Treatment.—Give scruple doses of aconite, should the pulse be excited; the same of belladonna, should pain be excessive; and calomel with opium, to arrest the disease. Place under the belly, by means of a rug, a cloth soaked with strong liquor ammonia diluted with six times its bulk of water. Or apply a rug dipped into hot water or loaded with cold water; change when either becomes warm.

DIABETES INSIPIDUS, OR PROFUSE STALING.

Causes.—Diuretic drugs or bad food.

Symptoms.—Weakness loss of flesh; loss of condition.

Treatment.—Do not take from the stable; keep a pail of linseed tea in the manger; give no grass or hay; groom well. Order a ball composed of iodide of iron, one drachm; honey and linseed meal, a sufficiency. Or a drink consisting of phosphoric acid, one ounce; water, one pint. Give the ball daily; the drink, at night and at morning.

ENTERITIS.

Causes.—Greatly conjectural. Prolonged colic may end in it. Constipation may induce it.

Symptoms.—Dullness heaviness; picks the food; shivers repeatedly; rolling; plunging; kicking, but more gently than in spasmodic colic; quickened breathing; hot, dry mouth; wiry pulse. Pressure to the abdomen gives pain. Remove your coat; insert the arm up the anus; if the intestines are very hot, all is confirmed.

Treatment.—Extract one quart of blood from the jugular, and inject into the vein one pint of water at a blood heat. Give aconite in powder, half a drachm; sulphuric ether, three ounces; laudanum, three ounces; extract of belladonna, one drachm, (rubbed down in cold water, one pint and a half.) As the pulse changes, withdraw the aconite; as the pain subsides, discontinue the belladonna. The other ingredients may be diminished as the horse appears to be more comfortable. Should the pain linger after the administration of the eighth drink, apply an ammoniacal blister. Sprinkle on the tongue, if any symptoms declare the disease vanquished but not fled, every second hour, calomel, half a drachm; opium, one drachm. Feed very carefully upon recovery, avoiding all things purgative or harsh to the bowels.

EXCORIATED ANGLES OF THE MOUTH.

Cause.—Abuse of the reins.

Treatment.—Apply the following lotion to the part: Chloride of zinc, two scruples; essence of anise seed, two drachms; water, two pints.

FALSE QUARTER.

Cause.—Injury to the coronet, producing an absence of the secreting coronet of the crust from the hoof.

Symptoms.—No lameness, but weakness of the foot. The soft horn of the laminae, being exposed, is apt to crack. Bleeding ensues. Sometimes granulations sprout when the pain and the lameness are most acute.

Treatment.—In cases of crack and granulations, treat as is advised for sandcrack. Put on a bar shoe, with a clip on each side of the false quarter. Pare down the edges of the crack, and ease off the point of bearing on the false quarter. A piece of gutta-percha, fastened over the false quarter, has done good.

FARCY.

Causes.—Excessive labor, poor food, and bad lodging operating upon old age.

Symptoms.—It is at first inflammation of the superficial absorbents. Lumps appear on various parts. If these lumps are opened, healthy matter is released but the place soon becomes a foul ulcer, from which bunches of fungoid granulations sprout. From the lumps may be traced little cords leading to other swellings. The appetite fails, or else it is voracious. Matter may be squeezed through the skin. Thirst is torturing. At length glanders breaks forth, and the animal dies. There is a smaller kind of farcy called button-farcy the smaller sort is the more virulent of the two.

Cure.—There is no known cure for the disease.

FISTULOUS PAROTID DUCT.

Causes.—Hay-seeds or other substances getting into the mouth of the duct during mastication. Stones being formed within the canal. The stable-fork in the hand of an intemperate groom.

Symptoms.—The duct greatly enlarges behind the obstacle, which, becoming swollen, prevents the secretion from entering the mouth. Great agony is occasioned by every mouthful masticated. The duct bursts, and a fistulous opening is established, through which the saliva jerks at each motion of the jaw. From the absence of a secretion important to digestion, the flesh wastes, and the animal soon assumes a miserable appearance.

Treatment.—Make an adhesive fluid with gum mastic and spirits of wine, or with India-rubber and sulphuric ether. When the horse is not feeding, pare the hardened edges from the wound; cover the orifice with a piece of strained India-rubber; over this put a layer of cotton; fasten one end to the horse's cheek by means of the adhesive fluid; that having dried, fasten the other end tightly down. Place other layers of cotton over this, allowing each layer to cross the other, and fastening all to the cheek. Fasten the head to the pillar-reins; allow the horse to remain till the cotton falls off, and give only gruel for food. Put tan under the feet; and should the first trial not succeed, repeat it.

FISTULOUS WITHERS.

Cause.—External injury, generally by the lady's saddle, which bruises one of the bursæ placed above the withers.

Symptoms.—When first done, a small, round swelling appears on the off side. If this is neglected, the place enlarges, and numerous holes burst out, which are the mouths of so many fistulous pipes.

Treatment.—In the early stage, go to the horse's side, impale the tumor and divide it. Touch the interior with lunar caustic; keep the wound moist with the chloride of zinc lotion, one grain to the ounce of water, and cover it with a cloth dipped in a solution of tar. If the sinuses are established, make one cut to embrace as many as possible. Clean out the corruption. Scrape or cut off any black or white bone which may be exposed. Cover with a cloth, and keep wet with the solution of chloride of zinc. Should there exist a long sinus leading from the withers to the elbow, insert a seton by means of the guarded seton needle. This seton should be withdrawn so soon as a stream of creamy pus is emitted.

FUNGOID TUMORS IN THE EYE.

Cause.—Unknown.

Symptoms.—Blindness; a yellow, metallic appearance to be seen in the eye.

Treatment.—None of any service.

GLANDERS.

Cause.—Bad lodging, stimulating food, and excessive work operating upon young life.

Symptoms.—Staring coat; lungs or air-passages always affected; flesh fades; glands swell; spirit low; appetite bad. A lymphatic gland adheres to the inside of the jaw; the membrane inside the nose ulcerates; a slight discharge from one nostril. This becomes thicker, and adheres to the margin of the nostril, exhibiting white threads and bits of mucus; then it changes to a full stream of foul pus; next the nasal membrane grows dull and dropsical; the margins of the nostrils enlarge; the horse breathes with difficulty; the discharge turns discolored and abhorrent; farcy breaks forth, and the animal dies of suffocation.

Treatment.—There is no known cure.

GREASE.

Causes.—Age; debility; excessive labor; neglect; filth. Cutting the hair off the heels; turning out to grass in the cold months.

Symptoms.—Scurfiness and itchiness of the legs. Rubbing the leg with the hoof of the opposite limb; hairs stand on end; moisture exudes, and hangs upon the hairs in drops. Smells abhorrently; lameness; cracks on the skin; swelling; ulceration; thin discharge; odor worse. Lameness increases; leg enlarges; granulations sprout in ragged bunches; their points harden and become like horn; pain excessive; horn of hoof grows long.

