The Illustrated Horse Doctor / Being an accurate and detailed account of the various diseases to which the equine race are subjected

"When several of these flies are confined in a close place, they have a particularly strong, musty smell; and I have observed both sheep and horses, when teased by them, to look into the grass and smell it very anxiously; and if they by these means discover the fly, they immediately turn aside and hasten to a distant part of the field.

"I once saw in a meadow or field upon the cliffs at Margate, a fly of this sort teasing a horse that was confined to a small space by a spike stuck in the ground, to which a cord was tied. He could not get away from its attack, and became quite furious, for in kicking at the fly with his fore foot, which he did vehemently, he often struck the bone of the lower jaw, creating excessive pain; for in that direction while grazing, the fly comes to the beard of the lower lip.

"The eggs of this species are difficult to be seen upon the horse's skin or beard, owing to the agitation of the beast, and from the color of the egg being dark like that of the skin of the horse. The animal has been generally too impatient, while undergoing this operation, to let me examine them very well. I ascertained, however, its form by pressing one of these eggs from the abdomen.

"The larva or grub of this species inhabits the stomach as the former, generally adhering to the white lining, and is disposed promiscuously in dense clusters, after the same manner; they may, however, be distinguished from them by being in general smaller and longer in proportion to their bulk.

"The larva of this species may be obtained from almost any horse that has been much the preceding year at grass, and exposed to these flies, and will be found during the summer months sticking more or less within the verge or opening of the anus, adhering to its soft lining, and producing considerable irritation and uneasiness. Indeed, I once well remember being on a tour of pleasure in the Isle of Wight, and experiencing much annoyance from these larvæ. The little horse I had hired for the journey became so lazy and unwilling to go on, and moved so awkwardly, that I could not keep pace with my company, and I was at a loss how to proceed; but on casually taking up the tail, I discovered three or four of these insects hanging to the rectum, and their removal instantly proved a cure."

For more ample particulars, the reader is referred to the book itself, which is entitled "AN ESSAY ON BOTS IN THE HORSE AND OTHER ANIMALS." It will, in the pages of the original work, be seen that Mr. Clark more than suspected the existence of other species of the same family; but, as no positive knowledge has yet been gained, we must await patiently the inquiries of those to whom this branch of science belongs.

However, the writer must dissent to Mr. Clark's conclusion, that "bots are harmless, if not beneficial." How far does such a supposition agree with the perforated stomach, preserved at the Royal Veterinary College? How far does it accord with the ragged coat and unthrifty aspect by which the presence of the parasites is ascertained? How, when crediting such a conjecture, are we to account for the horror exhibited by the horse at the approach of the fly; and how can we interpret Mr. Clark's experience in the Isle of Wight?

Bots are known to be injurious; healthy bodies are seldom troubled with parasites. The parched and innutritions grass of the summer's heat cannot support the life accustomed to artificially saved and carefully prepared food. It is the meanness of the master which dooms the slave to starvation; he begrudges the keep of the animal, therefore, he disguises the ugliness of his feeling under a pretense of giving the horse a month's freedom and its natural food! In spring, when the herbage is young, one hour night and morning might be excused; but those hours must be before the flies are up, and after these pests are asleep. In the height of summer, when the grass has perished and the ground is hard, the health soon yields to constant exposure and to unwholesome food. The flies torment the animal, and from the shed it is often driven by its companions in the field. A large portion of the accidents which horses are liable to, occur while out at grass; many an animal is released from the stable blooming and valuable; it is, at the expiration of the month, brought home looking ragged, with a huge belly, and is never fit for a day's service subsequently. If the matter is to be regarded only in a money point of view, it would have been a saving to the owner to have paid a twelvemonth's keep, rather than lose his servant, and notwithstanding, afterward have to pay for food and treatment till experience had instructed him in the inutility of expecting restoration. But when the matter is considered in a moral sense, what right has that individual who has, for his own pleasure, accustomed a life to a particular form of diet, at his will, or for his convenience, to snatch the food from the creature and drive it forth to gnaw at stalks which had shed their seeds, and to be exposed to all the variations of the season? It is no excuse to talk about there being no work to be done while the master is at the sea-side; the devotion of a life should have earned a brief support, and the gentleman whose avarice thinks otherwise has no just reason to complain of the punishment which the indulgence of his greed will probably insure.

