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

The best instrument for hasty and temporary tracheotomy is the invention of Mr. T. W. Gowing, of Camden Town. To insert this canula no cartilage need be excised; a puncture is made with a knife through the connecting medium of the tracheal rings, and through this puncture the tube is driven. It is of all use for temporary or immediate service, but obviously would not do for a continuance.

The objection to tracheotomy, when designed to last for any period, is that the canula, by irritating the lining membrane of the larynx, is apt to provoke abscess, which impedes the breathing to a degree that destroys the life. The author has seen some fearful instances of this effect; but of all tubes, that invented by the French seems to be least open to this objection.

OPERATIONS—PERIOSTEOTOMY.

This operation was first applied to the horse by the late Professor Sewell. It is intended to relieve the lameness consequent upon exostosis situated on the shin-bone. A pair of roweling scissors are first employed to snip the skin above and below the tumor. Then a blunt seton needle, being fixed into a hollow handle by means of a screw, and armed with a tape knotted at one end, is to be used. The needle is violently driven through, and breaks down the cellular tissue which attaches the skin to the tumor. The point is forced to enter at one snip and come out at the other, after which the needle is withdrawn by the first opening. A probe-pointed knife is then introduced into the space thus made; the tumor is sliced into as many pieces as may please the operator or the nature of the growth will admit of. The knife is afterward retracted, and the needle, released from the handle, is passed through the openings, or in at one snip and out at the other. The knot at the end of the tape prevents that being drawn after the needle. The unknotted end is next withdrawn from the needle and tied into a large knot—the whole forming a seton. The operation is occasionally varied by smearing the tape with terebinthinate of cantharides, and sometimes by blistering over tumor, seton and all. This last practice may add to the severity of the operation, but it seems calculated to do little good. Breaking down the attachment of the skin and slicing the tumor appear designed to deprive the growth of blood, while a blister seems calculated to draw to the part an excess of that which the operation was intended to dispel.

Periosteotomy is not very highly esteemed by the vast majority of practitioners. It is, however, sometimes very successful. A horse is thrown, being dead lame; the animal gets up from the hands of the surgeon and trots sound. It is difficult, however, to predicate the quadruped on which it will thus act. Certainly the operation is best adapted to young horses; but even to all of these it will not prove beneficial. It is therefore looked upon as a surgical experiment, quite as apt to disappoint as to please. The seton, moreover, is disposed to cause the edges of the holes through which it passes to indurate. A blemish which it takes some months to eradicate is the consequence; and this, added to the expense attendant upon treatment, is not apt to prove pleasing to horse proprietors, especially when the operation altogether fails.

A modification of periosteotomy might perhaps be tried. Omit the seton altogether; make an inferior snip with the scissors; introduce a sharp-pointed needle, and cut a channel. Then insert a probe-pointed bistoury, and incise the tumor. If periosteotomy were to prove successful, it probably would be so in this shape. The author has seen small benefit result from the after-use of the seton, and by operating in the manner proposed all the subsequent blemish would be avoided. The cut would soon heal and leave no scar behind: thus the grand objection to the performance of periosteotomy, as it now stands, would be removed.

The motive for the above proposal is to spare the suffering of the animal. If the hair is cut short previously, and pressure made above the snip of the scissors, the wound need occasion little pain. A sharp point cutting its way through the cellular tissue would not cause one tithe of the agony which follows the use of a blunt instrument necessarily tearing, stretching, and breaking a passage through a living body. Cartilage or bone in a state of health has small sensibility. The employment of the knife would therefore provoke no struggle, while all the after-torture of a seton applied directly to the surface of a wound would be avoided.

Perhaps it would be best to bind a broad tape, with a cork under it and upon the vessels, round the leg before the operation, thereby pressing on the nerve and cutting off the supply of blood. This would probably deprive the leg of all sensation. The most severe part of this method of periosteotomy would be the after-consequences. The incised tumor would inflame; the vacant channel would have to unite. The one would occasion agony, the other be probably attended with violent itching. The limb, therefore, should be bandaged, even though a wound upon the horse's body does not do so well when covered up. The bandage, however, will prevent the animal from injuring the sore leg with the opposite shoe, which a horse may be provoked to attempt by that irritation which attends the healing process.

OPERATIONS—NEUROTOMY.

Neurotomy is the division of the nerve which supplies the hoof of the fore leg with sensation. The foot of the horse being moved through tendons by muscles from above, and having in itself no muscular power, obviously has no occasion for a motor nerve. Consequently the nerve running to the foot is wholly sentient. It is the means of communication through which pain or pleasure is transmitted from the hoof to the brain.

To take away a portion of this nerve is evidently to separate the medium of such communication. Feeling can no more travel along a divided nerve than electricity can along a broken wire. The knowledge of this fact has led to a portion of the nerve being excised; and the doing of this has been named neurotomy.

A nerve is a very compound structure. It is composed of numerous fine filaments or small threads bound together by a cellular sheath called neurilema. Healthy nerve feels firm, and has a brilliant white appearance; unhealthy nerve is of a yellowish tint, and is of a less solid texture.

The operation of neurotomy is certain relief, but that relief is of uncertain duration. The divided nerve, after a time, reunites. The junction thus formed carries on all the functions of the perfect structure; but a bulb is left behind at the place of union. This bulb is to be easily felt by pressing upon the seat of neurotomy externally with the points of the fingers; and the bulb being felt leads to a knowledge that the horse has been subjected to the operation. Neurotomy, therefore, can never be concealed, if pains are bestowed upon its detection. The operation, however, is not successful in every case.

In some animals, the wound has just closed when junction seems to be formed between the divided ends of the nerve. The lameness then returns as acutely as ever.

In others, the horse will proceed to work, and continue sound ever after—the restored power to use the foot having, in the last case, seemingly destroyed the affection.

Some animals are subjected to operation so late that disease has had time to weaken the pedal structures. The consequence is that no sooner does the absence of feeling tempt the horse to throw his entire weight upon the foot than the navicular bone fractures or the perforans tendon ruptures.