Treatment.—Cut off all remaining hair. If hot and scurfy, cleanse with mild soap and hot, soft water; saturate a cloth with the following lotion: Animal glycerin, half a pint; chloride of zinc, half an ounce; water, six quarts. Lay it upon the leg. When this cloth becomes warm, remove it, and apply another, also wet with the lotion; thus continue applying cool cloths to the limb till the heat abates; afterward moisten the leg thrice daily. When cracks and ulceration are present, adopt the wet cloths; but subsequently use one of the following to the sores: Permanganate of potash or phosphoric acid, one pint; water, six quarts. Or, chloride of zinc, one ounce; water, one gallon: employ thrice daily. If the granulations have sprouted, remove them with a knife, in three operations, (full directions are given in the book;) likewise always place in a loose box. Feed liberally; allow old beans; give a handful of ground oak-bark with each feed of oats. Night and morning exhibit liquor arsenicalis, one ounce; tincture of muriate of iron, one ounce and a half; porter or stout, one quart: one pint for the dose. Chopped roots; speared wheat; hay tea; cut grass, and exercise are all good for grease.

GUTTA SERENA.

Cause.—Over-exertion.

Symptoms.—Fixed dilatation of the pupil; a greenish hue of the eye; total blindness. Active ears; restless nostrils; head erect; high stepping; occasionally a rough coat in summer and a smooth coat in winter.

Treatment.—No remedy is possible.

HEART DISEASE.

Symptoms.—Auscultation. The beat of the heart to be seen externally; haggard countenance; pulse feeble; heart throbs; the beat of the carotid artery is to be felt; the regurgitation in the jugular is to be seen. The appetite is sometimes ravenous—often fastidious; the breathing is not accelerated excepting during pain; lameness of one leg; dropsical swellings; stopping short when on a journey; averse to turn in the stall; noises; yawns; sighs. Death always unexpected. No treatment is of any use.

HEMATURIA, OR BLOODY URINE.

Cause.—Unknown.

Symptoms.—Discoloration of the fluid. When the bleeding is copious, breathing is oppressed; the pupils of the eyes are dilated. Pulse is lost; head is pendulous; membranes are pale and cold. Lifting up the head produces staggering. Back roached; flanks tucked up; legs wide apart.

Treatment.—Be gentle. Act upon the report given. Give acetate of lead, two drachms, in cold water, one pint; or, as a ball, if one can be delivered. In a quarter of an hour repeat the dose, adding laudanum, one ounce, or powdered opium, two drachms. Repeat the physic till one ounce of acetate of lead has been given. Leave the horse undisturbed for two hours, if the symptoms justify delay. If not, dash pailfuls of cold water upon the loins from a height. Give copious injections of cold water. Pour half a pint of boiling water upon four drachms of ergot of rye. When cold, add laudanum, one ounce, and dilute acetic acid, four ounces. Give two of these drinks, and two cold enemas, of twenty minutes' duration. Suspend all treatment for eight hours, when the measures may be repeated. (For after proceedings, see the article which is presented in the body of the book.)

HIDE-BOUND.

Cause.—Neglect, or turning into a straw-yard for the winter.

Treatment.—Liberal food, clean lodging, soft bed, healthy exercise, and good grooming. Administer, daily, two drinks, composed of: Liquor arsenicalis, half an ounce; tincture of muriate of iron, one ounce; water, one pint. Mix, and give as one dose.

HIGH-BLOWING AND WHEEZING.

Habits which admit of no remedies.

HYDROPHOBIA.

Cause.—Bite from a rabid dog or cat.

Symptoms.—The horse is constantly licking the bitten place. A morbid change takes place in the appetite. Eager thirst, but inability to drink, or spasm at the sound or sight of water is exhibited. Nervous excitability; voice and expression of countenance altered. More rarely the horse—when taken from the stable—appears well. While at work, it stops and threatens to fall. Shivers violently, and is scarcely brought home when the savage stage commences. The latter development consists in the utmost ferocity, blended with a most mischievous cunning, or a malicious pleasure in destruction.

Treatment.—No remedy known. Confine in a strong place and shoot immediately.

HYDROTHORAX.

Cause.—Pleurisy or inflammation of the membrane lining the chest.

Symptoms.—The horse is left very ill. The next morning the animal is looking better; the pain has abated; the eye is more cheerful; but the flanks heave. A man is procured; he is told to strike the chest when the person listening on the other side says "now." The word is spoken, and a metallic ring follows. The pulse is lost at the jaw; the heart seems to throb through water. The horse has hydrothorax!

Treatment.—The first thing is to draw off the fluid. A spot between the eighth and ninth ribs is chosen, and the skin is pulled back; a small slit through the skin is made; into that opening an armed trocar is driven. When there is no resistance felt, the thorax has been entered; the stilet is withdrawn and the water flows forth. Use a fine trocar; take all the fluid you can obtain. Should the horse appear faint, withdraw the canula, and in two hours again puncture the chest. Afterward the food must be prepared, and a ball administered night and morning, consisting of iodide of iron, one drachm; strychnia, half a grain; sulphate of zinc, half a drachm; extract of gentian and powdered quassia, a sufficiency.

IMPEDIMENT IN THE LACHRYMAL DUCT.

Cause.—A hay-seed or other substance getting into and becoming swollen within the duct.

Symptom.—Swollen lid and copious tears.

Treatment.—Inject, forcibly, a stream of water up the duct.

INFLUENZA.

Cause.—Unknown but suspected to be generated by close stables. It is also episotic.

Symptoms.—Weakness and stupidity; local swellings; heat and pain in the limbs. Loss of appetite; rapid wasting; every part of the body is diseased. Youth most exposed, but no age exempt. Spring-time the general season, but an attack may ensue at any period of the year. The following symptoms are somewhat uncertain: Pendulous head; short breath; inflamed membranes; swollen lips; dry mouth; enlarged eyelids; copious tears; sore throat; tucked-up flanks; compressed tail; filled legs; big joints; lameness and hot feet. Auscultation may detect a grating sound at the chest, or a noise like brickbats falling down stairs, within the windpipe. When the last is audible, there is always a copious discharge. Sometimes one foot is painful; purgation has been seen; but constipation is generally present, and the horse usually stands throughout the disease. Always suspect influenza when it is in the neighborhood, and the membranes are yellow or inflamed.

Treatment.—Move to a well-littered, warm, loose box. Suspend a pail of gruel from the wall; change the gruel thrice daily; sprinkle on the tongue, night and morning, calomel, one scruple; wash this down with sulphuric ether, one ounce; laudanum, one ounce; water, half a pint. If weakness increases, double the quantity of ether and of laudanum. When the pulse loses all wiry feeling, and the discharge becomes copious, give from the hand some bread, on which there is a little salt; when the cough appears, give a pot of stout daily. Beware of purgatives or active treatment.

INJURIES TO THE JAW.

Causes.—Pulling the snaffle; abuse of the bit; too tight a curb-chain.