CHRONIC HEPATITIS.

Acute hepatitis is unknown among horses in England. The late Professor Sewell thought he had witnessed one case. Other people know they have not seen a single instance of such a disease.

Chronic hepatitis is peculiar to maturity. Brewers' horses—huge animals, fattened upon refuse of the mash-tub, and which are paraded, in all the pride of obesity, drawing one small cask over the stones of London—are often attacked by this malady. All horses which consume much provender, without absolute regard to work, are exposed to it. Gentlemen's carriage horses are very liable to it. A private vehicle is started, and at first much used; but after a time it is equally neglected. The individual does not want the carriage to-day, when the coachman comes round "for orders." Neither is it required on the next occasion. Often a week passes without the fashionable plaything being uncovered. The animals, during that time, depend on the groom for exercise. The coachman may be fond of his horses, and, in his ignorance, may think they cannot have too much rest, or himself too little work. Let the master neglect his duty, and the servant soon follows the example.

The word "duty" was employed in the last sentence. It is of an unpleasant signification, and was used in its harshest sense. Kings owe a duty to their subjects; the rich owe a duty to the poor. All authority has some obligation connected with it. There is nothing like perfect freedom in this world of dependence. Man is the king over living things. He may claim his rights, but he at the same time must adopt the weight of his office: he cannot assume the one and discard the other. A monarch is invested with dominion and authority over men; but the stability of the throne is dependent upon the righteousness of the ruler. If he who wears the crown abuses his trust, he may possess "a right divine," but he is speedily without subjects. So, if man is unjust to the creatures ever which he is placed, nature snatches them from his grasp; and he may be invested with every power, but he soon wants animals upon which to exercise it.

View the matter in another light, as an affair only of worldly prudence. Knives, formed of the hardest steel, if purchased and put away, in a short time are worthless, because of rust. A house wears faster when untenanted than when properly inhabited.

A horse cannot remain for days in the stable and retain its condition. The carriage proprietor has not only to find food, but he is equally bound to support the health of his animals, or the service for which he bargained will be rudely terminated. Too many do not think of this. Too many take out the carriage to-day, only because it accords with their convenience. All, however, complain of the uncertainty which appertains to horse-flesh. The frame of the horse is stronger than machinery; but it cannot resist the willfulness of human misrule. Let that man, whose stable troubles him, question his own conduct. Let him examine the house in which he has thrust life. Let him see to the servants he has engaged, and to the food for which he pays; and after all, let him inquire into his own behavior: the error will be found, not in the creatures over which he exercises dominion, but in those who are invested with authority.

If people will start carriages, the vehicle must be taken out every day, let the weather freeze, rain, or shine. The hard earth of sunshine is frequently more injurious to the feet than either cold or wet are to the body. The lady, when out visiting, has more than her own pleasure to consult; for all horses fed on the best and underworked, or retained standing long before the street door, are exposed to chronic hepatitis. The gentleman's delight is almost as liable as the brewer's pride. Even moderate food and too little work will engender the disease. The author, when he quitted the veterinary college, left in that establishment an Arab, which, from a year's stagnation, was obviously thus disordered.

The primary symptoms are not well marked, and do not, generally, attract attention. The animal is dull and averse to move. It appears to have imbibed a fondness for the inactivity to which it has been accustomed. The appetite is either nice, altogether lost, or unscrupulously ravenous; the bowels are constipated; the dung is black, and coated with bilious-looking mucus; it is friable, and imperfectly digested. If a white paper be pressed upon it, a greenish-yellow stain is imparted. The urine is scanty, and, commonly, highly colored; while the pulse has a heavy beat, as though treacle, instead of blood, circulated within the artery.

