been indicated, will generally be rewarded with 
 an ultimate and a perfect recovery. 
 
 CHOREA. 
 
 This word represents a twitching of various parts of 
 the body. It is generally witnessed affecting organs 
 in the dog according to the order they afterwards as- 
 sume : as, the hind leg or legs, the mouth, the eye, 
 &c. On certain occasions the entire body will be 
 moved. The poor dog cannot stand, sleep, nor even 
 lie down in peace. This involuntary and incessant 
 disturbance continues night and day. 
 
 The Editor has seen this affection only as the ac- 
 companiment of distemper. Yet, though it comes 
 
336 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 with that disorder, distemper may be banished, and 
 the living animal, notwithstanding, carry about the 
 heavy burden of a body whose motions are inde- 
 pendent of the will. 
 
 Exercise is always bad in chorea. The body has 
 more than a sufficiency of motion ; let the animal 
 therefore rest. Treat for distemper, and do nothing for 
 the chorea, save only bestow a little extra attention 
 upon the probably disabled animal. 
 
 The distemper having been destroyed, and the dog 
 surviving, do all you can think of to strengthen and 
 to support the system. The chorea may be out- 
 grown as the young dog leaves puppyhood behind. 
 Above all others, avoid every thing calculated to ex- 
 cite the sufferer. A blow, an intemperate chiding, or 
 even a loud word, by alarming the nervous system, 
 will always increase the twitchings, and these will not 
 always subside after the cause is forgotten. Good 
 food, healthy lodging, kind treatment, but no nursing, 
 are the best restoratives in chorea, which, like the 
 majority of nervous diseases, is often er outgrown by 
 the increasing strength, than cured by the employ- 
 ment of medicine. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 FITS. 
 
 No animal is so subject to fits as the dog. A puppy 
 when cutting or changing the teeth is very subject to 
 fits : worms will produce them : dogs that are too 
 
fits. 337 
 
 well fed, and have little regular exercise, will often 
 fall into fits, if suffered to range at large. At the 
 beginning of the season many sporting dogs have fits ; 
 and when they once appear in a kennel, frequently 
 almost every dog will become affected by them. 
 
 When a dog is seized with a fit which soon passes 
 off, place the animal under confinement and reduce 
 the quantity of food. Forbid all kinds of indulgence, 
 especially those of the table. Allow so much support 
 for the day; mince it small, and give it at four dif- 
 ferent times ; the whole being a rather spare support 
 for one day. 
 
 When a sporting dog has a fit in the field, at once 
 have the animal led home Too many gentlemen 
 treat their sporting dogs as though life had no natural 
 rights appertaining to it. They confine the animal, 
 feeding it upon such refuse as the general dealer will 
 not purchase of the cook ; and then expect the animal 
 to answer every requirement when " the season " 
 comes round. Such expectations are always vain. 
 The exercise and the excitement of the chase acting 
 upon a brain newly released from imprisonment na- 
 turally give rise to fits, and the loss of service is the 
 proper reward of the master's perversity. 
 
 Dogs not only have fits, but they also have fit on 
 fit without intermission for hours together; and in this 
 state the existence may depart. When such is the 
 case, bring the animal into quiet and under shelter 
 without loss of time. Then procure an ounce of sul- 
 phuric ether, and add to it half a pint of cold water. 
 Of this give every quarter of an hour one teaspoon- 
 
338 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 ful, two, three, or four teaspoonfuls according to size. 
 If the fits cease, as they often do after the first dose, 
 allow no food, but keep the dog a close prisoner for 
 six hours before you offer even a scanty meal. 
 
 Good food, healthy lodging", and sufficient exercise 
 are the best preventives of fits. When they appear 
 the general treatment should be scrupulously over- 
 looked, for more may be thus accomplished than the 
 Veterinary Surgeon is, as a general rule, able to 
 bring about. 
 
 RHEUMATISM. 
 
 This is a frequent ailment with the dog. It is 
 entailed upon him by his unnatural, petted state, and 
 like gout in the human being is the penalty paid for 
 over-indulgence. Constipation is generally present 
 when the attack appears, the prominent symptoms of 
 which are the piteous cries of the animal. He cries 
 when he gets up ; cries when he walks ; cries when 
 he is carried ; and frequently if he is merely looked 
 at. The remedy is in most cases very simple, and 
 perfectly effectual. For the relief of this affection, 
 the poor creature should be placed in a warm place, 
 and have some opening medicine immediately ad- 
 ministered. Castor oil is in this case generally use- 
 less, but nevertheless three doses should be given, 
 allowing three hours to elapse between each. The 
 quantity should be from one ounce to four ounces, 
 and though the bowels be not moved, yet it not un- 
 frequently does much good by preparing the system 
 for the following bolus: — 
 
RHEUMATISM. 339 
 
 RECIPE (No. 11). 
 
 Strong Purgatite Pills for Rheumatism. 
 
 Take — Extract of colocynth, two scruples ; 
 Blue pill, one scruple ; 
 Powdered colchicum, one scruple : 
 Divide into four pills, and give according to the size of the dog, 
 one, two, three, or four for a dose. 
 