Certain horses, from a tingling sensation in the neurotomized foot—similar to that felt by men in the imaginary fingers of an arm which has been amputated—will stamp violently till they injure it and provoke suppuration; while other feet are so irritable that the head is bent downward and large pieces from the hoof literally bitten off. To account for this last circumstance the reader must remember that, though the foot seems to itch, it in reality has no sensation to preserve it from the teeth of the provoked animal.

Cases occasionally happen of horses having picked up nails, or having incurred wounds in the foot, which, being deprived of feeling, the animal wanted the power to recognize. No lameness was exhibited, and the injury was necessarily unattended to. The foot has been left alone till the hurt has induced mortification.

Weak feet have not been able to endure the consequences of operation. They have sustained no external injury, but the heaviness of tread attendant on a loss of sensation has so battered the senseless member that suppuration has been induced. The hoof has therefore been cast off and the horse been destroyed, although it was discovered in the stable standing with the utmost composure upon the bleeding and exposed flesh.

These are a few of the disagreeables attending a most humane and successful operation. The first requisite for the performance of neurotomy is a sound knowledge of anatomy. A familiar acquaintance with the course of the nerve is essential. It descends in two main branches from the knee, one on either side of the leg. It travels in company with and behind the artery and vein on the inner side of the fore limb. On the outer side it is accompanied by no vessel. About the center of the leg, however, the two nerves are united by a branch which travels over the perforans tendon, connecting the sentient fibers of either side. It is therefore essential, in the performance of neurotomy, to make the primary incision rather low down, especially if it is meant that the high operation should be accomplished, or that all sensation should be destroyed on one side by a single division.

At the pastern the nerve divides; the posterior branch runs direct to the frog. The anterior branch travels in front of the artery for some distance, when it takes a more forward course, dividing into several separate branches.

The generality of operators remove about an inch of the main trunk before the nerve divides, or above the pastern; and the result certainly confirms the soundness of such a practice.

The nerve of the frog is, however, frequently excised. The objection to this is the junction of a filament of the anterior branch with the nerve below the excision. That union should deprive the operation of all effect; but, notwithstanding, the division is sometimes beneficial. The operation is, however, never certain; and to that circumstance the proprietor must make up his mind when he sanctions its performance.

Always examine minutely any horse submitted to you for neurotomy. Do this to discover if the operation has been previously performed—the object being that you may thereby be prepared for some trouble in mastering the retentive consciousness of the animal; likewise, that by such inquiries you may decide upon the benefit likely to result from the operation; also, that you may be warned of a bloody and tedious job. The leg which has previously been subjected to neurotomy becomes doubly vascular. We know of no reason to account for this phenomenon, excepting it may denote the cost at which nature repairs her higher order of structures.

Before you consent to operate upon any animal, examine the feet. If the hoof is weak or even weakly, refuse at once. If the hoof be strong and thick, the wall upright, and the frog small, you may consent, with the best hopes of success. Have such a horse put into the stable, and the diseased foot or feet kept wet for a week prior to the operation. This frequently has the effect of constringing the arteries, greatly depriving the part of blood. That result renders the use of the knife more cleanly and more easy. Two days prior to the important one have the hair cut short over the place or places where you design to make your incisions. By so doing, all chance of hair getting into and irritating the wound will be effectually destroyed. This may happen, and, should the hair be left on, much delay will be occasioned, while the animal's sufferings must be augmented if the hair be clipped after the horse is down for operation.

Never operate upon a horse with the hair uncut—leave that to parties who league with the lowest class of horse-cheats. Cut off hair two days beforehand. Make an incision through the skin about three-quarters to one inch long. Have a needle and thread ready—a strong surgeon's needle and a stout twine. Pierce the divided skin from the inside to the outside, leaving a moderate piece of twine hanging out of the wound. Carry the twine under the leg, and pierce the integument on the other margin of the wound—also from the interior to the exterior. Then bring the piece of twine left hanging out of the first puncture and the needle together, at the back of the leg. Slightly tighten the twine; fasten these two ends in a bow, and the effect will be to keep the sides of the incision asunder.

If you design to perform the high operation, choose a spot a little above the pastern, and incise the skin at one cut, if possible. The high operation is most approved of for general purposes, and, as before remarked, destroys sensation in the entire hoof. Some proprietors think it well to leave a little feeling in the forward portion of the foot, which is free from disease. This is done to escape those results that have already been enumerated as the effects of total insensibility. The high operation is, therefore, performed only on one side, and the posterior or low division on the other. There are two spots at which the low operation may be accomplished. The author has given the reader a representation of the anatomy of the leg. He presents a view on page 455, of the places where the incisions can be made.

Either of the lower operations, regarded by itself, is very uncertain in its effect; and, if taken both together, they present no advantage over the superior opening.

These remarks may be better comprehended, by comparing this engraving with the course of the nerve shown in the previous illustration.

When the skin is divided—supposing the horse is neurotomized for the first time—nothing is visible but white-looking cellular tissue. This must be carefully dissected away with a pair of forceps and a scalpel. Dissect on until the nerve and artery are exposed plainly to view. Then take a crooked needle and thread. Pierce the nerve—this you may do fearlessly. The author has not known it to produce pain. The fibers composing the nerve are so fine that the needle's point is blunt when compared with them. It, therefore, glides through them without pricking any of the filaments.

If the horse has been operated upon before, you must expect a tedious and sanguinary business. It is then of all importance to obtain a very attentive and equally nimble man to take the sponge. Blood will follow every movement of the knife. However, with each cut you must retract the hand, and the man who has care of the sponge must quickly, surely, and forcibly cleanse the wound. When the sponge is withdrawn, for an instant, and for an instant only, is there a clear view of the part. The operator must be ready to make the most of that glimpse; for, the next moment, blood flows over the lips of the orifice and all is concealed from view. Thus we proceed, rather snipping than cutting, taking away particles instead of flakes of cellular tissue, till the nerve is exposed. Then it is fixed with the needle as before directed.

The nerve being caught, withdraw the needle, leaving the thread behind. Tie both ends of the thread together, and insert the first finger of your left hand into the loop thus formed. By gentle traction raise the nerve a little, and with the knife release its inferior attachments. Then let the man who held the sponge make pressure with all his force upon the artery and nerve above the incision. After this has been done about a minute, and by the stoppage of the circulation you may conclude the sensation to be in some degree numbed, insert the blade of the knife under that portion of the nerve which is nearest the body, and cut boldly upward.