Symptoms.—Discoloration before or behind the tush; bruise under the tongue or upon the roof of the mouth; tumor and bony growth upon the margin of the lower jaw.

Treatment.—Cut upon the discoloration till the knife reaches the bone; if fetor is present, inject the chloride of zinc lotion; keep the wounds open, that the injured bone may come away.

LACERATED EYELID.

Causes.—Nails in the gangway, or the horses playfully snapping at each other.

Treatment.—Bathe with cold water till the bleeding ceases; allow the separated parts to remain until the divided edges are sticky; bring together with sutures; place the horse in the pillar-reins till the healing is perfected.

LACERATED TONGUE.

Causes.—Sticking to a horse when giving physic; making a "chaw" of the halter-rope.

Treatment.—Insert no sutures; if the arteries are excised, cut off the hanging portion of the tongue; should the vessels have escaped, allow all to remain; feed on gruel and soft food; after every meal wash out the mouth with the solution ordered for aphtha, or with the chloride of zinc lotion.

LAMPAS.

A groom's fancy.

LARYNGITIS.

Cause.—Foul stables.

Symptoms.—Dullness; enlargement over the larynx; stiff neck; short and suppressed cough; breathing hurried and catching; pulse full; nasal membrane almost scarlet.

Treatment.—Give drachm doses of tincture of aconite, in wineglasses of water every half hour, to amend the pulse. Refrain from bleeding. Put on a steaming nose-bag, and keep it almost constantly applied, to amend the breathing. Fix some hay, soaked in boiling water, upon the throat, by means of an eight-tailed bandage. Give, very carefully, the following drink, thrice daily: Infusion of squills, two ounces; infusion of ipecacuanha, two ounces; infusion of aconite, half an ounce; extract of belladonna, one drachm, rubbed down with a pint of warm water. Place in a cool, well-aired, thickly-littered, loose box; bandage the legs; clothe the body; give only gruel for food, changing it thrice daily. On improvement, a little moist food may be allowed. When improvement is confirmed, put a seton under the throat. Blister the throat; pick and damp the hay; sift, bruise, and scald the oats. Employ no lowering agents.

LARVA IN THE SKIN.

Causes.—Turning out to grass. The fly lays its egg upon the hair, the warmth of the body hatches it, and the larva enters the skin. The next summer a tolerably large abscess is established, the insect occupying its center.

Treatment.—With a lancet open the abscess, and squeeze out the larva. Dab the wound with a lotion made of chloride of zinc, one grain; water, one ounce.

LICE.

Causes.—Filth and debility.

Treatment.—Rub the skin with some cheap oil or grease. Wash, and then look for other diseases, as hide-bound, mange, etc.

LAMINITIS, (SUBACUTE.)

Causes.—Age; long standing in the stable; over-work, and stinted diet.

Symptoms.—First noticed by the manner of going upon the heels of the fore feet.

Treatment.—Get into slings. Remove the shoes. Do not bleed. If costiveness is present open the bowels with green-meat, but do not purge. Give a quart of stout, night and morning. Allow two drinks per day, each consisting of one ounce of sulphuric ether and half a pint of water; half-drachm doses of belladonna, to allay pain; sound oats and old beans, both crushed, for food; water to be whitened; no hay. No limit to this food, but five feeds to be given if the horse will eat so much.

LUXATION OF THE PATELLA.

Cause.—Bad food and constitutional weakness.

Symptoms.—The horse stops short, and has one of the hind legs extended backward. A swelling upon the outer side. The pastern is flexed, the head raised, and the animal in great pain. In colts it will sometimes appear on the slightest cause.

Treatment.—For colts, any flurry may restore the bone; but feed well, to eradicate the weakness. For horses, get into a shed, and, throwing a rope, one end of which has been fixed to the pastern, have the leg dragged forward while some one pushes the bone into its place. A man should be put to keep the bone in its situation for some hours. Give strengthening food, and do not use for six weeks subsequently.

MALLENDERS AND SALLENDERS.

Cause.—Neglect.

Symptoms.—Scurf upon the seats of flexion; mallenders at the back of the knee, and sallenders at the front of the hock.

Treatment.—Cleanliness. Give the liquor arsenicalis drink, recommended for grease; change the groom; rub the parts with this ointment: Animal glycerin, one ounce; mercurial ointment, two drachms; powdered camphor, two drachms; spermaceti, one ounce. If cracks appear, treat as though cracked heels were present.

MANGE.

Causes.—Starvation; bad lodging and no grooming; turning out to grass.

Symptoms.—Scurf about the hairs of the mane; the hair falls off in patches; the skin is corrugated; a few hairs remain upon the bare places, and these adhere firmly to the skin; scrubbing the body against posts; sores and crusts. To test its presence, scratch the roots of the mane and the horse will exhibit pleasure.

Treatment.—Place the horse in the sunshine, or in a heated house, for one hour; then whisk thoroughly, to remove scurf and scabs; then rub in the following liniment: Animal glycerin, two parts; oil of tar, two parts; oil of turpentine, half a part; oil of juniper, half a part. Mix. Leave on for two days; wash; anoint again; wash; anoint and wash once more, always leaving the liniment on for two clear days.

MEGRIMS.

Cause.—Unknown.

Symptoms.—The horse suddenly stops; shakes the head; strange stubbornness may be exhibited, followed by a desire to run into dangerous places. Then ensues insensibility, accompanied by convulsions.

Treatment.—Throw up on the first fit. Give a long rest, and try to amend the constitution.

MELANOSIS.

Cause.—Unknown. The disease only attacks gray horses which have become white.

Symptoms.—It appears as a lump of uncertain form, size, and situation. The swelling, if cut into, discloses a cartilaginous structure, dotted here and there with black spots. Do not use the knife unless the swelling impede the usefulness, or should be peculiarly well placed for operation. Feel the tail. A pimple on the dock is an almost certain sign of melanosis, which disease affects the internal organ even more virulently than it attacks the external parts. As melanosis proceeds, all spirit departs, and the animal is at length destroyed as utterly useless.

Treatment.—Let the tumor alone. Forbid all use of the curry-comb. Dress very long and very gently with the brush only. Twice a week anoint the body with animal glycerin, one part; rose-water, two parts.

NASAL GLEET.

Causes.—Decayed molar tooth; kicks from other horses; injuries to the frontal bones.

Symptoms.—Distortion of the face; partial enlargement and softening of the facial bones; irregular discharge of fetid pus from one nostril. The discharge is increased, or brought down by feeding off the ground, or by trotting fast.

Treatment.—Surgical operation, with injection of a weak solution of chloride of zinc. Also give daily a ball composed of balsam of copaiba, half an ounce; powdered cantharides, four grains; cubebs, a sufficiency. If the foregoing should affect the urinary system, change it for half-drachm doses of extract of belladonna, dissolved in a wineglass of water. Give these every fourth day, and on such occasions repeat the belladonna every hour, until the appetite has been destroyed.