 This may be repeated, but will seldom be required. 
 With the relief of the bowels the acute pain will 
 mitigate. Still the dog" always appears to greatly 
 suffer from cold in this affection. He will intrude 
 his body under the fire-place if not observed and 
 forbidden. This sensation shows the circulation is bad. 
 To improve it, have the following rubbed into the 
 skin, using friction for any length of time which may 
 be convenient. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 12). 
 
 Embrocation for Rheumatism in the Dog. 
 
 Take — Oil of cantharides, two parts ; § 
 
 Tincture of capsicums, one part ; 
 Soft soap, one part ; 
 Water, four parts : 
 First, incorporate the oil and soap ; then add the tincture, dilut- 
 ing the whole with the water. 
 
 The opening physic and the embrocation may re- 
 quire frequent repetition, for the dog once having had 
 rheumatism is seldom radically cured. 
 
 2 2 
 
340 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 
 
 The existence of this disease is easily recognized. 
 There is heaving of the chest ; also heat of the mouth 
 and coldness of the feet. The poor dog seats himself 
 upon his haunches; his head is elevated; and his 
 muzzle is protruded ; his breathing is hard and quick, 
 and his countenance is anxious. Yet there he sits, 
 and will sit hour after hour, until he is so completely 
 wearied, that his legs slip from under him. Still he 
 recovers himself; and will not fall until he falls to die. 
 The causes which lead from cold to inflammation of 
 the chest in any other life will produce it in the dog; 
 and he is often predisposed to it by the mistaken nurs- 
 ing which is lavished upon him. 
 
 It is now of all importance that solid food should be 
 withheld, and that even drink and liquid sustenance 
 should be allowed only in moderate quantities. The 
 treatment should commence with three ounce or four 
 ounce draughts of dilute sulphuric ether (see p. 337), 
 a quarter of an hour being permitted to elapse 
 between each. These should be followed by doses of 
 the tincture of aconite and of laudanum, adminis- 
 tered every quarter of an hour. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 13). 
 For Inflamed Lungs. 
 
 Take — Tincture of aconite, from one to four drops; 
 Laudanum, from three to twelve drops : 
 Give in a little syrup. 
 
WORMS. 341 
 
 Always examine the pulse before administering the 
 above drink. So soon as that is lowered the embro- 
 cation (p. 339) may be rubbed into the sides, and re- 
 peated thrice daily, till vesication is produced. The 
 sides becoming" sore generally announce the ter- 
 mination of the disease, but should any cough remain, 
 this may be well treated with the cough drops (p., 
 332), which seldom fail in confirming the cure. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WORMS. 
 
 The dog is seldom without worms; but excepting 
 they exist in large quantities they do little harm. 
 There are four varieties of worms in dogs. 
 
 The first is a small worm, two or three inches long, 
 sharpened at both ends, and of a somewhat hard 
 structure. This is usually found in the stomach of 
 puppies. Occasionally they are vomited; either 
 singly or rolled into masses. They have been found 
 in the trachea, where they have produced a great deal 
 of irritation and a most distressing cough ; and they 
 are very much concerned in the production of fits of 
 young dogs. 
 
 If one of these worms is accidentally discovered, a 
 mild emetic should be given, — the inhalation of fumes 
 from spirits of turpentine, which are easily produced 
 by holding ajar containing turpentine, having a little 
 water in it, over a candle, the dog being in the room 
 where this is done, should follow the emetic. 
 Q 3 
 
342 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 The next kind of worm is the long" round worm, 
 resembling that in the horse. This seldom produces 
 irritation or disease ; unless it exists in great numbers. 
 
 The worm is best expelled by strengthening the 
 system. It preys upon the weakly ; the food should 
 not be too abundant, given at regular times, nutritive 
 in quality, and all pampering or bits between meals 
 should be carefully avoided. The following pills 
 should also be given thrice daily, or these may from 
 time to time be changed for the distemper medicine 
 prescribed at page 334. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 14). 
 
 Stomach and Worm Pills. 
 
 Take — Powdered cinchona bark, six grains ; 
 Extract of belladonna, half a grain ; 
 Hydrochlorate of ammonia, one grain : 
 Make into one pill, with conserve of roses, and give one, two, or 
 three of these, according to size. 
 
 The third kind of worm is composed of a multitude 
 of joints — three or four hundred — and each joint ca- 
 pable of becoming a perfect worm. It is sometimes 
 three or four feet in length. At the upper end is a 
 narrow neck, terminating in a small head, furnished 
 with tentacula, by means of which the animal adheres 
 firmly to the intestine. Even when the bowels are in 
 a manner filled by these worms, it is singular how little 
 inconvenience the dog suffers. The bowels may be 
 so occupied by them that there does not seem to be 
 comfortable room for the whole of these parasites : so 
 joint after joint is detached, and crawls from the anus, 
 about half an inch in length, and flat; and yet the 
 
worms. 343 
 
 dog may appear to be in perfect health. It is not 
 always, however, that the tape-worm is thus harmless 
 to the animal. Very frequently its presence causes 
 the belly to enlarge ; the body to become thin ; the 
 breath offensive, while the appetite is excessive. On 
 occasions it has penetrated the arteries, and caused 
 death from excessive haemorrhage. 
 