The signs which indicate a confirmation of the disorder are: the mouth feels cold; the nasal membranes are unnaturally pallid; the whites of the eyes are ghastly, displaying a yellow tinge; sometimes the horse looks at the right side; usually, it lies upon the left ribs, but never for any long time; tenderness may be exhibited, if the right side be pressed upon. However, the last symptom is rarely present, and lameness in either fore leg is seldom witnessed.

The disease is, for the most part, obscure, and is best recognized when medicine has become powerless. If early detected, a limited, but sufficient supply of nutritious food; plenty of, but not exhausting labor, with a long course of iodine in alterative doses, are calculated to work some beneficial change.

Commonly, however, bleeding from the liver is the earliest recognized indication of disease. Then the horse, with depressed head, is found standing before untouched food; often it staggers; sometimes it supports itself against the partition to the stall; it always maintains the erect position with extreme difficulty; the pupil of the eyes are enlarged; if the hand be moved before the sight, the lid does not close; the vision is lost; the pupils are much dilated; the breath, denoting weakness, is short and catching; the jaw is pulseless, and the heart flutters; the visible membranes are deathly; and the bilious nature of the disorder is, in these last parts, apparent. Should the head, only for a minute, be raised, the animal threatens to fall.

The first attack is seldom fatal, and possibly might, by proper usage, be recovered from. The bleeding, then, is from the substance of the gland, and does not generally burst Glisson's capsule, or the first and fibrous covering of the liver. Glisson's capsule, however, is, by the pressure of fluid, bulged out. The hemorrhage stretches the peritoneum, which is the second or last envelope; and nature, striving to repair the injury, causes the serous investment to inflame,—to become white, opaque, considerably thicker, and altogether stronger than in its normal condition.

There may be an indefinite number of attacks; or the horse, possibly, may succumb to the first assault. Commonly, there are several fits of the same character. Treatment is generally adopted. A dose of aloes is given, though with what intention the author is not aware. Quiet is enjoined; and styptics, as sugar of lead, alum, etc., are administered; and the horse, commonly, under such treatment, seems to recover.

It is, however, difficult to change a fixed habit, or to perceive the reason for an alteration after all danger has disappeared. The gentleman again indulges his inclinations. The coachman, to keep up his horse's flesh, fills the manger; the master very rarely orders the carriage; now he can ride, walking is preferred for his own exercise. Soon, a second fit takes place; this time, Glisson's capsule usually yields; but the thickened peritoneum, although pushed farther out, still resists, and now remains the single stay between human perversity and certain death.

With recovery, the former custom is again resumed; the man chooses to think a sick horse must require support; the master pleases to imagine rest must be beneficial to an animal which has been seriously ill. Another fit ensues; no one is much alarmed this time. The people have become accustomed to the sort of thing; men soon grow used to other's agony. However, something is now present which has not been witnessed before; that circumstance rather disturbs the reigning equanimity; the horse is evidently much disposed to quietude, but some hidden cause excites it; it rolls, flings itself down, struggles up again, paws with the fore feet, kicks with the hind legs at the belly, and breathes with much more difficulty than formerly.

Often it lies upon the back for some minutes; the result, when such symptoms are observed, generally is invariable. After death, the abdomen is opened; the cavity is full of black blood, which, commonly, does not coagulate; though, should death occur upon the first attack, dark clots may be found among the intestines.

With regard to the treatment, which the author approves, it consists of the drink previously recommended; sufficient but nutritious food, and, above all things, abundant exercise. The horse should also be removed from the heated stable and allowed a large, roomy, loose box. Purgative medicine is too debilitating for such a disease; but the bowels should be regulated by green meat or by bran mashes, when such agents are required.

CRIB-BITING.

Nothing more forcibly illustrates the ignorance by which the horse is surrounded, than the manner any trivial but visible fact is magnified into vast and mysterious importance. The untutored always have active imaginations; thus, what is at worst, in the author's opinion, the declaration of acidity within the stomach, is by most horsemen dreaded more than an actual disease.

