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This book was presented by
MILTON M. LEONARD, D.V.M.
TO THE
VETERINARY MEDICAL LIBRARY
This book is due on the date indicated
below and is subject to an overdue
fine as posted at the circulation desk.
EXCEPTION: Date due will be
earlier if this item is RECALLED.
Veterinary Notes
DELIVERED BY
PROF. A. SMITH, V.S.
CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
)iseases of Domestic Animals,
BEFORE THE CLASS OF VETERINARY
STUDENTS,
THE OWTABIO VETERINIRY COLLEGE,
OF TORONTO, CANADA,
DURING THE TERMS OF 1890-91.
REVISED EDITION.
TORONTO :
J. A. CARVETH & CO.. PUBLISHERS.
i8qi.
Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year one
thousand eight hundred and ninety-oue.
By J. A. CARVETH & CO.,
At the Office of the Minister of Agricultm-e, Ottawa, Ontario.
VETERINARY NOTES.
DISEASE.
It is difficult to give a definition of either disease or health. They are
closely united, and it is difficult to draw the line of demarcation. First
I ask, what is disease ? We may consider it to consist of a deterioration
from a healthy standard, either of function or structure ; or we may say
it is just the opposite of health, or a disturbance of the function or
structure of a healthy organism. Health is a condition of the animal
body, in which all the organs are in good condition, and all the functions
are performed in good order ; and it is difficult ta get a body in perfect
health. There is generally some little deterioration of structure or func-
tion. You may look at a horse ; he does work in a regular manner, and
he is considered healthy, but there may be some change in some way, so
that it is quite difficult to give a precise definition. There is health
where all the organs are intact, and each one capable of discharging its
respective duty or function. From health to disease there are certain
transitions noticed. If animals are kept in their natural state they are
free from disease to a certain extent, but when they become domesticated,
then a change takes place in the system. They do not receive a regular
supply of pure air, pure water, regular exercise, etc., then this change
takes place to a certain extent. All these things must be attended to in
order to keep the animals or men in good health. We meet with various
terms in the study of disease, as
Pathology, which is derived from two Greek words, and means a dis-
course on disease, or the doctrine of disease, and includes all the various
particulars in connection with disease Pathology may be divided into
two divisions, general and special. General pathology considers disease
in common, the various branches, causes, symptoms, etc., while special
considers each disease in particular. In all diseases there are certain
changes that take place in connection with them. It is a very impor-
tant branch of study.
Etiology, or the causes of diseases. This is also important. It may
be arranged under different heads ; there are predisposing and exciting
causes. There is almost always a cause for every disease, but it is some-
times difficult to tell just what the cause is. If y u can find and remove
the cause, the case is, as a general thing, easily treated. Etiology,
though plain in some cases, is obscure in others. A disease breaking
out and spreading over a large territory is an epizootic disease ; and it
is difficult to say what is the exact or exciting cause. Another impor-
tant branch of pathology is the symptoms, or
Symptomatology , or study of the symptoms of disease ; or the means
by which disease is recognized from the symptoms presented by the
organ or organs diseased. The symptoms may be general or local.
There are in the limbs certain local symptoms, iDut the cause may be
such that it will produce general symptoms. It is further divided into
primary and premonitory. In laminitis, we sometimes notice the horse
exhibiting premonitory symptoms, and, after some time, well marked
4 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
symptoms. There are general symptoms, as rigours, shivering in fever ;
and in certain organs we have symptoms of those organs having under-
gone certain changes.
Diagnostic Symptoms are those by which we are able to detect the
character of the disease, and the parts diseased. It is the discrimination
of disease. There are diagnostic, prognostic, and pathognostic symp-
toms. There may be a collection of symptoms, and may be character-
istic, as in glanders. There is a discharge from the nose. This may be
symptomatic of several diseases. But if there is a discharge and ulcera
tion of tbe mucous membrane, the sub-maxillary glands are enlarged,
and attached to the adjacent tissue, etc., then we liave characteristic or
pathognomic symptoms of glanders.
Prognosis, or telling the probable termination of a disease. You
examine the symptoms carefully, and make up your mind what is the
matter, and then tell the future of the disease, either favourable or un-
favourable.
Therapeutics, that branch of medicine which has reference to the treat-
ment of diseases. Diseases are classified under different names, accord-
ing to progress and character of disease. These are epizootic, enzootic,
specific, sporadic and zymotic ; these are the ordinary classification or
heads.
Epizootic is derived from two Greek words, signifying on and animal.
In human practice it is epidemic. A great many animals become
similarly affected at the same time, without any appreciable cause. A
common example is that known as epizootic, catarrhal fever and influ-
enza. It may be due to atmospheric influence, either contagious or non-
contagious. In cattle a good example is epizootic aphthje.
Enzootic diseases are confined to certain localities, and are due to local
influences. They may become contagious after leaving that certain
place. Kinderpest is a good example, but has never been known on this
continent. It is in Eussia. Texas fever appears common to certain
localities of Texas, but it is set up among the northern cattle. It may
be generated from the character of the water, food, grass, soil, etc. In
man, the term indemic is applied, as the ague
Specific, peculiar to particular class of animal, the virus of which, if
introduced into another animal, may produce the same disease as glan-
ders, strangles, distemper in dog days, etc., but a specific disease is not
necessarily contagious.
Sporadic is a word derived from a Greek word, meaning to sow here
and there. It is from accidental causes. Most diseases come under
this head, and are from well-marked causes.
Zymotic. — Some of the diseases mentioned are of a zymotic character.
Zymotic means a ferment. It acts like a ferment in the blood. Investi-
gations show that by minute bodies, so small that you can scarcely
think of their minuteness, an action is set up 'n the blood, perhaps in
the form of a ferment We find that most diseases consist in some
change in the blood itself, or in the flues wh' i nourish and renew the
tissues ; but a majority consist in a char i in the blood itself. In a
living body, there is a continual change taking place, and the great
characteristics of these changes are the processes of decay and repara-
tion, which only terminate at death. Substances pass into the body
and are carried to all parts of the body. Waste is taken up in the blood
and carried from the body. The body wastes during the day, and during
repose it is nourished and the waste repaired. The human being, during
one year, loses three thousand pounds by waste of tissue, and the repair
equals the waste. However, in youth the repair exceeds the waste, so
DISEASES OF DO^nESTIC ANIMALS. &
that the animal gradually grows. In the adult they are just about
equal, provided there is a certain amount of exercise. In old age the
waste is in excess, and the animal becomes smaller. In disease, some-
thing takes place, equilibrium is upset, and there is a change of function
or structure. We often see this taking place. An animal is attacked by
disease and reduced quite quickly — the result of this poison in the
system. Life is maintained in the body by the circulation of pure or
arterial blood through the system. This blood is the fluid of the body ;
whenever arterial blood ceases to circulate, death is the result ; or, if it
circulates, but becomes impure, there follows a similar result. If the
blood becomes changed but slightly, it produces disease very quickly ;
and if changed to any great extent, it produces death very quickly. Life
is an aggregate of the functions which resist death, and is maintained
by the blood. Death is the cessation of all the functions, the aggregate
of which constitutes life. Now death may occur in different ways, and
sometimes it is immaterial how an animal died, but at other times we
are called to tell how he died. If no blood circulates, death takes place
from syncope, from a want of a due supply of blood to the heart, and
the heart loses its power. Bleeding causes death from syncope, or from
necra^mia. The heart loses its power from want of its natural stimulus
— the blood Death from syncope may occur in other ways : the heart
may lose its contractile power from a blow over the heart or stomach, or
from poisons, or from fright, or from derangement of the nervous system.
Asphyxia, or Apncea ; access of air to the lungs is prevented ; as in
drowning, hanging, choking, and sometimes from tetanus ; again, from
coma. Death from coma begins in the brain — frequentlj' from medicines.*
The symptoms are drowsiness or comatose condition.
BLOOD.
Blood is the great and important fluid of the body, and is carried
through the system by means of a set of vessels ; they are arteries,
capillaries and veins The heart is the great centre of the circula-
tion. It is situated in the thoracic cavity, and acts as a force pump
to send the blood through the system ; but there is a power in the
vessels of drawing blood to them to a certain extent, somewhat as the
sap is drawn up in the tree. The arteries are vessels that convey
blood from the heart to various parts of the body. They are so named
from the former supposition that they contained only air, as they were
always found empty after death. They differ, also, in structure from
the vein-, and do not collapse as the veins do. They possess con-
tractility and elasticity, and their power of contraction is due to
muscular tissue in their walls, which consists of contractile flbre, cells,
which have the poorer of diminishing the calibre of the artery in which
they are situated, and can either arrest partially or completely the flow
of blood. The large vessels are especially elastic ; they have both
muscular and ^-ellow elastic tissue. They convey the blood to all the
tissues of the body, and when it has fulfilled its function, it is brought
back to the heart by the veins.
Veins are the vessels which bring the blood to the heart. They have
thinner walls than the arteries, and have valves, which valves are fold-
ings of the inner lining of the vein. These valves do not exist in the
pulmonary vein. They tend to help the blood towards the heart.
When the veins are empty they collapse. Between the arteries and
6 CUASES, SYMPTO>rs AND TREATMEXT OK
veins we have very small vessels, which form the connecting medium
and are called
Capillaries, which are formed from the breaking down of the arteries,
and from the veins on the other side. They are very delicate and
minute, and during health the blood circalates through all these in a
regular manner, and the liquid portions of the blood continually exudes
to supply the various tissues, and at the same lime there are excreting
waste tissue, and it is in the capillaries that nutrition is primarily
effected. There are also lymphatic vessels, which take up this waste,
but the blood vessels also take it up to some extent. All the tissues of
the bod}', whether bone, muscle, hair, etc., are nourished by the blood.
Blood is the fluid contained in the heart, arteries, capillaries and veins,
and is formed chiefly from the chyle, and when first drawn from the
body it has the appearance of a homogeneous fluid. You would think
it composed of but one thing, but after a while it loses this appearance.
It has a saline taste. The halitu is a smell, or faint odour, which
arises from a watery vapour, from freshly drawn blood, and is character-
istic of the animal from which it was freely drawn. The temperature of
the blood is 98° to 100"^. Blood is of red colour, viewed as a whole, and
is a fluid, but not a perfect fluid. It is composed of a fluid portion, the
liquor sanguinis aud a solid portion, corpuscles, or blood cells. The
corpuscles are of two kinds, the red and the white ; the red being the
more numerous, the average being about 250 red to' 1 white, but they
vary both in health and disease. These corpuscles float in the liquor
sanguinis. These corpuscles a^e very important. They are said to
possess vital jDroperties ; are said to assimulate material from the blood,
which is called globuline, and haematine. They assimilate material for
the right composition of the blood. The red corpuscles give colour to
the blood. In warm-blooded animals, the white corpuscles are the larger
of the two, and are rather irregular in outline, and are found to change
their form to a great extent. The red corpuscles also change during
disease. If they do not receive a sufficient supply of water they become
dried up, to some extent ; the capillaries are differently arranged in
different tissues, as in the mucous membrane, the pkin, the villi of the
intestines, air cells (where interchange of gases take place), parotid
gland, etc. I will give you an outline of the blood, but different authors
give it differently.
Water 785,0
Albumen 69.0
Fibrins. .. 3.0
Alkaline and Neutral Salts 8.5
Fatty and Extractive matters 7.5
Corpuscles 127.0
Albumen, fibrine and salts in solution form the liquor sanguinis.
Liquor sanguinis 673, corpuscles 127 parts in 1000.
Alkaline aud neutral salts : Chloride of sodium, chloride of potassium,
phosphate of soda, carbonate of soda, phosphate of magnesia, phosphate of
lime, phosphate of iron, oxide of iron.
There is a large amount of water that gives blood its fluidity. If the
water is drawn off by evaporation, there is a solid left, which is of no use
for nutrition. There is intense suffering from thirst on this account.
Albumen is a remarkable ingredient of the blood. The white of an egg
is a good example of albumen. Albumen is the original pabulum from
which all the tissues of the blood are formed ; it holds the salts in solu-
tion. Some say there is no fibrine to circulating blood, but we will sup-
pose that it does exist, and is the property of coagulation. Other
constituents are chloride of sodium, potassium, etc. Animals remote
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. Y
from the sea must have a regular supply of salt, which is an ingredient
of the blood, The matters of the blood are liable to changes to a certain
extent. The amount of blood is about one-eighth to one-tenth the
weight of the animal ; but a much less amount than that, drawn, will
produce death. There is depletion of the blood in old animals ; if drawn
it is not so readily regained as in young animals. The colour varies be-
tween arterial and venous blood ; in the arteries it is a bright red colour,
and is lit for the building up of tissues. The blood is carried to the lungs,
and carbonic acid passes from it, and it is turned from a dark colour to a
light red by absorbing oxygen. After being drawn for a short time it re-
solves into two parts the clot, or crassamentum, and the serum. This is
the natural result, and does not show inflammation. The serum is almost
colourless. We give chloride of potash in purpura, for if fibrine is not
present then the blood will exude, and chloride of potash assists coagula-
tion A solution of soda wall prevent coagulation. This gives us a clue
to the treatment of disease by exerting a certain influence on the blood.
Blood kept at a low temperature will not coagulate so readily as if
warmer. Heating blood coagulates it, from the albumen it con-
tains. Blood receives matter from three sources, from digestion in
the alimentary canal, from tissues which have served their purpose,
and from the atmosphere through the lungs. Oxygen acts upon
the system to a great extent. It is said to act on the various tis-
sues when the body dies, destroying all the tissues except the
bones ; although such body is not molested by dogs or other ani-
mals, and either left upon the ground, or buried, some of the materials
go into the ground, others into the atmosphere, etc., and pass from one
to another ; and some man at the present day may have some of the
identical brain of Julius Caesar.
Recapitulation of Blood. — The tibrine of the blood is destroyed and
reproduced three times in twenty-four hours. So fibrine is a very im-
portant substance, for by it we are enabled to control hemorrhage. If
rupture of a blood vessel takes place and there is a lack of fibrine or its
constituents, it is very hard to arrest hemorrhage ; but if a small vessel
is ruptured and the constituents of fibrine are present, you can easily
arrest the flow by pressure, for a coagulum is formed and you have heal-
ing by the first intention. The fibrine may be increased or decreased
under certain circumstances. In laminitis we use soda, for there is an
increase of fibrine. If you bleed a horse from the jugular vein, and allow
the blood to flow freely into a can, after it settles in the can there is a
peculiar white coat upon the surface, which is called buft'. In the horse
it is no evidence of inflammatory action, but it is due to the manner in
which the blood coagulates ; the white corpuscles being on the top, the
red lower down. And the depression on the top of the blood is not due
to any change in the condition of the blood. I think you cannot tell by
looking at blood what is the matter with the animal. However, in lung
disease, the blood is darker than usual, owing to the congested state of
the lungs.
INFLAMMATION.
Inflammation may be said to be an alteration in the healthy structure
of function of a part, accompanied by a perverted condition of the blood
in the capillaries, all of which may be due to a certain amount of para-
lysi.s of the vital principle of the tissues inflamed. From the earliest
8 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TRKATMENT OF
ages this subject has excited the interest of the medical inquirer, and
treatment of disease was in accordance with the opinion held with regard
to this process. We will notice some of the views that were held regard-
ing the process. It was supposed to be an exalted action and increased
nutrition to the parts, and the antiphlogistic treatment was recommended.
It was supposed to be too much blood to the parts, and if it could be
gotten rid of, it would cure the disease ; but this has been found to be
different, and different opinions are still held. We hear much talk about
the vital principle, and it is difficult to tell just what this principle is.
It was supposed to exist in certain tissues, as in the brain and nervous
tissues ; others tried to demonstrate that it existed in the blood ; others
that it existed in the nervous system without blood being the seat of it.
But it is now believed that every tissue possesses this vital principle, or
property. The cells of every tissue extract from the blood nutritive
properties necessary for their growth— muscular tissue, properties for its
development, growth, etc. Changes of view regarding this vital principle
have led to great changes in the treatment of inflammation. It is diffi-
cult to give a concise definition. It is not the blood alone that is affected,
but the tissues are also affected. I will give s: me other definitions : It is
an exudation of liquor sanguinis, but when there is an exudation of
liquor sanguinis there is not always inflammation, and a mere deter-
mination of blood to a part is not inflammation, but congestion. It is
defined as a peculiar perversion of nutrition or secretion Inflammation
may be present, and not have all these conditions Irritation appears to
be the starting point of inflammation. Inflammation may be said to be
a destructive process, or a fermentative process, and is sometimes just
what v^e desire to set up for the healthy maintenance of parts. A part to
be in a «^tate of health, must have a regular and not far distant supply of
blood, and the right composition of that blood, and the influence of ner-
vous force in a natural state. In the process of inflammation there is
more or less change. The process can be easily seen in some transparent
vascular structures, such as the web of a frog's foot. If this is put under
the microscope, the blood will flow through in a regular manner, the red
corpuscles most abundant and occupying the centre of the stream move
quickly, and are surrounded by the liquor sangoinis. There are some
white corpuscles also. They are larger and change their shape, accom-
modating themselves to the vessels through which they pass. If an irri-
tant is applied to a part, and the part excited to an inflammatory process,
a marked change takes place. The vessels contract, and consequently
there is a diminution in the amount of blood. By and by the vessels
become dilated, and quickly regain their natural size. If the stimulant
is but slight when they are dilated, blood will flow a little quicker for a
short time, but if the irritation is increased or continued, and of a severe
character, the muscular walls appear paralyzed, and do not contract, but
dilate much above their usual state, and let more blood into the capil-
laries, the circulation becomes slower and slower, there is an increase of
blood to the parts, a clear margin of the liquor sanguinis, the blood
becomes almost stagnant, the corpuscles alter and adhere to the sides of
the vessels, exudation takes place through the walls of the vessels, and
gives rise to what is sometimes called leucocythft-mia. Inflammation is
established, the blood rushes in and changes to a certain extent — becomes
somewhat muddy, so to speak— the vessels may rupture and the blood
goes through. Previous to inflammation actually taking place, there is
hyperemia or congestion. There must be an altered condition of the
blood in the capillaries. It is difficult to say just when congestion ceases
and inflammation begins. Inflammation does not terminate so quickly
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC AMIMALS. 9
as congestion. Congestion is an excess of blood ia the parts. There are
various kinds of congestion. If there is too much blood in some parts,
it is local congestion, or partial plethora. We see this without there
being any disease Congestion can be caused in various ways, and
very easily, indeed. There is always more or less congestion in the
lungs in severe exertion. It can be induced by means of the nervous sys-
tem— as in anger, one person's face will get red, and another's will get
pale — or in the blush of a young lady; or this is sometimes seen in a
bashful yonng man, as in Mr. , and see how quickly it takes place.
It is done by means of the nervous system. If we irritate a part
mechanically, we give rise to active congestion. It may end in hemor-
rhage, or pass on to inflammation. It is difficult to say whether it
will pass into inflammation or not, especially in the lungs.
Signs of Inflammation. — The visible signs are heat, pain, redness,
and swelling. But inflammation may go on to a great extent and the
tissues be considerably destroyed, without all these taking place. There
are signs by which it has been recognized, for hundreds of years. In
man, the sign first noticed, often is
Redness, but it is not so in domestic animals, as the skin is covered
with hair. Eedness depends upon the amount of blood sent to the parts,
and it varies in difterent places, and according to the causes. If a horse
receives an injury in the eye, the mucous membrane is very much red-
dened ; and in scratches, redness is seen, especially if in a white leg. In
acute inflammation, the parts are of a florid colour, and it takes place
quickly ; if in the bowels, gangrene may take place quickly, due to
changes which go on in the parts The
Heat is due to the amount of bloofi, and the changes being undergone.
If the tissues of the body are being broken up in any way, an effort is
made to take them from the system, and this produces heat. The heat
of a part is, however, not so much above the natural temperature as you
would suppose. In inflammation of the hock, joint, or foot, when you
apply the hand, you would suppose there was an increase of many
degrees, but it is not so much as you would think. In inflammation it
would run up to 102° or 104^^', so it varies from 98'^ to 104°. The increase
is greater remote from the heart, as the natural temperature of those
parts is several degrees below that of the blood at the heart. We flnd
this increase in the hock and foot. The temperature is sometimes higher
in influenza than in enteritis, so it is due in many cases to the change
taking place.
Swelling is due to exudation and effusion into the tissues ; first, en-
gorgement of the vessels, which is followed by exudation through the
walls into the surrounding tissues. In some tissues swelling is a very
evident sign. It takes place quickly and to a great extent, and, no doubt,
in some tissues afford relief. In many cases it must not be looked upon
with any great degree of alarm ; in lymphangitis it is not a very danger-
ous sign. But if in other parts, as the mucous membrane of the
respiratory organs, it is more alarming, and may produce death very
suddenly, by interfering with respiration. And although this is one of
the recognized signs of inflammation, it will occur from other causes, as
the peculiar swelling of purpura, which is not due to extravasation of
blood, and not to inflammation. We find it also in tuberculor swellings,
and rupture of the capillaries.
Pain is another sign. This varies much in different structures; in
some being most excrcuciating — in laminitis, for example. Here we
have an extremely vascular and sensitive structure, and the tissues being
covered with a hard, resisting hoof, makes it more painful. In inflam-
10 CAUSES, SYMl'TO.MS AND TREATMENT OF
mation of articulations it is the same — a slight puncture in the region of or
in the joint, from the action of the air and escape of synovia The same
is found in rhtumatism. Although pain is often the sign of the inflam-
mation, you may have inflammation go on to a considerable extent
without any great degree of pain being manifested. We see this in horses
and cattle, and I believe in man, from irritation of the lungs. If in a
horse, he is dull, dumpish, as it is called, in doing work. But by and by
the appetite is gone, etc., a surgeon is called, and even hepitization may
have taken place. Pain is due to the distention of the blood vessels
pressing on and affecting the nerves. Tissues that do not appear to
possess any degree of sensibility in health will be very painful in inflam-
mation— bone, for instance. In this the pain is most excruciating. In
the mucous membrane of the bowels and respiratory organs, pain is not
so intense ; it is a dull uneasiness, and there may be great pain without
much inflammation, as in spavin ; and in spasmodic colic, the animal
suffers as much as in enteritis ; but it is, however, a sign of inflam-
mation. If a part has been in a state of inflammation, it must have a
termination or result.
Terminations of inflammation are resolution, adhesion, effusion, sup-
puration, ulceration, and mortification or gangrene. Adhesion and
effusian are sometimes not given as results. Resolution is the most
favourable ; for iostance, if a part has been under the inflammatory pro-
cess, this process is arrested, and the parts restored to tteir natural con-
dition, then we say it terminated in resolution, which, in most cases, is
most desirable. Nutrition and function may be restored to their natural
condition, but there may be a slight change in the structure, but so slight
that it cannot be noticed, and it is resolution. A form of resolution is
delitescence, that in which the inflammation subsides before the exuda-
tion solidifies, and the products are taken up by the vessels, and got rid
of. We often see this in our patients. After fomenting the parts, the
inflammation subsides, and the products are taken up by absorption;
but if it coagulates or solidifies, then the process is different and more
tedious. It breaks up by a kind of fatty degeneration, and becomes
mixed with the surrounding fluids and separates into various compounds,
and is got rid of by way of the circulation, through the various excretory
organs. It is in this way that some of the enlargements in the system
are got rid of. We set up an inflammatory action by irritation, and the
results of the old inflammation are broken up and so got rid of
Adhesion. — W^hen the two surfaces are brought together, and heal-
ing takes place. In our patients many wounds heal by adhesion. W *
find this in injuries in certaiu parts, where the exudation, instead
of breaking up, is converted into an organized body, and remains
during the life of the animal, to a more or less extent. We find
this in sprain of the fetlock joint. It becomes inflamed, the ani-
mal is moved around, which keeps up t e inflammatory process ;
vessels and nerves pass in, and a new structure is formed. But we
find this may become denser to a certain extent, and the enlargement
becomes smaller and smaller. It is a case of adhesion. When yon
have such a case, just think of the inflammatory process, and do not
give exercise. Exercise may reduce the pain for the time being, but
after resting it will increase. It is, to say the least, absurd : but keep
quiet, and allay the
Effusion. — There is fibrine or its constituents, but it does not
coagulate until exposed to the atmosphere, as in pleurisy. There is
more or less eft'usion of serum ; and fibrinous threads are also seen. We
have it in connection with injuries, as a kick in the region of the loins,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 11
or a bruise on the shoulder. When you examine it, you find it contains
fluid — blood and water — not pus ; this is an example of effusion. It
comes from a slight injury to the areolar tissue, no doubt.
Suppuration or the Formation of Pus. — Pus presents two parts for
consideration, a liquid and a solid ; and corpuscles being the solid. It
may take place in different ways, or in different forms — circumscribed,
diffused and superficial.
Circumscribed, as an abcess, or from injuries to the shoulders or
muscles. Pns is formed from blood cells, and is known as a yellowish
wbite fluid, ordinarily inodorous, but in fistula, etc., it becomes fetid.
Dijfuse Suppuration, as in glanders and injuries to the large muscles,
as in the gluteal region.
Superficial, as in the mucous membranes. Some mucous membranes
do not form much pus, while others do ; examples of the latter are
those of the nose and generative organs. There are inflammatory
tumours, as in strangles ; they are at first hard, then soft, then burst.
This is a circumscribed suppuration. It breaks down the tissues and
finds its way to the outside, or pus may remain for some time in the
tissue, as in abcesses in cattle. It may remain much the same for a
considerable length of time, but if punctured dtep pus may be found.
Suppuration is sometimes favorable, as in a case of injury from a nail
in the foot, matter forms and escapes and relief is afforded. When
blood or its colouring mater is mixed with pus, it is called sanious pus.
If pus is continued for some time in connection with a diseased bone or
tooth, it becomes very fetid in many cases. Pus is sometimes found
with active properties. It flows from a wound over the skin, it destroys
the hair or skin, and is called ichorous pus. If pus is mixed with
poison, as that of glanders, etc., it is called specific pus, for it will pro-
duce the same disease. Laudable pus has no smell. Diffuse suppuration
may occur in some internal organ, as the lungs, and is called purulent
infiltration. In injuries to the groin or withers, if there is danger of
erysipelatous inflammation, or danger of it running on to gangrene,
diffuse suppuration is sometimes desirable. It is superficial when in the
skin or mucous membranes.
Ulceration. — This may be called molecular death of a part, and
generally arises when the tissues degenerate and are thrown off in large
amounts. There are different kinds of ulcers. Some will heal readily
while others will not. The ulcers of glanders will not heal. Ulceration
is frequently produced by continued inflammatory action. When the
vitality of a part is greatly depressed, or the general powers of the con-
stitution are weakened, ulceration is likely to take place, the state of the
system tending to help it.
Gangrene, or Mortification, is death of a part, either in its entirety or
a portion of greater or less size, and may proceed from direct injury to a
part, and is the result of intense inflammation. When it involves any
important organ, or is extensive, it creates great constitutional dis-
turbance, acting upon the heart. The pulse becomes weak and indistinct,
ending in death, and a large portion of the bowels may be found in a
gangrened condition. But if it affects but a small part, there is not
much constitutional disturbance. Even a small part of the lungs may
become so and the animal live for some time. If a part dies from gan-
giene, it acts as a foreign body to the tissues surrounding it, and, like
all foreign bodies, sets up an irriiation in the surrounding tissues, which
continues, and the surrounding tissues are converted into pus, and the
dead part is so removed from the body. We frequently assist nature in
this by assisting the sloughing piocess. There are acute, sub-acute and
12 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AN1> TKEATMENT OF
chronic forms. That whidi runs its coui'se quickly is called acute, and
it may run on and prove fatal as soon as twenty-four hours. The
chronic form may remain in much the same state for some time. Then
there are local and specific. Local inflammatory action in the feet, as
laminitis, or inflammation of the hock joint, and from punctures. Specific
inflammation contains a poison or virus. There are also other terms, as
sthenic and asthenic. Sthenic means strength ; asthenic, want of
strength The first can only occur in an animal in healthy condition ;
in such an animal as is working from day to day, the various organs
accing in a healthy manner, etc The asthenic may be generated in an
animal in vigorous condition.
Signs of Inflammation. — Either in losal or diffuse there is generally
more or less fever, which is well marked in many cases. The pulse in-
creased, and there is fever before we have the well marked symptoms of
inflammation. In pleuro-pneumonia, in cattle especially, a thermometer
is of great use, as the increase of temperature can be detected some
time before the other symptoms. In diseases of the respiratory organs,
there is generally irritability, or the patient is irritable, or dull and
drowsy.
Rigours or Shivering. — This is significant of congestion, and may last
for some time, even a day or two, before the inflammatory action is
noticed. When rigoui's are noticed, the animal should be noticed for
some time. An animal may shiver from drinking cold water ; but this
is different from the rigours produced by disease. Rigours, in some cases,
are very severe, especially in lung disease, and also diseases of the
bowels, due to changes in the system ; the digestive system is generally
more or less affected. In all inflammation, no difference where it occurs
(but there are exceptional cases), the bowels are costive, the feces pass
in hard pellets, etc. This may be noticed in a puncture of the food to
a certain extent. The secretions are more or less affected ; the kidneys
do not act in a natural manner ; they give off more solid matter than
in a healthy state.
Circulation.— By this we can form some idea of the character of the
inflammation. This we call the pulse, which is very important in the
detection of inflammation and disease generally. This is produced by a
wave of blood sent by the contra';tion of the h3art, and the nearer the
heart the stronger the pulsation The pulse in the horse, as in other
animals, is of great importance ; it tells the number and force of the
heart beats. You can take the pulse in any superficial artery, but the •
sub-maxillary is perhaps the best, as it is only covered by the skin ; or
the radial artery, in case the horse keeps moving the head ; it is just
inside the fore-leg. Endeavour to keep the animal as quiet as possible,
for if you excite him, you will find the pulse increase several beats, and
after standing some time it will again fall. Place the finger transversely
across the artery, and you should have some idea of the natural pulsa-
tion. It varies in different animals ; slower in heavier horses, quicker
in highly nervous animals. It may vary five or ten beats per minute,
and the animal still be in perfect health. It runs from 25 to 40. In
cattle it is some quicker. You should take the pulse in healthy animals
and become familiar with it. There are various kinds of pulsations, as
the results of certain diseases — the quick, slow, large, hard, soft, frequent
and infrequent. The strong full pulse may be present, and consistent •
with good health ; exercise will change the pulse to considerable extent.
But if the animal is suffering from disease, and then the pulse is of a
wiry character, it is characteristic of the sthenic type of infiammation ^
Suppose an animal has been standing in the stable, and is attacked with'
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 13
lymphangitis, the pulse is of a full, bounding, wiry character. A wiry
and thready pulse is characteristic of inflammation of serous membrane,
punctures of the feet, inflammation of the joints, etc. The weak, small
pulse is indicative of debility, showing inflammation of an asthenic
type. It may occur in influenza and catarrh. The oppressed pulse is
characteristic of congestion and inflammation of the lungs ; you would
think the heart had great difhculty in propelling the blood forward.
The throbbing pulse is characteristic of inflammation in certain parts.
In laminitis there is, perhaps, the best example of the throbbing pulse,
beating quickly, with a peculiar throbbing sensation, especially in any
inflammatory action in the vascular structures of the feet, making the
circulation difficult. A slow pulse is characteristic of cerebral disease,
but if only twenty-eight or thirty, you may say at once it is cerebral
disease, but if it is accompanied by a comatose condition, then it is
indicative of this disease. The intermitting pulse is found where the
animal has suftered from some debilitating disease, as influenza, stran-
gles, catarrh, etc Although it must in some cases be looked upon with
suspicion, it is not generally very alarming, but if there is a change for
the worse, and this pulse, it is unfavorable. The fluttering and almost
imperceptible pulse, indicates great changes in the system, as in the
latter stages of enteritis, pleurisy, pneumonia, etc., especially in enter-
itis ; if a case where the pulse is 40, 50 or 60 per minute, and changes,
and runs up to 80 or luO, and becomes indistinct, it is indicative of
approaching dissolution. These are the varieties of pulse, and due to
the manner in which inflammation attacks the various parts. The
pulse varies from 25 to 125. You may meet with a case at 125 where it
may recover, but higher than this will no doubt prove fatal.
General Treatment of Inflammation. — The aim should be to diminish
the inflammatory action, or if exudation has taken place, to further its
removal ; endeavour to find and remove the cause, for without removing
the exciting cause, treatment would be of but little value, as in case of a
nail in the foot, or from any irritant being lodged in the muscles of the
body, or in conjunctivitis and ophthalmia Keeping the animal quiet
and keeping the inflamed part in a state of rest, also materially assists
your treatment. Put the animal in a clean, well-ventilated box, attend
to the diet, give easily digested food, plenty of cold water, etc. These
are valuable adjuncts. Solicit the action of the bowels by injections or
laxatives, as the case demands.
Medical Remedies may be either local or constitutional — constitutional
given internally, the local applied to the part affected. The constitu-
tional acts upon the whole system, and also upon the parts aft'ected.
Blood-letting was at one time regarded as the great sheet-anchor of
treating inflammation. Bleeding was performed for everything and for
nothing. They bled periodically, whether sick or well. The question
was once asked a person who was bleeding an apparentlj' healthy ani-
mal, "What did you bleed him for?"' " For a shilling, sir," was the
answer. But we meet with some cases where it is attended with benefit,
as in a vigorous animal, and should not be altogether discarded. But
you may bleed an animal almost to death, and still not relieve the in-
flammation Blood-letting may be local or general. The local is some-
times a benefit, as in a swollen eyelid in human practice. And to do
any good it should be drawn quickly and from a large vein — the fleam
being the safest way, and the jugular vein being that usually chosen.
The amount that should be taken is hard to say, but watch the effect,
and if the pulse alters in any way, then stop the flow. Cold applications
are useful, and are used extensively in local inflammatory action, and at
14 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
certain seasons of the year are preferable to warm. They act by con-
tracting the vessels, and, if judiciously applied, are of benefit. But you
must apply them with care, for I believe too much ice, or ice applied too
long, may do more harm than good. I believe they will prevent exuda-
tion to a certain extent. Applying cold water from the hose is some-
times of benefit, but it must be applied for some time to be of use. Hot
applications are beneficial, and sometimes preferable to cold. If there is
severe pain, then apply warm water, which acts by causing increased
debilitation of the vessels and soothing the parts. Hot water is an excel-
lent fomentation, or you may use medication, or use blankets warmed by
the fire. Either hot or cold applications, to be of benefit, must be kept
up for some time, and there is difficulty in this, as we order so and so done
and it is not done. Purgatives are useful in inflammation — the best being
aloes for the horse, sulphate of magnesia for the cow, and syrup of
buckthorn and jalap for the dog. They relieve by moving the bowels,
and also some fluid portions of the blood. They produce irritation and
increased peristaltic actions of the bowels. Although there is great
benefit from purgatives in some diseases, such as laminitis, constipated
state of the bowels, in some others they must be used with great caution,
as in inflammation of the lungs. Aloes is generally best given in the
solid form, as, if in a fluid, some is lost. Sedatives are useful in the
treatment of inflammation, and act by means of the nervous system.
These are aconite (perhaps the best), digitalis, belladonna, calomel and
tartar emetic. Diuretics are extensively used, more by us perhaps than
in human practice. Human practitioners can act upon the skin, but we
cannot to the same extent ; but we can act upon the urinary organs.
The best diuretics are neutral and alkaline salts, nitrate of potash, etc.
There is an increased amount of fibrinne, and these tend to counteract
this condition. Opium is another valuable remedy in certain inflamma-
tions— the great sheet anchor, so to speak, if there is violent pain— or
morphia, given hypodermically. Give cold water ; it tends to improve
the condition of the blood, especially in pneumonia, congestion of the
lungs, etc. Give cold water frequently. It is one of the essential ingre-
dients of the blood, and it is a great mistake to limit the supply.
ORGANS OF RESPIRATION.
The horse breathes only through the nostrils. These organs are, first,
nasal openings ; second, nasal chambers and sinuses ; third, pharynx ;
fourth, larynx ; fifth, trachea ; sixth, bronchi ; seventh, bronchial tubes ;
eighth, the lungs. There are two nasal openings, the right and left,
and are divided by the nasal peak, to which is attached the nasal car-
tilage. External is the skin, internal to it are the muscles. The internal
part of the chambers is covered with a fine thin covering. Superior to
the inferior commissure is the false nostril ; the small opening inside of
the nostril is the ductus nasi. The nasal chambers are separated by the
cartilaginous septum nasi. It separates the right from the left chamber.
In each nasal chamber we have two bones, called turbinated bones, which
divide the nasal chambers into three parts ; so the chambers are not one
continuous chamber. Each chamber is lined with mucous membrane
(in fact all open chambers are lined with mucous membrane, this is
called schneiderian or pituitary membrane ; it is continuous with the
skin, and also with that of the several sinuses. The sinuses of the head
are the frontal, superior maxillary, ethmoid and sphenoid. They are,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. lo
perhaps, for two purposes — to lighten the head and protect the lungs,
The larynx is a musculo cartilaginous box, held in its place by muscles,
bones and trachea. The cartilages of the larynx are cricoid, thyroid,
epiglottis, two arytenoid and two cuneiform. The cricoid surrounds the
trachea ; the tyroid is shieldlike ; it is called Adam's apple, the epiglottis
or pot-lid ; the arytenoid is ewer shaped ; the cuneiform are false vocal
cords internal to the larynx.
The muscles of the larynx regulate the passage of air into the lungs.
The glottal opening is in the centre of the larynx. The mucous mem-
brane of the larynx is extremely sensitive. The larynx is well supplied
with nerves, superior and inferior laryngeal. The trachea is composed
of a number of incomplete rings which are attached by ligamentous
attachment ; the muc )us membrane of the trachea is not so sensitive as
that of the larynx. The trachea terminates in the right and left bronchi.
Catarrh means a discharge from any mucous membrane. We may
have catarrh of stomach, bladder, etc. Nasal catarrh means a discharge
of mucous membrane of the nose and sinuses of the same ; first there is
slight congestion and a peculiar dryness which gives way to a discharge
of a watery nature, which if it runs on soon becomes thick.
Causes. — The most common, perhaps, is exposure, or sudden changes
of temperature ; standing in a draft ; having been driven when in poor
condition, when system is weakened.
Symptoms. — Slight dulness ; may not take food very well : coat staring
to some extent ; pulse not much affected ; throat becomes sore ; after
congestion passes oft' exudation takes place, followed by the discharge,
and it may be very profuse, but it must not alarm you. There is gener-
ally impaired secretion of mine ; breathing not much aft'ected in many
cases. We have also a discharge from the nose in other diseases, such as
influenza, glanders, etc.
Treatment is simple. Give plenty of good, pure air ; place in a com-
fortable box, well ventilated, and if the weather is cold blanket him
accordingly ; use nitrate of potash, two, four or six drachms, two or
three times a day. One or two ounces nitrous ether, with one or two
ounces laudanum, may arrest the attack in the first stages, or you may
have to give a dose of purgative medicine, but be very careful in giving
purgative medicine in diseases of the respiratory organs. Bathe the
nostrils with warm water and allow him to inhale the steam. Just allow
it to pass into the nostrils, or use a nose bag, but allow plenty of pure
air. If a cough is present, stimulate the throat with equal parts of
ammonia, turpentine and oil, but if it is a very thin-skinned animal, you
may use less turpentine and ammonia and more oil, or mustard may be
used. Give laxative food, but do not let the animal run down in condi-
tion too much. If the discharge from the nose runs too long, it may be
arrested by the use of sulphate of iron, one or two drachms two or three
times a day, or chlorate of potash, one or two drachms two or three times
a day.
Larynigitis^ sore throat. It is first a congestion and then inflamma-
tion of the mucous membrane of the larynx. There is often an effusion
into the sub-mucous tissue, when it is called odematous larynigitis.
Causes. — Similar to those of catarrh, exposure ; a number of horses
kept in the same stable, or being kept in underground stables, or it may
be an epizootic disease ; that is, it attacks a number of animals at the
same time, and it is quite difficult to say just what causes it in this way.
It may occur from injury from balling with a stick, etc.
Symptoms.— ¥ir<it, dulness and swelling, easily noticed if the animal
attempts to drink ; water may be expelled through the nostrils, owing to
!♦» CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OK
the conformation of the horse. Pressure upon the throat produces pain.
The pulse varies much ; it it is very quick, and the animal cannot
swallow, you have a very severe case. The mouth is generally hot, with
a peculiar sticky sensation ; the tongue diyer than natural ; the breath-
ing oppressed more or less, especially if the mucous membrane of the
glottal opening is severely affected. Increased respiration, secretions
generally impaired, bowels costive and urine scanty. In one or two
days there will be a discharge from the mouth, and in acute cases it is a
favourable symptom ; it generally disappears in from four to ten daj's,
but the animal should not be put to hard work for some time. It may
terminate in roaring or bronchitis.
Treatment. — Plenty of pure air is very necessary ; if the feet and legs
are cold, have them well hand-rubbed and bandaged Give nitrate of
potash and chlorate of potash. Be very careful in giving a drench ; give
chlorate of potash, two to four drachms in tepid water two or three times
a day. Use judicious counter irritation ; equal parts of ammonia, tur-
pentine and oil ; or rub mustard well into the skin and wash off in two
or three hours, it may be necessary to use stronger remedies, such as
biniodide of mercury or cantharides. If the breathing is very difficult,
you may in some cases give inhalation of chloroform ; give any food that
the animal will take well ; but if he will eat soft food it is the best.
Give plenty of cold water. And it is sometimes necessary to perform the
operation of tracheotomy ; and there are other remedies you may use.
You maj- find benefit from the use of camphor one drachm, tincture bella-
dona one-half drachm, opium one-half drachm, or digitalis one-half
drachm, nitrate of potash two drachms, licorice two drachms, ipecacuanha
one-half drachm. If a cough is present use counter irritation, and give
iodide of potassium one drachm, morning and night.
Nasal trleet, chronic catarrh, or ozaena. There is a glary discharge
from one or both nostrils. It is a sub-acute inflammation ; the frontal
or maxillary sinuses are the parts affected. The discharge varies accord-
ing to the length of time and to the seat of the disease.
Causes. — Neglected catarrh, especially if exposed to cold and not al-
lowed a sufficient amount of food. Exposure by running to a strawstack,
etc., or an injury to the frontal sinus if sufficient to fracture the bone or
even to injure the blood vessels inside of the bone, or from a carious
tooth. Nasal gleet is a sj-mptom of bad teeth, or of inspissated or dried
pus. A tumor may produce it, or the introduction of a foreign substance
into the nasal chambers, by endeavouring to swallow something and
expelling it into the nasal chambers.
Symptoms. — It is sometimes mistaken for glanders ; first a discharge
from the nostrils ; it may be of a whitish or yellowish colour, which may
be retained for some time in the nostril and then be expelled in consider-
able quantities. Look at the nose ; the mucous membrane may be red-
dened or of a yellow hue, but no ulcerated patches, as in glanders. There
may be swelling of the lymphatic glands, especially if it comes from a
diseased tooth ; the animal may continue in pretty good spirits, and may
work pretty well. If the frontal sinuses are affected, you can detect it by
the sound, by concussion, sounds being different in empty and in full
sinuses. The animal becomss lean in flesh ; it is called hide-bound, the
discharge, if from a case of long standing, has a fetid smell ; in glanders
it is not so fetid, and the discharge is of a more greenish colour. Always
examine as to the state of the teeth.
Distinguishing Symptoms between Glanders and Nasal Gleet:
In inlanders.
(1.) Discharge in the first stages generally comes from the left nostril.
(2.) Discharge has a tendency to adhere around the nostril.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 17
(3.) Discharge has not a fetid smell.
(4.) Discharge is yellow in color.
(5.) Ulceration of septem nasi.
(6.) Induration of sub-maxillary lymphatic glands.
(7.) Temperature is considerably elevated.
(1.) Generally comes from both.
(2.) Does not adhere around the nostril.
(3.) It has a fetid smell if of long standing or from a carious tooth.
(4 ) Generally of a greenish cast.
(5.) Septum nasi, not ulcerated.
(6 ) Sub-maxillary glands are not injurated unless from a carious tooth*
(7.) Temperature not much elevated.
Treatment is somewhat tedious. Keep the animal well fed, wash the
nostrils once or twice a day, give plenty of pure air and some exercise,
use sulphate of iron, one, two or three drachms once or twice a day,
iodide of potassium, sulphate of copper, or balsam of copaiba. The best
preparation of iron is iodide of iron. In some cases counter irritation is
of use. Use biniodide of mercury. I have but little faith in injections
into the nostrils. As a general thing no purgative is required. It may
be necessary to trephine and allow the matter to pass out. Keep the
opening well opened, inject carbolic acid, sulphate of copper, etc. If it is
from a carious tooth, remove it. Sulphate of copper two drachms, can-
tharides five grains, made into a ball and given once or twice a day. or
sulphate of iron one drachm, arsenic three to live grains, strychnine two
grains, or substitute nux vomica for the strychnine.
Bronchocell is enlargement of thyroid glands. ; it may vary from the
size of a pigeon's egg to the size of a man's hand. It is hypertrophy of
the thyroid glands. It is easily detected, and does not often interfere
with the animal in any way.
Treatment. — Iodine and iodide of potassium one part to four or six of
lard; or you may dissect them out, but be careful, as the carotid artery
is very near ; but if you do cut it you can ligature it. It may be neces-
sary sometimes to use biniodide of mercury, or if cysts are formed you
may puncture them.
Croup is that form of inflammation of the larynx where the exudate
becomes converted into false membranes ; it is a rare disease generally
seen in young animals.
Causes. — Exposure to cold ; it occurs in animals confined to low, damp
pastures.
Symptoms. — Extn mely difficult breathing, accompanied with a peculiar
crowing sound.
Treatment. — Chlorate of potash, counter irritation, and it may be neces-
sary to perform tracheotomy.
Abcesses of the turbinated bones.
Treatment is to trephine, and let the matter escape.
Tumours, or nasal polypi, are usually of a fibrous character ; there is
generally a small neck, which is attached to the mucous membrane ; they
may extend almost down into the nasal opening. It is not so common in
horses as in man.
Causes — They may come from some change in the system. It is a
tumour, which does not grow again if it is removed.
Treatment. — If it is small it is better to leave it alone, but if it inter-
feres with respiration it may be necessary to remove it, just with a pair
of forceps if it is near the nasal opening. It is sometimes formed back in
the pharynx, which is more serious than nasal polypi ; it may not do
much injury, and it may intei-fere with the larynx.
18 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OK
Symptums are rather peculiar. The animal has difficulty in breathing ;
is subject to symptoms of suffocation ; may fall down, get up again and
for a time appear all right. There may, after this, be a discharge of
blood from the nostrils. In such a case put the hand well back in the
mouth and make a careful examination.
Treatment. — According to your works you would remove it, but my
experience is that they jire difficult to remove ; but it may have a very
well marked neck and you may in such a case remove it. I have had
some experience and there is much hemorrhage.
Tumours of a cheesy consistency, but not polypi. When you make an
examination you may think it is of a fibrous character, but it is of a
fluctuating or flabby character, and you know by this that it contains
matter of some kind. It is best treated by making an incision, and
squeezing this matter out, and then treat as an ordinary injury.
Ulceration of the arytenoid cartilage hes been noticed, and may result
from acute laryngitis.
Symptoms. — It is difficult to detect, there is a discharge from the nose,
more when the animal is eating. The animal falls off greatly in con-
dition, and coughs.
Treatment. — Nothing can be done for it.
Thickening" of the Mucous Membrane of the nose causes impaired
breathing, a kind of snuffling up the nose. Give some such thing as
nitrate or chlorate of potash.
Chronic Coujrh. — It is called this when no other disease can be
seen. There are different kinds of cough : the dry ; the humid, which
is free and moist : the deep hollow, such as is found in heaves, or
broken wind ; the suppressed cough, in which the animal tries to
suppress it, for it appears to cause great pain ; this is found in
pleurisy.
Chronic cough may result from laryngitis. It is an indication of
broken wind or heaves. There is some derangement in the pneumo-
gastric nerve. It is aggravated much by changes in the temperature ; it
is shown after drinking or eating, or being brought from the stable, and
although it does not seem to hurt the animal much, you must look upon
it with a certain amount of suspicion. Pressure upon the larynx will
cause him to cough.
Treatment must vary according to cause, or what you think is the
cause. Iodide of potassium, or mercurial ointment, tartar emetic may
be given — one or two drachms morning or night; or camphor, opium
and digitalis made into a ball and given twice a day. You may use
belladonna.
Roaring generally goes under the name of heaves, or broken wind. It
may be produced by various causes. You may have whistling or blow-
ing, etc. A whistler is not so ferious as one that makes a loud and
unnatural sound upon any violent exertion. There is more air passing
into the nostrils than can pass into the lungs, and this is due to a wast-
ing of the muscles of the larynx. The air acts upon the vocal cords,
producing this peculiar sound. The muscles are more wasted upon the
left side than they are on the right. Roaring may arise from a disease of
the turbinated bone, or from a tumour of an osseous character in the
nasal chambers, or from a foreign body in the nasal chambers, but five
out of every six result from wasting of the muscles of the larynx.
Causes. — It is caused by laryngitis, strangles and influenza ; but is
generally hereditary. It may be from some lesion of the pneumogastric
nerve, or from tight reining. It generally comes after strangles or laryn-
gitis, by being put to fast work too soon after recovery. Horses with
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC .VNIMALS. 19
extremely long necks and a narrow submaxilliary space are very apt to
become roarers.
Symptoms. — As long as you do not excite the animal he is always
free from it, but if you work him hard or drive him, he will show it
quickly.
Treatment. — All medicinal agents fail in the treatment of this disease,
when there is well marked wastings of the muscles of the larynx.
Recently, however, an operation consisting of an excision of the vocal
chords and part of the arytenoid cartillages has been successful in some
cases. If it results from thickness of the mucous membrane, give iodide
of potassium ; or you may use counter irritation. Whistling, wheezing,
etc., are only modified symptoms of roaring. The muscles involved in
roaring are the crico-arytenoideus, posticus and lateralis, arytenoideus
and thyro-arytenoideus. It may come from nervous influences.
Spasms of the Larynx, — Most likely to occur in old horses.
Causes. — It is often associated with cerebral disturbances.
Symptoms. — The animal is seized with a violent tit of coughing, may
reel,stapger and sometimes fall. There is no pain on manipulation.
Treatment. — Inhalations of chloroform may be tried. Give mild
laxative and bromide of potassium, and follow by uux vomica.
Epistaxis, or bleeding from the nose, is not very common, and usually
proceeds from some injury, or is the result of violent exertion, rupturing
some of the blood vessels. It is not very serious. The blood, as a
general thing, issues from but one nostril, but it may come from both.
Horses in high condition, without much exercise, are more liable to
this.
Treatment. — It must vary to a certain extent. If there is not much
blood, just bathe with cold water, or you may inject the nose. But be
careful in injecting the nose of a hor.^e, or you may have a more severe
form If in but one nostril, use tow with some styptic, as acetate of lead.
Feed well and get the animal in proper condition.
Hemorrhage of the Lungs is generally symptomatic of some disease,
and when it is, it is easily detectei. It is produced by various causes,
and may come from different sources — from the air cells, bronchial tubes,
or from the substance of the lungs. Horses most likely to suffer, if in good
health, are plethoric animals. It is not uncommon among the trotting
and racing horses, and is generally the result of improper care or use. It
may result from violent exertion, although the animal is in very good
condition. Instead of escaping by the nose, the blood sometimes becomes
extravasated in the substance of the lungs, producing serious results, as
pneumonia, etc
Symptoms. — There is not generally much difficulty in determining it.
It generally comes from both nostrils, and the animal also coughs ;
respiration is quick ; the animal is weak ; and there is some irritation.
Apply the ear to the trachea, and you will hear a peculiar gurgling noise.
Treatment. — Keep the animal standing quiet ; cover well in cold
weather, and apply cold to the chest — cold water or ice. Be very careful
with internal remedies ; but after some time use styptics — use turpentine
or acetate of lead, or the tincture of the chloride of iron, two or three
drachms once or twice a day, or gallic acid one drachm, with one drachm
of opium. If the legs are cold stimulate to some extent, and after some
time administer stimulants, such as sweet spirits of nitre. Inform the
owner of the nature of the case, and the great danger of exertion.
Congestion of the Lungs. — The lungs are supplied with two sets of
blood vessels, the functional and nutritive. The functional are the pul-
raonarv arteries and veins ; the nutritive are the bronchial arteries and
20 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
veins. The functional are the ones involved in congestion. Congestion
consists in an increased amount of blood in the parts, and interferes with
respiration. It is a forerunner of inflammation or pneumonia, and is
the most common disease of the lungs.
Causes. — Rapid exertion when the animal is not in fit state, is the most
common cause It is a sequel of catarrh, and if worked too soon, it fol-
lows influenza as well as catarrh. It is sometimes produced by impure
air, and possibly may be due to a sudden draft of air.
Symptoms vary some, according to the producing cause. If from fast
work the symptoms are well marked, the animal will be sluggish, tremble
in the flank ; will have labored breathing, the nostrils dilated ; oppressed
pulse — which sometimes becomes very weak and indistinct ; the mu-
cous membrane of the eye and nose are reddened. By placing the ear to
the side there will be heard a peculiar gurgling noise, showing that there
is difiiculty in the large bronchial tubes ; ears and legs are cold, especially
if the animal has been driven in the cold But if it is a milder attack
the symptoms are different. Suppose, a horse, after having catarrh, is
driven five or six miles, brought back and put into the stable. He refuses
his food, trembles, or has rigours ; ears and legs cold, mouth hot, pulse
quick and weak ; by placing the ear to the inferior part of the trachea you
hear those peculiar sounds ; the animal persists in standing, but may lie
down in exceptional cases ; but will suddenly jump : there is congestion.
Tympanitic condition of the bowels is a cause of congestion, by interfer-
ing with the action of the lungs. The pulmonary veins are generally the
ones affected, if it be suddenly produced and terminate suddenly. If the
horse has lived twenty-four to forty-eight hours, there may be a great
change ; the lung may be in an entirely gangrenous condition ; but you
may not find so much change. If the animal dies more suddenly, the
lungs may retain some of their characteristics — may swim in water. It
is necessary, in case of a horse changing hands, to be very careful in giv-
ing your opinion in such a case, as it may be produced very quickly,
indeed. The post mortem may reveal congestion, and that congestion not
be the cause of death, especially if the horse has been lying on the ground
sometime before death. It may be hypostatic congestion So, I say, be
careful.
Treatment. — It must be energetic. This is not a very fatal disease, but
is rather a desirable disease to treat. Keep him in good fresh air (it is
better to k-ep him out in the open air than in a close s'able) ; keep him
well covered ; give stimulants ; give one ounce of sulphuric or nitrous
ether, with a little laudanum ; bandage the extremeties well ; rub the
body well ; keep well warmed. You may bathe the limbs with warm
water. If the animal is being relieved some, do not push stimulants too
strongly, but if not relieved, give another dose. After some time give
nitrate of potash, and give injection of soap and warm water, with a little
turpentine, and in some cases you may try blood letting, but it is not now
done to a very great extent. If a horse is in good condition and put to
fast work and taken suddenly, in such a case you may take two or three
quarts of blood ; after which give stimulants. But if the animal is suf-
fering with catarrh, blood letting would be highly injurious. If you find
the symptoms are relieved, and the pulse runs high, give Fleming's tinc-
ture of aconite ; counter irritation ; sometimes a hot application to the
sides is of benefit. Hut there is no need of very powerful remedies.
Wring a blanket from hot water and apply over the chest, and cover with
a dry one : use carefully for some time ; give regular exercise, but do not
allow to stand in a cold draft. Give genetian for a tonic. Allow plenty
of cold water— not too much at a time, but give often. He is likely to
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 21
suffer from another attack unless gotten in good condition, after which he
will not be so likely to be attacked again.
Pneumonia ©r Inflammation of tlie Lung:s.— It may occur in either
the acute or chronic form. It may affect both or only one lung, or a part
of the lung, or the entire lung. It is infl immation of the lung substance
or parenchyma. It is not at all uncommon. It is found in connection
with other diseases of the lungs, especially the pleura, for the pleura cov-
ers the lung very closely, and if both the pleura and lung are afifected,
then it is pleuro pneumonia. Inflammation affects the substance of the
lungs ; the nutrient vessels in it are first affected, especially if it does not
come on very suddenly. There are several stages of the disease, and it
may terminate fatally at any of these stages There is arterial conges-
tion, in which the arteries become congested (Splenization), for in post
mortem it presents the appearance of the spleen ; a kind (.f frothy fluid
issues from the lungs ; the lung first becomes loaded with blood and
bloody serum. If in this stage of the disease there is still crepitation, the
lung has not entirely lost its natural characteristics, for it will swim in
water. In the third stage the lung is much changed ; there is an exuda-
tion which does not liquify ; the cells are destroyed to a great extent ; the
lung becomes somewhat solid ; the post mortem reveals a hepatized con-
dition ; the lung will now sink in water. It is sometimes called red
hepatization, in contradistinction to gray hepatization, or diffused sup-
puration. The fourth stage is gray hepatization or diffuse suppuration,
and presents a gray appearance ; is soft and pulpy, except in an ox.
Causes are predisposing and exciting ; constitutional ; and plethora ;
improper ventilation ; sudden changes in temperature (the weather in the
fall of the year is more likely to produce it than the cold of winter) ;
placing the horse in a warm stable, and then turning him out to pasture ;
clipping, and then exposing to the cold. It is also the result of neglected
catarrh ; being driven while suffering from catarrh, etc. Diseases of the
air passages are likely to terminate in pneumonia ; allowing a horse to
stand in a shed where there is a draft. It will occur in well but improp-
perly ventilated stables, such as standing the horse between two large
doors ; it is produced by inhalation of smoke, but this is not so likely to
produce pneumonia as bronchitis ; the improper administration of medi-
cine producing bronchitis, and then pneumonia. It is more likely to
occur in young horses than in old ones.
Symptoms. — The careful px'actitioner is but little troubled in detecting
this disease. It is usually brought on by shivering ; when the shivering
ceases heat takes place ; ears and legs cold, and then hot or natural tem-
perature (the same in pleurisy) ; mouth hot and sticky ; the breathing
slightly affected ; the pulse is what is called an oppressed pulse ; it is
quick— may be full. The horse as a general thing persists in standing,
for the reason that it gives him more ease than any other position, but
there r^re exceptions to this rule. The eyes have a glassy appearance ;
the conjunctiva injected ; there is a peculiar flapping of the nostrils ; a
heavyj sighing breathing ; and one symptom that occasionally misleads
is constipation of the bowels ; the feces are covered with mucous or
slime ; by placing the ear to the chest, crepitation can be heard It is a
good symptom to see the animal look around him freely. The horse
desires pure air, which you can determine by letting him loose, aud he
will go to the open door. The respiratory movements vary t ) a certain
extent, but not so much as might be supposed ; the horse breathes about
ten times per minute, but it may vary to some extent. In pneumonia
these movements are increased more or less, but pneumonia is a disease
that often goes on to a considerable extent without showing any violent
22 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
symptoms. Auscultation can either be detected by placing the ear to
the chest or by means of a stethoscope. There are certain sounds ; if
the animal be excited, you will hear a peculiar sound [^abnormal sounds
are quite difficult to describe] . Use percussion ; tapping the chest,
there will be a cresonant sound, but if hepatization is present there will
be a dull sound. Place the ear to the chest and you will hear a crepi-
tating or rumbling sound. If arterial injection has taken place, then
you may have crepitation very well marked. The first sound is some-
thing like rubbing the hair between the thumb and finger near the ear ;
by-and-by when exudation takes place, there will be no sound at all over
the diseased part (there will be sound over the diseased part, but not
directly over it ;) the pulse becomes quick — one hundred beats a minute
or moi'e — increasing much on exciting the animal. The breathing and
flapping of the nostrils increase ; there is a discharge from the nose, of
a reddish brown colour, which is a very bad sign ; appetite entirely gone ;
breath very fetid ; will not lie down ; notices nothing ; and, as death
approaches, the mouth becomes cold ; the pulse very indistinct ; perhaps
now lies down ; breathing very much increased ; gets up, perhaps ; falls
and expires. Death may occur in from ten to twenty hours. If the
animal dies in from twelve to twenty-four hours, it is generally from
congestion. If the case is about to terminate favourably the animal
lifts the head, looks around some, and legins to eat. It is rather satis-
factorily treated.
Treatment. — Clothe the body according to the season of the year. If
the attack comes from some well marked cause in an animal in good
condition, use sedatives ; aconite, Fleming's tincture — six to eight drops,
Fleming's tincture being much stronger than other tinctures ; in some
cases a moderate amount of blood letting may be of benefit, but never
if the animal is of a weak habit. Give small dose of nitrate of potash,
ten to twelve drachms in twenty-four hours. Endeavor to overcome
distressing symptoms by giving the tincture of opium— half -ounce or
even one ounce. Encourage the animal to take a certain amount of
food, such as a bran mash, but if such will not be taken then give any
thing the animal will take ; but do not push too much food into him.
After the sedative, and relief is obtained, give stimulants ; nitrous ether,
milk, whisky, etc. He may take it in cold water ; if so, it is the best
way to give it. There are other remedies. There is difference of opinion
as to counter irritation, whether it should be usei or not. I think
judicious counter irritation is attended with benefit. Apply cloths
wrung out of hot water, or mustard poultices. There are different ways
of applying mustard. The best is the same as it is applied to human
patients ; leave on just as 3'our judgment dictates. It is necessary to
know just when to stop giving medicine. When the animal is recovering
call the bowels to action by the judicious use of loosening diet. If it is
the result of catarrh, it is not necessary to give sedatives. If a cough is
present, give digitalis and opium. But digitalis is a medicine you must
be very careful with.
Pleurisy is inflammation of the pleura, and frequently exists in con-
nection with pneumonia. Acute pleurisy is a pretty .serious disease, and
apt to terminate fatally, or injure the animal. Death does not generally
take place before the third or fourth day. If of long standing, hydro-
thorax is the result.
Inflammation of tlie Textures Involvint? tlie Pleura.— If the
animal dies in the first stages, red streaks will be seen in the pleura.
There is a tendency to serous exudation, or exudation of a serous
character, but we have an exudation of a fibrinous character, and also a
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 23
false membrane. This is more likely to take place in cattle than in
horses, and it will form in from twenty-four to forty- eight hours. It is
astonishing what a change will take place in this time. This exudation
is soon taken up by the blood vessels, if the animal begins to convalesce.
With hydrothorax there are shreds of lymph, or yellow clots of fibres,
floating in the water of the chest. You may find that the outer surface
of the lung is affected, but the internal part may appear pretty sound.
Causes are similar to those of pneumonia. Exposure to cold, or
standing in a large stable between two large doors, through which a
heavy draft passes ; by washing the limbs or body when the horse is
warm and not drying immediately, which has a tendency to drive the
blood from the surface ; or from injury to the side, which may or may
not fracture, but may produce pleurisy. It is usually ushered in with
rigours, pulse quick and wiry, fuller than in pneumonia and of this wiry
character ; the animal appears in very great pain, and, although, breath-
ing violently, will lie down. If you make him cough, he will endeavour
to suppress it as much as possible. This is different from lung fever.
Ears and extremities cold, or one leg warm and another cold, and vice
versa ; quick breathing ; a hollow line extending along the inferior
border of the false ribs ; there is a rasping sound ; the animal en-
deavours to expand the chest as much as possible, hence the line.
Auscultation reveals a grating sound ; after a time this will cease — just
as soon as the exudation takes place. If you attempt concussion, the
animal evinces great pain ; if you attempt to turn him around he will
groan from pain. In fifteen or twenty minutes the animal shows
symptoms of returning health ; the grating sound ceases, and you
may be deceived in this ; the pulse, instead of becoming slower and
stronger, is running up ; although exudation has taken place, it is
to such an extent that the absorbents cannot take it up and distri-
bute it, and there will be hydrothorax. There may be fluid in only one
side, or it may pass from one side to the other. Pleurisy is apt to super-
vene influenza where the acute symptoms will not be so well marked as
those I have given you, but if of some standing, there will be other
symptoms ; iiregular pulse ; oedematous swelling of the limbs and belly ;
a kind of dropsical swelling from impaired health and circulation.
Treatment is not very difterent from other chest diseases. You might
try taking blood ; put hot cloths to the side, or mustard, or take a piece
of sheet iron and warm and place upon the side, and put a blanket over
this ; if in a very cold stable, do not apply wet cloths ; give tincture of
aconite ; and you will find great benefit from the use of colchicum — one-
half drachm to one drachm. An excellent remedy is liquour, acetate of
ammonia, or nitrous ether ; use diuretics freely, and use tonics ; if there
is great pain give opium — one or two drachms, or hypodermic injections
of acetate of morphia ; or you may use digitalis — one-half drachm to
one drachm ; or belladonna ; give stimulants, and endeavonr to carry off
the produce of exudation.
Results of Pleurisy.— The natural result is water in the chest, and
if it collects to a large extent, hydrothorax is the result ; there may be
several pails full of fluid in the thoracic cavity. If you have a well
marked case of hydrothorax (say the cavity one-half full or such a mat-
ter), you have a very serious case.
Symptoms— There is great difficulty in breathing ; flapping of the
nostrils ; the eyes clear— of rather a natural appearance ; venous regur-
gitation of the blood in the jugular vein. No sound is heard by applying
the ear to the chest, except above the fluid. The body is much aftected ;
legs swelled : also around the udder, sheath, etc. The animal keeps his
24 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
head to the door if permitted, showing his desire for oxygen ; ears and
legs cold. If you are called to see an animal that has had pleurisy and
the ahove symptoms are presented, you can make up your mind that it is
hydrothorax.
Treatment, — Give stimulants, diuretics, and tonics freely. Endeavour
to get the animal to eat the very best of food, not bran mashes, etc.. but
the very best of food. You may overcome the disease, but there is no
specific for it ; you may try tapping, which is sometimes attended with
success, but not so successful as in the human pract'ce ; you puncture
between the eighth and ninth ribs. This operation is called paracentisis.
Keep the animal quiet, and endeavour to build up his condition.
Fleiiro-Pneumonia of the horse, or inflammation of the pleura and
lungs. It always occurs in a sporadic form. It is not contagious, as in
cattle.
Causes are similar to those mentioned, and if influenza prevails,
pleuro-pneumonia also prevails. The
Symptoms are generall}^ pretty plain ; the animal persists in standing ;
pulse quick- ned and wiry.
Treatment. — Just the same as in pneumonia I favour a form in
giving stimulants instead of sedatives.
Recapitulation. — Pressure upon the intercostal spaces causes pain ; at
first there is dryness of the pleural surfaces ; then more or less exuda-
tion ; there may be adhesion of the pleura costalis and pleura pulmonalis.
Give opiate to relieve pain. May give one or one and a half grains of
acetate of morphia hypodermically. If once hydrothorax is well estab-
lished, and results from pleurisy, you may do something for it, but if it
results from pleuro-pneumonia it is almost a hopeless case.
Bronchitis may accompany some of the chest affections already men-
tioned. The trachea terminates in the bronchi, these in the bronchial
tubes, and these in the air cells. Bronchitis is inflammation of the
bronchial tubes — there is acute and chronic. If you suffer from a sore
throat, and have some difificulty in the throat, the soreness extending
down, it is acute bronchitis, or there may be mechanical bronchitis in
the horse from a foreign substance in the throat, or from irritating
medicines ; from balling with a stick, etc.
Symptoms. — A peculiar dryness ; in health there is always a fluid or
secretion in the throat ; in inflammation this is dried up. There is dry-
ness of the mucous membranes ; increased breathing to a certain extent ;
there is a peculiar loud breathing or snoring, which can be discovered by
auscultation. The second result is an exudation which changes the loud
breathing to some extent. The horse does not expectorate as much as
a man, but no doubt it does come up and is swallowed. If you listen
now you will hear this sound to a certain extent, but not so well defined
as at first ; but if you have very violent or diflBcult breathing a peculiar
hissing or whistling sound, there is inflammation of the air-cells, or the
cells are plugged up to a certain extent, and this may lead to hepatiza-
tion of the lung by affecting the lung tissue. Mouth hot, and the pulso
not hard but soft. Capilliary bronchitis is speedily followed by great
depression ; there is coldness of the extremeties, which is symptomatic
of all such diseases ; it may terminate fatally very quickly, or it may
recover as quickly.
Causes. — Diiving the horse when hot or in poor condition ; inhalation
of smoke ; sudden changes in temperature, etc. Causes of the mechani-
cal form are choking, regurgitating of food and passing it into the
trachea ; the accumulation of gas in the intestines and throwing it up in
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 26
the oesophagus, etc. Bronchitis is oftener seen in the city from these
causes than in the country.
Treatment. — You may find benefit from a few drops of aconite, but
you must be very careful in giving sedatives. You may find great benefit
from giving opium in the first stages — one or two ounces of the tincture ;
or from hot applications, hot water, mustard, etc. Nitrate of potash is
an invaluable remedy in chest diseases ; if there is great depression you
may use stimulants, but be very careful in drenching an animal or in
forcing food in this disease. You may give whisky, ale, beer, etc. After
the acute stage has passed there is a discharge from the nose (and is not
a very bad sign). Give nitrate of potash; and you will find benefit from
small doses of tartar emetic — two to four drachms ; or you may use
liquor acetate of ammonia ; or you may give one or two drachms of the
carbonate of ammonia, dissolved in water, or given in a ball of linseed
meal. There is also a parasitic bronchitis, which may be noticed by-
and-by. .
Broken Wind, asthma, heaves, etc. This is common among Cana-
dian horses.
Pathology. — There are a great many theories brought forth with regard
to it. It is generally, I believe, brought on by some lesion of the pneumo-
gastric nerve. Pneumonia and other such afi'ections may produce it.
An animal can generally do moderate work. Hepatization of the lungs,
heart disease, etc., is generally the result, and not the cause, of heaves.
Emphysema of the lungs does sometimes produce it. in which cases the
air may pass in between the lobules of the lungs, or the air cells may be
ruptured, and two or more become one, by rupture of their walls. In-
flammation of the bronchial tubes may produce broken wind, but it is
generally from some lesion of the pneumogastric nerve which sends
branches to the lungs, trachea, stomach, etc. The small air tubes are
surrounded by involuntary muscular tissue, which is used in expelling
the air, and is to ' ome extent under the control of the pneumogastric
nerve. The nerve loses its power of contracting the lungs. The
Causes that produce this condition are often the result of injudicious
feeding, and fast exertion after injudicious feeding, which causes an
increased determination of blood to the lungs ; often by feeding upon
dusty food, or keeping the stomach in a greatly distended condition ; from
chopped food ; however, good chopped food is the best food. We find
it is comparatively rare in our cavalry horses, as they are fed upon the
very best of food, and before being put to fast exertion are prepared for
that exertion. It is easily detected in a well established case. There is
a peculiar way of breathing, a short in-piration with a sort of jerk. The
nostrils are expanded ; the abdominal muscles are sometimes contracted
so as to show a line along the belly ; the animal is said to be bellied
from being a very big eater ; gas passing up through the nose was at one
time thought to produce it. On a damp, hot, sultry day the symptoms
are greatly increased and may be very alarming, and might lead to sup-
pose the animal was suffering from inflammation of the lungs, but the
pulse is not quickened, as in pneumonia— heaves being a non inflamma-
tory disease ; or you may see such s\Tnptoms in a pregnant mare, and
might think the animal would live but a few hours, but the pulse is found
to be almost natural. There is in heaves a loud, hacking, painful cough ;
it is a deep, internal, sonorous cough, but gets easier after being taken
out and exercised. If an animal has been fed properly, and you give
him a feed or two of poor or bad food, he will show distressing symptoms.