 It is very difficult to detach and expel this worm ; 
 for it is necessary that the whole of it should be 
 detached, since if only the neck and head remain 
 the parasite grows again. The spirit of turpen- 
 tine is a remedy which is in these cases worthy of 
 being depended upon. It must not be given in large 
 doses, or it will kill the dog as surely as the worm ; 
 but a little should be made into a ball with some 
 gum, and administered as soon as it is mixed ; for 
 otherwise the turpentine evaporates. Tonics night 
 and morning ought also to accompany the treatment, 
 and every means should be adopted to restore the lost 
 health of the animal. 
 
 The last worm is the ascaris, or thread-worm, in- 
 habiting the lower intestine. These are not, except 
 they exist in large quantities, injurious to health ; 
 but they often tease the dog by the itching which 
 they occasion about the anus. Medicine, if given by 
 the mouth, has comparatively little effect upon them ; 
 but the readiest way to expel them is to inject some 
 train oil or the solution of aloes up the intestine. 
 
 S 4 
 
344 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 COLIC — INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS — DIARRHCE A 
 — PROTRUSION OF THE RECTUM PILES. 
 
 Spasmodic colic in the dog frequently occurs in pups, 
 but older animals are by no means exempt from it. 
 The animals are uneasy and fidgety ; shifting their 
 posture and changing their resting-places ; hiding 
 themselves in corners ; looking at their sides, and 
 crying as they run. It may attack animals of all 
 ages ; but, from one month to three, dogs are most ex- 
 posed to it. If it is neglected, it is usually fatal ; and 
 examination after death shows an intussusception, or 
 receiving of one part of the small intestines within 
 another. This causes an evident and insuperable 
 obstruction to the passage of the faeces ; at the same 
 time it demonstrates the fearful degree of painful 
 spasm that must have existed. 
 
 The remedy is both safe and certain. Administer 
 a dose of dilute sulphuric ether every quarter of an 
 hour (p. 337). Continue this treatment, and even in- 
 crease the quantity should the symptoms not abate 
 after the third dose. 
 
 Inflammation of the hoicels. — Inflammation of the 
 muscular or peritonial coat of the intestines does not 
 happen so frequently as the food and habits of the 
 animal would naturally warrant a belief. One of the 
 most frequent causes of it is costiveness, for which 
 a dose of castor oil is a safe and sure remedy. It is 
 difficult to fix on the precise symptoms of this com- 
 plaint. The dog is frequently bringing his stomach 
 
SICKNESS. 345 
 
 in contact with the floor, while his hind parts are 
 elevated : he is feverish, the countenance is anxious ; 
 the belly tucked up, being- hot and painful when 
 touched, and the pulse, although small, is hard and 
 wiry. 
 
 The dose of castor oil having been administered, it 
 should without loss of time be followed by the aconite 
 drops (p. 340), which should be administered every 
 quarter of an hour until the pulse changes its cha- 
 racter. The food should be poor and also entirely 
 fluid. 
 
 Diarrhoea may in the dog start up all at once, or it 
 may be preceded by sickness. Should the vomiting 
 first be exhibited, of course that should be first at- 
 tended to, but the instant purging comes on neglect 
 all else to attend to this new and dangerous symptom. 
 At once administer and persevere with the astringent 
 medicine (p. 335). When the diarrhoea has stopped, 
 do not interfere with the bowels under an idea that 
 costiveness prevails. Remember the intestinal tubes 
 have recently been emptied, and after this, nature 
 can afford even a fortnight's rest without the slightest 
 danger resulting. 
 
 SICKNESS. 
 
 It is most distressing when a favourite do£ is seized 
 with an attack of vomition. The appetite is seldom 
 destroyed, but nothing will remain on the stomach. 
 A little boiled milk, with from five to twenty drops of 
 laudanum in it, will sometimes quiet the stomach ; but 
 if that fails, recourse should immediately be had to 
 hydroe3'anic acid. Drop four drops into one ounce 
 8 5 
 
346 DISEASES OF DOGS 
 
 of water, and give one, two, three, or four teaspoonfuls 
 for a dose, repeating the dose every quarter of an 
 hour until four doses have been given. 
 
 This not stopping the spasm, next a trial may be 
 made of chloroform, two, four, six, or eight drops of 
 which may be administered in a little milk, or sugar 
 and water. 
 
 This failing, place the dog under the action of 
 chloroform, and with the powers of life the spasm may 
 be permanently arrested. 
 
 Petted dogs are very subject to piles ; produced by 
 the stimulating nature of their food There is con- 
 siderable swelling and tenderness of the part; a little 
 liquid often oozes from it; blood may follow^ but never 
 mingles with, the stools. 
 
 Piles require for their removal a bread and milk 
 diet. No meat should be given, and the following 
 ointment should be used thrice daily. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 15). 
 
 Ointment for Piles in Bogs. 
 
 Take — Simple ointment, one ounce ; 
 
 Strong mercurial ointment, one drachm ; 
 Powdered camphor, one drachm : 
 Mix. Insert some up the intestine, and smear a little over the part. 
 
 A considerable tumour sometimes arises by the side 
 of the anus ; it is to be entirely attributed to an over- 
 indulgence of the carnivorous propensity in the ani- 
 mal. It is exceedingly painful — swells to a very 
 considerable size — is at first of a red colour ; but be- 
 comes dark and purple; till it breaks, and discharges 
 a quantity of impure pus ; leaving a large and deep 
 
TARTUR1TI0N. 347 
 
 ulcer. These tumours are a species of carbuncle. 
 The ulcer will readily heal if the bowels are kept 
 open, the mode of feeding is radically changed, and 
 the ulcer is thrice daily moistened with the following 
 preparation. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 16). 
 