A spasm mostly follows the division; but it is of short duration. Afterward dissect about one inch of the nerve from its attachments, and remove this inch from the main trunk. No sign of feeling will follow the excision when made lower down. All communication with the brain has been cut off by the previous division, and the sensorium no longer takes notice of any violence offered to that part of the body which has been isolated.

Next, having sponged the part, close the wound by means of a pin forced through the lips of the orifice. Then twist a little tow round it in the form of a figure of 8. That being finished, so much of the point as protrudes is to be removed with a pair of wire nippers; a bandage is then put on; and, if both sides of the limb are to be neurotomized, the horse is turned over. All being accomplished, return the horse to the stable, but watch the pin which fastens the wound. If the incision continues dry, the pin may not be removed till six days have expired; but if the slightest appearance of pus be suspected, immediately withdraw the pin, and remove the tow, treating the part with solution of chloride of zinc, as though it were a common wound.

There are various knives invented for the performance of neurotomy. That the writer most approves of was the invention of Mr. Woodger, the admirably practical veterinary surgeon of Bishops Mews, Paddington. The author has used this instrument himself, and seen it guided by other hands. In every case it has expedited the operation and thereby shortened the period of the animal's suffering.

The after-treatment of neurotomy consists in letting well alone, if all goes on rightly. Should pus make its appearance, bathe the wounds, thrice daily, with the solution of chloride of zinc, one grain to the ounce of water. Remove the bandages from the legs after the horse has entered the stable. The incisions heal more readily when exposed to the stimulating effects of the air. Place a cradle round the horse's neck, and feed liberally. Avoid all purgative medicine; you now want an injury repaired, and do not desire to reduce the vital energy.

When the wounds have healed, the horse may be gradually taken once more to work, but it should not be fully used. Excessive and too early labor is the cause of the many serious objections taken to a merciful operation. The horse for some period does not feel his foot. He does not flex the pastern as the hoof nears the ground. The foot is placed flat upon the earth, and with a kind of sensible jar, as though the animal had made "a false step." This peculiarity unfits the quadruped to trot upon stones, or hard roads, until it has learned "to handle its feet," or to accommodate the tread to the new condition of the hoof.

OPERATIONS—DIVISION OF THE TENDONS.

Many horses when standing knuckle over to such an extent as threatens to throw them upon their knees. Others can only put the toe of the hind leg to the ground. The natural use of the limb is equally injured in each case: the fore legs of the horse support the body and the burden: the hind legs propel the carcass and the load. Both are deformed by contraction of the perforans tendon; and both deformities are generally produced by excessive labor, inducing strain, though a few cases have come to the author's knowledge of animals being born thus afflicted. When we contemplate the huge frame of the horse, it seems more than fitted for all man's ordinary purposes. But country carriers have vans proportioned only to the extent of their custom; their carts are enlarged as their trade increases; but very seldom is the power which draws the load augmented in the same proportion. The horse, so agile and so beautiful, as long as it can move the cart is esteemed to be not over-weighted. It labors up hill, and then the carrier congratulates himself that the worst of the work is over; it may be for him, but it is not for his horse. All the stress in going down hill lies upon the back sinews; the animal has to put forth all its strength to check the downward impetus of the load. It is the same with other horses in the shafts of other vehicles. Three or four animals—according to the usual English fashion—may be attached to a load; but the weight which three strengths can draw upon level ground, when descending an inequality, then, never bears equally upon the leaders.

Clap of the back sinews is a common accident with all horses. The equine delight is the pleasure of the master. So entirely is the horse the slave of man, that it, by instinct, puts forth its utmost strength to attain anything in which its owner takes enjoyment. It does so regardless of its own probable sufferings. In racing, in hunting, in all kinds of pastime the horse will strain every nerve and even burst its strong vessels laboring to gratify an ungrateful proprietor. Who does not remember the old coaching days? The animals then appeared happy in their vocation. A well-appointed coach, trotting by the White Horse Cellar, was a sight to contemplate. However, follow the vehicle to the termination of the first stage. See the poor panting carcasses unharnessed—the perspiration lathering their sides, their veins swelling, their tails quivering, their nostrils jerking, and their limbs stiffened. Who then could regret that railroads were invented to indulge man's desire for speed? See, as the coach leaves the metropolis behind it, the cattle deteriorate. At last, behold life with swollen legs, stiff joints, and diseased feet made to propel the loaded vehicle. Who, properly regarding such a spectacle, and having a heart to feel, does not rejoice that a method of traveling has at length been invented which renders the employment of the lash to overcome the agonies of breathing flesh no longer imperative?

These fast abuses induced contraction of the perforans tendon in the front legs. There is, however, this difference between contraction in the anterior and posterior extremities—one hind leg only may be affected; but the author remembers no instance of one fore leg being alone involved.

When a tendon is sprained, it is usual to apply stimulating or fiery mixtures to that part, winding up the treatment with blisters and the heated iron. Notwithstanding such measures are very seldom successful, man seems incapable of learning anything where another has to bear the torture, and he will often endure a great deal of agony himself before an obvious idea can be awakened.

Such slowness is, however, very lamentable in the case of the horse. Division of the tendons was borrowed from the human surgeon by the veterinary practitioner. The operation, however, till very lately, remained as it was originally adopted. Human surgery had advanced; but veterinary practice stood motionless. At length, Mr. Varnell came from America, and instructed veterinarians in an improved mode of operating, which at this date should be universally practiced.

A stout knife with a probed point, a curved blade, and a smooth, rounded back, is first obtained. Before the blade is inserted, the skin is divided, at the point selected for the operation, by the slight puncture of a lancet.

The leg is then flexed; the tendons are, by the position of the limb, rendered flaccid. The knife is next inserted sideways, behind the nerve and artery, under the tendons. This last act is not, however, in practice, very easy or very safe.

The edge of the knife is now toward the shoulder or haunch, and the vessels lie upon that side of the blade which is nearest to the bone. The operator now, by a simple motion of the hand, turns the cutting edge of the knife toward the posterior part of the limb. A man at the same moment takes hold of the leg and forces it straight; the perforans tendon is thus dragged against the knife, while the suspensory ligament and vessels are safe at the back of the blade. If the tendon be not divided without any effort on the part of the operator, he makes a sawing motion as he withdraws the knife. A slight sensation or a feeble sound often testifies the separation of the structure.