Clover hay is very bad food for such an animal. You must be on the
look-out for this, especially in heavy horses. In examining for sound-
2
26 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
ness, give the horse a gallop. The symptoms may be relieved by certain
modes of feeding : say do not give any food or water for some time. If
you suspect such a thing, give the animal a pail of water or feed of hay,
and then gallop. A large dose cf sedative medicine will allay tha symp-
toms. It can be mechanically relieved by giving solid lead.
Treatment. — If a confirmed case, it is incurable, but it may be palliated
by regular feeding, and never allowing the animal to overload the
stomach. Give the very best of food — chopped food is the best ; or you
may give certain remedies. Give sedatives, camphor, opium and digitalis
(about one drachm each), given every day for three or four days ; iodide
of potassium, arsenic or iron. You may give a dose of purgative medicine
to relieve quickly. It is generally a dietetic disease. Nux vomica is an
excellent remedy. In the earlier stages you may effect a cure, but if it
is confirmed there is no cure for it.
Recapitulation. — A poor feeder very seldom has the heaves. Kace
horses seldom have the heaves, for they are properly fed. A foj'eign
body more frequently passes into the right side than into the left. If
broken wind comes from catarrh, use stimulants ; if acute, use sedatives.
The pathology of broken wind differs to some extent ; there may be a
corrugated condition of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes.
It is a sequel of bronchitis or severe strangles ; there is a peculiar move-
ment in the act of expiration. If you are called to treat a case, use the
remedies given, or if it is a recent case you may blister along the lower
part of the trachea.
Pleurodynia. — This is not very common, but is sometimes met with.
It is a rheumatic condition of the muscles of the thoracic walls. It is
quite possible that the nerves are affected, but it is generally a rheumatic
affection.
Ca«5^s.— Exposure; especially when recovering from other diseases,
more especially pleurisy.
Symptoms — Great pain and difficult breathing ; shows symptoms the
same as in pleurisy, but pressure upon the intercostal spaces produces
more pain than in pleurisy ; the circulation but very little affected ; there
is no grating sound, as in pleurisy.
Treatment. — It varies according to circumstances. If in a warm place,
use cloths rung out of hot water; stimulate the sides with liniment
(camphor, opium and ai'nica, equal parts, well rubbed into the sides),
and then cover the animal up ; or, you may find benefit from an opiate
For the after treatment, use colchicum and iodide of potassium, and if
the bowels are costive give injections. Use tonics.
Lesions of the Diaphragm. — The diaphragm is affected in many
ways, and oftener, perhaps, than we are aware.
Spasms of the Diaphragm. — All muscles are subject to spasms.
This is serious while it lasts, and may produce death very qnickly, for
air cannot be taken in in sufficient amount to supply the lungs.
Causes.— li is the result of severe exertion when the animal is not in
condition to undergo exertion. I have never seen a case where the ani-
mal was kept in the stable It is called thumps. The girth of the saddle
being too tight may produce it. It may come upon a horse in good con-
dition, but it is more likely to attack one in poor condition. Eating too
much before being put to violent exertion. It comes very easily,
especially if the animal is just recovering from some other disease.
Symptoms. — It gives rise to a thumping, or you might think it was
palpitation of the heart, but examine closely and you will find that the
heart is not much affected ; the sound is further back ; the symptoms
are very violent ; the animal sweats freely ; there is a peculiar noise and
motion, as if some one were within striking with a hammer.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 27
Treatment. — If it is an ordinary case — not very severe —give an anti-
spasmodic, nitre a ad laudanum— just the same as a colic drench ; do not
give hypoderm c injections, for it may do damage ; blanket well ; give
plenty of pure air ; but if it is a more severe case, and is threatened w.th
congestion of the lungs, you may take three or four, five or six quarts of
blood if the horse was in good condition ; follow by anti-spasmodics ; use
turpentine ; and, as soon as the animal can take it, give plenty of cold
water ; after treatment, get the animal in good condition ; feed well and
give regular exercise. This disease may produce death by congestion of
the lungs, so you must be careful in giving hypodermic injections ;
owing to the impaired condition of the heart, it might be interfered with.
Rapture of the Diaphrji^iu. — If it is of any great extent, death
soon relieves the animal ; but there may be but a very small rupture, and
it may recover ; it frequently occurs after death ; there may be very
severe symptoms of colic, and rupture be the result : or violent exertion
may produce it. There are no general
Symptoms by which you can distinguish this easily. A frothy spume
may issue from the nose When you find rupture of the diaphragm in
post mortem, you may be called upon to tell whether it occurred during
life or after death and if there is extravasation of blood, you may say
it occurred before death ; but if there is no extravasation of blood, then
it occurred after death. Some think it never occurs before death, but I
think it does.
Inflamiuation of the Trachea.— Use counter irritation, sedatives,
etc. ; sometimes stimulants.
Abnormal Growths. — In connection with tracheotomy, the cartilages
take on an improper growth.
Recapitulation. — Pleuraodynia, pain in the side, supervenes some
debilitating disease, influenza, etc. Use counter irritation, hot water,
anodyne liniment, camphor, opium, etc. Spasms of the diaphragm,
generally results f om fast, long-continued and violent exertion ; difficult
breathing ; loud thumping sound of the parts, but not in connection
with the heart ; difficult respiration. If not relieved, may soon end in
death. Give anti-spasmodics, and free access to the air ; may have to
place almost in the open air ; may let some blood for the purpose of
relieving congestion. After treatment : Give iodide of p tassium or other
such remedies. Rupture of the diaphragm in most cases is due to asute
indigestion : throwing himself on the ground with great violence when in
such a condition may rupture the diaphragm.
DISEASES OF THE AIR PASSAGES.
The air passages of cattle differ some from those of the horse.
Catarrh. — Cattle do not suffer from catarrh so readily as horses; it
affects the nasal chambers and sinuses of the head ; at first only the
nasal chambers, but if allowed to continue will extend and involve the
nasal sinuses. It is generally brought on by a change in the temperature,
but cattle are not so easily affected as horses. It is caused by running in
the barn yard in winter, not getting food enough, etc.
Symptoms. — A discharge of matter from the nose ; muzzle dry and
rough ; there is some fever and a cough is present ; but not so easily
excited as in the horse; pulse somewhat excited. There are two kinds;
the malignant form appears in Europe, but not in America.
Treatment. — Give a gentle laxative ; four or five ounces of Epsom
salts in about a quart of water, followed by nitrous ether, seems to check
it. Another is nitrate of potash— half ounce, cream of tartar — one
ounce. Take good care of the animal— the same as of the horse. If the
28 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT Of
discharge continues, use sulphate of iron (one ounce daily in two or three
doses) for two or three days. It has a greater tendency to become chronic
in the cow than in the horse. The horns may drop off. Catarrh gives
rise to an imaginary disease called hollow horn. If an animal becomes
debilitated there is more hollow in the horn than in health ; but there is
no such disease as hollow horn ; one side is generally more affected than
the other. If an animal suffering from a chronic disease, or in a very
old animal, the sinuses of the head will be more fully developed than in a
healthy or in a young animal.
Treatment. — Use remedies such as used in nasal gleet ; or counter
irritation. If there is much pain, the animal carries the head to one side.
There is enlarged condition at the root of the horn from the accumula-
tion of matter. You may make a hole at the lower part of the base of
the horn with a small gimlet : or you may have a more severe case, and
the horn so diseased as to allow it to fall off; take it off in such a ca«e,
and you can stop the hemorrhage with tow saturated with carbolic acid,
etc. Cattle also suffer from
Pharyngitis and Laryngitis (generally compound), caused by
exposure to the cold, etc., the same as in the horse, except from working.
It may be due to tubercular deposits, to which high-bred cattle are more
subject than ordinary cattle.
S)'m/»^ow5.— Difficult breathing, loud and wheezing, slight swelling,
pulse quickened, and rumination stops. It may result from choking, or
from means resorted to, to remove obstruction from the throat.
Treatment. — Give pure air ; place in a box by itself ; use nitrate of
potash in larger doses than in the horse; get the bowels to work, by giving
Epsom salts. You may give hyoscyamus ; use embrocations stronger
than in the horse; two parts of turpentine, etc., to one of oil ; or you
may use croton oil. If the animal has apparently recovered from
pharyngitis, and there is some difficulty in breathing, there is no doubt
but there is some tubercular deposit present, and the disease will be
likely to return or increase. If you treat such case, use iodide of
potassium, and counter irritation.
Tuberculosis. — Cattle suffering from internal abscesses in the
larynx. There is great difficulty in breathing, although the animal
may feed pretty well. There will be an enlargement, and there
may be some external swelling. Examine by means of the balling
iron, and if it does not burst soon enough, you may puncture inside, and
let the matter escape. Such cases are common, and external tumours
are more common. On pressing upon the larynx and trachea, there is
visible swelling, difficult breathing, loud wheezing, increased by running
the animal a short distance ; symptoms of suffocation. It is astonishing
in what good condition an animal may be in, and at the same time be
suffering from such tumours, so you must not expect to find them
emaciated always.
Treatment. — Tumours are generally of a tubercular character. You
will sometimes find a fibrous tumour, and in some cases, although you
examine very carefully, if you will be more careful you will find in the
centre some amount of pus. You will, perhaps, think there is a fibrous
tumour, and upon cutting into it, it will jjrove to be an abscess. I recom-
mend a careful examination, for, in four cases out of five, you 'will find
matter. In all such cases, open up carefully, for they are vascular to
some extent. You may find benefit from a seaton, or from biniodide of
mercury. But if it is from tubercular affection, there is no certainty of
curing it. You may be able to dissect the tumours out, but if it is not
DISEASES or DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 29
well defined, and there is matter, let the matter out, and the animal will
be relieved. Cattle suffer also from
Bronchitis. —Characterized by irregular wheezy breathing, which can
generally be heard without much trouble ; rumination ceases ; pulse may
be eighty or ninety beats per minute. Causes just similar to that of the
horse.
Treatment, — Similar to that of the horse, but larger doses. There is
one form in cattle that is not in horses.
Filaria Bronchitis. — Cattle and sheep more likely to have parasitic
attacks than any other animals. The disease is oftener found in young
cattle than in old, but it may affect both. In calves, it is called strongy-
lus micrurus ; in lambs it is strongylus filaria. It is usually found in
the tissue of the bronchial tubes ; and in sheep it is found imbedded
in the lung tissue, but it is not generally so found in the calf. It
is known as hoose. How does this worm get into the tubes ? There
are many theories, but I believe they find their way into the circu-
lation. I do not think, as some do, that they pass in through the
nose, for in such case it would excite the animal, and it would expel
it; but it gets into the animal through the water, etc., and gets into
the circulation, and finds its way into the mucous membrane of the bron-
chial tubes. It is more common in low Ijdng ground, and is more com-
mon in some years than others, and in some times of the year than
others.
Symptoms. — Difficulty in breathing, a peculiar husky cough, rumination
may not be suspended. There will be a discharge from the nose ; if you
take this you may detect the parasites in it. It is rare that one animal
is affected by itself, but many are affected at the same time.
Treatment of Parasitic 5rowf/n7zs.— Use anthelmintics ; use turpentine
with linseed oil. If it gets too severe, give rest, or you may use turpen-
tine with milk ; or you may use inhalation of solphuric acid, by burning
sulphur ; or use chlorine gas, with caution. You may find benefit in
after-treatment by giving a generous diet, and change of locality. If
cattle that have been upon low ground, have them put upon high ground ;
bear this particularly in mind. If the parasites become imbedded in the
lung tissue, they will have been forming there for some time, perhaps
before any notice was taken of them.
Influenza. — So named because it was formerly supposed to be in-
fluenced by the stars. It may appear in a very malignant form. It is
very common among the horses of this country, and is of a specific
character. It is an epizootic contagious febrile disease, due to the intro-
duction into the system of a specific germ, principally affecting the respir-
atory organs, but may involve different organs in the body as the heart,
liver, pleura, etc. The contagious matter may enter the system in a
variety of ways.
Caused by some atmospheric influence ; some condition that cannot be
found out precisely. There is some difference of opinion as to whether it
is contagious or not. It is better to keep the animal away from other
animals, if convenient ; but what operates upon one animal may operate
upon a number at the same time. Such as the epizootic, which appeared
in 1872. It could not be accounted for as of a contagious form. Influ-
enza is more prevalent in the spring and autumn months, when the
animals are changing their coats ; but it may appear in an epizootic
form — that is, it attacks a great many animals similarly at the satne
time. I will not now speak of these very severe epizootic forms, but will
speak of it as seen more or less every year. In 1872, 1874 and 1878 it pre-
vailed to a great extent, and as you see it in such cases it is more severe
than in ordinary circumstances.
30 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
Pre-disposing causes. — Ill-ventilated stables, the animal not receiving at
the same time a suflBcient supply of nutritive food. It occurs in the most
severe form in larger cities and in larger stables, and especially in under-
ground stables, and may attack the great nervous centres. Experience
tells us that if animals are compelled to breathe bad air, and are not
given sufficient exercise, they are more likely to have influenza ; while one
that is well exercised and well fed is not so susceptible ; but all are sub-
ject to it.
Symptoms vary much, and depend upon the organ or organs most
affected. The early symptoms are a dull, languid appearance ; eats
poorly, sweats freely upon the slightest exertion ; coat somewhat staring
and dirty-looking ; mouth hot and dry ; and there may be a cough. After a
short time there will be well marked symptoms. The cough is easily excited
by pressure upon the throat ; the bowels usually costive. The feces passed
after a few days are small, dry pellets. The pulse considerably altered ; gen-
erally a quick, weak pulse, varying from sixty to eighty beats per minute :
but it may not be very quick. The dulness may be followed by more marked
symptoms. The horse appears to be suffering from intense headache,
and if caused to walk off, shows great signs of nervous depression, and
appears so weak that you could almost throw him over. The pul?e in
such a case will be intermittent, showing that the poison was acting
upon the nervous centre, and not in the ordinary manner. In such a
case the respiratory organs may not be affected so much as in other
cases. Cerebro spinal meningitis may be produced in this way, so that
you will have various forms of influenza. In other cases, the breathing
is very much affected, which is, perhaps, more perceptible at the nostrils
than at the flank ; the throat sore : the bronchial tubes soon become in-
volved, and you hear a peculiar noise. The legs and ears change in
temperature very much. They may be hot, and in an hour may be the
normal temperature; then, again, cold, etc. The general temperature
may be some increased, to 10-5'', perhaps. A discharge from the
nostrils is a favorable sign, if it is of a yellowish white colour ; but if it
has a brownish red or rusty appearance, it is symptomatic of great
depression. In some instances the breathing is increased, and the blood
is discharged from the nostrils. Pulse is changeable — a kind of false,
irregular pulse, and such are very bad signs. In a great many cases the
liver is functionally deranged, but there is not much organic change ; in
such a case there is yellowness of the mucous membrane of the mouth,
eye, etc. Influenza may terminate in enteritis and death. If the liver
is affected the bowels will be quite irregular, costiveness and diarrhcea
alternating. Any of the secreting glands may be more or less affected,
and it may assume another form, that of a dropsical form, in which the
legs, sheath, udder and eyelids may present oedematous symptoms ; and
if in the last stages it is a bad sign, but if in the first stages, and the
swelling is confined to the legs, and but slight, it is rather favourable.
Unless there is great fever present, and great depression, it is rather a
good symptom, but if in the latter stages, it is from debility, and is apt
to soon terminate in well marked disease of the lungs and pleura. If
the lungs are affected, the pulse becomes weaker and is oppressed, and in
the last stages the animal stands until death. It is more apt to produce
subacute disease of the lungs and pleura. Owing to impaired functional
power of the organ, effusion and suppuration takes place readilj'. If it
is of a subacute character, effusion is much more than in a common
case of pleurisy. The animal usually maintains a standing position in
influenza ; he may lie down, and when down the breathing is increased
much, but if he is in an easy position, allow him to lie. It gives great
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 31
relief, unless there is danger of suffocation. This disease may produce
water in the pericardial sack. It also his a tendency to affect the joints.
Your patient is perhaps convalescing, but you are called back, and per-
haps will find him suffering from severe pain in some of the joints, and
there may be rheumatic laminitis.
Treatment. — Give plenty of pure air, as in all such diseases. I cannot
speak too strongly of this part of the treatment. Clothe the body
according to the season of the year ; well clothed in winter, the legs
bandaged and hand-rubbed. Keep the blood in circulation as well as
possible. Many people place the animal in a close stall or box, to keep
him warm, but this is not a good way to apply warmth. It would be
better to turn loose than to keep him in a tight box. Use rational
treatment, according as the comfort of your patient demands. Support
the system, and assist nature to throw off the disease, for influenza will
run its course in spite of medicine. Use potash and soda. Chlorate of
potash is to be preferred, in one drachm doses two or three times a day ;
but if there is great fever, use nitrate of potash, which is preferable.
Feed well on nutritive food ; give some roots, such as carrots, in winter.
Great care must be exercised in feeding the horse. If you give too much
food he will not be so apt to eat it as if but little was given at a time ;
give small amounts of any kind of food ; feed from the hand, etc. Use
stimulants ; liquor acetate of ammonia, two ounces ; sweet spirits of
nitre, one ounce, two or three times a day ; or give whisky, ale, beer,
etc. ; but I give whisky in influenza. In severe cases you may have to
restrict the diet, but not often The secretions are impaired, and you
will find benefit by getting the bowels to act by giving injections and in
very rare cases you may give a laxative ; oil is preferred to aloes, but
aloes may be given, two or three drachms ; but be very careful in giving
it in influenza, as it is likely to set up superpurgation. Give whisky and
milk, or beef tea has been used by some of our graduates. Do not
attempt to force food, for it only acts as an irritant. It is possible to
have a case where a sedative is necessary, but I have seen but few such
cases, and have seen some where it did great harm. The animal may
get too much aconite, and show signs of poisoning, in which case stimu-
lants would be of great use. Belladonna, calomel, opium and digitalis
have been recommended, but I think the most of them have been in-
jurious. You may use digitalis, if the breathing is difficult. You will
find benefit from keeping up fermentations, if the bronchial tubes are
affected, or the throat is sore, etc. You may use counter irritation.
Influenza is not generally very fatal ; but when bleeding, purging, etc.,
were resorted to, the mortality was very great. If an animal shows
signs of approaching convalescence, the eye clear, the pulse firmer and
slower, appetite returning, the body and limbs more of a natural
temperature, etc., you may give sulphate of iron or quinine, or iodide of
potassium. If the legs are much swollen, or the nervous centres are
affected, give bromide of potassium or nux- vomica. After the fever has
passed off, the chlorate of potash is, perhaps, the best.
Pink Eye or Epizootic Cellulitis is inflammation of the areolar
tissue ; shows itself more prominently in connection with the areolar
tissue of the skin, mucous membranes, and joints. The ingredients that
go to form the fibrine of the blood are increased, and there is a great
tendency to the formation of blood clots. It runs its course very
quickly.
Causes. — It is said to be due to a specific germ. If you use an entire
horse that has suffered, the mare is very likely to suffer also.
Symptoms. -^In ordinary cases the respiratory organs are not much
32 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TKEATMENT OF
affected. It runs its course quicker than influenza, in six or seven
days- In cases that terminate fatally, the liver, lungs, and heart may be
affected. The animal is dull, pulse from fifty-five to eighty, mouth hot
and temperature increased ; slight swelling of the eyelids. Sometimes
the eyelid is slightly inverted. There is a purulent discharge from the
eye, limbs swell about the hock or fetlock. The pain is acute at an early
stage. At first the bowels are costive and then diarrhoea may set in :
there may be a slight cough. These symptoms may continue from two
to four days. Pregnant mares have a tendency to abort in this disease.
Treatment. — Do not work the patient ; give easily digested food. Give
internally nitrate of potash, stimulants, and sometimes linseed oil,
ammonia carb., one or two drachms twice a day. If appetite is affected
give tonics.
Purpura Heinniorrhagriea is a systematic disease of blood having
its origin in extensive changes of the blood and capillaries, characterized
by the presence of pertechial spots on the mucous membrane, and by the
existence of elevations on the cutaneous tissues and a tendency to
extravasations into internal organs. The blood is deficient in some of
the constituents of fibrine in the disease.
Causes.— It is generally a sequel of some other disease, as influenza.
It is due to some poison in the blood, which renders the blood more fluid,
and prevents coagulation to some extent. If the animal is suffering from
any disease, and exposed to the cold and vicissitudes of the weather, you
need not be surprised on seeing purpura. The animal may do work well
as long as the weather is good, but from certain changes in the weather
purpura will develop readily. In such a case it frequently supervenes a
mild attack of influenza. It may be produced very suddenly from being
exposed, driving before entirely well, bad ventilation, bad grooming, etc.
It may be due to other causes, and from being exposed to the debris of
dead animals, but more frequently from bad ventilation, bad drainage,
etc. It is seldom seen in an animal at pasture. It may come from
strangles.
Symptoms very plain and very characteristic. There is generally no
difficulty in detecting this disease. There is a slight swelling of the limb,
more likely to be about the hocks. The swelling may disappear by exer-
cise, but will soon return. The swelling presents a very abrupt appear-
ance, nearly the same as if a string was tied around the limb ; and
swelling very quickly is symptomatic of purpura. Exudation takes place,
in which, if on a white limb, you will see little red spots, from which
liquid is oozing. The swelling is very painful and the entire limb may
be swoollen ; small vesicles appear on the limb, and also in the mucous
membranes, and it is well to look at the mucous membrane before giving
your opinion, as you will no doubt detect these spots, which may extend
to the lungs. These spots increase and may run into each other. The
mucous membrane of the nose may become one mass of corrupt matter.
The under lip may hang pendulous, which is due to want of nervous
stimulous. If the nostrils are swelled very badly, and there is a difficult
breathing, and the animal is not able to take food, the symptoms are very
bad. The pulse varies much. In some cases, although the swelling is
very great, the pulse may not be more than forty, fifty, or sixty per
minute. There may be a cough and coffee colored discharge from the
nostrils. The mouth and eyes become affected, and, together with the
discharge from the nose, he is a loathesome object. In milder cases the
appetite is retained, or the animal may take food one day and the next
refuse it. The bowels costive, as a general thing, in the first stage of the
disease and the urine may be of a dark color ; may even contain blood.
L»18EA8E8 OF DOMESTIC A..N1MAL8. 33
There will be a peculiar dropsical swelling and these patechial spots, or
it may show itself in connection with the eyes, and there may be blood
extravasation without external symptoms. It may affect the bowels, liver,
lungs, etc. The swelling is due to extravasation of blood. A peculiarity
of purpura is, that the swelling may disappear from one place and appear
in some other part, which is difficult to account for. The animal usually
stands, perhaps from difficulty in moving the limbs. It is necessary to
watch the case closely, for the flies will attack him, and he will be filled
with maggots. Sloughing may take place ; the entire sheath, or patches
upon the body may slough off, and there may be paraphimosis. If influ-
enza prevails, and you have swelling of the legs, examine very carefully.
Treatment. — The duration of this diease is from eight to thirty days.
It generally takes about a month for an animal to completely recover.
Place in a comfortable place. Give chlorate of potash, not for any stated
properties, but from its action on the blood. If the bowels are costive I
recommend giving from one to two ounces of turpentine in six or eight
ounces of oil. Afterwards give as much as one or one-and-a-half ounces
of chlorate of potash during twenty-four hours ; give it in his water, as
there may be difficulty in giving a drench. Give, as a styptic, the tinc-
ture of the chloride of iron, once or twice a day, in doses of two or three
drachms. If the pulse is strong and the appetite good, repeat the tur-
pentine and oil in one or two days ; and I have seen cases where a pur-
gative was given with advantage, say five or six drachms of aloes, but
not if there is any other trouble with the bowels. Sponging the nostrils
may do good, according to the season of the year — cold water in the sum-
mer. Hot is sometimes used, but is not good, as it tends to encourage
the exudation of the blood. Local remedies are of but little benefit, for
the disease comes from an improper condition of the blood. Support the
system by nutritive diet : watch the case closely, and see that the animal
does not get too much to eat, as it might produce colic. If the pulse is
not very quick and no tendency to lung disease, I think exercise is of
benefit. It is good practice to move the animal away from the stable
where he has been kept. You may have to perform tracheotomy if the
animal is likely to suffocate, but in most cases, although you afford tem-
porary relief, the animal will not get along very well.
After-Treatment. — Chlorate of potash and tonics, good food, regular
exercise, etc., and if the flies attack him, use carbolic acid, just to pre-
vent the flies from attacking him. It is liable to very sudden changes.
You may think he is doing very well, and the next time you see him he
will be very bad. You may use some styptic, as acetate of lead, etc. It
is not best to open up with a knife, but in exceptional cases it may be
necessary.
Strang-les.— This is a very common disease among Canadian and
American horses. It is called strangles from a peculiar suffocating
breathing, and is known as strangles in most of our works. It is an
eruptive fever peculiar to the horse, and generally attacks him when
young, from two to four or six years old, but may be found in older horses.
Some call it a catarrhal disease. It shows itself by affecting the organs
of respiration more or less, and the formation of a tumor in the submax-
illary space. It is hard and small at first, but gradually enlarges and
suppurates. This tumour may form in other parts of the body, on the
point of the shoulder, in the groin, etc., and when it takes on this form
it is called irregular strangles. Most horses have it while young,
but some escape it. It is contagious, and many animals in the same
stable may become affected at the same time. It is said to attack the
same animal but once, but there are some cases that show that
4)4 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMKNT OF
it may be taken a second time. It may and does occur at any
season of the year, but is more likely to be prevalent in the spring and
summer, and is likely to attack those animals that have been running
out during the winter Dentition has also been said to have something
to do with it, .but some do not have it, so it is not sure to attack them
during dentition, but it is now known to be due to a micro-organism
Symptoms are very often similar to catarrh. The animal is dull and
languid, and a small amount of work fatigues him. The attack is not
very sudden ; by-and-by there is a swelling ; the animal keeps his head
in a peculiar position : saliva issues from the mouth ; the pulse is slightly
affected, which you can detect by close examination. The bowels costive,
coat staring, and it is hard to tell at this stage whether it is strangles or
laryngitis, but it will soon show itself by a tumour in the submaxillary
space. It may interfere with respiration ; the tumour will break and
discharge, or you may disperse it by absorption, but it is better to allow
it to discharge externally. The tumour may be the first thing that
makes its appearance, but j^ou have more or less fever even if it is not
noticed. There is generally a considerable discharge of matter from the
nostrils, and there may be symptoms of suffocation. These symptoms
may not be in proportion to the size of tbe tumour, but if affected with
strangles and influenza at the same time, there will be severe symptoms
of suffocation, and death may result. It usually runs its course in from
six to twelve days, and in about twenty days the horse usually resumes
his work. Some continue their work during the attack, but it is not
best. You may have these symptoms, except the tumour in the throat,
and by-and-by a swelling will appear on the shoulder or in the groin,
and there may be a discharge from the nose. The tumour is generally
the result of the fever ; if ihis tumour forms upon the shoulder close to
the trachea, it must be carefully watched, for it may burst internally,
and cause death. In some cases the horse becomes greatly emaciated ;
becomes a mere skeleton, so to speak. Tumours may be in the thoracic
or abdominal cavity, producing slight abdominal pain or colicky pain,
and such cases generally terminate fatally.
Treatment.— It is generally extremely satisfactory to treat. The dis-
ease should be allowed to run its course It must not be checked, for
that would be attended with great danger. Give pure air, and clothe
the body according to the seasun of the year. Give good food, such as
is easily digested— boiled food, if it will be taken, but if not. then give
the ordinary food. It is a disease that does not require any great amount
of medicine. In the first stages give a few doses of febrifuge medicine,
chlorate or nitrate of potash, but not so freely as in influenza, as there
is danger of acting too freely on the kidneys. Good feeding hastens the
formation of the abscess. If the breathing is not much affected, it is
not necessary to apply any external treatment. In some cases it is
necessary to use a mild external application or counter irritant, but if it
is a pure case of strangles, the pulse not very high, use a mild comphor-
ated liniment. In connection with the above treatment, and if in the
summer time, use a poultice, and if there are no violent symptoms,
allow the abscess to form pretty well, and do not open too soon. After
you have opened the abscess, give tonics and bathe the abscess with
tepid water. You will sometimes meet with a serious case, in which the
animal is breathing hard and the abscess does not form soon enough. In
such a case blister, and then use poultices. In winter, treat with hot
wool, just to keep the parts well warmed. You will find beneflt from
judicious steaming with hot water, but I warn you against using a close
nose bag, for you are in danger of suffocating the animal ; but keep up
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 35
fomentation for some time, for even four or five hours. It may be neces-
sary in this case to open the abscess much sooner than in the former
case. Another relief is tracheotomy. Put the tube in, and allow the
animal to breathe through the tube. It is not a very difficult operation
in most cases, but if in a very large horse, or one that is badly swollen,
you may have to make an incision two or three inches long ; but it is not
necessary to make a round hole. Be careful and do not push the cartil-
age in when inserting the tube ; or, you may not have a tube at hand,
and you may just cut a hole through the trachea and keep the muscles
back, or just cut a circular piece out, which will give temporary relief.
The treatment after tracheotomy would be just the same to bring on
suppuration. After some twenty-four hours, take out the tube, wash it,
and again insert it. When done with the tube, just bring the sides
of the wound together, and put a stitch through it, and it will heal very
well as a general thing ; but this operation should be performed before
the system becomes too much vitiated. The character of the breathing
and of the circulation, also, is to be noticed, and be careful in performing
this in a very valuable animal.
Results of strangles, or absorption of pus, pyaemia, or abscesses form-
ing in many parts of the body. The tumour may extend up to the ear,
or down even to the leg. If it is in close connection with the parotid
duct, be very careful, for you might produce fistula of the duct. Keep
the animal away from cows ; give pure air. There is no specific for
strangles. It is sometimes necessary to give a light laxative, which is
the exception and not the rule : but it is necessary in most cases to give
injections. It is seen more in some countries than in others. It is not
seen so much in well-bred horses as in ill-bred horses. The Arabian
horses are especially exempt from this disease.
DISEASES OF THE SKIN.
The skin is a dense, white, porous, sensitive membrane. The skin and
mucous membranes are much alike. The skin protects the flesh from
noxious vapours and external injuiT. There are two layers of the skin,
an external and an internal. The internal is extremely tough, sensitive
and vascular ; and there is a cuticle, or scarf skin, which is formed on
the surface of the true skin. Dandruff is simply cells of the skin thrown
off.
The skin varies much in thickness on different parts of the body,
and on different animals ; and in applying counter irritation you
must be careful. The appendages of the skin are sebaceous and sudori-
ferous glands. In the lower animals the body is covered with hair, vary-
ing as to climate, season, etc. There are two kinds of hair — the mane
and tai , and that known as the coat, or that which covers the body.
Each hair is divide t into a shaft, point, and root. The sebaceous glands
are small, and are lodged in the true skin, and secretes a fluid which lub-
ricates the skin, and keeps it and the hair in good condition. These
glands are very numerous, especially about the fetlock, heel, hock, etc.
The secretion of these glands is of an oily character; they are called
sweat glands, through which impurities are carried from the body. They
are in the true layer of the skin. One square inch covers about two
thousand of these pores. Their secretion passes oft" as eith-^r sensible or
insensible perspiration, which is very free in the horse and in man
The dermis consists of two layers— the deep or true eorium, and an
upper or papillary layer. The tactile corpuscles are elevations on the
eorium. The rete mucosum is the deep, soft layer of the epidermis.
3b CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
Diseases of the skin are not so common in the horse as in man, which
is owing to the mode of living. Manges have been supposed to be very
frequent. There are different classifications, some according to the cause,
and others according to the kind. We may have inflammations of vari-
ous kmds attacking the skin. They are generally confined to the outer
layer of the true skin. These are erythema or redness. Eczema means
to boil, or ooze out, accompanied with exudation of liquor sanguineous.
We have inflammation, followed by a form of grease, or cracked heels.
At first, it is just an eczemetous disease.
Scratches, cracked heels, cracks in the hollow of the heel, are very
common among Canadian horses. The irritation is at first set up in the
superficial layer of the skin, and if permitted to run on it will involve the
deep layers of the skin. The attack is more confined to the hind legs in
some classes of horses than others, and some breeds of horses are more
susceptible than others.
Causes. — Washing, and not drying ; allowing them to dry by evapor-
ation ; the glands become injured, and irritation is set up ; standing in
badly-kept stables, or it may come from wearing a boot that is too tight.
Some animals are more subject to it than others. In race horses it gener-
ally proceeds from sweat passing down the legs, which sets up an irrita-
tion. Trainers are very careful in bandaging the legs, but not the heels.
Severe exertion helps the development of the disease. The heavier breed
of horses are more liable to this disease than the lighter breeds. It is
rare that it is met with in cavalry horses or artillery horses, for the per-
son in charge of a horse affected is generally put under arrest.
Symptoms. — There is more or less difliculty and swelling about the
heels. The animal may be stiff and sore when coming from the stable,
but gets batter after some exercise, and in some cases the animal may lift
the leg like a spring-halt, or something similar. The fetlock is somewhat
swoollen ; blood may ooze out, in some cases, quite freely, and if in a
white leg you can see the exudation. It may terminate in grease.
Treatment. — If an ordinary case in the hind legs, give six, eight or ten
drachms of aloes, having prepared the animal for it by feeding on bran,
mash, etc. Bathe with good warm water, and if there is much dirt upon
the heels, wash them well and bathe judiciously with tepid water. If
there is much pain, use a light poultice ; a tonic poultice is best ; about
two tablespoonfuls of linseed meal is enough ; just to allay the irritation.
There are many other applications, as the white lotion, one ounce of lead
acetate, six drachms sulphate of zinc, to a quart of water ; or carbolic
acid, one drachm, spirits of wine, one drachm, to one pint of water, if
just an ordinary case. • In severe cases the treatment is somewhat the
same, but after poulticing just apply cotton to the heel to give slight
pressure. These cracks may become of an indurated character ; in such
a dSse you will have to use a stimulant. Use iodine liniment. You may
touch the parts with nitrate of silver, and you may need to give a diu-
retic. Nitrate of potash, two or three drachms, may be given every day
for two or three days. Glycerine is useful ; also sweet spirits of nitre,
acetate of lead, and glycerine does very well. It is easily treated if
properly treated, but do not apply a stimulant unless it becomes indolent.
If hot medicines are used it may produce
Mad Fever. — A superficial inflammation of the leg ; it attacks any
leg, mud being the exciting cause, and wet muddy roads. It is acceler-
ated by washing the limbs and not drying them properly, which irritates
the parts and may be the producing cause, and may produce it very
quickly. Being muddy during the day and freezing at night is a prolific
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 37
Symptoms. — The legs are swelled, the horse is stifi, the hair comes oS
the legs pretty easily, the legs are extremely hot and tender, and if the
cause is kept up, there may be a serious affection. The secretions are
generally affected.
Treatment. — Keep the legs as dry as possible Use a mild stimulant,
and it is best generally to give a light laxative. A cooling diet is of bene-
fit, such as carrots, bran mashes, etc., followed by diureties. If the limb
is so much swollen, you may find benefit from bathing nicely and then
drying carefully. Do not rub severely. It is generally best to take the
shoes off, and after convalescence begins, some gentle exercise will be of
benefit. Abscesses may form right up the groin, from the severe irrita-
tion. In England it is usually found in hunting horses, from running
through the muddy fields. It is superficial, attacking the superficial
layer of the sensitive skin. You may use sulphate of iron, sulphate of
zinc, acetate of lead, etc. You may use an ointment of the sulphate of
zinc, but it is generally more beneficially treated with lotions— carbolic
acid, one part to twenty or forty of water, and if one does not succeed, try
some other. Treat about as you would a case of cracked hands.
Grease. — This disease is the result of scratches, and is more
liable to attack heavy horses than light ones. It is a diseased state
of the skin, inflammation of the true skin, the sebaceous glands
and the appendages of the true skin. It is not so common on this conti-
nent as in England and Scotland, from being a dry climate.
Pathology. — First erythematous and then eczematous. It is not con-
tagious, nor the result of parasitic influence, but is due to some irritation
which acts upon the skin. The papillo becomes enlarged, and there is a
fungoid growth. This is called the grapy stage, from its resemblance to
a bunch of grapes : and this comes as the last stage of the disease. There
are various stages of the disease, and may give rise to pus of pastules.
There is an offensive odour in the grapy stage.
Causes are predisposing and exciting. Coarse -bred horses are more
liable to this than well-bred : round legs are more liable than flat ones.
The hind limbs are more liable, from the less rapid circulation. Exciting
causes, sudden changes in temperature ; washing and not drying the
limbs ; standing in filthy stables, which gives another cause for it, appear-
ing oftener in the hind legs than the fore ones ; high feeding and want of
exercise in young animals, in order to have them early developed ; a
blister improperly applied. The heel, just under the fetlock, should not
be blistered. It may result from getting th'e foot over the halter strap,
etc. Any irritation will produce it.
Symptoms.— At first a slight swelling of the limbs.* After some time
there is a redness of the heels, which can be noticed in a white-skinned
animal. The hair stands out prominently at an early stage ; a slight
discharge of a kind of oily, greasy matter ; hence its name, " grease."
The parts become hot and tender. The animal may be almost lame ;
not just lame, but walking rather stiff ; fissures appear in the heels, and
sometimes extend right up to the fetlock.
Treatment.— I may say, when it assumes a certain stage, say the grapy
stage, or even not so bad as that, it is difficult to effect a perfect cure,
but it can be relieved to a certain extent. If you treat a horse for this,
especially if a plethoric animal, give a pretty good purgative. After pre-
paring him for it by giving bran mashes, etc , give six, eight or ten
drachms of aloes. A light horse will not require so much as a heavy
horse. It is a mistake to use powerful remedies without giving a purga-
tive. Clipping a horse may produce grease ; but if the hair stands out
very much, you may have to clip the hair off ; and to do away with the
38 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
offensive odour, apply a poultice, with some carbolic acid. Use acetate of
lead as a lotion, or chloride of zinc, two scruples to a pint of water.
There are other ointments as well as this ; they are more for lubricating
the parts.
After-treatment — Use applications of tow or cotton to the parts.
Judicious pressure may arrest or even prevent granulations. You may
use charcoal or yeast to allay the offensive odour of the discharge You
must give good constitutional treatment with the local, and you may
have to act upon the bowels, although the animal is considerably reduced,
but not so severely as in a sthemic animal. Use Fowler's solution of
arsenic as a tonic. After the irritation is allayed, if the swelling still
remains, you will find benefit from turning the animal upon pasture.
Judicious bandaging, if not too tight, for the leg might swell during the
night, and so do more harm than good. If you have the grapy stage you
may have to use the knife, or even a hot iron, or caustics, as a nitrate of
silver, sulphate of copper, etc. In some cases you may apply a high-
heeled shoe to raise the heel, but it is generally best to remove the shoes.
Keep the parts clean, but do not wash too much. Sulphur is recom-
mended by Professor Williams : sulphur one ounce, carbonate of soda
four ounces, carbolic acid two drachms, with olive oil and lard, of each
sixteen ounces.
Simple Eczema. — Is often mistaken for mange, but it is not due to a
parasite, and is not contagious. It is an eruption of the minute vesicles,
and is more common in hot weather.
Pathology — It is due to some change in the blood, causing little
eruptions on the skin. Little vesicles appear on the skin, which contain
fluid, and give rise to an irritation It is more likely to attack those
animals tbat are highly fed, especially upon Indian corn. Barley and
wheat are likely to produce it. You will notice it in horses at pasture,
not very frequently in the spring, when the pasture is pure, but in the
months of July and August, when the pasture is poor.
Symptoms. — Slight dryness about the head, ears, tail, etc., then these
little vesicles can be seen, which may burst and discharge, or the contents
may be absorbed. The animal rubs himself against the stall, manger,
etc., until the parts are very sore, or if at work, after taking him from the
harness and putting him into the stable, he will rub himself violently.
The parts most affected are the head, neck, tail, back, etc. The shoulder
may become irritated from the collar ; the skin dry and dusty. It is
necessary to examine very dosely with the naked eye, or under the micro-
scope, and if parasites are found, it is mange, and not simple eczema.
Treatment. — ECzema is difficult to treat. You can allay the irritation,
but it is difficult to effect an entire cure, and the animal is more liable to
another attack each successive summer First allay the local irritation
as quickly as possible, which can be done both by internal and local
remedies. Corrosive sublimate two drachms, spirits of wine four drachms,
water one pint ; rub well into the parts, and as well as doing this it is ad-
visable to give internal remedies. Give iodide of potassium or nitrate of
potash ; or give hyposulphite of soda one half ounce, once or twice a day
until two or three doses have been taken ; and use, locally, carbolic acid
one part to sixteen of water, and if these do not do, try aconite one to
four drachms, prussic or hydrocyanic acid one part to twelve or fifteen
parts of water, applied locally. Another is turpentine ; it acts upon the
skin homeopathically. Use turpentine and sulphur ; they will increase the
irritation where applied, but will soon produce a beneficial result. Clipping
the hair nicely will do good. Finley Dun gives, as his favorite treatment,
a compound tincture of iodine, made by shaking together two parts iodine
DISEASES OF IjOMESTIC ANIMALS. 39
and one part of iodide of potassium, with six to eight parts of water.
Williams gives, as an alterative, arsenic of potash ; take arsenious' acid
one drachra, carbonate of potash one drachm, water twelve ounce? ; mix
and boil slowly until the arsenic is dissolved, and strain when cold,
and give from one-half ounce to one ounce of the liquor two or three
times a day.
Sallenders. — This is a kind of squamous inflammation of the skin.
It is an eczemous disease. Occurring upon the hock, it may cause
falling off of the hair. In some cases irritation is set up from some
cause or other, and an aqueous discharge takes place. The irritation
ceases to a certain extent, and you have a thickened condition of the
skin. This disease is more common in heavy draft horses, especially
if highly fed, as stallions which are allowed to run down in winter,
and then suddenly fed up in the spring. This has a tendency to pro-
duce it ; or it may come from the flies irritating some sore upon the
parts. Although not a serious disease, it is difiicult to treat. Blister-
ing may produce a well marked case.
Treatment must be both local and constitutional, and if the owner
must work the horse, y u may relieve the irritation by washing once
or twice, but do not wash every day, just once or twice, and dress with
an alkaline soda solution ; after which you will find benefit from using
the remedies already mentioned, or you may use an anodyne oint-
ment. Give a purgative, or, if you cannot do this, on account of
working, etc., just stint in his allowance of food to a certain extent;
give diuretics pretty freely. Proud flesh or granulations may come
from flies, etc. In such a case you can use nitrate of silver or butter
of antimony, and endeavour to protect the hock as well as possible
from the flies. If you can apply a poultice to the hock, do so. A
lotion of corrosive sublimate is very good. Corrosive sublimate two
drachms, alcohol four ounces, water one pint. It requires careful
treatment and it is difficult to effect a cure, especially if the horse is
highly fed. There is no specific for it,
Mallenders is just the same condition of the limb, but attacks the
fore-limb on the knee, and is treated just the same way. It may come
from getting the foot over the halter.
Eczema Rubriiin. — In dogs it is not contagious. It is similar to
eczema in the horse, the result of too high feeding or want of exer-
cise. It comes in hunting dogs, from working in the long, wet, rough
grass.
Symptoms are well marked. He suffers severely, and rubs himself
very much. If you examine closely, there will be no parasites. It
comes along the belly, shoulders, etc.
Treatment. — Give a laxative; buckthorn syrup, one, two, or three
ounces, according to the size of the dog, is very useful, but be careful
in using carbolic acid on dogs, for it will be absorbed, and in many
cases poison the dog. However, it is most useful. A small quantity
will destroy a dog, by acting upon the nervous system. Change the
food, and if he has been allowed too much animal food, change to a
bread diet.
Settle Rash. — The name is taken, perhaps, from the human
pathology. Surfeit is another name applied to it, coming from the
belief that it comes from faulty feeding ; urticaria is a name applied
in many of our works. It is very frequent, and may occur at any
season of the year, but most frequently in the spring, and comes very
quickly. It consists of elastic pimples of various sizes and shapes
coming upon the shoulder, head, neck and body, and in many cases
40 CAUSE8, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OK
they disappear as quickly as they come ; but they may remain, and
their fluid be absorbed. The pimples may come almost over the body.
It generally comes from some faulty digestion, faulty feeding, etc. It
may follow laminitis. Another cause is checking the perspiration
vvhen the animal is warm from exertion. It may be caused by drink-
ing cold water when in a heated condition. Over-ripe food has a
tendency to produce it.
Treatment. — Give a moderate dose of purgative in most cases, for as
soon as the purgative acts, the pimples will disappear. Give diuretics
— sweet spirits of nitre, one or two ounces, and in some cases it is
necessary to continue diuretics for some time. You may give nitrate
of potash, one or two drachms, camphor, one or two drachms, and oil
of juniper, one or two drachms; or you may give colchium with
iodide of potassium. You may occasionally meet with affections
about the lips, called
Frusta Labialis. — It, also, is due to faulty digestion. The same
causes may produce it that produce surfeit, or it may be the result of
a local irritation. Grazing upon pasture where there is rough, coarse
grass; or poisonous weeds may produce it. It is hard to tell the
exact cause. Buckwheat is a very dangerous food for the horse, and
may produce this disease. It is generally overcome by some of the
remedies mentioned.
Puritis. — Inflammation of the true skin, generally seen about the
root of the tail, and under the mane, but there is no particular change
in the appearance of the skin. It may be the result of improper
grooming, but generally from improper food. This appearance may
be symptomatic of worms, but it is not generally the case.
Treatment. — It is generally best treated by corrosive sublimate
lotion. Before applying the lotion, wash well and dry well. Any of
the lotions mentioned are of benefit ; allow a moderate amount of
food, or you may give a laxative diet.
Warts. Abnormal growths, warts, are a thickening of the cuticle ;
a hypertrophied condition of the superficial layer of the true skin.
They are common among horses and cattle. They are sometimes
called angle berries. They may appear upon any part of the body,
but in horses are most common upon the head, neck, groin, flank and
sheath, and may come upon the eyelids or about the lips. They vary
greatly in size and shape. They may have a neck or may have a
broad base. If they have a neck, they are easily got rid of ; you can
cord them.
Causes. — It is difficult to say what is the cause. A stimulating diet,
continued for a long time, may produce them. The body may be
literally covered with them. They may be encysted.
Treatment depends upon the size and shape. The best way is to
cut them out with a knife or scissors. The ligature is an old way
to get rid of them. Just tie a thread around them, or you may
find one that is pretty vascular, and you may need to use an ecra-
seur. Warts may come from grease. Such cases are best treated
by cutting them down closely ( for it is difficult to dissect them out) until
it begins to bleed freely, and if it grows again, use a caustic, stick
potash, but do not use the caustic at the time of cutting, but perhaps in
twenty-four hours afterward ; and you may have to apply a poultice to
reduce the irritation set up by the caustic, and it is possible you will
have to repeat the caustic in three or four days. Arsenic is used, but it
should be used carefully. If the wart is encysted, then use a knife ;
just cut a hole through the skin and take it out, but if the animal is very
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 41
badly affected, turning out to pasture for about a year may so change the
system as to remove the warts. Pimples upon the shoulder and back
will discharge a little matter, and may set up an irritation and produce a
sitfast.
Stomatitis Contagiosa.— This comes from faulty digestion, and is
not due to parasites. Small eruptions appear about the mouth and
lips. Use carbolic acid and corrosive sublimate.
Mange, Scabies. — Is an eruption on the skin, due to parasites. It
appears in the horse, ox, sheep, dog and human being. It is more or
less troublesome to all classes of animals, both domestic or wild. It
may be defined to be an eruptive cutaneous disease common to a large
number of animals and to mankind, and transmissible from species
to species, more or less. These parasites, which we find infesting
various animals, belong to the class arachnida, the order acarida, and
the family sarcoptes. There are different kinds, varying in size and
shape. Some burrow under the skin, and others just hold on to the
skin ; some can be conveyed from horse to man, and vice versa. I will
just give you a little notice 'of the various kinds. There are three
kinds — sarcoptes. dermatodectes and symbiotes. The first is common
to man, the horse, pig, dog and cattle ; they burrow in the flesh. The
second prick the skin, but do not burrow, and are common to horse,
ox and sheep. The third live in families, and set up extensive irrita-
tion, but do not burrow into the skin. It is sometime before they
extend over any great amount of territory. They are common to the
horse, ox and elephant. Sarcoptes means to conceal in the flesh ;
dermatodectes to prick the skin ; and symbiotes to live in families.
The exciting cause of mange is parasite, and there are certain condi-
tions which favour its development. An attack of the sacoptes is
rather slow at first, but after a time it spreads very rapidly. It will
set up irritation in the skin of the human being, but will not propa-
gate. The second is most commonly met with in the horse ; it is
larger and more easily detected than other parasites, and is less seri-
ous. The third is supposed to live only on the horse, but it is found
on the ox and elephant.
Manffe in Horses is an eruptive contagious disease, due to para-
sites. The exciting cause is a cutaneous parasite ; but there are other
causes which tend to favour their production. Animals in poor con-
dition, with long, dirty hair, etc., are more liable to be attacked than
others ; but horses in good condition will be attacked. They are
more extensively seen during war. It may be communicated in
various ways, by harness, saddles, bridles, brushes, etc.
Symptoms. — These parasites burrow and set up irritation, and min-
ute vesicles will be formed. Some burrow deeply, and the hair will
pull off easily. It is evinced by itchiness. It is more likely to be
about the tail or other such parts. In eczema, there are symptoms
similar, but it spreads more quickly, and sets up more irritation and
inflammation than in mange ; and if you have any doubt, you must
resort to a microscope. Just place some of the scales upon a piece of
paper, and you may detect them with the naked eye, or you may try
experiments upon your arm. Put some of the scales on your arm,
and if it is mange it will, after some time, set up an irritation. It is
not a very frequent disease among Canadian or American horses.
Treatment is somewhat difi&cult. Apply something that will destroy
the insects. The treatment is generally local, but constitutional
treatment may be necessary. The best is carbolic acid and lotion ; an
ounce of acid to a pint of water. I would recommend, after a careful
42 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
examination, to clip the horse, as being a good practice in many cases,
especially in summer; wash the parts well, and then use the acid.
You must be careful in using carbolic acid, especially on dogs, for it
becomes absorbed, and kills by poisoning. Mercurial ointment, used
with caution, is good. Equal parts of oil of tar, sulphur and linseed
oil is also recommended, but makes the animal very dirty. Iodide of
sulphur, rubbed upon the parts, is another. Every practitioner has
his favourite remedies. Creosote one part to thirty parts of oil ; or,
wood tar half pound, soft soap one pound, dissolved in warm water.
If you try one, and it does not do, then try some other. In bad cases,
change remedies every few days. Give easily digested and nutritive
food, and if the animal is in poor condition, give arsenic two grains,
sulphate of iron two drachms. Keep the pores of the skin in proper
condition, which hastens the destruction of the parasites. Thoroughly
cleanse the harness, clothes, saddles, etc., and use carbolic acid upon
them.
Man^e in Cattle. — The symptoms are just the same as in the horse'
Dermatodectes is the kind generally found in cattle. You can apply
stronger and dirtier remedies in cattle than in horses. Sulphuret of
potassium, one ounce to ten ounces of water, once or twice a day, or
oil of tar, turpentine and train oil, but it will make the animal very
dirty. It will never do to cover any great surface of the skin with
mercurial ointment at one time, for it would be absorbed, but use it
on one part of the body one day and another part the next.
Scab in Slieep. — Is a very serious affection in some countries,
but not in Canada or the United States. The usual parasites are
dermatodectes.
Syviptonis are very well marked. Extreme itchiness ; the animals
will rub themselves upon any hard object ; the wool does not fall off
from the rubbing, but from the irritation of the skin. It extends over
a great extent of the skin, which takes away the animal's flesh.
Treatvieni. — Carbolic acid is the best thing to use. In Australia it
prevailed to a large extent, and there were men appointed to experi-
ment, and a great many remedies tried, and carbolic acid proved the
most effectual An ounce of creosote, dissolved in fifteen ounces of
spirits of wine, and sufficiently diluted with water, or an infusion of
tobacco ; one pint of oil of turpentine, one pound soft soap, one quart
of water ; or one ounce each of white hellebore and t bacco, to one
pint of water. To prevent the spread of the disease cleanse the pen
thoroughly, and do not put sheep in an infected pen for a considerable
length of time.
Mange in Dog's, — The parasites are generally the sarcoptes.
Sywptonts are generally very plain. There are certain exciting
causes, high feeding, dirt, etc. It usually attacks the back, about
the lumber vertebra, and extends to the head and neck, spreading
(juickly. Eczema usually attacks the belly, etc., while this attacks
the back.
Treatment. — Carbolic acid ; a mercurial ointment. Clip the hair
nicely, and apply the remedy I have applied carbolic acid as strong
as one to eight. Do not apply either carbolic acid or blue ointment
over much surface at once. You may use general remedies, purgative,
etc. Cats may be attacked, and the same treatment is used.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 43
PARASITIC DISEASES.
Ring- Worm. — Is caused by a parasite derived from a vegetable,
and consists in a parasitic growth of organized cells. It attacks all
animals, either in poor or in good condition. The parasites come in
contact with the skin in many ways, and burrow pretty deeply, and
generally affect the state of the hair, and appear upon any part of
the body, but especially upon the head and neck. They work in
rings, hence the name ring-worm. The coat is staring, and if the
disease is not checked, it will extend almost all over the body, and
may produce death. Ordinary ring- worms are communicable among
men one to another, and from the horse to man. If we make a close
examination we find a brownish elevation in the patches. The symp-
toms are the same as in cattle, but the patches may have larger eleva-
tions. These parasites are embedded about the roots of the hair.
Treatment. — Iodine or iodide of potassium, one drachm each to one
ounce of lard. Wash well before applying the ointment ; or you may
use carbolic acid; touch the elevations with a pencil of nitrate of
silver, especially in cattle. Give constitutional treatment, especially
if the animal is in poor condition. It is more easily treated in cattle
and horses than in man. In
Irritation of the skin, the result of lousiness, both in cattle and
horses, there is a dirty appearance of the coat. Improper grooming,
feeding, etc., may cause it. Horses in good condition or upon pasture
seldom have it. It is easily detected. It sets up much irritation,
preventing the animal from thriving.
Treatment. — The animal affected should be separated from others.
Put him in a clean box ; have him well washed with soap and water ;
use carbolic acid, mercurial ointment ; just putting small patches
upon certain parts will do, just about the head, neck, tail, etc. Use
Stavesacre seed one ounce, white hellebore one ounce, put into one
gallon of water and boil to one quart. You will find great benefit from
clipping the horse, if in the spring of the year, and the coat is long.
Poultry Lousiness, which appears to be an eczematic condition of
the skin. There is considerable irritation, greater than from horse
lice. The animal sometimes rubs himself to a great extent. Make a
close examination and you will notice lice, which are much smaller
than horse lice. They may appear at all seasons of the year.
Treatment. — Remove the causes, take the horse from affected
stables You may clip the hair, especially if in the spring. You may
sometimes clip him all over. This is a very common affection. I
inquire where the animal has been standing ; if in close proximity to
poultry, remove the cause, and then "treat as for other lice. There is
sometimes considerable irritation set up by maggots They are the
larvae of the blue fly, and sometimes attack horses' ears in the United
States. Treat by cleansing the parts well ; then use carbolic acid
lotion, and keep up the application for some time ; tincture of benzoin,
and oil of tar, turpentine and linseed oil, etc. Cover and keep the
flies away from him. Ticks are also very annoying to some animals,
especially sheep. Brush thoroughly, and use any of the applications
I have given you. There are certain flies that are troublesome at
certain times of the year, and are more troublesome some years than
others ; not so troublesome to horses as cattle. Some years ago they
set up such an irritation that it was thought to be some disease.
They are most troublesome in August or September. The animals
will run into the water and then out ; and this, together with the irri-
44 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OK
tation set up by the flies, will make them be one swollen mass, from
both congestion and irritation. The flies present much the same
appearance as the house flies, but differ from them in having a sharp
proboscis.
Remedies. — It is good practice to recommend cattle to be kept in
during the day and allowed to run out at night. Equal parts of oil of
tar, benzoin and linseed oil, carbolic acid lotion, are very nice in such
cases.
Warbles in Cattle. — Having them in a horse is a mistake. This
is produced by a fly, which deposits an egg through the skin. The
puncture irritates to some extent ; this egg hatches, grows to a certain
extent, and produces an elevation called grub in the skin. They are
more likely to attack an animal of thin skin. Fine-bred cattle are
more liable to this than the opposite. The animal rubs and scratches
himself; after a time the grub comes out, or you may cut it out, or
puncture with a hot wire ; but it is better to use a lancet and take
it out.
NERVOUS SYSTEM.
The nervous system consists of a central portion, the cerebro-
spinal axis, emanating from which there are a number of white
glistening cords, called nerves. The centre or axis is divided into
two portions, one large and expanded, called encephalon, or brain.
The other is elongated in form, and is known as the spine or spinal
cord. There are nerves leaving this system, and are distributed to
those parts of the body under control of the will ; these are called
nerves of animal life ; they go to the muscles. There are two chains
of nervous ganglia, which extend along the vertebral column. The
nerves emanating from these are called nerves of organic life, and are
distributed to the viscera, heart, glands, and blood vessels. Some
parts are under the control of both these nerves. In the formation of
nerves we have two elementary structures : nerve cells and nerve
fibres ; the white and the gray matter. Ganglionic corpuscles are
found in the nerve centres, and in the extreme end organs of some of
the nerves they are capable of generating nerve force. They convey
impressions to and from the brain. The coverings of the brain and
cerebro-spinal cord are the dura-mater or outer, arachnoid or middle,
and pia-mater or the inner. The processes given off in the brain are
falx cerebri, tentorium cerebelli. The central covering, the arachnoid,
belongs to the serious class of membranes, and like all such mem-
branes, presents two coverings, the parietal and visceral. The pia-
mater is formed of minute blood vessels, held together by areolar
tissue. The dura-mater is attached to the cranial cavity, but is not so
attached in the spine. The brain proper is divided into four parts :
the cerebrum, cerebellum, pons varoli, and medulla oblongate. The
cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres by a longitudinal fissure, in
which the falx cerebri is lodged. The medulla oblongata is a con-
tinuation of the brain. The nerves which pass from the brain are
cranial nerves. There are twelve or nine pairs ; we generally take it
at twelve. They are :
First, Olfactory, or nerve of the special sense of smell.
Second, Optic, or nerve of the special sense of sight, which presents
no sensibility. These fibres start in two roots. Some pass from the
right side to the left bulb, and vice versa ; and some pass straight on
to the eye of the same side ; and some cross from one side to the other,
and do not go to the eye.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 45
Third, Motoires Oculorum, is a motor nerve ; it gives a part to each
eye ; it is distributed to all the muscles of the eyeball except external
straight and superior oblique.
Fourth, Pathetic ; motor to the eye and superior oblique.
Fifth, Trifacial mixed, common and special, sensation and motor ;
it is a large nerve and divides into three branches, the superior and
inferior maxillary, and the opthalmic.
Sixth, Abducens ; motor to the abdutor muscles of the eye. If this
muscle was paralyzed, the eye v^ould be turned inward.
Seventh, Facial motor ; great motor of the muscles of the face, but
does not supply the muscles of mastication.
Eighth, Auditory ; the special sense of hearing.
Ninth, Glosso-pharangeal ; mixed, sensory and motor ; goes to the
tongue and pharynx.
Tenth, Pneumogastric ; goes to the stomach, lungs, pharynx, larynx
and trachea. It is a mixed nerve, but is highly important.
Eleventh, The spinal accessory ; mixed.
Twelfth, Hypoglossal ; goes to the tongue. It is motor.
DISEASES OF THE NEEVOUS SYSTEM.
Such diseases are not so numerous as in the human being, but we
have well marked nervous diseases in the horse, and sometimes they
do not give well marked symptoms. The brain has certain coverings
which are closely related with the brain. The one being diseased,
involves the other.
Cerebritis Encephalitis. —It is known by another name, which
does not explain the pathology, but explains the symptoms. It is
phrenitis ; the disease causes phrenzy. It is not a very common
affection, for you may have a severe affection of the brain without
phrenitis. It is generally congestion, and then inflammation acting
directly or indirectly upon the brain. There may be a formation of
matter or abscesses. Phrenitis may come from various causes — injury
to the skull ; concussion of the skull; concussion of the brain, with or
without fracture of the skull ; continued exposure to the heat ; from
high condition ; from affections of the digestive organs, or you may
have a pure case from causes which cannot be accounted for. A great
many classes of diseases, that produce great mortality, are caused by
diseases of the brain and spinal cord. It is the result of debilitating
diseases, from strangles, from matter forming in the brain, tumours,
abscesses, etc., causing congestion and inflammation. The brain is
largely supplied with blood.
Symptoms. — The premonitory symptoms are marked dulness, exces-
sive drowsiness. If the animal is standing in a stall, he will rest his
head against the manger. The pupil contracted, which afterwards
becomes dilated ; the pulse full, and may be very low, as low as twenty
beats per minute, and afterwards becomes quick. There is a peculiar
breathing; not such as is found in pneumonia, etc., but just a stentor-
ious breathing. These symptoms are followed by general excitement
and perfect phrenzy ; the pulse quicker, and the breathing loud ; the
animal reels about the box; the head high (but in some cases this is
just the reverse) ; will rear up, and get the feet in the manger, and
stand in such a position. At other times will lie upon the side, and
double the head under the breast and fore leg. Moves just like a piece
of machinery at times. At other times, as if for relief, he may carry
the head to one side, due to the part or parts affected. It is almost
impossible to lead the animal ; he will reel around and fall down. The
40 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS ANT) TREATMENT Of
paroxysm may pass off, and the animal will remain quiet for some
time, and then have another attack. It is likely to terminate fatally.
The convulsions become more frequent and alarming. He will place
his head between his fore legs, etc.
Treatment. — It is sometimes dangerous to attempt treating it.
Use the anti-phi'ogistic treatment. Give a good dose of purgative
medicine, six to twelve, or if a very heavy horse, you may give
fifteen to sixteen drachms of aloes ; may give aconite, or blood-
letting may be of great benefit ; give injections freely, but I do not
recommend opiates to any great extent. But you might in some
cases give chloroform, morphia, etc. Give bromide of potassium in
pretty good doses. Apply cold to the head — cold water or ice. If the
symptoms are not extremely violent, do not give up the case, for your
labours may be crowned with success. If the pulse is tolerably
strong, and the animal is not perspiring freely, there is hope. If the
animal is in good condition, not too fat nor too lean, it is good prac-
tice, in some cases, to draw blood. If an animal dies from inflamma-
tion of the brain, you will find an increased amount of blood to the
brain, or you may find blood in the ventricle of the brain. You com-
bine calomel with aloes, and croton oil is sometimes recommended,
but in combination with these do not give as much aloes as you would
without them.
Sunstroke. — Common to all animals, more common to man than
animals ; common among hard- worked horses in the hot months of
summer. It is a congested state of the blood vessels of the brain,
with loss of sensation and of voluntary motion.
Causes. — Exposure to the hot sun, as a general thing, but there are
predisposing causes, as over-stimulating diet, breathing impure air,
etc. Horses in good, healthy condition, with moderate exercise,
regular habits, etc., are not so liable to an attack; but an animal in
perfect health may be attacked.
Symptoms. — There may be premonitory symptoms before the vio-
lent symptoms ; dulness ; animal may have been doing work, but
has been dull; appetite impaired, dryness of the skin, increased tem-
perature of the skin ; horse does not sweat readily. I have noticed
this in connection with street railway horses ; would show such
symptoms for two, three, or even four days, before showing severe
symptoms. Animal will show a staggering gait in acute symptoms ;
may fall, struggle for some time, and then lie quite still for some
time, from complete loss of power ; or he may not lose all power, may
try to rise, fall and injure himself in this way ; pupil dilated; pulse
quick and weak, breathing stentorious ; will offer no resistance when
you attempt to raise him.
Treatment. — If the animal is in a semicomatose condition, it will
be difficult to give medicine ; but apply cold water to the head, by
means of wet cloths, or take ice and pound and put it into a bag, and
place over the head. Keep the body warm, stimulate, use tepid water
and turpentine, and if the animal can swallow, give stimulants ; one
ounce nitrous ether to two or three ounces of water. But if the power
of swallowing is gone, be very careful in giving medicine by the
mouth, for there is danger of it passing into the trachea. Try hypo-
dermic injections of ether. I have tried it in cases where there was
great prostration. If the animal show signs of returning conscious-
ness, there is hope of recovery. If he wishes to drink, give nice cold
water, and if you think he can stand, help him up. Give small doses
of purgative medicine in most cases; and give bromide of potassium.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIilALS. 47
and watch closely for some time, for it is sometimes very deceptive ;
when you think it doing well, it may terminate fatally. It may show
impaired nervous influence for some time after ; use bromide potas-
sium and stimulants. Animals may be prevented from sunstroke,
after premonitory symptoms, by putting off work, and using judicious
preventives — st mulants, followed by a gentle laxative. But if put to
work in such cases he may present a well marked case of sunstroke.
This may affect the spinal cord to a certain extent ; give injections,
and keep from the rays of the sun
Concussion of the Brain is rather common. It may result from
the horse running away and coming in contact with some obstacle ;
rearing up and falling back. It is not so common in horses as in man.
The animal may rally quickly, die suddenly, or linger for some time ;
may have some congestion of the brain.
Symptoms. — The animal loses all power and sensibility ; may have
convulsions, or may lie without any signs of life, pupil dilated, pulse
weak ; even if the pulse is quick but regular, there is hope of recovery,
but if there is a case of fracture, there is not so much hope. But if
there are any signs of consciousness, and the animal attempts to get
up, he will rise upon the hind legs first, and it will be some time
before he can get the forequarters up. In some cases the animal gets
well quickly.
Treatment. — Similar to that of sunstroke ; cold water to the head,
but not in very cold weather. Covering the body and leaving the
head vincovered, may do instead of water in very cold weather. Small
doses of stimulants ; keep the body warm ; give injections, and get
him upon his feet, and you may have to use slings. You may have
phrenzy present itself, and if it does, treat according to treatment of
phrenzy. A horse suffering from concussion may stand with head
hanging down, from impaired circulation. Hypostatic congestion is
likely to follow ; nostrils and head swollen, etc. In such cases, sup-
port the head well with nice wide web ; or if you cannot support it,
you may find it necessary to lay the horse down. Give laxative medi-
cine; it is of great use in such cases. Bathe the limbs with warm
water in all cases where the circulation of the blood is impaired.
Blood-letting in such cases I do not think is to be recommended, but
there may be exceptional cases.
Megrims, Epilepsy, Vertiaro, Head Stag:gers. are morbid condi-
tions of the brain, getting the names from the way the horse uses
himself. It may proceed from a variety of causes. It may be from
temporary congestion of the brain, or may result from anything that
will interfere with the flow of blood. It may be symptomatic of dis-
ease of the heart. Some horses suffer from working in a collar, which
would not so suffer if put under the saddle ; but it generally comes
from some obscure cause, as faulty digestion, but most likely just due
to some morbid condition of the brain, very hard to account for, or
you may find a tumour in the brain. A highly nervous animal is
more subject than one of the opposite temperament.
Symptoms. — Attack is sudden ; the animal staggers, is unmanage-
able, and falls to the^ ground. Symptoms may pass in a few minutes,
and the animal may in some cases be as well as ever. But such a
horse is a very dangerous animal to handle, for he may fall or become
perfectly unmanageable at any time. It is due to temporary conges-
tion of the brain, or to impaired flow of blood to the head. In some
cases you have the premonitory symptoms, such as dulness, peculiar
appearanceof the eye, etc., while in others you do not have the symp-
48 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
toms. This drowsiness may not appear, but if the horse has been
subject to it, this will very likely appear.
Treatment. — It is seldom you are called to treat such a case, but if
you are. dash cold water upon the head. After horse has recovered
from the attack, give a purgative, followed by bromide of potassium ;
keep upon good food, and he may never have another attack, but if
due to peculiar formation, he will likely have it again. A peculiar
straight-necked horse I think more liable to it than others. Choking
may be taken for megrims, from its exhibiting similar symptoms.
Preventives. — Use cold water to the head, keeping it cool ; some use
shade over head in very hot weather. Cerebral tumour may produce it.
Cerebral Tumours. — These may be found in connection with the
choroid plexus. They may be due to a tubercular tendency in the ox.
but not in the horse. Hard work may produce them and a very ner-
vous temperament may have a tendency to produce them. They may
cause various symptoms, such as megrims, inflammation of the brain,
etc. They may attain great size, and then interfere with the function
of the brain. Nothing can be done for such tumours. You may
relieve the symptoms of the nervous system.
Thickeninir of the Diira«mater. — It is hard to tell just what may
cause it, but it is most likely to come from a rheumatic tendency.
Softenini? of the Brain is seldom met with in the horse. It may
be due to certain causes, such as slight inflammatory action, food
having a narcotic action, etc., and interfering with the action of the
brain, more or less cerebral disturbance, paralysis, dilated pupil, etc.
Hypertrophy of the brain and oozing of the brain has been noticed.
A portion of the brain may be removed, and the animal live.
Atrophy may also be found, causing partial or complete loss of
power, but there are no distinguishing symptoms by which to tell this
disease.
Melanatic Deposits are also found in the brain, a deposit of a dark
substance, which we find in the pigment cells, and it is more common
in white horses. These tumours have been noticed in the brain and
spinal cord.
Bony Tumours, or Exostosis. — Fibrous tissue develops bone, and
you may have them from fibrous tissue. They have been found of
considerable size in cattle without disturbing the animal, but they
will in time disturb him. It is very difficult to diagnose these differ-
ent cases, and say just what is the precise lesion present.
Concussion of the Spine. — I think this has been well noticed in
man, and is likely to be produced by severe injury in the horse, as
getting fast, running away, falling over a bank, etc. I do not mean to
say that in these you have very well marked symptoms. But in a few
hours after receiving the injury the animal shows difficulty in walking
without the muscular system being much injured, but I believe that it
is from concussion of the spine. Now if you meet with a case, and
you suspect this, keep the animal quiet and give laxatives ; feed upon
bran; give belladonna, bromide of potassium, and if allowed a good,
long rest, the animal may get well ; but if not so treated inflammation
comes on, which will be
Spinitis, and it may be produced in the manner which I have given
you ; putting to work too soon after concussion. It is sometimes due
to the animal injuring the back, and producing paralysis of the hind
quarters. It may be due to severe exertion, or undue nervous excite-
ment, and entire horses are more liable to it than mares or geldings.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 49
from more nervous excitability, due to what they are used to, and it
may be produced by poison being absorbed into the system.