Cribbing is very common among horses which have been long inhabitants of the stable; the many hours of stagnation the domesticated horse is doomed to pass, may induce the animal readily to seize upon any solitary pastime. Or the perpetual consumption of oats and hay may disarrange the digestion, which, experience teaches, is in ourselves much benefited by a moderate change of diet. Or, the constant inhalation of close and impure air, such as will taint the clothes of the groom, who is much exposed to it, may disorder that part of the body which is the most sympathetic of the entire frame.

Adopt which of these theories the reader may be inclined to, all of them can be brought to bear upon the horse so affected. That cribbing is a habit is seemingly proved by the young horse, stalled next to an old cribber, soon acquiring the custom. That cribbing is provoked by idleness, appears to be in some measure confirmed by the horse never exhibiting the peculiarity before it has been handled and become an occupant of the stable. That it arises from acrimony, induced by the food, is apparently shown by the colt, while at grass, never displaying the symptom. That it will be witnessed in the old horse, when turned out for a month's run at grass, establishes nothing. The temporary visitor to the field may often be seen galloping toward some gate, which, having reached, the horse there commences a long game at crib-biting. This circumstance can settle nothing, except that the digestion is chronically deranged—the stomach, when thus affected, being peculiarly retentive of its morbid condition.

Crib-biting consists in resting the upper incisor teeth against any solid or firm substance; a fixed point is thus gained, and, after much effort, a small portion of gas is eructated. The perpetual emissions of heated air is, in man, one of the symptoms attendant on indigestion; and the act, in the horse, appears to be impelled by something stronger than habit; since the animal will leave the most tempting provender for its indulgence.

The premonitory symptoms, moreover, seem to declare heartburn to be the cause of this much-dreaded indulgence. The custom is always preceded by licking of the manger. If on that there should be iron, or should any part be cooler than the rest, to that particular spot attention will be paid. The licking of cold substances is a symptom of disordered stomach with other dumb creatures. It is prominently displayed by the dog when the viscus is inflamed. But crib-biting may be prevented, if attacked during the premonitory stage. Any substance, which acts as a stimulant to the stomach, is said to be beneficial. Salt is known as an almost necessary condiment, aiding the healthfulness of human food. The deprivation of salt was an old criminal punishment among the Dutch; and a lump of rock-salt placed in the manger will often enable the horse's digestion to recover its lost tone.

Crib-biting has, in submission to general opinion, been alluded to as a habit, learned within the stable. But may not that which man designates a habit in a dumb creature, be no more than the influence of one atmosphere acting similarly on two bodies, both caged in the same stable? The air is much more than inhaled. A large quantity is swallowed with the saliva. No slight amount is deglutated with the masticated food. The water is generally kept in the stable some hours before the horses are permitted to imbibe it. Water has a large affinity for atmosphere. Air, therefore, enters largely into the body, besides being continually absorbed by the blood during respiration. And moreover, is it not strange that all horses, when indulging an imitative faculty, should always precede the display by the same licking of the manger, which assuredly is not learned, because that stage has passed before the young horse is placed near the one it is supposed to imitate? Is it not also surprising, that applying the tongue to cool substances should, in other domesticated but dumb creatures, be a symptom of derangement of the stomach?

When the horse cribs, the manger is not bitten. The upper incisors are merely placed against the wood-work, and, from this fixed point, the animal strains backward the body; thereby, the muscles of the neck are the more readily excited, and a small portion of air, accompanied by a slight sound, is forced up a canal which does not of itself favor regurgitation. When the inability to vomit is considered, the necessity of some such stratagem, to relieve the stomach of its burning acidity, must at once be admitted. We are still further reconciled to the necessity which prompts the action, when the ease afforded to human dyspeptic subjects, by the expulsion of "the wind," is properly regarded.

To relieve crib-biting, first attend to the atmosphere of the stables; render that pure by ample ventilation. Place a lump of rock-salt in the manger; should that not effect a cure, add to it a large piece of chalk; should these be unavailing, always damp the food, and, at each time of feeding, sprinkle magnesia upon it, and mingle a large handful of ground oak-bark with each feed of corn. Should none of these measures prove beneficial, treat the case as one of chronic indigestion or gastritis.