NASAL POLYPUS.

Symptoms.—An enlarged nostril; a copious mucous discharge; signs of suffocation, if the free nostril be stopped; a cough generally forces down the growth.

Treatment.—Surgical operation, which removes the tumor.

NAVICULAR DISEASE.

Causes.—Frog pressure, and not shoeing with a leathern sole. The unprotected foot treads on a rolling stone, and navicular disease is the result.

Symptoms.—Acute lameness; this disappears, but may come again in six or nine months. Acute lameness is then present for a longer time, while the subsequent soundness is more short. Thus the disease progresses, till the horse is lame for life. The pain in one foot causes greater stress upon the sound leg, and from this cause both feet are ultimately affected. The foot is pointed in the stable. The bulk diminishes, while the hoof thickens and contracts. The horse, when trotting, takes short steps, and upon the toe, going groggily.

Treatment.—Feed liberally upon crushed oats and old beans. Soak the foot every other night in hot water. Afterward bandage the leg, fix on tips, and having smeared the horn with glycerin, put on a sponge boot. Rest very long—six months in the first instance—and then give three months agricultural employment. In bad cases resort to neurotomy, but do so upon the second attack of lameness; because continued disease disorganizes the internal structures of the hoof, and also occasions the sound foot to be attacked by navicular disease.

NEPHRITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS.

Causes.—Bad provender, or niter in a mash, and long or fast work upon the following day.

Symptoms.—Hard, quick pulse; short breathing; pallid membranes; looking at the loins; depressed head; roached back; hind legs straddling; scanty urine; refusing to turn in the stall; and crouching under pressure on the loins. Subsequently, pus is voided with the water. If the urine has a fetid odor, if blood be present, if the pulse grows quicker, if pressure gives no pain, and if the perspiration has a urinous smell, death is near at hand. To be certain of nephritis, insert the arm up the rectum and move the hand toward the kidneys.

Treatment.—Rub mustard into the skin of the loins. Cover it over to prevent it becoming dry. Apply fresh sheepskins as soon as these can be procured. Inject warm linseed tea every hour. A ball composed of Croton farina, two scruples; extract of belladonna, half a drachm; treacle and linseed meal, a sufficiency, should be given immediately; one scruple of calomel; one drachm of opium should be sprinkled on the tongue every hour. A pail of linseed tea may be placed in the manger. Feed on linseed tea, and mind the oats—when allowed—are very good. While the pain is acute, give, thrice daily, a ball composed of extract of belladonna, half a drachm; crude opium, two drachms; honey and linseed meal, of each a sufficiency. When the pain is excessive, repeat the above ball every hour. Should the pulse increase and become wiry, a scruple of aconite should be thrown upon the tongue every half hour until the artery softens, or the animal becomes affected with the drug.

No cure is to be expected; the disease may be arrested, but the kidney must be left in an irritable state.

OCCULT SPAVIN.

Cause.—Treading on a stone.

Symptoms.—Sudden lameness, which never departs, but in the end becomes very bad. The disease is always worse after work, and better after rest. The foot is without disease, and the leg is not hot or painful; yet the lameness continues and gets worse. The leg is snatched up in the walk, and the foot is not turned outward.

Treatment.—Get the horse into slings. Rub the front of the hock with an embrocation composed of compound soap liniment, sixteen ounces; tincture of cantharides, liquor ammonia and laudanum, of each two ounces. After the joint is embrocated, wrap it round with flannel, held upon the hock with elastic rings. Give three feeds of corn, a few old beans, and sweet hay daily. After the horse bears upon the diseased limb, allow the slings to remain for three months. Three months after it has left the slings, put to gentle work, but mind the labor is not in any way exhausting. The work must not be full till six months have elapsed. Keep the bowels regular with bran mashes and green-meat. If all treatment fail, cast the horse; retract the injured limb; make a small puncture, and inject one ounce of dilute spirits of wine, in which half a drachm of iodine has been dissolved. Place the horse in slings, and apply cold water to the hock. When the pulse is quiet, feed very liberally.

OPEN SYNOVIAL CAVITIES.

Causes.—The pride of gentility, which apes what is not, and tries to pass off a horse with a ewe neck for an animal with a lofty crest. The quadruped, being in pain and constraint, necessarily trips, and cannot save itself from falling. Kicking in harness; running away and being run into.

Symptoms.—Air being admitted creates inflammation; inflammation causes constitutional irritability. Bursæ are attended with least danger when punctured; sheaths of tendons are more dangerous; joints are by far the most serious. Judge which is opened by the extent of the wound and the quantity of synovia released.

Treatment.—Exercise gentleness toward the injured animal. Wash as was directed for broken knees. Examine if there be any sac or bag into which dirt could have entered. If one exists, place a large spatula under the knee; then take a knife with a sharp point, but with its edge blunted the two posterior thirds of its length; guard the point with a lump of beeswax; introduce this into the sac and drive the point through the bottom of the bag. An opening will thereby be created, through which the pus and dirt will gravitate. If the probe enters the knee of the flexed leg, unopposed, three-quarters of an inch, push it no farther; be satisfied the cavity is opened.

OPEN SYNOVIAL JOINTS.

Treatment.—Proceed in the first instance as for broken knees. Then give a drink composed of sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each one ounce; water, half a pint; look to the comfort. Should the eye rove, the breathing be hard, ears active, and the horse start at sounds, hourly repeat the drink before recommended, till these symptoms abate. Then place in a stall and allow four drinks and two pots of stout daily. Use the arnica lotion as for broken knees, during the first three and a half days. At the end of that time turn the horse gently round in the stall, and let it stand with its head toward the gangways. Place the slings before the horse and leave the animal to contemplate them for half an hour. Then, with extreme gentleness, fix them; but do not pull the cloth up to the abdomen. Leave a pail of water suspended from one pillar, and feed from a high trough, supported upon light legs. Let the horse be watched night and day for the remainder of the week. When the animal is at ease in the slings, these may be heightened till the cloth lightly touches, but not presses, against the belly. With the slings change to the chloride of zinc lotion, one scruple to the pint of water; have this frequently applied during the day. It will coagulate the albumen and promote the healing of the wound. The albumen will accumulate as a large ball in front of the injury; do not touch it. Allow it to fall off. The cure is nearly perfect when it falls. When pressure can be endured, the slings may be removed; though the healing process should be confirmed before the animal is allowed to stand near anything against which it could strike the knee.

OPERATIONS.

Admit of no abbreviation; they should never be hastily undertaken; they should be only resorted to after time has been allowed for thought, and opportunity has been afforded for more than one perusal of the directions detailed in this book.

OSSIFIED CARTILAGES.

Cause.—Battering the foot upon hard roads.

Symptoms.—Of little consequence in heavy horses unless accompanied with ring-bone. The disease causes lameness in light horses used for fast work.

Treatment.—Rest; liberal food; and small blisters to the foot immediately above the sides of the hoof.

OVERREACH.