Often, if the contraction be not chronic, the strength of the extensor pedis muscle, when released from its opponent's force, is sufficient to straighten the fetlock. When the disease, however, has existed for any time, it requires some violence to break down the false attachments which have been formed. For this purpose the knee of a strong man is placed in front of the fetlock-joint, and the horse's foot is, by pulling hard, drawn forward.

The wound is then closed with a pin and twisted thread, as in neurotomy, and the animal, till junction is perfected, should be kept in the stable, as the shoe to be worn afterward is not favorable to progression. One week after the operation, a shoe, with a projecting piece at the toe about one inch and a half long, is to be put on the foot of the diseased limb. Five weeks after this, the shoe is to be replaced by one having the projecting point twice as long; and this last is to be worn till union is supposed to be perfected—till the expiration of three months at least.

The horse, after having the tendon divided, is said to be as strong as ever. The author would, however, object to such an animal being put into the shafts with even a light load behind it, or to its being again used for saddle purposes. The animal, though forbidden these uses, has still a large field of service open to it.

This operation is alike effectual and humane. That the last assertion may not appear based upon a single opinion, the author presents the reader with an engraving taken from a park near Lewes. That animal seemed to have all four limbs contracted, or the hind limbs were flexed and much advanced, to take the weight off the fore members. A foal ran by the side of the creature thus crippled; though it would be supposed no sane person would select such a dam to breed from.

Now had this mare been operated upon, slight pain would have been inflicted. Tendon, unless in a state of inflammation, has no sensation. Relief would have been afforded for the remainder of the life, and though, from her make and shape, the animal might never have held a high station among her breed, still, with straight legs she must have been worth as much for work as with bent limbs she could be valuable for stock purposes.

LAYING OPEN THE SINUSES OF A QUITTOR.

Give no opening medicine to any horse previous to this operation. Every member of the equine race is more likely to be too low from excess of work, than in any degree inflammatory from over-indulgence. Therefore, discard the general practice of preparing the horse with a dose of compound aloes. If the bowels are costive, get them open. But before employing the drastic drug, try what bran mashes and green-meat can effect. The entire strength will be needed to repair the injuries effected with the knife.

Give tonics and high feeding where the symptoms declare the body to be enervated. It is at all times better to operate upon a system having a superabundance of vital energy than upon one in which the powers are at all tardy. Collapse is the greatest enemy the surgeon has to dread. It is true, animals do not, like men, often "shut up" or die while under the operator; but frequently the most skillful surgery is defeated by the horse, after it has been released from the hobbles, never thriving. There may be no disease to be detected; but the body seems to want the strength requisite for recovery. To make this apparent to the reader—two gentlemen shall each perform neurotomy. One shall bungle, yet his patient shall do well. The wounds shall heal by the first intention, and the horse in a fortnight be again delighting its owner. The other shall display the perfection of scientific attainment; yet the horse shall never thrive. The wounds shall ulcerate, and the animal either gnaw the foot or cast the hoof. How can such differences be accounted for but by believing the horse is subject to a peculiar species of chronic collapse?

Rasp the quarter of the horse's foot which has quittor, until the soft, light-colored horn of the laminæ is exposed. Then let the hair be cut off around the opening on the coronet, and the foot be carefully cleansed. Afterward throw the horse. Release the quittored leg from the hobbles, and with a steel director probe each sinus. So soon as the instrument is well in, take a sharp-pointed knife and run it carefully down the groove of the director. Then ascertain, with a grooved probe, whether the sinus decreased in diameter, or whether the whole extent of the pipe be laid open. If the smallest portion remains, to which the knife has not reached, use the groove of the probe as a director, and slit it up. Do this to as many sinuses as may exist.

Next place in each sinus a small piece of tow. These pieces of tow should be already divided into short and thin skeins. They should be saturated with chloride of zinc dissolved in spirits of wine, one scruple to the ounce. Put one of these into each sinus, and let the horse up. In three days such of the pieces of tow as have not been removed by the sloughing process may be taken from the wounds, and the foot simply dressed with chloride of zinc and water, one grain to the ounce, squeezed from a sponge, as in the case of open joint.

This operation, when described, reads abhorrent; but it is really most humane. It is a common thing for a horse to be three, or even six months under treatment, on account of an ordinary quittor. During the entire space, the foot—the tenderest part of the horse's body—is burned with violent caustics, and has had heated wires thrust down its sinuses. By the operation proposed, the affair is settled in a few minutes. The horse seldom evinces much sensibility while the knife is being employed; in three days the animal is so far recovered as to allow the diseased member almost to be left to nature. The horse should, however, on no account do any work before the hoof is in some measure restored. Until the outer covering of dark horn has grown down, a bar shoe, well eased off the diseased quarter, should be worn. When the hoof is reproduced, instead of false quarter or other deformities, the usual results of quittor, it is all but impossible to decide which has been the affected foot, and which was operated upon.

The author has now stated at length that treatment which the horse for its own sake deserves, and which, for the honor of the being whom it serves, the animal should receive. He has, designedly, rather appealed to the reason of his readers than sought to enlist their feelings. The subject was, indeed, a wide one. Man has hitherto been too content to consider animals as something given absolutely to him to be treated according to his sovereign will or merest pleasure. He has not reflected that, when he was created lord of this earth, he was invested with a title which had its responsibilities as well as its privileges.

ALPHABETICAL SUMMARY.

A BRIEF SUMMARY
OF THE FOREGOING MATTER,
ARRANGED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

Ruptured Stomach is characterized by excessive colic, followed by tympanitis.

Introsusception possibly may be relieved by the inhalation of a full dose of chloroform; but the result is always uncertain.

Invagination is attended with the greatest possible agony.

Strangulation is not to be distinguished, during life, from invagination.

Calculus causes death by impactment; but however different the causes of abdominal injury may be, they each produce the greatest agony, which conceals the other symptoms, and makes all such injuries apparently the same while the life lasts.

ACITES, OR DROPSY OF THE ABDOMEN.