Let every reader, however, remember dyspepsia is far easier acquired than eradicated or even relieved; still, the vast majority of the fears entertained concerning crib-biting are perfectly groundless. The habit, certainly, does not round the edges of the front teeth; neither does it predispose to spasm or to flatulent colic; a horse that cribs may have either diseases; so, also, do many animals which are free from the peculiarity. Cribbing can be no recommendation to a purchaser, although the writer cannot honestly point to the direction in which it is detrimental to the usefulness. The late Mr. Sewell had a brown horse: this creature was eighteen years old, and an inveterate cribber; yet, it would trot nine miles an hour, for its own pace, without ever needing the whip. More than this, no horse master should require; but let those who entertain a horror of crib-biting, pay extra attention to the means by which the indulgence can be prevented.

CHAPTER VIII.

Enteritis is a fearful disease, treating the greatest possible agony. Aged horses are specially exposed to this scourge, which can rage with ungovernable fury from the commencement, and consume the life in eight hours. Its causes, unfortunately, are in a great measure purely conjectural; such as drinking cold water, etc. etc.

These incentives are formally recounted in books; but surely something is wanted to complete the catalogue. If all the animals exposed to the operation of such provocatives were to have enteritis, two-thirds of the horses inhabiting Great Britain would be dead by to-morrow morning. The principal thing, therefore, is the predisposition; incline toward a particular malady, and any triviality may start up the disease; yet this predisposition we at present are too ignorant to recognize.

A severe fit of colic, long continued, may end in enteritis. This is well known; yet it was not the colic which induced enteritis; but the real cause was that which originated the first affection. The predisposition must be present before the bowels would exhibit that inflammation into which the colic merged; the injudicious and cruel treatment most horses receive from those to whose service the life is devoted, may probably be accused as the root of all these evils; disease is the loudest proof that the life is stinted in some essential particular. The same food is placed before all horses; one animal will, however, purge upon exertion; labor, on the other hand, may constipate the fellow occupant of the same stable. When the same effect has produced such opposite causes, all the bodies cannot be alike; an old proverb asserts "that which is one man's food is another man's poison." The diet which supports one animal in health may loosen or constringe its companion; yet we are too ignorant to practically use such distinctions.

Again, there is no practice more general than to load the rack and pile the manger after any uncommon toil has been endured. The practice may originate in the best intentions; but no intention can convert that which is evil into a positive good. The wretched animal is tempted to cram the stomach when excessive labor has weakened the vital functions. Horses which are brought home late at night do not usually receive much notice; the grooms are sleepy and eager for their beds. The dressing of the animal, however much such attention might conduce to health, is consequently left to the following morning. Rapid motion quickens the circulation; the blood is sent to the skin, and copious perspiration is the result. However warm the stable may be, warmth only promotes evaporation; cold of the lowest degree results from evaporation; the consequence is, the body of the quadruped speedily shivers; the blood is repelled to the internal organs, the bowels are prepared for inflammation, and thus enteritis often follows upon the midnight return from a long journey.

Moreover, when the frame is exhausted, rest is far more essential than food; the nourishment then should be very light, and such as can be quickly swallowed. A quart of thick flour or of oatmeal gruel should be first offered after the return. When the cleansing of the animal's body is finished, another quart should be given; these will occupy little time in being put out of sight, and the administration need not interfere with the repose which is desired. The gruel being swallowed, a feed of crushed and scalded oats may be placed in the manger; no hay should be allowed; the wish is to sustain a debilitated body, not to blow out an idle stomach. Then the creature should, after being fully clothed, be left to itself, and no more nourishment be provided for that night. The danger of introducing substances into a stomach dead to its functions would thus be avoided; nothing likely to irritate or to operate as foreign bodies upon the bowels would be set before the debilitated horse. Besides, the groom would be obliged to remain up for some space, and, as a good servant always finds time hang heavy when without occupation, the animal is more likely to be dressed before the man retires. Moreover, the clothes would prevent the cold which ensues upon unchecked evaporation.