 Lotion for Wounds. 
 
 Take — Chloride of zinc, one grain ; 
 Water, one ounce. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PARTURITION, 
 
 The bitch goes with young nine weeks. It is seldom 
 before the fifth week that the belly begins to enlarge. 
 The foetus may, however, be felt at the end of a 
 month, and can plainly be detected to move a week 
 before parturition. A day or two before the expira- 
 tion of her time of utero-gestation, she usually gets 
 fidgety and uneasy ; she selects her bed ; and about 
 this period the secretion of milk has generally com- 
 menced. If she has not been petted, and thus dis- 
 posed to inflammation, there is little or no danger 
 attending the act of parturition. 
 
 Petted bitches, however, frequently experience 
 much difficulty in bringing forth their young, and 
 manual assistance is then necessary. The precise 
 time when pupping is anticipated should be inquired : 
 and the animal not interfered with until some hours 
 after the full expiration of the period. 
 
 When, however, it is deemed expedient to inter- 
 Q 6 
 
348 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 fere, the first tiling that should be done is to examine 
 whether the pelvis is in any way occupied ; if no pup 
 is discovered in the course of being born, the mother 
 must be left undisturbed for a few hours longer. If 
 on a second examination no progress has been made, 
 a stimulant should be given ; and the best stimulant on 
 these occasions is the Secale cornutum, or ergot of rye. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 17). 
 
 Ergot of Rye Mixture. 
 
 Take — Ergot of rye, a scruple ; pour on it 
 Boiling water, one ounce ; 
 Let it infuse for twenty minutes ; then add, 
 Brandy, half an ounce ; 
 Sugar, two or three lumps. 
 
 A very large dog may take the half of the above 
 at one dose ; and the remaining portion may be given 
 twenty minutes afterwards, if the first produces no 
 decided effect. For a very small dog, two teaspoon- 
 fuls will be sufficient. 
 
 As soon as the puppy is in the pelvic cavity, and a 
 portion of it presents from the orifice ; the position of 
 the birth may be ascertained. If it is a natural pre- 
 sentation, time may be allowed; but should the off- 
 spring be dead, gentle traction may be made to re- 
 move the body. Yet it will never be prudent to exert 
 much force ; for there will then be a hazard of break- 
 ing the puppy, and that being done, the life of the 
 mother is irrecoverably lost. 
 
 If the hinder legs present, there will be somewhat 
 more difficulty. The puppy must be partly drawn ; 
 but only sufficient to assist the efforts of the mother, 
 
PARTURITION. 349 
 
 until the chest is in the passage. When thus much is 
 accomplished, the rest will generally be easy. 
 
 Instruments should never be resorted to until the 
 strength of the bitch is evidently exhausted, or till the 
 throes have ceased, when the pups assuredly are dead. 
 Then a hook, resembling a button-hook, but with the 
 extremity much more rounded, must be taken ; and 
 the forefinger of the left hand having been introduced, 
 the hook is slid along, being completely guarded by 
 the finger; the instrument is thus introduced into the 
 mouth of a foetus, in case the presentation is natural; 
 and into the pelvic cavity should the breach be most 
 forwards. The pup being then gently, but somewhat 
 firmly, pulled forward may often be extracted. 
 
 Soothing and gentle treatment will avail more here 
 than any force that could be used. 
 
 Inversion of the womb sometimes takes place. If it 
 is immediately and carefully returned, there may be 
 little danger; but if considerable straining should 
 continue, a full stream of the coldest water should be 
 injected until the dog by crying announces that the 
 uterus has contracted. This having been heard, the 
 animal should be left to enjoy repose and quiet for 
 some hours. 
 
 After the bitch has pupped she should be left as 
 much as possible to herself; for she will then be far 
 more likely to do well than when disturbed by the 
 kindest nursing. She may be suffered to eat and 
 drink as usual; for it is rarely that any fever ensues, 
 save from two causes. 
 
 If her young ones, or all except one, are cruelly 
 taken from her, because there may perchance be a 
 stain in their pedigree, nature will continue to secrete 
 
350 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 milk enough for the whole litter. This will accumu- 
 late, and cause local swellings and inflammation ; it 
 will likewise be a source of fever, that cannot always 
 be subdued. 
 
 The best remedy is to limit the food, and at the 
 same time to draw the milk. The last operation 
 having been performed twice or thrice, relief will 
 have been afforded, and no further attention be re- 
 quired. 
 
 Sometimes, however, a contrary course is pursued. 
 The owner sets great value on the breed, and is 
 anxious to save every puppy ; then, instead of finding 
 out a foster-mother for some, if the young should be 
 numerous, he suffers the whole litter to exhaust the 
 supply. A bitch that is used to hardship, or whose 
 constitution has not been impaired by being too much 
 indulged, will not be hurt by this ; but a petted bitch is 
 rarely capable of suckling with safety more than half 
 of her produce. 
 
 If too many remain with her, she, after a while, 
 becomes somewhat stupid; is inattentive to her young ; 
 she rapidly loses flesh ; she will not eat ; she has a 
 wild look ; when all at once she will lay herself down, 
 and begin to pant dreadfully, as if she was about 
 to die in a few minutes ; or strong yelping fits come 
 upon her. 
 