Cause.—When a good stepper is very tired, this accident sometimes happens—the coronet of the fore foot upon the outer side being severely wounded by the inside of the hind shoe.

Symptom.—A severe wound and a large slough, probably followed by a false quarter.

Treatment.—Feed liberally, and bathe the injury thrice daily with the chloride of zinc lotion, one grain to the ounce of water.

PARROT-MOUTH.

Cause.—Natural malformation.

Symptoms.—Projecting upper teeth; an inability to graze or to clean out the manger.

PARTIAL PARALYSIS.

Cause.—Violent exertion.

Symptom.—One hind leg gets in the way of the other, and threatens to throw the animal down.

Treatment.—A loose box; warm clothing; good grooming; warmth to loins; regulate the bowels with mashes and green-meat; absolute rest. Give the following ball night and morning: Strychnia, half a grain, (gradually work this medicine up to one grain and a half;) iodide of iron, one grain; quassia powder and treacle, a sufficiency.

PHLEBITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN.

Cause.—Motion. Bleeding in the neck and turning out to grass; or from either of the limbs, and then forcing the animal to walk.

Symptoms.—The earliest indication is a separation of the lips of the wound and the presence of a small quantity of thin discharge. A small swelling then takes place, and the vein hardens above the puncture. Then abscesses form along the course of the vessel. These mature, burst, send forth a contaminated pus. The abscesses are united by sinuses. If these signs are neglected, a dark discharge resembling decayed blood issues from the numerous wounds and soils the neck. Dullness ensues; the brain becomes affected; and the horse perishes phrenitic.

Treatment.—Remove the pin and apply a blister. Another may be required. In bad cases, blister must follow blister, but not be rubbed in. A little oil of cantharides should be put over the sore with a paste-brush. Place in a loose box and litter with tan; feed on slops, which require no mastication. Let the horse remain there and be so fed for six weeks subsequent to the cessation of all treatment. Then give a little exercise at a slow pace, gradually augmented. At the end of three months the horse may do slow work. But the horse should not wear a collar or go into the shafts before the expiration of six months.

PHRENITIS.

Cause.—Unknown.

Symptom.—Heaviness, succeeded by fury in excess, but without any indication of malice.

Treatment.—Bleed from both jugulars till the animal drops. Then pin up, and give a purgative of double strength. Follow this with another blood-letting, if necessary, and scruple doses of tobacco; half-drachm doses of aconite root; or drachm doses of digitalis—whichever is soonest obtained. But whichever is procured must be infused in a pint of boiling water, and, when cool and strained, it ought to be given every half hour till the animal becomes quiet. But the probable result is by no means cheering, even if death is by these means avoided.

PLEURISY.

Causes.—Over-exertion; blows; injuries; cold.

Symptoms.—These are quickly developed. The pulse strikes the finger; pain continuous; agony never ceases; horse does not feed. Body hot; feet cold; partial perspirations. Muscles corrugated in places; cough, when present, suppressed and dry; auscultation detects a grating sound and a dull murmur at the chest. Pressure between the ribs produces great pain or makes the animal resentful. The head is turned very often toward the side; the fore foot paws; the breathing is short and jerking.

Treatment.—Should be active. Bleed, to ease the horse; place in a loose box; bandage the legs; leave the body unclothed. Give, every quarter of an hour, a scruple of tincture of aconite in a wineglass of warm water. When pulse has softened, give, every second hour, sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each one ounce; water, half a pint. Do not bleed a second time. When the pulse and pain are amended, introduce the steaming apparatus. Do nothing for the bowels. Place luke-warm water within easy reach of the head, and give nothing more while the disease rages. When the disease departs, return with caution to full food. After the affection subsides, blister throat and chest. If the horse is costive, administer enemas; or a bundle of cut grass may be presented with the other food.

PNEUMONIA.

Causes.—Fat; irregular work; and sudden exertion.

Symptoms.—Breathing labored; oppressed pulse; partial consciousness; giddiness. Standing with outstretched legs; head and ears dejected; coat rough; extremities and body cold; visible membranes discolored; bowels costive; feeling half dead; and general oppression.

Treatment.—Bleed but once; take only blood sufficient to restore consciousness; do not attempt to obtain blood, if the liquid flows black and thick. Place in a loose box strown with damp tan; take off the shoes; place water within easy reach; no food. If winter, clothe; then introduce steam; when the steam is abundant, take off the clothes. Give solution of aconite root, half an ounce; sulphuric ether, two ounces; extract of belladonna, (rubbed down with half a pint of water,) one drachm. Repeat the drink three times each day. When the pulse improves, withdraw the aconite; when the breathing amends, abstract the belladonna; or increase either as pulse or breathing becomes worse. Allow only hay tea, with a little oatmeal in it, until the disease abates. On amendment, cautiously increase the food. Lying down is the first sign of improvement. Do not disturb the animal: it must require rest, having stood throughout the attack.

POLL EVIL.

Causes.—Hanging back in the halter; hitting the poll against the beam of the stable door; blows on the head; and any external injury.

Symptoms.—The nose is protruded and the head kept as motionless as possible; the animal hangs back when it is feeding from the manger. Pressure or enforced motion excites resistance. Swelling: the swelling bursts in several places, from which exude a foul, fistulous discharge. Pus has been secreted; confinement has caused it to decay; while motion and fascia have occasioned it to burrow.

Treatment.—Paint the part lightly with tincture of cantharides, or acetate of cantharides. Do this daily till vesication is produced; then stop. When the swelling enlarges, open the prominent or soft places. Allow the pus to issue; then cut down on the wound till the seat of the disease is gained. Use a proper knife, and include as many pipes as possible in one clean cut. All others should join this. Empty out all concrete matter. Wash the cavity with cold water. Excise all loose pieces of tendon and all unhealthy flesh. Moisten the sore with the chloride of zinc lotion, one grain to the ounce, and cover the wound with a cloth dipped in the solution of tar. If the disease has burst, still include the pipes in one smooth incision; clean out the concrete pus, and treat as has been directed. Spare the ligament which lies under the mane; and work in a breast-strap after recovery.

PRICK OF THE SOLE.

Cause.—Generally the smith's carelessness when shoeing the horse.

Symptom.—Great lameness.

Treatment.—Withdraw the nails of the shoe. If one is wet, cut down on that hole until the sensitive sole is exposed. If not very lame, treat with lotion of chloride of zinc, one grain to the ounce of water. If very lame, treat as if the injury were a suppurating corn.

PRURIGO.

Cause.—Heat of body.

Symptom.—Itchiness. The horse rubs off hair; but never exposes a dry, corrugated surface.

Treatment.—Take away some hay. Give two bundles of grass per day. Allow two bran mashes each day till the bowels are open. Apply either of the following washes: Animal glycerin, one part; rose-water, two parts. Or, sulphuric acid, one part; water, ten parts. Or, acetic acid, one part; water, seven parts. Drink: Liquor arsenicalis, one ounce; tincture of muriate of iron, one ounce and a half; water, one pint—half a pint to be given every night. Withdraw the drink a week after the disease has disappeared. Allow a pot of porter and an extra feed of oats each day.