Symptoms are not very well marked, and vary according to the
severity of the attack ; may not be very alarming at lirst, but increases
in severity, and you will find intense fever ; the animal suffers to a
great extent, staggers in walking— may fall and have great difficulty
in getting up ; battering of the fetlocks, etc. I saw one case of frac-
ture of the fetlock in trying to get up. There are such symptoms in
azotaria, and I think I knew one case destroyed for spinitis that was
only suffering from azoturia. It is different in stallions ; quick pulse,
impairei appetite ; in backing, or in bringing the limbs back, there is
a peculiar jerking of the tail ; after which paralysis sets in. It is
rare that the entire horse becomes paralyzed at once, but they often
become irritable for some time, after which paralysis sets in.
Treatment.— It you suspect congestion of the spine, give a purgative
and injections. Try ergot of rye, and if there is great difficulty in
rising, try slings. Afterward you may use nerve stimulants, but do
not use them in acute congestion of the blood vessels, but use such
remedies as will counteract the supply of blood. The result of this is
Paralysis, either partial or complete; loss of sensibility or motion.
It may be divided into two classes — perfect and imperfect. Perfect is
where there is both loss of motion and sensibility ; imperfect is loss of
either without the loss of the other. We may further divide it into
partial and complete. If the attack is complete, death soon results.
If it attacks one half of the body longitudinally, it is called hemi-
plegia ; this is common in the human being. If it affects the hind
quarters, it is paraplegia. Reflex paralysis is due to something acting
upon and affecting the nervous system, as colic and such affections.
If the spine is affected, all the parts are affected behind the seat of the
injury. If injured in the cervical region, death is almost instan-
taneous from paralysis of respiration.
Hemiplegia generally results from injury to the brain, and is
occasionally due to sun-stroke, tumours, etc. ; and there are other
conditions that may produce it, but these are the most likely to pro-
duce it Nervous excitement and the use of intoxicating liquors produce
it in man, concussions of the brain, etc. The animal cannot walk
straight, goes in a circle ; the muscles waste to some extent ; you
may relieve the symptoms. Use anything that would relieve con-
gestion ; afterwards use nervous stimulants. It is very slow getting
well. There is not much success treating paralysis of the posterior
extremities. Jt may be produced in many ways in the entire horse :
from spinal irritation ; too much covering, which sets up inflamma-
tion of the spine Another cause is injury, as the horse is being cast
in the stall, or thrown for operation (and it would be well to explain
to the owner that there is some danger in throwing a horse); or it
may be due to a severe strain, such as hunting horses are subject to,
or from slipping, or fracture of the spine, etc., and it may come from
such injury where there is no misplacement.
Symptoms.— '^Ho.xiy very plain cases have occurred by irritation of
the spine, as falling into a ditch, etc., causing more or less loss of
power. If the animal lies down he has great difficulty in getting up,
generally, but may get up easily. In perfect paralysis the symptoms
are very plain ; if the animal is down he tries to get up upon the fore
feet, but there is no action in the hind limbs ; may show signs of
severe pain. If you draw the hind leg forward, the animal offers no
resistance. The pulse runs up pretty quick. But these symptoms
3
50 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
may show themselves in azoturia, without the spine being injured.
An animal sometimes loses power, and is unable to rise, but can, in i
exceptional cases, move the tail for some time after the other parts
are motionless, and there may be some feeling in the tail also. If it i
is due to fracture, you may have the animal destroyed if it is com- "
plete ; but if only partial, you may treat. ,
Treatment — It is good practice to place in slings, if there is diffi- !
culty in getting up, but can still bear a certain amount of his weight «
upon his legs, for a horse will not live long if he does not support :
some of his weight upon his legs. If in the early stages, and you sus- ;
pect congestion, try belladonna and ergot of rye. Ergot twelve ■
drachms daily, atropine two grains daily. Use belladonna internally '
and externally, and stimulate the loins with some mild stimulant, and i
do not feed very high ; and when you think but little or no irritation ;
remains, use a nerve stimulant, two to four grains of strychnine daily, ;
or nux vomica one or two drachms, daily, also stimulate the loins •
with a stimulating liniment, or even blister. A newly-fiayed sheep- ;
skin has been recommended, and you will find benefit from iodide of ;
potassium and bromide of potassium, in pretty large doses. I i
prefer the bromide. If the animal is in poor condition, you may feed
pretty well and try tonics, but if it is a case of three or four months' (
standing, there is but little hope of recovery. Electricity is of use in J
paralysis. Extremes of heat and cold have no doubt something to do \
with paralysis in horses, especially in stallions, but not so much as i
nervous excitement. 1
Paralysis of the Lips is common in the horse ; may occur in any j
animal. * The nerve is implicated. It may occur in various ways — j
from injury to the brain, irritating the origin of the nerve, and caus- |
ing it. Such a case is generally incurable. A heavy head-stall may i
produce it, by interfering with the flow of blood to some extent, or j
pulling violently upon the bridle ; injury of any sort may produce it, j
exciting himself in the stall, exposure to extreme cold is a common j
cause. The nerve is very much exposed, and cold irritates it. j
Symptoms. — Hanging of the lip ; in a majority of cases it is confined !
to one side, the other side drawn up to some extent, difficulty of pre- j
hension, in drinking he will place the mouth deep into the bucket, j
The lip hangs in almost one condition ; similar to purpura, but there 1
is no swelling in paralysis. Examine closely into the case as to the |
head-stall, etc. I
Treatment. — Remove the exciting cause and foment, especially if j
from exposure to cold, and use a mild stimulant, such as the cam-
phorated liniment. If the case becomes obstinate, give laxative '
medicine, and follow with bromide of potassium. Although it is due ',
to local influence, treat internally. Try the effect of a slight blister. ;
If it is due first to irritation of the nerve, use one part of biniodide of '
mercury to eight of lard. If it is due to any brain trouble, there is ;
not much hope of recovery. i
Hydrocephiiiiis, or Water in the Brain.— It is generally congeni- ]
tal in the lower animals, and it is rare that the animal lives for any ;
great length of time, but human subjects do live. If much water is 1
present, it interferes with the brain to a considerable extent. I
Symptoms. — It is associated with tubercular influences. Well-bred ]
cattle especially suffer from tubercular deposits. Water accumulated \
perhaps in connection with the archnoid, and although it is a fluid, it ]
acts upon the soft sutures, which yield rapidly to a liquid. The head \
attains an enormous size in some cases. It is gradual in progression, \
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 51
the body emaciated to a considerable extent. We are seldom called to
treat such cases, but in parturition you may be troubled with this,
and you will just puncture and let the water out. It is possible for
an animal to have it and live for some time, but if in a puny, sickly
animal, it would be best to recommend its destruction. There may
be effusion into the frontal sinuses, which you can also puncture.
StiiV4ly or WiiJ. — It is caused by the hydatid coenurus cerebralis.
It is developed from the tape-worm of the dog. The eggs of the tape-
worm are taken into the system of the sheep and developed, causing
what is called sturdy, or gid. Experiments that have been made of
those sheep that received the ovum of the taenia coenurus, showed
that one-half became affected in from ten to sixty days. It consists
of a body with many heads, which irritate the substance involved.
It may not set up much irritation for some time.
Symptoms. — If it is but one hemisphere, the animal will go round
and round, either to the right or left, depending upon the position of
the disease. If it is between the lobes of the brain, the head will be
carried high, perhaps ; but if in the medulla oblongata, the animal
cannot walk very well, if at all. These pin-like heads inay find the
cranial bone, and cause absorption of it, and they may even come out
through the skin of the parts. In such cases you can detect them
through the softened condition of the bone ; sometimes, but not
always. We are not often called to treat such cases. They can be
removed by trephining the bone, and sucking out the parasites through
a camula, by means of a syringe. It may prove successful.
Stridg'-Halt. — The opposite to paralysis. So named from the action
of the animal. It is entirely due to some lesion or lesions of the nervous
system, but just what part of the nervous system it is difficult to tell.
Some say a part of the spinal cord ; others say a part of the brain, and
others of the nerves supplying the hind extremeties. We see animals
affected with this for years, but this could not be if the brain was much
affected It is produced by some lesions or abnormal condition of the
nerve going to the parts, as a general thing, but may be due to some
lesion of the spinal cord. It is easily detected, as a general thing.
Symptoms. — Violent spasmodic contraction of the muscles of the
limb. And of the muscles, the extensors are oftener affected than any
others. The symptoms vary much. It may be so slight that you cannot
notice it by moving the horse forward. The leg may be brought entirely
up to the abdomen. The horse does not show it at all times ; but may
show it, and then go for some time, and again show it, etc. It is best
seen in turning the horse around, and you may have difficulty in making
up your mind whether it is a natural or unnatural condition. Push the
animal back, and from fide to side. There is one form that shows itself
in the stable, which does not show it outside, but after standing in the
stable for some time and then taken out, shows it.
Causes. — The exciting cause is hard to give, but is most likely to occur
in highly nervous horses. It sometimes results from blistering for ring-
bone, which may have irritated the nerves in some way. I think another
cause is clipping, and exposing to the cold afterwards. The symptoms
are better marked in winter than in summer. Some show it in winter
that do not show it in summer at all It is an unsoundness, and a dis-
ease. You must look out for this in your examinations for soundness.
But it does not interfere with the animal for work to any great extent.
It is likely to be progressive.
Treatment.— It is an incurable disease, but may be palliated by attend-
ing to the feed. Give a purgative, and you might use bromide of potas-
52 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AS'D TREATMENT OJ
sium, especially if it is suddenly developed. Put him in a comfortable
place ; keep him nice and warm; Another cause is irritation caused by
castration, either from irritating the nerve in throwing him, or in irritat-
ing the nerve of the testicle in such animals as showed no signs of it
before. . •.
Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis. — This disease is more extensive than it
was some years ago. It is congestion, followed by more or less inflam-
matory action of the coverings of the spinal cord and brain, due to a
congested state of the blood vessels This appears to be a comparatively
new disease, and is found principally on this continent It does occur
in other places, but not so frequently. I am inclined to the opinion of
some others, that the sympathetic system is involved and implicated to
some extent, perhaps from some noxious conditions in the blood. It
generally appears to the greatest extent to those that are breathing im-
pure air and using improper food. Soldiers established in barracks are
more subject. It is generally met with in horses in large cities, where
they are crowded together to a great extent. Anything that is debilitat-
ing tends to produce it. It is more severe and fatal in crowded stables.
Some say it attacks healthy as well as horses in poor condition. If this
is so, then it is due to atmospheric influence. It is ditticult to say what
is the exciting cause. It may be dme to atmospheric influence, local
causes, vegetable poisons, grass containing narcotic properties, etc.,
affecting the cerebro-spinal nerves, and sympathetic as well. It appears
in various forms, and the
Symptoms vary according to the parts affected. Some show the spine
affected, and others the brain. Sometimes it shows itself by loss of
power, especially of the posterior extremeties. The appetite is impaired,
or completely gone. An animal may be in apparently good health, and
in twenty-four hours will present the above symptoms. The temperature
does not vary to any great extent ; in some it is increased, in others
decreased. The tremors or spasms show themselves in different parts,
In the early stage the pufse is not accelerated generally, but may be even
slower than natural. In other cases there will be a peculiar involuntary
jerking ; the animal reels about, and in some severe cases falls or lies
down, and is unable to rise ; the bowels usually costive ; urine of a
brownish colour, and retained in the bladder, but is not so dark as in
azoturia. As well as of loss of power in the posterior extremeties, you
will have well marked cerebral disturbance, and a comatose state, which,
in some cases, lasts until death closes the scene. One symptom is par-
alysis of the muscles of deglutition, and it will lead (especially a non-
professional man) to think of acute inflammation of the larynx. I have
had some difficulty in saying whether a ca=e was meningitis or typhoid
fever. I am more and more convinced every day that cattle and horses
suffer from nervous diseases, and that without knowing how to account
for it. It is more common with animals that are grazing in the bush,
eating grass that may have become over-ripe, which acts first upon the
digestive and then upon the nervous system. The symptoms are dul-
ness, produced in a short time; costive condition of the bowels; appetite
gone ; thirst intense. If you give him a pail of water, he will place his
head in it, and you think he was drinking rapidly, but you will find that
nothing has been taken, for he is not able to swallow. These are
prominent symptoms. He may get the water in his mouth, but cannot
swallow it ; but not from any soreness. The animal may show slight
abdominal pain, and when he lies down he has no inclination to get up,
but will lie stretched out ; may move the legs. The pupil becomes
dilated ; the mucous membrane becomes impaired, although in the first
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 53
stages they may have been infected ; but after the convulsive paroxysms
become more frequent they become more impaired. He may become
perfectly comatose.
Post mortem. — You will not notice very well marked changes, especi-
ally to the casual observer. So you must be very careful in making
examinations, especially if several become affected and die suddenly.
The stomach and bowels will be empty ; the blood vessels reddened ;
effusion in the arachnoid, and into the ventricle of the brain ; also
extravasation into the intestines in small spots, from the size of a pin
head to the size of your finger. You may find congestion of the lungs,
but it is generally hypostatic, from lying in one position. Examine the
brain and spinal cord There will be a reddened appearance of the
coverings, and well marked effusion in the brain ; but there may be but
little of this reddened condition, and generally but little the matter with
the throat. The irritation of the throat in a pure case of meningitis
is generally due to some other cause, as the improper administration
of, or the giving of improper medicines.
Causes. — *Atmospheric influence, or it may occur in an epizootic form,
from one cause operating on all at one time ; water containing a great
amount of organic matter ; decomposition acting upon and affecting the
nervous system. I have noticed some cases which I took were caused by
using water containing drainage from the stable. In some cases it affects
the spine more than the brain, hence the name. I have noticed some
cases, and I almost think it was influenza severely affecting the nervous
system
Treatment. — If there is a complete loss of power, of course it is hope-
less : but if taken in the earlier stages, where it is confined to the
spine, it may be treated. You must treat to relieve congestion, and try
to prevent the spread of the disease. Use hyposulphite of soda, and
change the food. Belladonna is highly recommended, one, two, or three
drachms a day, and continue for some time, or its alkaloid atropine ; or
give ergot of rye in two drachm doses ; bromide of potassium in two or
three drachm doses. Use judiciously a good stimulant — hyposulphite of
soda may be tried. If there is a loss of power, use slings, but not unless
he can bear some of his weight upon the limbs. It is very difficult to
treat a horse after he has laid for some time, as he will be covered with
sores. You may give injections to act upon the bDwels, or use aloes,
two to four drachms ; but be careful if there is any irritation of the
bowels. After some time, if there'is still loss of power, use nux vomica.
If he is improving some, say in four or five days, take him out and allow
him to walk some ; try the effect of tonics. I have a tube which I can
insert through the oesophagus, for the purpose of giving stimulants
when there is loss of power, but have not tried it yet. Counter irritation
to the lungs, stimulating linaments, hot and cold applications have been
recommended, and I think may do good. Try hot and cold applications
alternately- It may produce a good effect If you think it does harm,
try other treatment. This disease is sometimes called cerebro- spinal
fever. There is a cause for every disease, but it is sometimes very
difficult to tell just what the cause is.
Chorea. — All spasmodic twitchings may come under the head of
chorea, but we may just retain the common name "string bait.'" Chorea
in the horse is a peculiar affection of the muscles of the hind extremi-
ties. It causes a kind of shivering, and the horse is called a shiverer,
from the trembling of the muscles. It is the result of some lesion of the
♦ See the first part of the Lecture.
54 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
nervous system, especially of the spinal cord, or you would have
paralysis. It varies in intensity and may show itself only when back-
ing the horse In fact, you will sometimes find a horse that you cannot
back at all, which may be from indisposition, or due to chorea. If the
horse walks straight along, you may see no signs ; bnt stop him, and
try to back him, and there is great difficulty. Tail raised up ; muscles
will jerk and shiver, etc. More common in highly nervous animals ;
more common in well bred horses than in coarse bred, and some breeds
are more subject to it than others. Some slight injury will produce it in
one predisposed to it. It is aggravated by any derangement of the
digestive organs, and will show itself in just about the same way, no
difference how it is produced. It is an unsoundness, but does not inter-
fere with the animals' usefulness very much. When you examine a
horse, back him pretty forcibly. If he cannot back and the tail raises
up, you may conclude such an animal is not sound. It is a progressive
disease. It may supervene castration. In such a case use bromide of
potassium in pretty fair doses, and then nux vomica; continued for some
time. You may have loss of power for some time ; or tail will jerk up ;
horse stands from side to side ; sits or falls down, and cannot get up
again It is just another form of chorea. You may think something is
the matter with the back, which might be possible, but more likely to be
from the spinal cord, which interfere with the great nerve passing to the
posterior extremities. In such a case the animal is entirely useless.
May trot along quite well for some distance, but put him in the stall and
excite him, and all the above symptoms will be seen. I do not think, as
a general thing, that anything can be done for it. Another form is
spasmodic action of the muscles of the fore extremities, and only shows
itself after the animal has been driven some time and is greatly excited,
when you will find well marked symptoms. Shows great lameness after
driving, but if allowed to stand for some time will show it but little ;
drive again, and similar symptoms will take place. In dogs we find
another form of chorea, in connection with distemper. Dogs may suffer
from epilepsy ; more likely to have epilepsy than the horse. All the
muscles of the head and body may become comatose, and so lie until
relieved by death.
Treatment. — Bromide of potassium, and then nux vomica. I believe
there is no better remedy than bromide of potassium. In epilepsy in
dogs, give porridge, etc., with small allowance of animal food. Allow
exercise and fresh air.
Convulsive Erg-otisiii. — More frequently met with in cattle than
other animals. Animals fed upon brewers' waste are more likely to have
it, but it may come from other well marked causes. Nothing exerts more
peculiar effect on animals than ergot. Most marked effects upon healthy
body, from long continued use, is diarrhiea, external suppuration, gan-
grene, and drojjping of the toes. Alarming symptoms have appeared
from the long-continued use of rye. Again it takes on the convulsive
form, which, I think, is the form met with in veterinary practice, but we
may meet with both forms. Sprouted corn may produce this. I think
it has been produced in this way. It affects both brain and cord. I
have seen in this city some cases that might be called ergotism, produced
by well marked causes. Sprouted grain produced it in the cases to
which I have referred in this city. It affected the nervous system, and
gave rise to well marked symptoms. If this food was acted upon by
boiling water, it would destroy its bad effects.
Symptoms. — Dull, drowsy appearance, almost comatose ; loss of power
in hind extremities. If you attempt to move him, or press upon his neck.
DISEASES OV DOMESTIC AMIMALS. 55
he will fall upon his knees. Bowels costive, and those peculiar involun-
tary twitchings of the limbs, similar to poisoning with strychnine.
Post mortem appearance. — In cattle, in particular, there is a great
amount of food in paunch, and but little alteration to be noticed in the
true digestive system and small intestines. Increased vascularity in the
coverings of the brain and cord. Now ergot may affect animals differ-
ently, as whisky affects men. If you meet with such cases, give good
doses of purgative medicines, and get rid of the poison as quickly as you
can. Give stimulants and hypo-sulphite of soda, from one-half ounce to
one ounce. Stimulants are not of much use. but may bs of benefit in
some cases. Apoplexy may occur in hoi'ses, but it is rare. There is one
kind in cattle, due to slight spinal irritation. Symptoms, unable to rise ;
in comatose condition.
Treatment. — Eestrict food; give laxative, bromide of potassium, and
nux vomica.
Rabies, or Hydrophobia.— Called hydrophobia from dread of water ;
rabies, from rabia, to rave. It is a disease essentially of the nerves.
Symptoms produced from some cause acting upon the blood and affecting
the nerves. Not so frequent in this country as in more southern coun-
tries, but does occur on this continent. It is a virulent disease, and may
be developed in cat or dog spontaneously, but not in other animals. It
is a disease belonging to zymotic diseases.
Pathology. — It depends upon some peculiar alteration of the blood,
and affecting the nervous system. There will be no particular lesions in
any other parts of the system. Climate does not appear to influence this
disease as much as formerly supposed. It was supposed to be more likely to
be produced during dog-days than at any other time, but this view is not
very well established. As to the contagion of rabies, there is no doubt but
it is contagious, and the poison is in a fixed form, and is not transmitted
through the air, but must be by direct inoculation. It is more likely to
be in the saliva, but may come from any part of the body. It is said
that the flesh does not contain the virus, and that the flesh on an att'ected
animal could be eaten without danger, but it has been found that the
blood does contain it, and inoculation has been produced by the blood.
Others say that inoculation has been produced by the flesh. Virus is
most easily taken in by one animal biting another. It is recorded that
it may be taken in from skinning a dead animal, and taking the knife in
the mouth, and that without cutting the mouth, the virus being taken
into the system through the saliva ; but the hands are not susceptible,
unless there are sores on them. The power of the contagion varies to
some extent. It is impaired by passing through several bodies. The
most frequent mode of injection is by the teeth, and an animal having
been bitten by another, even before the disease had developed itself, may
become affected. The period of inoculation varies to some extent, from
ten days to five or six months. This has been found from experiments.
Some say that man has lived for years and then become aftected, but
such statements are not very reliable. Some animals are more subject to
it than others, and some have been known to resist it altogether.
Symptoms in the Dog. — The animal may become excited to a great
extent, and so become very dangerous. May also become dangerous if
suffering from brain or nervous disease. It is said to occur in two forms.
Animal does not become excited to any great extent ; there is a period of
dulness, followed by excitement. The violence may continue for some
days, then the animal becomes greatly exhausted — has a tendency to lie in
out-of-the-way places. May lie quietly for some time, then run about
and try to bite surrounding objects ; also has depraved appetite, eating
0() CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OK
dirt, etc. This sjrmptom would also be symptomatic of indigestion, and
alone is not a significant symptom. Symptoms increase ; animal evinces
pain ; may be extremely quiet, and may be suddenly excited ; will not go
much out of his way to bite anything ; not like one savage dog attacks
another, but just snaps and runs on Is most furious to one of his own
species. Gives a peculiar hov^l : gets quiet, then symptoms occur
again, etc. Great ditficulty in swallowing may occur. Dogs do not have
this dread of water, but may lose the power of swallowing.
Post vwrteiii.—Make it carefully. Do not let any blood come in con-
tact with sores. Principal changes are in the nervous system, congestion
of the brain and spinal cord ; skin affected to a great extent ; more or
less changes in the stomach and bowels. No treatment is recommended ;
put out of the wa}' as soon as possible, also those that ha^e been bitten.
It is noticed in the horse but seldom.
Symptoms in the Horse. — Shows restlessness ; will bite at and rub the
seat of injury, followed by more or less cerebral disturbance, and perfect
phrenzy, and acts much like phrenitis ; but in phrenitis the animal is
not vicious. There may be paralysis either partial or complete ; will
bite in a peculiar way, not like a biting horse. Symptoms of cases I
have seen : peculiar dulness, excited, turns around, falls down, comes at
you like a vicious dog, loss of power in the hindquarters, growing worse
and worse until relieved by death. You may be called to prescribe for
an animal that has been bitten.
Treatment. — Use nitrate of silver or caustic potash freely upon the
parts where bitten. If deep, you may excise part of the flesh, and then
use caustic ujjon it It may prevent it.
Tetanus, or Locked Jaw. — 'Tetanus signifies to stretch. It is
essentially a nervous disease, due to irritation of the nerves. It is
difficult to find exact changes in the nerve;?. If the animal dies
quickly, not much change will be noticed. It is a very alarming,
serious, and fatal disease, but some cases recover. Locked jaw or
trismus is applied to it, from contraction of the master muscles.
Muscles principally aft'ected are the voluntary. It receivfs various
names from different muscles affected Muscles of the back affected,
opisthotonos, head and tail up ; cannot lower the head. In empros
thotonos, just the reverse takes place. If carried to one side, tetanus
lateralis. But in horses, in five cases out of six, it is trismus. Opis-
thotonos differs from ordinary contraction of the muscles in being of a
tonic character. There is great pain. It is said to be of two kinds,
receiving the names from the causes. If it is from a wound, it is trau-
matic ; if it comes without any visible injury or operation, it is diophatic.
There is rt ally no difference, one being from a visible, the other from an
invisible cause. It is thought to be produced by some derangement
of the digestive system Great quantities of worms, or bots, jn the
stomach, have been supposed to produce it. Any irritation acting upon
the nervous system may produce it.
Pathology. — It is essentially a nervous disease, producing atoma.
Generally affects the voluntary muscles ; but others may be affected,
even the diaphragm. In post mortem you will find different lesions in tbe
spine, or great nerves, emanating from the spine or brain. Muscular
tissue is extremely soft and flabby ; portions placed under the microscope
will be found to be altered to some extent. You have other lesions, as
congestion of the lungs, but it will be from lying on one side. There
are three forms — acute, sub-acute and chronic ; acute most serious. Sub-
acute more amenable to treatment ; but acute laminitis is easier treated
than the sub-acute. It is said to be due to a micro-organism.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 57
Causes of Traumatic— li is often produced by some injury or other
as picking up a nail, treading upon the foot. More likely to follow a
punctured than an incised wound. Wound seems to be doing well, but
in eight or ten days symptoms of tetanus appear, and may terminate
fatally. May occur from some very trifling operation, as docking, nick-
ing, castrating, although the operation was perforjaed in the right man-
ner ; but more likely to follow improper operations, and has occurred
from a blister. I will refer to one thing about castration. We find
serious results from cold. Standing in water sets up irritation. Of
twenty-four horses castrated, caused to be bathed in cold water, sixteen
of them died. It usually makes its appearance just about the time the
wound is healing ; generally from six to nine or ten days. Supposed to
be from the healing of the wound pressing upon the nerves. Highly ner-
vous animals are more subject to it than the opposite. It is more com-
mon in warm climates.
Symptoms. — Soon become very prominent and alarming. It is easily
detected ; need have no difficulty in diagnosing the second case, if well
marked. First symptom is a peculiar stiffness of the body ; animal holds
the head as if suffering from sore throat. Divisions of the muscles can
be plainly seen, especially if he is excited. Jerk him suddenly and he
will raise the head, and the membrane nictitans will come over the eye.
This is a symptom mistaken for the cause of the animal's suffering, and
this membrane has been removed. It is often about the first symptom
noticed if he is excited. In such a case look at the mouth. It cannot be
opened to full extent, if at all. Pulse not much affected nnless animal is
greatly excited. But the temperature is much affected, and if he is
excited, the pulse may run up twenty beats per minute very quickly.
Symptoms become more aggravated ; jaws close tighter ; saliva runs from
the mouth ; ears and tail erect ; nose extended ; great pain ; retain sense
until the last ; will fall or lie down, and may not be able to rise, and
death relieves the suffering. But in the subacute form, symptoms are
not so well marked. The animal may be able to eat enough soft food to
support him, but cannot masticate solid food. Death or recovery may
take place in from three to thirty days. The more acute the symptoms,
the more fatal the disease.
Treatment. — Is sometimes satisfactory, although it is a very fatal dis-
ease. If the horse has been attacked for some time with aggravated
symptoms, destroy him, but if he can eat, you may try treatment. There
is no specific. Attend to the proper care of the animal ; keep as quiet as
possible ; treat as a nervous fever ; keep in a comfortable box, away from
any noise ; cover slightly but not too heavy. Give constitutional treat-
ment— purgatives, six to eight drachms aloes ; injections if costive ; but
use no treatment that increases the irritation — belladonna, one drachm
two or three times per day. If the jaws are closed, place it back on the
tongue. Try hypodermic injections. Prussic acid is recommended of
late, given in the water if the animal can drink ; or it has been passed
into oesophagus through a tube. Woorari poison, chloroform inhalations,
may relieve for the time. Bromide of potassium, I think, is useful in
most cases of nervous affections. Feed upon sloppy food, hay and lin-
seed tea, and do not drench to any great extent. Give a'most any liquid
the animal can take. You may have to use slings ; ma.y swing at night
only. Blisters are not of much use. Cold applications might be tried.
Use local treatment if due to any injury. If in the foot, pare down and
allow the matter to escape, if any. You may have to take off the entire
sole. Poultice sores, and use belladona, two parts. Some use poultice of
hyoscyamus. Bathe the parts well, but not if it excites. It generally
58 CAUSES, SYMl'TOMS AND TREATMENT OF
takes twenty or thirty days before convalescence. Then give nutritive
food and tonic medicines.
LYMPHiTIC SYSTEH.
This system is formed of a great number of small vessels distributed
throughout the body, beginning in the network of small vessels, imbedded
in areolar tissue. These converge towards the lymphatic or absorbent sys-
tem. Absorption goes on by various means — to some extent by the blood
vessels. A swelling in the horse's leg is gotten rid of principally by the
lymphatic vessel?. It is a very important system. These vessels derived
their name from lymph, the fluid they contain ; called absorbents, because
they absorb effete material. Chylifereus, or lacteal vessels, carry the
milk-like Huid called chyle. It passes through the system for the
building up the tissues But all the chyle is not taken up by these
vessels. The villi of the intestines take up some of it, and pass it into
the blood directly. This can be seen in a subject, by killing it while
digestion is going on This system includes a great number of glands,
called lymphatic glands. In some parts of the body they are collected
in great numbers, especially about the groins, head, neck and jaw. These
vessels are very minute and delicate, cannot all be seen by the naked eye ;
more plentiful than veins They are superficial, and deep-seated. They
contain extremely small valves, like veins. The whole lymphatic sys-
tem of the body pours its contents into the venous circulation by two
ducts, the thoracic duct and the lymphatic vein. Thoracic duct orginates
in the lumbar regions. It is guarded by a valve, and is the larger of the
two. It receives all the othf^rs, except those of the right anterior extrem-
ity, the right side of the Lead, neck and thorax.
DISEASES OF THE LYMPH.\TIC SYSTEM,
Lymph Olailds in the mesentery are called mesenteric. They vary
from the size of a pin head to that of a pea.
Lyiliplianj^itis.— Inflammation of the glands and vessels, known by
many names, as water fancy, weed, shot of grease, inflammatory odima,
big leg, Monday morning fever, etc. It is frequent in horses, and is
likely to be more so, from being better fi d. It is usually confined to the
extremities, but may occur in the internal lymphatic glands. It is
usually found in one hind leg ; may occur in both, or even in the fore
legs, and so puzzle you to some extent The inflammatory action is set
up in the glands, and extends into the vessels, and produces swelling.
Heavy horses are more subject to it, from a more sluggish circulation,
and some animals are predisposed to it.
Causes. — It is common in hard worked horses, by standing them in
the stable, and giving usual amount of food. A larger amount of nutri-
tive material is formed than can be taken up, which sets up the irritation.
It is frequently found in certain stables on Monday morning ; hence its
name, Monday morning fever. Usual feeding without usual exercise is
the most common cause in city practice ; direct or indirect injury to the
groin; prick in the foot; debilitated condition of the blood; excess of
fibrine in the blood. The change in the breaking up of the tissue taken
into the system, and over stimulating t* e glands also produce it
Symptoms. — A certain amount of constitutional disturbance ; may
have severe rigours (which may not be noticed by the owner) ; intense
fever ; lameness and swelling of the limb, usually of the inside of the
thigh, extends down the leg in a sort of hard cord ; the line of the
lymphatics plainly shown. There is difficulty in bringing the leg for-
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 59
ward. Pressing on the cord on the inside of the leg causes pain, and he
will lift the leg quickly. Swelling may extend entirely around the leg.
It is very painful. Pulse full and bounding duriug inflammation.
Usually the sthenic type of inflammation ; pulse fifty or sixty beats per
minute ; breathing much aftected ; bowels costive ; urine high coloured ;
pain local and constitutional ; will perspire, not profusely, but just be-
dews the body to some extent. Appetite gone, and great thirst, caused
by fever, and if relief is not given soon, effusion will take place, and may
take on suppurative process. In glanders we have lymphangitis, from
poison in the bood. Animal generally stands; does not want to move,
but sometimes, from excessive pain, will lie down, and has great difficulty
in getting up. Will look at the sides, as in colic. Sometimes milder in
the fore than in the hind legs. The parts may regain their natural
appearance, but it has a tendency to leave the leg enlarged, especially
from repeated attacks. There is some l}Tnph left, which becomes organ-
ized and cannot be removed.
Treatment. — If in a strong animal, from too much chyle, get rid of it
as quickly as possible, by giving from eight to ten drachms of aloes ; may
give II little calomel ; will derive benefit from tincture of aconite, eight
to ten drops at a dose. Give nitrate of potash freely. Give clysters of
soap and water. If inflammatory action is of a sthenic type, blood-letting
may prove a benefit, but in many cases is not necessary. If you do
bleed, do not give so much purgative. It is not material whether you
bleed from saphena or jugular vein.
Local Treatment. — Judicious use of fomentations, but not too hot ;
your hand can bear more heat than the horse can ; Use cautiously ;
bathe for two, three or four hours. It increases swelling, and encourages
exudation Keep heat to the parts as well as you can Hay rope is quite
good. Prevent reaction from taking place, by using mild stimulants,
camphorated liniments. If there is pain, you may relieve with bella-
donna or laudanum. Keep the animal quiet. Give exercise after the
inflammatory action has passed off but not before It does reduce the
swelling, but it soon returns, and is more difficult to treat than before
exercising. Give plenty of cold water. It is sometimes better to with-
hold food for twenty four hours, and constitutional stimulants are not
very useful.
Elephantiasis. — Thickening of the limb from repeated attacks of
lymphangitis, and may result from one attack, but generally from
repeated attacks. From the swelling there remains a slight swelling ;
some exudation is left. It swells again, and more exudations ; blood
vesse's pass into it ; also nerves, and it is converted into new str. cture.
If the ania-al stands over night say twenty-four hours, the limbs become
swollen, which exercise will relieve to a certain extent. It sometimes
comes from repeated attacks of grease, but more likely to come from
lymphangitis, especially if treated with hot liniments. If it is com-
pletely established, you can never restore the limb to its natural condi-
tion ; but you may give gentle exercise. Give purgative, then diuretic
medicine, and hand-iubbing and bandaging may be of use, if he is
not fed too high, and is moderately exercised. There is another con-
dition of the lymphatics from lymphangitis. It is a dilation of the
lymphatics. The walls become dilated or varicose ; these small tubes
become obstructed. This is most likely to occur in connection with
elephantiasis. There may be rupture of the blood vessels, and not
only of th6 vessels of the limb, but it may occur in connection with
some of the internal vessels in connection with the mesentery.
Tabes Meseilterica.— Affects the lymphatic system, especially the
60 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS ANL> TREATMENT Ot
mesenteric glands. It is rare in the lower animals. It is sometimes a
sequel of a debilitating disease, as strangles in very young animals. In
young cattle it is quite common. In this disease the mesenteric glands
become involved, and prevent the introduction of the chyle into the sys-
tem, and the result is a gradual decline. It is due to tubercular degen-
eration
Symptoms. — Great emaciation; feces pass in semi-digested state ; pulse
weak, not very quick, but quickened to some extent ; belly pendant, or
pot-bellied ; muscular system soft and flabby. The animal dies a gradual,
lingering death ; abdominal pain in last stages.
Treatment not very satisfactory. Support the stiength as well as you
can by a generous diet. Give iodide of potash ; feed upon the best of
food. Iron is beneficial; cod liver oil has been recommended. I have
noticed this from .strangles, it usually terminates fatally. Post mortem
reveals tubercular degeneration. There may be tubercular deposits in the
lungs or some other organ as well.
Anasarca may come in connection with the limb, due to an accumu-
lation of serous fluid. It comes from a percolation of the fluids into the
flesh. It may contain a small amount of albumen. There are two kinds
— inflammatory, and from venous obstruction. They receive distinctive
names from the place in which the fluid accumulates. If in the thoracic
cavity, it is hydrothorax. If in the cranial cavity, it is hydrocephalus.
If in the tunica vaginalis, it is hydrocele These may come from inflam-
mation, or venous obstruction or debility. If from venous obstruction,
they will pit upon pressure. It is sometimes found in the human, from
standing up for a considerable time ; not due to any particular disease,
but may be symtomatic of some other disease, such as diseases of the
lungs, kidneys and liver, in which cases you will have well-marked symp-
toms in the organ affected, except in the heart. It generall}' occurs in
the hind leg, and a term frequently applied to it is stocking. Heavy
horses are more subject to it ; legs swell at night ; and it may come from
well marked causes, as washing and not drying; exposure and hard work ;
horses kept in the stable during winter, and then made to do a hard daj^'s
work in the spring, etc. Improper bandaging may produce it, and it is
good practice to see to placing a bandage yourself, as it may be put on
too tight, and so do more harm than good.
Sjm/>^om5.— Swelling of the limb, and if not due to inflammatory
action, there will be no pain, but in some cases there is some stiffness,
and in some thf^re is none. It is common in the spring.
Treatment. — Keep off work, and give a laxative ; also change the feed,
and give a good diuretic ; three drachms sweet spirits nitre, three drachms
resin, and sutticient amount of soap, is a good diuretic ball. If you can-
not keep off work, hand-rub the leg well, and bandage, but not too tight.
Or you may give more powerful remedies— white liellibore, one scruple to
one-half drachm, or even one drachm. In cases where there is much
swelling, give nitrate and iodide of potash ; but do not push diuretics too
far, but give one or two doses, and then have recourse to tonics, regular
exercise, and get the system in a good condition ; may give iron in the
morning and diuretic at night, or vice versa. This swelling may have a
great tendency to become organized. It is more likely to occur in a very
old animal. Blisters are entirely inapplicable in such cases. Iodine
ointment may be used in some cases, if you just wish to stimulate absorp-
tion to a certain extent. Another cause is undue pressure upon the limb.
Injury to one foot, and standing upon the other has a tendency to produce
it.
Swelling* ol' the Sheath i.s common. You can generally get rid of
bISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. Cl
it by two or three doses of diuretic medicine, or it will geb better when
the animal is able to exercise.
THE EYE.
The eye is the immediate organ of vision. It is globular in shape, and
is composed of a membraneous sack, in which is contained transparent
humours of different densities. The external tunic is the sclerotic and
cornea ; the sclerotic covers about four-fifths of the eye. The second is
formed of the choroid and iris, a continuation of which forms the ciliary
processes. The third or innei^is the retina, which is a nervous coat. The
sclerotic is formed of white fibrous tissue ; to this are attached the mus-
cles that move the eye. The cornea is transparent, and covers one-fifth
of the eye. It fits into the sclerotic as a watch glass fits in its place. The
choroid coat is made of three layers, external, middle, and internal. The
external vena consists principally of minute veins. The middle layer is
formed of the ciliary arteries, forming a plexus. The internal is a pig-
mentary layer. The iris is a diaphragm or curtain suspended in the
aqueous humour. It varies in color in man ; in the horse it is generally
of a light brown color. It is composed of two separate sets of fibres, cir-
cular and radiating. If the circular contracts, it contracts the pupil.
This is involuntary muscular fibre. In foetal life it is covered by a pupil-
lary membrane, which becomes absorbed before or soon after birth. The
pupilliary opening is in the centre of the eye, and is elliptical or oval in
the horse. There are several humours in the eye ; aqueous, vitreous and
crystalline lens. The aqueous is in the anterior and posterior chambers
of the eye. It is principally water, and is secreted by the membranes
which line the chambers. The vitreous humour occupies about four-fifths
of the interior of the eye, and is enclosed in the hyaloid membrane.
The crystalline lens is situated between the iris and vitreous humour.
It is transparent and bi-convex. Its use is to bring rays of light
to a focus. The name given to the small dark bodies just above
the pupillary openings is corpora nigra. Ihe retina is an expansion
of the optic nerve It consists of nine or ten different layers, com-
posed of cylinders, cones, etc. The vitreous humour is about the con-
sistency of thin jelly. It is covered by the capsule of the lens, and
opacity of one or both of these gives rise to cataract. The appendages
of the eye are, eyebrows, eyelids, conjunctiva, muscles, membrana nicti-^
tans, and the lachrymal apparatus ; eyebrows are only rudimentary in
the horse. The membrana nictitans tends to throw oft' any oftending
matter that may get in the eye. This is composed of fibro-cartilage, and
is for the protection of the eye, especially so to those animals that can-
not protect it by using the fore extremeties. The conjunctiva is the
lining or mucous membrane, and it is continuous with the skin, and is
reflected over the sclerotic, and firmly adheres to the cornea. The lach-
rymal apparatus is formed of glands and lachrymal ducts, sack, and a
small opening in the lachrymal sack. This apparatus secretes and gets
rid of the tears, and is called a conglomerate gland. These tears are
carried down into the lachrymal sack, pass into the lachrymal duct and
down into the nasal opening. In the superior and larger of the eyelids
there are glands or ciliary follicles. They secrete a fluid which prevents
the adhering of the eyelids during sleep. The muscles of the eye are
eight, five of them straight. They are, retractor, abductor, adductor,
depressor and levator ; one in the horse and not in man, that which
pulls the eye back upon the cushion of fat. There are three oblique
muscles — superior, middle and inferior.
62 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS ANt) TREATMEN'T OF
DISEASES^OF THE EYE.
Simple Opiithalmia, Conjunctivitis, Tranmatic Oplitlialmia.—
The first name is to distinguish it from periodic ophthalmia. It is
inflammation of the conjunctiva, and the term expresses the pathology.
It is more or less inflammation of the superficial structures of the eje,
and may affect the cornea. Periodic ophthalmia first affects the internal
structure, and extends outward.
Causes. — Result of direct pr indirect injury — injury to the orbital pro-
cess without any direct injury to the eye May set up inflammatory
action and extend to the eye ; or, from wjiip lash, grain of sand, hay
seed, which the membrana nictitans does not remove. It may be pro-
duced by extreme cold, or extreme heat and sunshine, or extreme foul
air. Extremely dark stables may also produce periodic ophthalmia and
amaurosis. It may occur in an enzootic form, If it so occurs, it is
generally due to very hot weather. Direct or indirect injury is the most
frequent cause.
Symptoms. — There may be partial or complete closure of the eye,
according to the cause ; a copious secretion of the tears from over-stimu-
lation of the lachrymal apparatus ; too copious to pass through the
lachrymal duct, the eye becomes sw^ollen. The upper eye-lid may present
a greatly irritated appearance. Exposure to the light reddens tbe con-
junctiva These are followed by more or less exudation bet\veen the
layers of the cornea If caused from injury, this exudation takes place
from the seat of injury. It is not due to a film, but due to an exudation
between the layers of the cornea. In some cases tbere is some constitu
tional disturbance. Pulse increased just a few beats, but it is not a
general thing. Tbe eye presents an irritated appearance very quickly,
and is sunken in its socket. The inflammatory action is more aggravated
than in periodic ophthalmia.
Treatment. — If you think it is conjunctivitis, make a very careful
examination. There is no great difference between this and periodic
ophthalmia. Endeavour to detect the cause and remove it, or other
remedies will be of no benefit. You may be able to remove it with a
feather or handkerchief, and you may have to use forceps. When the
source of irritation is removed, the irritation generally ceases, but you
may hasten resolution to a certain extent. If standing in stable, with
cattle, etc., remove the animal. Apply fomentation to the eye, and keep
tip for some time ; place the animal in a darkened box. If suffering to
any great extent use an anodyne liniment, laudanum water and a little
sulphate of zinc, and a little acetate of lead might be added, but it is not
to be used in all cases, and belladonna is better in some cases than
laudanum, especially if there is a tendency to inflammation of the iris,
for it has a peculiar effect upon the iris, and may prevent adhesion.
Use atropine, two or three grains to a quart of distilled water, or you
put a small particle of it in the eye. This will relieve most cases, but
there may be some irtication left, although you have removed the cause,
and there may be small ulcerated spots upon the eye, and it may be
necessary to use a solution of nitrate of silver, five grains to an ounce ot
water, or even ten grains to an ounce of water. You may apply it by
means of a fuiall syringe, camel's hair brush or feather. Just touch the
ulcerated spots, to stimulate and bring on a healthy action.
In cases where the cornea is ulcerated, and even a fungus growth, you
may have to touch it with a pencil of nitrate of silver. Y'ou may use
iodide of potassium ; but there is no use for very powerful remedies. In
almost all cases of inflammation of the eye, there is a tendency to the
IJIHEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 63
formation of a film over the eye. In say twenty-four hours, if the irrita-
tion has been removed, this will often be absorbed without anything
being done, but there are many remedies recommended for getting
rid of this. Bathe with cold water, and stimulate with iodide oi
potassium and nitrate of silver, not too strong, but just gently. in
case the exudation is broken up to a certain extent, and there is a ten-
dency to abrasion of the cornea, stimulate every day or two, and keep
this up for some time ; this may come from conjunctivitis in a very
mild form. When the film first shows itself, the owner is much alarmed.
Iodide of potassium is used, five grains to an ounce of water, and it
may be necessary to give diuretic or purgative medicines. Belladonna
may be given internally and applied round the eye, but it is generally
best to place directly on the eye. Treatment for the dog is tonics,
good feed, and, stimulate the eye with the remedies given. One or two
applications will generally suffice. If you have a case of conjunctivitis
that has come on very slowly, examine such a case very closely.
There may be ulcerated spots. The remedies given increase the irrita-
tion for some time, but this will soon be relieved. Eyes are sometimes
injured by severe caustics, pounded glass, alum, etc. In conjunctivitis
you wil^ find benefit from bleeding in the angular vein, and if
it does no good, it will do no harm. In an acute attack the animal
should be sparingly fed for a few days. There is no better remedy than
belladonna. It may be necessary to scarify the eyehd in some cases. If
it has received a severe injury, then apply fomentations.
Periodic Optlialuiia. — So called because it occurs periodically. It is
not very uncommon in this country, and it differs from simple ophthal-
mia by the internal structure being first effected, coming from something
in the constitution. It is a constitutional affection, operating on the
organ of vision, first attacking the internal structure, then involving the
whole of the anterior part of the eye, and sooner or later terminatirjg in
partial or complete loss of vision. Many other definitions might be
given. Constitutional ophthalmia, due to something in the system.
Hereditary, due to some hereditary influence. Odontalgic, supposed to
come from something the matter with the teeth. According to some
authorities, wolf teeth affect the eyes. But I think they do not in any
way affect the eyes. The fifth pair of the nerves supplies common sensa-
tion to the eyes and teeth, and wolf teeth irritating this, affect the eye.
But this is not held by veterinarians as a general thing. Another form
is gouty ophthalmia, due to something in the system similar to gout, and
acting upon the eye. This disease has been long known and great
attention paid to it. Other names, moon-blindness, lunatic ophthalmia,
supposed to be influenced by the moon. It was supposed that they
could see readily at some periods of the moon, while at others they could
not. I think it is more common here than in Britain, perhaps owing to
the extremes of heat and cold. But there are other causes which operate
in causing it, and it receives various names, arising from the various
symptoms produced. Pathology is not very well known at present ;
perhaps a great many cases are due to hereditary influence. It was once
considered the bane of horse flesh. Breeding from sound horses has
done more to eradicate it than anything else. '' Like begets like."
Causes. — Certain excitants, extremes of heat and cold, are prominent
causes ; dark and ill-ventilated stables ; working and neglecting the
horse, but in most cases there exists an hereditary predisposition. I do
not say in all ; there may be exceptions. Lexington, a well-known horse,
suffered from periodic ophthalmia, supposed to be the result of hard
work, and his progeny is affected to a considerable extent. It may not
64 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TKEATMliNT Oi'
attack the first, and then attack the second or even the third generation.
In such cases it is easily pioduced. Breed only from sound, healthy
animals. I would not breed from a horse, no difference what his con-
formation might be, if affected with this disease.
Pathology. — A constitutional affection, which localizes itself in the
organ of vision The inflammatory stage may pass off, even without
remedial aid, and then it takes on ihe second stage of the disease.
Symptoms. — Ver}' well marked in many cases, together with the history
of the case, the eye having been affected some time past, but got better,
then worse, etc. ; was taken suddenly ; increased secretions of tears ; was
put in the stable at night all right ; in the morning was suffering from an
irritation of the eye, supposed to be an injury ; the eye weak, and cannot
tolerate the light. Upper eyelid droops to some extent ; eyeball retracted.
This can be noticed especially if but one eyeball is affected ; you cannot
always hotice this unless you expose the animal to the light. Conjunctiva
reddened and congested to a considerable extent, but not so much as in
simple ophthalmia ; a kind of brownish-red, hazy appearance of the
cornea. In periodic ophthalmia, this opacity begins at the circumfer-
ence and radiates toward the centre. As it advances the eye loses its
transparency, becoming of a yellow or reddish appearance. Th« circula-
tion may be altered to a slight extent; may be slightly quickened;
animal somewhat dull, dulness not very well marked, however ; discharge
of tears. After a few days the inflammatory action gradually subsides,
the products of inflammation become absorbed, irritation gradually
ceases, colour changes to a grayish colour, and the eye may regain its
apparent natural condition, but not in all cases. It may have slight
opacity of the crystalline lens, and produce cataract, but this does not
occur from one attack. I think in most cases there is some weakness
remaining, although the irritation oppears to have subsided. The eye
may look smaller, and is more affected with the light. It will be
retracted in the socket. Slight change of the weather will cause a slight
weeping of the eye. Another peculiarity of this disease is shifting from •
one eye to the other, not from sympathy ; no sooner is one eye relieved,
than the other is attacked. In such a case you may make up your mind
that you have periodic ophthalmia. Apparent recovery is very rapid in
some cases. To all appearance the animal is perfectly sound, but it
comes again with greater severity, and it continues to recur at valuable
periods, from three days or weeks to months, or even a year, and we have
some cases on record of animals having one attack and never having
another, but there is no particular time at which it is likely to recur.
After cataract is formed, there may be inflammatory action in the eye,
but after the eye is completely disorganized, as is sometimes the case,
inflammation does not affect it further. As to the duration of the
disease, it may vary from three to four up to ten or fifteen days. It is
sometimes developed in the acute form, but generally in the sub-acute
form. An animal may suffer from one or two attacks, and appear pretty
well without any well marked cataract. It has been noticed that horses
working in coal pits, under ground in dark places, suffer frequently from
amaurosis, and also from ophthalmia. The mode of using being the
exciting cause.
Treatment. — Is anything but satisfactory, and it sometimes grieves
the owner to be told that sooner or later his animal must be-
come blind. The irritation may be palliated by rational treatment.
Place the animal in a well-ventilated and darkened box ; but you
may have to allay irritation and keep the animal at work. Give
a moderate dose of purgative; it acts upon the system and allays
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANI31ALS. 65
irritation ; bathe with tepid water and laudanum. You may give ex-
tract of belladonna in drachm doses, and rub along the eyelids, or
you may use the active principle in the eye, but it is not necessary
unless the iris is affected to a considerable extent. There is benefit in
nitrate of potash and iodide of potash. Iodide of potash and colchicum
ons drachm each once or twice a day. If the acute symptoms have
passed off, the clearness may be hastened some by iodide of potassium
and nitrate of silver. Treatment does not do much but palliate the
disease. Apply something to allay the irritation of the eye— warm
water, or in some cases cold Water. If tbe iris is much affected, I think
belladonna is the best thing that can be used. Blisters have been used
to a great extent, but are not of much benefit. A little counter-irritation
may be of use ; first subdue the inflammatory action the best you can,
and expedite the removal of the products of inflammation. In most
cases it terminates in cataract.
Cataract means a breaking up. Cataract may be capsular or lecticu-
lar ; the lens may be entirely destroyed, or only a slight deposition
which impairs vision to a slight extent. May have cataract, opacity of
the lens, or capsule, and so prevent the passage of light. Cataract is the
result of periodic ophthalmia, but it may re'sult from some other cau?e,
or without any observable cause, and may be due fo some nervous in-
fluence. You may have cataract without any noticeable irritation at all.
If capsule only is affected, it is called capsular. If the lens, it is
lenticular. It is a pearly white deposit.
Result of Opthalmia is cataract. It is a term applied to what we call
opacity of the crystalline lens. Either the lens itself or the capsule in-
vesting the lens, and thus it gets different names, as capsular, lenticular,
and capsular-lenticular. It is the result of ophthalmia, but it may
occur independent of this, from injury, or without any irritation of any
consequence whatever. But this is not a common occurrence. It is
generally due to repeated attacks of ophthalmia. There is true and
false and spurious cataract. The true is opacity of the crystalline lens,
its capsule, or both lens and capsule. There is an opaque deposit of
lymph pus or blood on the anterior capsule It m^y involve the entire
lens, or only a part of it. There is a pearly white deposit in the anterior
part of the eye. Cataract is said to have been absorbed, but it was T
think, not true cataract, but false— animal having suffered from injury
or something which give rise to effusion, but it was a spurious form.
Cataract is occasionally congenital, i.e., at or soon after birth. If born
blind, it is generally in both eyes. Complete cataract is incurable.
Symptoms. — If it is of any tize and involves the crystalline lens, it is
easily detected. According to its size and position, there is either j^artial
or complete blindness. Cataract may be present to some extent and
not produce complete blindness. If small, it is not so easily detected —
it may le overlooked. If it is small, the pupillary opening is contracted
if exposed to the rays of light. If it is completely formed, the iris loses
its natural condition, and does not contract. The pupil and the retina
may at the same time lose its natural condition, and you have amaurosis
and cataract. It requires some experience to detect it If you are
examining a horse, take him suddenly from the dark to the light, and
watch closely If the pupil contracts quickly, there is suspicion of some
irritation. Take a black hat and shade the eye, and notice the pupillary
opening, and you may be able to detect it. I3ut if you still have doubt,
place the animal in a dark box, and let him stand fifteen minutes, and
then take an artificial light and bring in front of the eye, and watch, and
you will sometimes be able to detect this white pearly deposit, but be sure
66 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
that it is not a retlection you see. There is another way ; by noticing
the images reflected in the eye. ^here will be three — one reflected from
the corn* a, one from the anterior surface of the crystalline lens ; these
two move with the light and are upright. The third is reflected from the
posterior surface of the lens, and is inverted, and moves in an opposite
direction from the light and the other images, and you may see these
where there is a slight disease of the vitreous humour. These images
appear as stated in a sound eye. You may act upon the animal with
belladonna, for the purpose of examination. You may detect a small
speck not larger than a pin's head. With some practice cataract can be
easily detected. Watch both eyes and if one contracts more than the
other, it is symptomatic of cataract. It is a disease which may be
quickly developed. Prof. Williams gives an account of one case that
formed in ten days. But you are generally' safe in giving your opinion
that it has been present some length of time, if it is well formed.
Treattncnt — Very little, if anything, can be done, unless it is done as
an operation, and such an operation is not attended with much success
in the horse, as the light must be regulated by means of glasses, which
would be ditlicult. It is possible in a case where there is a deposit of
lymph, to restore the eye to its natural condition. If cataract is form-
ing, you may give some of the remedies already recommended. Inflam-
mation ceases after cataract is formed. Another disease of the eye is
Amaurosis. — It is a diminution or complete loss of vision without any
visible effect in the eye. It is paralysis of the optic nerve and its
terminal expansion. It may occur independent of any irritation, and is
usually incurable. It is sometimes found in connection with parturition.
It may exist with disease of the digestive organs, and frequently co-exists
with cataract, and may result from injury to the brain or optic nerve.
Exciting Causes. - Standing in dark stable ( similar to coal pits ) ; may
occur from a comj^aratively slight injury, as striking the head against
something. There is nothing to obstruct the passage of light to the
posterior part of the eye. You have amaurosis in severe hemmorrhage.
It occurs in bleeding a subject. It may be quickly developed. It has
been noticed to occur from secondary hemmorrhage from castration.
Symptoms. — A dilated pupil is the principal symp'om. The pupil
loses its elliptical form and has a glassy appearance ; hence it is called
glass-eye. Both eyes are generally affected. If there is no other disease
present, the animal carries his head high and steps high, and from
his action is sometimes called a star-gazer. Perhaps just at a glance
you cannot detect it. Try the artificial light ; put him in a dark box
and bring a lighted candle near the eye, and the pupil does not contract.
Some good judges sometimes get bitten with this. You cannot detect it
just at a glance, but after some time a change takes place. You have
generally a pretty full eye.
Treatment — Incurable if of long standing ; but if just due to some
slight injury to the brain, or derangement to the digestive organs, etc ,
try iodide of potassium, belladonna, and then try nerve stimulants. A
horse is better blind than with impaired vision. Another disease of the
eye, of a very serious nature, is
Cancerous or Bleedinu: Fundus. — Medullary sarcoma, or bleeding
cancer. It is of a malignant character. It is a spongy inflammation of
the eye. This disease generally arises in the ball of the eye, but there
may be exceptional cases, and it may come from injury, but most cancer-
ous growths come from constitutional derangements. A slight exudation
might cause it. In the first stage the eye becomes changed ; there is
opacity of the crystalline lens ; this may, by and by, become absorbed.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIilALS. 67
This growth makes its appearance in the posterior part of the eye. It
becomes larger and involves the entire eye and surrounding structures.
It may grow and hang down over the cheek, and give the animal a very
unsightly appearance. It may produce caries of the bones near the eye.
Treatment. — You may effect a cure in first stages. If the eye ball is
destroyed, remove the fungus and the eye-ball, which may bs attended
with success. But in other cases it will grow again quickly. There will
be hemorrhage, which can be controlled by styptics, and it is not a bad
practice to touch with actual cautery ; then use styptics, astringents, etc.
If this is removed in the early stage it may not be reproduced, and if
reproduced it may not be for some time. It occurs in cattle, and the
same treatment is to be used. lujury to the cornea might excite it.
There is a bulging of the cornea, about the size of the end of a finger.
It is very vascular ; when cut into, it bleeds readily. As well as local,
give constitutional treatment. After cutting it out, you might give a
few doses of medicine, tonics, etc.
Filaria Ocnli, Strongylus Eqniuiis. — There is scarcely any tissue of
the body exempt from parasites. They are found in the liver, testicle,
brain, bronchial tubes, kidneys, lungs, muscles, the eyes, etc. It is
noticed in the eye, in Canada and the United States, but it is very com-
mon in India. It has never been noticed in England. This parasite is
most likely to be found where the animals are grazing on wet land, or in
wet weather. They get into the eye by means of the circulation. The
ovum is taken in by means of the food or drink, gets into the stomach
and is carried through the circulation until it finds its way into the
aqueous humour of the eye. May grow to the size of one half inch to
two inches in length; sometimes set up considerable irritation, and this
gives rise to more or less opacity of the cornea. It is not generally
entirely opaque. These worms move about in a lively manner ; appear-
ing near to the cornea, and then passing away and disappearing to a
certain extent. You should have no difficulty in detecting this by a
careful examination. It might be mistaken for a shred of lymph, but in
a short time it removes and again appears
Symptoms —More or less irritation of the eye : may be noticed by the
owner or attendant, and you have some history of the case. There is a
haziness of the eye, but if you look for some time you will see something
inside moving about, first one way and then the other. It has been
described as an eel in water. If you meet with this you must remove
the worm, for if you allow it to remain, it will in most cases destroy the
eye. Whether it is advisable to remove it while the irritation remains,
or wait until it subsides, is a controverted point. I think the sooner it
is removed the better. Cast and secure the animal, elevate the head to a
certain extent, and with a guarded lancet make an incision and allow the
aqueous humour to escape, and with it the worm in most cases. There
is no great danger to be apprehended ; keep the animal quiet and apply
cold to the eye. You might give laxative medicine, good food, etc. A
slight speck remains sometimes where the incision was made. If you
operate on a case, and the aqueous humour escapes and the worm does
not, just leave it alone till the aqueous humour is reproduced, and the
worm may be absorbed, or you may take it out, but it sets up considera-
ble irritation. It is better to let it alone until the aqueous humour is
reproduced, and then operate again. Some operate without throwing
the animal, but I think it is not best, you may make a larger incision
than is desirable. The lancet used in human practice is the most appli-
cable. Keep in a darkened box, and if slight opacity is present, you may
use iodide of potassium internally.
bo CAUSES, f^YMPTO.MK AND TREATMENT Of
(glaucoma, —If there is either amaurosis or cataract, you have this
condition present, but you may me6t with a case where this is seen with-
out any other disease. The vitreous humour becomes hardened, more or
Jess, and a dilated pupillary opening ; big head or ostero sai'coma has a
tendency to profluce it. Little, if anything, can be done for it. If it is
in an old animal from natural decay, as is generally the case, nothing can
be done. The eye ball is occasionally injured, frequently from a punc-
tured wound, and letting the aqueous humour escape. If the vitreous
humour or crystalline lens escapes, vision is totally destroyed. The
aqueous humour will be reproduced, but there may remain a slight
opacity of the cornea.
Treatment must vary as to the severity of the injury. If a punc-
ture is received and the crystalline lens is injured there will be
great pain present Foment, use belladona, give a purgative, and
may give an opiate ; poultice judiciously with linseed meal, bread
poultice, etc You may tind a fungus growth, from puncture or
other injury, and you can generally get rid of it with a solution
of nitrate of silver. But this may not be strong enough, and you
will have to touch with a pencil of nitrate of silver. After this you
may have a small speck, and if there is exudation around the speck,
you may relieve by judicious stimulation. In some diseases or in-
juries to the eye, the parts do not heal up, a discharge of matter
takes place, and it is better in some cases to remove the tissue
of the eye Another condition of the eye-ball is dislocation, more
likely to occur in dogs than in other animals, from fighting with
other dogs and cats. If it does occur in the horse, the tissues are
generally lacerated. If you see such a case soon after its occurrence,
the eye may be replaced and remain placed, if done before the swelling is
too great. After replacing, apply fomentations, as to other injuries to
allay irritation But if it is down over the cheek and much swollen, the
only thing that can be done is to remove the eyeball, and treat as an
injury. If it requires much pressure upon the eyeball to replace it, you
can just snip the outer angle of the eyelid, and after the ball is replaced
just put a stitch in the cut and then use something to allay irritation.
Melanotic deposits may take place in the eye. They are commoner in
gray horses than others, but may occur in any, and they may occur in any
part of the body ; if in the eye, there is a reddened condition of the eye.
Nothing whatever can be done for this.
Ectropium or Eversion of the Eyelids , Entrnpium or Inversion
of the Eyelids. — Eyelids become torn and injured in many ways. If
you find the lid torn and injured be as conservaiive as you can and bring
the parts together nicely, using a suture of silk thread or wire. Although
it is prettv well detached, bring the parts together the best you can and
do not allow any part to hang down, or it will bring on suppuration, and
if any part is removed, it interferes with the animal to some extent.
After-Treatment. — Allay any irritation. Keep the animal quiet, and
secure him so as to keep him from rubbing, by tying to both sides of the
stall Keep up the application of either cold or warm water, but cold
water generally has a better effect than warm. There will be more or
less opacity of the cornea, but when the irritation is allayed, the opacity
will disappear. If a large portion of the lid is torn loose and nothing has
been done for it until suppuration has taken place, and it is much swol-
len, then scarify and treat properly, and there is a possibility of recovery.
In some cases you will have to remove the partially detached portions,
but do not be too hasty about cutting.
The Meinbrana Nictitans sometimes become inflamed in connection
1)ISEASES Oi DOMESTIC ANIMALb. 60
with ophthalmia, or it may become irritated without this. This inter-
feres with the secretion of the tears passing into the lachrymal duct, and
they flow down over the cheek.
Treatment. — Applications of cold or warm water. Cleanse nicely and
touch with mild astringents Sulphate of zinc, five grjins to one ounce
of water, and about one-half drachm of laudanum, which you may inject
with a small syringe This membrana nictitans sometimes becomes dis-
eased, until we have to remove it from the eye. If it is ulcerated but
slightly, try a caustic upon it, such as nitrate of silver, and if this does
not do, it may be necessary to remove it
Lachrymal Ducts ami Passages. — When the tears are secreted, they
pass into the puncta lachrymalia, then through the lachrymal canals,
and enter the lachrymal sack, and then into the nose, through the lach-
rymal duct. These lachrymal passages become diseased, obstructing the
flow of tears. This is due to various causes ; due to an enlarged condition
of the caruncula lachrymalis, or from the thickening of the lining mem-
brane of the duct. This thickening may result from various causes, and
may result from catarrh, or from a foreign body passing through some
opening into the lachrj-mal sack, and interfering with the passage of the
tears through the duct.
Symptoms are well marked, and there is not much diflSculty in detect-
ing it. Nostrums put in the eye w^ll have no effect if the cause is within
the duct ; if from the thickening of the mucous membrane, the tears will
pass down the outside of the cheek and destroy the hair to some extent,
and there may be a purulent discharge from the inner angle of the eye ;
the eyeball will be irritated. If the obstruction is down in the duct, the
lachrymal sack may be enlarged, and if this is the case, if you lift the
head, it sometimes causes this discharge to flow more freely. Examine
as to the anterior opening of the duct, inside the nose.
Treatment.— li irom obstruction, remove it; and the best way is to
inject the duct with tepid water ; then with a solution of sulphate of zinc ;
and it is better injected from below than from the upper opening. Take
a glass syringe with a long nozzle, and the fluid may pass through easily ;
and it may not jtass just at once, but keep up injections for some days.
You may use carbolic acid, but no strong application is useful Keep the
eye nice and clean. Some authorities recommend the introduction of a
probe. If you fail from lower opening, then try the upper, but the latter
is more liable to irritate the eye. It is sometimes necessary to throw the
animal in injecting from the upper opening.
Congenital Malformation, in which no duct is formed It may be
formed through the bone, but not through the soft tissues, or only the
mucous membrane is left to obstruct it ; there will be a discharge from
the eye ; lift the head and there will be this purulent discharge from the
lachrymal sack An artificial opening may be made, and allow the tears
to flow through it to the outside of the cheek, instead of out at the eye.
If the opening is just closed by the mucous membrane, just make an
incision and let the tears pass through the opening into the nose. You
may trephine and make an opening from the duct to the outside of the
cheek. There may be fistula of this duct, and the depression of the bone
may interfere with the flow of tears.
The Eyelids may be inverted or everted ; the one turned in, called
entrophium. It may occur in the lower eyelid, but not frequently ;
oftener seen in dogs than horses When this occurs the eyelashes rub
upon the eyeball, which irritate it, and causes a prosecretion of tears and
a purulent discharge. Bring he parts into proper position, just by incis-
ing a small portion of the skin, and use a suture, and this may suffice, or
70 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS ANU TREATMENT OV
you may have to pull the hair from the eyelids or cut a portion out, and
bring the cut edges tos[ether with a suture, just dipping the thread in a
solution of carbolic acid. We also find just the opposite of this takes
place, called octropium, or eversion of the eyelids. It proceeds from
various causes ; may proceed from simple ophthalmia Scarifying may
bring it to its natural condition, but if it continues it interferes with the
animal very much, and makes him quite unsightly. This is also more
common with the dog.
Treatment. — Varied according to the case; if just due to congestion of
the mucous lining, scarify and it may do, but you may have to use
caustics - nitrate of silver solution, or even a pencil of nitrate of silver,
and if you cannot subdue with caustic, then you excise the parts wath
knife or scissors. After treatment bathe the eye nicely, bring the parts
as near the natural position as possible. The cornea is mostly affected.
('aninciila Lechrymalis may become enlarged from ophthalmia or
injury. The irritation is reduced by fomentations, astringents, etc., but
if this does not answer, use the knife or scissors, then allaj^ the irritation.
Some use a ligature instead of the knife. There will be opacity of the
cornea, which will disappear as soon as the irritation subsides. We
notice in horses, the same as in man, that some have better eyesight than
others ; some near and some far-sighted.
Myopia, being near sightedness ; due to too great a convexity of the
eye. The animal may have an apparently well-formed eye, but he will
shy, no doubt due to defective vision, which is difficult to detect even in
human patients. There is just the opposition of this, far sightedness,
which is most likely to occur in old animals and old persons
(glaucomatous Condition of the Eye. — The vitreous humour loses
its ti-ansparency, and becomes bluish in colour ; osteo-sarcoma may pro-
duce it You sometimes meet with a kind of ossification of the eyeball.
Melanotic CoDdition of the Eyeball —A condition called staphy-
loma, from its resemblance to a bunch of grapes ; it may come from a
tumour; use caustic nitrate of silver. There is a bulging and opacity of
the cornea, and if the exciting cause continues there is complete opacity
of the cornea The remedy is to puncture the cornea and let the con-
tained fluids out. Perhaps there are chances of recovery. It is apt to
be associated with some constitutional disturbance, and vision is likely
to be lost.
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES.
Variola. — This is a disease that occurs in all domestic animals,
and perhaps in wild as well. It is an eruptive febrile disease, so
caUed from a peculiar spotted eruptive appearance on the skin.
Small-pox has affected many people in many countries. It may be
described as an acute febrile disease, and like all febrile diseases
runs a certain course, and there is eruption of the skin, either vesi-
cular or postular. It may occur in a simple or complicated form ; it
is first vesicular and then postular. It belongs to the zymotic class
of diseases, due to ccntagium in some form or other. This conta-
gium is in either a fixed or volatile form. In the cow it is in a fixed
form. In the sheep it is almost as well marked as in cows. It is
a difficult matter to say just how contagium may be carried and
disease produced ; there are well marked stages. The system re-
ceives the contagium in some form or other. There is the incubatory
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 71
stage, which may be from three to six or nine days. Next is the
febrile condition, which may be ushered in by slight rigours, giving
rise to quickened pulse, impaired appetite, pains in the loins, back, etc.,
then eruptions of the skin, small reddish nodules about the size of a
pin head, and larger, with a reddened surrounding, then formed
into vesicles filled with a clear, transparent lymph. The contents
of these become purulent ; then it becomes pustular, and is the
second stage. The third stage is a drying up of this purulent mat-
ter, and a dark brownish crust is formed, detached, and falls oft" in
scales. There is a primary and a secondary fever — the secondary
being the more dangerous — caused by absorption of this matter into
the system. The fever is more severe just before the eruption becomes
complete The blood being in a state to give rise to these eruptions,
also gives rise to great fever, intense headache, etc. In man, the second-
ary fever is caused by some material becoming absorbed. This is not of
a fatal character— except small pox in sheep, where it is just about as
fatal as small-pox in man. It can be convej-ed from the horse to the
cow, man, etc., the cow being the place where man gets his variola.
Variola Equinae, or Horse-Pox.— It is occasionally noticed in
this country and in Europe, but not so common as cow-pox. It may
be characterized as an eruptive vescichlo-pustular disease, preceded in
most cases by more or less fever, which may be comparatively mild, and
may be entirely overlooked ; a slightly quickened condition of the pulse
— forty-live beats per minute, or even more — appetite somewhat impaired.