 This is the consequence of extreme irritability, 
 caused by exhaustion ; thus every thing that would 
 tend to weaken the bitch would increase that irri- 
 tability, and aggravate every symptom. The best 
 allayer of irritability in this case is a stimulant ; a 
 little wine or even spirit and water will be of service ; 
 and if after that all her puppies are always fed with 
 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 351 
 
 milk and water from an infant's bottle, before the 
 mother is permitted to approach her family, she will 
 generally do very well. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
 
 There is scarcely a dealer, a keeper, or a whipper-in, 
 who has not some infallible specific for the mange, 
 and one or two applications are to perform a complete 
 cure. The Editor knows nothing: of those wonderful 
 compositions; and if he did, he should be afraid to 
 employ them, because medicines sold by the ignorant 
 are seldom safe, being generally composed of articles 
 of the " kill or cure " description. 
 
 Itching, although it may exist to a considerable 
 degree, and even with some redness of the skin, will 
 occasionally yield to medicine, accompanied with a 
 little strictly proportioned food. 
 
 If, however, a week should pass, and the itchiness 
 and redness continue, the following ointment must be 
 immediately applied. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 18). 
 Ointment for Mange. 
 
 Take — Compound turpentine ointment, two parts ; 
 
 Sublimed sulphur, one part ; 
 
 Oil of aniseed, a sufficiency : 
 Mix. 
 
 The hair must be carefully parted, and some of the 
 ointment gently but well rubbed into the skin. This 
 should be continued daily for a week. At the ex- 
 
352 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 piration of that period the dog may be washed. The 
 proof of a cure having been perfected, will be the 
 cleansing away of all the scabs ; the wholesome and 
 natural appearance of the skin, and the cessation of 
 the itching. 
 
 In red mange there is seldom any scabbiness, but 
 intense redness with heat, and itchiness of the skin ; 
 more particularly on the belly, the flanks, and the 
 inside of the thighs. A mild dose of castor oil should 
 precede other measures. The food should be spare in 
 quantity, but nourishing in quality, and the following 
 drops should be administered in syrup thrice daily. 
 
 RECIPE (No. 19). 
 
 Drops to act on the Skin. 
 
 Take — Liquor arsenicalis, two parts ; 
 
 Muriated tincture of iron, three parts. 
 Two, five, or ten drops, according to size, to be given at the 
 periods stated. 
 
 The treatment should be exactly similar to that 
 just described. The exercise and lodging, however, 
 should be especially scrupulously attended to; the bed, 
 besides being frequently changed, should be always 
 scrupulously clean. The drops should also be regu- 
 larly given, and after a fortnight the amount may be 
 increased until the appetite is destroyed. Then . a 
 pause of two or three days should be permitted, after 
 which the medicine should be resumed, one drop less 
 than the maximum dose being given. Another fort- 
 night having elapsed, the medicine may again be 
 increased, and the former line of conduct literally 
 repeated. Also place the following on the skin of 
 the dog. 
 
MANGE. 353 
 
 RECIPE (No. 20). 
 
 Wash for Red Mange. 
 
 Take — Glycerine, one pint ; 
 
 Chloride of zinc, one scruple : 
 Dissolve the salt in the liquid, and apply the solution by means of 
 a painting-brush morning and night. 
 
 MANGE. 
 
 A very peculiar species of mange will sometimes 
 appear. A dog is perfectly well to-day, and his skin 
 every where whole and sound ; to-morrow a bare raw 
 patch is found upon him, usually about his haunches, 
 varying from the size of a shilling to that of the palm 
 of the hand. It is not exceedingly sore; it seems, 
 from the dog's manner, to itch dreadfully ; the bare 
 skin greatlv thickens and becomes much corrugated. 
 Practitioners call it " the acute mange.'' 
 
 It has an unpleasant appearance, but it readily 
 yields to treatment. The arsenical drops recom- 
 mended for skin disease should be used, and in a fort- 
 night the disease will generally disappear. 
 
 Mange will frequently attack the feet of dogs. 
 During the earlier stage it usually appears in the 
 form of inflammation of the web between the toes, 
 which becomes intensely red, an ichorous fluid exudes 
 from it, and the dog is very lame. The wash for red 
 mange will be the best application ; but the foot 
 should be incased in a strong gutta percha or leathern 
 boot, as if it be formed of more delicate material, 
 the teeth of an irritated dog will speedily destroy it. 
 
354 DISEASES OF DOGS. 
 
 Sorefiet, arising from working over rough or stubble 
 ground, are best cured by the solution of chloride of 
 zinc, one grain to the ounce of water. 
 
 When mange in the feet, or sore feet, are neglected, 
 the disease spreads to the toes, and more particularly 
 to the roots of the nails, the nail being occasionally 
 lost, and the dog for an uncertain period rendered 
 acutely lame. All broken nails should be cut away, 
 and all that are loosened should be removed, as they 
 never become fixed again, and only increase the pain 
 if suffered to continue, the foot being subsequently 
 frequently bathed with the solution of chloride of zinc, 
 or should nothing be done, the wound generally heals 
 without treatment. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Absorbents, inflammation of the, nature and treatment of, 65. 
 