PUMICE FOOT.

Cause.—An animal reared on marshy land, having high action, batters the feet upon London stones.

Symptoms.—Bulging sole; weak crust; strong bars, and good frog.

Treatment.—The only relief possible is afforded by a bar shoe of the dish kind, and a leathern sole. The constant use of equal parts of animal glycerin and tar is also beneficial to the hoof.

PURPURA HEMORRHAGICA.

Cause.—Unknown. Universal congestion.

Symptoms.—The attack is sudden. The body, head, and limbs enlarge; consciousness is partially lost. The horse stands, and the breathing is quickened. Through the skin there exudes serum with blood. The nostrils and lips enlarge, and part of the swollen tongue protrudes from the mouth. The appetite is not quite lost, although deglutition is difficult. Thirst is great.

Treatment.—Bleed till the animal appears relieved. A second venesection may be demanded, but it should be adopted with caution. Give half an ounce of chloroform in a pint of linseed oil, in the first stage. Repeat the dose in half an hour. No amendment following, give two ounces of sulphuric ether in one pint of cold water. In half an hour repeat the dose if necessary. Perform tracheotomy to ease the breathing. Incise the protruding tongue. Squeeze out the fluid and return the organ to the mouth. Should the skin slough, bathe the part with solution of chloride of zinc, one grain to the ounce of water.

QUITTOR.

Causes.—Confined pus from suppurating corn; or prick of the sole; matter results, and this issues at the coronet. Or from injury to the coronet, generating pus, and this burrowing downward, as it cannot pierce the coronary substance. The secretion may also penetrate the cartilage, and thus establish sinuses in almost every possible direction.

Symptoms.—The horse is very lame. The animal is easier after the quittor has burst. Probe for the sinuses. If, after the superficial sinuses are treated, among the creamy pus there should appear a dark speck of albuminous fluid, make sure of another sinus, probably working toward the central structures of the foot.

RHEUMATISM.

Cause.—Generally follows other disorders, as influenza, chest affections, and most acute diseases. Very rarely does it appear without a forerunner.

Symptoms.—Swelling of particular parts, generally the limbs; heat and acute lameness. The disorder is apt to fly about the body. The synovia is always increased when the joints are attacked. The pulse and breathing are both disturbed by agony.

Treatment.—Lead into a loose box; fill the place with steam. (See page 313.) Get ready the slings; put the belly-piece under the horse, but do not pull it up so as to lift the legs from the ground. Keep the steam up for one hour. Then have several men with cloths ready to wipe the animal dry; mind they are perfectly silent. Next rub into the diseased parts the following: Compound soap liniment, sixteen ounces; tincture of cantharides, liquor ammonia, and laudanum, of each two ounces. Afterward incase the limbs in flannel. (See page 314.) Then give a bolus composed of powdered colchicum, two drachms; iodide of potassium, one drachm; simple mass, a sufficiency. Should the attack succeed upon other diseases, the diet must be supporting, everything being softened by heat and water. Next morning repeat the steaming, and give calomel, a scruple; opium, two drachms. At night steam again, and repeat the first bolus. Should the horse be fat, withdraw all corn, if the strength can do without it.

RING-BONE.

Cause.—Dragging heavy loads up steep hills.

Symptoms.—A roughness of hair on the pastern and a bulging forth of the hoof. A want of power to flex the pastern. An inability to bring the sole to the ground only upon an even surface. Loss of power and injury to utility.

Treatment.—In the first stage apply poultices, with one drachm of camphor and of opium. Afterward rub with iodide of lead, one ounce; simple ointment, eight ounces. Continue treatment for a fortnight after all active symptoms have subsided, and allow liberal food and rest; work gently when labor is resumed.

RING-WORM.

Symptoms.—Hair falls off in patches, exposing a scurfy skin. The scurf congregates on the bare place about the circumference, which is apt to ulcerate.

Treatment.—Be very clean. Wash night and morning, and afterward apply the following ointment: Animal glycerin, one ounce; spermaceti, one ounce; iodide of lead, two drachms. Many other things are popular. For a detailed list of these, see the body of the book. A drink is likewise of use when employed with the ointment. Liquor arsenicalis, one ounce; tincture of muriate of iron, one ounce and a half; water, one quart. Mix, and give every night half a pint for a dose. Should the ulceration prove obstinate, apply permanganate of potash, half an ounce; water, three ounces. Or, chloride of zinc, two scruples; water, one pint. Moisten the parts with a soft brush six times daily. Feed well, and do not work for one month.

ROARING.

Causes.—The bearing-rein; the folly of fashion.

Symptom.—A noise made at each inspiration.

Treatment.—No remedy. The cabman's pad is the only alleviation: that conceals and does not cure the disease.

RUPTURE, OR STRICTURE OF THE ŒSOPHAGUS.

Cause.—The use of the butt-end of a carter's whip, which either rends the lining membrane of or ruptures the gullet.

Symptom of Rupture.—The body becomes distended with gas, and death ensues. Of Rent Membrane.—This induces a disinclination to feed, as the first symptom. A stricture is formed. Excessive hunger. Distention of the tube. A large sac is developed out of the stretched membrane above the stricture. Then, after feeding, the animal fixes the neck, and returns the masticated food through the mouth and nostrils. Accompanying loss of condition and failure of strength.

Treatment.—Feed on prepared soft food: though the horse is generally not worth its ordinary keep at the stage when this is required.

SANDCRACK.

Causes.—Bad health, provoking imperfect secretion. Treading for any length of time upon a very dry soil.

Symptoms.—Quarter crack occurs on light horses upon the inner side of the hoof. It usually commences at the coronet, goes down the foot, and reaches to the laminæ. Toe crack happens in heavy wheelers, and is caused by digging the toe into the ground when dragging a load up hill. From the sensitive laminæ, when exposed, fungoid granulations sometimes sprout, which, being pinched, produce excessive pain and acute lameness.

Treatment.—Always pare out the crack, so as to convert it into a groove. When the crack is partial, draw a line with a heated iron above and below the fissure. If granulations have sprouted, cleanse the wound with chloride of zinc lotion, one grain to the ounce of water, and then cut them off. Afterward place the foot in a poultice. Subsequently pare down the edges of the crack while the horn is soft. Use the lotion frequently. Draw lines from the coronet to the crack, so as to cut off communication between the fissure and the newly-secreted horn. Shoe with a bar shoe, having the seat of crack well eased off and also a clip on either side. If the horse must work, lay a piece of tow saturated with the lotion into the crack: bind the hoof tightly with wax-end. Tie over all a strip of cloth, and give this a coating of tar. When the horse returns, inspect the part. Wash out any grit with the chloride of zinc lotion. Feed liberally on prepared food.

SCALD MOUTH.

Cause.—Powerful medicine, which burns the lining membrane of the mouth.