The eruption shows itself upon any part of the body, but more particu-
larly about the lips, heels, nose, mouth, nostrils, etc., and can be more
readily seen in white-skinned horses. Some say it affects the schneiderian
membrane. It may be communicated to man and the cow, and I believe
to some other of the domestic animals. It may be characterized as a
bloody disease, due to a virus or poison. The virus is generally in a fixed
form ; some say it is in a volatile form ; I think it is in a fixed form
Syniptoius. — There is more or less fever ; pulse comparatively weak
and very quick; increased thirst; impaired appetite; but not gen-
erally gone entirely : red disc-shaped patches appear upon the skin,
each having a depression in its centre, from which the pustules are
developed, from which exudes more or less serum.' They vary in
size according to the situation they occupy ; they are larger in the
heels on account of there being a greater number of sebaceous
glands. These pustules may become confluent, and parts of the body
may become one large sore. The schneiderian membrane may pre-
sent an ulcerated appearance. These ulcers have a great tendency
to heal, while in glanders they will not heal. There is a discharge
of saliva if the mouth is affected ; masticulation performed with
more or less difficulty. It may extend and involve the throat and
even the intestinal canal. It usually runs its course in from eight
to fifteen days, and until the scab begins to fall off, or convalescence, is
about three weeks. This may be conveyed by contact in various ways —
by the groom's clothes saddles, harness, and may be given by inocula-
tion, as irritating the skin and rubbing some of the matter upon the place.
Treatment is simple : cleanliness, a laxative diet, food such as will act
upon the bowels, bran mashes, linseed meal ; or if in summer, give green
food ; give hypo sulphite of soda, nitrate of potash and sulphur in small
doses. The danger is in checking the eruption. It will get well readily
if properly treated. The animal must not be exposed to the cold. Give
something to increase the eruption, instead of trying to stop it. Give
something to act upon the blood. For a local application, sulphate of
72 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
zinc ointment, carbolic lotion, etc., but it does not require much medi-
cine ; give good, easil}- digested food. In all diseases of an eruptive
character, if checked, it leaves the poison in the system.
Variola YaceinaB — cow pox; oftener seen in cattle than in the horse,
and hus been seen in every quarter of the globe — in some places in a very
severe form, and attended with great fatality, but in Britain and America
it is not fatal. It is an eruptive pustular disease, and usually shows
itself on the udder and teat, but it may attack the feet and mouth. It
is more severe on cattle that are continally housed, but it occasionally
occurs in animals running in pasture It runs about the same course as
in the horse — first, incubatory, febrile disturbances and eruptions.
Symptoms. — More or less fever ; falling off of milk, if in milk cow
Appetite slightly impaired ; slight increase of temperature, if examined.
Then it shows itself by eruptions, especially about the udder ; but a
slight eruption takes place, presenting a reddened condition, and may
become confluent ; the teat may be one mass of pustular eruptions ; one
person's milking ten, or perhaps twelve cows, tends to spread it. If you
meet with two or three cases showing such symptoms, it is a little suspic-
ious, but it may be caused by some local irritation, as running through
long grass, irritating the pans ; and if kept in for two or three days, the
irritation subsides.
Treatment. — Cleanliness ; bath the udder nicely with tepid water and
astringents, acetate of lead, carbolic lotion ; covering the teat with milk
is beneficial. Give sulphur, hypo sulphite of soda, laxative diet. If irri-
tated by the flies, keep up during the day, and let out at night. The
virus is in a fixed form. It is a disease that occasionally occurs, and is
of great importance, for this is where we get our vaccine matter, which
has been of great benefit. The pig is also liable to variola. The virus is
in both a fixed and volatile form in the pig. When the pig becomes
spotted, called spotted fever, it may be due to variola. Give salines,
laxatives, Epsom or glauber's salts ; good nourishing food The dog is
also liable to variola. Tlie virus is in a fixed form. The eruption nearly
the same in all animals, and the same stages in different subjects.
Contagious Pleiiro-Pneiimoiiia is not communicable to any other
species. We have two kinds ; sporadic, which runs its course quickly,
and contagious, in which there is a great amount of fever, and is some-
times classed as an infectious fever. It is a disease which is interesting
to some people in this counti'y, as it exists to a more or less extent in
America. It is a disease that has been known for two hundred years in
Russia. During the present century it has gradually made its way from
the east to the west. It was noticed in Prussia in 1 8^2 ; in Northern
Russia in 1824 : in England in 1841 ; in America in 1843. It occurred
in Australia in 1815, having been carried there by cattle from- England.
Therefore, at present, it seems to be due to contagium, in some form or
other. It is a specific contagious disease, peculiar to cattle. Due to
blood poison, acting upon the system in general, and it shows ilself, in
particular, in the lungs. It appears in both acute and sub-acute form,
and we cannot communicate it to any other animal than cattle In a
great many cases it is in the sub-acute, and proves a very serious disease.
It implicates the lining membrane of the lungs and chest, and the
lung substance as well. And if an animal recovers, it will not be
attacked again, it never occurring twice in the same animal. It
is contagious and due to a micro-organism : said by some to be a
micrococcus. There are various stages, the first consists of
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 73
an incubatory period, varying from two to six weeks, or even longer,
and perhaps the first thing that will be noticed is an increased tem-
perature of the body to 103, 104 or even 105 degrees. Often before
any other signs are developed, there may be slight rigours or shiv-
ering, but so slight as to be overlooked. After this, the system becomes
impaired. If in milch cow, the secretion of milk is impaired, and there
is a slight cough, noticed more in the morning, especially if the animal
was kept up all night. The disease gradually grows worse, and the cough
increases ; this may be the only symptom for some time. The animal
was thought to be only suffering from a slight cold. After a while the
lungs become affected, giving signs of quickened breathing. Animal
gradually loses condition ; becomes emaciated ; hide bound condition of
the skin ; a discharge from the nostrils of a whitish, or even a fetid
character. In the first stages, you can, by ausculation, detect a grating
sound, due to plural surfaces rubbing together. Concussion reveals a
dull, dead sound. In the second stage the pulse is very quick ; usually
symptoms of fever, dryness in the muzzle. The horns may be either
cold or hot, and the temperature and cough increased. Cattle, when
suffering, lie upon the sterum, in order to relieve the pressure. If likely
to end fatally, the discharge becomes fetid ; may have slight diarrhoea,
followed by constipation ; a particular gritting of the teeth ; moaning or
grunting ; the eye has a glassy appearance ; debility, and death.
Post mortem appearances. — After those changes have taken place
in the lungs, the blood becomes affected, and then the inter-lobular
tissue of the lungs, and exudation takes place ; the air cells become
gradually obliterated, and you have a solidified or hepatized condi-
tion, but the animal may die before hepatization sets in. The lung
is increased much in weight. The lungs present a marbled appear-
ance, but this is characteristic of inflammation of the lungs as well.
The pleura is also affected, and covered with a slight fibrinous exudation ;
there is also effusion of serum or hydrothorax, mixed with fibrinous clots.
In this disease, there is sometimes suppuration. Parts of the lungs may
become encysted, and the animal live, even after this, for years. The
sporadic form is usaally quickly developed, while the contagious forrn is
more of a fever at first, and then progresses afterwards. The contagium
is said to be iu both a fixed and volatile form, and the virus more power-
ful during the first or febrile stage It is most likely to be conveyed by
means of the breath, and the virus will retain its activity for several
months. There is some difference of opinion as to how it may be con-
veyed, but it is supposed to find its way into the system through the
respiratory organs. Blood has been given to healthy animals without
producing it, and diseased lung has been tried with like effect However,
it may be taken in by other ways, but most likely through the respiratory
organs ; and it may exist without showing well-marked symptoms. It
spreads rapidly over a great scope of territory. It may be carried on the
cars, and it is said that it has been carried on the clothes of people. It
may be possible, but it is said that animals must come in contact, as a
general thing. The per cent, of loss from this is much greater when it
first appears — the loss varying from thirty to eighty per cent. This
disease has inflicted great loss in some countries, but it is not so fatal as
rinderpest. America has suffered some loss, and I do not suppose has
ever been entirely rid of it since its outbreak.
Treatment has been attended with much success; but febrifuge and
judicious counter irritation have been used. The disease should be
stamped out without trying to treat it, and that would be more successful
4
74 CAUSES, SYMPT05IS AND TREATMENT OF
than treatment. However, after it gets into a country spreading over
many hundreds of miles, even then prophylactic treatment is better than
curative It is not so extensive as formerly, as the animals are destroyed,
and the owner is, in some countries, compensated. To prevent the dis-
ease, I believe in inoculation. This was recommended in 1852. It was
tried, and considered a benefit, and then was thought of no benefit ; but
now it is supposed to be of great benefit. The virus for inoculation is
taken from the lungs at a certain stage of the disease, and is put into the
tail or other parts of the animal, which brings on a febrile stage. But
pleuro-pneumonia is not produced only in exceptional cases ; but it pre-
vents the attack of the disease. While the animal is under the influence
of this it can convey the disease to other animals. I believe inoculation
will mitigate a great many diseases. It has been practiced in Long '
Island, not by professional men, but by some owners and dairymen.
(jrlanders is contagious, a most serious and loathesome disease. It
has been known for thousands of years, and has been treated with almost
every medicine in the pharmacopoeia, and nothing has proved a remedy,
and veterinarians have been abused for aot curing it. They have pointed
out the true character of it, and it is now rare to what it was thirty or
forty years ago. It was common in Canada, when the country was being
cleared up, but it is now rare ; it is still seen in some of the back town-
ships. This disease consists in a discharge from one or both nostrils,
which discharge will produce it in another horse and in man. It pro-
duces tumefaction of the schneiderian membrane. Jt is found generally
in the horse, and in man, but is said to be communicable to sheep, dogs,
cats, and even to cattle, but there is doubt about this. It is a specific dis-
ease of a contagious character, due to the introduction of a poison into
the blood. It is contagious and infectious. These two terms are used
for the same thing, but do mean just the same. It is most severe in
countries where horses are kept in a highly artificial manner, while in
countries where they are allowed to run out during most of the year, it is
not so common. It was not known in Mexico until the war with the
United States. It is said it does not exist in Australia, and is seldom
seen in India except in imported horses, as their horses run out the
most of the year. It is supposed it got into India by shipping horses ;
during their passage the hatches being shut down during a storm.
With glanders we also have farcy. They are, I believe, essentially the
same disease, only differing in their manifestations. I never saw a case
of farcy get well, but many say it does get well. Farcy will produce
glanders, and glanders farcy, by taking the virus from one or the
other. So both diseases are due to a blood poison essentially the same,
but they differ in external manifestations. It is said to ocsur in other
animals ; but it is seldom met in any except the horse.
Causes. — Some say it is, and some say it is never, spontaneously
generated. We have germs which we cannot account for, but we have
striking examples of it being spontaneously produced. It is supposed
to have been produced on shipboard during a storm, by shutting down
the hatches, but there may have been an infected horse among them,
the veterinarians were very careful in examining. It prevailed during
the American war and the Prussian war. The horses supposed to be free
from all such diseases. It can mostly be traced to contagious influences,
it is likely to occur most severely in large cities, where many horses are
kept together, for if one horse gets it, it pollutes the air, and it spreads
rapidly. It occurs in two forms, acute and chronic. If developed in
the acute form it runs its course very quickly ; but it is gene rally seen in
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 75
the chronic form ; seldom met with in the acute form. It is generally
seen in old and debilitated animals. When such become exposed they
take it more readily than young, healthy animals. Kecent investigations
have gone to show that this disease is due to the introduction into the
system of a specific germ the bacillus malleolus.
Symptoms. — After it arrives at a certain stage it is easily diagnosed,
but until then it is not. It may continue for a long time without show-
ing any constitutional disturbance, and it may be mistaken for other
diseases. Some are liable to think that it is nasal gleet, unless the
animal soon dies. Just in the early stage of the disease the animal
suffers from rigours, more or less. Temperature is increased to lOS*^,
104^ or 105° ; then it will go for some time, and then there is a discharge
from the nose, which varies much, according to the disease ; at first
watery, and then purulent, coming more freely in some cases than others.
It may be from one or both nostrils— usually from one, and that the
left. By and by there is a cough, which may continue ; the discharge
altered to some extent ; the most noticeable peculi-arity of the discharge
is that it is of a viscid or sticky character ; it sticks around the nostril
and has a tendency to stick the nostrils together ; for after the disease
has been developed for some time, and is high up and affects the bone,
there may be f jetor, but not so fetid as in nasal gleet. But if you have
this discharge of a greenish-yellow colour, extremely viscid and sticky,
and which adheres around the nostril ; contains a large amount of
albumen : will sink readily in water — but this may occur from other
causes — it is sympathetic of glanders. The character of the discharge
will vary, and it may be tinged with blood, and if so, it is symptomatic
of an acute attack. The eye will sjanpathize with the disease, giving
rise to a sort of purulent discharge about the inner canthus, and pro-
fuse, and it may not be present at all. But when you notice these, it
is a significant symptom of glanders. But you will now see changes
taking place in the mucous membrane of the nose. There will appear
little elevations, tubercular deposits, which will change to cancerous
ulcers, which may be irregular in shape, showing a sort of worm-
eaten appearance, and these ulcers have no tendency to cicatrize or
heal, although they may heal to a certain extent, but there remains a
kind of white scar. These ulcerations may appear and run into each
other, and the chamber becomes one ulcerated mass, and may completely
eat through and destroy the septum nasi. I believe these ulcerations
generally form well up, and may exist high up in the nasal chambers be-
fore they appear in the visible mucous membrane. There is another well
marked sign by which you know glanders. It is the enlargement of the
submaxillary lymphatic glands. They do not suppurate, but become in-
durated and adhere to the bone. This condition often makes its appear-
ance just about the same time that the discharge from the nose takes
place, and generally before you see the ulceration of the mucous mem-
brane. There may be some difficulty in breathing, for I believe there
are more or less changes in the lungs on account of tubercular deposits
in the lungs. The animal falls off in condition, becomes emaciated,
hide-bouud ; the skin seems to be attached to the flesh ; gradually
pines away, and dies a lingering death. If in the chronic form until
these characteristic symptoms — ulceration of the mucous mem-
brane, greenish-yellow discharge, indurated condition of the glands —
are well developed, you may experience difficulty in coming to a
correct conclusion. As well as tubercular deposits in the lungs,
you may have them in the mesenteric glands. When emaciation is
76 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREAT5IENT OP
rapid, it may be a long time before these characteristic symptoms are
developed. This was noticed in a certain stall in France, where glanders
made its appearance. Close examination was made ; those affected
removed, and after some time more were affected, and removed, etc., and
it was found to exist in some that had showed no visible signs. It was,
perhaps, due to tubercular deposits in the lungs that gave it to others.
There are certain diseases that might be mistaken for glanders. In nasal
gleet there is a discharge from one or both nostrils, but it is not as sticky ;
there are no cancerous ulcers ; the submaxillary lymphatic glands do not
adhere to the bone, as in glanders.
Pathology or post mortem. — You find tubercular deposits in the lungs
and respiratory tract in most cases. The glands become enlarged, and
the afferent and efferent vessels also become enlarged, forming a sort of
pedicle which attaches them to the subjacent tissue. The glands become
more indurated and the cavities become filled up with a sort of pulpy
deposition. There are generally tubercular deposits before ulceration
takes place. Contagium is usually present in a fixed form, and is
most virulent in the usual discharge, but it is contained in the blood
of a diseased animal, and this blood will produce it in a healthy animal
if put in the flesh. The covering of the muscles will produce it, the
saliva, bile, and urine have produced it, and it is quite possible that
it may be contained in all parts of the body. Its power varies, but
is greatest in virulent cases, and some animals will withstand its
effects. Some cases are related where it was brought on by glanderous
tubercle from the lungs, where no other symptoms were noticed.
Some authors think it is hereditary. We have a case mentioned where
a glandered mare gave birth to a colt which died with glanders at
about four and a half years old, without having been exposed to
glanders. It is possible that a glandered mare might produce a colt that
was free from glanders. The virus is not diminished in passing through
many animals ; but is increased in potency if taken from the human
being. The virus will retain its vitality for some time, which shows the
necessity of thoroughly cleansing infected apartments by the use of boil-
ing water, carbolic acid, etc. The virus may be dried in the air and kept
for a great while, and if rendered fluid by water, is capable of producing
glanders, so that a stable just swept out and left for months still contains
the virus.
Treatment. — I will allude to it ; giving plenty pure air, good
food, etc., will cause the symptoms to disappear to some extent,
but it is best to destroy the animal in all cases. You may keep a
healthy animal near an infected one for some time, and the former
not get the disease unless there was contact in some way, but if a
number are diseased in the same stable, the air becomes contamin-
ated, and it might produce it. If you are called into a stable where
three or four horses are supposed to be affected with nasal gleet,
one or two affected in the first place and then others get it, then be care-
ful in your examination. Nasal glett is never of a contagious character.
If you have a suspicion of glanders, keep such an animal isolated, and
have recourse to debilitating treatment, as a purgative, or take some of
the discharge from the nose and put into some part of the body, as the
hind leg of the same animal, or better, if you can get a worthless
animal, inoculate it, and if it affects him then you make up your mind
that it is glanders.
Acute Glanders. — This is not qnite so common here as it is in some
other countries. This form may result from the chronic form, gener-
ally due to the virus being introduced into the system in some way or
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 77
other. It develops quickly, and most authors say it is spontaneously
generated. When the animal has been inoculated with the virus, the
first symptoms will appear in four or five days, and will be extreme
rigours, increased temperature, a discharge from one or both nostrils ;
chancrous ulcers in the nose, appearing far more quickly than in the
chronic form, and they become confluent. The lungs are affected to a
greater or less extent, and, in a great many cases, are severely affected
with lobular inflammation, which frequently causes death. And I
have noticed some cases where swelling of the limbs occurred, gener-
ally in one hind limb.
Post-Mortem. — Appearances are the same as given in the chronic
form ; diffuse suppuration in the lungs, or a gangrenous condition of
the lungs. A healthy animal may take it and die in from one to three
weeks. Farcy exists with glanders, and is identical with glanders,
although presenting different manifestations. Farcy is a term applied
to many affections that are not really farcy, and could not be dis-
tinguished from it by a casual observer ; one is called watery farcy.
But when we say farcy, we mean a disease due to a specific blood
poison, either generated within, or introduced into the system, and
operating on the glands. It occurs in two forms, acute and chronic.
It frequently terminates in glanders ; and we find by experience that
glanders will produce farcy, and farcy glanders. If the animal is not
pretty severely affected, you may mistake it in the first stage ; there
is more or less fever, with a very well shown increase of temperature
of the body ; but these changes are not so significant to the casual
observer. Little swellings appear in connection with the lymphatic
glands, in one of the limbs, a hind limb generally. It looks like
lymphangitis. The swelling takes place in the lymphatic glands. It
may occur in the head and neck, or even in other parts of the body ;
and if upon the body, it may be taken for surfeit. These little enlarge-
ments change character to some extent ; a discharge of aqueous char-
acter takes place ; the openings do not heal as readily as ordinary
sores, and they are called farcy buds. As well as this, you generally
have, after the enlargements appear, little cords extending from the
enlargements in various directions. These are designated farcy cords,
A great many enlargements will appear, especially in the sub-maxillary
glands and linguinal glands. They become enlarged, and run into
each other more or less. The animal falls off in condition, presents a
hide-bound appearance, etc. As well as these lymphatics being
affected, a great part of the limb becomes swollen, presenting much
the appearance of lymphangitis, unless the farcy buds are present.
But in from two to six weeks we have symptoms which show the true
character of the disease, and it may remain in this form for some time,
and then acute farcy may set in. In other cases where you have the
chronic form, it may remain in the same condition for some time, and
all at once the joints will swell, perhaps the hock joint, then a discharge
from the nose takes place ; chancrous ulcers form, and it is speedily
followed by glanders. The ulcers appear to heal to a certain extent,
but if it is a true case of farcy, the healing process never takes place
perfectly. Prof. Williams thinks cases have been cured. I have
known it to remain in the same condition for a considerable length of
time, and spread the disease to a considerable extent. I knew one
treated for more than a year, and caused the death of four good horses.
I never knew a case to recover. It is due to a blood poison, it cannot
be cured ; but you may have somewhat similar conditions, not due to
specific poison. In the acute form the symptoms are developed in a
78 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
similar manner, but more violently. You may think it is lymphan-
gitis ; the temperature is increased ; there is enlargement of the lym-
phatic glands and vessels, but it will not terminate in resolution, as it
will in lymphangitis, but it terminates in suppuration. In the acute
form it may extend over the body, upon the sheath, udder, etc., and
the horse may have acute glanders following. Sulphate of copper, in
external and internal applications, seems to improve the case, but I
always recommend the animal's destruction. It is extremely decep-
tive, may recover apparently, but is never cured. If you only have
suspicion of it, isolate the animal until you are sure of what is the
matter. Although this is contagious, it is not so very contagious as
some think ; it is necessary to bring the animal into contact. Glan-
derous matter may be carried in various ways — in water, from animal's
drinking from the same pail, trough, etc. ; and this matter may be
given to an animal, and not produce the disease, and it was thought
at one time that this would not produce it, but it is now known that
it will. Where it is necessary to examine an animal for glanders, be
careful and do not get any of the matter in any sores, in the eye,
mouth, nose, etc., as it might produce glanders ; you may be able to
examine by daylight, and it may be necessary to use an artificial light.
Bring it close to the nose, which will enable you to see farther up the
nose. However, there is no great danger in handling a glandered horse,
unless there are sores upon your hands ; but if you make a post mor-
tem, then be careful about cutting the hands, for it will produce glan-
ders in man. Some such cases are on record. Although it is a disease
common to the horse, it is said it has been conveyed to cattle, sheep,
goats, lions, tigers, etc., they feeding on the flesh of horses that had
died with glanders. But if it is cooked, it will not produce it, hence
plenty of boiling water, carbolic acid, lime, etc., will destroy the virus.
So, if you have an infected stable, cleanse the apartments thoroughly,
and, perhaps, carbolic acid is just as good as anything you can use.
DISEASES OF THE EiR.
Injuries to the ear must be treated as injuries to the other parts.
Just bring the parts together and secure the animal so he cannot rub.
A tumour may appear in the ear of the horse, either in the external
part or deep-seated in the meatus internus. An injury may produce
it. In the first stages it does not interfere with the animal, but after
some time it does. The horse will hold his head to one side or the
other, and will shake the head when you do anything with him ; and
it may bring on cerebral derangement. I have seen some cases of
such tumours where the animal would walk in a circular manner,
showing cerebral disturbance. You can remove them with the scis-
sors or knife, then cleanse the parts nicely and carefully. Use carbolic
acid, sulphate of zinc, etc., and the cerebral disturbance, in many
cases, will be removed.
Deafness. — If it is of a permanent character or of long standing,
nothmg can be done for it. It is hard to detect, and you may meet
with temporary deafness, or partial deafness, from cannonading —
from the intense noise.
Treat by a moderate dose of laxative, and bathe the parts well. If
the cause is kept up for some time it may cause entire deafness. The
animal appears stubborn, and cannot be taught to obey the word.
The same things occur in cattle — tumours, etc. — and in cattle they
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 79
may be of a tubercular character, especially if there is a tubercular
tendency ; but we oftener meet with this in dogs than in other ani-
mals. In dogs it is called
Canker, and is either external or internal, and involves the internal
or external flap and the meatus. Canker is more likely to occur in
those dogs used for sporting, from running through long grass, brush,
etc., getting wet and then drying, which sets up irritation ; and the
manner of feeding the animal aggravates it — an over- abundance of
animal food making him extremely fat, etc.
Symptoms. — More or less irritation ; he moves the head from one
side to the other ; scratches the ear ; if you look at the ear you may
find a discharge of an extremely fetid character.
Treatment is both local and constitutional. If from a well-marked
cause, remove the cause ; cleanse nicely and syringe with tepid water
or carbolic acid — one part to twenty or twenty-five of water, or even
stronger ; or nitrate of silver in solution ; or the tincture of the chlo-
ride of iron ; keep him fixed in such a manner that he cannot shake
the head, and if plethoric, give physic, syrup, or buckthorn and jalap,
or castor-oil is very good. Aloes may be given, but it is not so good,
as it has a tendency to irritate the rectum. Iodide of potassium is
also good. If the ear becomes gangrenous, you may have to remove a
part of it, and you may have abscesses from some causes ; they are
generally serious. Make an incision, and then use some of the reme-
dies given. Restrict the diet to a certain extent. Give some exercise.
We sometimes meet with fistula at the root of the ear. This is more
common in horses, and'is generally congenital, or from malformation.
It is easily detected by close examination, but it might be overlooked.
But you can notice a little matter at the root of the ear, and a small
opening, which is a fistulous opening, and passes well in at the root of
the ear, and is often of long-standing. The skin may be reflected in
and covered with the ear. Exercise the parts and cut this fistulous
wound out. It may not set up much irritation, but must generally be
dissected out, or you may inject with caustics and afterward dress
with a mild caustic, as nitrate of silver, chloride of antimony, tincture
of the chloride of iron ; and you may have tooth-deposits — tooth sub-
stances have been formed at the root of the ear and caused fistula ; in
such cases you find enlargement to some extent. It is possible that
tooth-substances may be found in the testicle. There is scarcely a
tissue where a tooth substance may not be found.
DISEASES OF BONE.
Osseous, — The diseases of the osseous structures. These hard
structures are liable to the inflammatory process, the same as the soft
structures, and, according to the character of the inflammation, cer-
tain names are applied. Bone is composed of two tissues — the com-
pact and cancellated, covered by a vascular, white, fibrous, highly
nervous membrane, called the periosteum. If inflammation attacks
the internal part of the bone, it is likely to involve the periosteum,
and if it attacks the periosteum, it is likely to involve the bone.
Ostitis. — Inflammation of bone in the horse. This is generally
found the result of either direct or indirect injury, but sometimes of
a constitutional tendency. It may begin either in the compact or
cancellated tissue. The first effect is to increase the size of the hav-
ersion canals, which become more irregular in size and outline, and
80 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
the union between the earthy salts and the vascular net-work in which
they are contained is lessened, and the salts are partially removed and
the place taken by the products of inflammation. Then there is a
cancellated tissue, and it enlarges to a certain extent, and when the
inflammatory action begins in this is always the case. The inflam-
mation may come in the cancellated tissue and involve the compact
and destroy the laminal layer. This destroys the articular cartilage,
then the cancellated tissues come in contact. Nature endeavors to
overcome this by throwing out a deposit, and the joint becomes one
bone. If the inflammatory action results from some constitutional
cause, it is scrofulous or rheumatic ostitis, which is more likely to ap-
pear in colts. This inflammation may also have different termina-
tions and names. Kesolution may be a termination ; or if the inflam-
matory action is kept up, an abscess may result — and an abscess of
the bone is difficult to detect in our patients. If there is but a small
amount of pus, it is usually relieved by cutting open the parts, treph-
ining, etc. An injury may produce an abscess. The horse suffers in-
tensely from inflammation of the bone ; the periosteum is very likely
to become affected, periostitis and ostitis frequently being associated ;
an exudation is often thrown out between the periosteum and the bone,
as in splint, sore shins, etc., just from inflammation of the periosteum.
Periostitis is more likely to occur in those bones that stand upright,
and is due to concussion. These are the products of inflammation of
the bone. If ossitic matter is thrown out it is called exofosis, meaning
bony deposit, and is produced by more or less inflammatory action.
A very slight action is sufficient, sometimes, to produce it. It may
occur without the horse suffering from irritation. This is sometimes
spongy, and sometimes hard and dense. A common exostosis is
spavin, and it is analagous to the structure of bone, from which it
sprung. It is in our patients generally the result of injury. Splint
is perhaps a better example of exotosis than spavin.
Caries is analagous to ulceration in the soft tissues — death of bone
in small particles It is decay of bone, the result of inflammatory ac-
tion. It is molecular death of a part. Caries is more common in
some bones than others. In spavin, where the animal has been lame
for some time, the bone presents a carious condition ; also in ringbone,
navicular disease, etc. It seldom in such cases affects the soft tissues
to any great extent, and is called dry caries. The laminal layer under-
goes absorption and ulceration, and the articular cartilage is destroyed,
and is never renewed. Inflammation is set up in the bone from some
cause or other ; nutrition is interfered with ; a change takes place be-
tween the vascular elements, and the salts are removed to a certain
extent, and there appears a small spot upon the articular surface. If
it attacks other parts, as from injury to facial bones, or in connection
with the atlas, withers, etc., then it is somewhat different ; matter is
formed and cannot escape, and it burrows down and sets up irritation
in the periosteum and bone, and so produces caries of the bone. If
there is a discharge, and it continues for some time, it is generally
fetid. There may be caries of the lower jaw, which may be caused by
the action of the bit. If the inflammatory action throws out ossific
matter sufficient to fasten two bones together, it is called
Anchylosis. — This is classified under bone diseases, but it is the
result of long union ; but it may be due to fibrous structures thrown
out from the ligaments, tendons, etc. But if it involves the hock
or pastern joint, then it is generally from ossific matter thrown out
between the articulations. If the bone becomes inflamed, causing
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 81
the articular cartilage to be destroyed, nature endeavours to repair
this by throwing out ossific matter, and the two bones become
united, until it is sometimes difficult to see any point of union. The
changes were similar, but to a greater extent. In some cases the
bone dies and irritates the surrounding tissues, which ends in sup-
puration, or a discharge of matter. The matter becomes somewhat
fetid and ichorous. It destroys the hair over which it flows and
smells of sulphureted hydrogen. If you press upon the matter from a
fistulous opening, you may find small hard particles, which are small
particles of bone which have become detached. The treatment is dif-
ferent in this case from spavin, ringbone, etc. Find and remove the
diseased part, scrape the bone with a small bone spoon, or in other
cases take a small portion of bone off with chisel. The action of cer-
tain acids will bring about a healthy action, as hydro-chloric or
sulphuric acid, but you must be careful in using them. If you cannot
excise the bone, the use of sulphuric acid and water — one part of acid
to one of water, or one to four, will bring about a healthy action. As
well as local, there is benefit from constitutional remedies, as good
food, tonics, etc. If in a debilitated condition, the healing process
will be assisted by giving a dose of iron. In ringbone, spavin, etc.,
the treatment is different. We do not scrape the bone, but we arrest
the action by a generous diet and counter-irritation. It is difficult to
tell how these act, but they tend to produce inflammatory action and
hasten the process of exudation. If the articulations are destroyed,
then nothing can be done to cure or reduce the enlargement. When a
portion or whole of a bone dies, then it is called
Necrosis, and it is analagous to gangrene in the soft tissues. By
this we understand death, or mortification of a bone, the result of
inflammation. It is not very common in our patients — that is, total
necrosis of any large bone. It may be in the bones of the face, or in
some of the smaller articulations. We have it in sore shins, but not
often. In the human patient it is a common disease, and causes
intense pain. It is not only dead but literally buried. It shows the
wonderful reparative powers of nature. A large bone may die and its
place be taken by new bone, which presents much the same appear-
ance as the former bone ; but a horse is not often allowed to live long
enough to reproduce an entire large bone. We frequently meet with
this in open joint. When a part of the bone dies it stimulates the
surrounding parts, and there is thrown out more ne^ bone, and the
dead bone is carried off by exfoliation, but this is very tedious, and,
as a general thing, it must be removed by surgery. Necrosis is fre-
quently met with in the lower jaw, from the action of the bit. It
causes more or less swelling of the soft tissues ; suppuration results.
Notice, if you open an abscess in this part, and you may find small
portions of bone in the matter. If this takes place in the shaft of
some of the large bones the process is more complicated.
Osteo Sarcoma. — This is a non-inflammatory disease of bone, and
is by no means uncommon in cattle ; and I believe it sometimes
occurs in the horse ; but I cannot recollect of such a case. It is gen-
erally due to some constitutional diathesis, of a scrofulous or tubercu-
lar character. The cavities found in the bone, if examined, will be
found to contain deposits — tubercular deposits. It usually attacks
the bones of the head, particularly the lower jaw ; but sometimes
attacks the upper jaw, or almost any bone. If animals, having this
scrofulous tendency, are exposed to any exciting cause, the disease is
easily set up. It usually makes its appearance upon the side, or lower
82 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OP
portion of the lower jaw. You would, perhaps, think it was a slight
fibrous tumour at first, but it enlarges, becomes irritated, and matter
may form and discharge, and it goes on until it may destroy the
entire jaw, destroying the alveolar cavities, and allowing the teeth to
fall out. It is of a malignant character, to some extent. There is no
well-marked line of demarcation between the healthy and unhealthy
parts. It is said to occur more frequently in well-bred cattle. A con-
siderable change takes place in the bone ; it grows. Spicula are
formed, and also these cavities.
Treatment. — Very little can be done for it. If you meet with a
tumour in this region, which tends to extend forward and inward,
and involving the bone, it is generally an early stage of osteo sarcoma.
It grows rapidly in some cases, perhaps, assuming the condition of the
specimen in some twelve or fifteen months. Or, it may remain about
one size for a considerable length of time. If you attempt to treat it,
use biniodide of mercury, iodide ointment, etc. It has been recom-
mended to use the knife, but by looking at the specimen present, you
can see that it would be absurd to attempt to remove it. If an animal
is in good condition, I do not think it interferes with the flesh as food,
but if in poor condition, and much discharge of matter, it would not
be very desirable as food. It is likely to cause death sooner or later.
Rickets Richitis. — This disease may occur in all young animals,
but oftener it is seen in dogs than in any others. I think it is due to
a deficiency of the lime salts of the bone, and possibly the nutritive
powers of the bone tissues are also impaired, so that it cannot take
up the salts necessary for its nutrition. It generally appears at an
early age, and is more likely to occur in a weak, sickly animal,
especially one of a scrofalous diathesis, and it may be produced by a
scarcity of milk from the mother. If milk is withheld, the animal
does not receive the proper constituents for the tissues and the build-
ing of bone. I have seen some cases from a horse doing too much
serving, which tends to weaken the colt to a certain extent, and may
be the exciting cause of rickets. It may result from anything that
will tend to weaken an animal, especially if of the scrofulous diathesis.
Symptoms are well marked. As the bones do not contain the proper
amount of earthly matter they bend readily. In the horse the bones
of the leg generally bend outwards ; they do not fracture, but bend.
In the dog the bones bend both ways, and the bowels are more or less
affected ; the head may be enlarged to a great extent.
Treatment. — Examine the case carefully, and if you think the
digestive organs are out of order, it is in some cases advisable to give
a slight laxative, as linseed or castor oil, and attend to the matter
and see that your patient gets a regular and proper supply of good
milk, or your treatment will be of little use. If the mother is in
poor condition, or is overworked, see that the opposite takes place.
Use alkaline salts in very small doses, and you may give a dose of
sulphate of iron to build up the system. The great secret is to give
plenty of milk, as it has all the ingredients needed ; or you may assist
the strengthening of the limbs with a starch bandage or a porous
bandage (a preparation for broken limbs, etc.) — anything that will
tend to straighten the leg. Keep either in a comfortable box or in a
small pasture, and do not allow it to run around too much. Oatmeal
porridge is excellent for this in dogs and man. Bone filings are recom-
mended, or give the dog a bone to gnaw — it is excellent for dogs. Cod
liver oil is of benefit in dogs.
Fra^ilitas Ossinm is a fragile condition of the bones. It is seen
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 83
as an animal advances in life. As an animal becomes older, the bone
loses the animal, or organic matter, to a certain extent, and has too
much earthy or morganic salts. But this may occur in an earlier
period of life. Where a fatty matter is developed, instead of a car-
tilaginous basis, or there is fatty degeneration in anchylosis of the
vertebra, this condition is present. After performing neurotomy in
navicular disease, fracture may occur from this condition, the animal
using the limb more after the operation, as there is no pain. Bat it
may come from something that interferes with the proper nutrition
of the bone, sometimes associated with the vertebral column, and is
called softening of the vertebra. If an animal is affected with the
spavin, and is stiff in the back, there is, perhaps, anchylosis, due to
this condition of the system, and in such cases it is not best to cast an
animal, for you may fracture the vertebra. I had one case of this
kind. The animal is unthrifty, tucked up in the belly, etc. If you
meet with a horse, say twelve years old, with a stifif back and a spavin,
tucked up in the belly, as if in extreme pain from systematic affec-
tion, nothing can be done for it.
Mollilies Ossiiim is just the opposite, and is present in rickets to
a certain extent, but a change takes place differing from rickets in
certain cases.
Enchondroma, a cartilaginous growth upon a bone, or more fre-
quently met with on the ribs and sternum. It may gain a great size
and the animal be in good condition. It may occur in the stifle joint,
and the result of some irritation ; but it generally comes from some
constitutional disturbance. It may occur in the hands and fingers to
such an extent that the person can hardly raise the hand. More
likely to occur in cattle. Judicious counter-irritation may remove
these deposits to a considerable extent. These tumours are composed
of the elements of cartilage — cartilaginous cells. There is seldom any
ulceration, and it does not seem to affect the animal to any great
extent. It possibly involves the bones of the head, but more likely
the ribs and sternum.
FKACTURE.
Fracture is a solution of continuity of bone, and it is common in
all domestic animals. There are several varieties of fracture, called
simple, compound, comminuted and complicated.
Simple is that in which a bone is broken, and the muscles and skin
not much injured, and is the most desirable.
Compound, in which the bones enter the muscles and perhaps pass
through the skin, and is a pretty severe fracture.
Commui'ited, in which the bone is broken and shattered.
Complicated, in which an important vessel or an articulation is
injured.
Some imagine that the bones of the horse will not unite as quickly
as the bones of a man. But I think they will unite more quickly, the
great difficulty being in keeping the animal quiet, and the bones in the
proper position. And you must restore the animal so as to be of
value. In the human being the limb is frequently considerably
altered in condition. If such would occur in a horse, it would depre-
ciate his value to a great extent. Fractures occur in different ways,
and receive various names, according to the way in which the frac-
ture occurs— transverse, oblique, and longitudinal — and it is astonish-
ing how easily they will occur in some cases ; and in other cases an
animal may receive a great injury and fracture not occur. They
84 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
occur from external violence, operating directly upon the bone, as
falling, receiving a kick, etc., or by external violence, causing a strain
not sufficient to break the bone receiving the injury, but breaks in
some other part. This sometimes occurs in the long bones. Or if a
horse falls back and strikes the occipital bone, it does not fracture the
occipital but the basilar process. A fracture may occur from intense
muscular exertion. This sometimes occurs in operations, however
careful they are performed. This is more likely to occur in young
animals, breaking the union between the diaphysis and epiphysis —
the union between the points of ossification. Fracture may occur
from concussion. Without any weight upon the back, the animal
falters, becomes suddenly lame, and an examination reveals fracDure
of the os-su£fraginis or ossa-innominata.
General Symptoms. — Generally easily detected. The bones may pass
each other, and so show it. The part may lose motion, or, in other
cases, you may have to detect by crepitation, and you may find it in
parts where you will have great difficulty in detecting it, for great
swelling may take place, and then you cannot hear any crepitation.
General Treatment. — There are certain general and certain special
rules applicable to our cases. A compound fracture can not be
treated with any degree of success in the horse, especially those of
the tibia, humerus, etc. The parts should be brought into proper
position as soon as possible — however, in a simple fracture they are
not separated to any great extent — and keep them in position by
some means, such as a starch or plaster of paris bandage, and use
slings. A starch bandage is just factory cotton starched and applied
around the parts. Or use nice light splints, leather or anything of
that sort. But if you use some cumbersome appliance you will do
more harm than good. There is a new kind of splint used in human
practice— a kind of porous felt. It looks very nice and light, and
by immersing it in hot water it becomes perfectly pliable, and will
take the perfect shape of the part ; then apply cold water and it be-
comes solid. It is astonishing how reunion will take place in some
cases, even without anything being done. I saw a case where pretty
good recovery had taken place after fracture of the femur, without
any treatment. Keunion takes place more quickly in young animals.
In some cases, although everything is done properly, reunion will not
take place. We also find false joints by the production of fibro-
cartilage.
The Period of Union, and the manner in which bones unite, depends
upon the structure of the bones and the manner in which they are
kept together. There is effusion of blood around the fractured ends,
and between the periosteum and the bone, and, by and by, this extra-
vasation becomes absorbed and reparative material is deposited
between the fractured ends. This is called callus. At first there is an
effusion from the vessels of the bone and periosteum. This becomes
converted into bone — at first spongy, but it gradually becomes firmer
and firmer, and leaves but little mark, and it usually goes on in this
manner. If the bones are properly placed, and the animal kept quiet,
this callus will form in eight or ten days. In dogs (the healing pro-
cess is more difficult and complicated where there is a certain amount
of motion,) there is a ring or sheath of bone around the ends of the
bone — a provisional callus — which tends to keep the ends of the bones
in position ; there is also a plug in the medullary canal. There are
various stages. The first is extravasation of reparative material
between the bone and periosteum; second, this exudation acquires a
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 85
character of fibro-cartilage to a certain extent ; third, internal and exter-
nal callus ; fourth, this sort of spongy bone becomes harder, lime salts
are developed, but the ends of the bone are still distinct from each
other ; fifth, the permanent and intermediate callus forms between the
broken ends. The provisional becomes absorbed to a certain extent.
This change goes on for some time, perhaps for years. These
reparative materials make the parts as strong, or stronger, than
before fracture.
INJURIES TO THE VERTEBRA.
Caries and Exostosis. — The atlas, the first cervical vertebra, is so
affected in poll-evil. If poll-evil has been present for years, the
matter cannot get away ; it burrows deeper, and irritation is set up
and the periosteum destroyed and caries set up ; and if caries is ex-
tensive, nothing can be done for it ; but if only slight, touching the
parts with dilute sulphuric acid may bring about a healthy action.
The parts may heal up and remain stiff ; in such a case there is more
or less exostosis. This may result from an injury to the parts, or
from poll-evil of an ordinary cause. The bone is liable to fracture
from casting the animal, or from striking the back part of the head,
etc. It is sometimes necessary to remove small spicula of bone, in
cases of anchylosis, or they may become detached, and act as an irri-
tant, giving rise to swelling of the tissues, and perhaps poll-evil ; the
symptoms are generally very plain. There is a discharge of offensive
matter ; you lay open the sinuses, and perhaps find a foreign body or
a part of a bone. If you remove this the irritation will cease and the
parts heal.
The Axis is also liable to injury ; the odontoid process acts as a
pivot, upon which the atlas moves, and is more liable to be fractured
than the body of the bone. This is usually the result of violent injury.
A horse running fast, falling and striking the nose, or from slipping,
etc. Death is almost instantaneous, although there is a possibility of
an animal living for some time. I never noticed it in the horse, but
have known it in man. If the injury is anterior to the diaphragmatic
or phrenic nerve, instant death is usually the result. Other vertebrae
may become diseased ; there may be caries, necrosis and ossific
growths, and it is hard to say what may be the cause of these ossific
growths. Fractures of other cervical vertebrae may occur from being
halter-cast, getting the foot into the halter and struggling violently.
The transverse processes of the bones are occasionally fractured.
This, as a general thing, is not attended with any very serious results.
It may occur from the animal getting under the manger, or other such
injuries.
Symptoms. — There is sometimes difficulty in detecting this, but if
an animal has been halter-cast, the neck swollen, there is a tendency
to carry the head to one side, and if you examine along the neck you
may be able to find the seat of injury, and you may be able to detect
crepitation. If you suspect a fracture, keep the animal as quiet as
possible ; bathe to allay the irritation of the soft tissues, and keep the
feed box pretty high, and keep the animal from moving the head
much, and you may keep him tied up and not allow him to lie down
for twenty-four or thirty-six hours. Bandaging is of little use. You
may meet with a case where the animal was not attended to, and re-
union did not take place, and there is necrosis of the parts ; they
become detached, and set up irritation ; there is a discharge — perhaps
heals up and then breaks out again, etc. There is some cause, some
86 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
irritant, and the probability is that a piece of bone is the cause of the
irritation. Cut down and remove the particle of bone. Sometimes
there is a partial dislocation, and the animal may live for some time.
In such cases V7ry neck is the result. The spine or nerves sometimes
becomes injured from being halter-cast, and if you attempt to
straighten the neck, the animal falls down.
Injuries to the Dorsal Vertebra.— Caries and anchylosis are not
uncommon. Anchylosis is most common in aged horses, especially
those used for heavy carting, and old military horses, from carrying
heavy weights. But we find it in young horses, and it may be the
result of an ossific diathesis. And if you have to cast an aged horse,
that has a tucked-up appearance, somewhat stiff in his movements, a
fracture is liable to be produced. There may be anchylosis of the
transverse or superior or spinous processes. It is not easily diagnosed,
but if you notice an old animal with a peculiar motion and hollow in
the back, and you find nothing the matter with the feet and limbs to
produce it, it is likely to be anchylosis. Nothing can be done for it.
The superior spinous processes may be fractured. The withers differ
in formation in different animals, some being high, and others low ;
and it is a good point to have good withers, but they may be so high
as to be objectionable. Injury is usually produced in a very simple
manner — by an ill-fitting saddle ; sometimes by a cart saddle, but
usually by a riding saddle, especially if the horse has high withers.
It may occur suddenly, and produce fistula of the withers.
Symptoms. — There is an offensive discharge, characteristic of caries,
and it possesses active properties. If but a small portion of the bone
is affected, scrape with a bone spoon, or touch with hydrchloric or
sulphuric acid ; but if a greater portion is affected, you may use the
bone forceps, and take away a portion of it, or even use the bone saw.
So the treatment varies according to the extent of the injury. Frac-
tures sometimes occur in the bones of the withers, but not often, and
if produced, it is generally from rolling violently, or from external
injury. If the animal is kept quiet, reunion takes place quickly ;
but if allowed to run, or compelled to work, a large abscess may form
and caries take place. Remove the detached parts. It is not very
common, but may occur. There may be fracture of the bodies of the
dorsal vertebra. This is known as broken back It generally occurs
from severe injury, if from about the middle forward ; but if from
about the middle of the region backward, from muscular contraction.
If fracture of the dorsal vertebra occurs pretty well forward, you will
have paralysis of both hind and fore extremities; but if further back,
paralysis of the hind extremities only. You may possibly see some
motion in the tail, after there is complete paralysis of the other parts.
Fracture well back may occur in different ways — from getting the
hind legs in the mud and trying to get out ; from running away and
running against some obstacle ; or from being thrown for an opera-
tion— from the fall, or from struggling while on the ground. Symp-
toms vary. There is either partial or complete paralysis. There are
cases where there is slight paralysis and the animal recovers, if it is
a fracture without displacement. There is a kind of a straddling
action of the hind quarters, difficulty of getting up when down. Keep
the animal very quiet, and use slings — although some would object to
the use of slings — I would recommend them, but not unless the
animal is able to bear a part of his weight, for if he would throw his
entire weight on the slings it might cause separation of the parts.
If the case is severe, you are told that the animal has received some
DISEASES OP DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 87
injury ; he can perhaps get up on the fore legs, but not on the hind
ones ; there is paralysis. You move the hind leg, there is no resist-
ance ; prick him with a pin, there is no sensation. It is best to
recommend the destruction of the animal. In some cases there will
be great pain, in others but little.
Injuries to the Lumbar Vertebra. — Anchylosis is very common,
both* in the transverse processes and bodies, and it may be due to an
ossific diathesis. Fracture occurs in the same manner and presents
the same symptoms as in the dorsal region. If fracture occurs to the
transverse processes, and the animal is kept quiet, reunion takes
place quickly, but a slight motion may prevent this, and produce a
fistula, and if you explore the sinus you will find a detached portion
of bone.
Fractures of the Sacrum. — Most likely to occur in the transyerse
processes, where they are in connection with the sacrum, and usually
from some severe injury, violent exertion, or from falling violently.
Symptoms are not very clear in all cases. If the fracture is bat
slight he may go tolerably well, but if severe there is great difficulty
in moving, and from the great weight the bones are brought down,
and you may locate by examination per rectum and having the limbs
moved.
Treatment. — Just keep him quiet and allow nature to effect a cure.
(You can take the credit for it if you like). He may always be
slightly down in the hip, but may be able to do hard or even fast
work. If there are constitutional symptoms, use constitutional treat-
ment, fomentations, laxatives, febrifuges, etc. The superior spines of
the sacrum may be fractured ; it usually occurs from some heavy
body falling upon the parts. It is more likely to be met with in heavy
cart horses, from the cart falling upon them, or in railroading horses,
from something falling upon them. It may occur from running away.
It is likely to be followed by caries or necrosis, generally caries. A
portion of the bone is apt to become detached. If you have an
abscess which heals, forms again, etc., then sinuses form. There is
some cause for it. Cut down and remove the parts. This is some-
times difficult to do, as it may become necrosed deep down. The
anterior and superior spines of the pelvic bones are liable to fracture,
usually from the animal coming in contact with some hard body, as
running through a doorway.
Fracture of the Pelvic Bones. — Fracture of the anterio- superior
spine, generally from direct injury, from falling violently upon the
ground, or from running through a doorway, or from running through
a stumpy field and striking against a stump. It does not often occur
from slipping. It does not interfere much with the horse's action.
Keep him quiet in a box. There is great difficulty in getting reunion
here. There is frequently a fibro-cartilaginous deposit forming a
reunion by what is known as false joint. It may be necessary to
remove a considerable portion of the bone, and is the only method of
saving the animal. The muscles will regain their natural condition
to a considerable extent ; but the animal will be down in the hip,
which is best detected by standing behind the animal. It is necessary
to watch for this in examining for soundness. The ilium may be
fractured right through the dorsum. It usually occurs from slipping
or falling, and, if severe it is easily diagnosed. Owing to the weight
of the muscles the haunch is pulled down. There will be well marked
crepitation, and if the bone is much shattered, and there is constitu-
tional disturbance, as fever, the pulse running up to one hundred or
88 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
more, the animal sweats freely, the blood vessels injured, etc. It is
generally advisable to destroy the animal. I generally make up my
mind from the amount of constitutional disturbance. The
Treatment is to keep the animal quiet, and place in slings. It will
get well in from six to ten weeks. He will be down in the hip.
The Posterior Iliac spine is also liable to fracture, and the treat-
ment is the same.
Fracture of the Shaft of the Iliuiu is pretty common, and a simple
fracture of it usually occurs from slipping, but may occur from falling
or from severe muscular contraction.
Symptoms. — If you are conversant with the parts it is easily diag-
nosed. There is difficulty in bringing the limb forward, but it is
astonishing how well they can walk, in some cases, but will not do so
unless compelled to. If in the winter, and you are told that an
animal slipped and became suddenly lame, you move the limb, and in
most cases you can detect crepitation, or you may examine per rectum,
and it may be a slight fracture, and the bones held in their places by
the periosteum. Your prognosis should be favourable if in a young
healthy animal ; but in an old animal reunion does not take place so
readily. Keep quiet and place in slings. Although he can stand
pretty well, slings assist him considerably. If the muscles are swollen,
use fomentations ; or, some use a plaster, to keep the parts in a fixed
position. Attend to the constitutional treatment. Give a slight laxa-
tive, if the bowels are costive, and an animal may be able to do fast
work. I knew one to pace in three minutes after such a fracture.
Fracture of the Acetabulum. — This is a very serious lesion, and
sometimes there is a dislocation of the hip joint, in connection with
such a fracture. This fracture may be produced in the same way —
from slipping — more likely from slipping and coming in contact with
the ground. The animal cannot mark the limb at all in most cases.
There is severe constitutional disturbance, quick pulse and great pain.
It is advisable to examine ^^r rectum, and if you find it is fractured in
different places, it is advisable to destroy the animal. But there may
be exceptional cases, as in a brood mare or stallion ; but if it is a com-
plicated fracture, it is likely to set up inflammation, caries, exostosis,
etc.
Fracture of the Pubes aud Ischium is common. It occurs in the
same way as slipping, or slipping and falling, but in three cases out
of four, just from slipping, and a very slight slip may produce it. The
symptoms are just about the same, but the hip does not descend quite
so far as in other cases. The horse can not get up, when he lies down,
without assistance, and in some cases you are able to detect crepitation.
You can locate by examination per rectum. It is likely to extend right
through the foramen ovale, but if it is just through the shaft, and
there is no displacement, recovery may take place. All you can do is
to keep the animal quiet. A spiculum of bone may puncture the
obturator artery, causing death by internal hemorrhage. In such
cases the animal sweats profusely, the pulse runs down, etc.
Fracture of the Symphysis Pubes usually occurs from slipping,
and I think this is the only way it does occur. It is difficult to diag-
nose ; there is a difficulty in extending both limbs, but perhaps more
in one than the other. He endeavours to keep the limbs out. There
is generally no crepitation. If an animal acts in this way, and you
know it has slipped, examine /^-y rectum. Press gently upon the blad-
der until it is emptied of its contents, and you can feel it. Keep the
animal quiet, and a bandage around the limbs to keep them together.
It may do good.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 89
The Tuberosify of the Ischium is fractured. It generally occurs
from slipping upon the haunches, or rearing and falling upon the
haunches, coming in contact with some obstacle, etc. ; rarely, if ever,
from muscular contraction. If but a small portion is detached, re-
union is apt to be of a cartilaginous deposit, or necrosis. It is neces-
sary to cut in and remove the part, but it is more difficult in this than
in some other parts. But unless this is done nothing can be done.
Down in the hip is the result of these injuries.
Fore Extremities. — The cartilage of prolongation occasionally be-
comes diseased in fistulous withers. It gives rise to irritation, sinuses,
caries, etc. Remove the diseased portion and scrape with a spoon.
The scapula is liable to fracture in any part of it. This occurs from
violent injury, but it is possible for it to come from violent muscular
exertion. The symptoms vary according to the part injured ; easily
detected, especially if seen soon after the accident. He cannot move
the limb; perhaps goes on three legs, and there is crepitation. If
swelling takes place, as it is apt to do, then there will be some difficulty
in diagnosing. Crepitation is always conclusive evidence of a fracture.
If the swelling is but slight, there may be crepitation. It is not often
necessary to have recourse to treatment, unless in a blood mare or
stallion — keep quiet, use slings, reduce the irritation by fomentations,
etc. The spine is sometimes fractured by a kick, or some hard body ;
there is apt to be separation of a small part from the bone. There is
discharge of pus of an offensive character, so it is extremely liable to
be followed by necrosis. The shoulder joint is liable to caries and
exostosis, sometimes from open joint, or severe strains, etc.
Fracture of the Humwus occasionally occurs, from violent con-
cussion, a kick or fall, and may be either simple or compound. If it
is simple and it is in a young animal it may be treated, but if it is
compound it is not necessary to treat. The animal cannot extend the
limb, nor throw any weight upon it ; if oblique one part of the bone
passes the other, and there is great swelling. There is crepitation in
most cases.
The Olecranon, or point of the elbow is liable to fracture ; it may
occur in various ways, usually from slipping and coming in contact with
the ground. If the case is not severe it is difficult to diagnose. There is
no crepitation. The joint may be completely detached, and drawn from
the body of the bone. We judge from the action of the animal. It bears
no weight upon the limb ; stands with the limb in a semi-flexed con-
dition. There is considerable swelling. It has been recommended to
place your knee against the knee of the injured leg, and by continued
pressure straighten the affected limb, and direct an assistant to lift
the opposite limb, and if it is fracture the animal will fall. The
treatment is not attended with any degree of success, but if attended
to immediately reunion may take place. There are also both caries
and exostosis in the elbow joint, from strains and punctured wounds.
The matter burrows down, causing open joint. The body of the radius
is liable to fracture ; this may be produced in the ways I have men-
tioned, and if compound or comminuted, it is better to destroy the
animal, but if simple it may be treated. Use splints, the lighter the
better ; place in slings. A fracture may occur here and be overlooked.
If the horse has received a kick puncturing the skin and muscles, he
suffers much pain ; cannot throw any weight upon the limb ; the
chances are ten to one that fracture has occurred, and the bones not
displaced. The animal might move around for some time, lie down,
and getting up displace the parts ; therefore, if you have any suspicion
^^ 90 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
V>f fracture, keep the animal quiet for about ten da^s, after which
^here is no great danger, as a general thing.
Knee-joint is occasionally fractured ; may be from falling upon the
ground, but it is rare that it occurs in this way. It is generally from
concussion from galloping upon uneven ground ; stepping upon a cobble
stone, etc., or from carelessness in turning a horse out to run, after
having been stabled for some time. The knee bones may be literally
shattered to pieces. The animal cannot mark the limb ; stands with
it slightly flexed, and after a while extensive swelling takes place. In
such a case, destroy the animal ; but if only one bone is fractured, it
it not so easily detected. If you flex the joint,, the animal shows
pain. It may be treated with some success. Use a starch or plaster
of paris bandage, splints and slings ; but if more than two bones are
fractured, there is likely to be anchylosis, and treatment is not
attended with much success ; but the animal might do some work if
the joint is anchylosed.
Hnnierns fracture of the external tuberosity, or from receiving a
kick, or from falling. If a small portion is detached, remove it.
Metacarpal is usually fractured from direct injury, or from concus-
sion. It is generally easily diagnosed. If it is compound, it cannot
be treated ; but if simple, it may be treated with success. Keep quiet
and place in slings. The small metacarpal bones may be fractured,
and set up considerable irritation ; but reunion will generally take
place, if the animal is kept quiet. There is no necessity for putting
in slings. It may be caused by striking with the hind foot. The
animal is extremely lame ; in some cases you may detect crepitation.
There is a tendency to a bony deposit in such cases, and if it attains
any great size, you may apply a blister, but not as treatment for the
fracture. Sesamoid bones act as levers, and are sometimes fractured,
transversely. It usually occurs from muscular contraction, and is
most likely to occur in race or steeplechase horses. In cases of trans-
verse fracture, the limb descends very much, similar to break-down.
It might be necessary to treat in a mare or stallion. Get the parts in
position as well as you can, keep quiet, etc., and be careful in applying
a starch bandage, for great swelling will take place, and may produce
gangrene. A fracture here may occur without displacement, when
reunion will take place. There is necrosis of the sesamoid bones,
from injuring or cutting the tendons. It is very difficult to treat, as
there is great swelling, and sinuses are formed.
Os-Snffraginis is frequently fractured. It may occur from direct
injury, but not so likely as in other bones. It is usually from concus-
sion. It may be produced in a horse just trotting or cantering along.
It may be treated with success, if simple ; but if compound or com-
minuted, it is best to destroy the animal. You may have difficulty in
diagnosing. There will be extreme lameness, but slight swelling and
crepitation, but in some cases you cannot detect crepitation. Keep
quiet and remove the shoe ; bandage with a starch or plaster of paris
bandage ; apply carefully, and then perhaps a splint on both sides of
the bone keeps it from turning to the sides ; but if it extends down in
an oblique direction, into the articulation, it is likely to produce
anchylosis and ringbone ; but this does not seriously interfere with
the action or work.
Oscorona is rarely fractured, but fracture may be produced in the
same way as those given, and may be treated in the same way.
Ospedis.— Any part of this may be fractured, and it is possible for
reunion to take place. The superior process is sometimes fractured,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 91
especially if the horse has side bones. It is difficult to diagnose, and
you must ju^ge from the manner in which the accident occurred.
Keep quiet There is extreme lameness and great pain. He can not
mark the limb. This might occur from a nail passing through a por-
tion of the bone. If so, it is likely to be followed by intense inflam-
mation, and, perhaps, gangrene. It is frequently an act of mercy to
destroy the animal.
Navicular bone may be fractured, and it is difficult to diagnose.
However, you might surmise it from the extreme and continued lame-
ness. There is a tendency to an osseous exudation and ringbone. It
is most likely to occur in an animal that has navicular disease, and
after neurotomy has been performed, as he will not be careful in using
the limb, and nervous influence affects the nutrition of a part to a
certain extent, and as there is no sensation it is difficult to detect the
lesion in such cases. Inflammation and suppuration are the results,
or reunion may take place.
Femur, — Any portion of it is liable to fracture, the body being the
most liable. It occurs from severe exertion or direct injury. It is
rare that the neck is fractured, in comparison with the body.
Treatment is not successful, but there may be exceptional cases.
There is great inflammation. It is generally easily diagnosed. The
limb is short-ended. He cannot throw any weight upon it ; and there
may be crepitation, but the swelling may be so extensive that it can-
not be heard.
Trochanter Major.— This may be fractured, usually from the
animal falling upon the haunch. There is a difficulty in moving the
limb, but he may throw some weight upon it. It is followed by
extensive swelling. It may be treated with success.
The External Tuberosity may be fractured from a kick, but not
usually, but is rather common where carts are used, from falling over
the cart shafts. The animal is externally lame— can scarcely move
the limb at all. Manipulation of the parts will detect tenderness.
Reunion may take place, and there may be necrosis, as in fracture of
any of the small tuberosities.
Condyle.— Fractured, and extends right into the articulation. Not
treated with success.
Patella.— It is occasionally fractured ; possibly from severe mus-
cular contraction, but most likely from direct injury. It may be
either transverse or longitudinal. If the parts are separated there is
but little chance of recovery ; it is very difficult in the human patient
and is worse in the horse. The only chance is for nature to throw
out a large deposit, and this produces anchylosis ; but if there is no
displacement it may be treated successfully. It is difficult to diag-
nose ; you know that an animal has received an injury, and there is
extreme pain, but no great amount of swelling ; you may suspect
fracture.
Tibia is fractured in a majority of cases from direct injury. The
antero-external face is not much covered with muscles, and is liable
to fracture from a kick. If the bones are displaced, even in a simple
fracture, it cannot be treated with much success in old animals, but
it is different in young animals. It is very important, as I stated in
regard to the radius, to watch closely any injury to this bone, for it
may be fractured and not displaced for several days. The periosteum
being uery strong tends to hold the parts in position. The animal
stands with the limb flexed ; pressure upon the parts produces pain.
If there is no displacement it may be treated. Tie the animal up so
92 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
he cannot lie down, and it is best to place in slings, for if it is an
injury this is the proper treatment anyway. I had a case under
treatment ; the owner came and took him, anddrove him some dis-
tance to the waggon, and the bones separated. Placing in slings is
usually sufficient, but some recommend the use of splints and band-
ages. It is also recommended to use a tar cord ; wrap it around the
limb from the foot up over part injured. It must be watched, and if
swelling takes place, do not allow it to produce gangrene.
Fibula. — This may be fractured from falling, or from a kick. It is
difficult to detect ; you must judge by the great pain, difficulty in
extending the limb, and the lameness, which you must locate by the
action, the swelling, etc. It is covered well with muscle, and so
crepitation is difficult. It generally terminates favourably. Place in
a nice box if he can get up, or if he cannot get up place in slings. It
generally takes about three months for it to get well.
Hock. — Fracture of these bones occur occasionally, especially of
the cudiform bones. It may result from a kick, and have open joint
with it, and it may be the result of concussion or sprain. In this
case there is usually laceration of the ligaments. You may detect
crepitation ; keep quiet, etc. There will generally be a bony deposit,
which you may call spavin.
Astrag'alus. — If it is fractured there is little use in treating.
Os-Calcis is sometimes fractured ; from severe exertion, generally.
It is difficult to treat, especially if separated. Place in slings, keep
quiet, etc. Fractures below the hock occur in the same way as in the
fore extremities, and are treated just the same way, but the treatment
is more difficult in the hind limb.
Lower Jaw. — It is frequently injured by the action of the bit,
either from pulling on it or from the driver jerking, etc The inferior
portion is injured by the curb, the superior by the bit, or the jaw may
be fractured by the action of a curb and bit. But is not generally
fractured, but irritation is set up, and the inflammatory action is
kept up, and caries and necrosis are usual. The symptoms are very
well marked ; if the irritation is kept up for some time on the outer
part, there may be necrosis. In such cases there will be extensive
swelling, exudation, etc.
Treatment. — Cut in and remove the diseased parts, or it may be
necessary to trephine, but it is generally pretty easy to break down
the exudation without trephining. Remove any detached particles,
or the superior portion may be affected, giving rise to a flow of saliva
from the mouth. The treatment is just the same. There may be
spicula of bone coming out from necrosis, and not be the result of
fracture, but of the inflammation followed by necrosis. Remove the
particles, bathe nicely, feed upon soft food for a few days, and it may
be necessary to touch the parts with a hydrochloric acid to bring
about a healthy action.
Nasal Bones. — These are occasionally fractured, usually from an
animal coming in contact with some obstacle, as in running away,
falling, or colliding with another animal, etc. The treatment must
vary according to the injury. If but slight, and the bones not
depressed to any extent, just keep the animal quiet for a few days ;
but if the bones are depressed so as to interfere with respiration,
raise the bones by means of a probe, and then use an adhesive plaster
of Burgundy pitch. Or the bones may be literally shattered and not
displaced to any extent, and are easily put in position ; but if not put
in position, necrosis is apt to take place.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 93
Frontal Bones are liable to fracture in the same manner as the
nasal bones. It looks like rather a serious injury, but as a general
thing it is not so serious as it looks. The treatment varies according
to the character of the fracture. As a general thing the bones are
not displaced to any great extent ; they may be shattered ; the symp-
toms are plain ; in respiration and expiration, the bones may be
raised and lowered, and there may be hemorrhage from the nose, but
is not generally very serious. Keep quiet and use an adhesive plaster
over the frontal bones, either longitudinally or transversely, to keep
the bones in position ; but if the bones are fractured and displaced,
and there is an opening into the frontal sinus, yet there is no cause
for alarm. The treatment is to remove any detached parts, and at
first there may be difficulty in getting every piece, but in a day or two
there may be some pieces that can be removed. Apply a plaster,
leaving a small hole at the inferior part, to allow the matter to escape.
In six or eight days there may be diffuse suppuration and it may be
necessary to examine closely and remove any pieces, or it may cause
nasal gleet. The inner plate of the frontal bone may be fractured,
when it is more serious, and generally gives rise to more or less
cerebral disturbance. The animal is dull, but can be easily excited.
Keep quiet and attend to the cerebral symptoms, and recovery may
result ; or he may do tolerably well for some time, and then show
cerebral symptoms, and death result. You cannot be too careful with
such cases.
External Orbital Process. — It may be fractured, but it takes a
pretty violent blow. Inflammation is set up, and necrosis is very apt to
result, and it is likely to afl'ect the eyeball, followed by slight inflamma-
tion and opacity of the cornea. Bring the bones in position ; keep quiet,
and perhaps give a dose of physic, and endeavour to remove the irritation
of the eyeball by poulticing, opium, etc.
Zygoiuotic Process, when fractured, is very likely to be followed by
necrosis. Keunion may take place. Keep quiet for two or three weeks ;
if not, necrosis is likely to take place, giving rise to an abscess, sinuses,
etc.; and necrosis is often the result of inflammation without fracture.
Parietal Bones. — Fracture of these is very liable to injure the brain.
It is possible for it to occur and not seriously injure the brain, but not
very probable. These bones are not very strong of themselves, they are
protected by muscles, which prevent fracture to a great extent. Fracture
of these bones is generally the result of violent injury, and there is gener-
ally more or less concussion of the brain : the animal falls, gets up again,
but is in a semi-comatose condition ; exhibits cerebral disturbance now
and again. Treatment is not attended with much success ; it is usually
followed by inflammation of the brain. It has been recommended to cut
down and remove the portion that presses upon the brain, but it is not
attended with much success in the horse ; but there may be cases where
it is advisable to do it. A fracture may occur and produce cerebral dis-
turbance, and the patient recover, but it is not a general thing.
• Occipital Bone — the occipital crest. Fracture of this usually occurs
from the animal raising the head and striking it against something, or
from falling back and striking the ground. If a slight fracture, reunion
may take place. An animal may fall or strike this, stun himself, get
better and nothing is thought of it ; but irritation is set up ; there is
swelling between the ears, suppuration, etc., showing that there is caries
and necrosis ; treat as such. I have met with cases where it was neces-
sary to remove a great part of the crest ; or scraping will do in some
cases. You may have this irritation without fracture.
94 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OP
Basilar Process of the occipital bone. Fracture of this occurs from
striking the occipital crest, which fractures not the crest, but the basilar
process. As a general thing it is speedily followed by death. But it is
possible for it to occur and produce concussion, and the animal recover.
It is not uncommon to find an animal killed from rearing and falling
back, and striking the occipital crest. By opening the mouth you can
perhaps detect it.
Lower Jaw may be fractured in various ways— from being kicked,
getting fast. etc. It is a serious injury ; but we meet cases where reunion
will take place if it is a simple fracture. Feed upon sloppy food, just
enough to sustain life without calling the muscles into action. Use any
means of keeping the bones in position. Some advise what is called a
cradle, which is just made to fit the jaw. It may be made of gutta
percha or of bass wood. It is necessary to apply it to the sound side as
well as to the affected one. Pad the cradle nicely with tow or cotton.
The porous substance, I think, is preferable, as by heating it can be
brought to the exact shape of the jaw. It is necessary to keep the cradle
in position, which is done by straps, one behind and one in front of the
ears, and an elastic one lower down, so as to allow the action of the
muscles, and exercise your ingenuity the best you can. If the bones are
not misplaced, treatment is not so difficult. In fracture of the nasal
bones, it is sometimes necessary to insert a plug, but only on one side, as
the horse can breathe only through the nose. Either of the maxillary
bones may be fractured, in about the regions of the incisors, possibly,
but rarely, from falling, but it may be done from getting fast. If it is
but simple, keep the bones in position, keep quiet, feed upon sloppy food,
and give but little food for a few days, and apply a small bandage around
the under jaw. A piece may be almost detached, in which case it is
generally best to remove it, even two or three alveolar cavities.
Head of the Ox. — It differs in arrangement of the bones. The ox
uses his head for offence and defence, and the bones are stronger. The
crest is formed of the frontal in the ox, and in the horse it is formed of
the occipital. There are numerous sinuses, and the brain is more pro-
tected than in the horse. Extending from the frontal bones are the supra-
orbital processes. Fracture may occur in connection with these parts, or
of the frontal bones, but it is extremely rare. But the flints are often
injured. The first appearance of a horn or flint is about the fourth or
fifth month of gestation, and about the ninth month there are small pro-
tuberances, which puncture the skin, and they grow until the animal is
about three years old or more, and in some cases gain a considerable
size, and are absent in some cases. It is supposed that at one time all
breeds had horns, but by certain modes of breeding the poll cattle
were produced. Texas cattle have enormously developed horns. In
Abyssinia they gain a great size, and some cattle are raised for the
horns. The growth of horn interferes with the development of the
body. The food take a goes to develop horn. The horns are largely
supplied with blood vessels, so that in examining we place the hand
at the root of the horn to asceitain the state of the circulation. It is a
very tender part. A slight blow upon the horn produces great pain. The
horn may be completely knocked off, and this may be followed by con-
siderable hemorrhage, which can be reduced by bandaging and using
styptics, as iron or acetate of lead. A tar bindage is recomiiended, but
it may interfere with the development of the new horn. A new horn is
sometimes pretty well developed— blood is extravasated, and, by and by,
absorbed, and horn is produced. There may be fracture and no displace-
ment. In fracture, get the parts into position, and keep them in position.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 95
There may be abnormal growths upon the parts, attaining a considerable
size. It is generally best to prevent this by caustics, or cut it off com-
pletely, especially if it attains an unsightly mass. Saw it right off, and
exclude the air by putting tow iu the place, which may be saturated with
carbolic acid. There is connection from the nasal chambers right up
almost to the tip of the horn. Sometimes, when cattle have catarrh,
it is apt to be followed by chronic inflammation of the lining membrane
of the horns, giving rise to nasal gleet. This is more likely to occur in
poorly kept cattle. The animal carries the head to one side, and in some
cases the horn will literally fall off. This has given rise to what is called
hollow horn. However, the horns are naturally hollow — more hollow in
old or debilitated animals than in young healthy ones. If matter accu-
mulates in the horn, make a hole and let it out ; but if it accumulates to
a great extent, I think it is better to saw the horn right off. When the
horns are shaping, it is possible to make them almost any shape desired
—being directed by means of tubes — and gutta percha horns have been so
placed as to puzzle good judges until the award had been given. In the
horse we detect the age by the teeth. The same applies to cattle, but in
cattle you can form a very good idea by the horns. The first ring forms
when the animal is between three and four years old, and one ring each
year after. If there are three rings the animal is six years old. But
this is not entirely correct. The rings may be filed or sand-papered
down, and it is well to look at the teeth. Other bones of the head may
be fractured, but it is not very common.