Constipation, if permitted to exist for any period, is always dangerous; hardened feces are one of the surest causes of enteritis. Disregarding this fact, the endeavor of the immediate age seems to be to keep horses cheap. Strange mixtures are now substituted for wholesome corn, in which the grain and husk are mingled, the one supporting the strength, the other stimulating the bowels. It is folly to seek for profit from a life, and to stint the nourishment which feeds the strength, or to view cheapness as desirable where the service is unlimited. It is wicked to imprison a living being and then to regard it only in connection with our conveniences; "much care and no spare" is a good stable proverb. The food makes the work; omnibus masters know this fact; their horses perform hard work and eat of the best, however abominably the generality of these slaves were once lodged. The home of a London horse is mostly a miserable hole: heated only by fermentation; too often undrained; nearly always without sufficient ventilation. The stall of such a building is large enough for the animal to stand in and not wide enough for the recumbent frame to rest in; the roof is low, and the refuse of the body is piled near the entrance. When will man learn that his interest is best consulted by the proper observances due to vitality in every form? A horse cannot be treated as though it were a jug; it cannot be placed upon a shelf and taken down when required. The functions which nature has placed within a beautiful and exquisitely framed body will, if thus regarded, soon become deranged. Sickness will soon cost more money than health would have required for its sustainment; and, in the end, he who strives to blend the animate and the inanimate will speedily find himself possessed only of the latter description of property.

The predisposing cause may, in most instances, be difficult to discover; but the premonitory symptoms of enteritis are well marked. The animal is dull and heavy. It may not notice aught about it, or it picks at its food; repeated and violent shivering fits usher in the attack. When the above characteristic signs are observed, at once take away all hay and corn. Bandage the legs, which will be cold; clothe the body, and, if already dressed, loosen the surcingle. Litter well the stall or remove the horse to a loose box; give two or three drinks, one every quarter of an hour, containing sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each one ounce; water, half a pint; and observe the animal without disturbing it. These symptoms are, however, generally unseen, because the groom is between the bedclothes while his charge is suffering.

The primary symptoms of decided enteritis are termed "colic" or "fret." Such words simply represent bellyache; but harm is done and valuable time lost, if the terms of the stable are accepted in any absolute signification. Grooms always have some invaluable nostrum hoarded up; such people are proud of and confident in their secret knowledge; they will lie rather than communicate the contents of their charm. With the best hopes the foolish servant will waste precious moments in useless expectation, and watch for results from an injurious or worthless potion till the time when curative measures could have been effective has passed. Never permit the men who clean the horses also to administer to their diseases; the poor fellows may mean well, but they can have no knowledge which, in the presence of danger, can be beneficial.

The primary symptom, to an uninformed observer, may simply announce a mild fit of gripes. When the shivering has subsided, the horse rolls, plunges, kicks, etc. etc., as he does in spasmodic colic. The struggles, however, are less abandoned and far more mannered in inflammation of the bowels, than in genuine spasm. The pain, moreover, which in enteritis accompanies all movements of the diaphragm, throws the labor of respiration upon the walls of the thorax. The ribs can only partially dilate the lungs; nature endeavors by quickening the motion to supply the deficiency. In colic, the breathing is at first only excited by the exertion; it is deep and full. At the commencement of spasm, the mouth is moist and in temperature natural; during enteritis, the breathing is very short and the mouth is always hot and dry.

The pulse is disturbed only as colic progresses; in enteritis it is quick, hard, and wiry, before the disorder is fully established. The term "wiry" well represents the kind of pulse which accompanies enteritis. If a thin metallic cord were to strike the finger ends somewhat gently, and about seventy times in a minute, it would impart the same sensation as is communicated by the beat of the artery during inflammation of the bowels. Besides, pressure in colic seems to ease the anguish; in enteritis, the horse often cannot bear to have the abdomen touched. The last symptom, however, is not always present, neither is there one, save those characteristic of general inflammation, which is invariably to be observed. In abdominal disease, so many organs are influenced that everything becomes, in a vast degree, mystery and confusion. Notwithstanding this, pressure, in enteritis, never affords relief; sometimes, however, the hand placed upon the belly will elicit the most energetic response. The horse will kick with the hind leg, turn round the head, and violently snap the jaws together. Then he who applied so rude a test must stand out of the reach of the hind foot, at the same time watching the head. Thus all danger is readily avoided; because the ears, the eyes, and nostrils of the horse express its intentions before these are carried into effect.