Cause.—Chronic peritonitis.

Symptoms.—Pulse hard; head pendulous; food often spoiled; membranes pallid; mouth dry. Pressure to abdomen elicits a groan; turning in the stall calls forth a grunt. Want of spirit; constant lying down; restlessness; thirst; loss of appetite; weakness; thinness; enlarged abdomen; constipation and hide-bound. Small bags depend from the chest and belly; the sheath and one leg sometimes enlarge; the mane breaks off; the tail drops out. Purgation and death.

Treatment.—When the symptoms first appear give, night and morning, strychnia, half a grain, worked up to one grain; iodide of iron, half a drachm, worked up to one drachm and a half; extract of belladonna, one scruple; extract of gentian and powdered quassia, of each a sufficiency; apply small blisters, in rapid succession, upon the abdomen: but if the effusion is confirmed, a cure is hopeless.

ACUTE DYSENTERY.

Cause.—Some acrid substance taken into the stomach.

Symptoms.—Abdominal pain; violent purgation; the feces become discolored, and water fetid; intermittent pulse; haggard countenance; the position characterizes the seat of anguish. Perspiration, tympanitis, and death.

Treatment.—Give sulphuric ether, one ounce; laudanum, three ounces; liquor potassæ, half an ounce; powdered chalk, one ounce; tincture of catechu, one ounce; cold linseed tea, one pint. Repeat every fifteen minutes. Cleanse the quarters; plait the tail; inject cold linseed tea. The whole of the irritating substance must be expelled before improvement can take place.

ACUTE GASTRITIS.

Cause.—Poison; generally given to improve the coat.

Symptoms.—Excessive pain, resembling fury.

Treatment.—Give, as often and as quickly as possible, the following drink: Sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each three ounces; carbonate of magnesia, soda, or potash, four ounces; gruel, (quite cold,) one quart. Should the pulse be sinking, add to the drink carbonate of ammonia, one drachm. If corrosive sublimate is known to be the poison, one dozen raw eggs should be blended with each drench. If delirium be present, give the medicine as directed for tetanus, with the stomach pump.

ACUTE LAMINITIS.

Cause.—Often man's brutality. Horses driven far and upon hard roads are exposed to the disorder. Any stress long applied to the foot, as standing in the hold of a ship, may generate the affection.

Symptoms.—The pace seems odd toward the end of the journey; but the horse is placed in the stable with plenty of food for the night. Next morning the animal is found all of a heap. Flesh quivering; eyes glaring; nostrils distended, and breath jerking; flanks tucked up; back roached; head erect; mouth closed; hind legs advanced under the belly; fore legs pushed forward; fore feet resting upon the heels, and the limbs moved as though the horse were dancing upon hot irons.

Treatment.—Put on the slings in silence. To the end of the cords append weights. Soak the feet in warm water, in which a portion of alkali is dissolved. Cut out the nails from the softened horn. Before the shoes are removed give half a drachm of belladonna and fifteen grains of digitalis, and repeat the dose every half hour until the symptoms abate. When the slings are up, open the jugular vein; abstract one quart of blood, and inject one pint of luke-warm water. Clothe the body; place thin gruel and green-meat within reach, and leave two men to watch for the first three nights.

Next morning give sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each two ounces, in a pint of water. Should the pastern arteries throb, open the veins and place the feet in warm water. While the affection lasts, pursue these measures; and it is a bad symptom, though not a certain one, if no change for the better takes place in five days.

ALBUMINOUS URINE.

Cause.—Unknown.

Symptoms.—These consist of the positions assumed by the horse. The legs are either stretched out or the hind feet are brought under the body. Straddling gait, and much difficulty in turning within the stall. Some urine being caught, it is thick, and answers to certain chemical tests.

Treatment.—Bleed moderately; give a laxative, and apply mustard to the loins. As after-measures, perfect rest, attention to diet, and repeated doses of opium.

APHTHA.

Cause.—Unknown.

Symptoms.—Small swelling on the lips; larger swellings upon the tongue. As the disease progresses, a clear liquid appears in each swelling. The bladders burst, crusts form, and the disease disappears.

Treatment.—Soft food, and the following wash for the mouth: Take borax, five ounces; honey or treacle, two pints; water, one gallon. Mix.

BLOOD SPAVIN.

A disease never encountered at the present time.

BOG SPAVIN.

Cause.—Brutality of some kind.

Symptom.—A puffy swelling at the front of and at the upper part of the hock.

Treatment.—Pressure, maintained by means of an India-rubber bandage.

BOTS.

Cause.—Turning out to grass.

Treatment.—No remedy. Wait till the following year, and the parasites will be ejected naturally.

BREAKING DOWN.

Cause.—Violent exertion; generally when racing.

Symptoms.—The horse, when going, suddenly loses power to put one leg to the ground. The foot is turned upward; pain excessive; breathing quickened; pulse accelerated; appetite lost. In time these symptoms abate, but the leg is disabled for life.

Treatment.—Bleed and purge, or not, as the symptoms are severe. Place a linen bandage round the injury, and see that this is kept constantly cold and wet; put on a high-heeled shoe, and leave the issue to nature. The animal is afterward serviceable only to breed from.

BROKEN KNEES.

Causes.—Terrifying a horse, or rendering alive only to fear. Pulling in the chin to the breast, or driving with a tight bearing-rein.

Symptoms.—The horse falls; the knee may only be slightly broken, but deeply contused. A slough must then take place, and open joint may result. Or the animal may fall, and, when down, be driven forward by the impetus of its motion. The knee is cut by the fall, and the skin of the knee may be forced back by the onward impulse. This skin will become dirty; but the removed integument will fly back on the animal's rising, thus forming a kind of bag containing and concealing foreign matter.