Symptom.—A dribbling of saliva, with constant motion and repeated smacking of the lips.

Treatment.—Give soft food, and use the wash recommended for aphtha.

SEEDY TOE.

Cause.—Weakness, inducing an imperfect secretion of horn.

Symptom.—A separation between the crust of the coronet and the soft horn of the laminæ, commencing at the toe of the foot.

Treatment.—Remove the shoe. Probe the fissure, which will be exposed. Cut away all the separated crust. Throw up until the removed portion has grown again. Feed liberally.

SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA.

Causes.—Slashing with the whip over the head; hay-seeds falling into the eyes; horses biting at each other in play; blows, etc.

Symptoms.—Tears; closed eyelid; the ball of the eye becomes entirely or partially white.

Treatment.—Remove any foreign body; fasten a cloth across the forehead; moisten it with a decoction of poppy-heads to which some tincture of arnica has been added. If a small abscess should appear on the surface of the eye, open it, and bathe with chloride of zinc lotion. Should inflammation be excessive, puncture eye vein, and place some favorite food on the ground.

SITFAST.

Causes.—Ill health; badly-fitting saddle; too energetic a rider; loose girths; ruck in the saddle-cloth.

Symptom.—Like a corn on the human foot, but the hard, bare patch is surrounded by a circle of ulceration.

Treatment.—The knife should remove the thickened skin. Chloride of zinc, one grain; water, one ounce, to the wound. Attend to the bowels. Feed liberally; exercise well; and give, night and morning, liquor arsenicalis, half an ounce; tincture of muriate of iron, three-quarters of an ounce; water, one pint. Mix, and give.

SORE THROAT.

Causes.—In colts, change from freedom to work, from the field to the stable, is the cause. Sore throat, however, may be caused by close stables, or be an indication of some greater disease.

Symptoms.—Perpetual deglutition of saliva; want of appetite; inability to swallow a draught of liquid—the fluid returning partly by the nostrils, and each gulp being accompanied with an audible effort.

Treatment.—Forbear all work; clothe warmly; house in a large, well-littered, loose box. Gruel for drink; green-meat, with three feeds of bruised and scalded oats, also beans, daily. If the bowels are obstinate, administer a drink composed of solution of aloes, four ounces; essence of anise seed, half an ounce; water, one pint. Should the throat not amend, dissolve half an ounce of extract of belladonna in a gallon of water; hold up the head: pour half a pint of this preparation into the mouth, and in thirty seconds let the head down; do this six or eight times daily. No improvement being observed, try permanganate of potash, half a pint; water, one gallon: to be used as directed in the previous recipe. Still no change being remarked, prepare chloride of zinc, three drachms; extract of belladonna, half an ounce; tincture of capsicums, two drachms; water, one gallon.

All being useless, give two pots of stout daily, and blister the throat.

No alteration ensuing, cast the horse, and mop out the fauces with a sponge which is wet with nitrate of silver, five grains; water, one ounce. Give a ball daily composed of oak-bark and treacle.

If none of these measures succeed, the throat must be complicated with some other disease.

SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

Cause.—Imprudently riding too far and too fast.

Symptom.—Distress, and a strange noise heard from the center of the horse.

Treatment.—Pull up; cover the horse's body; lead to the nearest stable. Give as soon as possible a drink composed of sulphuric ether, two ounces; laudanum, one ounce; tincture of camphor, half an ounce; cold water or gruel, one pint. Give four drinks, one every quarter of an hour; then another four, one every half hour, and then at longer intervals as the animal recovers. When first brought in, procure five steady and quiet men; give a bandage each to four of them, and order them silently to bandage the legs; give a basin and sponge to the other, and bid him sponge the openings to the body. This done, and sweat and dirt removed, clothe perfectly after the skin is quite dry.

SPASM OF THE URETHRA.

Cause.—Acridity in the food or water.

Symptoms.—Small and violent emissions; straddling gait. Roached back; pain; total suppression of urine.

Treatment.—Insert the arm up the rectum, and feel the gorged bladder. Give, by the mouth, four ounce doses of sulphuric ether and of laudanum mixed with a quart of cold water, and, as injection, mixed with three pints of cold water. Repeat these medicines every quarter of an hour until relieved. If no physic be at hand, open both jugular veins, and allow the blood to flow until the horse falls. Should not the urine then flow forth, insert the arm and press upon the bladder.

SPASMODIC COLIC—FRET—GRIPES.

Causes.—Fast driving; change of water; change of food; getting wet; fatiguing journeys; aloes; and often no cause can be traced.

Symptoms. 1st Stage.—Horse is feeding; becomes uneasy; ceases eating; hind foot is raised to strike the belly; fore foot paws the pavement; the nose is turned toward the flank, and an attack of fret is recognized. 2d Stage.—Alternate ease and fits of pain; the exemptions grow shorter as the attacks become longer; the horse crouches; turns round; then becomes erect; pawing, etc. follow; a morbid fire now lights up the eyes. 3d Stage.—Pains lengthen; action grows more wild; often one foot stamps on the ground; does not feed, but stares at the abdomen; at last, without warning, leaps up and falls violently on the floor; seems relieved; rolls about till one leg rests against the wall; should no assistance be now afforded, the worst consequences may be anticipated.

Treatment.—Place in a loose box, guarded by trusses of straw ranged against the walls. Give one ounce each of sulphuric ether and of laudanum in a pint of cold water, and repeat the dose every ten minutes if the symptoms do not abate. If no improvement be observed, double the active agents, and at the periods stated persevere with the medicine. A pint of turpentine, dissolved in a quart of solution of soap, as an enema, has done good. No amendment ensuing, dilute some strong liquor ammonia with six times its bulk of water, and, saturating a cloth with the fluid, hold it by means of a horse-rug close to the abdomen. It is a blister; but its action must be watched or it may dissolve the skin. If, after all, the symptoms continue, there must be more than simple colic to contend with.

SPAVIN.

Cause.—Hard work.

Symptom.—Any bony enlargement upon the lower and inner side of the hock. Prevents the leg being flexed. Hinders the hoof from being turned outward. Causes the front of the shoe to be worn and the toe of the hoof to be rendered blunt by dragging the foot along the ground. Leaves the stable limping; returns bettered by exercise. Sickle hocks, or cow hocks, are said to be most subject.

Treatment.—View the suspected joint from before, from behind, and from either side. Afterward feel the hock. Any enlargement upon the seat of disease, to be felt or seen, is a spavin. Feed liberally, and rest in a stall. When the part is hot and tender, rub it with belladonna and opium, one ounce of each to an ounce of water. Apply a poultice. Or put opium and camphor on the poultice. Or rub the spavin with equal parts of chloroform and camphorated oil. The heat and pain being relieved, apply the following, with friction: Iodide of lead, one ounce; simple ointment, eight ounces.

SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.

Cause.—The fumes of impure stables.