All the tests will, however, not warrant certainty. The heat and dryness of the mouth may proceed from bodily exhaustion; the pulse, though highly suspicious, may merely denote general disturbance rather than declare the particular locality of a disorder. The peculiarity of the breathing may only express temporary faintness; the resistance to pressure is common to many horses while in health, and the restrained method of the plunges may be consequent upon the absence of any incitive to greater energy; still, when all are put together, they imply a great deal. Faintness and exhaustion are not to be reconciled with a hard pulse; the heat of the mouth and the resistance to pressure, especially when united to the voluntary restraint imposed upon the motion, certainly warrant a strong inference, and sanction no belief that colic is the sufferer's complaint. Happily, however, there remains a mode of assuring the most hesitating individual. The coat must be pulled off, the shirt-sleeves rolled up, and the arm be well greased or thoroughly soaped. About this there must be no false delicacy: in human surgery and in veterinary practice many things have to be surmounted which do not read well when described in cold print. In this instance, the intention is to relieve a suffering life; the motive will elevate the act. The fingers of the right hand are to be compressed, while the left hand raises the tail; the position is on the left side, as near to the feet as may be possible. Being there, the points of the compressed fingers are brought to bear upon the center of the anus; gentle and equable pressure is maintained until the resistance of the sphincter muscle is tired out; even then, no haste is warranted. Upon the hand penetrating the body, a cavity is entered; here there is generally some dung, the removal of which constitutes what is called "back-raking." In enteritis, the excrement is hard, dry, offensive, in small and dark lumps, upon the surface of which lie streaks of white mucus. This being done, the arm must be regreased or again moistened with water, and the hand gradually advanced to ascertain the temperature of the intestines. If the health be undisturbed, the operator will be conscious only of a genial glow; should inflammation exist, the augmentation of the natural heat will be most decided.

All is then certainty; no further doubt is justifiable, and no additional symptom need be looked for. The nature of the case is determined, and should it be enteritis, every moment is indeed precious. Firstly, neither bleed nor purge. A particular kind of venesection, however, is allowed. Extract one quart of blood, and inject into the vein one pint of blood-warm water; a profuse purgation and perspiration almost immediately follows the disappearance of the fluid. Much uncertainty is thus spared; and two conditions, both favorable to recovery, are induced.

For this operation a quart syringe should be employed; a fine curved nozzle should be affixed to it for the convenience of insertion down the vein; the tube connected with the handle should be marked to show when a pint has been forced out of the instrument.

The reason for using a larger and a less handy machine than seems absolutely necessary to perform a delicate operation is, because nearly all syringes suck up a portion of air, which, when the instrument is almost empty, comes forth. Now breath or atmosphere, or gas of any kind injected into a living vessel, speedily destroys life. To prevent so fearful an accident the enlarged capacity of the syringe is recommended.

The water being injected, should the pulse regain its inflammatory character, mingle half a drachm of aconite root, in powder, with every subsequent antispasmodic draught. The ethereal drenches must be continued, because pain of the intestines is always obstinate, and we cannot be certain how far spasm may cause the agony, seeing that a form of colic always attends on enteritis.

These drinks should be administered as the pain, pulse, and the general appearance seem to demand them; they may be employed every quarter of an hour if requisite. When the pulse is quiet, withdraw the aconite; should the pain subside, remove the belladonna. The ether and laudanum may be diminished as the horse appears to be more comfortable.

Should the symptoms denote a dead, lingering pain in the abdomen, after the administration of the eighth drink, procure some strong liquor ammonia. Dilute this with six times its bulk of cold water. Saturate a stout cloth with the dilution; lay the cloth upon several folds of rug; obtain four resolute men with not very sensitive eyes or noses, and let them hold the cloth close to the animal's abdomen.