Treatment.—Procure a pail of milk-warm water and a large sponge. Dip the sponge in the pail, and squeeze out the water above the knee. Continue to do this, but do not dab or sop the wound itself. The water flowing over the knee will wash away every impurity. Then with a probe gently explore the bag. If small, make a puncture through the bottom of the bag; if large, insert a seton, and move it night and morning until good pus is secreted: then withdraw the seton. "Rack up" the horse's head, and get some cold water, to every quart of which add two ounces of tincture of arnica. Pour a little of this into a saucer, and then dip a sponge into the liquid. Squeeze the sponge dry above the joint. Do this every half hour for three and a half days, both by day and night. If at the end of that time all is going on well, the head may be released; but should the knee enlarge and become sensitive, while the animal refuses to put the foot to the ground, withdraw the seton; give no hay, but all the oats and beans that can be eaten, with two pots of stout each day. Place the quadruped in slings; apply the arnica lotion until a slough takes place; then resort to the chloride of zinc lotion, one scruple to the pint, and continue to use this as has been directed.

BROKEN WIND.

Causes.—Old age, prolonged work, and bad food.

Symptoms.—Short, dry, hacking cough, caused by irritability of the larynx; ravenous appetite; insatiable thirst; abundant flatus. Dung half digested; belly pendulous; coat ragged; aspect dejected. Respiration is performed by a triple effort; inspiration is spasmodic and single; expiration is labored and double. The ribs first essay to expel the air from the lungs; these failing, the diaphragm and abdominal muscles take up the action. Broken wind can be set or concealed for a time by forcing the animal to swallow quantities of grease, tar, or shot. A drink of water, however, will always reproduce the symptoms.

Treatment.—No cure. Relief alone is possible. Never give water before work. Four half pails of water to be allowed in twenty-four hours. In each draught mingle half an ounce of phosphoric acid or half a drachm of sulphuric acid. Remove the bed in the day; muzzle at night; put a lump of rock-salt and of chalk in the manger. Never push hard or take upon a very long journey.

BRONCHITIS.

Causes.—Riding far and fast; then leaving exposed, especially to the night air; neglect and constitutional liability.

Symptoms.—Appetite often not affected; sometimes it is increased. A short cough, in the first instance; breathing only excited; legs warm; mouth moist; and nasal membrane merely deeper color during the early stage. When confirmed, the appetite is lost; the horse is averse to move; the cough is sore and suppressed; the breathing is audible; the membranes are scarlet; the mouth is hot and dry; the legs are cold; the body is of uneven temperatures.

Treatment.—Do not deplete. Place in a large, loose box; fill the place with steam; apply scalded hay to the throat; fix flannels wet with cold water to the back and side by means of a Mackintosh jacket. When the flannel becomes warm, change it immediately. Do this for two hours. After that space the flannel may remain on, but must not become dry. Prepare half a pound of melted Burgundy pitch, and stir into it two ounces of powdered camphor, with half a drachm of powdered capsicums. Apply the mixture to the throat. To restore tone to the pulse, give, every half hour, sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each one ounce; water, one pint. If no effect be produced by three of these drinks, substitute infusion of aconite, half an ounce; extract of belladonna, half a drachm, rubbed down in water, a quarter of a pint. When the pulse has recovered, resume the former physic, only adding half a drachm of belladonna to each dose. Support with gruel. Introduce food gradually; "chill" the water; be careful of hay, and mind, when given, it is thoroughly damped.

BRONCHOCELE.

Symptom.—An enlargement on the side of the throat.

Treatment.—Give the following, night and morning: Iodide of potassium, half a drachm; liquor potassæ, one drachm; distilled water, half a pint. Also, rub into the swelling the accompanying ointment: Iodide of lead, one drachm; simple cerate, one ounce.

BRUISE OF THE SOLE.

Cause.—Treading on a stone or some projecting body.

Symptom.—Effusion of blood into the horny sole.

Treatment.—Cut away the stained horn, and shoe with leather.

CALCULI.

Causes.—Unknown.

Symptoms of Renal Calculus.—Urine purulent, thick, opaque, gritty, or bloody; back roached. Pressure on the loins occasions shrinking; the arm in the rectum and the hand carried upward provoke alarm.

Treatment.—Two drachms of hydrochloric acid in every pail of water; but the result is dubious.

Symptoms of Cystic Calculus.—Same states of urine as in renal calculus. The water, when flowing forth, is suddenly stopped; every emission is followed by straining; the back is hollowed; the point of the penis is sometimes exposed; and, when going down hill, the animal often pulls up short.

Treatment of Cystic Calculus.—Examine per rectum. An operation for the horse, or Mr. Simmonds's instrument for the mare, is imperative. When the stone is small, hydrochloric acid may be tried.

Symptoms of Urethral Calculus.—Suppression of urine; great suffering. If the urethral calculus is impacted in the exposed portion of the urethra, the passage is distended behind the stoppage.

Treatment of Urethral Calculus.—Cut down upon and remove the substance.

CANKER.

Cause.—Old horses, when "turned out" for life as pensioners; aged and neglected animals will also exhibit the disease.

Symptoms.—Not much lameness. The disease commences at the cleft of the frog; a liquid issues from the part, more abundant and more abominable than in thrush; it often exudes from the commissures joining the sole to the frog. The horn firstly bulges out; then it flakes off, exposing a spongy and soft substance, which is fungoid horn. The fungoid horn is most abundant about the margin of the sole, and upon its surface it flakes off. This horn has no sensation. The disease is difficult to eradicate when one fore foot is involved. When all four feet are implicated, a cure is all but hopeless, and the treatment is certain to be slow and vexatious.

Treatment.—See that the stable is large, clean, and comfortable; note that the food is of the best; allow liberal support; pare off the superficial fungoid horn, and so much of the deep seated as can be detached. Apply to the diseased parts some of the following: Chloride of zinc, half an ounce; flour, four ounces. Put on the foot without water. To the sound hoof apply chloride of zinc, four grains; flour, one ounce. Cover the sound parts before the cankered horn is dressed; tack on the shoe; pad well and firmly. When places appear to be in confirmed health, the following may be used: Chloride of zinc, two grains; flour, one ounce. At first, dress every second day; after a time, every third day, and give exercise as soon as possible.

CAPPED ELBOW.

Cause.—Injury to the point of the elbow.

Symptom.—It is often of magnitude, and is liable to ulcerate and become sinuous.

Treatment.—The same as capped hock.

CAPPED HOCK.

Cause.—Any injury to the point of the calcis.

Symptom.—A round swelling on the point of the hock, which, should the cause be repeated, often becomes of great size.