Symptoms.—A swollen eyelid; tears; a hard pulse; sharp breathing; a staring coat; a clammy mouth; the nasal membrane is inflamed or leaden colored; the lid can only be raised when in shadow. The ball of eye reddened from the circumference; the pupil closed; the iris lighter than is natural. The disease may change from eye to eye; the duration of any visitation is very uncertain; the attacks may be repeated, and end in the loss of one or both eyes. If one eye only is lost, the remaining eye generally strengthens.

Treatment.—Remove from the stable and place in a dark shed. Open the eye vein, and puncture the lid if needed; put a cloth saturated with cold water over both eyes. If the horse is poor, feed well; if fat, support, but do not cram; if in condition, lower the food. Sustain upon a diet which requires no mastication. Give the following ball twice daily: Powdered colchicum, two drachms; iodide of iron, one drachm; calomel, one scruple; make up with extract of gentian. So soon as the ball affects the system, change it for liquor arsenicalis, three ounces; muriated tincture of iron, five ounces. Give half an ounce in a tumbler of water twice daily. See the stable is rendered pure before the horse returns to it.

SPLINT.

Causes.—Early and hard work; blows, kicks, etc.

Symptom.—Any swelling upon the inner and lower part of the knee of the fore leg, or any enlargement upon the shin-bone of either limb. On the knee they are important, as they extend high up. On the shin they are to be dreaded, as they interfere with the movements of the tendons. All are painful when growing, and in that state generally cause lameness.

Treatment.—Feel down the leg. Any heat, tenderness, or enlargement is proof of a splint. If, on the trot, one leg is not fully flexed, or the horse "dishes" with it, it confirms the opinion. Time and liberal food are the best means of perfecting them. When they are painful, poultice, having sprinkled on the surface of the application one drachm each of opium and of camphor. Or rub the place with one drachm of chloroform and two drachms of camphorated oil. Periosteotomy (see Operations) is sometimes of service. When a splint interferes with a tendon, the only chance of cure is to open the skin and to cut off the splint, afterward treating the wound with a lotion composed of chloride of zinc, one grain; water, one ounce. To check the growth of a splint, rub it well and frequently with iodide of lead, one ounce; simple ointment, eight ounces.

SPRAIN OF THE BACK SINEWS.

Cause.—Cart-work upon a hilly country.

Symptom.—Gradual heightening of the hind heel.

Treatment.—The only possible relief is afforded by an operation—"division of the tendons."

STAGGERS.

Sleepy Staggers and Mad Staggers are only different stages of the same disorder.

Cause.—Over-gorging.

Symptoms.—Excessive thirst; dullness or sleepiness; snoring; pressing the head against a wall. Some animals perish in this state; others commence trotting without taking the head from the wall, and such generally die, but sometimes recover. Other horses quit the sleepy state; the eyes brighten; the breath becomes quick. Such animals exhibit the greatest possible violence, but without the slightest desire for mischief.

Treatment.—Allow no water. Give a quart of oil. Six hours afterward give another quart of oil, with twenty drops of croton oil in it, should no improvement be noticed. In another six hours, no amendment being exhibited, give another quart of oil, with thirty drops of croton oil in it. After a further six hours, repeat the first dose, and administer the succeeding doses, at the intervals already stated, until the appearance changing indicates that the body has been relieved.

For the full development of the mad stage no remedies are of the slightest avail.

STRAIN OF THE FLEXOR TENDONS.

Cause.—Hard work on uneven ground, or the rider punishing a horse with the snaffle and the spurs.

Symptoms.—The animal goes oddly, not lame. The defective action will disappear upon rest, but stiffness is aggravated by subsequent labor. Any attempt to work the horse sound induces incurable lameness or contraction of the tendons.

Treatment.—Allow several hours to elapse before any attempt is made to discover the disease. A small swelling, hot, soft, and sensitive, may then appear. Bind round it a linen bandage, and keep it wet with cold water. Have men to sit up bathing this for the three first nights; afterward apply moisture only by day. Throw up the horse. Give four drachms of aloes. Do not turn out, but allow two feeds of corn each day. Keep in a stall, and do not put to work till more than recovered.

STRANGLES.

Cause.—Something requiring to be cast from the system, so as to suit the young body to a sudden change.

Symptoms.—A slight general disturbance, which, however, remains. The colt continues sickly. After a day or two, the neck becomes stiff, and a swelling appears between the jaws. The enlargement at first is hard, hot, and tender. A discharge from the nose comes on. The symptoms increase; the throat becomes sore. Breathing is oppressed; coat stares; appetite is lost; tumor softens, and, being opened, the animal speedily recovers.

Treatment.—Neither purge nor bleed. Give all the nourishment that can be swallowed. If all food is rejected, whiten the water, and a little cut grass may tempt the colt. Corn, ground and scalded, may be offered, a little at a time from the hand. No grooming; light clothing; ample bed; door and window of loose box should be open. Gently stimulate the throat with the following: Spirits of turpentine, two parts; laudanum, one part; spirits of camphor, one part. Apply with a paste-brush morning, noon, and night, until the throat is sore. After every application, take three pieces of flannel, place these over the part, and bind on with an eight-tailed bandage. So soon as the tumor points, apply the twitch, and have one fore leg held up. Then open the swelling with an abscess knife. It may be necessary to make another incision. There are other occasional varieties of strangles, for which consult the substance of the work, pages 272, 273.

STRINGHALT.

Cause.—Over-exertion.

Symptom.—Raising both hind legs, one after the other, previous to starting.

Treatment.—None is possible.

SURFEIT.

Cause.—Heat of body.

Symptom.—An eruption of round, blunt, and numerous spots.

Treatment.—If the pulse is not affected, the symptom may disappear in a few hours. Look to the food. Abstract eight pounds of hay, and allow two bundles of cut grass per day. Even increase the oats, but with each feed give a handful of old crushed beans. The following drink will be of service: Liquor arsenicalis, one ounce; tincture of muriate of iron, one ounce and a half; water, one quart. Mix. Give daily, one pint for a dose.

Symptom.—If a young horse has been neglected through the winter, the surfeit lumps do not disappear. An exudation escapes; the constitution is involved, and the disease is apt to settle upon the lungs.

Treatment.—Do not take out. Keep the stable aired, and attend to cleanliness. Feed as previously directed, and allow bran mashes when the bowels are constipated. Administer the drink recommended above, night and morning. Clothe warmly; remove from a stall to a loose box. Should the pulse suddenly sink, allow two pots of stout each day. If the appetite fail, give gruel instead of water, and present a few cut carrots from the hand. The shortest of these cases occupy a fortnight.

SWOLLEN LEGS.

Cause.—Debility.

Treatment.—Place in a loose box. No hay for some weeks. Damp the corn, and sprinkle a handful of ground oak-bark on each feed. Attend to exercise. If the legs continue to enlarge, hand-rub them well and long.

TEETH.

Cause.—A thickening of the membrane sometimes conceals the upper tushes and provokes constitutional symptoms.