 Acute diarrhoea, 152. 
 
 Adipose tumours about the teats (dogs), 328. 
 
 Amputation of the penis, 181. 
 
 Apoplexy, symptoms and treatment of (horse), 37- 
 
 Aptha, 53. 
 
 Asthma (dog), 331. 
 
 Back, proper length of the, 13. 
 
 line of the, 14. 
 
 raking, 28. 
 
 sinews, sprain of the, treatment of, 224. 
 
 Barbs, the nature and treatment of, 80. 
 
 Bar shoe, description of the, 299. 
 
 Belly, wounds of, 208. 
 
 Bladder, symptoms and treatment of inflammation of the, 169. 
 
 , gravel or stone in, 171. 
 
 > , inversion of the (horse), 1 85. 
 
 Blain or aptha, 53. 
 
 Bleeding, a remedy in inflammation, 20. 
 
 Blood spavin, 240. 
 
 Bog spavin, 239. 
 
 Bone spavin, 240. 
 
 Bowels, inflammation of, the nature and treatment of (horse), 151. 
 
 (dog), 344. 
 
 calculi in, 161. 
 impactment, 158. 
 -, strangulation of, 160. 
 
 Brain, compression of the (dog), 302. 
 
 , inflammation of the, in the horse, nature and treatment, 29. 
 
 Brittle hoof, remedy for, 259. 
 
 Broken knees, the proper treatment of, 213. 
 
 wind, the nature and treatment of, 104. 
 
 Bronchitis, on the nature and treatment of (horse), 84. 
 
 Bronchocele (dog), 325. 
 
 Bruise of the sole, treatment of, 281. 
 
 Calculi in the bowels, on, 161. 
 
356 INDEX. 
 
 Canker within the ear (dog), 308. 
 
 in the foot of the horse, the nature and treatment of, 285. 
 
 Capped hock, 238. 
 
 Carditis, symptoms and treatment of, 119. 
 
 Cartilaginous division of the nostrils, 4. 
 
 Castration (horse), description of the operation, 174. 
 
 Cataract, 49. 
 
 in the dog, 317- 
 
 Cellular substance beneath the throat, inflammation of (dog), 324. 
 Chest, 10. 
 
 , wounds of, 201. 
 
 Chronic cough (horse), the nature and treatment of, 105 
 
 Chorea (dog), 335. 
 
 Coffin-joint, the, treatment of sprain of, 230. 
 
 Colic, spasmodic, symptoms and treatment of (dog), 344. 
 
 . (horse), 155. 
 
 , flatulent, symptoms and treatment of, 159. 
 
 Compression of the brain (dog), 302. 
 Concave-seated shoe, description of the, 295. 
 Contraction, cause and treatment of, 265. 
 Corns, the nature and treatment of, 282. 
 Coryza, the nature and treatment of, 56. 
 Cough, chronic (horse), 105. 
 
 , treatment of (dog), 331. 
 
 Curb, the nature and treatment of, 245. 
 Cutting, 229. 
 
 Diaphragm, description and treatment of spasm of the, 123. 
 Diarrhoea, acute, 152. 
 Difficulty of staling, 164. 
 Diseases of the foot, 254. 
 
 of the dog, 302. 
 
 Distemper in the horse, 87- 
 
 nature and treatment of (dog), 332. 
 
 Docking, description of the operation of, 187. 
 Dogs, the diseases of, 302. 
 Dropsy in the chest of the horse, 1 15. 
 Dysentery (horse), 152. 
 
 Ear of the horse should be small and erect, 5. 
 
 dog, canker in the, 308. 
 
 Enlarged hock, 244. 
 
 Enlarged thyroid glands (Jog), 325. 
 
 Enteritis, nature and treatment of (dog), 344. 
 
 (horse), 151. 
 
 Epidemic catarrh, the nature and treatment of, 87- 
 
 Excoriations, treatment of, 200. 
 
 Eye of the horse should be large and prominent, 5. 
 
INDEX. 35' 
 
 Eyes, diseases of (dog), 312. 
 
 , inflammation of the (dog), 316. 
 
 (horse), 41. 
 
 , weeping from the (dog), 314. 
 
 Eyelid, the third, enlargement of (dog), 313. 
 Eyelids, ulceration of the (dog), 312. 
 
 False- quarter, 264. 
 
 Farcy, the nature and treatment of, 65. 
 
 Feet (dog), mange in, 353, 
 
 , sore, 354. 
 
 (horse), wounds in the, 276. 
 
 Fetlock, sprain of the, treatment of, 227. 
 
 Fever in the feet, 268, 
 
 Fistula lacrymalis (dog), 315. 
 
 Fistulous withers, the proper treatment of, 207. 
 
 Fits, in the dog, the cause and treatment of, 336. 
 
 Flaps in the mouth, the nature and treatment of, 81. 
 
 Flatulent colic, 159. 
 
 Foot, sore (dog), 354. 
 
 , structure and diseases of (horse), 254. 
 
 Fore extremity, lameness of, 210. 
 
 arm, sprain of the, 211. 
 
 Founder, acute, the nature and treatment of, 268. 
 Fractures, on the general treatment of, 233. 
 Frontal sinuses, description of the, 5. 
 
 Generative organs, diseases of (horse), 174. 
 