Treatment.—If small, set several men to hand-rub the tumor constantly for a few days. Should the capped hock be of magnitude, dissect out the enlargement, without puncturing it. Remove none of the pendulous skin. Treat the wound with the lotion of chloride of zinc—one grain to the ounce of water—and it will heal after some weeks.

CAPPED KNEE.

Cause.—The same as the previous affection.

Symptom.—A soft tumor in front of the knee.

Treatment.—If let alone, it would burst and leave a permanent blemish. Draw the skin to one side, and with a lancet pierce the lower surface of the tumor. Treat the wound as an open joint.

CATARACT.

Cause.—Looking at white walls, or receiving external injuries. Specific ophthalmia generates a permanent cataract.

Symptoms.—When partial, shying; if total, white pupil and blindness.

Treatment.—Color the inside of the stable green, as cataract, when not total, is sometimes absorbed.

CHOKING.

Causes.—Something impacted in the gullet, either high up or low down.

Symptoms.—High Choke.—Raised head; saliva; discharge from the nostrils; inflamed eyes; haggard countenance; audible breathing; the muscles of neck tetanic; the flanks heave; the fore feet paw and stamp; the hind legs crouch and dance; perspiration; agony excessive. Low Choke.—The animal ceases to feed; water returns by the nostrils; countenance expresses anguish; saliva and nasal discharge; labored by seldom, noisy breathing; roached back; tucked-up flanks, while the horse stands as though it were desirous of elevating the quarters.

Treatment.—Make haste when high choke is present. Perform tracheotomy to relieve the breathing; insert the balling-iron, or, with a hook extemporized out of any wire, endeavor to remove the substance from the throat. If the choking body is too firmly lodged to be thus removed, sulphuric ether must be inhaled to relax the spasm. The ether not succeeding, an egg is probably impacted. Destroy its integrity with a darning-needle carefully inserted through the skin; then break the shell by outward pressure. Low choke is seldom fatal before the expiration of three days. Give a quarter of a pint of oil every hour; in the intermediate half hours give sulphuric ether, two ounces; laudanum, two ounces; water, half a pint; and use the probang after every dose of the last medicine. Should these be returned, cause chloroform to be inhaled; then insert the probang, and, by steady pressure, drive the substance forward.

Subsequent to the removal of impactment feed with caution.

CHRONIC DYSENTERY.

Cause.—Not well understood; generally attacks old horses belonging to penurious masters.

Symptoms.—Purging without excitement, always upon drinking cold water; violent straining; belly enlarges; flesh wastes; bones protrude; skin hide-bound; membranes pallid; weakness; perspiration; standing in one place for hours. At last the eyes assume a sleepy, pathetic expression; the head is slowly turned toward the flanks; remains fixed for some minutes; the horse only moves when the bowels are about to act; colic; death.

Treatment.—Give, thrice daily, crude opium, half an ounce; liquor potassæ, one ounce; chalk, one ounce; tincture of all-spice, one ounce; alum, half an ounce; ale, one quart. Should the horse belong to a generous master, give one of the following drinks thrice daily, upon the symptoms being confirmed: Sulphuric ether, one ounce; laudanum, three ounces; liquor potassæ, half an ounce; powdered chalk, one ounce; tincture of catechu, one ounce; cold linseed tea, one pint. Or, chloroform, half an ounce; extract of belladonna, half a drachm; carbonate of ammonia, one drachm; powdered camphor, half a drachm; tincture of oak-bark, one ounce; cold linseed tea, one pint. Feed lightly; dress frequently; give a good bed and a roomy lodging.

CHRONIC GASTRITIS.

Symptoms.—Irregularity of bowels and appetite; pallid membranes; mouth cold; a dry cough; tainted breath; sunken eye; catching respiration; pendulous belly; ragged coat, and emaciation. Sweating on the slightest exertion; eating wood-work or bricks and mortar.

Treatment.—Do not purge; administer bitters, sedatives, and alkalies. Give powdered nux vomica, one scruple; carbonate of potash, one drachm; extract of belladonna, half a drachm; extract of gentian and powdered quassia, of each a sufficiency. Or give strychnia, half a grain; bicarbonate of ammonia, one drachm; extract of belladonna, half a drachm; sulphate of zinc, half a drachm; extract of gentian and powdered quassia, of each a sufficiency. Give one ball night and morning; when these balls seem to have lost their power, give half an ounce each of liquor arsenicalis and tincture of ipecacuanha, with one ounce of muriated tincture of iron and laudanum, in a pint of water; damp the food; sprinkle magnesia on it. As the strength improves, give sulphuric ether, one ounce; water, one pint, daily. Ultimately change that for a quart of ale or stout daily.

CHRONIC HEPATITIS.

Cause.—Too good food and too little work.

Symptoms.—Cold mouth; pallid membranes; white of eyes ghastly, displaying a yellow tinge; looks toward the right side; the right side may be tender for a long time, with generally repeated attacks of this nature, although the horse may perish with the first fit.

Treatment.—Hold up the head, and if the horse staggers, this proves hemorrhage from the liver. Give sufficient of nutritious food, but only enough of it, plenty of labor, and the following physic: Iodide of potassium, two ounces; liquor potassæ, one quart; dose, night and morning, two tablespoonfuls in a pint of water.

CLAP OF THE BACK SINEWS.

Cause.—Extra exertion.

Symptoms.—The maimed limb is flexed; the toe rests upon the ground. In a short space a tumor appears; it is small, hot, soft, and tender, but soon grows hard. Great pain, but attended with few constitutional symptoms.

Treatment.—Administer physic, and bleed gently; then give a few doses of febrifuge medicine, but go no further than to reduce the pulse to fifty-five degrees. Put a linen bandage on the leg; keep this constantly wet until the primary symptoms abate. Cut grass for food while fever exists; continue the cold water till recovery is confirmed. The horse will not be fit to work for many months.

COLD.

If mild, a little green-meat, a few mashes, an extra rug, and a slight rest generally accomplish a cure.

Symptoms of severe cold are dullness; a rough coat; the body of different temperatures; the nasal membrane deep scarlet, or of a leaden color; the appetite is lost; simple ophthalmia; tears; the sinuses are clogged, and a discharge from the nose appears.