Osteo Sarcoma is very common in cattle. It is found in either the
lower or upper jaw, mostly in the lower jaw. There are sometimes grubs
in the sinuses of the head ; they get in the same as the warble ; the larvae
is deposited, and it gives rise to the grub. This is different from the
hydatid, which gets into the circulation by way of the food.
Osteo Parosis may be described as a non-inflammatory disease of
bone, and is more common in some localities than others ; comparatively
rare in Canada, Britain and Europe. It is found principally in the United
States, but it may be found in Mexico, etc It may be characterized as a
disease of growth, as it rarely attacks an adult animal, and if it does per-
haps the disease was there in early life. It attacks them from several
months until three or four years old. I think it has been noticed in the
human being It is due to an excessive development of the tissues which
occupy the canals and cells of the bone. The walls of the cavities be-
come thinner and thinner, until the cavities communicate with each
other. It is due to development of the vascular and fibi'ous structures
without a corresponding increase of the osseous and cartilaginous con-
stituents ; although the bone is increased in size it is lighter ; in this it
differs from osteo sarcoma, in which it is increased in weight. In osteo
parosis the bone becomes brittle ; it generally shows itself first in con-
nection with the cancellated tissue. Big head is a name applied to it,
from its attacking the head, and the bones increasing in size. It is not
confined to the bones of the head, but it also attacks the long bones, and
takes on just the same form ; the least injury will break the bones, from
their fragile condition. It is sometimes difficult to give the distinction
between osteo sarcoma and osteo parosis.
CaM5^5.— It is difficult to say what are the causes; there are various
opinions ; some say it is from animals grazing upon land deficient in salts
of lime, but it is common in Kentucky, and that is a limestone country :
there is lime in the water to such an extent that animals frequently suf-
fer from urinary calculi. I think it is due to grasses on low lying
swampy lands. The grass grows luxuriantly, but does not contain the
96 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
constituents for the proper development of bone. Grain is also liable to
produce it; it is possible that there exists a slight difference in corn
grown in different localities. It is enzootic. In early days some places
proudced this disease, and as soon as the country was cleared and drained
it was not so common ; in Canada this is the case. I have known some
affected in the South, and brought north to Canada, and a great improve-
ment was the result. Horses that suffered from miasmatic influences in
the South came north and became valuable. I have seen two cases, both
of which were fed on grasses grown on low lands.
Symptoms are perhaps not very well marked. The animal is occasion-
ally dull, the appetite impaired, iDut not gone. The colt does not ramble
and frolic about as in health ; it slowly loses flesh. The muscular sys-
tem becomes soft. It shows itself more in the head, and the long bones
containing much cancellated tissue ; the belly is tucked up. These symp-
toms may exist for some four or six months before the true nature of the
disease shows itself, then there is enlargement of the bones of the head ;
a close examination showing one side larger than the other, perhaps the
bones of the jaw just thickened slightly ; but there may be considerable
change without enlargement The superior maxillary is generally the
first affected ; but the limbs become affected ; the animal moves with
difficulty, with a sort of stiff action (not a real lameness), and is not
well marked until the disease reaches a certain stage ; as the disease ad-
vances, the symptoms increase ; the bones enlarge until they sometimes
interfere with respiration, and I believe there is more or less discharge
from the nose ; and you might think the animal was suffering from
matter in one of the sinuses, but it is not confined to one place ; the
whole of the bone is enlarged ; the humerus shows an enlargement, if
closely examined. There is no great harm in trephining the sinuses,
which is easily done. The circulation is very weak, but not quickened to
any great extent. These symptoms continue, and the animal may die
from enfemia or from fracturing some of the bones, perhaps just while
walking along ; or, it may die from exhaustion.
Treatment is not generally attended with much success, and if the
disease goes on to any great extent, it is best to destroy the animal ; but
if in the earlier stage, change the food, and if possible remove the
animal from the place where it has been, and recovery may take place.
Give food of the very best quality ; use mineral acids ; or, you may try
just the opposite — alkaline salts, which some recommend ; try tonics,
such as iron, and if one does not benefit, try some other ; but I think
the great secret is in the change of food and locality. In summer turn
on pasture, and give some oats.
Splint. — An inflammatory disease of bone. It is an exostosis or
bony enlargement, between the inner small and the large metacarpal
bones, usually about the lower part of the upper third, but it occurs in
different places, lower or higher. Horses used upon the hard road are
perhaps oftenest affected. It does not often prove very detrimental, but
according to its situation is productive of more or less harm. If it is
close to the knee, it is apt to set up more or less irritation in the knee
joint.
Pathology. — It is due to circumscribed inflammation of the periosteum
and bone, and a slight irritation may produce this in the inner layer of
the periosteum. It is sometimes due to inflammation of the periosteum
without the bone being affected. It is oftener met with in young
animals, owing to the periosteum being more vascular, the exudation
more abundant, and more readily converted into bony material, but it
may occur in old animals.
DISEASES or DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 97
Causes are predisposing and exciting. Certain breeds are more liable
to splint, spavin and ringbone; a small limb below the knee is more
liable ; it is hereditary or predisposed ; the mode of usage, as irregular
usage ; a very fat animal, especially if light limbed, is liable to a splint.
The exciting cause : fast riding or driving upon hard roads. It is oftener
found in these than in race horses, because their work is upon hard
roads. Perhaps one-third or one-half of the young horses coming into
the city of Toronto have splints, from the character of the streets. The
mode of shoeing has a tendency to produce it. A heavy shoe, which
subjects the bone to concussion, a blow or striking with the foot, etc., at
first gives rise to a slight serous abscess, and afterward to a well marked
splint. It may occur on the outside of the limb, even in a well formed
limb, but it is more apt to come if the animal is slightly intoed, or as
the result of direct injury. They are sometimes seen on the metatarsal
bone, and may give rise to lameness which is difficult to locate until a
deposit is thrown out. It will be nearly the lameness of spavin. Splints
sometimes attain a great size without the horse showing much lameness ;
in other cases the lameness is severe. Lameness is, in most cases, due
to an inflammation in the periosteum and bone. It is said to come
from the deposit coming in contact with the ligaments, but the hard
parts generally give way to the soft tissues. A splint may extend right
across the metacarpal bones, affecting both sides of the limb, and is
called a double splint.
Symptoms. — It is easily detected after it attains some size, and by its
great size it is sometimes taken for the cause of lameness when it is not.
A small splint oftener produces lameness than a larger one. It is most
common in young horses up to three, four, or five years old. The action
of an animal with splint is peculiar, and after seeing one or two cases
you can then recognize it. When walking he will go tolerably sound ;
will not flex the limbs as much as natural. If trotted at a moderate
pace he drops extremely. This dropping is symptomatic of splint lame-
ness ; if it is present examine carefully ; run the hand carefully down the
inside of the limb ; press carefully with the fingers ; if a slight enlarge-
ment is felt, and the limb is lifted, then press more, and then trot him,
and if the lameness is more it assists you in determining the disease.
The foot is not hot. It is a very good plan to take a small piece of
wood and tap upon the bone, just gently. The animal lifts the foot and
exhibits considerable pain, and you can judge much by the age of the
animal.
Treatment is, as a general thing, successful. Give rest, if you can,
but you will sometimes be able to treat without laying off work. If in a
horse three or four years old, give a laxative diet or a dose of physic.
Cold applications are beneficial, and cold water applied for an hour at a
time, two or three times a day, will cause the exudation to become con-
solidated, and complete union of the two bones takes place, and the
tenderness and lameness are removed. Hot applications are also useful ;
but you can, in most cases, get rid of a splint quicker by a blister than
by any other way. Use one part of biniodide of mercury to four of
lard. Seatons are useful, especially if the splint is near the knee. In-
sert it and leave it for three or four weeks ; take out and then apply a
blister. The firing iron is recommended, but I do not recommend it un-
less it is the bunting iron. As a general thing they will give way to the
treatment I have given you. Periosteotomoy is useful in a case suddenly
developed in a horse in good condition — five, six, or seven years old — but
if it has a tendency to attack both sides, it is not attended with much
success. Just make an incision through the skin : insert your knife and
5
98 CAUSES, SYMPTOMa AND TREATMENT OF
make an incison through the periosteum, then foment and poultice, and,
perhaps in some days after, bHster. Some recommend a seaton instead
of a blister. There is no necessity for blemishing an animal for splint.
Such a cure is often worse than the disease. There may be cases where
it is necessary to use the bone forceps, or the bone saw, or if a spiculum
of bone projects, cut down and scrape it. There are dififerent opinions
as to whether splint is or is not an unsoundness. If I find a splint in
the usual place, with no pain nor lameness, and not likely to become
lame, I would pass him as sound ; but if a splint is well marked, I
might mention it to the party, and say it is not likely to ever lame the
animal. But if you find a splint close to the joint, in a horse four or
five years old, although he is not lame, I would not pass him as sound.
Take into consideration the form of the limb, the place of the splint,
etc.
Sore Shins. — Inflammation of the periosteum of the metacarpal
bones. This inflammation more of a diffused character than in
splints. It is common in some parts of the country, and is. becoming
more common in racing horses. It is rarely met with in horses used for
ordinary purposes.
Pathology. — Inflammation is set up in the periosteum. The result is
an exudation between the periosteum and the bone, and not only this,
but between the periosteum and the areolar tissue, with which it is in
close connection ; thickening of the periosteum ; and if the exciting
cause is kept up, it may cause partial necrosis of the metacarpal bone ;
but this is rare.
Causes are violent and continued concussion, to which horses are sub-
jected in training, particularly young horses, in which the periosteum is
very vascular. It may occur in old horses, but usually in young ani-
mals. Predisposing causes — taking a colt in a heavy gross condition ;
putting him to work without first getting in condition for it, by a dose of
physic or exercise. The concussion sets up this irritation.
Symptoms are very plafn after a time, but at first it is hard to account
for the lameness. The lameness is seen some time after the exercise.
The inflammatory action becomes more severe if the exciting causes are
kept up. He drops very much the same as in splint, and you can notice
an enlargement on the front of the bone. Pressure upon it causes pain.
There is increased temperature of the parts. If the exciting cause goes
on, the exudation increases more and more, and the animal suffers great
pain. I have seen some so severe that, after being handled once or
twice, if you but pointed at it, the animal would run back. Sometimes
one and sometimes both limbs are affected. There is a peculiar action.
I have seen horses severely blistered upon the shoulder when nothing
was the matter but sore Fhins. By and by the- exudation becomes organ-
ized, producing a well marked case. This exudation will always remain,
which can be detected by examining ; but the lameness ceases, and it is
not counted an unsoundness.
Treatment. — If taken in the early stage, it is easy to reduce the inflam-
matory action. Give rest ; give laxative medicine in some cases. If the
animal has been fed upon stimulating diet, change it. Apply cold to the
parts. Give nitrate of potash, one ounce ; salammoniac, one ounce, in
water. Use acetate of lead, and if there is much pain, combine it with
opium ; or use equal parts of the tincture of opium, camphor and arnica.
After the pain and inflammation are relieved, apply a blister, which will
relieve it better than anything else — and I cannot recommend any better
blister than biniodide of mercury, one part, to four, five or six of lard,
according to the case, and rub in well, and let it extend up the limb for
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 99
some distance. Keep it on for a day or two, and wash off and blister
again, as the ease demands. Give gentle exercise, and in the summer
use plenty of cold water. It may be necessary to make an incision into
the part, but such cases are rare, but if there is great exudation it might
prevent it from becoming organized. "You may meet with a case in the
hind limbs from other causes, as in jumping fences and striking with the
limbs. The result is extensive swelling, and benefit is sometimes derived
by making an incision. There is no specific for sore shins. It is hard
to say how blisters act, but they are attended with benefit. We find
also a slight inflammation set up in the upper part of the fetlock joint,
and again it may be right above the knee— the result of concussion —
and a large bony deposit may be the result. The symptoms are nearly
the same ; it is difficult to locate the lameness. For some time he can
walk tolerably well, but drops much if trotted. It will disappear after a
while, and if allowed to stand it returns.
Treatment. — Give rest, fomentations, cold applications, and blister,
and it might be advisable to make an incision, but be careful, especially
if in the neighbourhood of articulations. What is called obscure lame-
ness is often inflammation of the periosteum of the foreleg.
Ringbone. — This is a common disease ; it is an exostosis situated in
the region of the pastern joint, the articulation between the oscorona
and ossuffraginis. Eingbone is applied to any exostosis in that quarter,
but if it is just upon the bone and does not involve the articulation it is
not very serious. It may affect any limb, but oftener the hind limb.
Inflammation is set up — it may be in connection with the cancellated
structure at the extremities — and gradually extends and destroys the
articular lamella and articular cartillage. Nature, in endeavouring to
overcome this, throws out material which becomes converted into bone,
and anchylosis is the result. At the same time there is an exudation
thrown out between the periosteum and the bone, and there may be
exostosis without the true joint being affected. Complete union of the
pastern joint is the result of ringbone in some cases. The exudation
extends around the articulation, hence the name ringbone.
Causes. — I believe it is hereditary, and comes by breeding from weak,
sickly animals, predisposed to ringbone. Certain grasses may have a
tendency to produce it. The exciting causes are hard and fast work,
especially in young animals ; direct and indirect injury ; injury to the
articulations. An injury to the foot may produce it- a nail in the foot,
causing the animal to stand on the sound foot for weeks and weeks, may
produce it in the sound limb. Another is farmers allowing foals to run
after the mother while at work.
Symptoms. — If of any size it is easily detected. When it is forming
the animal is more or less lame ; but sometimes a deposit takes place of
a soft character, and this becomes converted into bone without much
lameness. The lameness precedes the enlargement for some time, and it
is difficult in such cases to say just what the irritation is There is heat
around the hoof. You may, after some time, detect an enlargement, and
flexing the articulation gives pain. If it involves the articulation of the
ospedis in the fore foot, the animal will walk on the heel, similar to
chronic laminitis, and the hoof, stimulated by the inflammation, has a
tendency to grow in rings.
Treatment is not very satisfactory in many cases. The treatment
must vary according to the disease going on in the bone. If in a
young animal, and the articulation is afl'ected and the hoof out of
shape, bring the foot in shape the best you can ; allay the irritation
by hot or cold applications, and then blister, Seatons and firing
100 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS A>fD TREATMENT OF
irons may be of benefit, and you may be justifiable in performing
neurotomy. The firing iron is generally the most potent. Now these
remedies act by setting up a new inflammatory action, the result of which
is reproductive material thrown out, producing anchylosis of the articu-
lation ; after which the irritation ceases, and the enlargement may be
reduced to a certain extent, but not completely. Cutting the "feeder"
of a ringbone, as some say, may prove beneficial from the irritation set
up, not from taking away the food of the bone. Even blistering and
firing in some cases have but little effect.
Side Bones. — This is ossification of the lateral cartilages. This is
different from and more simple than ringbone. It is oftener met with in
heavy breeds. As well as being ossified, they become enlarged, producing
an osseous tumour. This is not uncommon in the heavy Clyde horses,
and in them it does not so seriouslj^ interfere with their usefulness. It
is more apt to set up irritation and cause lameness in light driving horses ;
and if you are examining such, and side-bones are present, condemn him ;
but in a heavy horse, just acquaint the parties with it, as it sometimes
gives rise to lameness. Such en animal may be affected with corns, and
if so, the irritation is severe.
Treahnent. — Cut the under portion of the hoof well down under the
side bones ; reduce the irritation by poulticing ; use hot or cold applica-
tions, and follow by a blister. It is not often necessary to have recourse
to firing. Use a bar or three-quarter shoe.
Osteophytes. — A slight exostosis involving the upper part of the fet-
lock joint. It is at first merely inflammation of the periosteum. It is
common in race horses. The symptoms are peculiar. If the horse gets
a hard ride, there will be great lameness and heat in the parts. You
might almost think some of the ligaments were ruptured. So long as
useful for moderate work, he seems almost sound, and you may have
difficulty in diagnosing. Although extremely lame, he will be much bet-
ter after standing over night. After a few days, having hard work, it
will again show itself. These enlargements may attain a considerable
size. Give rest, foment, etc., and follow by a blister. Splints that have
to be treated while the animal is at work may be treated by cold water
or a mild ointment of mercury, not a blister, but a stimulant. There are
bony deposits in connection with the ligaments and tendons. These
osteophites may appear in other parts of the body — deposits, such as a
tooth, may be found in various parts of the body.
Spayin. — When we speak of spavin without any distinction, we mean
bone spavin. It is an exostosis or bony growth, situated on the antero-
internal part of the hock joint, and may or may not be accompanied by
caries of the internal structures. There are two kinds— one from inflam-
mation of the periosteum, which is confined to the external part of the
joint ; the other arising from the internal parts, giving rise to caries. A
slight blister applied in one case will relieve ; in another it will not. The
one case was external, the other internal. The hock joint is complicated
and beautiful ; the bones are so arranged as to give great power ; yet, by
the great strain, they are frequently diseased. There are different articu-
lations— the true joint and the gliding motion between some. If the
joint is much affected, action is also affected. Spavin occurs on the
inner side of the limb, as it is near the centre of gravity. It is found in
connection with the cuneiform, magnum, medium, and parvum.
Pathology — If it is high up, it is not so easily treated as if lower down.
A low spavin is in the small articulations. A high spavin is about an
inch higher up — not very large, and generally associated with caries. If
it occurs when the horse is five or six years old, low down, there is a
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 101
chance for successful treatment ; but if higher, and there is much heat in
the joint, it is much more tedious to treat. It may be produced by inflam-
matory action set up principally in the periosteum, and in some cases a
comparatively trivial cause ; but if the lameness is more severe, it is likely
the inflammatory action is set up in the internal part of the bones.
There is an exudation thrown out between the bones, and also between
the periosteum and the bones, and sometimes complete anchylosis of the
articulations is the result. Spavin may involve more or less of the entire
gliding articulation, or even the entire articulation. You may have
anchylosis of the cuneiform bones without any external deposit.
Causes are predisposing and exciting. The first are either constitu-
tional or local. There may be an ossific diathesis, or from the formation
of the hock. A narrow hock from before back, and a long metatarsal
bone, predisposes to it. The exciting causes are hard and fast work ;
driving a young horse fast upon hard roads, especially if not in a fit con-
dition ; or a severe strain, setting up irritation in some of the little inter-
osseous ligaments, extending and involving the entire joint ; and it is
sometimes the result of undue weight upon the limb. Anything that will
set up concussion will produce it. Shoeing is said to be a cause, as with
high-heeled shoes extreme flexion causes irritation of the cuneiform bones,
and proves an exciting cause. Eeceiving an injury to the foot, causing
the weight to be thrown on the sound limb for eight or ten days, pro-
duces concussion, and spavin results. Hence the necessity for using
slings in cases of injury.
Symptoms. — If it is large it is easily detected. But we sometimes meet
a case of lameness where the inflammation is going on and there is no
enlargement. Look at the natural hock ; look at the bones in their natu-
ral condition - at their natural prominences — and endeavour to become
conversant with the natural appearances of the hock in a healthy animal.
There are certain prominences under the malleolus, and they vary in size
during health — in some small, in others larger— and it is not a bad sign
to see them well developed. The lameness, in most cases, precedes
the exostosis. The lameness is characteristic, and is best seen when the
animal is first brought out of the stable. After driving for some dis-
tance it will, perhaps, disappear, and will show no more lameness during
the day. And sometimes there are cases where the exostosis attains
a considerable size without the horse being much 'ame. A pretty
good way of detecting it is by the eye (but this will not do to rely
on in all cases). Make him stand square upon the limb, and throw
his weight upon it, and stand just to one side of the horse in front,
and take a look from the internal malleolus down, and look through
between the fore legs from behind, etc. But just standing about eighteen
inches to one side the horse's head is a very good position, and then draw
the hand carefully over the hock. If it is the left leg, just pass the right
hand down over the hock, and you may detect a bony enlargement and
heat in the parts. If the animal is standing, he will flex the limb to
some extent. In a case of long standing there are other changes. The
whole nutrition of the limb is affected, and there is casting of the
muscles of the haunch ; and this may mislead and cause you to think
this is the cause of the lameness. He walks upon the toe to a great
extent. Turning the horse from side to side will assist you in determin-
ing the seat of lameness. If it is slight you must judge, to a great
extent, by the action of the animal, and you must be careful if the horse
has a very large spavin, and becomes suddenly lame, for it may be that
the animal has picked up a nail, and in such a case you may overlook the
true seat of the lameness — more especially if he is extremely lame. It is
102 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
good practice, in many cases, to take a look at the foot, for I have known
blisters applied to the hock when the trouble was in the foot.
Treatment. -It is difficult to say whether you can cure or not; you
cannot restore the limb to its natural condition : so far it is incurable,
nevertheless if the animal can be got to go sound it is what we call a
cure. We cannot take off a spavin, but hydrochloric acid will take off
the enlargement to a certain extent, and it acts beneficially as a counter
irritant. The best treatment is to give rest, and if the feet are out of
shape bring them into shape the best you can. Some recommend a cer-
tain kind of shoe— a high heeled — but I think it best without any shoe.
Keep in a box or stall in preference to turning on pasture. Those who
have become proficient in treating spavin have become so by devising
means to keep the articulation quiet. If there is acute inflammatory
action use hot and cold applications, and follow by counter irritation
with mercury and cantharides, or you may use eupherbium, or the firing
iron. If there is an exostosis, and the articulation not much affected,
you may use the small bunting iron ; just make one or two points, but
not too close together, and blister after a day or two, but not very
severely. If the whole articulation is affected, fire clear around the
articulation. Seatons are also good. Some object to a blister ; then use
a seaton. Some recommend dividing the tendon of the flexor metatarsi,
and this might be advisable. Punching was at one time practiced to a
great extent ; take a punch and strike it with a mallet. Caustics have
also been recommended, but they are hard to control, and are likely to
cause extensive sloughing. In examining for soundness you must look
to the hock, and if you suspect anything wrong, before giving an opinion,
allow him to stand quiet for an hour or two, and notice whether he flexes
the limb. Make him stand from side to side, then bring him out and
notice his action, and take plenty of time in giving an opinion. If the
bones are larger than ordinary, or larger in one hock than the other, it is
a little suspicious.
The peculiarity of the lameness of spavin is dragging the limb to some
extent. If trotted, there is a well marked raising and dropping of the
haunch, and it takes practice to locate this lameness, and often a person
of experience may be mistaken. Walk him back and forth, and when
80 doing, watch the haunch rise and fall. The affected limb will be
flexed when the animal is standing. Inquire how long the animal has
been lame, for it takes some time for wasting to occur in spavin ; but it
may occur from severe injury quite quickly. In some cases there may be
a thickening of the skin, which looks much like spavin. The
Treatment consists in a counter irritation in some form or other. In
treating, when you have plenty of time, keep the animal quiet for a few
days before applying counter irritation ; also get the foot in shape and
keep the shoe off in a majority of cases; however, some recommend
shoes. The firing iron is generally the most potent ; its action is not
only superficial, but extends and involves the bones to a certain extent.
Fire entirely around the joint in some cases, and pretty severely, if neces-
sary. We do not fire to get rid of the enlargement, but to set up an in-
flammatory action and hasten anchylosis. In firing, you may take the
strokes in any direction you like, but not too close together, as it might
cause sloughing. It is a question whether it is best to apply the blister
immediately after firing. The blister will not act so readily as it would
after three or four, or even six days. I think it is best to wait ; it has a
better effect, I think. But if you only fire one or two lines, then you
may blister immediately ; but if you fire extensively, wait some time.
If you use the pointed iron, endeavour to insert it right into the exostosis,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 103
and as a general thing it does not blemish. There are other irons with a
number of points, which may be used, but it is likely to cause sloughing.
The punch is also used, and it is better to knock it in with a block of
wood than with a hammer. A seaton is another form of counter irrita-
tion. It is beneficial, and sometimes preferable to the firing iron, for the
firing iron will blemish if you fire severely, and if you fire only slightly,
you might as well blister. In inserting a seaton, you may or may not
have to cast the animal ; just make an incision with the scissors, and
insert the seaton, and keep it stimulated with a weak solution of bin-
iodide of mercury. Take into consideration the animal, and also the
owners of the animal ; if seatons have been used in that locality, use
seatons. It is recommended to cut the tendon of the flex or metarsi.
This would be successful if it was due to pressure of that tendon ; but if
it comes from the internal parts, it will, of course, do no good. You may
often feel perplexed in examining for soundness. If a horse is eight or
nine years old, though spavin is present, it does not interfere much with
his work, yet is an unsoundness ; but in a horse three or four years old,
it is likely to produce more or less lameness.
WOUNDS.
A Wound is a solution of continuity in soft parts, and wounds are
of various kinds — as incised, lacerated, punctured, contused, gun-shot
and poisoned.
Incised. — An incised wound is where the tissues are smoothly divided
with a cutting instrument, and its length exceeds its depth. If it is par-
allel with a large muscle, it does not, in some cases, prove very serious ;
but if across the muscle, a great gaping wound is the result. A
Punctured wound is produced by a sharp or blunt-pointed instrument,
and the depth exceeds the length ; and this is more dangerous than an
incised wound, for the tissues are pierced to some depth, the matter
which forms does not escape freely, and sometimes results seriously, and,
as a general thing it requires to be carefully looked after. In a lacerated
wound the skin is torn as well as cut, as in one horse kicking another in
the haunch with a sharp shoe.
Lacerated and Contused. — In these the hemorrhage is not so great as
in incised wounds for the parts cause coagulatittn of the blood. Contu-
sion is where the parts under the skin are injared without the skin being
cut A horse, in traveling, strikes the limb, and affects the tissues but
not the skin. It is often seen in man, as a black eye There may be
effusion or laceration of a vessel — ecchymosis is the result. It may run
to effusion or serum, or to suppuration.
G tin-shot wounds are seldom seen, except during war.
Poisoned wounds are caused by some poisonous substance. The min-
eral acids act in this way, and, if freely applied, are apt to set up exten-
sive irritation. I saw one case where there was extensive sloughing from
binding a toad to a split.
Treatment of wounds of course varies to a certain extent, but there are
certain general principles necessary. If the wound is extensive, and
hemorrhage is present, first arrest the hemorrhage, and the most surgical
way is to apply a ligature to the artery. But we sometimes find this
difficult, especially in wounds about the feet, and we are able, in many
cases, to arrest it by other means. Compression, in many cases, will do,
the result of which is coagulation of the blood. Or styptics may be used
— an excellent one is the tincture of the chloride of iron. Moderately
104 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AKD TBEATilENT OF
warm water will answer in some cases — in others cold water will do.
Or use acetate of lead and tow, and allow the blood to coagulate in the
tow, and then it will coagulate in the vessels ; and there are many other
styptics. After arresting the hemorrhage, carefully cleanse the wound
with cold or tepid water, and, if a lacerated wound, endeavour to find
how it was produced, and if by a sharp piece of wood, it may be that
some of the wood has been left in the tiesh, which must be removed.
The next thing is to bring the parts together. If the wound has been
produced for some time, perhaps the hemorrhage has ceased. Some say
it is not best to bring the edges together immediately, but leave alone
and allow all dirt, etc., to escape ; but, as a general thing, sew it up
immediately, using a
Suture, of which there are different kinds, the interrupted, uninter-
rupted, quilled, twisted, and false. Use a needle to correspond with the
size of the wound. You may use the metallic wire, silver wire, silk
threat, or catgut. The metallic wire answers very well. Catgut is use-
ful, especially in abdominal wounds, and it is useful to saturate it with a
solution of carbolic acid. The interrupted, or glovers' stitch, is generally
the best. If a large wound, look at the manner in which it took place,
and determine where to make the first stitch ; leave a small part near the
most dependent part, for if stitched up closely serum accumulates and
irritates it.
The Twisted Suture. — This is done by inserting pins and wrapping
thread on them in the shape of a figure eight ; you can use a pin director,
passing it through with the pin in its groove. Again, we have the
quilled suture, which is used in an injury to a large muscle, where the
skin is injured to a great extent It is done by laying quills or pieces of
wood on either side, and the sutures are tied over them. It requires
some practice and some nerve to sew up a large wound. I find, as a
general thing, that if the horse is irritable it is good to lay good pressure
upon the part, and take a good hold on the skin, and if the animal jerks
you are not so liable to let go ; and pass the needle quickly, as the irrita-
tion causes the animal to jump. Bandages are also used. Plasters
may be used in some cases. Bandages are apt to do more harm than
good. There is another method which is used, which does not look well
but is not a bad plan : take a strong piece of ticking and attach it to the
skin, back from the wound, by means of Burgundy pitch, or other adhe-
sive plaster, and bring the parts together by means of this. The stitches
do not generally stay loo long, but come out of their own accord, and the
trouble is to get them to stay long enough. If the wound is around the
eye, the smaller the needle the better, and I like silk thread for a suture
very well. There is a great difference of opinion with regard to the after
treatment, even among eminent surgeons. Some recommend exclusion
of the atmosphere and anti-septic dressings, some say they do better
exposed to the atmosphere ; some think water dressings are the best,
others think not. In our patients it is difficult to exclude the air, but
in human practice this is invariably done. 1 do not believe the atmos-
phere interferes with the healing of a wound in most cases. In some
cases we can and do cover up, and find the healing process retarded in-
stead of expedited. We hear of applying turpentine or black oil to
wounds, but if you apply anything to a wound use some slight astringent.
The white lotion is used more perhaps than any other remedy. It is made
of six drachms of sulphate of zinc, one ounce acetate of lead to one quart
of water, or it may be applied stronger. Carbolic acid one part to forty
of water, or some recommend oil with the carbolic acid, bat water is
better, as oil causes dirt to adhere to the wound. I do not recommend
Diseases oS" Domestic animals. 105
oleaginous preparations. It may be advisable to use an ointment, but
that is the exception and not the rule. A good preparation for certain
seasons of the year is tincture of benzoin, oil of tar and linseed oil. It
forms a coat, keeps out the air, etc., and seems to be of benefit. In a
lacerated wound where there is extensive suppuration, use astringents ;
and sometimes you find granulations or proud flesh, and sometimes the
wound becomes indolent. The white lotion, sulphate of copper,
tincture of iron, butter of antimony and carbolic acid of moderate
strength, are of benefit ; after this treat as a fresh wound. It is
necessary to attend to the constitutional treatment in some cases,
as well as the local. If the animal is in high condition administer
a laxative, restrict the food, etc , while in others feed well on the best of
food. In moderate weather hot or cold baths are often attended with
benefit.
Modes of Healing^. — These vary according to the wound and the con-
dition of the animal. First, by immediate or direct union ; this can
take place only in an incised wound ; the parts come together ; a slight
exudation is thrown out, and healing takes place very quickly. This
sometimes takes place in pinning up an incision. In bleeding, this little
exudation glues the divided surface together ; but in a wound of any size
it does not take place. This may take place in twenty-four or thirty
hours ; but there must be certain conditions, or this cannot take place ;
there must be absence of inflammation, healing by adhesion or first
intention. Incised wounds frequently heal in this way. In such cases a
small amount of blood is extravasated. It becomes converted into new
tissue, and the divided edges of the wound adhere together. The irrita-
tion is not very extensive. Again, there is healing by the second inten-
tion ; this is inore tedious. In a lacerated wound or a large incised
wound, when there is motion, this is the mode of union ; the edges of
the wound are brought together ; in a short time serum is discharged
profusely, and there will be a coat of this serum over the wound, and it is
supposed that the leucocytes going to form new tissue are converted into
pus corpuscles, and profuse suppuration is the result ; little red emi-
nences appear, and if removed or hurt, are found to be extremely vascular ;
they bleed readily. These are the granulations, and this is the mode of
healing in lacerated wounds. In this manner loss of structure is
repaired. There is also healing by scabbing ; it is well noticed in our
patients. In case of a slight wound, the parts are brought together ; a
little fluid exudes and covers it over, which will, perhaps, remain and
form a scab, and it is very favourable in many cases. This shows the
necessity of allowing the blood to remain ; and we sometimes form an
artificial scab of callodium or carbolic acid and oil, which, in some cases,
favours healing.
INJURIES AND DISEASES IN THE REGION OF THE HEAD
AND NECK.
The first I will notice is
PoU-eyil, so called from its occurring in the region of the poll. It is
not a constitutional disease, but comes, no doubt, from well-marked
causes — from inflammatory action set up, involving the muscles of the
region of the poll, aijd, perhaps, the ligamentum nuchas. Owing to the
low vitality of the parts, and the motion of the head in taking food, etc.,
the matter is apt to burrow deep in the muscles. The
Pathology is just inflammatory action, set up in the region of the poll.
Such an inflammation may terminate in resolution, but it is very likely
106 fiAtSfiS, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OP
to terminate in suppuration, and anchylosis and necrosis of the bones
are frequent.
Causes. — It is usually the result of direct or indirect injury. A com-
mon cause is striking the head against a low door-way ; another is an
ill-fitting head halter or bridle, or a yoke put on to prevent him from
jumping, or any foreign body puncturing the muscles, or fracture of the
superior spinous processes, which are likely to become necrosed, and set
up inflammation ; unnaturally tight reining is said to be a cause.
Symptoms. — There is more or less swelling ; the animal stands with
the nose out ; slight heat in the parts ; pressure upon the parts causes
pain. In the first stage it is merely inflammatory action. The second
stage is suppuration, and there may be great swelling in some cases,
when there is but little matter formed. In other cases there is diffuse
suppuration, and the matter makes its way out and dischages to the sur-
face, and sinuses are formed extending in various directions, and some-
times the exudation becomes organized and produces an enlargement.
Any abscess in this region is called poll-evil.
Treatment. — If called before suppuration has taken place, while in the
inflammatory stage, just apply remedies to bring about resolution ;
foment and keep the animal quiet ; keep the head tied up and poultice
with linseed meal, bran, boiled turnips, etc., but do not apply a heavy
poultice, but just enough to keep moisture and warmth to the parts.
Use a mild liniment -the camphorated is good. Sometimes the inflam-
matory action ceases, and the skin remains thickened ; then use a blister
One part each of iodine and iodide of potassium to four of lard, is of
benefit. But after the inflammatory process has terminated in suppura-
tion, the treatment is different. It should be to make a free incision,
and allow the matter to escape freely, and if this is done in proper time
the sinuses will not often form ; tie the head up, and prevent motion.
If an animal is turned on pasture, the sinuses are more likely to form
from the continued motion. Syringe the parts out well with tepid or
cold water. Use carbolic acid — one part to twenty, thirty or forty of
water; or corrosive sublimate— five grains to an ounce of water. But
if sinuses are formed it is still more diflicult. It may be treated by
caustics, corrosive sublimate, nitrate of silver, etc., but I recommend the
free use of the knife. It is generally advisable to throw the animal and,
in cutting, follow the course of the sinuses, and open them up well.
(Sometimes a seaton does very well.) It is sqmetimes necessary to
divide the ligamentum nuchae, and when you do a great gaping wound is
the result, and there may be new tissue formed, and you may have to cut
out some of this. After using the knife, use caustics. I generally use
corrosive sublimate — five to ten grains to one ounce of water. Saturate
some cotton or tow and put this in the place. Devise some means to
allow water to run upon it for an hoar or two each day, and feed from a
high trough, and feed pretty well, which will benefit the healing process.
Use tonics, diuretics, etc., especially if the limbs swell. You may have
to remove part of the bone. There may remain a stiff neck, but it does
not interfere with the animal much.
Injuries from being halter-cast. There may be very alarming
symptoms. Perhaps, after the animal is released, he cannot raise
the head, and if allowed to remain in this position there may be con-
gestion, the result of the irritation, or mechanical congestion, giving
rise to alarming symptoms The muscles or the transverse processes
may be injured, and produce wry neck ; the nose may be almost to the
ground, the lips and nose swollen to a great extent.
Treatment. — You will be apt to look upon such an injury as being a
DISEASES 01* DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 107
very serious affair, but if the spine or large nerves are not affected you
may expect recovery. If he is unable to raise the head, the lips and
nose swollen, and interfering with respiration, scarify the lips and sides
of the nose ; apply fomentations to relieve congestion, and endeavour
to support the head, which may be done by means of a bag put under
the head, which is better than to tie up with a halter, which interferes
with the passage of the blood and increases the swelling. Give a slight
laxative, and persuasive, and you may be successful. If it is very diffi-
cult to raise the h^ad, he lies or falls down, then elevate the head by a
bag of straw, and keep up the same treatment. Give purgatives and
diuretics, and, after bathing the parts, use a mild stimulating linament —
the camphorated — or you may make it anodyne by adding opium. If
the spine is injured, it is more difficult, and is likely to terminate fatally.
Endeavour to straighten the neck and stimulate the parts. When he
carries the head to one side, and falls down when you endeavour to
straighten it, the nerves are generally affected.
Phlebitis. — Inflammation of a vein. It is sometimes found, after
blood-letting, and it is oftener seen in the jugular vein than in any other,
as it is the one from which blood is generally drawn ; but it may occur
from other causes. There is diffuse phlebitis. It may occur from con-
stitutional causes, but I will refer to that which comes from blood-
letting.
Causes. — It may be due to the manner in which the operation was
performed, as in a case where there is difficulty in striking the vein, or
as bleeding in laminitis, even if performed correctly ; so the operator
cannot be blamed in all cases. It may result from the way the wound
was treated, or from the horse irritating the part ; so it is sometimes
best to tie him up for some time. It usually appears in from three to
six days after the operation.
Pathology. — In the first place there is congestion, followed by in-
flammation of the little vessels (vase vasorum) that supply the coats of
the vein with the blood. Another cause is coagulation of the blood in
the vein above the part where the operation was performed, and it
extends towards the head, and not toward the heart. It may extend
until the circulation is arrested. Obliteration of the vein is frequent.
Symptoms are plain. I think it is ushered in by rigours or shivering —
though this is often overlooked — then swelling takes place around the
wound : matter is formed, the swelling extends toward the head, the vein
is hard and corded ; the formation of an abcess is the result, which is,
no doubt, due to the irritation in the vein, aggravated by the manner in
which the animal uses the head and neck. There is generally no diffi-
culty in diagnosing, as it runs to some extent before you are called.
Treatment may be varied according to the inflammatory action. If
noticed in the early stage, Ijieep the head well tied up, and keep up
fomentations for sofiie four or five hours at a time ; and it may be ad-
visable to give a moderate laxative, diuretics, etc. ; but I do not think
arterial sedatives are of much use. If the veins have been hard and
corded for some eight or ten days, I would recommend fomentations and
then blister right over the region of the vein and towards the head ; use
mercury or cantharides. In most cases it terminates in obliteration of
the vein. When the vein of the opposite side and the small veins en-
large to a certain extent, and perform the function of the one destroyed,
if abcesses are formed, open and allow the matter to escape, then bathe
and poultice ; use any stringent lotions and then blister, but do not rub
the blister into the abcesses or in the wound ; feed from a high surface.
It is perhaps a good practice to tie him up during the day, and allow
108 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
him to lie down at night, or even keep him up for two or three days, and
keep the head up until the other veins accommodate themselves to carry
the blood. He should not be turned on pasture for some time ; swelling
of the head is apt to result, due to mechanical congestion, as the blood
cannot go back to the heart in a proper manner. Obliteration of a
vein is an unsoundness ; so, in examining for soundness, place the finger
on and try to raise the vein. If it is obliterated, it will not raise.
Thrombus is sometimes mistaken for inflammation of the vein. It
is owing to the manner in which the pinning was done. It is swelling
and irritation between the skin and areolar tissue. It is trivial in com-
parison to phlebitis. You can easily distinguish these. If it extends
and is painful to the touch, it is suspicious. A thrombus is moveable
and circumscribed.
Treatment. — Eemove the pin and carefully squeeze out the matter,
and apply liniments, followed by mild lotions, and keep the head up, and
you may apply a poultice— linseed meal, boiled turnips, etc.
Stiffness in the Muscles of the neck and back may come from
various causes— from influenza in the spring and fall, due to a rheumatic
tendency or neuroses. There is lumbago in human practice, and perhaps
horses suffer in the same way. He may have great difficulty in raising
the head, ^nd will groan with pain if pulled around suddenly. If it
occurs after strangles or influenza, it is best treated with heat to the
parts, with camphorated and anodyne liniments, or apply heat by
wringing a blanket from hot water, and put this on and cover with a dry
blanket, and attend to the general condition of the animal; give
nutritious food, etc. Give iodide of potassium and colchinni, one
drachm each, and, if debilitated, give tonics.
Injuries in the Muscles of the Neck, caused by one horse biting
another, bruising the muscles to a great extent. The skin may or may
not be lacerated. Be very careful in such a case for a day or two.
Although it may appear very trivial at first, it may turn out very serious.
Even if the skin is not lacerated, the fascia and the muscles are bruised,
causing inflammation of the head and neck, followed by suppuration,
gangrene and sloughing of the parts.
Treatment. — Keep quiet, apply judicious fomentations, just a little
more than lukewarm. Stimulate with mild stimulating liniments, and
watch closely, especially if there is great pain in the parts, and if likely to
terminate in suppuration you may make incisions, which, if done in time,
will prevent sloughing in many cases. Make the incisions so the matter
can escape when formed. Keep the head tied up. Sometimes sloughing
will take place and extend right through the ligamentum nuchse, invol-
ving the large muscles on either side. In most of these cases this can be
prevented if closely watched for one or two days. If suppuration occurs
make the incisions, then poultice.
Fistula, or Fistulous Withers. — It is a solution of continuity, to a
greater or less extent. Fistula proper is where there are two openings —
one external and one internal, opening into an internal cavity. There is
no particular difference between fistula and sinuses. If there is but one
opening, it is called incomplete ; if two, it is complete.
Causes. — An ill-fitting riding saddle is the most frequent — being rode a
mile, or even less, it will produce it. Inflammation is set up, followed by
suppuration. It burrows down, often getting behind the scapula. Even
the bearing of a rein will sometimes produce it.
Symptoms. — Swelling, more or less — just the same as in poll-evil. It
can scarcely be called fistula until sinuses are formed. If you apply
poultices before sinuses are formed you may prevent them from forming.
The matter discharged, if the bone is affected, is fetid.
DISEASES OP DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 109
Treatment iB just the same as in poll-evil. Use the knife freely.
Caustics and blisters will sometimes effect a cure, but they are generally
mild cases. But the knife is best, and you must sometimes cut out some
of the tissue. If you can give a dependent opening, it is not hard to
treat, and if it extends outside of the scapula, it is simple ; but if inside,
it is difficult. You may insert a seaton, and you should cleanse it thor-
oughly, and a good way in summer is with a hose, or place a large pail
above the horse and allow the water to trickle upon the part. Use cor-
rosive sublimate, fifteen or twenty grains to an ounce of water, or use
carbolic acid.
Saddle Galls are best treated by removing the cause. Foment and
poultice. Use white lotion, corrosive sublimate, sulphate of copper, etc.
This may result in a sit-fast. This is produced by constant action of the
saddle, setting up inflammation, and destroying a part of the tissues
which stimulates the healthy tissue ; matter is formed, the dead part
becomes detached from the living, to some extent, but a small part retains
its vitality, and is attached to the healthy tissue in the centre, but turns
up at the edges. The best remedy is to use the knife. You might get rid
of it by caustics, but the best way is to cut it out, and then you may
apply caustics, poultices, lotions, etc.
Muscles of the Groin Lacerated.— If the hemorrhage is great, first
control it, then cleanse the parts, and then bring the divided edges to-
gether, but leave a small opening at the lower edge, to allow the matter
to pass off. A punctured wound in this region is very likely to be fol-
lowed by severe inflammation. Sometimes a seemingly trivial injury, if
not attended to, produces very alarming symptoms, and perhaps death.
Such injuries may occur in different ways, as by stepping on the end of a
stick, which may fly up and produce it, or coming in violent contact with
any such obstacle, or the horn of an ox. You cannot be too careful in
your prognosis of such cases. If the wound is inward or downward,
endeavour to make it an incised wound. Make an incision in the sound
tissue, which looks cruel, but it is the best in many cases, unless there is
likely to be great hemorrhage. But if the wound extends upward, then
this is unnecessary. Have recourse to constitutional treatment. Give a
good dose of purgative medicine, if the animal is in good condition, and
give diuretics, or a good dose of hyposulphite of soda. Cold or hot appli-
cations, as the season requires, continued for some time, and if used in
time may prevent the symptoms of a phlegminous character. It is a
good practice to examine such wounds carefully. It may be done with
the finger, or you may have to use a probe. Endeavour to find what
caused the wound, and you will be able to judge whether fragments
remain in the flesh or not.
Symptoms. — If phlegminous inflammation takes place, they are quite
plain. If you are called to see a horse wounded in this region, which has
been suffering for some two days, it is much swollen, the animal refuses
food, the limb is swollen, not only in the region of the wound, but both
outside and inside, there is increased respiration, the pulse perhaps eighty,
ninety or one hundred, and weak, the chances are ten to one that it will
terminate fatally, but still keep up treatment. Foment for hours at a
time, and endeavour to support by stimulants — beer, whiskey, etc., and
hyposulphate of soda is said to be good. Fomentations are applied with
a view of bringing on suppuration, for resolution is scarcely possible in
such a case ; and if it terminates in suppuration, it is generally diffuse,
and of an inchorous character. Sometimes, instead of forming pus, it
goes on to gangrene, the swelling continues, the limb below the parts is
cold, the pulse quick and weak, etc., and death is the result. However,
110 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
an animal may receive a very deep and severe wound and recover, and if
there is a large opening, and considerable hemorrhage, it generally termi-
nates better than if the contrary is the case, and I think, in cases of a
large wound and scanty hemorrhage, bleeding may be of benefit.
Muscles of the Abdomen.— A punctured wound in this region is very
dangerous, as it is likely to penetrate the abdomen and injure the peri-
toneum, or perhaps the intestines ; but you may meet with an apparently
severe wound, allowing the bowels to protrude, and a good recovery take
place if the bowels are not injured. If j'ou are able to get them back nicely,
there are pretty good chances of recovery ; but if the bowels are injured and
bruised, although you may return them, it is not attended with good re-
sults, for inflammation is likely to be set up in the peritoneum and bow-
els ; but if the bowels are lacerated, you may recommend the destruction
of the animal. I saw a case where ten or twelve feet of the bowels
protruded, and was in the snow ; the pulse weak ; the bowels were
not injured ; they were put back and the animal recovered. The animal
generally lies down soon after such an injury as this, and you must secure
him, wash the bowels nicely with tepid water, and then return carefully,
and then bring the edges of the wound together — the inside first. You
may use silk thread, or what is better, carbolized cat-gut ; then bring the
skin together. It is best to keep the end of the sutures out, so you can
remove them. Keep quiet and give but little food. A purgative is not
necessary, and be careful in giving sedatives.
Perinaeal Region. — A severe wound in this region, if the rectum is
uninjured, may be treated with success. Hemorrhage is sometimes ex-
cessive, which you can usually arrest with a plug pressure, etc., if the
artery cannot be tied.
Pectoral Region. — The result is apt to be the same as that of the
groin. A deep seated wound is apt to be followed by phlegminous inflam-
mation. Arrest the hemorrhage. The proper way is to take up the
artery or vein ; but this is not easily done (it is not good practice to take
up a vein, but it is sometimes necessary, if it is a large one). But you
can generally stop with tow saturated with iron or other styptics. In a
case where the hemorrhage has been excessive and has been arrested, it
is best to leave the plug in forty-eight hours, unless there is great pain.
I have taken it out in twenty-four hours, and slight hemorrhage was the
result ; the blood coagulates first in tow, and stops the flow. If a severe
injury, make a careful examination. If it does not heal for a long time,
then there is likely some piece still in ; or, it may heal just to break
again in a few days. You may remove this, and after some time another
abscess form, showing that some piece still remains. It is sometimes
necessary to enlarge the wound, if there is no danger of injuring the
vessels.
Muscles of the Fore-Extremities.— The belly of the muscles are
liable to sprains, as well as the tendons ; but this is not so serious. The
fore-extremity is held to the body by muscles, which are liable to injury
— those on the outer part more liable than those on the inner.
Shoulder-Slip, or Sweeney, is a common occurrence. It is called
shoulder-slip in most of our works, because there is bulging or slipping
cut of the joint. The muscles affected are the antea and postea spinatus,
teres externus, and sometimes the flexor brachii.
Pathology of shoulder-slip as a disease, and not as symptomatic of a
disease, is injury to the muscles in some way or other — a sprain, com-
pression, or a jar, setting up inflammatory action, perhaps not severe,
but interfering with nutrition ; the sarcous elements become changed ;
the muscles cannot assimilate material for their growth ; they waste or
DISEASES OF DOIIESTIC ANIMALS. Ill
drivel until a hollow is seen in the scapula ; all the elements of the
muscles are there, but are wasted to some extent.
Causes are various. It is mostly likely to occur in young animals,
from a sudden jerk from a plough striking a stump or stone, or from the
wheel of a waggon striking against some obstacle, or it may occur from
the animal rolling about the stall or box, or from jumping about ; but in
most cases it is the result of work, and the horse going in an awkward
manner.
Symptoms are very well marked. In the early stage there is, I believe,
more or less swelling, but it is not often noticed. The first thing gener-
ally noticed is the wasting of the muscles ; or, the animal may be stiff to
a certain extent, the action somewhat impaired, yet you could not call it
lameness ; but in five or six days the true character of the disease shows
itself. If the outer muscles are severely affected, those on the inside of
the shoulder are affected to some extent, and when the animal throws
weight upon the limb, the joint bulges until you would think there was a
partial dislocation of the shoulder. In the very worst cases a cure may
be effected ; but if kept at work, it may be a long time before the muscles
will attain their natural size. Keep the patient quiet for two, three op
four weeks ; turn loose in a box or stall ; it is better than turning on pas-
ture. First use fomentations and follow by mild stimulating liniments,
as tincture of camphor, opium and arnica — equal parts. The treatment
should be such as would hasten the reproduction of the muscular fibre,
by keeping the animal quiet, feed moderately well, stimulate the parts and
apply a blister occasionally ; or you may use seatons, and if you do, use
three ; but there is no necessity for using very severe remedies. There is
no particular specific for it. Judicious exercise for some time is benefi-
cial. He may be used for light saddle work, but not to the plough. In-
cisions are sometimes made and air blown into the areolar tissues. Those
who practice it say it separates the skin from the muscles, and hastens
reproduction. This can easily be detected by the crackling noise. In
giving your opinion, you may give it that a cure can be effected, but
it will take some time, and plenty of time.
Enlargements on the Shoulder are common in farm horses, a
common cause being an ill-fitting collar. They vary very much in their
character, and it is necessary to make a careful examination and find the
true character of the enlargement. When they are soft and moveable or
fluctuating, and have made their appearance suddenly, they contain
serum, and are called serous abscesses, and are very common in the
shoulder by the muscles being injured ; inflammation and irritation are
set up, and an exudation of serum is the result. Some are well defined,
others are not. In some cases they may be hard around their circumfer-
ence and soft in the centre, and the hair begins to fall off. This shows
suppuration, and it may be a deep-seated abscess, and if there is large
exudation surrounding this pus, which may have been there for some
time, then blisters, etc., would not reach it.
Treatment.— li a serous abscess make an incision and allow the
serum to escape. After treatment use fomentations or cold appli-
cations according to the season of the year, and use pressure— place
a bag of bran over the part and apply pressure. These are trouble-
some to treat ; in some cases you open it up and the contents are
evacuated ; and in twenty-four or thirty hours serum is again formed ;
then use a digestive ointment on a piece of tape, or something of
the kind, saturated with a mild stimulant. The best knife for such is
Sime's abscess lancet. There is another mode which looks rather rough,
but is pretty successful : if you have opened it up and used the digestive
112 CAUSES, SVMPTOatS ANt> tRfiAtMENT OF
ointment and matter continues, it is good practice to cut it right open
with the knife, and then treat as a wound, or you may insert a seaton
through it and attend to the constitutional treatment. If in good con-
dition give a dose of purgative medicine, if in poor condition a generous
diet. If you have some difficulty in determining whether pus exists or
not, get the history of the case. Notice whether the hair is falling off
or not, and you may feel the fluctuating of the pus ; or you may use an
exploring needle, or make an incision and insert a seaton needle, and if
pus is there, then enlarge the opening, foment, poultice, etc. They
sometimes take on an indolent character, and if it does not assume the
character of a fibrous tumour use stimulants, blisters, seatons, etc. If
you find this upon the anterio-internal part of the joint in a horse three
or four years old, that has not been doing much work, is unthrifty, the
appetite impaired, constitutional irritation, pulse quick, some difficulty
in extending the limb, etc., it is generally the result of irregular strangles.
The local treatment is the same, but the constitutional treatment is dif-
ferent ; do not give a purgative if it comes from strangles. You may
find tumours of a vascular or malignant character, which are more diffi-
cult to remove, but the only chance sometimes is to remove them, but
there is apt to be considerable hemorrhage. The ecraseur is the best
instrument for such cases, and it may take a pretty powerful instrument ;
there is no great damage generally in dissecting these out. The top of
the neck is sometimes injured from the action of the collar ; it is easily
treated if the exciting cause is removed. Clip off the hair, use tepid
water and mild astringents. But sometimes they become very trouble-
some, a small abscess forms and bursts, heals, forms again, etc., and
there is a great tendency for the matter to extend downwards. If you
examine you will notice a hole extending down the side of the liga-
mentum nuchae, which you must cut out ; caustic may do, but it is
tedious. After cutting, bathe, poultice, etc. It is good practice to tie
the head up for some time — keep it well elevated.
Shoulder Joint. — The bones of this joint are held together by
muscles, and not ligaments — the only ligament being the capsular.
Injuries to this joint are very rare in the horse. Dislocation of this has
been noticed but very rarely, indeed, but the joint may be diseased in
various ways. Inflammation may set up affecting the joint and cartil-
ages, and, if allowed to run on, anchylosis may take place. It may be
due to a sprain or constitutional disturbance — a kind of rheumatic
inflammation. This may come in the bicipital groove. I think the
principal seat of shoulder- joint lameness is in connection with the flexor
brachii muscle, which passes over the bicipital groove, in connection with
stratiform and articular cartilage. It is generally suddenly produced,
and readily gives way to treatment, but you may have all the changes
found in other joints —inflammation of the synovial membrane, cartilages,
etc., — giving rise to porcelaneous deposits. Animals were at one time
blistered for shoulder lameness, where they were confirmed cripples from
navicular disease. It is not very difficult to tell shoulder lameness from
foot lameness, by one familar with the parts. It must be distinguished
by the action, from certain parts being affected. Shoulder lameness may
be produced by the animal running away, falling violently, or rough
handling in breaking in. Cavalry and artillery horses are subject to it,
or it may be caused by the horse being cast in the stall, or going through
deep snow, or by direct injury from a stroke upon the parts. There is
some difficulty in locating it, if slight, but not if severe.
Symptoms. — There is difficulty in extending the limb, but not what
you would call great difficulty. It is brought forward in a kind of rotary
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 113
manner. This is better marked in trotting than in walking, but if he is
warmed up it will disappear to some extent. The limb is flexed when
standing, but not pointed, as in foot lameness — perhaps parallel with or
just behind the other foot. You may, in some cases, be able to detect
swelling, especially in the flexor brachii, and manipulation may assist
you. If you extend the limb the horse will rear up, or if you pull it
back, and then trot off, the lameness will be increased. Negative symp-
toms are useful. Look at the other parts of the limb. The best time to
examine is after a hard ride or drive of four or five miles, and then stand
in the stable until cooled and bring out and examine. There is a tend-
ency to strike the toe in turning, and you are liable to think he is lame
in the shoulder, when he is not.
Treatment. — It makes little difference, so far as treatment is concerned,
whether it is in the flexor brachii or in the articulation ; but it helps you
in your prognosis if you know which it is. In one it is curable ; in the
other it is not. Give rest; stand in a box. Some recommend a high-
heeled shoe in severe cases ; I usually prefer taking the shoe off. If
severe, and the limb can scarcely be moved, if there is great difficulty in
getting up when down, it is good practice to place in slings ; foment, use
anodyne liniment, or a newly flayed sheep skin, etc., followed by a blister,
and invest a considerable surface. Apply around the articulation, and
allow it to extend down the limb. Cantharides is as good as anything.
Seatons are sometimes useful. Put in about three. Do not turn on
pasture, but give rest and quiet. Another way of detecting lameness is
putting a piece of wood for the animal to step over. If anchylosis takes
place, it is best to destroy the animal, unless it is a brood mare or
stallion.
Collar-trails are easily recognized, and if treated in time are easily
got rid of. Eemove the cause ; bathe with warm or cold water ; use the
white lotion, etc. ; irritating dressing should not be used. Sometimes the
result is a sit-fast, which you must dissect out, then stimulate gently.
A great deal may be done to prevent collar galls, by having the collar
fitted nicely, and exposing it to the sun or fire, to dry up the sweat.
There are swellings between the forelegs, which may be produced in vari-
ous ways, and may be of a formidable character, the result of irritation
from niartingal or breast strap, or injury direct or indirect, or they may
be of a constitutional character. In hydrothorax, disease of the kidneys,
liver, etc., you will find these swellings. If they are from injury, remove
the cause ; apply hot or cold ; if matter is present, open it up ; or, there
may be extensive irritation inside the legs, which, in some cases, is diffi-
cult to treat. It is best treated by constitutional treatment. It may
result from the horse being slightly out of condition. Give purgatives,
tonics, diuretics, etc., and use the white lotion. I have found benefit
from dusting the parts with charcoal. Keep quiet, for the folds of the
skin rub upon each other and keep up the irritation, especially in the
fall of the year.
Pectoral Rearion. — Injuries here occur in different ways, and some-
times do exceedingly well if the sternum and large vessels are uninjured ;
a punctured wound being the most dangerous. Endeavour to find what
caused the trouble, and it will assist you in determining whether there
are any pieces in the wound or not.
Elbow Joint. — Is formed by the radius and ulna and humerus, and
there is considerable motion in it. It is occasionally diseased ; sometimes
there is an abscess of a serious character, or fracture of the ulna,
exostosis, anchylosis, etc. ; or, there may be inflammation of the joint
or synovical membrane. It may result from the animal slipping and
114 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
falling upon the elbov, or from constitutional causes, and is an annoying
source of lameness. It is hard to find the exact seat of the disease. In
other causes there is sprain of the ligaments, or some of the lateral liga-
ments may become completely ruptured. The caput muscles, especially
the magnum, tend to bring up the leg, and are liable to injury. The
symptoms vary according to the activity of the case, and is sometimes
diflficult to detect. We make up our mind from both negative and
positive symptoms— by negative, when there is no disease in any other
part of the limb. If there is rupture of the lateral ligaments, or frac-
ture, the animal points the limb and knuckles at the fetlock. The elbow
comes down to a certain extent, if walked. Sometimes, by placing the
limb pretty straight, he can bear weight upon it pretty well. If it is the
result of a sprain, there is more or less swelling and heat ; but sometimes
you do not have these symptoms. Some say there is a tendency to place
the foot as in laminitis, but I have hot seen this ; but in backing there is
difficulty in bringing back the limb. Wasting of the muscles in the
region of the joint will assist you in determining it.
Treatment. — Give rest ; allay the irritation ; use hot or cold to the
parts ; blister — seatons are perhaps preferable to a blister, one inside and
one outside — and stimulate them with cantharides, or anything of that
kind. If it is a severe injury to the caput muscles, then place in slings.
Capped Elbow. — The most common injury in this region is a little
enlargement appearing on the point of the elbow, caused by the action of
the shoe when the animal lies down, causing irritation and the formation
of serum or an abscess. A heavy belly band may produce it, or it may
be due to the manner in which the animal lies down, even producing it
without shoes, and it is necessary to wear a boot on such, although shod
with very short shoes. It is easily detected ; there is first irritation, and
then a slight exudation ; sometimes just an ordinary exudation, and
sometimes it is of a serious character. Eemove the cause — remove the
shoe — apply fomentations and stimulate with any mild liniment, such as
the camphorated, and in from three to six days it will disappear, if
attended to in time. A moderate dose of physic is of benefit. If the
cause is kept up and serum accumulates, it is best to open it carefully at
the most dependent part, then foment and stimulate ; or insert a small
piece of tape with the digestive ointment, carbolic acid, etc., to prevent
the wound from healing, or you may insert a seaton through it for the
same purpose. This exudation may become of a fibrous character, and
also fibrous pus is secreted, and it makes an ugly sore. The remedy is to
dissect it carefully out In some cases, where the exudation is becoming
organized, you might arrest it by using iodine ointment, or biniodide of
mercury, but if once organized then remove it. There may be consider-
able hemorrhage in cutting these out, but it can generally be controlled,
after which bring the divided edges together. It will take some time for
it to heal up, owing to the motion in the parts. When you think an in-
flammatory action can be set up and cause the absoption of this exuda-
tion, try counter irritation. The elbow may be injured by slipping and
cutting the point of the elbow, especially in winter. In such cases when
the animal stands up you will see that the cut or incision is below the
elbow ; these set up great irritation. Treat with cold or hot water,
lotions, etc. If the animal is driven for some distance air passes and
extends right round the joint, and perhaps up the shoulder, giving rise to
great swelling, which is not the result of inflammation ; bring the hand
over the part and you will find that it contains air— there will be a crack-
ling noise. Foment and use slight pressure. It might be advisable to
make incisions in the parts, but this is the exception. I saw this occur
• DISEASES OF D03IESTIC ANIMALS. 115
from tracheotomy, where the air got in and extended over the entire
body ; the operation was performed in a bungling manner.
Injuries Below the Fetlock. — The flexor muscles are bound down by
fascae. These muscles are liable to injuries, punctures, wounds, etc., and
when you notice an injury of a chronic character, and successive abscesses
form and discharge, open up and examine for a foreign body. These mus-
cles are also sprained. The belly is not sprained so often as the tendon ;
but this does occur. It may be done by violent action, as galloping, jump-
ing, etc. The symptoms are well marked. There is difficulty in flexing
and extending the limb, heat and swelling in the parts. Use fomenta-
tions, liniments and a mild blister. There are incised, punctured and
lacerated wounds as well. If a horse receives a pretty deep puncture
in the region of the elbow joint, with a small external opening, and
the animal is kept going for a day or two, matter forms, diffuse
suppuration takes place under the fascia. It can not get away, but
extends around the limb, causing great suffering and swelling. The
matter may penetrate and destroy the capsular ligament, and cause
open joint, and if you are called two or three days after the acci-
dent, and the parts swollen and tender, and perhaps you can detect
fluctuation, then relieve the parts of pus by an incision, foment,
etc., which will often prevent excessive sloughing. Watch such cases
closely. The muscles become tendons as we proceed down. The exten-
sor metacarpi obliques passes obliquely over the anterior portion of the
region, and nature has supplied it with a bursa to enable it to move
smoothly. And you often see little swellings just above the knee, which
are distensions of this bursa, which has become diseased, possibly from a
sprain, but generally from injury by striking the manger, or from jump-
ing fences and striking the parts, or from a pole upon the neck to pre-
vent jumping. Give rest, use hot or cold water, judicious blister, etc.
It is an eye-sore only, and is very difficult to remove. Endeavour to
cause absorption by setting up inflammation, then use cold water to the
parts. You may sometimes open them, but, as a general thing, be care-
ful unless it contains serum. You may treat with the asperator, but it is
not what it is said to be in veterinary practice.
Knee- Joint. — The arrangement of the bones prevent concussion, to a
great extent ; still it is affected by concussion, and s6metimes of a com-
plicated character. Inflammation generally results from injury, but not
invariably. It may be from hereditary tendency, or a rheumatic inflam-
mation. There is lameness and swelling in some cases. He may walk
tolerably well, but, if trotted, he drops the same as in splint, to some
extent — stands with the limb slightly pointed. If you flex or rotate the
limb it gives pain. If the cause is kept up, it is likely to end in anchy-
losis, which may be due to a bony deposit, or to a fibrous exudate, and
the animal may be destroyed. The prognosis is more difficult than the
diagnosis.
Injuries to the Knee Joint. — There may be stiffness, but not lame-
ness, from the formation of fibrous tissue, or there may be a little deposit
in connection with the ligaments, giving rise to more or less lameness ;
or anchylosis may result from carpitis. You can detect this by flexing
the limb, and if the limb is in a healthy condition, you can bring the
little pad, at the back of the fetlock, against the elbow ; but if diseased,
you cannot. Examine in this way for soundness.
Treatment. — There is no articulation that requires more rest than the
knee. Devise some means to keep the limb quiet. Take off the shoe in
most cases ; bathe with cold water, and use anodyne liniments, and
bandage nicely ; and I have found benefit from a starch bandage. If
116 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF •
there is but little irritation, and if the animal is extremely lame, use
slings. Use counter-irritation, and apply around the whole articulation,
but do not rub it in too hard at the back part, for it would destroy the
skin and produce a sore that is difficult to heal. We sometimes apply a
blister to set up inflammation ; sometimes to hasten, and sometimes to
arrest, same process. Seatons and firing are recommended, but I think
blisters are best.
Speedy-Cut is sometimes a very troublesome enlargement, and may
appear inside of the joint. It is produced by striking ; it may come gra-
dually, and be full, hard and tense, or come suddenly and be soft. In
some cases it is just contusion, just from one strike, which bruises the
tissues internally ; possibly there is extravasation of blood, and serum
forms ; or, from striking slightly, irritation is set up to a slight extent ;
this goes on, and a tumour comes on gradually.
Treatment. — If the cause is kept up, it is likely to end in a serious
abscess. Kemove the cause. Use hot or cold applications ; if there is
much pain hot is preferable. But I think if cold is applied in time,
when there is not much pain, it prevents the bad results. There is
benefit in bandaging. Use acetate of lead and mild stimulating lini-
ments. If serum forms, open carefully after allaying ihe irritation
(Sime's abscess lancet is perhaps the best), then apply pressure; for if
you do not, it is likely to collect again. But do not be rash in opening
while there is irritation. The irritation can be reduced to a great extent
by cantharides or biniodide of mercury. There are various methods of
preventing striking ; attend to the shoeing, and in many cases it is
necessary to apply boots, sometimes from the foot to the shoulder.
The Tendons of the Knee are sometimes cut, especially the meta-
carpi magnum, from falling or from a kick, or coming in contact with
some sharp instrument. The tendons will re-unite, but in injuries here
it is sometimes difficult to get reunion. In laceration of these tendons,
bring the divided edges of the skin together, keep the limb as straight as
possible— by splints, in some cases, and keep the parts quiet If you are
not called for some time after the accident, the horse has been moving
around, the ends of the tendons recede from each other, and there is a
kind of fungus growth thrown out inside of the wound ; when the ani-
mal moves, this either protrudes or disappears, which shows it is in con-
nection with the tendons. Cut the diseased portion out ; apply caustics
and considerable pressure. Good caustics are sulphate of copper, nitrate
of silver, carbplic acid, etc. Perfect reunion will not take place, but a
growth is thrown out by which the two ends are united, and there will
always be an enlargement.
Open Joint is a very serious result in any articulation, and some-
times there are severe constitutional symptoms set up, and it may cause
death by the constitutional fever. The joints most exposed are most
liable — the stifle, hock, fetlock and knee — but almost any joint may be
laid open. What I mean by open joint is where the skin, ligaments and
synovial membrane are opened up. It is one of the most serious injuries
to which the horse is liable, and varies much in its results. A series of
pathological changes takes place unless the discharge of synovia is
arrested very soon. I think if it occurs in a horse of a phlegmatic tem-
perament, it is more easily treated than in one of the opposite condition ;
the constitutional fever does not run so high. Notice the character of
the discharge. It is not so serious if opened with a sharp instrument,
as if done in a more violent manner, for if done by a kick, or from
falling, there is inflammation as well as open joint. It is sometimes a
punctured wound produced by a pitch fork. In a case where a capsular
DISEASES OP DOMESTIC ANIMAL*. 117
ligament is punctured or injured, and not done in a violent manner,
there is not very severe suffering for some timie, but the synovia
escapes and the air gets into the wound, sets up irritation, and then
the animal suffers greatly. At first the discharge is pure synovia — if
injured in a mild manner— but a change soon takes place ; in one or two
days there is active inflammation, and the nature of the disease alters,
there is more or less pus, and in three or four days the integrity of the
joint is somewhat destroyed, the cartilages become destroyed, and in a
severe case partial or complete anchylosis is the result, and necrosis of
the joint may occur. The tissues also become implicated, and tumefac-
tion in many cases comes and extends around the joint, and the pus is
sometimes mixed with red streaks, giving it a kind of muddy appearance,
showing that the cartilage is destroyed. The pus is fetid also, the bones
become carious or ulcerated, matter is thrown out, and anchylosis is the
result. Sometimes the appetite is gone, the pulse quick, there is intense
fever, sweats bedew the body, there is great emaciation, and death may
result in from two to six days ; or the surrounding tissues become
infiltrated with pus, and extensive sloughing follows, or there are sinuses
formed, etc., and the case is hopeless. This occurs especially in the hock
joint, but if you are called in the early stage, while the discharge is pure
synovia, no great fever, the wound made with a sharp instrument, and
the tissues not lacerated, it stands pretty good chances of recovery.
Treatment. — Endeavour to promote the healing of the wound, and if of
any size, insert a suture. Some bind with collodium, which excludes the
air, keeps the wound together and prevents the discharge ; or, take a
small piece of cotton and saturate with one part of carbolic acid to eight,
nine or ten of lard ; apply it over the wound, and keep it there by means
of a bandage. Bandage, foment, and attend to the constitutional treat-
ment. Keep as quiet as possible, and sometimes give a moderate dose of
purgative medicine. It may heal by the first intention, or almost heal,
then break, and synovia be discharged and prove fatal. Do not attempt
to explore a wound of this kind. If it is a later stage, and pus is formed,
it would not do to stitch it up and thus prev^ent the escape of it, but keep
quiet and place in slings, after the animal has become tired. It is some-
times good practice to use splints, if in the knee joint, to keep the limb
as straight as possible ; and in fomenting be careful not to wash or wipe
away any coagulum that may have formed. Poultice ; and the poultice I
recommend is : equal parts of flour and oatmeal — the flour tends to
coagulation, and the meal soothes Granulations spring up, and are
sometimes not bad signs ; but if they are too profuse, you can use
caustics, or the ordinary lotion, but do not use any irritant dressings, nor
inject the wound. Some recommend blisters in the early stage, others do
not. They are recommended for various reasons — to produce stiffness in
the joint, or to arrest the discharge, etc. — and in a case of some standing
they may be of benefit If it occurs in the knee or hock joint, to any
extent, you may expect anchylosis. If the pulse is full and bounding,
you may use arterial sedatives — aconite, in ten drop doses, every four or
five hours, for two or three days.