The action of the ammonia must be from time to time observed. It is a most powerful agent; in certain states it can blister in ten minutes; in other conditions, it requires half an hour to take that effect. It is very uncertain; but, if held too long, it may dissolve the skin and leave behind a fearful sore, which will establish a lasting blemish. He who employs it will understand he is using that which must not be abused. The removal of the cloth allows the ammonia to evaporate, and, consequently, at any moment effectually checks all further action.

When all is accomplished, should the progress of the disease be effectually stayed, but the cure not be complete, sprinkle on the tongue the following powder every second hour:—

But stop all the other medicine as soon as the subsidence of the symptoms will permit. The food is now of all importance: bran, in enteritis, is positive poison; mashes are not to be thought of; linseed is too feeding for an inflammatory subject. The same objection may be taken to gruel; hay tea, or pails of boiling water poured upon a pound of flour, must sustain the body for the first day after recovery; on the next day, a feed of boiled roots may be introduced, but not the whole quantity at once; that must be divided into three meals. Then the amount may be doubled, and thus the full bulk of provender be by degrees attained; afterward a few crushed and scalded oats may be mixed with the rest at each meal; but it should be some time before hay is permitted to irritate and distend the lately inflamed surfaces.

Enteritis is a fearful disorder; he who has witnessed one death by that terrible malady should have received an awful rebuke. The post-mortem examination best describes the violence of the affection. The intestines, generally the large intestines, are black and swollen; often in color they approach to a green. Their structure is destroyed; they tear upon a touch, and are so loaded with inflamed blood that one division of the bowels may form no inconsiderable burden for a strong man.

The above directions, the intelligent reader will fully comprehend, are not pronounced in any absolute sense. No two cases of any violent disorder are precisely similar; the forms, therefore, prescribed in these pages admit of variations. They are given only as suited to the generality of attacks; they may be lessened or augmented, as circumstances demand or as discretion dictates. It would be as easy to make a shoe which should fit all feet, as to name medicines or point out the quantities which should be adapted to all maladies.

ACUTE DYSENTERY.

Diarrhœa may be banished from the list of diseases to which horse-flesh is liable. Certain animals will purge during work; others will scour upon the smallest change of diet; such peculiarities, however, mostly check themselves; they demand very slight or no remedial treatment. Unlike diarrhœa in the human subject, they never terminate in death; but dysentery is as violent as diarrhœa is mild. The length and size of the intestines render any disease within them a very serious affair. There are two kinds of dysentery, the acute and the chronic; the acute form of disease will constitute the subject of the present article.

The cause of acute dysentery is always some acrid substance taken into the stomach—generally aloes, combined with some preparation of croton; other substances will, however, induce an inflammatory purgation. Such a result may ensue upon the injudicious use of arsenic, corrosive sublimate, tartar emetic, blue-stone, etc. etc. Many of these substances will be eaten if mixed with the corn—the instinct which protects the lives of other animals being destroyed in the horse by ages of domestication. Others may be ignorantly administered with the very best of intention.

The symptoms often are obscure at the commencement; there is abdominal pain; so there is in most intestinal disorders. The agony may readily be mistaken for the pangs attendant on spasmodic colic. On other occasions, the suffering may be slight, not even sufficient at first to destroy the appetite. No poison acts upon two bodies in precisely the same manner; violent purgation is generally the first marked sign which makes known the nature of the disorder. The feces soon become mere discolored water; the thirst is then excessive; the stench is most offensive; the pulse, from being hard, shortly becomes thick and feeble, and ultimately it is intermittent; the countenance is haggard; the position of the body expresses abdominal pain. Perspirations break forth in patches; tympanitis starts up, and death speedily ensues.

It is of little use to inquire, while the animal is suffering, what has provoked the superpurgation; it is then most desirable, if possible, to remove the effect. The best chance of accomplishing this is by destroying the pain that exhausts the strength, thereby affording nature the better chance of vanquishing the irritation. Ether, opium, belladonna, chalk, and catechu present the best means of doing this. These agents, when combined, support the body, allay the anguish, and check the purgation; blended with thick linseed tea, which will in some measure supply the mucus lost to the bowels, they therefore form a good drink for most occasions.