Treatment.—Give no active medicine. Apply the steaming nose-bag six times daily; allow cut grass and mashes for food, with gruel for drink. If weak, present three feeds of crushed and scalded oats and beans daily, with a pot of stout morning and evening. Good nursing, with pure air, warmth, and not even exercise, till the disease abates, are of more importance than "doctor's stuff" in a case of severe cold. Cold, however, often ushers in other and more dangerous diseases.

CONGESTION IN THE FIELD.

Cause.—Riding a horse after the hounds when out of condition.

Symptoms.—The horse, from exhaustion, reels and falls. The body is clammy cold; the breathing is labored; every vein is turgid.

Treatment.—Bleed, if possible; cover the body; lead gently to the nearest stable; keep hot rugs upon the animal; bandage the legs and hood the neck; warm the place, either by a fire or tubs full of hot water. Give, without noise, every half hour, one ounce of sulphuric ether, half an ounce of laudanum, half a pint of cold water. Should no chemist be at hand, beat up two ounces of turpentine with the yolk of an egg; mix it with half a pint of water, and repeat the dose at the times stated. Allow an ample bed, and place a pail of gruel within easy reach of the horse. Do not leave the animal for thirty hours, as in that time its fate will be decided.

CONGESTION IN THE STABLE.

Cause.—A debilitated, fat horse, unused to work, being driven fast with a heavy load behind it.

Symptoms.—Hanging head; food not glanced at; blowing; artery gorged and round; pulse feeble; cold and partial perspirations; feet cold; eye fixed; hearing lost; and the attitude motionless.

Treatment.—Give immediately two ounces each of sulphuric ether and of laudanum in a pint of cold water. Give the drink with every caution. In ten minutes repeat the medicine, if necessary. Wait twenty minutes, and give another drink, if requisite; more are seldom needed. Take away all solid food, and allow gruel for the remainder of the day.

CORNS.

Cause.—In a flat foot, the heels of the coffin-bone squeeze the sensitive sole by pressing it against the shoe. In a contracted foot, the sensitive sole is squeezed between the wings of the coffin-bone and the thick, horny sole. A bruise results; blood is effused; and the stain of this left upon the horny sole—generally upon the inner side and anterior to the bars—constitutes a horse's corn, which is mostly found on the fore feet.

Symptom.—If the stain is dark, and is to be removed with the knife, this indicates a corn has been, but no longer exists. The smallest stain of bright scarlet testifies to the existence of a new and present corn. Corns are of four kinds—the old, the new, the sappy, and the suppurative. The old and new are produced by the blood, and are judged by the scarlet or dark-colored stain. The old is generally near the surface, the new is commonly deep seated. The sappy is when the bruise is only heavy enough to effuse serum. The new corn alone produces lameness. The suppurating corn may start up from either of the others receiving additional injury. It causes intense pain and produces acute lameness.

Treatment.—Cut out the stain. If a suppurating corn, place the foot in a poultice, after having opened the abscess. Then, the horn being softened, cut away all the sole which has been released by the pus from its attachment to the secreting surface. Tack on an old shoe, and dress with the solution of the chloride of zinc, one grain to the ounce. Afterward shoe with leather, and employ stopping to render the horn plastic.

COUGH.

Causes.—Foul stables; hot stables; coarse, dusty provender; rank bedding; irregular work; while the affection may attend many diseases.

Treatment.—Crush the oats; damp the hay; give gruel or linseed tea for drink. Clothe warmly, and give, thrice daily, half a pint of the following in a tumbler of water: Extract of belladonna, one drachm, rubbed down in a pint of cold water; tincture of squills, ten ounces; tincture of ipecacuanha, eight ounces. No change ensuing, next try—Barbadoes or common tar, half an ounce; calomel, five grains; linseed meal, a sufficiency: make into a ball, and give one night and morning. This being attended with no improvement, employ—Powdered aloes, one drachm; balsam of copaiba, three drachms; cantharides, three grains; common mass, a sufficiency. Mix, and give every morning.

A daily bundle of cut grass is good in the spring of the year. A lump of rock-salt has been beneficial. If the animal eats the litter, muzzle it. Roots are good. Moisten the hay; and, above all things, attend to the ventilation of the stable.

CRACKED HEELS.

Cause.—Cutting the hair from the heels, and turning into a straw-yard during winter.

Symptoms.—Thickened skin; cracks; and sometimes ulceration.

Treatment.—Wash; dry thoroughly; apply the following wash: Animal glycerin, half a pint; chloride of zinc, two drachms; strong solution of oak-bark, one pint. Mix. If ulceration has commenced, rest the horse. Give a few bran mashes or a little cut grass to open the bowels. Use the next wash: Animal glycerin, or phosphoric acid, two ounces; permanganate of potash, or creosote, half an ounce; water, three ounces: apply six times daily. Give a drink each day composed of liquor arsenicalis, half an ounce; tincture of muriate of iron, one ounce; water, one pint.

CRIB-BITING.

Cause.—Sameness of food and unhealthy stables, or indigestion.

Symptoms.—Placing the upper incisors against some support, and, with some effort, emitting a small portion of gas.

Treatment.—Place a lump of rock-salt in the manger; if that is not successful, add a lump of chalk. Then damp the food, and sprinkle magnesia upon it, and mingle a handful of ground oak-bark with each feed of corn. Purify the ventilation of the stable before these remedies are applied.

CURB.

Causes.—Galloping on uneven ground; wrenching the limb; prancing and leaping.

Symptom.—A bulging out at the posterior of the hock, accompanied by heat and pain, often by lameness.

Treatment.—Rest the animal. Put on an India-rubber bandage, (see page 307,) and under it a folded cloth. Keep the cloth wet and cool with cold water. When all inflammation has disappeared, blister the hock.

CYSTITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER.

Causes.—Kicks and blows under the flank. Abuse of medicine, and bad food, with the provocatives generally of nephritis.

Symptoms.—Those common to pain and inflammation. Urine, however, affords the principal indication. At first, it is at intervals jerked forth in small quantities. Ultimately it flows forth constantly drop by drop. A certain but a dangerous test is to insert the arm up the rectum, and to feel the small and compressed bladder. A safer test is to press the flank, which, should cystitis be present, calls forth resistance.