Bruises of the Knee. — Although they look very formidable, are very
trivial in comparison with open joint, and you may mistake the flow of
the bursal fluid for open joint. Cleanse with cold water, bring the edges
of the wound together and secure them; keep quiet and subdue the
inflammatory action ; use the ordinary white lotion, etc. Sometimes the
hair bulbs are injured, and the growth of the hair is white, or even no
hair at all is produced, and if the hair bulbs are destroyed, then hair can,
not be reproduced ; but so long as they are not destroyed it will grow-
118 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
but it may be white. Treat with any milk ointment to lubricate the
skin, hand-rub, etc.
Sprain of the Flexor Tendons, so called, is not, in many cases, a
sprain of these tendons, but of the
Metacarpal Ligaments.— This is very common in race-horses, and in
horses pulling heavy loads, especially if they have high-toed shoes. It is
not common in ordinary driving horses. It is produced by violent exer-
tion of some kind or other ; the most prolific cause is fast galloping, or
in pulling up hill with a heavy load.
Symptoms are generally tolerably plain. An exudation takes place
between the fibres of the ligament or around the ligament ; there is more
or less swelling, ; the horse is lame to a greater or less extent ; after
standing, lameness disappears more or less. Although it involves the
tendons, it will be found to be anterior to them ; and there is pain upon
pressure, and flexing the limb increases the pain, and this may be over-
looked if there is much hair upon the legs. If the animal is kept at
work, the exudation increases and the animal endeavours to relieve itself
by flexing the limb. The exudation becomes organized and the tendon
shortens, and the animal walks upon the front of the hoof. This is more
likely to take place in a heavy work horse than in a light, as a light
horse would be laid off work and a heavy one would not.
Sprain of the Back Tendons takes place in the same way, and is
also more likely to occur in fast or heavy work horses. It is frequent in
race horses. It is usually produced by violent exertion. Horses having
a bound-down formation of the limb, as it is called, are more liable to it.
An animal long and weak below the knee, or standing unnaturally back
— calf-kneed, as it is called — is more likely than spring-kneed. I would
rather have a horse knee-sprung than calf-kneed. These sprains may be
slight or severe, and may be suddenly produced. There will be more or
less exudation around and in between the fibres, snd if the cause is kept
up it will become severe. The fibres will give way and give rise to thick-
ening of the tendons, and they will contract and cause the horse to walk
on the toe.
Symptoms. — More or less swelling ; and flexing or extending the limb
will increase the pain and cause more lameness when trotted out.
Treatment is just the same, whether it is the ligament or the ten-
don, and must vary according to th« time you are called. If called
immediately, apply cold water and refrigerants, and bandage judi-
ciously to prevent the exudation Keep up the applications for one
or two hours, and watch the bandage closely, for if swelling takes
place, it may interfere with the circulation. After some time apply
a blister, but in some cases just cold water and bandaging will
do. The animal will be able for any kind of work, but if for fast
work, give a long rest. If you are not called until the exudation has
taken place, and great pain is present, then use hot applications, bandage
and use anodyne liniments; and, after the irritation subsides, blister,
and repeat in perhaps two or three weeks. It requires not only weeks,
but months, or even a year, to recover so as to undergo severe work.
You would better recommend a valuable animal rested for six months or
a year, than to put him to work in two or three weeks. You may derive
benefit from the firing iron, and it is necessary now and again, but it can
generally be treated without it. The result of the injuries I have men-
tioned is
Contraction of the Tendons, in which the horse walks upon the toe,
allowing the foot to grow out of shape. The only chances of bringing
the parts into their natural condition is tenotomy, that is if the contrac-
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC AMIMALS. 119
tion is the result of disease of the tendon, but if it comes from some dis-
ease of the fetlock joint it would be useless. In performing tenotomy
apply cold water to tbe parts for a day or two, to reduce any inflammation
and get rid of the exudation. Cast the horse, take the limb from the
hobble, and make your incision inside of the limb, taking care not to
injure the artery. Some recommend introducing a scalpel first down
between the tendons and ligaments. The ordinary director does very
well, as well perhaps as the scalpel. First make the incision and then
use a tenotomy knife— the best is a probe-pointed bistouri, and it is best
to cut through both tendons, but sometimes cutting one will do— then
treat as a common wound. Sometimes the animal will stand with the
limb flexed, and it is in some cases necessary to apply a high-heeled shoe,
but in all cases bring the foot as near the natural condition as possible
before operating.
The Sheath of the Tendon is injured, but it is trivial in comparison
with injuries to the fibres of the tendons. It may be done by striking
with the hind foot, or if in the hind leg by some other animal striking it.
You might at first think it was sprain of the tendon, but if it is well back,
there is swelling, and the animal is not so lame as in sprain. It is best
treated by hot or cold applications, refrigerant lotions, anodyne liniments,
etc., and you may find benefit from a blister ; when you are called make
a careful examination. The suspensory ligament is the great mainstay
of the limb, and very powerful, and one upon which there is great stress ;
sprain of this is common, and sometimes its fibres give way completely,
giving rise to what is called
Break-down. — This is more serious than sprain of the back tendons
or metacarpal ligaments. In a case of this the fetlock descends and may
almost touch the ground, even if there is not much weight thrown upon
it. It is more common in race or hunting horses, and occurs in trotting
horses, but not often. It occurs to a certain extent in very heavy horses,
especially if weak limbed.
Symptoms vary according to the extent of the injury. It is not gener-
ally in a perfectly healthy condition when the fibres give way completely,
but, in a majority of cases, there had been a slight sprain of the liga-
ments, showing a slight swelling anterior to the tendon, and a little
thickening of the tendon. The animal is laid off work and treated, and
again put to work, and the same thing occurs, treated the same, etc., and
when put to work there is complete breakdown. If there is complete
rupture of the two bifurcations, the fetlock descends ; if but one, then one
side descends more than the other.
Treatment is the same as that already mentioned. Give a long rest,
and, unless rested a long time, he will not stand the same amount of
hard work as if rested a long time. If it is complete breakdown, the
limb will never regain its natural condition, but may be able to undergo
a considerable amount of fast work. When there is descent of the fet-
lock and severe pain, the animal lies down ; let him lie. Apply fomen-
tations and camphor, laudanum and arnica, or perhaps a little chloro-
form ; or if you use water, acetate of lead or opium may be added. Ban-
dage and bring the parts as near their natural position as possible. A
high-heeled shoe is recommended, and may be of benefit. After allaying
the acute inflammatory action, although there may still be great pain,
apply a blister around the fetlock and right up where the ligaments are
affected. In some cases, where there is extensive exudation, possibly
involving the bone, bursa, etc , you may find benefit from the use of the
firing iron. Such a horse cannot be restored to the natural condition,
but there will be a thickening of the parts, and the fetlock will descend
120 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
more than natural. Sometimes there is only partial rupture of one of
the bifurcations. Then allay the irritation, and apply a starch bandage
and a high-heeled shoe, and slings are sometimes of benefit in such
cases. If the animal will lie down and take good care of the limb, it is
better than slings.
Inferior Sesanoid Lii^aments are also liable to sprain. This may
give rise to a lameness which is puzzling. It is most likely to occur in
fast horses — race and trotting horses, the latter oftener suffer here than
higher up.
Symptoms. — It is difficult to say which of the three ligaments is
affected. There is more or less irritation, giving rise to lameness, at
first sight, after fast work. After cooling off the horse goes lame for
eight or ten steps and it possibly disappears. The leg is bandaged and
he is taken out the next morning. There appears to be nothing wrong ;
there may be a little pointing of the foot, which shows the irritation is
low down ; you may detect slight swelling and heat in this region ; trot-
ting him causes pain. Give rest ; hot or cold applications and counter-
irritations ; but be careful with it in this region ; it may destroy the skin
and hair bulbs. The tendons may be cut — usually from the action of
the hind feet, or if in the hind feet, from one horse running upon another.
Bring the parts together with a suture, and keep them well bandaged.
Keep as quiet as possible, and, if practicable, use slings, and take a
piece of iron and fasten on like a shoe, and let it come up the back
of the limb and grasp the limb above the joint. Although there is
thickening of the tendon, it does not seriously interfere with his action ;
or the tendons, ligaments, nerves, etc., may be cut off below the
joint, and the hoof will take on a very peculiar growth. If the ten-
dons alone are cut, then bandage nicely and watch closely, for the
irritation is liable to extend down between the sensitive and insensitive
parts of the foot and produce extensive suppuration. When it does it is
necessary to cut down and allow the matter to escape. But if these are
entirely cut, you might as well recommend the animal destroyed, You
might produce reunioun in a partial manner, but the animal is of no use
afterward.
Sesamoiditis. — Sprain of the back tendons in the region of the fet-
lock, accompanied by inflammation of the sesamoids and bursae. It is
due to a slight sprain of the part, or to rhuematic inflammation of the
joint, but most likely some injury or concussion. It is not common in
road horses.
Symptoms. — On first coming from the stable the animal is slightly stiff ,
but this will disappear to some extent after exercising, and will again ap-
pear after resting. There will be knuckling slightly, and there is a slight
puffiness around the horse. A careful examination reveals heat in the
parts. Flexing or extending the limb creates pain, and the animal will
go more lame. There are changes that take place, perhaps a cartilagin-
ous deposit, which may be converted into bone. In such cases lameness
continues for some time, and there is a well-marked enlargement around
the joint, at first puffy, then hard.
Treatment. — Best, fomentations, heat or cold, followed by a blister.
We find other causes of slight sprain, and it is hard to say what is the
exact lesion. It is usually produced by hard or fast work upon hard
roads, or hard pulling. He may extend the limb pretty well, but if
trotted, there is difficulty in distending the limb. There may be anchy-
losis of the joint. When you see a horse knuckling in the fetlock, do
not make up your mind that the disease is in the fetlock in all cases ; but
it is symptomatic of disease of the fetlock. Use hot or cold applications,
DISEASES or D05IESTIC ANIMALS. 121
and blisters are of great benefit. Cold water may cause the horse to ap-
pear pretty well, but knuckling may still remain. Cantharides is perhaps
preferable just for a sprain.
Interfering or Striking the fetlock joint while travelling. Shoeing
with light shoes will generally relieve it. Get the animal in good condi-
tion, etc. Sometimes the striking is not sufficient to bruise the shin to
any great extent, but gives rise to contusion, sets up inflammation, the
result of which is an extensive exudation, which usually terminates in
suppuration ; and the matter is deep seated and not very abundant, but
from its situation the animal suffers intensely. Such cases sometimes
puzzles the young practitioner to tell what is wrong. This may occur
from a sprain, but usually from irritation. The animal, when standing,
rests the foot, or may lift it from the ground, acting much the same as
in suppuration of the foot. Apply hot cloths and poultices, which will
allay the inflammatory action or hasten the process of suppuration.
Watch it closely, and if, after poulticing for one or two days, the swelling
increases and perhaps fluctuates to a slight extent, then you are sure
matter is formed ; and when it arrives at a certain stage open it ; but be
careful in inserting the lancet if there is extensive exudation. First
twitch the animal and make a small incision ; or sometimes insert a
probe or director, and then open slightly. If opened in time, it will often
prevent extensive sloughing. Poultice, etc., after opening. If 'sinuses
are found and matter is discharging, cleanse nicely, and then use caustics,
or butter of antimony, nitrate of silver, etc. ; or, there may be thickening,
which may be removed from iodine ointment, or an occasional blister.
Do not apply irritants when the horse has a tendency to brush, so to speak.
Knuckling. — This sometimes falls under the head of disease, and
sometimes you can scarcely call it such, and in examining for soundness
you may be puzzled to say whether it is sound or unsound. There may
be jerking forw^ard of the fetlock at almost every step, or even when
standing still. The joints appear prominent in front. It detracts from
the symmetrical appearance of the limb, but may not interfere with the
action at all. Post mortem often reveals 'nothing wrong with the joint.
It is oftener seen in the hind than the fore limb, hard and fast work being
the exciting cause, or working young animals before they are able to un-
dergo such exercise. The high feeding of colts which are kept in the
stable is a cause, or it is sometimes the result of more or less disease in
the fetlock joint, or the formation of the limb, a straight fore limb and
pastern, etc., tend to this.
Treatment. — If of long standing little can be done for it, but if it ap-
pears suddenly in a horse three or fours years old, it may be got rid of.
Give rest, apply cold water, and afterwards blister, and if the horse has
been in the stable recommend him turned to pasture for a time.
Knee Sprung is similar to knuckling, and interferes but little with
the animal's usefulness. It is sometimes the result of formation, and
sometimes the result of hard or fast work before the animal is fit for such
work, or standing in a stall, especially if such stall slants from before
backward. Judges of horses prefer a knee-sprung to a calf-kneed horse,
as they will stand more work, and a calf kneed horse is more liable
to stumble. Some say that knee-spring arises from distension of the ex-
tensor tendons ; others say from contraction of the flexors and ligaments.
Another cause is feeding young animals highly, as for show purposes,
and not giving regular exercise. High-heeled shoes also have a tendency
to produce this. If in a young horse fx'om any of these causes, a little
treatment and a little rest may restore it. If in a gross animal, give a
6
122 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
j
certain amount of exercise and then physic; then use judicious counter- ;
irritation; blister. Keeping a horse lower in front than behind has a i
tendency to help it, but perhaps a level floor is the best. If the formation '
is faulty you cannot bring him to a natural condition. Sometimes it is j
unsoundness, and sometimes it is not. If it is not from faulty forma- i
tion, it is not an unsoundness ; if it is from faulty formation, it is
unsoundness.
Wind Galls will come into your notice almost every day. They :
are puffy tumours, situated at the back part of the fetlock joint. ]
They are of various sizes, so called because they were supposed to j
contain au-. They consist in an enlargement of the bursae, in con- ',
nection with the flexor tendons, where tendons play over each other, or
over bones. They are supplied with little sacks, called bursae ; they are
lined with synovial membrane, and secrete synovaa. The processes of
absorption and secretion are going on. When more is secreted than is
absorbed, the result is a wind-gall, which is a bursal enlargement, due to !
the natural secretion, which secretion may be more or less changed if the •
cause is kept up, and the bursa may become thickened, or even a bony or :
cartilaginous deposit may occur. Yon may find wind-galls in any joint,
but they are not called wind-galls unless in the region of the fetlock ; if ;
well back, it is in connection with the bursae of the flexor tendons ; but '
if more in front, it is in connection with the joint. A slight wind-gall i
is not looked upon as an unsoundness, even in a fast horse. In examin- ]
ing, be careful to scrutinize the condition of wind-galls ; if they are soft, \
there is no heat in the parts, etc., and they are in the back part, and :
small, it is not unsoundness. In examining, make the animal stand \
upon the limb, if they are more in front, heat, pain, etc., are present, ■
and there is more or less disease of the fetlock joint. They may appear i
very suddenly, as after a drive or one day's work. They are due to the ■
excessive demand of the drive ; the absorption is not equal to the ;
secretion. I think severe exertion irritates the parts and prevents '.
absorption, and the secretion goes on as natural. i
Treatment. — If of long standing they cannot be removed ; but if '
treated in the early stage, they may be reduced. If suddenly produced j
in a plethoric animal, give a moderate dose of physic, and use hot or ;
cold applications — cold perhaps is preferable. Pressure is of great \
benefit. Take a piece of cloth and fold several times, and place upon ':
the part, and apply a bandage, keeping it wet ; it causes absorjjtion ; or ;
you might use refrigerants, as acetate of lead, etc., and sometimes follow ;
with a blister, and put to work gradually. Irritant dressings and firing !
are not necessary. It is bast not to open them unless they contain I
serum, for the irritation may extend and cause trouble. You could |
drain it off with a small trochar, but it would accumulate again. If you ■
wish success, treat in the fall of the year, and expose to the cold during '
the winter ; but they will, in most cases, return in the spring. "Where
they come in front, they are a great eye-sore, but are the same, and may ]
be treated the same. These may be produced by striking the stall.
Dislocation of the Fetlock. — I will first mention this in the fore ex- :
tremity. You may be able to reduce it in exceptional cases, but if it j
occurs in a violent manner, the bones thrown back, the ligaments
ruptured, etc., it is worse than a fracture.
Hip Joint. — You may meet with inflammation from some injury, direct ]
or indirect, but generally from indirect injury. It may come from rheuma- i
inflammation of the joint ; the round ligament may be sprained or !
ruptured. It usually occurs from slipping— just setting the foot upon a j
cobble-stone and slipping, and the horse be lame for life — or it may i
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 123
result from violent pulling. If the round ligament suffers, there is more
or less inflammation set up in the entire articulation. The nutrition of
the cartilages may be arrested, and ulceration and anchylosis result.
Hip joint disease is not so common as disease of some other articu-
lations, yet it is a favorite seat by some who are not acquainted with the
structure of the parts, and you may experience some difficulty in detect-
ing the difference between hip and hock joint lameness.
Symptoms. — If the injury is severe, there is difficulty in extending
the limb in walking, and this is better marked in trotting. When walk-
ing, he will perhaps flex the hock pretty well. He rests the limb when
standing, or it may be lifted up from the ground ; but this alone is not
conclusive evidence. If there is no- irritation in any other part of the
limb, it will assist you in making up your mind. And perhaps he
stands on the toe ; there may or may not be slight swelling, but after some
time you have wasting of the muscles, even if they are not themselves
affected, as in spavin, etc. In some cases you are assisted by manipu-
lation ; but you can not always rely upon pressure. It is recommended
to take a piece of wood and place it over the joint, and strike it with a
mallet once or twice, and then walk the animal out, and he will go more
lame if this is the seat of the disease. But after certain charges take
place, there is no difficulty in detecting it.
Grluteal Muscles, especially the maxmus, which is attached to the
prominence on the head of the femur, frequently suffer from injury.
This is more common, perhaps, than hip joint disease. It generally
occurs just from slipping, more particularly if pulling a heavy load. It
is more common in pulling than in ordinary driving horses, and it may
be produced in any by slipping or falling violently. If the irritation is
kept up, there will be changes in the joint. There may be cartilaginous
or osseous deposits.
Symptoms. — There is difl&culty in extending the limb — sometimes very
great. He can scarcely bring the limb forward at all. There is more or
less swelling, if it is in the muscle ; but if in that part in connection
with the bone, it will not be so extensive. Looking from behind is the
best way to detect the swelling. If you pull the limb back, out, or for-
ward, it increases the lameness. You may, in some cases, mistake frac-
ture for sprain, and spavin for fracture ; but in fracture there will be
descent of the haunch. But the lameness might lead you to suspect
fracture. The manner in which the accident occurred also assists you in
diagnosing. After a time, when the swelling disappears, atrophy takes
place to some extent.
Treatment is just the general treatment of sprains. Give rest, foment,
use anodyne and camphorated liniments, or you might apply a blanket
rung out in hot water and cover it with a dry one, or a newly flayed
sheepskin, and follow by a blister ; blister a large surface, extending
around the trochanter major and the articulation — cantharides is as good
as anything. Some like the application of a plaster to keep the joint
Btill ; slings are sometimes necessary. If caries takes place it is incurable.
Keep quiet ; if the animal is kept at work there are changes that give rise
to a deposit, or a converting of a part of the tendon into cartilage or bone.
I think there is no use in firing ; some recommend cutting through these
large muscles and applying the firing iron near the articulation, but 1
think it would not be attended with success Dislocation of this joint
seldom occurs in the horse — it is scarcely possible without fracture of the
acetabulum —in other animals it does not occur ; in dogs and cattle it ia
frequent. Cattle do not have the pubeo-femoral ligament: throwing
them is more liable to dislocation. In dislocation the limb is shorter;
124 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
the prominence is either higher or lower than natural ; it may be possible
to get it into position in cattle.
Stifle Joint. — There may be sprain of some of the straight ligaments.
It generally occurs from slipping, jumping, or from the animal getting
fast in the snow, etc., and exerting himself to extricate himself.
Svm/>^om5.- -There is difficult}' in extending the limb, both in walking
and trotting, but it is more marked in trotting, and in extending the
limb he endeavours to keep it in a fixed position, and does not bring it so
far forward as natural ; there may be enlargement and heat in the parts ;
when standing he flexes the limb to some extent. You must also judge
from negative symptoms— look at the hock, fetlock, etc Professor Dick
told his students to examine the foot, although the leg was broken. You
can not be too careful in examining.
Treatment. — If it is just a sprain, and is taken in time, it is easily
treated. Give rest, foment and blister, or apply seatons, one inside and
one outside, as required. I recommend blisters.
Dislocation of the Patella is by no means uncommon, and it is
never knocked to the inside— however, there is nothing impossible— but
to the outside. It occurs in many ways, and in some very simple ways,
just from a false step in travelling, or even while standing in a stall
where there is an abrupt offset in the floor, from stepping off it, or there
are things which predispose to it. I have noticed some cases after
strangles, which occurred vei-y easily.
Symptoms are very plain, and after seeing one case you can easily
recognize the next. The animal cannot extend the limb, and when he
does bring it forward, he does it as though there was no articulation in
the limb, and acts the same way when backed. There was a student sent
from the college to examine such a case, and there was considerable
straw in the box, and he said the horse had got his foot fast in a hole in
the floor. The symptoms are much like this, as though the foot was
nailed to the floor.
Treatment. — Get it into position as soon as possible, and the best way
to do this is to place a soft rope around the foot, and have an assistant
pull the leg forward while you take hold of and manipulate the parts. It
will generally go in quite easily, and it is possible to do it just by taking
the leg in one hand and the parts in the other ; but the animal may fall
and injure himself, so it is best to have some help, and keep the animal
supported, to prevent this ; then elevate the hind quarter slightly, or ex-
tend the limb, and keep it so, by having it kept there, or tie to a collar.
But I find a better way, and I recommend it : it is a little gentle exercise
upon a smooth place ; and in turning, it is perhaps best to turn to the
side from the injured limb If the muscles have lost their power of con-
traction, a little exercise brings them in tone. Invariably advise this,
after perhaps bathing with a little cold water and rubbing well. But you
may meet with a case where the muscles are relaxed, until it is necessary
to stimulate with some stimulating liniment, or even a blister.
Partial Dislocation is where it just slips slightly, impairing the
action to some extent ; and I think this usually occurs in very young
animals, and is due to weakness or certain inciting causes, as allowing
weakly colts to run on a rough hill-side. This is likely to become
habitual. Changes take place in the cartilages, and perhaps a por-
celaneous deposit occurs. It usually occurs in colts up to fifteen months
old, and may affect one or both limbs. There is slight difficulty in
extending the limb, and there is a peculiar clinking sound at every step,
which you can hear for some distance, and a peculiar stilty action.
Treatment. — Feed well ; stimulate the joint, and after giving a certain
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 125
amount of exercise, blister ; keep it in a nice level box. You will find
the result is detention of the bursae, which, although it does not seem
lame, is a great eye-sore. Sometimes there is a tendency to go upon the
toe. When heels grow very long, and it is necessary to bring the foot
into position and apply a stifle shoe, apply it to the affected limb, and
not, as originally applied, to the sound limb, to cause the weight to be
thrown upon the affected limb. There is a little projecting piece to the
toe of ^such a shoe.
Semi-lunar Cartilages Become Injured.— This is very troublesome,
and generally gives rise to permanent lameness. The lameness is similar
to other diseases of the joint— difficulty in bringing the leg forward; wasting
of the muscles ; some swelling appears, at first soft, but gets harder and
harder, and a sort of cartilaginous deposit is the result. It is generally
hopeless, bat you might try counter irritation.
Vastus Muscles are also sprained, and in just about the same way as
sprain in the stfle joint ; there is great difficulty in extending the limb, as
great almost as in disease of the patella. These symptoms disappear,
and then wasting takes place ; the animal drops to a certain extent. It
is easily detected by one acquainted with the parts.
Treatment. — Use counter irritation. I have seen pretty good recovery
take place, but sometimes this muscle wastes from azoturia. From this
wasting a hollow sometimes extends from the upper to the lower part of
the femur, and if there is no disease of the bone or at the attachment of
the muscles to the bone, a tolerably good cure may be effected.
Psoa) Muscles are injured and it is difficult to diagnose. Azoturia is
sometimes mistaken for a sprain of these muscles (and I believe they are
generally implicated in azoturia.) There may be constitutional disturb-
ance, and if you can not detect otherwise, you may examine per rectum,
and you may detect enlargement. Give rest, apply heat over the loins, etc.
Muscles Between the Stifle and Hock. — The flexor metatarsi, if
sprained, gives rise to very peculiar symptoms. The injury may be
to the belly, the origin, or insertion, but in most cases it is the belly.
It may occur in various ways — from running, jumping, etc.
Symptoms. — If in the belly of the muscle, more or less inflammation
is the result ; it loses the power of contraction, and, it being an im-
portant muscle, the muscles of the opposite side contract forcibly,
and in attempting to move the limb, causes it to hang in a dangling
manner, and a person not acquainted with the structure would say
that the leg was broken. If the leg is straightened it can bear some
weight. You can see a cut of this in Prof. Williams' work. Just
think of the action of the muscles, and you will have but little diffi-
culty in diagnosing this. It looks very serious to a person not
acquainted with the anatomy of the parts, but if the insertion or
origin is not injured there are good prospects of recovery, if properly
treated.
Treatment. — Crive rest, keep in a box stall, and allow him to move
the limb to some extent. It is not necessary to use slings ; use fomen-
tations and stimulating liniments, and perhaps a mild blister, and,
after the limb is getting better, give gentle exercise, if the animal will
take it. If the animal is gross, give a dose of physic. If the muscle
is injured at its origin or insertion, there will be swelling in the
parts, but the symptoms are the same. Injuries to the other muscles
in this region of the extremity will give rise to symptoms somewhat
similar — dangling of the limb, etc.
Hock Joint. — Diseases of this joint are numerous. A majority of
126 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OP
cases of lameness in the hind extremity are in the hock. It is oftener
affected than any other articulation.
Bog^ Spavin ia a soft, puffy tumour, situated at the anterior-inter-
nal part of the true hock joint, and is due to the distention of the
capsular ligament with synovia. It bulges out where it is not bound
down by tendons. It is called bog spavin because it is a soft, while
bone spavin is a hard, condition of the hock. It is very common and
serious, and attacks heavy horses niost frequently, and in such is not
so serious. It is comparatively rare in road horses. It is more serious
than wind galls, from its affecting the true hock joint. It is the result
of an extra secretion of synovia. Naturally there are about two or
three drachms of synovia in this sack, but in bog spavin it may be
two or three ounces. As well as distention, there may be more or less
irritation. The capsular ligament in some cases becomes thickened,
and if of long standing, or if the cause is kept up, the cartilages be-
come affected — perhaps destroyed — and a porcelaneous deposit is the
result. But in many cases it will remain in just the same distended
condition for some length of time, and then these changes take place,
and perhaps caries, anchylosis, etc.
Causes are predisposing and exciting. Horses having round, fleshy
limbs, etc., are predisposed. Want of regular exercise, feeding colts
for show purposes, fast work, sprain of the articulation, etc., are excit-
ing causes. It may, like wind-galls, appear very quickly.
Symptoms are very plain. A puffy tumour, as described, involving
the capsular ligament ; but there may be a puffy tumour, and not be
a bog spavin, but just a bursal enlargement. If there is much irrita-
tion, there will be heat and pain, and perhaps lameness, which will
continue as long as the irritation exists. It is even more troublesome
to treat than bone spavin.
Treatment. — If in a young horse, and there is no lameness, and you
are informed it has been suddenly produced, if in an animal in good
condition, reduce the condition by limiting the food ; apply hot or cold
bandage judiciously ; and you may find benefit from a combined bog
spavin and thoroughpin truss, but it is difficult to get it upon a bog
spavin, and it is a little difficult to bandage the hock; and you must
always leave the os-calcis free. Use judicious counter-irritation, and
the fall of the year is the best time to treat, for cold has a good effect.
If those changes are going on which are the result of inflammation,
then blister. Puncturing is not attended with success, for the fluid
will soon form again.
Thoroughpin is found in most all well marked cases of bog spavin.
This is a soft and compressible tumour in connection with the bursae
or pedis perforans tendon. It is so called because it runs through
from side to side.
Pathology. — It consists in distention of the bursa in connection with
the flexor pedis perforans tendon, above and in front of the os-calcis.
It is generally caused by more or less irritation, causing extra secre-
tion of the fluid in the bursa, and may be due to irritation set up
through bog spavin ; and in a majority of cases of bog spavin you will
find thoroughpin exists, due to the capsular ligament being bulged
upward and pressing upon the bursa of said tendon ; but the same
cause might produce both.
Causes. — It is most frequent in heavy horses. It may attain a con-
siderable size, and does not often produce lameness, unless irritation
is set up ; a long, straight hock, especially in a heavy horse, predis-
poses to it. It is comparatively rare, but is more common in light horses.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 127
Treatment is about the same as in wind-galls. Rest the animal to a
certain extent ; use hot or cold applications — cold preferable ; counter-
irritation, and in some cases puncture, but the more seldom you punc-
ture the better ; but if there is serum and pus, then puncture. If you
treat such a case, it is better to treat it in the fall of the year ; you
may reduce it. I have known it reduced, and it never was noticed
afterward. There is no specific for it, but just use those remedies
that will tend to cause absorption. You may derive benefit from
diuretics.
Near the side of the os-calcis there is a groove, through which the
tendons of the flexor pedis performs, play and sprain frequently occur,
and various names are applied. It is called
Spring" Hock, but perhaps a better name is sprain of the tendon.
A sprain here, even of a slight character, is apt to be attended with
serious results, and is most likely to occur in horses used for fast work,
especially if there is a heavy weight upon the back.
Symptoms. — There is difiiculty in extending and flexing the limbs ;
swelling ; and pressure causes pain ; the heel lifted from the ground ;
there may be constitutional fever, and if so, intense pain. It requires
a great amount of rest to effect a cure. Hot applications, I think, are
preferable to cold. Apply bandages ; a high shoe is good, as it tends
to take the strain off the muscle. A good way to apply heat is to take
a large sack, and slip it over the foot and up around the part, and
stuff it with hot bran. If in a cold stable in cold weather it is prefer-
able to poultices, etc., after a time. Repeated blisters, or a seaton in
some cases, might be useful. An abscess may be the result — extensive
swelling, pain and fluctuation — then open, apply poultices, etc , and
after the irritation goes down, blister. This is rather a serious affection.
Below the Hock, — Injuries here are about the same as in the fore
limb, but the tendons are not so liable to be cut, but they may be cut,
and a portion of the tendon be removed, and a tolerably good recovery
be effected.
Capped Hock. — This is a common and not a serious occurrence.
It is produced by injuries to the tuberosity of the os-calcis. It is a
little swelling upon the point of the hock. The gastrocnemius inter-
nus winds around the externus and forms the cap of the hock, and in
this place there is a large synovial bursa ; there is also a bursa situated
between this and the skin, and injuries to these give rise to capped
hocks.
Causes. — External injury, as kicking, etc., are common causes.
Some animals have a habit of kicking in the stall. It may be caused
by being cast in the stall or box, and some will do it in a nice loose
box, perhaps from the manner in which they lie down, or by standing
near and rubbing against the side of the stall. Another cause is from
influenza or strangles ; from debility and slight dropsical tendency,
but it soon disappears if from this cause, when the animal gets
stronger and is exercised. It may come in plethoric or gross animals,
or from some derangement of the system. It is easily produced — it
may be produced in one night. It is easily detected. There is swelling
in the part, and, although not serious, it is an eye-sore. It rarely
interferes with an animal's usefulness. Endeavour to find whether
it was suddenly produced or not. If is between the skin and tendons,
there may be a slight exudation, heat, etc., in the parts; but the
symptoms are more severe when the synovial bursa is affected. It is
generally violently produced. It extends to the sides of the os-calcis;
there is heat and pain, and the animal will go stiff and perhaps lame.
128 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OT
Treatment. — Remove the cause. If a kicking horse, place him where
he cannot injure himself, and you may have to pad the stall, and if
you are called, at first, to a case suddenly produced, give a good dose
of purgative medicine if the horse is in good condition. If there is
any irritation, foment, then apply cold ; and hand-rubbing tends to
stimulate the parts and produce absorption of the fluids ; use the ordi-
nary liniments and blister ; and there are exceptional cases where you
may insert a seaton or open. Where it is violently produced, and
serum is formed, you might use the aspirator, or knife, if in the bursas
mucosae. You will find benefit from iodine or anything that stimu-
lates absorption. It is difficult to remove. Do not be led into punc-
turing too freely, although it is sometimes very tempting. Tincture
of cantharides is of benefit in many cases.
Curb is an enlargement of the back part of the hind leg, a little
below the hock, due to sprain or complete rupture of the calcaneo-
cuboid ligament, or, some say to irritation of the sheath of the tendon ;
but in most cases it is sprain of the ligament.
Causes are predisposing and exciting. Certain breeds are more
liable than others ; also, a faulty conformation ; long os-calcis, inclin-
ing forward, instead of backward, gives rise to what is known as a
curby hock. The exciting causes are hard and fast work. It is most
common in fast horses. It is often produced in winter by being driven
in deep snow ; or, forcibly backing an animal with a heavy load.
Syniptows. — This is easily detected by viewing from the side. It
generally produces lameness, but not of a permanent character, and is
not so serious as sprain ; the parts are hot and tender, and there is
enlargement ; when standing, he flexes the limb. If the horse stands
for a day or two, the lameness usually disappears, but returns if used,
while there are other injuries in which the reverse is the case. In
almost all cases where it is suddenly produced there has been a pre-
disposing tendency. Although curb is said to occur on the back of the
leg, a little below the hock, it varies to a slight extent. It generally
occurs in young animals, and is more serious than in older ones. It is
sometimes called soft curb, when there is a bursal enlargement with
it. It is likely to be associated with more or less irritation. It will
be a long time before such an animal will be fit to do much work, and
treatment has but little effect. If it is low down, the animal will
stand upon the toe ; will be more or less lame — sometimes extremely
lame. But this soon disappears in an ordinary case, but comes back
when put to work.
Treatment. — It can generally be successfully treated without any
blemish ; treat just the same as sprain of any ligament or tendon.
It is well to give rest ; however, you cannot always do this ; but if
in a very valuable horse, give rest ; foment when there is pain ; use
anodyne applications, and in most cases follow by a blister, which
has an excellent effect in getting rid of the irritation ; cantharides
is perhaps preferable to mercury ; clip the hair and then rub it in
for ten or fifteen minutes ; leave on for a day or two, and then
wash ; shoe with a shoe a little higher at the heel than at the toe ;
it tends to take the strain off the part. You may have recourse to
the firing iron, but I am no great advocate of firing for curb. Caus-
tics are sometimes applied, which destroy the hair bulbs and pro-
duce a worse blemish than the curb. Irritation in the articulation
may call for firing. If you are called to treat a horse that is in
training, two or three years old, perhaps there are thousands of dol-
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 129
lars at stake, and the owner wants him ready for the engagement ;
perhaps you can, by the judicious use of cold water and anodyne lini-
ments, get him ready ; however, the proper treatment would be to
rest, physic, foment, blister, etc.; but if there are several thousand
dollars at stake, it makes a difference in the case. Use cold water,
with acetate of lead, powdered opium, etc.
Inflaniiuation, or Sprain of the Hock.— Perhaps there are well
marked symptoms, or it may be that some of the little ligaments are
injured and no plain symptoms present, but the animal does not flex
the hock so nicely as natural, or perhaps he lifts the foot from the
ground. Manipulation will assist you in diagnosing this. Give rest,
foment, and in some cases blister.
Open Joint in the Hook is a very serious injury, and if produced
in a violent manner, from a kick, etc., the chances are that it will
result in anchylosis, if it does not destroy the animal by the constitu-
tional fever. There is intense pain, the foot lifted from the ground,
the soft tissues swollen, and you are told that the animal received a
kick in that region. It is likely that anchylosis will be the result.
The same applies to open joint in the stifle, and if it occurs to a horse
not worth more than eighty or one hundred dollars, it is generally
best to recommend his destruction. Sometimes it looks much like
open joint when the capsular ligament is not ruptured.
Bursal Enlarg-enients, just little puffy tumors. In any region
where there are tendons and prominences of bone, there are little
bursas, and these may be enlarged both inside and outside of the hock,
but they rarely interfere with the animal's usefulness. Treat the
same as wind galls.
Gastrocnemius Internus is liable to slip out of its place, where it
passes over the joint of the hock, and it is very difficult to get it into
its place, but nature accommodates itself to the changed condition of
the parts. It is, of course, best to get it in its place, but if you can-
not, then allay the irritation until nature accommodates itself to the
change.
Ulceration of the Tibia, — I saw a case; the animal became sud-
denly lame from being ridden hard once or twice, was laid up and treated
with the ordinary applications ; got better, but afterwards died from
congestion of the lungs. There are just about the same injuries
below the hock as are met with in the fore extremity, but sprain is
more frequent in the hind limb, and break-down more frequent in
the fore leg.
LAMINITIS.
Laminitis signifies inflammation of the sensitive laminae, and is,
perhaps, not a good term, as there are other structures than the
laminae involved, and, in a well-marked and severe case, the whole
sensitive structures are involved — the bone, ligaments, etc. Another
name is founder — a name, perhaps, applied from the peculiar manner
in which the animal progresses. When it terminates quickly in reso-
lution, then it is principally in connection with the sensitive laminae
structures. It occurs in the acute, sub-acute and chronic forms. It
is serious, and, perhaps, one of the most painful diseases to which the
horse is subject, as the parts are extremely sensitive, and are largely
supplied with blood and nerves, and enclosed in the hard and resist-
130 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF ■
ing hoof, which adds to the severity of the irritation, and in inflam- ;
mation of these parts, the same changes take place, to a certain '
extent, as in other parts ; but swelling can only take place to a
moderate extent, making it more severe. But suppuration of the ;
sensitive laminae takes place, and often necrosis of the bone. i
Causes. — Some are said to be predisposed — some breeds, and those i
having weak feet — but it may occur in any kind of feet, and, in an |
acute attack, in a good strong foot, it is apt to be more severe than in J
a worse foot. Hard and fast work are exciting causes. It may be |
produced easily, and is more common in the hot months of summer. '
Shoeing is put down as a cause, and perhaps it is in some cases. If -
the shoe bears upon one part of the foot, it may set up irritation. '
This may spread and involve the sensitive laminae. Any irritation |
of the stomach and intestines is liable to be followed by laminitis, j
because there is a similarity of structure in the laminae, skin, and i
mucous membranes, and irritation in any of these, especially the
stomach, is liable to extend and involve the feet. Some feeds are I
more likely to produce it than others ; even a small amount of wheat, ;
just sufficient to set up slight colicky pains ; these pass off and the :
animal is attacked with laminitis. And the same may occur from .
irritation of any mucous membrane. The irritation of parturition "
sometimes causes it. An ordinary dose of physic may produce it. 1
Some call this metastasis ; that is, that when inflammation attacks ;
one part, it is liable to fly from that and attack some other ; but I •
think this is incorrect. Laminitis may be easily produced by driving :
an animal eight or nine miles on a hot summer day, and then put in !
a stable where the perspiration is suddenly checked by a draught, etc. ;
Symptoms. — It is easily detected if in the acute form. There is ■
fever, and a quick, full, bounding pulse, fifty, sixty, or seventy
beats per minute, and perhaps sweats bedew the body, and it may
remain in this condition for some time. The horse is stiff, and
moves with the greatest difficulty ; the constitutional symptoms are
violent, and you might think he was suft'ering from disease of some
internal organ ; especially if his wind is affected in any way, you
might think he was suffering from some disease of the respiratory
organs ; after seeing one case you should easily recognise the next.
The horse generally retains the standing posture, but sometimes
lies down. These symptoms may be present in other diseases, but
if you attempt to back him then the true character of the disease
shows itself. He throws his weight upon the heels to relieve the
toe, and if you attempt to push him back he drags the feet ; there
will be heat around the coronet and a throbbing of the plantar
arteries. If it is only in the fore feet, as is generally the case, he
walks in a peculiar manner, throws his weight upon his hind
limbs by putting them under him, and goes in a kind of jumping
manner, keeping the weight upon the frog. A casual observer might
think it was inflammation of the lungs or kidneys. When both fore
and hind feet are affected, the symptoms differ ; he will endeavour to
throw weight upon the hind feet, although they are affected. He will
stand with the feet close together, and when the weight is thrown upon
one foot it is jerked up quickly, almost as if suffering from some ner-
vous disease. Sometimes it is produced in only one foot, and when so
it is generally from some well marked cause. It is likely to follow
some injury to the foot, in which he cannot mark the limb, and stands
upon the sound one, and it not infrequently brings on laminitis in the
sound limb, as well as ringbone, spavin, etc. In such cases watch the
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIM.^XS. 131
sound limb carefully. If it occurs in both hind feet only, it is likely
it was brought on by driving on hard roads without shoes. If it comes
from the stomach, it is likely to attack the fore feet, or both fore and
hind feet. In a majority of cases produced in the ordinary way, when
it affects only the sensitive structures, the sensitive laminse, sole and
frog, it terminates in resolution, but when the exciting cause has been
of a severe character, great changes take place. The inflammation
then involves the other structures, causes separation of the sensitive
and insensitive laminae, and descent of the coffin bone, making the
sole convex and giving rise to what is known as pumiced foot, or the
bone may descend right through the sole, and the hoof will grow out
of all shape. A mild attack may produce all this if the exciting cause
is kept up, or when you are not able to relieve the irritation.
Treatment. — Although serious, it is, in many cases, satisfactorily
treated. The constitutional symptoms are generally best relieved by
sedatives and purgatives ; but it is sometimes the result of super-
purgation ; then do not give a purgative. In just an ordinary case,
remove the shoes, and have the wall rasped down nicely, but not to
too great an extent, and then envelop the foot in poultices, hot being
perhaps preferable ; and give a dose of purgative medicine ; and I
give larger doses than are recommended in our works, and as soon as
it begins to act the symptoms become less violent ; but you must regu-
late your dose according to the size, age and condition of the animal.
Give injections of soap and water ; also give a good sedative — Flem-
ming's tincture of aconite, fifteen or twenty drops every two or three
hours, until relief is obtained. In some cases you may take some
blood, and it is a good thing in many cases. As to whether it should
be local or constitutional, there is a difference of opinion. I think it
is just as good to take it from the jugular vein as any. Some bleed
from the toe, but it is liable to cause irritation. When you do bleed
do not give so much purgative medicine ; give nitrate of potash freely.
Some say, and I believe, it can be checked by the free use of nitrate of
potash. Give two or three drachms two or three times a day ; give it
in water, and allow plenty of water — not much at a time, but give it
often until the physic begins to act, and then be careful with it for
some time, and when the animal begins to get better, do not push
medicine too far. When there are no signs of relief, you may expect
that exudation is taking place, and it may be advisable to make an
opening at the toe and let it out, and if this is done in due time it may
prevent descent of the coffin bone ; but if in about three days the ani-
mal is relieved, and moves tolerably well, a little exercise is beneficial,
and perhaps it is well to again apply the shoe. If the animal retains
the standing posture, it is good practice to lay him down ; some recom-
mend sHngs, but I think it is better to lay him down, which is easily
done. Tie up one fore leg, and attempt to move him, and you can
easily lay him over, and in most cases he will lie quite well if the symp-
toms are relieved in three or four days. The former shoes will do to
be put on, but those without heels or toes are best. There is a kind
noticed in Williams' works ; it is a bar-shoe, very thin at the heel, but
I do not recommend it in the early stage of the disease. A horse that
has suffered from this should be carefully used for some time ; if he is
put to work too soon it is apt to assume a sub-acute form. If you
have treated an acute case, which has done well, but there remains
some heat, a good cantharides blister around the corona is of benefit.
Laminitis, Sub-acute and Chronic. —This may occur in any horse,
but it is most common in aged horses. The symptoms are not so
Ib2 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OK
prominent as in the acute form. It comes on gradually, and, like
other diseases of the feet, the great exciting cause is hard work —
especially irregular work. But it may be from faulty shoeing, which
sets up irritation, which extends and involves the laminae. Soft,
brittle and small feet are more liable ; that is, if the feet are out of
proportion to the size of the animal — a small horse should have a
small foot. Another cause is standing in the stable or on board of
ships. Those horses that are imported frequently suffer from this.
Symptoms. — There is heat in the foot ; he walks with a kind of
stumbling action ; the laminae are likely to lose their attachment,
then the animal throws its weight upon the heels, throws the limb up
in a peculiar manner, and tries to bring the heel down first. It may
terminate in pumiced foot, even when the animal showed in great
pain, and perhaps worked all the time ; yet considerable changes may
have taken place. The foot may have been slightly tender, but no
well-marked lameness, and if it continues for any great length of time
the treatment is tedious and not very satisfactory — not so satisfactory
as in the acute form. The shoe, in most cases, should be removed ;
rasp the wall down at the heels, and it may be advisable to take off
some of the sole in some cases. Then apply poultices, or keep the ani-
mal standing in a water-bath ; use moistened clay, etc. Cow-dung is
recommended, but is very injurious, but it might be used with three or
four parts of clay, and kept moistened, but I do not recommend it.
Give a laxative ; do not keep the shoes off too long, and in some cases
it is not advisable to keep them off at all. If the sole is very thin, it
may be necessary to keep the shoes on. After the heat and tenderness
is removed, then use a bar shoe — a shoe thinner at the heel than at the
toe. If the irritation continues then blister around the corona, and
well up toward the fetlock, and use such an animal carefully. If it is
a valuable animal, and in the spring of the year, turning out in a soft
nioist pasture is of great benefit. Such an animal is not usually valu-
able for fast work, but may be valuable for slow work. Another
symptom is wasting of the muscles of the limb and chest, giving rise
to the so-called chest founder. However, there is no such disease.
The result of laminitis is
Pumiced Foot. — This is not a very good name, but it is difficult to
change the name of some diseases. It is a name applied to the condi-
tion of the foot where the sole becomes convex, due to descent of the
coffin bone. But there are certain conditions seen, especially in a flat
foot, where the walls have been cut down, etc., where the sole is con-
vex and not due to laminitis, but to faulty shoeing. In this case there
will not be the effort to throw the weight upon the heel. In pumiced
foot the descent is toward the toe of the frog, and the wall is thinnest
there — so thin it can be easily cut through into the sensitive part.
Pumiced foot is easily detected by the unnatural convexity of the sole.
This may occur in either the fore or hind feet. If in the hind feet, it
is generally the result of a severe attack of laminitis, and the bone
may descend through the sole. If there is irritation, endeavour to
allay it by the ordinary means — poulticing, water-baths, etc. — then
apply a nice-fitting bar or concave seated shoe ; then a blister around
the corona ; and a run in pasture is of great benefit. A horse that has
been so affected is not serviceable for that work, but may do upon a
farm.
Yillitis is inflammation of the secreting villi, and
Coronitis is inflammation of the corona. The causes, symptoms
and treatment are the same as in laminitis.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. l35
CORNS, ETC.
Corns are generally found in the fore foot, but may possibly come
on the hind foot, and are oftenest found on the inside of the heel, be-
cause it is rather weaker, and the animal throws more weight upon
the inside. They are brought on and aggravated by pressure ; they
are brought on by the same cause, but are of a different character
from those in man. In the horse it is simply a bruise of the sensitive
sole, in the angle between the bars and wall, giving rise to extravasa-
tion of blood into the horny sole. A change may take place and an
imperfect growth of horn result, if the cause is kept up. There are
soft, hard, and suppurating corns ; these are just different stages of
the disease. If it is a soft corn it is perhaps of long standing. Horses
.with weak and flat heels are more liable, but it is quite possible for it
to occur in any foot, and if in a strong foot it is more severe and more
difficult to treat than if in a poor foot.
Causes. — Are shoeing and hard work. Shoeing with a seated shoe
is a prolific cause. Such a shoe bears upon the heel — the weakest
part of the foot — more than any other. The shoe should be made
narrow at the heel — paring the foot unnaturally at the heel causes it
Symptoms. — The horse is more or less lame in most cases, and is
generally most lame when the bruise is first produced. There is a
tendency to point the foot if only one is affected, if both are affected
he shifts from one to the other. He can go pretty well upon soft
ground, but hard roads or weight upon the back mcrease the pain.
Take up the foot and tap it with a hammer, and it causes pain. The
lameness is great if suppuration has taken place. He knuckles at the
fetlock, and this may mislead you. You may see redness just by
cleaning under the shoe, or you may take it off. An animal may be
lame from a corn, and not show any redness. Just riding a horse
three or four miles may produce corns if he is not properly shod, and
suppuration may take place quickly.
Treatment. — In many cases it is not necessary to lay the horse off
work, especially if used at slow work. Eemove the shoe, cut the heel
down to a certain extent, and sometimes the sole, but not into the
quick, unless there is suppuration ; and if he is to work, apply a shoe
that will prevent pressure — sometimes just the ordinary shoe. A bar
shoe, in most cases, is preferable. Keep it on for two or three weeks,
so as to throw the weight upon the frog — something like the Good
Enough shoes, or that recommended by Prof. Williams. I believe
that if horses were shod with shorter shoes, and care taken to take
the pressure off the heels, corns would not be so common. If there is
much irritation, allay it by poulticing, cold water, etc., and if it is
suppurated, cut down and let the matter out, for if you do not, it will
make its way to the top of the hoof, and cause quittor. After the
irritation has been allayed for some time, then blister around the
coronet. Corns are considered an unsoundness, which greatly depre-
ciates the value, and may be overlooked in examining for soundness,
especially in a strong foot. You may have to cut considerably before
you come to the extravasation, which may be very slight, yet sufficient
to cause lameness.
Thrush is an irritation in connection with the frog, giving rise to a
purulent and offensive discharge, which is characteristic of thrush.
It is oftenest seen in the hind feet, and is due to a slightly diseased
state of the venter surface of the frog, particularly in connection with
134 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
the cleft. It f»ive8 rise to irritation, spreads, impairs the secretion,
and gives rise to this discharge.
Causes. — There are extrinsic and intrinsic causes. It is sometimes
seen in the fore feet in navicular disease. Any irritation of the foot
may produce it. The extrinsic cause is wet and filth, allowing dung
to accumulate, irritating the parts, etc. Heavy horses are more dis-
posed to thrush, canker, cracked heels, etc. Thrush is not so preva-
lent in a cold climate.
Symptoms are plain. The horse does not actually go lame, but goes
tender, and if he steps upon something hard, he will flinch ; and there
is a discharge of a peculiar odour, etc.
Treatment. — It is easily treated. If due to ordinary exciting
causes, as filth, etc., remove the cause. In some cases take off the
shoes and pare down the parts — remove any detached parts — and
immerse the foot in a bucket full of water. Use astringent dressings
— the carbolic lotion, one part of acid to eight, ten or twelve of water,
or chloride of zinc five or ten grains to an ounce of water — and apply
well into the cleft, and then apply some tow or cotton saturated with
tar. There are other remedies, one is dusting the parts with powdered
calomel ; pressure is useful after these. Where horses get frog pres-
sure thrush is not so common. Thrush may terminate in canker, but
it is the exception and not the rule. Use sulphate of copper, butter of
antimony solution, and the tincture of chloride of iron. A change of
dressings is of benefit in most chronic cases.
PUNCTURES AND PRICKS.
Punctures from a nail passing through the sole, etc., may or may
not be serious, according to depth and direction. If a puncture is in
the frog, near the navicular bursas, it is liable to be severe, for it may
injure the tendon, or even the os pedis. When so, the whole limb may
swell and become gangrenous. If it passes in the frog, and its course
is to come out above the frog, it is not very severe. Sometimes it only
just penetrates the sensitive structures, and the animal is not lame,
but a little tender, in which case you have difficulty in diagnosing —
and some of the greatest mistakes that are made by a veterinary
surgeon are in diagnosing lameness. You may imagine there is lame-
ness and heat in the hock, and perhaps there is heat there from the
irritation in the foot.
Symptoms. — If it is in the hind foot, the animal knuckles ; if in the
fore foot, it is pointed, and when weight is thrown upon the affected
foot the other is quickly brought forward. Examine carefully ; take
up the foot and tap it with a hammer, and he will generally evince
pain ; and he may show pain when you tap upon the side opposite the
injury, and not show it when you tap upon the injured side. The
horse will perhaps knuckle just when starting, for a few steps, and
then walk all right. If in the frog, and you cut off some of the soft
part, there may appear a small dark speck, tap up on this and it
causes pain, then it likely is a puncture.
Treatment.— It was at one time recommended, although not much
laine, to cut the sole down and immerse the foot in poultices ; but
there is generally no necessity for cutting much, but put the animal off
work for a few days and apply a poultice. But sometimes the irrita-
tion increases instead of subsiding. Then it is necessary to cut down
thoroughly, and let the matter escape ; if you do not it will extend
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 135
and produce quitter. In some cases of puncture the whole of the sen-
sitive and insensitive frogs become detached. Then you must remove
the frog, for a new frog has to be produced. The after treatment is
to poultice, use mild astringents, etc. Sometimes a fungus growth
results, which, in some cases, is very difficult to remove. You may
have to use the knife, hot irons or caustics. Suppuration, in some
cases, is pretty severe, and in other cases is the better termination.
If it is in the region of the navicular burste, and not followed by
suppuration, the inflammation may continue and prove more difficult
than suppuration, or the sole may be under-run from a puncture,
which did not give rise to suppuration. Then use the knife pretty
freely, for if you do not, the new sole grows, the old presses upon it
and keeps up the irritation. In cutting in a puncture do it carefully,
and do not wound the healthy tissues. There may be irritation and
not suppuration, and if you cut down carefully the irritation may
subside.
Pricks. — This injury results from shoeing. It may or may not be
the result of carelessness. It may result from very thin walls, or
from the use of improper nails. The symptoms are about the same
as in punctures, but the nail may have been driven into the quick,
and then drawn out, and drives again. In such a case, if the animal
is kept quiet for a day or two, there will not generally be any bad
results ; but if worked, irritation is set up, lameness, etc. ; or, perhaps,
a nail is driven very near, but not touching the sensitive parts, the
animal may go well for some time, then strike a stone, the concussion
irritates, and suppuration results, and causes great lameness. Remove
the nail, and if matter is formed, let it out ; after the irritation sub-
sides, put on the shoe ; use a little tow and tar, or a leather sole.
CANKER, SAND-CRACK, ETC.
Canker. — This is of an inveterate character. It is more common
in heavy horses. It is a fungus growth. It may involve part or all of
the sole and frog.
Causes. — Perhaps from sulphuretted hydrogen diathesis, or con-
stitutional diathesis. It may be produced by irritation, as puncture,
and may supervene a slight attack of grease. An exciting cause is
standing in filth, dung, urine, wet farm yards, etc.
Symptoms. — A fungus growth appears; the horse is lame ; the sole
becomes absorbed to a certain extent, and this growth extends and
may involve the whole sole and frog. It is very vascular, and bleeds
readily. It is difficult to treat, if due to a diseased condition of the
parts.
Treatment. — It is necessary to use the knife freely, and remove
all the horn in connection with it, or cut and then use caustics.
Nitric acid is as good as any caustic for this. Then apply pressure
by means of a piece of brass, iron, wood, etc., extending between
the sides of the shoe ; or, if the horse is not extremely lame, a little
exercise may give sufficient pressure. Cover the injured parts with
tow and tar. Sulphate of copper, chloride of antimony and nitrate
of silver are used as caustics. Prof. Dick's remedy was sulphuric
acid two drachms, verdigris two drachms, and sufficient amount of
tar. Prof. Williams says to remove the whole sole, even in an
ordinary case (I would not recommend this unless the greater part of
the sole is impaired), and then use chronic acid, covered with tar and
136 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT 01*
tow. To treat this requires patience and perseverance, and you may
subdue the fungus growths and produce a healthy growth.
Sand Cracks, or Qaarter Cracks. — Called quarter, perhaps, be-
cause the quarter is most likely to be affected. The crack extends
down the wall, parallel with the fibres. It is called sand cracks
because it is common in horses kept upon hot sandy soil — a horse
raised upon moist land has a larger and flatter foot than those raised
on dry land. Sand crack is oftenest seen on the inside quarter of the
fore foot, and in front of the hind foot, but may appear on any part.
Causes. — Some breeds and certain usage predispose to it, and shoeing
with high heels and" toes, high condition and irregular exercise, dry
weather, etc., before the crack makes its appearance. I think there is
impaired secretion and a slight irritation, but it may appear in a
healthy foot. At first it is generally just a small crack at the top of
the hoof, and extends into the sensitive parts, or it may only extend
through the horny part and not into the sensitive parts. The crack
contracts when stepped upon, and expands when raised. This bruises
the sensitive parts, and causes irritation, inflammation, and suppura-
tion, and, if the animal is still kept at work, severe consequences may
result. The hoof will not reunite, but must grow from the top, and
takes a long time. It is, generally speaking, unsoundness, but if
properly used it does not interfere much with his usefulness.
Treatment. — When lame remove the shoe. Cut down the wall im-
mediately under the crack, then allay the irritation. Bathe or im-
merse in warm poultices, etc., then endeavour to promote the growth
of horn — a blister around the coronet stimulates the growth — and
when it grows down about an inch then a little exercise is beneficial.
Cold water is also a stimulant for the growth of horn. If the horse
must work, cut down the parts, and endeavour to keep the sides of the
crack together by means of clamps, using the necessary hot iron to
give a hold, and if in a strong hoof there is but little trouble — in thin
walls you might wound the sensitive structures or a nail may be
inserted in the form of a clinch in a heavy hoof, or a brass plate put on
with screws. The firing iron is often used, and is sometimes benefi-
cial. If the crack extends half-way down, then you must bottom the
crack, as it is called, then fire in a sort of a V shave to weaken the
attachment. Some strip off the horn entirely and allow new horn to
grow. Shoe with long shoes, and give frog pressure. The cold of
winter as well as the heat of summer predisposes to it. In examining
for soundness it is generally easily detected, but if the hair is long it
may be overlooked, and some honest (?) people fill the cracks with
gutta percha. A bar or round shoe is a good kind of shoe for sand
crack.
Tread, Over-reach and Calk are common in winter, especially
when high sharp shoes are used. Even if very trivial, and neglected,
they may prove very serious.
Treatment. — If it penetrates some little distance, the horse is kept
at work and suppuration results. The animal will be very lame ;
tapping slightly gives pain. It is sometimes advisable to remove the
shoe ; cleanse the parts ; rasp the wall down ; cut down carefully ;
remove any hair, etc. Then apply a nice light poultice, and then
astringents. If not attended to the matter burrows and it becomes a
serious trouble, and may even result in a quittor. Do not use any
powerful remedies. Equal parts of oil of tar, tincture of benzoin and
linseed oil is a good application. The lateral cartilages may be out in
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, 137
over-reach, and if so, it takes a long time to recover. Bring the parts
together if there are any chances for reunion, but if not, then remove
the detached parts ; use luke-warm water, astringents, etc., and if any
little growths spring up, subdue them by the usual means. If there
is great pain use an anodyne — opium and water, or even chloroform.
Sometimes, after the irritation, a new growth of horn commences,
and takes a long time for it to grow out, and, perhaps, when it extends
about one-third way down it comes in contact with the old, and irri-
tates it. This is more serious right in front. The result of all these
injuries may be quittor.
INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE FEET.
The Feet. — In injuries to the feet, from calks, etc., there is some-
times profuse hemorrhage, and the best way to arrest it is by pres-
sure. The surgical way would be to take up and ligature the artery ;
but this is difficult to do, and it is tolerably easily arrested by pressure
and styptics, as the tincture of the chloride of iron, acetate of lead,
and perhaps a tourniquet will be needed. Apply pads over the
arteries and then bandage, and keep up the pressure for twenty-four
or thirty hours if the hemorrhage is profuse. The hemorrhage may
weaken the animal, but there is no great danger of fatal hemorrhage,
although there are exceptional cases.
Quittor is a fistulous opening between the sensitive and insensitive
laminae, and may result from the various injuries to the feet, as punc-
tures, bruises, pricks, corns, treads, etc., which ends in suppuration,
and the matter does not get a dependent opening ; it extends, destroys
the tissues with which it comes in contact, and finally bursts and
forms a sinus at the head of the hoof. A swelling first appears at
the top of the hoof, which is hard and painful, and then bursts. It is
more serious in a heavy horse, and in the hind foot. It may extend
around the greater part, or entirely around the coronary band, form-
ing a series of abscesses and finally sinuses.
Treatment should be energetic and careful. Look carefully and
endeavour to find the original cause. Generally take off the shoe ;
cut down the sole and wall immediately below the abscess or sinu?.
If from a corn, and the sinuses are not formed, this treatment may
arrest the irritation. If it is from a corn, or injury to the parts
below, treating a little abscess at the head of the hoof is not always
successful, but use the knife and rasp pretty freely, and if sinuses
extend down, follow their course. Endeavour to remove the wall and
allow the matter to escape ; and the bone may be injured, when it is
very serious, but the symptoms are just the same. Cut down and
expose the bone, and touch with hydro-chloric acid, or scrape it. Ne-
crosis of the OS pedis may result from quittor. After laying the
sinuses open, inject with corrosive sublimate one ounce, alcohol one
ounce, ftnd water one ounce. Inject every day for three or four days.
This causes sloughing and brings on healthy action. Caustics have
been recommended, just the same as for fistula or poll-evil, and in
some cases it is good practice to use them. When there is difficulty
in opening up, you may take a few grains of corrosive sublimate, roll
it up in tissue paper, and insert to the bottom of the sinus. Sloughing
will take place in three or four days, and a healthy action results. It
requires dressing every other day. Prof. Williams refers to
138 CAUSES, i^YMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
a treatment which was a secret, but he thinks it was the tincture of
the chloride of iron which was used. After you arrest the discharge,
and some tenderness remains, then a blister is of benefit — and a blister
may be of benefit, although there is a sinus present.
Bruises. — The sensitive sole is liable to bruises, especially upon
macadamized roads, where there are rolling stones. This causes more
or less lameness, and it is difficult to say just what part is affected ;
and there may be extravasation of blood in the sole, somewhat like a
corn. A tap with a hammer causes pain ; if more severe, it may be
followed by inflammation, suppuration and extreme lameness. Then
remove the shoe ; cut down and give exit to the matter. The pincers
also aid in finding the seat of lameness in the foot.
Seedy Toe. — So called because it is generally found in the toe, and
the horn breaks or crumbles in small pieces, something like a millet
seed. It is due to an impaired secretion, the result of some slight
irritation or other, some predisposition, or to some direct cause, as
large clip in shoeing, which presses upon the sensitive parts, causing
an abnormal secretion. The hoof is easily broken down ; you can
even break down the connection between the wall and sole.
Treatment. — In many cases the horse is not lame, but it is an un-
soundness, which may be overlooked. Remove the shoe, cut down the
wall and diseased sole, and endeavour to remove the diseased parts.
Apply a pledget of tow, saturated with carbolic acid, oil of tar, etc.
Overcome the irritation with poultices, hot or cold baths, etc. ; and it
is good practice in some cases to blister around the coronet ; or, if you
have plenty of time, use cold water. It is not very serious, but it
requires some time for the healthy growth to take place.
False Quarter. — This term is usually applied to any condition
where there is an abnormal condition of horn, and it is the result of
an injury to the coronary substance. It secretes the horn, and if it
is injured, it does not secrete properly. And in some cases there is no
secretion from the coronary substance, but from the sensitive laminae
only ; or, ir may secrete, but there will be a ridge on either side. This
does not do any great harm, but if the only secretion is from the
laminae, it is more serious. It may come in any part, most likely to
come in the heel. Treatment is not often required. You may rasp it
if necessary. This may come from a calk.
NAVICULAR DISEASE.
Navicularthritis, Coffin Joint Lameness, etc.— This is common.
The parts involved are the navicular bone and the bursa in connection
with the perforans tendons.
Pfl^/jo/o^v— There has been some difference of opinion among emi-
nent veterinarians about the pathology of this. Contraction of the
foot was supposed to be a disease, and we still hear of it, and it is
quite plausible to a person not acquainted with the parts, ^ut the
so called specific for this disease will not stand the test when put into
practice. Contraction is not a disease, but the result of disease, and
especially of navicular disease. Some thirty-five years ago navicular
disease was said to be inflammation set up in the navicular bone ;
then it was thought that it began in the tendon — Prof. Dick advo-
cating that it began in the tendon. Prof. Williams says it commences
in the cancellated structure or in the cartilage of navicular bone.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 139
Flemmings thinks it commences in the tendon. I believe it may com-
mence in either of the three, and if it comes on slowly, it begins in
the bone or bursse ; but if it is suddenly produced, it begins in the
tendon ; for we find that after a punctured wound in the foot, it is
sometimes the case that the animal remains lame from navicular
disease. It is then in most cases the result of inflammation in the
cancellated structure of the navicular bone, which extends and inter-
feres with the nutrition of the articular cartilage, giving rise to caries.
The bursa is destroyed and the tendon becomes attached to the bone.
The tendonous fibres may become destroyed to some extent, which
accounts for the tendon giving way after neurotomy. Contraction of
the foot may be caused by a slight irritation of the sole, and sensitive
laminae, and it is difficult to say whether it is this or navicular disease,
until after a time the symptoms become plain, ii it is navicular disease.
Causes. — Hard and fast work are the exciting causes. In some ani-
mals there is an hereditary tendency — a short upright pastern, with a
stubby, imperfect action, and a very high action, which pounds the
ground ; allowing the toes to grow too long, cutting down the heel at
every shoeing, etc. We find it is rare in racing,hunting, and even in the
trotting horses, so long as they are used upon the turf, although they are
subject to hard and fast exertion, for they are shod so as to keep the feet
in a natural shape. But when they are shod with high heels and toes,
and are driven upon hard roads, then they are liable to have navicular dis-
ease. Injury to the perforans tendon and irregular exercise tends to
produce it.
Symptoms. — There is usually more or less lameness — very sudden
and severe in some cases, in others slight and gradual — and perhaps
for weeks or months it may be somewhat transient before it becomes
permanent. Just when brought out in the morning he goes lame
for a few steps, and then it disappears. He may be used in this
manner for some time, and then grow very lame, then navicular
disease is well established, the foot is pointed, etc. This may only
be a habit, but when a horse has been used moderately, and is in
good health, pointing is suspicious, and it may be present for some
time before there is any well marked lameness or tenderness. If
both feet are affected and he is suffering pain, then he throws the
weight first upon one foot and then the other, and when brought
from the stable he goes with a kind of groggy action, hence it has
been termed grogginess. Another well marked symptom is atrophy
of the muscles of the limb, which extends and involves the muscles
of the shoulder. This is not sweeney, as it is called, but is the result
of navicular disease. There are generally well marked changes —
atrophy of the foot and contraction of the hoof — and is easily noticed
if but one foot is affected. There are other means of forming an
opinion : tap with a hammer over the region of the navicular bursa,
and pain is evinced, or press upon the tendon at the back part of and
close to the frog. This will assist you, but it is not conclusive evidence.
Then there are negative symptoms. In a well marked case of navicular
disease tliere is generally a nice clean limb. Look at the manner in
which the shoe is worn. If it is navicular disease, it will be worn at
the toe, but some horses do this in health more than others, so you
must make allowance for it.
Treatment — If it is of a severe character, and of long standing,
perhaps years, then it is incurable. But if recent, in the inflamma-
tory stage, of only weeks' standing, or perhaps months', then, a
complete cure may be effected. So you must take into consideration
140 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
the length of time the disease has been in progress. Remove the
shoe ; cut down the toe ; rasp the wall, and, in some cases, you may
thin out the sole to a certain extent. Then allay the irritation by a
judicious use of poultices, water-baths, either hot or cold. Keep
him standing with the foot in water two or three hours a day. After
the irritation ceases, then blister around the coronet, investing con-
siderable surface, or, instead of a blister, you may use a frog seaton.
Insert with a curved needle, after cutting down the frog and making
an incision in the back part. Dress it with astrmgent dressings ;
keep it m for two or three weeks ; shoe with high heels and short
toes, if it is due to a sprain of the tendon, but in some cases the
animal will go better with an ordinary low shoe. A leather sole may
be useful, nicely stuffed with tow and tar, especially if the horse is
used upon hard roads, jont is not best in the mud. Sometimes it is
advisable to use constitutional remedies — a laxative diet, if plethoric
— if in the spring, a run at pasture,. but if in the summer months, and
the ground hard, there is not much benefit in it. Be careful about the
shoeing, and do not allow the shoes to stay on too long. Although
you are satisfied that the disease is incurable, from the symptoms,
you may relieve it to a considerable extent. Neurotomy may be
successfully resorted to in some cases. This is division of the nervous
cord and excision of a part of it, with a view to relieve the pain, but
not with a view of curing the disease. The plantar nerves are the
ones usually operated on. The low operation is the one likely to be
successful, if performed in a proper foot— one that is contracted to a
certain extent. Remove the shoe, bring the foot into proper condition,
keep the animal quiet for a day or two, and bathe with cold water to
allay any irritation and to remove the swelling ; then cast the horse
and make an incision about an inch long above the fetlock, exposing
the nerve, and remove an inch or more of it, or reunion will take place
— a sort of nervous tumour and connection be established. It is not
generally a difficult operation, but care must be taken not to injure
the artery. If it is performed too high up, you may leave a branch
that will furnish sensation. This branch runs obliquely from the
inside down and outward. If you perform above this there will re-
main nervous influence. After operating, bring the edges of the
wound together and apply cold water. When this operation was first
performed for lameness it was performed upon all kinds of subjects,
many of which were not fit for the operation — and this was one reason
why it was brought into disrepute — but if you exercise judgment and
select proper subjects, it will prove successful, do you credit and be
beneficial to the animal ; but if done indiscriminately, it will prove a
lamentable failure. Endeavour to impress the character of the opera-
tion upon the owner, for I have known some trouble to arise from the
neglect of this, where the operation was not successful. In a flat foot
it is not likely co prove successful ; but in a deep, strong foot, although
small, it is attended with success. If reunion takes place, you may
have to operate a second time. The dangers of neurotomy are from
punctures, pricks, bruises, etc., which, on account of there being no
sensation in the foot, run on to suppuration, and the first thing that
will be noticed is a swelling and quittor, or the tendon may be rup-
tured from using it more freely than when pain was present. After an
operation the animal should be watched carefully, the ahoes applied
with great care, and the feet should be examined every time the horse
is brought into the stable.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 141
THE TEETH.
Odontology is a treatise on the teeth. The teeth are hard and
bone-like, and are the principal agents in mastication. They are a
combination of inorganic salts, with the previously existing animal
matter, and contain about seventy-six per cent, of earthy material,
phosphate of lime, phosphate of magnesia, etc., the same as in bone.
The teeth are the means afforded us to tell the age of the animal.