 Gigs in the mouth, the nature and treatment of, 81. 
 
 Glanders, causes of, 57. 
 
 Glands, inflammation of the (dog), 324. 
 
 Glass-eye, nature and treatment of, 51. 
 
 Gravel in the bladder, 171. 
 
 Grease, the nature and treatment of, 249. 
 
 Grinders, description of the, 8. 
 
 Grogginess, the nature and treatment of, 232. 
 
 Gutta serena (dog), the nature and treatment of, 317. 
 
 (horse), the nature and treatment of, 51 
 
 Haunch, lower fracture of, 234. 
 
 Head of the horse, 2. 
 
 Heart, inflammation of the (horse), 119. 
 
 Hide-bound, the nature and treatment of, 191. 
 
 Hind extremities, injuries to, 234. 
 
 Hock, capped, the treatment of, 238. 
 
358 INDEX. 
 
 Hock, enlarged, the treatment of, 244. 
 Hoof, brittle, 259. 
 
 Horse, zoological character of the, 1. 
 Hydrothorax, nature and treatment of, 115. 
 Hydrophobia (horse), 39. 
 
 Incised and lacerated wounds, 202. 
 
 Indigestion, 36. 
 
 Inflammation of the bladder (horse), 162. 
 
 bowels (dog), 344. 
 
 . (horse), 147. 
 
 external coat of, 147- 
 
 . . muscular coat of, 151. 
 
 . mucous coat of, 152. 
 
 brain, 29. 
 
 bronchial tubes, 84. 
 
 cellular membrane under the jaw, 71- 
 
 eye (dog), 316. 
 
 (horse), 41. 
 
 glands and throat, 76. 
 heart, 119. 
 
 kidney (horse), 162. 
 
 lamellee of the foot, 268. 
 
 larynx, 83. 
 
 lungs (dog), 340. 
 
 symptoms of (horse), 92 
 
 — membrane of the nose (dog), 323. 
 . (horse), 56. 
 
 — palate, 55. 
 
 — pleura (horse), 110. 
 
 — stomach (horse), 138. 
 
 — superficial absorbents, 65. 
 - tongue (dog), 318. 
 
 (horse), 53. 
 
 Influenza, 87. 
 
 Injuries to the elbow-joint, 212. 
 
 of the hind extremities, 234. 
 
 Introsusception of the intestines, 160. 
 
 Inversion of the womb, 183. 
 
 Jaw, lower, importance of the form of, 9. 
 
 Kidney, inflammation of, cause and treatment of, 165. 
 Knuckling, 232. 
 
 Lacerated and incised wounds, 202. 
 
 Lamella?, or laminee of the crust and foot, inflammation of the, 268 
 
 Lameness of the fore extremities, 210. 
 
 of the hind extremities, 234. 
 
 of the shoulder, 210. 
 of the stifle, 236. 
 
INDEX. 359 
 
 Lampas, the nature and treatment of, 55. 
 
 Laryngitis, 83. 
 
 Leg, swelled, 246. 
 
 Lips, 3. 
 
 Liver, description of the, 17- 
 
 Locked jaw, the causes and treatment of (horse), 127. 
 
 Loins, 14. 
 
 Lower fracture of the haunch, 234. 
 
 Lower jaw, 9. 
 
 Lungs, inflammation of the, the symptoms and treatment (dog), 340. 
 
 (horse), 92. 
 
 Madness in the horse, 39. 
 
 dog, 304. 
 
 Mange (dog), proper treatment of, 351. 
 
 acute, proper treatment of, 353. 
 
 in the feet, treatment of, 353. 
 
 red, treatment of, 352. 
 
 (horse), proper treatment of, 193. 
 
 Megrims, nature and treatment of, 34. 
 
 Moulting, management of the horse during the time of, 198. 
 
 Mucous fever, 87- 
 
 Navicular -joint disease, the nature and treatment of the, 290. 
 Neck of the horse, proper form of the, 10. 
 Nicking, description of the operation of, 189. 
 
 Nose of the horse, importance of attending to the colour of the lining 
 membrane of the, 4. 
 
 the cartilaginous division of the, use of, 4. 
 
 Nostrils, 3. 
 
 , false, the use of the, 4. 
 
 Occult spavin, 242. 
 
 One-sided nailed shoe, description of the, 300. 
 
 Open joint, 214. 
 
 Operations on the tail, 187. 
 
 Ophthalmia, nature and treatment of, specific and common, 41. 
 
 Overreach, treatment of, 263. 
 
 Palate, inflammation of the, 55. 
 
 Palsy, cause and treatment of (horse), 135. 
 
 Paps in the mouth, nature and treatment of, 80. 
 
 Parturition, difficult (bitch), method of treating, 347. 
 
 Pastern joint, treatment of sprain of the, 230. 
 
 Penis, the amputation of, 181. 
 
 , treatment of swelling of the sheath of, 181. 
 
 Pericarditis, the symptoms and treatment of, 119. 
 
360 INDEX. 
 
 Peritonitis in the horse, the nature and treatment of, 147- 
 
 Phrenitis, symptoms and treatment of, 29. 
 
 Phlegmonous swellings of the throat (dog), 324. 
 
 Piles (dog), 344. 
 
 Pleurisy (horse), nature and treatment of, 110. 
 