We find they vary much in different animals, in size, structure,
number and position, and also in motion, as for grinding, tearing,
pounding, etc. In the horse there is a large grinding surface; in
the carnivora they are sharp and pointed ; in the omnivora they are
both sharp and tabled. They are intimately related with the struc-
tures and habits of the animal, their form depending upon the
nature of food upon which the animal lives. Teeth are of two
kinds, simple and complex. Simple in the human being and the
dog, being covered with one coat of enamel. They are complex in
the horse and ox, there being several processes of enamel brought into
wear at the same time. This is why the lower animals are not
troubled with the toothache. The tusk of a horse is a simple tooth,
having but one coat of enamel ; the others are complex, because
they have external and internal enamel, bringing different tissues
into wear at the same time. In describing a tooth we say it has a
body or crown, which is above the gums ; a table, or the grinding
surface ; the neck, or that surrounded by the gums ; and a root or
fang, which is inserted in the alveoli. Running up the centre of
the fang is a cavity which contains the pulp, a highly nervous sub-
stance. The sulcus, in which the teeth are inserted, are called
aveolar processes, and exist only with the tooth, for if a tooth is
taken out the cavity disappears. There are three substances in the
tooth — dentine or ivory, enamel, cementum or crusta petrosa. These
vary in proportton in the different teeth. Dentine is a yellowish
white substance which appears homogeneous to the eye, but under
the microscope it is found to be made of tubuli. These begin at
the pulp cavity and radiate towards the surface, they are imbedded
in a matrix and form a greater part of the body and fang of the
tooth. The enamel is the hardest structure in the body, and forms
a protective covering for the teeth. It contains about ninety-three
to ninety-five per cent, of earthy material ; it is a bluish white
substance, covers the crown of the tooth, and in complex teeth it
also forms an internal ring which brings the different parts into
wear at the same time. It is small in quantity, and is made up of
hexagonal prisms, it also covers the little depression of the tooth.
There are three classes of teeth, the incisors or cutting, are situated
in front, six above and six below ; the canine, or tusks, are in the
interdental space ; the molars or grinders are twenty-four in num-
ber. The horse has two sets of teeth, the deciduous or milk teeth,
which are temporary, and the permanent. The temporary are
twenty-four in number, the permanent forty. The incisors show a
centre which is greater in the young horse, it is called the infundi-
bulum, by means of which we are able to determine its age pretty
correctly up to a certain age. This funnel-shaped cavity is usually
covered with tartar. Sometimes the teeth are dressed, but it is
easy to tell the difference, the black mark has no ring of enamel.
There is a little difference in the incisors of the upper and lower
jaw, the upper have two grooves, the lower only one. The same is
142 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS A>fD TREATMENT OF
true of the molar teeth, those of the upper jaw being more widely
separated, and nearly square in shape. The molars generally have
two infundibulae. The cutting of teeth in the foal varies some,
with which the period of gestation has something to do. If the
foal is born sooner than natural they may not appear so soon, but
there are generally twelve molars and four incisors at birth, or if
not at birth they will appear in about fourteen days. The twelve
molars appear as temporary, the others as permanent teeth. The
teeth are divided thus : — The two occupying the centre are called
central, the two next — one on either side of these two— are called
the lateral, the last two on either side are called the corner. So at
birth the foal usually has two central incisors ; in about seven to
nine weeks the two lateral are cut ; in from seven to nine months
the third pair of incisors, and at one year the corner teeth are in
wear ; at twelve months the first permanent molar is up and in
wear, so we have them thus :
Incisors. Molars.
Age. Temporary. Permanent. Temporary. Permanent.
At or soon) , ^ 2 0
after birth/ ^ " ^^ "
1 year 12 0 12 4
2 years 12 0 12 8
3 " 8 4 4 16
4 " 4 8 0 24
5 " 0 12 0 24
In ponies you may mistake temporary for permanent teeth. At
about two years and nine months the central incisors appear; at
three, they are up and in wear ; at three and a half the lateral teeth
appear ; at four they are up and in wear. At four years old the
horse has a full mouth of permanent molars. It is a good plan for
you to recollect the time when the teeth make their appearance,
and become familiar with the difference between the milk and per-
manent teeth. The milk teeth are whiter, and present a pretty
distinct neck.
The teeth are alongside of each other, forming an oblong or para-
bolic arch, and are designated the superior and inferior dental
archers, interrupted by the interdental spaces in the horse, but in
some animals the teeth are continuous. There are three classes of
teeth : incisors, canine and molars ; then there are two sets of teeth ;
temporary and permanent. All the incisors and twelve molars ap-
pear as temporary teeth. The body of the tooth has an encircling
ring of enamel, then dentine and then a central ring of enamel. In
this centre there is a black mark. The infundibulum disappears as
the animal grows older. It is usually filled with tartar or food,
and is surrounded by enamel. The teeth grows to a great extent
from tbe pulp. But after this is destroyed, they receive support
from the surrounding structures. In the molar teeth there are two
or three of these pulp cavities. At an early period of gestation the
teeth appear as a small depression in the mucous memljrane of the
gums, called the primitive dental groove. Then, in from twelve to
fifteen weeks (in the human being), a little prominence takes place,
and this is called the papillary stage ; then these papillae become
separated from each other and form along by the side of each other,
and prolongations pass across between the different papilla, and
they develop a follicle or bag ; this is called the follicular stage.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 143
Then this follicle or bag becomes separated into a sheet-sac ; this is
called the sacular stage. Then a cavity appears between the teeth,
called the cavity of reserve. The permanent teeth soon become
developed ; press upon and cause absorption of the temporary, until
in some cases nothing but the crown is left, which drops out. There
is some difference in the number of teeth in the domestic animals.
Incisors. Canine. Molars. Bicuspid.
Man J % I % ^32
Horse ^ f -}| -S =40
Ox % % \i - =32
Dog I I \i I =42
Pig I S if I -44
The central incisors appear at birth, or in two or three weeks ; the
lateral in about nine weeks ; the comer in about nine months, and
they are up and in wear at one year old. The first, second and third
molars appear as temporary teeth at or soon after birth. The first
temporary molar is replaced by a permanent one when the horse is
from two to three years old. The second and fourth appear, perhaps,
about the same time when he is about four years old. The two per-
manent central incisors appear from two and a half to three years —
at three they are up and in wear. The lateral from three and a half
to four, and are up and in wear at four. The corner from four and a
half to five, and up and in wear at five. But they do not come just
the same in all animals. I have seen a full mouth of permanent
incisors at four years old. Sometimes the posterior table surface does
not wear down with the anterior — due to the way in which the teeth
grow. This is called shell mouth, and you might mistake an eight-
year-old for a six-year-old. Young teeth are widest from side to side;
in old ones they are widest from before back. You can tell the age
pretty well up to six or seven years. It is well to look at the upper
jaw. Sometimes the upper jaw overlaps the under, giving rise to
what is called a parrot mouth. At six years the posterior table sur-
face of the corner incisors is up and in wear, and the mark is begin-
ning to wear out of the central teeth, and when you see the mark
worn out of the central incisors, you may say he is six years old. At
seven the mark is worn out of the lateral, and at eight out of the
corner incisors. By the upper teeth, which do not wear so fast as the
others, we can determine the age pretty correctly up to twelve years.
At nine the mark is worn out of the lateral, and at about eleven or
twelve out of the corner incisors. And even after this, by watching
the manner in which they grow, you can tell something of the age.
You are also assisted by the tushes, which at first are small, but grow
as the animal grows, or in some cases they wear down, and an accumu-
lation of cement surrounds them, which tells you the animal is pretty
old. Running horses, that are entered as such, date their birth from
the first of January — although born in September, he would be called
one year old on the first of January. Until lately, in some of the
Southern of the United States, it was counted from May. Foals are
generally dropped in the spring. Sometimes you have to give an
opinion as to the age of the ox, which has no incisors in the lower
jaw, but the place is occupied by a cartilaginous pad, and there are
eight incisors in the lower jaw, which are called shovel-shaped, and
are not so firmly set in the alveoli as in the horse. It is a natural
condition, as a general thing, and not the result of disease. The
same three tissues enter into their formation. The two incisors in
144 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
the centre are called the central ; the next two, one on either side of
these, the internal lateral ; and the next two, the external lateral ;
and the last two, the corner teeth. There are twenty-four molars, of
which twelve appear as temporary and twelve as permanent teeth.
They are not so regular in their appearance as in the horse, varying
according to gestation. The central and internal lateral, if not up at
birth, will be up in a month, but they vary much from the breed and
care of the animal. You can form a more reliable opinion of the age
of cattle by the teeth than by the horns. A well-bred short-horn will
occasionally have a full mouth at three years old. The central per-
manent incisors appear at two years, the internal lateral at two and
a half, the external lateral at three, the corner at three and a half.
The first three molars appear as temporary teeth at birth, or in a
month after ; the permanent molar in six or eight months — up and in
wear at one year ; the second permanent, the fifth tooth in the jaw,
at fifteen or sixteen months — up and in wear at two years. At two
or two and a half years the first and second temporary molars are
replaced by permanent ones. A little later the other molars appear,
and the animal has a full mouth at three and a half years. A sheep
has the same number of teeth as the ox, and they are replaced much
the same way, but generally a little earlier.
Unnatural Conditions, Irritation, Etc., of the Teeth.— Dentition
begins at or soon after birth, and continues until the horse is five
years old, and the animal suffers more or less during that time. The
lower animals do not appear to suffer so much in getting their first
teeth, but do suffer when getting their permanent ones, even more,
perhaps, than the human being. Hence, we have dentition fever in
the horse from three or four up to five years old — there is a weak
pulse, impaired appetite, a staring coat, the bowels sometimes costive,
and sometimes there is diarrhoea ; he is not able to work, and it is
hard to say what is the matter, unless the system is affected by the
irritation set up by the teeth, for all the organs appear to be in a
healthy state. Such symptoms indicate that the temporary teeth are
not being displaced in a proper way. The same applies to cattle.
The food passes improperly digested, which may be entirely due to
the state of the teeth. It is well in such cases to examine the mouth,
and if you find some tooth not properly displaced, the gums swollen,
remove it — which you can sometimes do with the thumb and finger,
or you may have to use the forceps. Then give a mild laxative, feed
on soft food and the animal will soon recover.
Lampas is very common. It is not certain whether it should be
called a disease or not, but it is called a disease, and no doubt there
is a change going on in the surrounding parts as well as in the teeth,
sometimes involving the submucous tissues, and from the swollen
condition of the gums it may interfere with mastication. The gum
may be even with or even extend over the teeth. Scarify such cases
with the lancet, making two or three incisions, but do not make any
incisions behind the third bar, or you will injure the palatine artery
and cause profuse hemorrhage, but cut to either side or before the
third bar, then feed upon soft food. Sometimes astringents are use-
ful, alum and water being very good, two or three drachms of alum
to a pint of water. The brutal practice of using a hot iron, was, and
is still sometimes, used, and I wish you to set yourselves entirely
against such treatment ; it is entirely uncalled for. There is no great
harm in scarifving, and it is sometimes highly necessary, but you
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 145
will have to do it when there is no use in it ; if you do not the animal
will be taken to some one who will, perhaps, burn him, and you might
as well get your fifty cents or a dollar, and save the animal. Give a
few doses of tonics, and the animal will come out all right. You may
be called to check severe hemorrhage from cutting of the palatine
artery, which is best done by pressure. Saturate some tow with a
styptic and place against the pares, or you may take a block of wood
and tie it in the mouth to keep the tow in place. You may meet a
case where it is necessary to use the actual cautery. There is no
great danger of fatal hemorrhage from this accident, but it might
weaken the animal to a great extent.
DISEiSES OF THE MOUTH.
The gums are sometimes irritated in connection with the molar
teeth, this irritation extends and affects the pharynx and larynx, and
perhaps a severe cough is the result, called a dentition cough. It is
often the result of but a slight irritation at the back part of the gums
— this cough may not be very severe, but it is troublesome — or the
gum may become tumefied. The best treatment is to scarify it. We
find tumours in the upper and lower jaw, perhaps from the imperfect
development of the teeth, or from their growing in an improper man-
ner, from slight injury, irritation, etc. They may or may not be
malignant, and are likely to extend and involve the alveoli and bone.
If not malignant, and only upon the surface, it is called epulis, and
is not very common. If not malignant remove it, and you may also
have to extract some of the teeth, then treat as a common wound. If
malignant or cancerous, although you are able to remove it, and it
may do well for some time, it will return, extend and become a hope-
less case. The horse sometimes suffers from sharp, projecting teeth,
which occurs more commonly in old horses, from wearing down of
the teeth in an uneven manner. They will be sharp on the inner
edge of the lower jaw, and the outer edge of the upper jaw, which may
be from faulty formation. In such cases the animal has difficulty in
eating, grinds his food, ejecting it. Perhaps when driving him he
carries the head to one side, from the bearing of the bit not being the
same on both sides. If the teeth are sharp in the lower jaw they
lacerate the tongue ; if in the upper they lacerate the cheeks. The
best remedy for this is the tooth rasp, and there is no necessity for
using the balling iron or twitch. After rasping, feed upon soft food
for a day or two. There are more difficult cases where the teeth pro-
ject to some extent, generally in old horses, due to malformation of
the jaw. Sometimes the upper jaw extends over the lower, and a part
of the last tooth is not worn down properly, and after a time it inter-
feres with mastication, and the animal suffers considerably from
irritation. The same appears in the anterior tooth of the upper jaw,
but it is not so serious as the back tooth. The animal may be reduced
to a walking skeleton, almost ; although the appetite appears good,
the food is thrown out. You can detect by examining with the hand,
and if it is the last molar tooth you must throw the horse, using the
balling iron, and remove by means of the tooth shears or the large
forceps. If it is in front, there is no necessity for throwing the ani-
mal. After using the shears, rub the parts down smooth with a tooth
rasp, and feed properly, and he will improve rapidly. When these
growths are from malformation, they should be watched closely, and
7
146 . CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF i
no doubt sooner or later they destroy the condition of the mouth, and
it becomes necessary to destroy the animal, but it can be relieved to |
some extent by the rasp, chisel, shears, etc. There is, as well as the j
shears, a sliding chisel, and when you use it, it is better to use a :
wooden mallet than a hammer. In using the straight chisel there is i
another instrument for an assistant to hold against the back part of j
the tooth while you chisel it off.
Caries of the Teeth. — The lower animals do not suffer from this as '
much as man, for two reasons ; their teeth are complicated, and the i
mode of living. Sweets have a bad effect upon the teeth. Horses :
rarely suffer from toothache, but they frequently suffer from carious ;
teeth. Caries may commence either on the table surface, root or '
fang, or even in that which surrounds the teeth ; or it may result from ■
a slight injury, as getting a stone, etc., between the teeth when masti- '■
eating ; or it may begin in the fang from improper development of ,
the dentine, which receives its nourishment from the tooth-pulp, and \
when this is gone the tooth does not receive proper nourishment, etc.
Symptoms. — In the early stage they are not very plain, but become !
better developed after a time. The animal will show some irritation |
while eating. Although he is hungry, and goes ravenously to eating, '
he will all at once quit masticating, and either holds the food in the \
mouth or throws it out unchewed. This may be due to a slight i
irritation of the teeth. He acts something similar to the human
being, and these symptoms may be present for some time before j
the well-marked symptoms appear. But in, it may be six months i
or a year, certain distinct symptoms appear. If it is in the table j
surface, the tooth is brittle, and wears down more readily, and the ■
tooth opposite to it grows longer : he quids or rejects the food, \
and a peculiar stench or fetor is present. The animal falls off '
in condition, in most cases. "When it is in connection with the i
root or fang it is different. As it extends it involves the other tis- I
sues, sets up irritation in the superior maxillary sinus, if it is in the <
upper jaw, and gives rise to a somewhat putrid and offensive discharge. ;
If it is in the lower jaw, as well as the symptoms given, you will, !
perhaps, notice a slight enlargement which extends down the lower ;
portion of the jaw ; sinuses form and matter is discharged. Exercise \
care and judgment and you need make no great mistakes. I knew a '-■,
horse destroyed for glanders when it was only a carious tooth.
Treatment. — Remove the tooth — and this is not very easily done, but :
there are various ways. Open the mouth by means of a balling iron, !
and, if practical, use the forceps. The trouble with the forceps is, i
they are apt to break the tooth when they are closed upon it too tight. :
There is a tooth key which can be used in the lower jaw, as the teeth ,
in that are easier removed than those in the upper jaw ; or you may ;
remove by trephining, and then by inserting a punch it can be driven '
out. When you attempt to remove a tooth, and it breaks down, it i
will in many cases, come away of itself without further treatment, j
The first and second molars are the more difficult to punch out than ,
the others. After treatment : keep the animal quiet ; feed upon soft '■■
food that does not require much mastication. There is a difference in ;
treating the cavity. Some recommend filling it with gutta percha, to i
prevent the food from passing into the sinus. It will sometimes pass j
into both sinuses ; but generally there is no necessity for filling it. If
you trephine, it is more needful than in pulling. If food does pass :
into the sinuses, then it will be necessary to fill the hole. Sometimes i
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 14.7
in parrot-mouth the incisors of the lower jaw grow and irritate the
mucous membrane of the opposite jaw, when it is necessary to rasp
them down.
Wolf Teeth are supernumerary, just in front of the molar, and you
are often asked to remove them, and sometimes they do harm, but that
is the exception, and not the rule. They are easily removed with a pair
of small forceps, or they may be punched out. Some think they interfere
with the eye, by exerting some influence upon the ophthalmic division
of the fifth nerve, but I do not think they have anything to do with irri-
tating the eyes. Tooth substance may be develoised in almost any part
of the body ; in the muscles by the ear ; in the frontal sinuses ; and even
in the remote parts of the body ; even in the testicle, of which I have a
specimen. It is common in the lower animals, but not in the testicles.
A Foreig'ii Body sometimes gets lodged in the mouth, as a piece of
wood from his hay, etc., and possibly becomes imbedded between the
molar tooth, and the animal is not able to get it out. There will be
difficulty in masticating ; a flow of siliva ; the animal stands with the
head poked out, as if suffering from sore throat. He will partially mas-
ticate, then try to swallow, and perhaps eject the food. These symptoms
are present in sore throat, and it is necessary to make a careful examina-
tion ; you are not likely to mistake just one case, but if there is some
other disease prevalent that presents similar symptoms, then you are
liable to make a mistake.
The Tongue is sometimes injured, sometimes by catching the tongue
under a twitch, from tying a horse to a wagon, and something causes
him to pull back suddenly, and the tongue is lacerated. Bring the parts
together as quickly as possible ; sew them up and feed upon soft food.
And another wa}^ of injury is in giving medicine, by holding to the ton-
gue when the animal pulls back — the muscles become paralyzed, the
tongue hangs out of the mouth, and it is lacerated by the teeth. If you
think there is a chance of re-union, get the parts into the mouth and
keep there by means of a nose band ; but if it is cold and almost dead,
then it is necessary to remove the parts, which is easily done. It is not,
in most cases, necessary to throw the animal, and there is no great
amount of hemoiThage, as it was lacerated, and such a wound does not
bleed very freely. Feed upon sloppy food ; give no hay or anything that
would hurt the parts. There will be a peculiarity in the animal's drink-
ing, as he will place his nose deep in the water after losing part of his
tongue. If the irritation came from the use of the twitch it is easily
overcome, although it looks very formidable at first. It is best overcome
by scarifying slightly in two or three places and bathing in lukewarm
water. Place the tongue in the mouth and keep the mouth shut by using
a nose band, and it will soon regain its natural condition.
The Fraemim Ling:u£e, or the fold of mucous membrane beneath the
tongue, is often injured in drenching or giving a ball, or from a foreign
body getting in the mouth. It gives rise to a discharge of saliva, difliculty
in masticating, the food gets in and increases the irritation, and he falls
off in condition.
Treatment. — Clean the parts, wash in tepid water, inject a weak solu-
tion of carbolic acid, sulphate of zinc, or alum water, etc.
148 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
INJURIES TO THE MOUTH.
Laceration of the Lips. — Bring the divided edges together and
secure them ; keep the animal quiet. There are also small tumours,
which may be produced by some injury or irritant. If they contain mat-
ter, make an incision and let it out — and it is generally better to make the
ncision in the mucous membrane instead of the skin — then bathe with
astringents. There is also a small egg-shaped tumour that appears in
connection with the false nostril, which contains a cheeselike substance,
and it is possible for it to become encysted and remain there for a long
time. Open and squeeze out the matter, and, if necessary, inject with
carbolic acid. The lips may be injured from sharp teeth, or it may be
the result of injury from the bit, producing irritation, and, perhaps, in-
flammation, aud if matter forms, let it out, either internally or externally,
as required, at the same time removing the cause. Or there may be
cysts in the ducts at either side of the frasnum lingua, which are
called ranula — not very common -in the horse. But treated by
opening them up or cutting them out, which can be done with the
scissors ; then use mild astringents, or you may even touch with mild
caustics. The tongue may become paralyzed from disease of the brain
and paralysis of the lips, which usually occurs from injury or exposure
to cold, for which see lecture on nervous system.
O^lostitis^ or inflammation of the tongue, is not very common, but
may result from injury, from pulling the tongue violently while giving
medicine, or from eating poisonous herbs, which irritates, and inflam-
mation results ; or it may be due to the administration of irritant
medicines, as ammonia, or even sweet spirits of nitre, if not sufficiently
diluted. It may extend and involve both the extrinsic and intrinsic
muscles of the tongue. If it occurs in the mucous membrane.
Symptoms. — There is a flow of saliva, impaired mastication, a diffi-
culty in swallowing and in respiration, until it is sometimes necessary to
resort to tracheotomy. This is easily seen ; the tongue is reddened, pain-
ful upon pressure ; perhaps there is fever and the tongue protruding
from the mouth. It may terminate in resolution or suppuration ; small
abcesses form in different parts, and sometimes induration, and then the
tongue loses its condition to a great extent ; there appears a kind of
transverse crack ; the animal cannot masticate, becomes greatly emaci-
ated, and death may occur from starvation. It is often caused by some
foreign body in the tongue. I knew a needle to produce this in a
severe form.
Treatment. — Remove the cause, give a laxative — oil or aloes if in the
horse, Epsom salts is better in cattle. Gargle the mouth with tepid
water or laudanum, or if it is from the administration of ammonia use
vinegar and water, and if it is greatly swollen scarify it in one or two
places and then bathe and allow the matter to escape when it forms
You can sometimes prevent induration by scarifying and applying some-
thing, as salt and water, which irritates to a certain extent, and may
prevent it. Iodine applied to the lower jaw and given internally may be
of use. When induration is once established the animal is useless.
Barbs is a term applied to an enlarged condition of the papillae or
orifices of the sublingual or submaxillary glands. It does not require
much treatment, but these enlargemeets are sometimes barbarously
removed. They may be removed or subdued by astringents of cold
water.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC AMIMAL8. 149
ipthae or Thrush. — This is properly a disease of the digestive
system, or sometimes called a dietetic disease. It is called a sporadic
apthae, to distinguish it from epizootic apthae, which is rarely seen in
this country. The sporadic affects the mouth and the whole alimentary
canal. Vesicles and pustules appear on the tongue and lips, and may
extend to the skin of the lips, and I believe it extends throughout the
whole alimentary canal. It is dae to indigestion and poor food of any
description, bad hay being particularly apt to cause it, and the feed
affecting many at the same time has given rise to the supposition that it
is sometimes contagious. There is a dietetic disease called stomatitis
cantagiose, which is also from faulty digestion.
Symptoms. — The appetite impaired, the mouth hot, the pulse
quickened some but not much and the temperature slightly in-
creased, perhaps one or two degrees. He is unable to masticate,
and then these small vesicles appear, which run into pustules in some
cases.
Treatment. — Kemove the cause; give a slight laxative — two, three, or
four drachms of aloes — but do not give a large dose, for the alimentary
canal is already irritated. You may give it in connection with gentian
or ginger, or a small dose of oil. Give vegetable and mineral tonics, or
ginger and carbonate of soda, one drachm each, once or twice a day.
Use a gargle of alum and water, or a little carbolic acid may be added.
Sulphate of copper, nitrate of silver, etc., may be used as stimulants, or
you may give quinine in one-half drachm to one drachm doses. Dis-
solve it in sulphuric acid, and the best way to give it is in a drench in
water.
Inflauimatiou of the Palate and Pharynx sometimes results from
balling with a stick, or it may iDroceed from some little foreign body
lodged in the parts. Laryngitis is more common and much more severe
than pharyngitis, and is sometimes produced by the violent use of the
probang.
Symptoms. — There is great fever ; swelling both internally and ex-
ternally, and perhaps the fever is followed by death in from twenty-four
to sixty hours. There are all the ordinary symptoms of sore throat, and
a stench comes from the throat, and in cattle the swelling extends
towards the ear. especially if produced by the probang. Use fomen-
tations, give a moderate dose of sedative medicines, and use judicious
counter-irritation ; try the inhalation of vapour, and if it gives relief,
continue ; if it seems to cause distress, do not use it. And use any of
the ordinary gargles, and it may terminate in resolution. Abcesses also
occur in the pharynx and it is hard to say what causes them. It is
more likely to attack cattle that have a tubercular tendency. In the
horse it may result from sore throat, direct injury, etc. If it is high up
it interferes with respiration, and there is usually a discharge from the
nose ; a difficulty in swallowing, etc. The symptoms in cattle are
similar, but are not generally so violent ; he may take some food, but
there js a peculiar breathing. You may detect a bulging by pressing on
either* side of the throat. The treatment given is to open these abcesses,
but it is not very successful. I have never seen it done with success in
the horse, but it is more easily done in cattle. There is danger of the
matter passing down and suffocating the animal. Use a guarded knife,
or a concealed bistouri ; a small knife well guarded, is very good. But
you are working in the dark to a certain extent ; however, opening m ay
save life occasionally.
150 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
Pharyngeal Polypi. — These sometimes have a constricted base ;
others have a wide base ; the animal will fall off in condition, shows
fits of temporary choking, coughs violently, staggers, and perhaps
falls, and then is relieved, after which there is a discharge of blood
from the nose ; this shows you there is some irritation in connection
with the pharynx. If it has a constricted base, you may remove it
with an ecraseur, but if it has a broad base, it is better to let it
alone, especially in an old horse. There is difficulty in the hemorrhage
passing down the trachea and causing inflammation of the trachea and
lungs.
ffilsophagUS, — Choking occurs in all animals, but is more common in
cattle. It may be due to an improperly masticated bolus of food, and
this is a severe kind of choking ; or it may be from a hard body, as a
piece of turnip, potato, apple, etc., from a ball being given in a hard form.
Hence it is necessary to soften balls before giving them. It is sometimes
produced by giving an egg without breaking it, or from something taken
with the hay. Thorns have been found lodged in the oesophagus. It
may either be in the cervical or thoracic portion, and the symptoms are
more distressing when in the cervical portion. There are signs of un-
easiness ; if there is an attempt to swallow liquids, they are regurgitated ;
there is an increased flow of saliva. In the horse there is a spasmodic
retching of the neck, especially if it is in the thoracic portion ; there is
difficulty of breathing, which may increase and cause suffocation.
Symptoms. — Pass the hand along the course of the oesophagus, and if it
is in the cervical portion, you can detect it. Another symptom in cattle
is tympanites ; but this does not always occur.
Treatment. — If the symptoms are not very prominent, endeavour to
find the nature of the obstruction, and then the situation of it, and if it
is in the pharynx or cervical legion, you may be able to displace it by
manipulation. If you fail in this, give a little liquid — some oil if it is a
hard body ; but be careful with oil, if it is some partially masticated food.
If this also fails, use the probang ; a leather one is best for cattle, and
it is not necessary to cast the animal, but it is well in some cases to use
the guide to prevent injury to the probang. The treatment in cattle is
just the same ; and when you fail to remove it with the probang, cut
down if it is in the cervical region, and remove it ; then bring the edges
together by a suture. Keep the animal quiet, and give no food but a small
amount of liquids for some time. This is not a very successful operation,
but if all other means fail, try it. If there is much tympanites and
symptoms of suffocation in cattle, use the trochar.
Dilatation of the (Esophagus sometimes results from choking. It
may dilate to a great extent and cause alarming symptoms ; the animal
is from time to time attacked with sj^mptoms of choking, which is better
noticed when the food is changed. If it is in the cervical region there
will be a pouch formed, which can be felt or seen. If it is in the cervical
portion, it may be relieved in some cases by a pad supported by a band-
age around the neck— by careful and frequent feeding ; and do not give a
sudden change of food. Some say to cut down and remove some of it,
but this is impossible. There is sometimes just the opposite of this, or
Stricture of the (Esophagus. — There are two kinds, spasmodic and
a thickening of the mucous membrane, and when one part becomes dilated
from choking another part is apt to be constricted. There is difficulty in
swallowing, and food may collect above the stricture, or va&y become re-
gurgitated ; flesh is rapidly lost, and the animal may linger for weeks or
months and then die. Sometimes you are justified in passing the probang,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 151
and when it comes to the stricture it will be resisted, and you may over-
come the stricture by the use of the probang Every day, or every other
day, a dose of aconite or such remedies may be useful. Sometimes rup-
ture is the result of choking, and is very serious. It generally comes
from the use of some such thing as a whip stock, to relieve choking, and
it might be done vrith the probang. There is both external and internal
swelling, great pain, pulse somewhat quick, offensive breath, in swallow-
ing, the substances sometimes pass into the areolar tissue, etc. It gener-
ally proves fatal. Some recommend cutting down and treating as
oesophagotomy, but death generally occurs in two or three days.
DISEASES OF THE GLAISDS, ETC.
The Salivary Olands. — There are three pairs of salivary glands — the
parotid, submaxillary, and sublingual. They secrete the saliva, which is
mixed with the food and fits it for digestion.
Parotid Glands. — Inflammation of these is not uncommon in con-
nection with strangles. It is a hard, inflammatory swelling, extending
from the ear downward. In the horse it is apt to terminate in suppu-
ration, and sometimes induration. Slight induration is not very uncom-
mon, especially in those horses that are tightly reined, producing irrita-
tion and thickening of the gland. Use fomentations, poultices, and
stimulating liniments — ammoniacal or a weak solution of biniodide of
mercury — and you may bring about resolution ; but their is a great tend-
ency to suppuration. When matter is formed open it up, and if the ani-
mal is weak give iodine. Inflammation of these glands is often found in
cattle, in connection with tuberculosis, and the inflammatory action runs
on to suppuration, but not so quickly as in horses. A small amount of
matter may become imprisoned and remain there for a long time. It is
necessary to use a stronger embrocation on cattle than horses. Let the
matter out when formed. I have noticed in cattle that sometimes the
surrounding parts are vascular, and it is generally advisable to open care-
fully on account of hemorrhage. It is sometirnes best to explore it with
an exploring needle, and then enlarge the opening carefully. Induration
sometimes takes place, and the best remedy in this and all glandular en-
largements is iodine. Iodine one part, iodide of potassium one part, and
lard four parts, and give iodide of potassium internally.
Steno's Duct.— The duct of this parotid gland winds around the
inferior maxillary bone and enters the mouth between the second
and third upper molar teeth. This gland secretes during mastica-
tion only ; the others secrete whenever food is taken in the mouth.
Fistula of this Duct is not uncommon in horses. It sometimes
results from injury and sometimes from an abcess in irregular stran-
gles, or it may be due to the incautious opening of the abscess,
or some obstruction passing into the duct from the inside of the
mouth.
Symptoms. — There is a discharge of thin watery fluid, which is in-
creased during mastication. When the horse is not masticating perhaps
the only thing noticed is a small opening on the outside of the jaw, and
a slight discharge, but if dry food is given there will be a greatly in-
creased discharge. The losing of this saliva interferes with digestion,
and colic may be the result.
152 CAU8BS, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
Treatment. — In a recent case this is sometimes easily overcome, but if
of long standing it is more difficult. Paint it with collodian and keep
very quiet for several days ; give no solid food, and just enough fluid
to sustain life. If a case of longer standing, scarify the edges and
then bring them together and secure by means of a pin ; then use stimu-
lants, or touch the parts with mild caustics. Some object to caustics,
but I have seen them prove of benefit. If the means given fail, then
endeavour to make a new duct by inserting a small seaton right into the
cheek, and keep it there and stimulate with some stimulant until a new
duct is formed.
Salivary Calculi. — Any gland that has a well-marked duct may
have calcareous deposits, and we find them in the parotid duct — both in
horses and cattle. They may obstruct the duct and set up fistula. The
flow of saliva is obstructed to a certain extent, but if the duct is suddenly
obstructed, then there is dilatation of the walls, which, perhaps, can be
felt. The remedy is to cut down and remove the calculi ; secure the
wound with a pin ; keep the animal quiet and give no solid food for
several days.
Ptyalism, or Slavering. — This may proceed from food, and is
common in horses and cattle ; it also results from the use of mercury.
This shows itself by an immense flov7 of saliva. It may literally run
from the mouth, and if it is continued it interferes with digestion. The
best remedy is to change the food, and sometimes give a laxative,
followed by tonics and stimulants, and use a gargle of alum water. If it
is due to mercury, then use mercurial antidotes.
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH.
The Stomach of a horse is small in proportion to the size of the
animal, and digesti<- n takes place quickly, and the horse does not suffer
so much from indigestion as ruminants or as man does. A horse can
undergo pretty severe exertion after a hearty meal without showing any
inconvenience. However, the stomach of a horse is liable to derange-
ments, and, perhaps, the most serious is acute indigestion, which
destroys a great number of horses, and I think I may safely say that at
least three-fourths of the heavy Clyde horses that are imported to this
country die from this disease, which is brought about by injudicious
feeding or carelessness. It is very common in horses that are worked
hard and fed well. It is an accumulation of food and gases in the
stomach, and also in the intestines, and a fatal result is inflammation of
the mucous membrane, called
Gastro-Enteritis. — A horse may be in good health, become affected
and die in twenty-four hours or sooner.
Causes. — Giving a large amount of food, especially if it is hard to
digest ; bran, for example, especially if there is shorts mixed with it and
not submitted to the action of hot water for some time. It will produce
acute indigestion almost as quickly as any kind of food. If a horse has
a full stomach and is put to hard work, digestion does not take place
properly, and disease is the result ; or giving a full feed when the stomach
is weakened from hard work and as a horse grows old or gets bulky food,
the stomach becomes unnaturally dilated, and the walls become very
thin, and the gastric juice is not properly secreted ; and after fasting, a
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 153
horse should not get much food until the secretion of the gastric juice is
stimulated by giving a small amount of food. Another common cause
is a change of food. "Wheat, even a small amount, will produce it.
Clover hay, when the animal is not accustomed to it, is also a common
cause. Acute indigestion may terminate in rupture of the stomach,
especially in old horses or any that are fed upon poor food. It may not
be complete, but just some of the coats are ruptured. Eupture of tbe
diaphragm is not uncommon from pressure, and the animal throwing
himself about.
Symptoms. — We will take a case as we often see it on the farm : The
farmer intends to take a journey of fifteen to twenty miles, and the night
before he feeds the horse more than usual, gives another large feed in the
morning, and starts off. The horse is quite lively, but after going a few
miles he becomes dull, sweats, and sweats freely ; is stopped, and shows
signs of abdominal pain ; attempts to lie down, turns the head to the
side, and if examined, perhaps, slightly swollen in the flank ; gets some
better, and is driven again ; again shows symptoms, and perhaps has a
slight diarrhoea ; becomes sluggish, but finally reaches his destination, is
put in the stable, and soon shows violent symptoms ; lies down and tries
to balance himself upon the back, then gets up, turns around, lies down,
looks at the flank, the eyes staring, and in many cases the bowels are
tympanitic. But I think the stomach may be dilated, even ruptured,
without distention of the bowels ; the pulse fifty or sixty beats per
minute, and eructations of gas, which is a good sign ; and regurgitation
of food, which passes through the nose of the horse and the
mouth of the ox, the eructations are extremely sour, the symp-
toms become more and more severe; by and by he seems relieved
to some* extent; the mouth is clammy; the pulse almost impercep-
tible, perhaps a slight diarrhoea ; the rectum bulged out, and death
ends the scene ; and this may all take place in from twelve to six-
teen hours. Boiled food is also liable to produce this. In other
cases the symptoms are not so plain ; perhaps the horse paws ; the pulse
forty or forty-five; gases are generated; he appears uneasy, etc., which
may develop into the symptoms just given. Some say that regurgitation
is symptomatic of rupture, but I think that rupture generally takes place
after regurgitation.
Treatment must be energetic and persevering, but when gastroenteritis
sets in death is the result. There may be rupture of the bowels, as well
as rupture of the stomach. There are various remedies recommended,
but I give turpentine two ounces, laudanum two ounces, and linseed oil
one pint. You may use nitrous or sulphuric ether instead of the turpen-
tine, and give injections of soap and water, and even add a little turpen-
tine. If there is great pain use hypodermic injections, two, three, four
or five grains of the acetate of morphia, and repeat, giving one-half the
dose in a half hour or an hour if the pain remains, or you may use the
muriate of morphia. As well as this, give six or eight drachms of aloes,
and I think it is good practice, to give two or three drachms of the carbo-
nate of soda or ammonia in cold water gruel, or in the form of a ball.
Use judicious counter-irritation to the bowels, rubbing them well, and
use blankets wrung out of hot water placed over the abdomen, and cover
up as well as you can, and when relief is obtained to a certain extent,
then do not push medicines too far. Instead of using laudanum, you
may use belladonna, and it is perhaps preferable in some cases. The
horse should be kept so as to prevent him from throwing himself about,
for there is danger of rupture. There is benefit in puncturing in all cases
154 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OK
where the bowels are distended to a great extent. Puncture in the right
or left side, but generally in the right side, and in the most distended
part betwt en the iilium and the last rib, and pass the trochar slightly
downward. It is best to first make an incision, as the canula will come
out easier, and is not so liable to irritate the parts. Do not be too rash
in using the trochar, for if gastro-enteritis is present death will result,
and the owner would lay the death to the use of the trochar. If you fail
to strike the colon you can puncture again, and if a liquid passes instead
of a gas, it is unfavourable, but I had such a case to recover. I recom-
mend each one of you to get a trochar, and if properly used it will do
you credit. There is not much danger in puncturing. There may be an
abscess, but it is not very serious, and even peritonitis may supervene,
but that is the exception and not the rule. A horse should be carefully
used for some time. Acute indigestion may terminate in laminitis.
DISEASES OF THE INTESTINE.
Rupture of the Stomach is a sequel of acute indigestion. If an
animal has suffered from acute indigestion pretty violently for several
hours, and becomes quieter, the pulse weaker and weaker, the mucous
membranes become pale and blanch, which were reddened a short time
previous, and the animal attempts to sit upon the haunches and wist-
fully looks at the flanks, the ears cold, etc., the chances are that it is
rupture. These are also symptomatic of intus-susception, volvulus, calcu-
lus, etc. Kegurgitation is another sign, but I think that it takes place
before rupture, for if the e is a considerable rupture the food passes into
the abdominal cavity, and I do not think that vomitism can then occur.
There is generally spas:iioJie breathing and death in perhaps three or
four hours; but I think I have known an animal to live ten or twelve
hom:s after rupture occurred. Nothing d^n be done for it.
Chronic indigestion, or Dyspepsia. — This is common, and may
result from a disorder of the stomach or intestines, derangement of the
liver and irritation of or shedding of the teeth, but generally from the
stomach, caused by injudicious feeding on over-stimulating food Clover
is apt to produce it by causing an over-acidity of the stomach.
Symptoms are not very alarming or violent. The horse falls off in con-
dition, perspires more freely when at work, the coat appears dry, dusty
and staring, the pulse slow and weak, the feces are of a lead or clay
colour, or, in some cases, somewhat dark, varying with the food to some
extent. The animal is, perhaps, subject to slight attacks of colic, and
has a depraved appetite — he will, perhaps, lick the lime from the walls.
This is, perhaps, a craving of nature to overcome the acidity of the
stomach.
Treatment.— Oxdiev a change of food. No matter how he has been fed,
order a change, and in most cases give a moderate dose of physic — fro aa
five to eight drachms of aloes, and feed carefully for a few days, and in
some cases you may combine calomel with the aloes, if there is any
derangement of the liver. But I am no great advocate of the use of
calomel ; also, use anti acids, carbonate of soda and ginger in a ball, or
drench with water, or in the food, if the animal will eat it. If there is
weakness, give beer with one and a-half drachms of gentian or ginger,
and after a week or two give tonics. But I think harm is sometimes
done by giving tonics before the system is prepared for them. Give sul-
phate of iion, or even a little arsenic with it, or give sulphate of quinine.
Perhaps the great secret in treating this disease is a change of diet.
DISEASES OP DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 155
Spasmodic Colic is a spasmodic contraction of the muscular fibres of
the intestines. The contraction of this muscular coat tends to pass the
contents toward the anus. Although spasmodic colic may be said to be
contraction of the muscular coat of the small intestines, I think it may
also affect the large intestines. In an ordinary case there is no great
amount of the intestine contracted, perhaps a few inches to a foot or
more, and if it continues, intus-susception may take place, or the mucous
linings may adhere together, from being pressed together so close by the
contractions of the muscular fibres.
Causes. — Perhaps the principal cause is a change of food. Giving
cold water when the animal is heated may cause it, but not very
often. Roots, especially if frozen, and sometimes if in a proper con-
dition, may cause it. Some horses are particularly susceptible to
colic. Sudden changes of temperature tends to produce it, and also
constipation of the bowels, which sometimes supervenes a cathartic ;
and when giving a purgative, it is best to continue it with gentian, gin-
ger, etc. Although spasmodic colic is very painful it is not very fatal,
and is usually of short duration. It generally terminates favourably, and
it may terminate in enteritis, although some think it never does.
Symptoms. — The attack is very sudden ; the animal begins to paw and
cringe ; looks at the sides, throws himself violently upon the ground,
after perhaps cringing down some. He lies down rather easily in enteri-
tis. In colic, he attempts to lie upon the back — will perhaps roll back
upon the side, get up, and he may be quiet for a while, and may even take
a little food, and then again be seized and show similar symptoms. In
some cases he may be covered with profuse persi^iration, and may pass
feces in small quantities, and there are frequent endeavours to urinate,
which tends to mislead some who do not understand the disease. It is
generally a good symptom to see^him urinate. You will also be guided
by the condition of the circulation. Take the pulse early in colic, during
the violent symptoms, and it perhaps will be sixty, and if taken a few
minutes after, when the horse is standing still, it may be only forty or
forty-five in a minute In enteritis the pulse begins about forty or forty-
five and gradually increases, is full and bounding and continues ; but the
pulse varies in different attacks of colic. If it attacks a horse after a hard
drive, or one in a debilitated condition, the pulse will be weak, and per-
haps fast, but still differs from the full bounding pulse of enteritis. In
colic, pressing upon the abdomen appears to afford relief, and causes pain
in enteritis. In a case of colic likely to terminate fatally, the symptoms
become more violent, and death may occur from extreme muscular con-
traction, or from terminating in enteritis, and it may so terminate. It is
of short duration in some cases — the animal is as well as ever apparently
— in other cases it may last ten or twelve hours or more ; but such cases
are not very violent, generally, for the horse could not last so long under
such severe pain. It is usually easily diagnosed, but you may meet_ a
case that will give you some trouble to tell whether it is colic or enteritis
Treatment is generally satisfactory, and a student, when asked what he
would do if sent for in such a case, said he would "go just as fast as he
could, or the horse might be well before he got there," and it does not
matter so much what remedy is given, if it is given in time. Bleeding
was at one time regarded as the sheet anchor in treating colic, and some-
times it is good and acts like an anti-spasmodic, but I do not recommend
it Every practitioner has his favourite remedy, and I give sweet spirits
of nitre, one to two ounces, extract of belladonna one to two drachms, in
solution, with two ounces of water. Or sweet spirits of nitre one to two
156 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
ounces, and laudanum one to two ounces, in six or eight ounces of water, :
and give injections, and a little turpentine may be added to the injections. \
Some recommend always treating with a large dose of purgative medi- .
cine, but I can not agree with them : but, in any case where the bowels j
are overloaded, give six to eight drachms of aloes, after giving anti- j
spasmodics. And there is another way of treating this : that is by hj'po-
derraic injections of the acetate of morphia — but you must be careful not ;
to inject it into a blood vessel— and if it does not act just as you desire,
do not be too hasty in giving another, or it may act more powerfully than i
you desire. Chloral hydrate is recommended I have tried it, but have i
been more successful with what I have recommended. Turpentine, lau- I
danum and oil was Prof. Dick's favourite remedy. If you give a dose and :
there is no relief, repeat the dose in a half hour, and if you think there ■
are symptoms of enteritis, withhold the stimulants. I have used opium, |
but I now prefer hypodermic injections. If you have no remedy at hand, ;
then give ale, beer, whiskey, etc., and common salt may, perhaps, expel •
the attack. Put the horse in a comfortable place, and let him roll about ',
as much as he pleases, and a little exercise may be of use, but any great ;
amount will do harm. I think it is better to keep him in a comfortable '■
box or yard. Kub the belly well, use judicious counter-irritation, hot
water, mustard, etc. If a horse suffers repeated attacks, the bowels be- \
come weakened, and sooner or later it will terminate fatally.
Flatulent Colic— It is hard in some cases to tell the difference between ;
this and acute indigestion, but the bowels may be flatulent and the j
stomach not be affected. It consists of gases ; there are carbonic acid '
gas, sulphuretted hydrogen, and in some cases carburetted hydrogen. .
Flatulent colic is more common in old than in young horses— perhaps ;
because digestion is impaired to some extent— and in horses that bave ;
been fed for a long time on over-stimuhtting food.
Causes. — A change of food or feeding soon after a long drive. Indian :
corn, or inferior food of any kind, is likely to produce it. j
Symptoms are similar to spasmodic colic ; the animal lies down and i
rolls, etc., and the abdomen soon becomes distended, and in a pure case ■
there is no regurgitation of food nor eructations of gases, but just dis- |
tention of the bowels, and one part of the colon may be affected more j
than the others 1
Treatment — Give injections freely, and you may be able to overcome a ;
slight attack by injection, but medicines may be necessary. You may j
put one or one-and-a-half ounces of turpentine in the injections ; this !
may relieve it, although the intestines are pretty full of food, but may i
have to remove the contents of the rectum with the hand. Chemically j
speaking, the best remedies would be lime, ammonia, etc., which would i
combine with the gases and form new compounds, and so afford relief ; \
but they do not act internally in all cases ; but give turpentine one or j
two ounces, with linseed oil and laudanum or belladonna, according to ;
the suffering ; or you may relieve the pain by giving two or three grains j
of the acetate of moi-phia, hypodermically ; and it is good practice in ]
some cases to give a purgative and carbonate of ammonia, one, two or
three drachms, in the form of a ball, or rubbed down in a little cold
water or gruel with some mucilage, and give as a drench. You must be
careful in giving aqua ammonia, or it will cause great irritation. The
horse requires great care, and you will find carminatives, stomachics,
etc , useful ; and see that he gets good, nutritious food, and internal j
remedies have but little or no effect, then puncture; and I believe ■
puncturing is more successful in a pure case of flatulent colic than in j
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANlMXLt. 157
any other disease. Flatulent colic may terminate in enteritis, but it is
more likely to terminate in rupture, or it may terminate in death by
asphyxia. It is good in some cases to prevent the animal from throwing
himself too violently, and I only recommend puncturing when the ani-
mal is considerably inflated. If he is not inflated you may injure the
coats of the colon or ccecum.
Enteritis is perhaps more common in the horse than in any other
animal, and also more fatal. It is inflammation of the intestines, and
inflammation used without any particular application is a very vague
term. The coats of the intestines are three — a mucous, a muscular and
serous ; and enteritis, in most cases, is inflammation of the mucous coat,
but in many cases all the coats are involved. Some writers say it is con-
fined to the muscular coat without the mucous coat being affected. But
in some cases, as soon as you cut into the abdomen you can see a great
change has taken place, both in the muscular and serous coats ; and in
other cases you can only notice a slightl}' reddened condition until you
have cut through the muscular coat, and then the mucous coat is found
to be aftected. It is a very painful and alarming disease, which will run
its course quickly, causing death in six or eight hours, and does not often
linger more than from ten to twenty hours. It attacks the large oftener
than the small intestines, but if it supervenes acute indigestion it may
involve almost the whole of the intestines, and in other cases only a part
or the whole of the colon.
Causes. — Colic occasionally produces it, although some writers say it
does not. It arises from an over- accumulation of feces in the intestines,
or eating some food to which the animal is not accustomed— some hard
body, clay, anything that would irritate the intestines. Pea straw is a
common cause in some places. It may also cause colic. Purgatives in-
cautiously administered in certain diseases may cause enteritis, and when
croton oil was combined with almost every purgative enteritis was more
common. And I may just say that the less you use croton oil in practice
the better. In other cases it comes from drinking stagnant, putrid
water. I think this is a common cause in some places. Exposure to the
cold, especially after a long and exhausting drive, and then standing in
the cold ; or it may come from calculi intussusception, volvulus, etc.,
and may supervene certain diseases, as strangles, pneumonia, etc., from
a weakened condition of the system.
Symptoms. — Somewhat similar to colic and other painful bowel
troubles, but in some cases it is preceded by dullness, especially if it is
the result of faulty feeding. The first symptom often noticed is, pawing,
first with one foot and then with the other foot, and he may do this for
an hour or an hour and a half ; he may turn the head to the side, then
cringe some, and again look at the side. This is also symptomatic of
colic, but if it continues for an hour or two, and then lies down, it is
symptomatic of enteritis : by and by the pain becomes more violent.
Early in the disease the pulse is not much disturbed, but is slightly
accelerated — perhaps forty, forty-two, or even forty-five per minute ; and
it is at the same time full and bounding ; the mouth hotter than natural ;
the ears and legs hotter than usual, etc., it is symptomatic of enteritis,
and sometimes rigours is the beginning of the disease ; the coat is staring,
the same as in congestion of the lungs, but the breathing is not so quick ;
the pain increases ; he begins to move the limbs, cringes and lies down
more carefully than in colie ; tries to balance upon the back ; gets upon
his feet, and instead of standing still, as in spasmodic colic, he turns
around, goes around two or three times, cringes and lies down. But if
158 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
it is spasmodic colic, he will likely stand still for half a minute or more,
and the pain is almost (but not absolutely) continuous in enteritis. The
eye has a peculiar lustre, becomes reddened and injected, and the same
is true of the mucous membranes ; the ears and legs may now be cold, or
hot and cold alternately ; and costiveness is another symptom. Although
there may have been slight diarrhcea in the first stage, and although you
could move the bowels, it would not relieve the difficulty, as is sometimes
supposed. There may be some hard feces passed, which may be covered
with mucous, and attempts are made to urinate frequently, and some
urine- may be passed. In the early stage the belly is somewhat tucked
up, and pressure upon it increases the pain, while in colic it relieves it,
and after a time there is perspiration about the flank, behind the ears
and shoulders, and a peculiar breathing, and if an animal has suffered
some time from abdominal pain, and there is this peculiar breathing, it
is a dark case, and the symptoms increase in violence, the pulse runs up
to eighty per minute, loses its bounding character and becomes weak,
then you may make up your mind that a considerable amount of exuda-
tion has taken place, and a well marked symptom at this time is the
amaurotic expression of the eye, and as it advances the animal becomes
almost blind and almost unconscious, and if you lift the head, the ani-
mal may fall back. This is caused by a lack of blood to the head, and
you must approach him wuth caution. These symptoms may have been
going on for from six to fifteen hours, when all at once the animal may
become quiet, perhaps take some food, but does not masticate it ; the
perspiration continues, the extremities are deathly cold, the mouth
clammy, which shows that gangrene has taken place, and the animal
may live two or even ten hours, but generally dies in an hour or hour
and a half, according to the intestine affected.
Treatment is not successful, but we sometimes meet with a case that
may be treated with success, and opium is the great sheet-anchor, so to
speak, of treating it. I recommend giving large doses of opium — a
drachm dose of the powder every hour or two until tour or six doses have
been given ; or, give two or three grains of the acetate of morphia hj'po-
dermically, repeated in half the dose in an hour or a half hour, if neces-
sary ; and it may be necessary to give injections, and I think there is
benefit in counter-irritation ; use ammonia of water — I believe hot water
is the best. You may give Flemming's tincture of aconite in ten or
fifteen drop doses, and you can give larger doses in enteritis than in any
other disease. Blood-letting is another remedy, and I believe in
some cases is of benefit, but it must be done in the early stage of
the disease, and in a horse of good condition ; but if the inflammatory
action has poured out an exudation, then any such things should be care-
fully used, and use gentle stimulants with sweet spirits of nitre, opium,
ale, beer, whisky, etc ; and although the bowels do not move, you need
not be alarmed, but in some cases of constipation, which is setting up
irritation, a purgative may be given, which may remove the constipation
and relieve the irritation, and, in connection with the purgative, nux
vomica may be added. There is another method of treatment, which I
do not say is successful ; it is to put the animal under the influence of
chloroform, or hypodermic injections, keeping him under its influence
for perhaps an hour, and I think it is worthy of trial. Re sure and keep
the animal warm, well clothed, and rub well, to equalize the circulation ;
and when treating a case, and have given two or three doses of opium or
hypodermic injections, the animal holds the head up some, then cover
and keep him warm, but do not push medicine too far. It is as neces-
sary to know when to quit giving medicine as to know when to give it.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 159
Volvulus is also occasionally noticed. It is the bowels becoming
twisted ; or it may be due to colic, or a small portion of the intestines
may pass through a small rupture in the mesentery, interfering with the
passage of the contents. It is more likely to occur in young animals,
but it may occur in adult. It is almost impossible to diagnose it cor-
rectly, but the
Symptoms are similar to those of enteritis, but are more prolonged ;
the pain is continuous ; there is obstinate constipation ; the pulse be-
comes quicker and quicker ; he throws himself about ; you perhaps
administer opium without any lasting effect ; he sits upon his haunches ;
the pulse runs high and becomes almost imperceptible ; sweat covers the
body, and if you are certain of volvulus, it is best to destroy the animal.
Intus-SUSCeption is a slipping of one part ( f intestine inside another.
It is rare in the horse. But a young horse is more liable, and it is often-
est found in the small intestines, and sometimes a great length may
become invaginated.
Causes. — It is hard to say just what does cause it. Violent contrac-
tions of the intestines during the severe paroxysms of colic may produce
it. Foals feeding upon milk are more subject to it. If it occurs in colic
each paroxysm slips it further, and death generally results, but cases are
recorded where a considerable amount of intestine has sloughed off, and
the case recovered, both in horses and cattle. Little can be done for it ;
however, some recommend cutting into the abdomen, find and endeavor
to straighten out the parts, but this is not likely to meet with success,
and if there is intus-susception with strangulation it is generally best to
destroy the animal, but is possible for it to slough off and the animal
recover.
Symptoms are common to this : volvulus, gorged stomach, etc.
Compression, or Stricture of the Intestines, may be due to
tumours, which grow to a great extent and cause stricture, or you may
have a tumour internally, which may produce either stricture or volvu-
lus, and opiates will not relieve it. The pulse becomes weaker and
weaker, the animal sits upon his haunches, then lies down and stretches
his head out, gets up and lies down, etc., and the symptoms remain for
twenty-four hours or longer. It is generally not enteritis, because the
animal would not live so long in acute enteritis. Strangulation may
proceed from a pedunculated or ovarian tumour.
Intestinal Concretions are enlargements or balls in the intestines.
They sometimes consist principally of, lime or some other alkaline sub-
stances. They vary in size from that of a marble to the weight of
twenty pounds. A small piece of almost- anything may form a nucleus
around which these substances may be deposited. In the specimen here
a small piece of brass wire formed the nucleus. They have been called
dust balls in England, because the horses were fed from the sweepings of
the mill floors, and so got something to form a nucleus for the deposit.
Semi-digested food sometimes forms a ball, and it takes sometimes, per-
haps, years for it to accumulate to any great size, but sooner or later it
will obstruct the passages of the feces, and cause death. There are also
hair balls, which are composed of hair. Sheep sometimes have balls
composed of wool ; they may exist some time before they interfere with
the animals. I believe that the animals in which they are present are
attacked with what is supposed to be colic, which may be due to the
obstruction, and the enlargement may move and the symptoms subside.
These enlargements are oftener lodged in the colon than any other part
160 CAtSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
of the intestine. When they obstruct the passage there is obstinate con-
stipation, the pulse forty or fifty-two ; by and by the symptoms become
similar to enteritis, but are more prolonged ; he sits upon the haunches ;
the last is symptomatic of volvulus, intus-susception, gorged stomach,
calculus, concretions, etc , and if a horse has been suffering acute pain
for several hours, and has the above symptoms, cold sweats, etc., it may
be any of the diseases spoken of.
Treatment.— U the pain is violent endeavour to relieve it with opinm,
and it is good practice to examine the rectum by introducing your hand
carefully, and you may find some hard body, or it may be from obstinate
constipation. It is generally from twenty-four to thirty-six hours before
death takes place after the bowels are completely obstructed.
Constipation. — In many cases this cannot be said to be a disease of
itself, but a symptom of some other disease, but is sometimes a disease
of itself, and may proceed from various causes ; from intestinal concre-
tions ; an undue amount of feces in the intestines ; from too rapid or
from too great absorption of the fluids, and from liver disorders ; and
when the animal suffers from any fever there is constipation ; also in-
ferior food of any kind ; a large amount of oats and a small amount of
hay ; and pea and barley straw, etc. The muscular fibres of the colon
and rectum become paralyzed to a certain extent, and are not able to
expel the feces. Feeding over-ripe grass causes indigestion, and is liable
to affect the brain in many cases, but roots are more liable to produce
acute indigestion, flatulence, etc , than obstinate constipation.
Symptoms. — If it is a pure case there is scarcely any feces passed, the
animal is dull and sluggish, slightly tympanitic in some cases, and shows
more or less abdominal pain, but not much ; lies down, rolls, looks at
the sides ; the pulse not much changed, perhaps forty or fifty; and by
examination you may find the rectum completely impacted, and it may
be necessary to remove the contents every day for some time.
Treatment. — If the bowels are obstinately constipated give a dose of
purgative medicine, and it is good practice to combine with stimulants ;
give six, eight or nine drachms of aloes, or one drachm of calomel, once,
twice or three times a day, or nux vomica, and give injections, and, if
necessary, remove the contents of the rectum with the hand. Use an
infusion of tobacco— one ounce of tobacco, cut up, and pour boiling water
over it, and strain it through a cloth, then add a little soap and lard, and
inject, which will cause relaxation of the bowels ; if there is pain give an
opiate, or hypodermic injections ; I would prefer the latter. Or, instead
of tobacco, use turpentine in water for injections, one-half ounce to one
ounce. You may cause irritation by using too much soap in injections.
If 3'ou make up your mind that it is a pure case of constipation, never
hesitate in giving a dose of aloes, and follow by a diffusible or nervous
stimulant. There might be an exceptional case, where you might have
recourse to croton oil, and if so, put two or three drops inside a ball, and
give it carefully, and do not let the animal chew it.
Habitual Costiveness, where there is slight constipation, is best
treated by regulating the food, or by any mild remedy, such as carbonate
of soda, but if it is due to some disease of some organ, as the liver, then you
may have recourse to potassium. Purgatives may relieve for a time, but
it will return ; however, in some cases you may give a slight laxative,
linseed oil, castor oil or sweet oil.
Diarrhoea consists in the undue passage of liquid feces, due to a slight
congested state of the alimentary canal. It is most frequently seen in
horses of a weak conformation, as a narrow chest and loins.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 161
Causes. — Giving rich, succulent food after having been fed on a stimu-
lant diet for some time, and such a case may benefit instead of injuring
the animal. Turnips, carrots, etc, especially if frozen slightly, are apt
to produce it ; also impure and stagnant water which act as a blood poi-
son ; or some irritant in the food, as sand, clay, etc.; or it may result
from excitement, in race and hunting horses ; or it may be the result of
an over-dose of purgative medicine, or of the incautious administration
of a moderate dose, and when it is so caused it is called super-purgation.
Diarrhoea is not very fatal ; it is often an effort of nature to relive some
disease, as in a poison in the blood the readiest way to get rid of it is by
way of the bowels If it results from pneumonia, influenza, strangles,
impure or stagnant water, then it becomes serious. It is easil,> detected ;
the animal passes a large amount of feces, which are of a liquid nature ;
at first the pulse is but little affected, but after a day or two it becomes
weak and slightly increased — if it continues longer the pulse increases ;
the ears and legs are colder than natural. There are slight griping pains
in some cases, due to slight irritation, or perhaps to slight spasms of the
intestines ; these pains may increase and result in enteritis, especially if
it is caused by super-purgation.
Treatment. — In many cases all you have to do is to change the food,
and clothe the body according to the temperature ; and it may be neces-
sary to give a little medicine. Endeavour to find the cause, and if it is
due to some irritation of the intestines, an astringent would do more
harm than good ; but cause the removal of such irritant by giving a lax-
ative, combined with opium, a pint of linseed oil and a half ounce of
laudanum : or two drachms of aloes, with an equal amount of gentian
ginger, or an anti-acid ; but if not due to an irritant, you may give an
astringent ; also, cover the animal, stimulate the legs, and sometimes the
abdomen. But if diarrhoea has continued some time, it is necessary to
stop it.* Give catechu, half ounce to one ounce; gentian, two drachms;
ginger, two drachms, and repeat it in from twelve to eighteen hours ; or,
oil of turpentine, one ounce ; opium, one drachm, with two or three eggs;
or you may be able in some cases to check it with flour, but you must be
careful in super-purgation, and it is best to give one drachm of opium
and then give tepid water, which tends to soothe and restore the intes-
tines to their natural condition. Do not resort to too powerful remedies
at first, I treated one case in which I detected sand in the feces, and
gave a laxative, and I think there was almost a bucketful of sand passed
during twenty-four hours. You must get rid of any irritants, and if
necessary give stimulants — good port wine and brandy, if the animal is
depressed or takes no food.
Diarrhoea, in young animals, is sometimes difficult, and sometimes
results from a foal being exposed to the cold, or an improper condition of
the milk of the mother ; either too rich or too poor will produce it.
Symptoms. — An undue amount of liquid feces ; the animal weakly and
sickly ; the coat staring, and perhaps a sort of curdled fiuid passes with
the feces ; and it is necessary to be extremely careful in giving laxatives.
You may give one to two ounces of castor oil with a little rhubarb, and
endeavour to regulate the condition of the milk, if it is too rich, by giving
a moderate amount of food, diuretics, or even laxatives. If the milk is
poor, improve by giving a nutritious diet. In working the mare, the
udder becomes full, and perhaps over-heated, and if the foal is allowed to
take the milk while in this condition, results in diarrhoea. Give a slight
♦ Flndley Dume gives the dose one to three drachms of catechu.
162 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
laxative, and if you are not able to check it in this way, give a scruple of
powdered opium, half drachm to one drachm rhubarb, half drachm to
two drachms of prepared chalk, and attend to the condition of the
mother ; and use judicious counter-irritation, by rubbing and stimulating
the belly with mustard or camphorated liniment.
Dysentery, or Flux. — This is an affection of the mucous membrane,
especially of' the large intestines, and there is a great tendency to ulcera-
tion, and when it takes place there is more or less hemorrhage.
Causes. — It may proceed from a severe attack of diarrhoea, or froai
grazing upon wet. marshy lands, or feeding upon grasses grown upon
such lands ; using impure water, etc. In cattle it is generally associated
with tubercular disease Horses do not often have it, except from some
well marked cause.
Symptoms. — The evacuations are tinged with blood, and have an ex-
tremely fetid odour, which differs from an ' ordinary case of diarrhcea ;
the feces are often mixed with shreds of mucous membrane ; the appetite
impaired or entirely gone ; the pulse perhaps fifty per minute, and weak ;
there are colicky or griping pains, which, after ulceration, are not so
severe ; the rectum is also usually in an irritable state.
Treatment is not satisfactory in many cases, but give a slight laxative
— castor oil and linseed oil and laudanum, and then small doses of chalk
and opium once or twice a day, and demulcent drinks, as hay or linseed
tea, flour, gruel, etc., which will support the system and soothe the
irritation of the bowels ; or, you may try catechu, and after the dis-
charge is arrested, then give tonics — iron will do very well — acetate of
lead, one to two scruples, once or twice a day, has been recommended by
some in controlling the disease. If the animal becomes very weak, sup-
port him by stimulants. In cattle the treatment is similar, but is not
satisfactory, because it is generally associated with tubercular disease.
There is one thing recommended by some having considerable experience ;
it is opium, one drachm ; chalk, one ounce ; calomel, ten grains.
Rupture, or Hernia, is the protrusion of an organ, or part of an
organ, from its natural cavity. I will direct your attention to abdominal
hernia, which is a protrusion of some of the intestines out of the abdom-
inal cavity, either through a natural or an artificial opening. It gets
distinctive names from the parts through which they protrude. If they
protrude through the inguinal canal, it is inguinal hernia. If it extends
down into the scrotum, is scrotal hernia ; if through the umbilicus, it is
umbilical hernia ; if through an artificial opening, it is called ventral
hernia ; if the diaphragm, it is diaphragmatic hernia, etc. Again, if
you are able to return the parts easily, without any violent means, it is
called reducible ; if it cannot be so returned, it is called irreducible, and
if it becomes constricted at the neck and interferes with the circulation,
it is called strangulated. Scrotal hernia is more liable to occur in a
stallion, and any part of the intestines may pass through, but it is gen-
erally the small.
Causes. — In many cases it is congenital ; violent exertion may produce
it. Inguinal may become scrotal in a stallion, from covering mares,
leaping, running, or any violent exertion, and sometimes when thrown
for an operation, by struggling. I will first speak of inguinal hernia,
which may be easily overlooked, and so long as it does not become
strangulated you may not be able to detect it at all. When it becomes
strangulated the symptoms are just the same as colic, but are more pro-
longed ; the pulse becomes quick ; he sits upon the haunches, rolls and
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 163
tries to lie upon the back ; the pulse becomes quicker and quicker, and if
you have a case where such symptoms are prolonged, it is good practice
to look for hernia.
Treatment. — So long as inguinal hernia does not interfere with the
animal, it is just as well to let it alone, but if it becomes strangulated,
you may be able to reduce it by manipulating the parts, or you may have
to perform by throwing the animal and elevating the hind quarters,
extending the limbs to a certain extent, and insert the hand into the
rectum, and by traction upon the bowels, and manipulation externally
you may be able to reduce it. This operation is called the taxis. If
this does not succeed, then cut down upon the hernia as close to the ring
as possible, then make an incision into the hernial sack, and then reduce
it and keep the animal quiet, and if you are able to return it in proper
time the irritation will soon disapjDear.
Scrotal Hernia is easily detected. When the hernia is composed of
intestines, it is called interocele ; if it consists of the omentum, it is called
epiplocele. The omentum usually does little harm. If it is the intes-
tines, they are apt to be distended with gas, and it will give way to
pressure ; if it is omentum, it is some harder, and does not give way as
if it were gas, and may be mistaken for scirrhouscord or hydrocele, or a
varicose condition of some of the veins. If there is no ii-ritation, the
animal does not suffer much. If the bowels are full, the feces pass down
and enlarge the hernia to some extent, and it is smaller when the animal
has been fasting. Cold contracts the tissues and so lessens the hernia ;
heat relaxes and enlarges it. It may be as small as two or three fingers,
or as large as a man's hand, or even extend more than half way down
to the hock.
Treatment. — If you are consulted about a valuable stallion, six, eight
or nine years old, it is generally best to leave such a case alone, unless
there are signs of irritation. "Let sleeping dogs lie." It may exist for
years and do no harm, if the animal has good care and proper food ; but
if it attains considerable size in a horse not used for covering purposes,
then treat it. Hernia in colts, extending down two or three inches, can
usually be easily returned, but if such a case does not interfere with the
animal, it is best to let it alone for a time, and it will often disappear of
its own accord ; but if it does not disappear, then it is necessary to
operate. Suppose it is a colt, one year old, with a large hernia, then it
is not advisable to cut into the hernial sac, but the best way is that
recommended by Prof. Williams. Having the colt prepared by feeding
sparingly for a few days, then return the intestine into its place, take
up the testicle and scrotum, and place a clam right over the scrotum
and testicle, as close to the ring as possible, and allow the parts to
slough off. The covered operation is performed by cutting in and ex-
posing the testicle, still covered by the tunica vaginalis, make a small
incision into the sac, then divide the stricture, replace the intestine
and apply a clam over the scrotum, cord, etc., and allow sloughing to
take place. I treated one case where the hernia extended two-thirds
of the way to the hock. I first prepared him by feeding sparingfy for a
few days — gave oats without much hay— then threw the horse and tried
to reduce the hernia before attempting to operate, and finding I could
reduce it, 1 decided to operate by returning the bowels and applying a
large clam as close to the ring as possible. The next day the pulse was
about fifty per minute ; was reduced some the day following this, and in a
short time the parts sloughed off, and a recovery was the result, and I do
not think this could have been successful by the covered method. Some-
164 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
times it is necessary to operate on a colt without castrating him, and a
truss may be used, and it may subdue the hernia. However, there is one
method I have resorted to in such cases, which I have not seen recom-
mended particularly in our works. I returned the whole mass of bowel
up the scrotum, and put a few stitches through the scrotum, and left
them for four or five days. A little irritation was set up, and the hernia
disappeared. I was careful not to injure the testicle, which I had closed
up to the ring. Some recommend applying a clam below the testicle,
which sloughs off a piece of the scrotum.
Umbilical Hernia. — This may occur in any animal, but is more likely
to occur in young animals, and is often congenital. . If not present at
birth, it is noticed in a few days after birth. It is generally reducible
with a little pressure. If in a colt from six to fourteen days old, it is just
as well to let it alone for a while, and it will often disappear, for the
omentum does not grow as fast accordingly as the other parts of the
body, which tends to reduce it. But if the colt is one or two years old,
then it will not disappear of itself, and it is necessary to reduce it, and
there are various ways, as by a truss, or a bandage is applied, and it is
more easily applied than in scrotul hernia. In other cases you must
operate by some of the methods ; by cutting through the skin ; expose
and scarify the abdominal walls, and bring the parts together. This
would be perhaps the most surgical way, but we can operate in a more
simple way, and I recommend throwing him. Eeturn the bowel, take up
the skin and apply the clam right over it, taking care not to apply them
too tightly, and to stop the circulation too quickly ; or, you can use
skewers instead of clams; put two or three skewers through the parts,
and take good strong twine and secure the parts by passing the twine over
them in the form of a figure eight, or by puckering up the skin and apply-
ing a ligature round it ; and a skewer is of benefit in this case to prevent
the ligature from slipping off. In twenty-four or thirty hours it is neces-
sary to apply another ligature, and tighten the parts up some, and you
may subdue the hernia. And perhaps in eight or ten days tetanus will
set in and death result, and this may occur after any operation, and
peritonitis supervene ; but there is not generally much danger of peri-
tonitis.