 Pneumonia, nature and treatment of (horse), 92. 
 
 . (dog), 340. 
 
 Poisons, 138. 
 
 Poll-evil, the proper treatment of, 204. 
 
 Polypus in the vagina, treatment of, in the mare, 186. 
 
 Profuse staling, 163. 
 
 Protrusion of the eye, 318. 
 
 rectum (dog), ^44. 
 
 Pumiced feet, the nature and treatment of, 274. 
 Purging, theory of its effects, 24. 
 
 Quittor, the nature and treatment of, 278. 
 
 • 
 Rabies, symptoms of, in the horse, 39. 
 
 dog, 304. 
 
 Rectum, protrusion of the (dog), 344. 
 
 Rheumatism (dog)? the nature and treatment of, 338. 
 
 Ring-bone, the nature and treatment of, 231. 
 
 Roaring, nature of, 108. 
 
 Round-bone, on sprain of the, 235. 
 
 Rupture of the stomach, 142. 
 
 of the suspensory ligament, 227. 
 
 Saddle-galls, treatment of, 200. 
 
 Sand-crack, nature and treatment of, 261. 
 
 Setting on of the head, 3. 
 
 Schirrous tumours of the teats, 327. 
 
 Sheath, swelling of, 181. 
 
 Shoe, description of the bar, 299. 
 
 , concave-seated, 295. 
 
 one-sided nailed, 300. 
 
 tips, 301. 
 
 Shoeing, the proper theory and object, 294. 
 Shoulder lameness, the mode of ascertaining it, 210. 
 Sickness (dog), 345. 
 Sitfasts, treatment of, 200. 
 Skin, diseases of, 190. 
 
 (dog), 351. 
 
 Soft palate, the, 7- 
 
 Sole, bruise of the, treatment of, 281. 
 
 Sore feet (dog), 353. 
 
 throat, nature and treatment of, 82. 
 
 Spasm of the diaphragm, 123. 
 Spasmodic colic, 155. 
 
INDEX. 361 
 
 Spavin, bog, on the nature and treatment of, 239. 
 
 , blood, on the nature and treatment of, 240. 
 
 , bone, on the nature and treatment of, 240. 
 
 , occult, on the nature and treatment of, 242. 
 
 Speedy cut, nature of, 219. 
 
 Spine r description of the, 12. 
 
 Splint, the nature and treatment of, 220. 
 
 Sprain and treatment of the back sinews, 224. 
 
 coffin-joint, 230. 
 
 fetlock-joint, 227- 
 
 ■ fore-arm, 211. 
 
 pastern-joint, 230. 
 
 round bone, 235. 
 
 suspensory ligaments, 227. 
 
 Staling, profuse, cause and treatment of, 103. 
 
 , difficult, cause and treatment of, in the horse, 164. 
 
 Stifle lameness, on the nature and treatment of, 236. 
 Stomach staggers, 36. 
 
 , on inflammation of, 138. 
 
 , rupture of, 142. 
 
 Stone in the bladder, 171. 
 
 Strangles, the nature and treatment of, 71. 
 
 Strangulation of the intestines, on, 160. 
 
 Structure of the foot, 254. 
 
 Superficial wounds, 201. 
 
 Surfeit, the nature and treatment of, 1 92. 
 
 Suspensory ligaments, on sprain or rupture of the, 227- 
 
 Swelled legs, the cause and treatment of, 246. 
 
 sheath, 181. 
 
 Teats, schirrous tumours in (dog), 327. 
 
 , adipose tumours in (dog), 328. 
 
 , encysted tumours in (dog), 329. 
 
 Teeth, description of the, 8. 
 
 , on the diseases of the (dog), 320. 
 
 Tetanus, the nature and treatment of (horse), 127- 
 Thick wind, the nature and treatment of, 102. 
 Thorough-pin, on the nature and treatment of, 237- 
 Throat, inflammation of, 76. 
 
 swelling of the (dog), 324. 
 
 Thrush, the nature and treatment of, 288. 
 Thyroid glands, the, enlargement of (dog), 325. 
 Tips, description and use of, 301. 
 Tongue, the description and use of, 6. 
 
 , inflammation of the (horse), 53. 
 
 (dog), 318. 
 
 Tread, treatment of, 263. 
 
362 INDEX. 
 
 Tumours (dog), adipose, 328. 
 
 , encysted, 329. 
 
 , schirrous, 327. 
 
 Tushes, 8. 
 
 Vagina, on the treatment of polypus in the (mare), 186. 
 Vertigo, nature and treatment of, 34. 
 Vives, the nature and treatment of, 80. 
 
 Want of condition, 190. 
 Warts (horse), 182. 
 
 (dog), 330. 
 
 Wind-galls, the nature and treatment of, 225. 
 Wind, thick, 102. 
 
 , broken, 104. 
 
 Withers, description of the, 12. 
 
 , fistulous, 207- 
 
 Wolves' teeth, description of, 9. 
 Womb, inversion of, 1 83. 
 Worming, 319. 
 Worms, 143. 
 
 (dog), 341. 
 
 Wounds, superficial, treatment of, 201. 
 
 , incised and lacerated, 202. 
 
 penetrating the chest and belly, 208. 
 
 of the feet, treatment of, 276. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS. ST. JOHN'S SQUARE, LONDON. 
 
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