Ventral Hernia. — It may vary from the size of a marble to the size of
your head. It generally results from direct injury, as a kick, etc., and
sometimes from abdominal contraction ; but it does not often occur in
this way, and it is well, in examining horses, to look along the belly for
enlargements. It is fluctuating tumour, and when produced by injury,
it may be due to extensive inflammation set up in the part, giving rise to
an exudation, and matter may form and you will have to open it up ; and
there may be a hernia as well as an abscess, and when opening an abscess
in this region, always think of hernia, and be very careful. The same
thing applies to cattle, and you may have difficulty, in making up your
mind what is hernia or an abscess, or both together. One of our gradu-
ates opened an abscess in this region ; it formed again, and he plunged
the lancet into it, and there was a hernia present, and it was necessary to
destroy the animal. They may attain a great size and not interfere with
the animal ; and it may be a point of dispute whether it should or should
not be operated upon ; and unless the owner desires it, it is better to let
it alone.
Treatment. — Prepare the animal by moderate feeding for a day or two,
then throw the animal and return the hernia ; cut into the sac and bring
the edges together by a catgut suture. There is no great danger in a
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 165
small hernia, if the animal is prepared for it, and it may be necessary to
put him under the influence of chloroform. Operate just the same as in
umbilical hernia, and use skewers to prevent its slipping ; or you can
operate by skewers, or even a blister, in some cases, may reduce it. You
may also use the ligature, or operate by cutting into the hernial sac and
scarifying the walls, and secure the edges by means of a carbolized catgut,
and then bring the skin together. I think this is preferable to the metal-
lic suture.
Biaphraprmatic Hernia. — This is rare, and sooner or later proves
fatal. It may either pass through a natural or an artificial opening. It
is apt to enlarge aijd soon produce death. It may proceed from various
causes —from violent exertion of any kind, and sometimes from colic. It
is difficult to diagnose, but there are
Symptoms that might lead you to suspect it. I will give you the history
of one case I attended. He showed symptoms of inflammation of the
bowels. I learned that during the previous night he had suddenly be-
come ill. and continued so during the night. In the morning the pulse
was quick, full and bounding ; sweats covered the body ; he would lie
down and get up ; the respirations were greatly increased, and he ap-
peared to be suffering from inflammation of the lungs. This continued
more or less during the most of the day, and the usual remedies for enter-
itis were used without success. Later in the day he became quiet, the
pulse was scarcely perceptible, the mouth cold and clammy, the mucous
membranes became pale, and there was laboured breathing ; he again had
pain, and again became quiet, fell and expired. A post mortem revealed
more than thirty feet of the small intestines in the thoracic cavity. I
believe the cause was colic. Nothing can be done for it.
Rupture of the Colon, either in acute indigestion or flatulent colic,
giving rise to symptoms similar to rupture of the stomach — the nose pale,
mouth clammy, etc.
Rnptnre of the Rectum may occur, and recovery may take place^
It is not uncommon, but is rather a serious injury. It may be
caused in various ways— by a foreign body passing in, or mal-address
in serving mares. If it is confined to the superior walls, especially if
posterior to the peritoneal covering, a cure may be effected ; but if
anterior, through the peritoneal covering, and in the inferior part, death
generally results. Make a careful examination, insert the hand carefully
into the rectum and remove the contents, which is better than giving an
injection, in this case, and endeavour to find the extent of the injury ;
and you might endeavour to bring the parts together, but it is difficult to
do. Keep the patient extremely quiet and feed very sparingly. You may
sponge the parts nicely, and you may give a slight laxative of oil. If
there is pain, give hypodermic injections or powdered opium, and give
tincture of aconite.
Tumours and Abscesses in the Rectum.— A constipated state of the
bowels may so irritate the parts as to cause an abscess Rudely insert-
ing the hand, or the incautious use of the injecting pipe, may cause it,
especially in a violent case of the colic ; or you might even rupture the
rectum in this way. An abscess gives rise to great pain. After defaca-
tion he may cringe down, and even lie down and roll. Examine such
cases, and you may find an abscess or tumour ; if an abscess open it,
and then carefully inject with astringents and disinfectants to a certain
extent. Regulate the diet, and give opium if the pain continues. Ulcera-
tion of the walls of the rectum is more liable to occur in old animals ;
nothing can be done for it ; as a general thing it is of considerable
166 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
extent, and may be eaten through the walls. If it is but slight, treat
with carbolic acid, and attend to the general health of the animal ; give
tonics, good food, etc. Tumours in the rectum may interfere with the
passage of the feces. Endeavour to remove them, either with the knife
or ecraseur.
Protrusion of the Rectum is often met with in all animals, and it
looks very formidable, especially to a casual observer, and if it continues
for some time it swells and becomes inflamed, and may attain a consider-
able size. It is caused in various vyays, and is symptomatic of acute
indigestion. In other cases it is due to a slight injury to tlie rectum —
from inserting the hand violently. It is also brought about by exposure
to cold ; by irritating clysters, using too much soap, or even by giving
clysters too frequently ; from diarrhoea or constipation, and in some
cases debility ; or the animal standing with the fore parts higher than
the hind parts. In the dog it may be produced by aloes. The most
common cause, perhaps, is constipation. It requires a little tact and
perseverence to reduce it. Endeavonr to find how long it has been pro-
truded. Bathe with tepid water to remove any dirt, scarify in one or two
places, being careful not to cut too deeply, then bathe with tepid water
and laudanum, and if it is from constipation it may be necessary to
remove the contents of the rectum, by giving an injection and allowing
it to escape, then bathe well and return it, and you may meet a case
where you will have to return it every day perhaps for a week or ten
days, and if due to constipation it is sometimes necessary to give a
purgative to get the bowels in a natural condition, then elevate the hind
quarters to a certain extent. Sometimes a portion may become gangren-
ous, when you will have to remove the gangrenous part, and recovery
may still take place. It has been recommended to place a truss to the
parts, but it is difficult to do.
Imperforate Anus, in which the skin covers the anus ; and this con-
dition may extend in for a considerable distance. Make two incisions,
one across the other, but if the anus is not developed properly, death
will soon result.
Peritonitis, — The abdominal cavity is covered with a serous mem-
brane, reflections of which cover the various organs. Inflammation of
this is called peritonitis, and is rather a serious affair, and is apt to lead
to serious results. This and enteritis may both occur at once. However,
it may exist independent of enteritis.
Causes. — Exposure to cold ; food is not likely to produce it ; exposure
after some debilitating disease. It often supervenes enteritis, and is
often a sequel or a result of castration, especially if not properly per-
formed ; from a change of weather, etc.
Symptoms are somewhat deceptive, and it may go on to some extent,
especially if it is due to an injury, and be overlooked. There is not the
same pain as in enteritis ; the pulse is perhaps seventy or eighty, and
wiry, the breathing affected to some extent, and you are apt to think the
horse is suffering from irritation of the lungs ; pressure causes pain, and
in many cases, no difference what causes it, a post mortem will reveal
a great amount of effusion into the peritoneal cavity. The symptoms
sometimes come on gradually. At first he is dull, will not move unless
forced to, refuses food ; pulse seventy or eighty, and wiry ; the breathing
quickened some, and he will look at the sides, etc. It is apt to extend
over a large surface, and may involve the whole peritoneum. When it
comes from castration, suppuration does not take place in connection
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 167
with castration, and instead of healthy, we have a small amount of
ichorous pus discharged.
Treatment. — Hypodermic injections, opiates and a little oil if the
bowels are constipated, and judicious counter irritation, and after partial
recovery use iodide of potassium.
Ascites, or Dropsy, is the result of peritonitis. An effusion takes
place from an inflammation of a serous membrane, and if it goes on to
such an extent that it can not be absorbed, it produces dropsy. Dropsy
is the result of chronic peritonitis, or from chronic disease of any of the
organs — as the liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, urinary, calculi, albuminuria,
or degeneration of the kidneys, etc.
Symptoms — The animal is weak ; the pulse quick, and very weak in
some cases ; the appetite may be retained tolerably well ; the muscular
system becomes soft and flabby ; the belly distended, and when you press
upon it you can see it is the result of a fluid ; as well as being weak, th e
pulse is irregular ; there is, perhaps, a slight diarrhoea, and when there
is, the symptoms subside to some extent ; then constipation sets in, and
the swelling again returns. This disease is most common in the dog,
and it is astonishing how much fluid may be imprisoned in a dog.
Treatment. — Give those remedies that will tend to absorption of the
fluids ; support the strength ; encourage the appetite, and not restrict the
diet, but give any good food that will be taken ; and give iodine and
iodide of potassium, of each one drachm ; or acetate of potash, two or
three drachms, night and morning, and if the effusion is very great, the
operation of peraoentesis may afford temporary relief. This is easily
performed by means of a trochar and canula. However, this operation
is not followed by any great degree of success, for the fluid is likely to
collect again. It is sometimes, also, necessary to apply a bandage. If
the effusion is but slight it will be absorbed ; if it is too extensive to be
absorbed, there is not much success in treating it.
firllt Tie is occasionally noticed in working oxen. It gives rise to pain
and obstinate constipation ; he looks at the sides, etc. Some have
afforded relief by cutting into the abdominal cavity and unraveling it.
It is difficult to diagnose. The stomach of the ox is divided into four
stomachs, or divisions. The first is the rumen, or paunch ; the second,
the reticulum, or honey-comb ; the third, the omasum, or many plies ; the
fourth, the abomasum, or true digestive stomach. The food is taken
into the mouth and masticated to a certain extent ; it is then swallowed
and passes into the rumen ; when the rumen is full the process of rumina-
tion commences There is some difference of opinion about this process.
Some claim that it is performed by the rumen, and others that it is done
by the second, and some by the third stomach ; but some ruminants have
no third stomach, so it must pass from the rumen up the oesophagus,
and, after being remasticated, it is again swallowed and passes through
t,he oesophageal canal into the omasum and true digestive stomach.
Hoven Blown, or Tympanites. — This is common, and consists in a
distention of the rumen 'from the accumulation of gases, due to the sus-
pension of the peristaltic action of the stomach. The gases are carbonic
acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, and carburetted hydrogen gases, and, in
some cases, carbonic oxide.
Causes. — It is sometimes a symptom of choking, sometimes the result
of chronic indigestion, and may be symptomatic of disease of the liver,
parturient fever, etc. The great exciting cause is a sudden change in the
food. In some countries wet clover will produce it quickly, and in those
168 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
places it is very dangerous to turn cattle upon wet clover in the morning.
Potatoes and turnips, especially if frozen a little, or feeding peelings,
etc., from the kitchen ; bran, shorts, etc., and any kind of food may pro-
duce it. In the acute form it is not usually accompanied by any organic
disease, but is the result of the evolution of gases.
Symptoms in many cases are alarming. The left flank swollen to a
great extent, and there may be eructations of gas in the early stages.
Rumination ceases ; there is a <drum-like noise from striking the swelling.
and from pressure upon the diaphragm the breathing is disturbed, and
the animal may die from asphyxia ; the head is protruded, and even the
tongue may protrude from the mouth ; the eyes bloodshot, the animal
staggers, falls, and expires, mostly from asphyxia, but it may be from
rupture.
Treatment. — This should be energetic. Give something that will
neutralize the gases, and form different compounds — carbonate of am-
monia one-half ounce to one ounce, or the aromatic spirits of ammonia,
which tends to combine with the gases. Another is chlorinated lime,
two to four drachms or even an ounce. Any of these should be given in
cold water ; but I prefer two, three or four ounces of turpentine, and raw
linseed oil from one-half pint to one quart in ordinary cases ; and it may
be advisable to follow with a purgative— give from one pound to one and
one-half pounds of Epsom salts. If the symptoms are very urgent, you
must relieve mechanically, which may be done with a hollow probang,
but the safest way is to puncture upon the left side, at equal distance
from the last rib, the transverse processes of the vertebra and the spine
of the ilium. The trochar used for the horse does very well, but it must
be pretty long ; after puncturing give a little turpentine and oil, and it is
good practice to follow by a purgative, and attend to the animal carefully
for some time. Give the best of food and tonics. If you have no trochar
use a small knife.
Impaction of the Rumen, Grain Sack, Etc.— It means an excess of
food in the rumen ; it paralyzes the muscular coats of the rumen, and
suspends digestion ; inferior food of any description is liable to produce
it. An animal getting loose at corn, oats or bran, especially if inferior,
and not first acted on by hot water, is liable to it. Corn cobs will also
cause it.
Symptoms. — I think there is generally more or less gas present ; rumi-
nation ceases ; the animal is dull, and suffers pain to some extent ; there
is a peculiar groan or grunt heard ; the pulse is quick ; sometimes there
is a discharge of saliva from the mouth ; he lies down, gets up, lies down,
etc., the left side is swollen, and instead of the hollow sound, it is a dead-
like sound, and by pressure jou find food is in the rumen, and you can
leave the marks of your fingers upon the outside ; the bowels are costive,
and if there are any feces passed they are covered with mucous. Food
may remain in the rumen for days, or even weeks, in a case where there
was impaired function of some kind. Sometimes it is thought the ani-
mal is choked, and in passing the probang it will not pass into the
stomach because of the food.
Treatment.— 1 recommend a dose of purgative medicine followed
by stimulants. Give one to one-and-a.half pounds of Epsom salts,
half ounce of ginger, dissolved in hot water, and give when cooled ;
or you may combine oae-half ounce of aloes with it. It is necessary
sometimes to give a large dose of purgative medicine. I have given
three or four pounds of salts before it would operate, but I think
you are more likely to have success from stimulants. Strangways
DISEASES or DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 169
recommends quinine with the purgative, and nux vomica may be of
benefit ; and if these fail, you may perform rumenotomy ; and we
are apt to let a case run too far before we perform this; it would be
more successful if performed at an earlier stage. Rumenotomy is
cutting into the rumen and removing its contents, and is best per-
formed when the animal is standing ; and if the animal has been affected
for some time, you can cut to a considerable extent without the animal
seeming to care. So secure the animal against the wall, cut through the
skin and muscles in the same place you would puncture. (Some recom-
mend plunging the knife through all at once). Make an incision about
five inches long, exposing the rumen ; then make an incision in the
rumen and insert a handkerchief, or attach the walls by means of a
suture, to prevent the food from passing into the abdominal cavity, and
then remove the contents carefully. Some recommend leaving some
food in, but I generally clean it out pretty well, then bring the walls of
the rumen together. A metallic suture is the best, perhaps, and bring
the edges so it will slough into the stomach, then bring the other parts
together and give a slight purgative, and stimulants, if the animal is
weak. In a case where you give one or two good doses of purgative
medicine, then depend upon stimulants ; injections are also of benefit.
Ejection or Vomition can take place more readily in cattle than in
horses, but does not frequently occur because they are not easily nauseated.
It may arise from various causes, as irritation of the reticulum, aboma-
sum or true digestive stomach, but is generally due to some foreign body
therein, and a great many things may be found in the stomach, taken
in by a depraved appetite, as old shoes, clothes, bones, etc., and possibly
it may occur from some organic disease, as a tumour. It is best treated
by a slight laxative, as there is a possibility of the foreign body being
removed. Give six or eight ounces of Epsom salts with a pint of linseed
oil, and support the animal upon liquids for a few days, gruel, linseed
tea, etc., and if the irritation still continues you may give a small dose
of opium to allay the irritation ; but there is nothing, perhaps, that will
allay the irritation as quickly as hydrocyanic acid, fifteen, twenty, or
thirty drops two or three times a day. If these do not afford relief and
you think there is something in the rumen, it may be advisable to open
and explore the rumen with the hand, but you must exercise judgment in
such cases. Foreign bodies often get into the rumen, pass out and
through the diaphragm, and passing into the substance of the heart, pro-
duce what is known as traumatic pericarditis.
Hair Balls occur in all animals, but oftenest in cattle. They are
likely to accumulate and remain in the reticulum. They occur from ani-
mals licking one another. They attain considerable size, and set up
irritation ; in some cases they may pass out or break up ; they give rise
to indigestion, loss of rumination and ejection. The rumen may contain
one hundred and fifty or more pounds of food. Almost all sorts of
foreign bodies have been removed from the stomach of the ox. Youatt
relates a case where a lady's neckkerchief formed the nucleus for a
calculus. A case is also related where a coat was found in the stomach
of a slaughtered ox : and a snake three feet eleven inches in length was
taken from the oesophagjis bf an ox, after puncturing had been performed
without any permanent benefit.
Impaction of the Manyplies, at one time called fardel bound, and
also supposed to be of common occurrence, for if an animal suffers for a
week or two it is often impacted to a great extent. I believe, with Prof.
Williams, that it is often symptomatic of other diseases, but it does,
8
170 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
however, occur as a primary affection. There are about one hundred or
one hundred and twenty of these leaves, and the food becomes impacted
between them until it seems almost as hard as a bone, or the ingesta
gets dry, and will crumble when a post mortem is made.
Causes. — Giving dry food which does not contain nutriment in propor-
tion to its bulk. It is more common in the spring, when the animal is
turned on an old pasture, and in getting the young grass he gets a large
amount of old, indigestible grass, and it may occur from inferior food,
frozen roots, etc.
Symptoms. — There is a manifest loss of fat, and, if in a milch cow,
there is a decrease in the flow of milk ; perhaps at first a slight diarrhoea,
which speedily gives way to costiveness ; the mouth hot ; the ears and
horns usually rather hot ; the pulse quickened ; the muzzle dry and hot ;
the breathing increased. And this is apt to lead you to suppose the
animal is suffering some slight affection of the respiratory organs. There
is a slight moaning, and cases are sometimes mistaken for pleuro-
pneumonia, especially in those stall fed. There is also a grating of the
teeth, and the head becomes sympathetically affected by the nervous
system becoming affected, and this produces tremours, convulsions, and,
perhaps, death. The rumen is generally not distended to any great
extent, and there may be a tucked up appearance. The first symptom
often noticed is the cessation of rumination.
Treatment. — Give a good purgative, and follow it by stimulants, or
follow by quinine, one or one and a half drachms, and a few drops of
sulphuric acid, which dissolves the quinine. If the animal will drink
give plenty of water, and give chloride of sodium with the salts ; give
gruel, linseed tea, etc., but so long as the acute symptoms last there is no
great need of much food, for if the digestive organs are not in a condition
to receive it, it does more harm than good. You may give an ounce of
aloes with the Epsom salts, and, if the fever is great, give a few doses of
aconite. I do not recommend blood-letting.
White Scours, a form of diarrhoea in calves. It is usually the result
of irritation of the stomach more than of the small intestines. It is a
common disorder. I think there is more or less inflammatory action in
connection with the true stomach. It is gastritis, so to speak. The
exciting cause is the character of the milk, although there may be excep-
tional cases, where there is a tubercular diathesis. It is often caused by
giving the young calf milk from some other cow, instead of the first milk
of the mother, and even the milk of the mother may not be of the right
character, and so cause it ; another cause is giving skimmed milk.
Symptoms. — The feces are in a semi-fluid state, a yellowish white
colour ; sometimes mixed with hard portions ; the patient grates its
teeth, which is symptomatic of abdominal pain ; lies down ; raises the
head and looks towards the abdomen.
Treatment. — Endeavour to find the cause ; regulate the bowels by
giving good milk ; and it may be necessary, although the animal is weak,
to endeavour to get rid of the irritant by giving one, two or three ounces
of linseed oil, with an equal amount of lime water; castor oil may be
given, but linseed oil does very well. The lime tends to counteract the
acidity of the stomach, and the oil allays the irritation. Bicarbonate of
potash one scruple to half drachm, or even a drachm, according to the
size of the animal. If there is pain, give from twenty to fifty drops of
laudanum ; and stringents are sometimes required, but must be used with
extreme caution. Give catcheu half drachm, and prepared chalk one to
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 171
two drachms, or some flour gruel. If the milk is either too nutritious, or
the opposite, change the food of the mother, and in this way act upon
the milk.
Inflainmation of the true digestive stomach may be produced from
various causes ; anything that will cause impaction of the third stomach
will produce this - roots, corn, grasses, tares, fitches, etc. SjTnptoms are
somewhat similar to fardel bound. There is diarrhoea, followed by con-
stipation ; the respirations increased ; the muzzle dry and hot, or hot and
cold, and legs in the same condition.
Treatment.— Give a moderate laxative, and carefully use sedatives, and
attend to regulating diet ; and you are apt to mistake fardel bound for
inflammation of the true digestive stomach.
Diarrhoea in Cattle is due to a slight congested state of the alimentary
canal, from an irregular supply of water, impure water, etc. It is apt to
terminate in dysentery, which is more common in cattle than in horses.
There are liquid evacuations, tinged with blood, and sometimes mixed
with shreds of mucous membrane. Endeavour to find the cause ; give a
slight laxative, and follow by astringents, if necessary ; treat the same as
in the horse, but do not at once give astringents in diarrhcea. It is some-
times a prominent symptom in tubercular disease.
Enteritis in cattle is not so common as in horses. There is more or
less abdominal pain ; pulse quick ; grating of the teeth ; suspension of
rumination, etc. It does not prove fatal so quickly as in horses, and
cattle do not show such violent symptoms as horses. It is treated in much
the same way as in the horse. Be careful in giving pui-gatives ; give
hypodermic injections, opium or laudanum ; support the animal, and use
counter-irritation, which must be stronger in cattle than in horses, be-
cause the skin is thicker ; there is also twisting of the bowels, but it is
not so common, and does not destroy the animal so quickly as it does the
horse, but it is likely to prove fatal.
Constipation. is not so common in cattle as in horses, and is most
likely to occur in well-fed cattle. Feeding well upon turnips, corn, etc.,
and also mill sw^eepings, may produce it. Cattle are more liable to dis-
ease of the large intestines, and horses to disease of the small intestines.
It is possible for a portion of ingesta to remain in the stomach of a cow
for a long time. A case is recorded where a cow was fed fitches and then
removed to where she could get no such food for six weeks, and a post
mortem revealed fitches with the ingesta. And when you make a post
mortem and find the third stomach impacted, do not make up your mind
in all cases that the animal died from impaction.
DISEASES OF THE LIVER.
Disea'^e of the Liver is not very common in the horse, yet we occa-
sionally meet with a well-marked case, and in post mortems we find
lesions in connection with the liver that were not detected through life.
There are many reasons why the horse is not liable. One is, that the
horse has no gall bladder — but I do not think that this has anything to
do with it, but I think that the simplicity of their living has. Liver dis-
ease is the result of eating, and climate tends to exert an influence, for it
is more common in hot countries.
Congestion of the Liver may and does occasionally occur, and it is
more likely to occur in a horse fed on a stimulating diet and getting but
little exercise. But it may exist with other causes — as disease of the
172 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS ANt) TREATMENT Of
valves of the heart, which affects the whole system, to some extent, and
usually the liver ; and also in chronic disease of the lungs. Chronic
emphysema has been said to cause it, but we have seen horses with the
heaves live for some time and show no signs of liver disease. If it pro-
ceeds from heart disease, it produces passive congestion of the veins, and
sometimes of the arterial vessels; but a stimulating diet is the most com-
mon cause— a large amount of corn, oats, etc. — and doing but little work.
Symptoms. — They are not very plain, and you will have trouble in
diagnosing it. The attack is, perhaps, somewhat sudden, but before this,
perhaps, the animal is dull ; the bowels disordered ; slight diarrha-a, and
then costiveness ; slight abdominal pain, but not such as in colic or
enteritis ; it is shown by more or less restlessness, turning the head and
looking at the side — more to the right than the left, some say ; the pulse
quick, and, in some cases, weak ; and after a time the secretion of the
liver is interfered with, the result of which is yellowness of the mucous
membranes, and, although he suffers pain, he does not lie tor any length
of time, especially if the capsules of the liver is affected, but stands up
much the same as in lung disease ; but in lung disease the quickened
breathing and changes can be detected by auscultation and percussion
Treatment. — If it occurs in a pampered animal, give from seven
to nine drachms of aloes. I do not recommend calomel. However,
in some cases it is a benefit, in others it is injurious. Apply judi-
cious counter irritation, and you can scarcely ever go far wrong in
applying heat to the abdomen, even if there is difficulty in making
up your mind. Sulphate of magnesia is another remedy, but do not
give a purgative dose ; or you may give, instead, sulphate of soda, which
acts as a febrifuge. Give g'auber or Epsom salts in the water one to
three times a day. Another good one is iodide of potassium ; regulate
the diet. Congestion of the liver is more common in sheep than in horses,
and may produce softening or disintegration, which is due to the feeding,
especially if fed on a stimulating diet. There may be no signs till shortly
before death ; then there is pain ; the animal rolls, perhaps ; the mucous
membranes show a yellow tinge, and the post mortem shows the liver en-
larged ; has a yellowish appearance, and can easily be broken between the
thumb and finger. There can be but little done for it. but if you are
called, and find that several have died, make a post mortem and try to
find the cause of the death, and you may prveent it in others by giving a
less stimulating diet — the sulphate of soda, or the hypo-sulphite of soda,
iodide of potassium, a slight purgative, etc. It is more frequent in dogs,
usually the result of being pampered, fed upon sweets and getting but
little exercise. He refuses food ; seems weak and debilitated ; there is a
yellowish tinge of the mucous membranes ; and if in a light- skinned ani-
mal, the whole skin is yellow. Give a good purgative of jalap or syrup of
buckthorn, then iodide of potassium ; regulate the diet and give some ex-
ercise. Feeding nothing but cold water for two or three days, and giving
exercise, will often cure it in dogs.
Hepatitis, or Inflammation of the Liver, may either be acute or
chronic. It may involve a part or the whole of the organ, but in most
cases, in the horse, I think it only involves a part, and suppuration may
result, and an abscess of the liver, which may result either from circum-
scribed or diffuse inflammation.
Symptoms. — The animal shows pain by looking at the sides, lying
down, etc., but does not roll in a violent manner, although some works
say he does. In other cases he stands most of the time ; the breathing
slightly affected ; the pulse quick ; the head turned to the side ; the inner
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 173
side of the lips, cheeks, etc., assuming a yellowish tinge, and the feces
are covered with mucous ; the brain may become sympathetically affected,
causing staggers, etc. Another symptom is lameness in the off fore leg.
You may meet such a symptom, but do not attribute it to the liver unless
the lameness is very obscure. It is said that such lameness has been
caused by a foreign body in the liver. There will be a scanty supply of
urine, and it may be tinged with bile.
Treatment. — If the pulse is strong, give a few doses of sedative medi-
cine ; but if it is weak, then give stimulants ; also give a moderate dose
of laxative medicine ; then give iodide of potassium or nitrate of potash,
and improve the system by regulating the diet, and give tonics ; but be
careful with purgatives in any case where the animal is debilitated and
the appetite gone ; but perhaps a small dose of nitrous ether, and injec-
tions are useful. It is more apt to occur in a circumscribed than in a
diffuse form, and it may go on to a considerable extent before there are
any well-marked symptoms. It is more common in old debilitated
animals.
Jaundice is perhaps the most common disease of the liver. It is often
only symptomatic of some other disease. It is symptomatic of any dis-
ease of the liver, of inflammation, hardening, calculi, hydated abscesses,
etc., and it may prove a sequel of some debilitating disease, as influenza,
strangles, etc., by exhibiting a yellowness of the mucous membranes, and
of course is jaundice. In man it is of such an extent as to stain the
linen of the patient, and may arise from various causes ; it may arise
from suppression or obstruction. By obstruction, by closing of the hepa-
tic duct, from inflammation of the lining membrane ; obstruction by cal-
culi, gall stones, tumours, hydatids, etc. It may be due to closure
of the hepatic and common duct, resulting from adhesive inflammation,
gall stones being firmly impacted therein, or anything that will obstruct
the flow of bile. Another cause is destruction of the hepatic cells, as in
trophy and induration of the liver, etc. There are certain tests by which
you can form an idea of which of these it is. Take two drachms of urine,
add one-half drachm of sulphuric acid and a small amount of loaf sugar
— a piece the siae of a pea — and if at the line of contact of the two
liquids a scarlet or purple colour is produced, the acids of the bile which
are only secreted by the liver are present, and it is due to obstruction. If
some of those ingredients which are only found in the liver are absent,
then the sugar takes on a brownish appearance, and it is due to suppres-
sion. But I do not say this is always a true test. There is yellowness
of the mucous membranes, the pulse weak, a furred condition of the ton-
gue, the secretions generally impaired, appetite impaired, etc.
Treatment. — Give a moderate laxative, iodide of potassium, and then
tonics. If there is suppression then perhaps there is benefit in calomel,
but I do not recommend it in all cases. If the animal is strong give a
laxative ; if not, give stimulants ; if in summer give nice green food in
small quantities, and carefully use stimulants. The dog also suffers from
jaundice ; give a moderate laxative, regulate the diet, and recovery will
usually result.
Rupture of the Liver, — It is occasionally seen in the horse ten or
twelve years old, that has been highly fed and exercised but little, and if
put to violent exercise, it causes hemorrhage and death.
Symptoms are internal hemorrhage; the animal falters, shows pain,
looks at the sides ; the pulse runs down quickly, perhaps is strong for a
few minutes at first ; the mucous membrane becomes pale and blanched,
and a post mortem will reveal a rupture of some of the vessels ; perhaps
174 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
a small vessel may be ruptured and the animal live for some time. If
you suspect rupture apply cold water to the sides ; give acetate of lead,
one scruple, once or twice a day. It is very difi&cult to diagnose an in-
ternal rupture, but you may be able to do it. I have known rupture of
the heart to occur, and death is almost instantaneous. In otker internal
ruptures death occurs in about twenty to fifty minutes.
Biliary Calculi, or Bile Stones, are not so common in the horse as
in man, but they may exist in great numbers, and when they do
they generally give rise to the obstruction of the flow of bile, caus-
ing it to be re-absorbed into the system, and this gives rise to
jaundice ; therefore jaundice may be a symptom of biliary calculi.
There may be, perhaps, ninety or more of these present at one time.
These may set up irritation and cause ulceration of the biliary duct, and
irritation of the intestines as well. Persons living high and taking but
little exercise are liable to these. If you suspect the.=e, which will be
shown by yellowness of the mucous membranes, irritation, etc., try the
effect of a slight laxative of oil or aloes, and follow by one half drachm
to one drachm of hydrochloric acid, well diluted, two or three times a
day. It has a tendency to dissolve the calculi, and there is no great risk
in trying it, as it is not likely to do any harm.
Atrophy of the Liver also oocurs -, and also the contrary, or hyper-
trophy. The horse gradually falls off in condition ; the digestive organs
become impaired ; there is diarrhcea or costiveness ; the feces become
changed in colour, although the animal has been fed upon the same
kind of food ; by and by there is yellowness of the membranes. This
may run on for some time, and the horse still be able to do some work.
Scirrhous Induration is more likely to occur in old horses, and in
most cases is the result of faulty feeding. In man it is often the result
of the continued use of intoxicants, especially of a poor quality. The
animal falls off in condition ; there is irregularity of the digestive organs ;
yellowness of the eyes and mouth, and the animal dies a lingering death.
No doubt if the urine, in such a case, had been tested by Harley's test, it
would have shown that there was suppre<^sion present. But little can be
done for it ; regulate the diet, and use iodide of potassium, etc.
Functional Disorder of the Liver, without any actual disease being
present, is occasionally seen, as in indigestion. Bile is not secreted
properly, and a slight yellowness of the membrane appears, costiveness,
etc. A convenient term for this is torpidity of the liver. Give those
remedies that tend to increase the secretion of the bile ; calomel has such
a tendency ; give one scruple to one-half drachm every day for four or
five days, and follow by a slight laxative ; regulate the diet and give
tonics, but do not give tonics till the system is prepared for it. An irreg-
ular supply of salt tends to produce liver troubles.
Rot in Sheep is due to a flake worm, distoma hepaticum in the duct
and even in the substance of the liver. The liver presents a reddened
appearance, the tissues are disintegrated, etc. I do not think it exists to
any great extent in Canada ; it may exist in the southern part of the
United States. In- Britain it is common, and destroys millions of sheep.
The ovum of this worm is taken into the stomach and gets into the duct,
and gains access to the liver, and after remaining there for some time it
changes and escapes by way of the intestines, then undergoes various
changes and produces an ovum which may again be taken by the sheep
in their water. These parasites are developed to a great extent in the
liver, and usually give rise to pain.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 175
Symptoms — It is said that the animal thrives for some time after the
worms are deposited. After a time the wool is easily pulled and an
odematbus swelling takes place under the throat ; yellowness of the eyes,
etc. The shepherds in Britain can determine it just by the appearance
of the eye. It is usually the result of pasturing upon wet lands.
Treatment. — Prevention is better than cure. Move the animals from
low to high lands, and give hypo-sulphite of soda and plenty of common
salt ; and the giving of turpentine is worthy of trial. This disease is
more common in wet years.
Spleen. — This is the largest ductless gland in the body, and its func-
tion is not very well known. It may be removed from the lower animals,
and the animal live and enjoy pretty good health. The spleen, as other
organs, is liable to inflammation, but is more liable to congestion.
Splenic apoplexy occurs in cattle, and the horse sometimes suffers from
conjestion of the spleen, which may be followed by inflammation.
Splenitis. — Diseases of the spleen are hard to diagnose correctly. An
animal may suffer severe pain internally for several days, and then death
takes place ; and a post mortem may reveal an inflamed or gangrenous
condition of the spleen. I think it is more common in malarial districts,
and I think that the horse suffers frcm malarial fever. I knew one horse
in particular, that was owned down near New Orleans, showed slight
indigestion, dulness, could not stand work, etc , and was sold very cheap :
was taken to Minnesota, and became one of the best horses in America.
Symptoms are similar to colic, and when a horse shows slight sj'mp-
toms of colic, rolls, etc., and gets up apparently well, it may be that he is
suffering from irritation of some or,her part In diseases of the spleen,
the pulse is quick, and I think tolerably weak ; and in some cases, before
the acute symptoms appear, the animal is dull and languid, showing that
the disease was coming on gradually ; the animal has a great tendency
to hang the head and lop the ears ; but this is symptomatic of any debil-
ity. Inflammation of the spleen is supposed to be more common during
summer. I have never seen a well marked case of it. If you suspect it,
give opiates and a gentle laxative, and use counter-irritation, and after
the acute symptoms are allayed, give iodine and iodide of potassium. In
any case of abdominal pain you cannot make any great mistake in giving
opium or hyj^odermic injections. I believe the spleen is more liable to
chronic than acute diseases, except in apoplexy. It is liable to hypertro-
phy, I believe, in malarial fever, as in the ague. It is difficult to detect,
and is determined by negative symptoms ; the animal pines away without
showing disease of any organ. There may be softening, rupture and mela-
notic deposits. The spleen has been found enlarged and varying in weight
from twenty to eighty-eight and a half pounds. It is also liable to a kind
of ossification or cartilaginous change, and the symptoms are similar to
the foregoing ; the horse becomes weak ; the appetite impaired, but not
entirely gone ; gradual emaciation ensues ; the circulation not much dis-
turbed ; the pulse perhaps forty or forty-four, and weak ; and although the
animal gradually falls off in condition, the coat will remain as sleek as in
health, which is an exception in debility ; the bowels are irregular,
and the horse is not able to do much work. If you examine the lungs,
they are regular, and there are no abdominal sounds ; you examine the
urine, and find the kidneys all right ; there is no yellowness of the mem-
branes, and the symptoms which I have mentioned are present, then you
may conclude that it is the spleen. Enlargement has been detected by
e^Q,XQ.\n\ng per rectum ; but to do this, give a slight laxative, and then
try iodide of potassium — one or two drachms once or twice a day ; or,
give iodide itself. You may have dropsy in connection with this.
176 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
PANCREAS AND SPLEEN.
The character of the diseases of the pancreas is somewhat obscure.
Death may occur and yet we are unable to diagnose the disease — but it
is rare. When the secretions of the pancreas are impaired, the fatty
principles of the food pass off unchanged. This is seen in the human
being and in the dog. The animal falls off in condition ; there is weak
pulse and more or less abdominal pain ; fats pass unchanged ; pancreatic
calculi are also found — more frequently in cattle ; the large and small
ducts may be affected by them ; it is more likely to occur where the water
is largely impregnated with the salts of lime. Treat it by changing the
food and water, and give mineral acids. It is very hard to diagnose
correctly, and when you go into practice, and your patient dies from any-
thing out of the regular order of disease, always make a post mortem
examination.
Splenic Apoplexy in Cattle should perhaps come under " anthrax."
This is rather common in cattle. It is an enlargement of the spleen
with blood, which interrupts its vital function, and causes disease.
Recent researches have thrown some light upon this subject, but it is
still a large field for investigation. It is a blood disease— the constitu-
ents of the blood are changed to a considerable extent. The blood, from
various causes, undergoes peculiar changes, and is brought to a stand-still
in the spleen.
Causes. — It is now held that it is due to the presence of the bacillus
anthracis— small spores which enter the blood in some way or other,
either through the digestive system or through a wound. This is the
opinion generally held, but I think we meet with cases where it is hard
to account for it in this way. However, these spores may be carried in
different ways. I have seen a few where, I think, it could scarcely be
attributed to these spores, although it is now generally admitted that
these cause it. The exciting causes are changing from poor to rich food ;
a deficient supply of water, although it is pure, and pasturing the animals
upon low, damp lands in hot weather ; at one time plenty of water,
which becomes scarce and changed in character. Water containing a
large per cent, of solid matter, is liable to produce disease. I saw two
or three cases in the neighborhood of Paris, in the summer of 1872,
which was dry and hot. They received an irregular supply of good
water. Some of them died, and post mortems revealed lesions of the
spleen, presenting all the symptoms of splenous apoplexy. Then they
received plenty of water, and no more were attacked. It has been noticed
where animals have been fed upon turnips which were grown upon cer-
tain soils or manures ; but I am inclined to think it is due to spores get-
ting in in some way. If you meet with it, examine the character of the
food, pasture, etc., carefully.
Symptoms are alarming and of short duration. An animal may be
apparently perfectly healthy at night and be dead in the morning, but he
may have been affected for some time, for it is noticed that the tempera-
ture is increased before other symptoms are shown, and after the pains
increase the temperature becomes less and natural. Then the animal
shows uneasiness ; the urine is high coloured, and is said, in some cases,
to be streaked with blood ; the pulse small and thready ; the breathing
accelerated and stertorous ; the head affected in various ways ; sometimes
comatose, at others convulsions, and sometimes the animal will bellow
with pain, and the symptoms are no sooner revealed than the animal is
dying. Nothing can be done in the way of treatment, but change the
locality, food and water, and make a thorough investigation of all the
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 177 i
{
food, and give a slight laxative. Try hyposulphate of soda as a pre- '
ventive. Decomposition takes place quickly after death. When you '
make a post mortem, it is beat to do it as soon as possible. Under the \
skin it looks like the animal had been bled to death, and sometimes ;
there is ecchymosis in the intestinal canal. The spleen will be increased I
in weight two or three pounds, and will be full of blood, and if held up
the blood will gravitate from one end to the other. The blood is also i
changed in character. Sometimes there is a discharge of a kind of i
frothy mucous from the nose, and it is sometimes tinged with blood ; and '
sometimes a similar discharge takes place from the vagina. One farmer, ■
near Brockford, has lost in the past four years nineteen head of cattle, !
in which case I am satisfied it is of a local character ; but at the same j
time it may be due to those spores. I think we have congestion of the i
spleen, which terminates fatally, that is not due to the bacillus anthra- |
cis. I would recommend you, in making post mortems, to be careful ■
especially after decomposition sets in, if there are any sores upon the i
hands. I do not think it is very dangerous, but a certain amount of j
caution is necessary. If you meet with it, change the locality, give j
laxatives, stimulants, tonics, etc. ; carbolic acid is also recommended. i
DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS.
Nephritis, Inflamniation of tlie Kidaeys.— The kidneys are the
great eliminators of the system, and as we cannot act so readily
upon the skin in our patients, we frequently act upon the kidneys.
Nephritis may occur in the acute or chronic form, and is more often
sub-acute or chronic, in the horse. Disease of the kidneys is often sus-
pected where it does not exist — as in rolling, looking at the sides, show-
ing pain, etc. These do not always indicate disease of the kidneys, but
sometimes do, and you will be called to treat what is supposed to be
disease of the kidneys, which is not. In enteritis the kidneys are affected
to a certain extent.
Causes. — Exposure to cold ; food possessing diuretic properties too
largely ; musty food of any kind which over-stimulates the kidneys and
causes more or less inflammation ; eating certain herbs, grasses, etc.;
suppressed perspiration ; also, diuretic medicines in too large quantities
— bweet spirits of nitre, resin, nitrate of potash, etc., if too much is
given, or if it is given too frequently. It is also said to result from
violent exertion of any kind, especially with a heavy weight upon the
back. But in most cases it is due to the food, medicines, or exposure to
cold. It may terminate in resolution, softening, or enlargement of the
kidneys ; but when it goes on to any great extent, the lining membrane
of the uriniferous tubes passes off in the urine, which destroys the charac-
ter of the kidneys to a certain extent, and it may terminate in ulceration
and poisoning of the blood, when it is usually fatal.
Symptoms. — More or less fever ; the pulse varying from sixty to eighty,
and it is not the full bounding pulse of enteritis ; the mouth is hot and
dry, more perhaps than in some cases of enteritis. There is considerable
pain in the region of the kidneys, and more or less abdominal pain ; he
lies down and rolls, but not to the same extent as in enteritis, arx/l does
not try to lie upon the back ; turns the nose to the flank, and /puts it
higher up ; the ears perhaps alternately hot and cold ; the breathing in-
creased ; frequent attempts to urinate, passes perhaps a small /Amount of
high-coloured urine, which looks like it was mixed with Wood, which
may be possible, and it may contain casts of the uriniferoua-'tubes. The
/
178 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS ANt> TREATMENT OP
urine may be retained for a short time in the bladder. If the disease
goes on and relief is not obtained, the symptoms change some ; the pulse
becomes weaker and weaker, the coat changes, the horse looks dull and
stupid, showing urtemic poisoning, and if both kidneys are affected, and
their secretions arrested, this results very soon. After passing urine the
pain is sometimes increased ; all the secretions are more or less affected.
Azoturia is often mistaken for inflammation of the kidneys.
Treatment must be energetic ; a sedative is recommended. Formerly
blood-letting was the remedy used, but fifteen, twenty or thirty drops of
Flemming's tincture of aconite is better ; and give an oleaginous purga-
tive—one quart of raw linseed oil. To relieve the pain you may use
opium or hypodermic injections of morphia ; also injections not only to
cause the bowels to act, but tepid water has a good effect upon the kid-
neys. Clothe the body well and endeavour to induce perspiration.
Slight perspiration around the flanks and shoulders is symptomatic of
the disease. Apply hot cloths, mustard, etc., over the loins, and newly-
Hayed sheepskin is an old and good counter-irritation. Sometimes
blister, but do not use cantharides, for it tends to over-stimulate the
kidneys ; it may be used in azoturia. Pressure over the loins is a test
for kidney disease, but is uncertain, for any thin-skinned animal will
flinch from pressure here, and the kidneys are deep-seated and well pro-
tected, but it may increase the pain. It is also recommended to examine
per rectum. After the symptoms subside some, regulate the diet and give
a few doses of carbonate of soda. At one time it was recommended to
give colomel. You may give belladonna instead of opium in some cases.
Nejpliritis, I believe, often occurs in the sub-acute or chronic form,
and IS caused by poor ]<ceping and hard work, or a large amount of
diuretic medicines, which over- stimulate the kidne^ys. But a slight
amount of urine passes ; the horse rolls about and is uneasy ; stands
with his hind limbs well back ; there is slight swelling of the limbs, the
urine sometimes nearly natural, and sometimes streaked with blood ; the
pulse is not affected to any great extent. Give a slight laxative ; regulate
the diet ; give demulcents, and give carbonate of soda ; use counter-
irritants, hot water, mustaad, etc., but no cantharides. Williams recom-
mends the application of digitalis over the kidneys ; also give tonics.
We are often consulted about a case of some slight irritation of the
urinary organs, which may be due to functional disorder of the kidneys,
or to over-stimulation by diuretic, and it is well to ascertain whether
such medicines have been given. In such cases give a few doses of tonics,
as sulphate of iron, and in eight or ten days give a diuretic. Some
recommend tartar emetic to act upon the skin, but it is not reliable, and
in fact there are no certainly reliable medicines of this kind in our prac-
tice. Inflammation may terminate in resolution, suppuration, indura-
tion, atrophy, or hypertrophy, and when one kidney becomes affected
the other is apt to take on just the opposite condition. If one becomes
, atrophied, the other becomes hypertrophied, etc., and disease may exist
"^^n one kidney for some time without producing death ; even suppuration
hns been noticed in some of our subjects.
Polyuria, Diuresis, Diabetes, Insipidis.— It is classed as a diatetic
disease, and I think it is just as well to notice it in connection with the
urinary organs. Pure diabetis is where the food is converted into sugar
and pa.sses off through the kidneys, and I think it is better to use the
term polyuria or diuresis. There is an enoimous amount of aqueous
urine passed ; it is more watery than in health ; it is of low specific
gravity, and contains an excess of urea'and chloride of sodium, and some
other acids are said to exist.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 179
Symptoms. — The principal one is the great amount of urine voided,
which is clear and watery ; this sometimes occurs to a slight extent,
and we can scarcely give it the name of a disease. It is sometimes
just what we desire. If there is irritation of the respiratory organs,
we give medicine to act upon the kidneys, and it is not then called
a disease. The cause that generally gives rise to it is some error in
feeding, and so it is classed as a diatetic disease ; inferior food, as
musty hay, oats, beans, peas, etc , are causes. It is also a sequel
to some dibilitating disease, the result of some change of tissue in
the system. It is sometimes the result of strangles and influenza,
and is not a bad symptom unless it continues for more than two or
three days. It is said to be a premonitory symptom of glanders, and
that it is quite possible from the change of tissues. It is also said to be
produced by drinking impure water, and the continued use of diuretics.
The Symptoms are essential and incidental. The essential are intense
thirst - it seems that you cannot satisfy the thirst — a case is recorded
in which a hor^e drank thirty-eight gallons of water in five hours. The
horse is dull ; the appetite impaired, but not entirely gone ; a copious
secretion of clear urine, of light gravity The incidental symptoms are
such as are common to indigestion — a diy, dusty coat ; hidebound (hide-
bound is not a disease, but symptomatic of disease) ; the circulation is
not affected, but exercise affects it more or less ; after a while the pulse be-
comes intermittent, and death may take place from antemia, or it may
terminate in some other disease.
Treatment —Inquire as to the kind of food, and change it, and if in
the summer, give green food. If this cannot be done give a certain
amount of cooked food. I use Dick's remedy : One drachm of iodine
each day for four or five days, and change the food It acts like a charm.
Where there is great thirst, give plenty of good, pure water— give it fre-
quently and in all quantities. If these fail, give mineral and vegetable
tonics, powdered opium, carbonate of soda, the tincture of iron, etc ; or,
sulphate of iron, one drachm •, arsenious acid, two or three grains ; mix
and give once a day ; or you may increase it to two doses a day ; or try
the tincture of the chloride of iron. Williams noticed that when iodine
was given for glanders, there was not any great desire for water — hence
the use of iodine If it occurs as a sequel of some debilitating disease,
the treatment is similar.
Iscliiiria. — We use this term for both suppression and retention of
urine. True ischuria is where it is secreted and retained ; false, is where
it is not secreted. It is, no doubt, symptomatic of nephritis, or anything
that will interfere with the secretion of urine. Suppression may pro-
ceed from functional inactivity of the kidneys ; from fevers of any descrip-
tion, which interferes with the secretions of the kidneys. When it is just
functional inactivity, give those remedies which act directly upon the
kidneys — give one or two ounces of nitre, in water ; or a diuretic ball of
resin — nitre and soft soap. True ischuria sometimes appears where the
urine is secreted and retained in the bladder, and the bladfier may become
gieatly distended and give rise to well-marked symptoms in many cases ;
and it is serious, as it may lead to paralysis, and even rupture, of the
bladder. It may be due to spasms of the neck of the bladder ; or to cal-
culi ; or in old animals, to enlargement of the prostrate gland.
Symptoms. — The animal attempts to urinate ; stamps with the feet ;
turns the head to the side ; lies down and gets up, etc., and almost groans
with pain when attempting to urinate. If it is a horse the penis, in some
cases, hangs pendulous. Sometimes a horse shows a difficulty in urin-
180 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS ANL» TREATMENT OK
ating when there is no abnormal condition of the kidneys. This some-
times occurs from want of straw or other bedding under him. As a
general thing, you can have conclusive evidence or retention by examin-
ing per rectum. A nice clyster of warm water will sometimes relieve it
by a relaxing action. If it is due to spasms, or even if due to calculi,
sometimes pressure upon the neck of the bladder with the hand will
relieve it. If these fail, then use elastic catheter, which can be inserted
up the penis. Take hold of the penis with the left hand and insert it
carefully, and when it reaches the point where it has to make the turn,
use a little pressure, and you may even need to pass the hand into the
rectum to prevent it from passing into the ejaculatory duct. In passing
it in the female, put the hand in and find the meatus urinarious ; raise
the valve and insert the catheter. In the passage there may, in some
cases, be some difficulty, but not as a general thing. As well as this, a
good opiate will sometimes afford relief in spasms of the neck and blad-
der ; or give hypodermic injections ; or a few good doses of belladonna
may be of benefit ; and you may even inject the bladder with a little
tepid water.
Cystitis, Inflammation of the Bladder, is seldom seen, except
from difficult parturition ; but exposure to the cold, diuretic medicines
and bad blood may produce it. The animal walks with a straggling gait ;
the urine is passed frequently, but in small quantities at a time — but
there may be the natural amount, Examination may show pain and
heat in the parts. Keep the animal quiet ; give an oleaginous purgative ;
inject the rectum, and even the bladder, with tepid water, to which may
be added a little opium, which can be done in either the horse or mare ;
give a few doses of carbonate of soda, and follow with demulcent drinks,
etc.
Fung'oid Growths in the Bladder, either cancerous or melanotic,
may grow and almost fill up the bladder. Ureters become enlarged, and
take on the functions of the bladder, to a certain extent, by becoming en-
larged. Hard work and poor keeping favor their production. Old horses,
so kept, are most liable to this.
Symptoms. — The animal appears somewhat stiff in the quarters, but
not actually lame. This disappears some by exercise ; he gradually loses
flesh until he is unable to do any work ; the pulse is not affected ; strains
violently when urinating, and the urine may be tinged with blood, or
blood may be noticed after the urine is passed, in some cases, and the
urine in such a case may be almost natural. Make a careful examination
t>er rectum ; also examine the condition of the blood. The passage of the
blood after the urine is also symtoniatic of calculi. In such cases little
can be done — but you may try the effect of medicine. With this you oc-
casionally find small calcareous deposits ; hence, you may try hydiochloric
acid, one-half to two drachms, well diluted with water, two or three times
a day. Cutting in and removing these is not successful. Melanotic de-
posits are more common in gray horses. You may detect hypertrophy
per rectum, if it is exceedingly large.
Albuminous Urine, Albuminuria. — It is often symptomatic of
other diseases. It is an excess of albumen in the urine. It is seldom
noticed in the horse. It is sometimes the result of acute nephritis,
but may appear without any organic disease of the kidneys. It may
result through nervous influence, by derangement of the digestive
system.
The Causes are exposure to cold, improper food, etc., and it is most
likely to occur in horses worked hard and exposed to the vicissitudes
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 181 .
of the weather. So long as a horse is well kept and well cared for j
exposure does not affect him so much. In man it is often brought |
about by nervous excitement or hard work, especially nervous work, i
The animal loses condition and flesh, has an unthrifty appearance ; '
swelling of the legs, which perhaps partially disappears during exer- I
cise ; the appetite irregular ; pulse weak ; stiffness of the back and j
loins ; costiveness, but not constipated ; the urine straw-coloured, and ■
if tested albumen can be detected. Take a small amount of urine and I
apply heat (100° Farenheit), and the albumen coagulates if the urine i
is acid, and the coagulum does not dissolve by heat, but if it is alkaline '-
you must add nitric or some other acid ; no doubt it may sometimes
act upon the urea and form a precipitate, but this precipitate will dis- ,
solve by heat. "i
Treatment. — Attend to the hygienic treatment, and do not expose ;
the animal to the vicissitudes of the weather. Give perhaps boiled ;
food, as boiled oats, barley, etc., and in some cases give a mild purge.
But perhaps the animal is weakened ; in such a case be careful with ;
purgatives ; but I think this is an exception to the rule, and I think a '
purgative is beneficial, especially if the limbs are swollen. For the i
after-treatment give sulphate of iron, one to one and one-half drachms, •
with arsenious acid, one to two grains. Then give vegetable tonics, ':
and build up the system as well as you can. I knew a case of a man '
whose limbs and testicles became swollen, and after various remedies ;
had been tried without success — which acted violently, causing exten- j
sive watery evacuations — it relieved the man for several years. After ;
it attains a certain stage it is incurable, for all the food is passed off ;
through the kidneys instead of building up the tissues. It may, in j
some cases, be necessary to stimulate the kidneys, to a certain extent. I
Calculi may be found in all glands, but more commonly in the j
urinary organs. They are found in all animals in the kidneys,
withers, bladder and urethra. They are called renal when in the
kidneys, and are generally in the pelvis of the kidney, but at first they
may have formed in the tubes and come down and lodged in the pelvis.
This may exist without any disease being present, but no doubt we ,
occasionally meet with disease of the kidney, induration, enlargement, ■
or tumours which may have been excited by calculi.
Symptoms. — The animal shows uneasiness and colicky pains, which '
pains, perhaps, disappear in a short time, and the animal is appar-
ently restored to health. There is straining in passing the urine, and ■
after it is passed there is pain, and if it exists to any great extent, the
animal gradually falls off in condition, and if you examine the urine, ;
the true character may possibly be seen by the sediment which is :
deposited after standing for some time. It is more common in cattle i
than in horses.
Causes. — The exciting causes are the food and water. It is said that j
animals fed on turnips are more liable. Calculi are made up of car-
bonate of magnesia, phosphate of lime, etc. I have noticed that
where the water is strongly impregnated with the salts of lime the j
animals suffer more from this. Sometimes the animal may be in j
good condition and have calculi to a great extent — even remain in ■
good condition until death. And it is possible that calculi may be '.
present for a considerable length of time before the symptoms become ;
well marked. The animal lies down, turns the head to the side, etc. j
Examine the condition of the urine, either chemically or by letting it !
stand.
182 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
Treatment. — Allay the irritation as well as you can by giving
mucilaginous drinks — as linseed tea, etc.— change the food and water,
and try mineral acids. Give from one-half to two drachms of
hydrochloric acid two or even three times a day, well diluted in water,
and, perhaps, give a moderate laxative. If it occurs in the urethra, it
is called urethral calculi.
Vesiciilie, or Cysts, iu the Bladder. — These vary in size. They
may be the size of a pea or smaller, or they may weigh several ounces.
They are caused by the character of the food. Horses highly fed upon
stimulating food, and those used for certain purposes, and not allowed
to urinate when nature demands it, are subject to it. The same
causes that produce renal calculi will produce cystic calculi. A foreign
body may produce a nucleus for them. They present different appear-
ances— sometimes white and hard, and composed of carbonate of lime,
and sometimes of a soft, pasty consistency. There may be a great
number or only one, and, in many cases, they consist principally of
carbonate of lime, but various things may enter into their formation,
and, being often of lime, they are more likely to exist in the limestone
districts.
Symptoms. — They are generally plain. After a time something is
noticed the matter with the animal, and irritation of the bladder is
produced, and there is difficulty in voiding the urine, which, when
passed, may be unnaturally white ; he is subject to colicky or
abdominal pains, which may pass off and again occur, when it again
falls into the neck of the bladder, and so retains the urine, which
causes pain. The action of the hind quarters is not quite natural ;
there is difficulty in urinating, and when urinating, the penis is pro-
truded to an enormous extent and hangs pendulous ; and perhaps the
urine is mixed with blood, or blood is voided after the urine is passed.
In all such cases examine per rectum, and feel the bladder, and perhaps
you may be able to detect it, and may be able to move it from side to
side ; but sometimes they are encysted, when you cannot move them.
Treatment. — It is possible, in the early stages, to relieve it by
regulating the diet and giving remedies to increase their solubility ; so
try hydrochloric or nitric acid ; hydrochloric is perhaps the best,
and if they are small they may be got rid of in this way. But in
some cases there is an excess of acid, then try bicarbonate of pot-
ash ; but if the calculus is large, the only remedy is by an operation ;
but do not operate unless it is of a considerable size and there are
well marked symptoms, then prepare, by a moderate diet. Give no
bulky food for a day or two, and have the bowels rather empty ; and
it is sometimes recommended to give a purgative, but I do not think it
is always necessary. There are various methods. At one time it was
recommended to cut into the bladder, but now it is done by cutting into
the urethra, ( r cutting through the neck of the bladder. I do not
think it is necessary to cut through the neck of the bladder. It may
be possible to perform it with the animal standing, but it is best to
throw and secure him and place him under the influence of chloro-
form, and elevate the hind quarters to some extent ; but perhaps be-
fore you throw him it is best to clear out the rectum by an injection
or with the hand. Secure him by rope, the same as for castration,
then insert the catheter up the urethra, up to the bladder ; then cut
down upon the catheter ; or, yoa can have an instrument made, and
slightly bent, for the purpose, upon which to cut. Williams recom-
mends cutting in the centre. I cut to one side, then withdraw the
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 183
catheter, then insert the forceps and get hold of the calculi ; but some-
times the after results are troublesome, and there is danger of injuring
the artery of the bulb, which, it is said, differs in its course in different
subjects. After treatment, syringe with tepid water ; stitch up the
wound and keep the animal quiet. The trouble sometimes is the dis-
charge of urine from the wound, and infiltration setting up irritation
and causing death. It is difficult to say just what to do in such cases.
I do not know but I would keep the catheter in, and allow the urine to
pass ; however, this is difficult to do in our patients. The operation
is called lithotomy. But, properly speaking, unless you cut the neck
of the bladder, you could scarcely call it this.
Lithotrispy is breaking down the stone, but owing to the great length
of the urethra in the horse, we cannot perform this. In the mare you
m'ay perform by dilatation, even without any cutting in some cases. Get
the forceps into the meatus urinrius ; insert them carefully and get
hold of and crush the calculus.
Sabulous Matter, — There is generally no great trouble in removing
this. Perhaps the proper thing is lithotrispy — just crush it in the
bladder.
Urethral Calculi may pass into the bladder and lodge there a short
time, pass out and lodge in the urethra, and may obstruct the passage,
and if not removed, will soon cause death by uraemic poisoning or
rupture of the bladder.
Symptoms. — The animal strains violently when he attempts to urin-
ate ; the penis protrudes ; the bladder, and sometimes urethra disten-
ded ; and in many cases you can see the exact spot of the obstruction
by examining. The remedy is to endeavour to remove it by pressure,
or by inserting the catheter ; and if it is small, ic may pass down the
escape ; but if you cannot displace it by "the catheter, then you will
have to cut down the catheter and remove it. Bring the edges of the
wound together by a large suture, and keep the patient quiet ; regulate
the diet, and try the effects of hydrochloric acid. This is more com-
mon in cattle than horses, on account of the difference in the penis.
The treatment is just the same.
THE BLADDER A>D CASTRATIOIV.
Inversion of the Bladder is a serious condition. It may be dis-
placed both in the mare and the cow, and is generally the effect of
difficult parturition, but it is possible it may occur from other influ-
ences. There is a small tumour noticed to extend from the vagina ;
the ureters are brought back, and the urine dribbles down the posterior
part to a certain extent. The remedy is to bathe nicely and endeavour
to return it by manipulation and gentle pressure. But you may be
unable to do this, and gangrene may have taken place. An animal
may live for a long time in this condition, but if attended to in time
it can easily be reduced. The after treatment is to use opium, hot or
cold water — cold is perhaps preferable, after a time, as it is an astrin-
gent and contracts the parts. If the parts are gangrenous, you may
remove a portion, but the animal is comparatively useless, as the urine
has a tendency to dribble from the ureters.
Enuresis. — Incontinence of urine. The urine is not retained in the
bladder. This is applied to any condition of the bladder in which it
is unable to contain its contents. It may come from irritation of the
bladder, and is symptomatic of calculi, inflammation of the bladder,
184 CADSKS, SYMPTOMS AND TKEATMENT OF
or due to partial paralysis of the hind quarters, which also affects the
bladder ; but paralysis does not always so affect the bladder, and you
may meet paralysis of the bladder, where the urine may be retained.
In all such cases examine as to the state of the blood, and find what is
the cause, and if due to general weakness, give a generous diet, mineral
tonics, and use cold water frequently, from a quarter to a half hour at
a time ; and if due to paralysis you may use nux vomica ; if due to
calculi, the remedy is to remove them. There are other names used
in connection with diseases of the bladder. Ischuria, truly speaking,
is retention, but it is used for both retention and suppression. Dysu-
ria is a painful discharge of urine, and stronger where the urine is
passed in drops. These are more symptomatic of disease than diseases
themselves.
Paralysis of the Bladder itself is sometimes noticed in the horse,
and generally proceeds from debility or exposure, but may be due to
some other influence ; over-distention may cause it, or nervous influ-
ence. It is more likely to occur in horses poorly kept.
Symptoms. — The bladder retains the urine, unless it is paralysis of
the neck ; if that is paralyzed, then the reverse is noticed ; but if there
is paralysis of the body of the bladder, it becomes distended to an
enormous extent, while the fibres of the neck retain their power of con-
traction, and the urine dribbles from the urethra, which may mislead
you, unless you make a careful examination as to the state of the
bladder. You might think it was a pure case of incontinence, but if
examined, the bladder may be found enormously distended.
Treatment. — Remove the contents with the catheter, then syringe
the parts, first with tepid water, then gradually go from hot to cold ;
try the effects of tonics, especially nerve tonics, as nux vomica, and
it may be necessary to draw the water once or twice a day for several
days.
Hseniotiiria, or blood urine, may proceed from various causes, and
is symptomatic of other diseases, as calculi, or it may proceed from
injury to the urethra, kidneys, etc., and it has been said to proceed
from severe sprain of the loins, which causes rupture of some of the
vessels ; and such cases are serious, if the rupture is in the kidneys,
for the blood will set up irritation, and is apt to produce inflam-
mation. There may be blood in the urine, or the blood may be
passed immediately after urinating. In such cases examine per
rectum, and give an internal styptic, as acetate of lead, one scruple,
with powdered opium ; or, you may give the tincture of chloride of
iron.
Castration. — There are few countries where this operation is not
performed to any great extent. The best age for the operation is
when the animal is about one year old. There is some difference
of opinion about this ; but if it is done younger than this it may
prevent his growth to a certain extent, and in some cases it may be
advisable to keep him longer, to increase his growth, especially the
crest. The spring months, April or May, are the safest time for the
operation, after the animal has had a run of eight or ten days at
pasture, and his coat is shed. There are certain precautions
necessary before operation, which are well laid down in Williams'
works, and I endorse them generally. Do not operate upon a colt
that has been kept in an ill-ventilated place, but have the colt in
good condition, and the weather moderate, neither too hot or too
cold. He also says not to operate near any decomposed matter,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 186
and have the hands and instruments thoroughly cleansed ; and it is
well to notice these, but you might operate without these and with
very bad surroundings, and have success ; but it is best to use these
precautions. If the horse is older than one year, then prepare him
for it by giving a moderate supply of food, and have the bowels
somewhat empty ; but it is a mistake to reduce him to any great
extent. There is no necessity for physic, as a general thing, unless
the horse was in a very gross condition ; but feed lightly, and give
but little bulky food. The difficulty that I have had with colts is
with those that have been kept in ill-ventilated parts. Before
operating, examine as to the state of the scrotum, whether both
testicles are down, or whether hernia exists. You can operate,
though, if hernia exists, but the operation would be slightly difficult.
There is great difference of opinion as to the manner of operating.
Secure, by means of ropes, in preference to any other ; the straps
that are used may be u°ed, if help is scarce ; but when help is plenty,
use the ropes. Some operate while the animal is standing, but it
requires some dexterity and practice. Cutting into the testicle
quickly subdues an animal. The most careful way is to throw
the animal. I recommend throwing him in most cases, at least.
After securing him, it is sometimes advisable to cleanse out the
sheath and penis by washing it with nice warm water and soap,
which tends to prevent swelling to some extent. The operation
may be done by compression, which is by the caustic clams, and
this is the way it is generally done in Canada and the United States,
and I believe there is no way more easy or simple. Take hold of the
testicle and make a keen incision, and expose the testicle, taking the
smallest first ; make the incision close to the raphe ; make a pretty
free incision, and allow the testicle to escape, then divide non-
vascular part of the cord, and then apply the clam ; however, some
apply the clam to all of it, and they use a certain amount of caustic,
as corrosive sublimate or biniodide of mercury, about one part of
corrosive sublimate, two of biniodide of mercury, and thirty or
forty parts of lard ; this destroys the parts more quickly. After
applying the clam remove the testicle, and keep the clam on for
twenty-four or forty-eight hours. This method is the one oftenest
used in this country, and with the greatest success.
Actual Cautery was used until recently in England. The method is
just the same as by the clam ; secure the animal, get hold of the
testicle, etc., place the clam on the cord and secure it, then take hold
of the testicle and cut it off about one-half inch from the clam, then
take a piece of sponge and cleanse out the blood, then take a red
hot iron, letting it cool to a slight extent — grease it a little to prevent
it from adhering— and sear the artery and the other parts. Others
not only arrest the hemorrhage, but cut through the scrotum to the
testicle with the hot iron, apply the clam and cut the cord off
with the iron. I frequently use actual cautery in connection with
the caustic clam.
Ligature is another method, and I would oppose ligaturing the
whole cord ; but if only the artery ligatured, I cannot see any great
objection to it. Take hold of it with the bull-dog forceps and
ligature it either with silk thread or carbonized suture. Williams is
opposed to ligaturing.
Tortion is another method, which is not new, but a very old
method. For this it is necessary to throw the animal and expose
the testicle and cord, cut through the nonraascular part of the cord.
186 CAUSES, SYMTTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
place the clam upon the vascular portion, having drawn the cord out
as you thought best (some are longer than others, so there can be no
rule laid down) ; having secured it, take the tortion forceps, apply
them carefully to the vascular part, about half or a fourth of an inch
from the clam ; secure them and watch that they do not slip ; then
twist it around, testicle and all, and it will take from fifteen to
twenty-five turns to remove it; twist it carefully and the last thing
that remains is the artery ; after removing it take a look at the
artery, and then remove the clam carefully, to see whether the
tortion has had the desired effect. About the only objection to this
is, it takes a little more time. Williams recommends placing another
clam upon the scrotum, to enable you to get hold of the testicle ; but
I see no need of it.
Ecraseiir is another operation, which I think will be the one used
in a few years, but I cannot speak of it to anv great extent from my
own experience. I operated upon three this way. I threw the
horse and placed the clam upon the cord before cutting it off, to see
the effect of it. There are also other methods, as scraping, bruising,
cutting out a portion of the epididymus, etc. But the simplest
method is the best, and if you have used any of the methods success-
fully, then continue the same. Although it is a simple operation, it
requires some practice, and the great danger in some cases, is pulling
the cord too much, or applying too much caustic, which irritates the
cord and sets up peritonitis ; and the great secret is in having the
animal in proper condition. Never operate upon any animal that is
not in good condition, or that shows any symptoms of influenza,
strangles, etc.
RESULTS OF CASTRATION.
Results of Castration, — They may be either normal or abnormal.
After the operation there is more or less swelling, and although it
may attain a great size, so long as the appetite is not impaired, or the
pulse affected, there is no danger ; but if the swelling takes on an
odematous character, the best relief is to scarify in two or three
places, then bathe with tepid water ; give a little exercise, and if he is
costive, perhaps, give a little laxative ; but if the colt is turned on
pasture this is not generally necessary.
Adhesion of the tunica vaginalis and tunica albuginea. It is
necessary to break down the adhesion, which can generally be done
with the finger or the end of the scalpel. When adhesion is present,
a greater amount of irritation follows than where there is no adhesion.
There may also be a slight pain after the operation, which may be
from the cord, colic, or slight irritation of the bowels from the
operation. If the animal cringes, lies down and rolls, it is best to
give an opiate — opium, one-half to one drachm ; or give hypodermic
injections.
Suppuration is another condition, and it is impossible to operate
without suppuration, more or less, and when suppuration takes place,
and healthy pus is discharged, the animal is considered safe ; and
when pus is not properly formed there is more danger. Pus may
form and not be healthy pus, and if there is unhealthy pus or serum,
and the pulse quickened, then there is irritation, and peritonitis may
result.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 187
Abnormal Results. — Suppose you have properly performed the
operation and let the colt up, and hemorrhage exists, which may be
from the spermatic artery, or from the veins of the scrotum, or from
the artery of the cord. When you cut through you are likely to
cut through convolutions of the £ft:tery, and so have three or four
ends, and you should see that you secure the right end. If
the hemorrhage is from the spermatic artery, it runs freely,
for this is the largest artery in the body that gives off no
branches. As to the way of arresting hemorrhage is from the
spermatic artery, there is no difference of opinion. If it is
very profuse and endangers the animal, throw him and endeavour
to get hold of the cord, which you can do easily, in many
cases. If a good opening has been made in the scrotum and tunica
vaginalis, put the finger well down and get hold of and gradually
bring the cord up and secure it in the way you think best. The best
way, perhaps, is to ligature it, or you may use the hot iron ; but if
you have difficulty in getting it, then endeavour to arrest it by styptics
and compression, by plugging with tow saturated with iron or acetate
of lead. However, there may be internal hemorrhage, but this is the
exception and not the rule, and I would recommend this, in some
cases, instead of throwing the animal. The plug should be left in
for twenty-four or thirty-six hours. Considerable swelling may
result, but there are generally no serious consequences from it. Cold
water to the loins, and to the parts, is also a method of arresting the
hemorrhage. I questioned, at one time, whether an animal in good
health, and one year old, would bleed to death from one cord, but I
am now convinced differently. I would prefer styptics in some
cases. Sometimes a secondary hemorrhage occurs from rupture of
the cord above the clam, but it is rare.
Hernia is another abnormal result, and it may exist previous to
the operation, or the operation may be performed and hernia not
noticed until the animal gets up ; and it is possible it may occur
during the operation. When hernia exists, prepare the animal and
use the covered operation — by cutting down and exposing the testicle
still in the tunica vaginalis; and place the clam over the testicle,
tunica vaginalis and all. If hernia takes place as soon as the animal
gets up, the operator is often blamed ; but it may occur during the
operation. If you should begin to operate, and hernia is present,
return the testicle and stitch up the scrotum, and do not operate at
that time. But if it occurs soon after the operation, as it often does,
so that the bowels protrude, even in some cases to the ground and are
trampled upon, then destroy the animal ; but if the bowels are not
injured, throw the animal — or he will perhaps lie down — secure him,
cleanse the intestines nicely and return them, and stitch up the
scrotum close to the inguinal ring, and apply a clam over the scrotum,
or if you have not a clam, ligature the scrotum for the time being,
bnt if the intestines are impaired, inflammation and peritonitis may
cause death.
Scirrhous Cord, or Champignon, may follow any method of ope-
ration, but is more likely to follow the caustic clam than any other,
for it is necessary to keep the clams on for some time ; after that
the cord perhaps protrudes, causing more or less irritation ; adhe-
sion takes place between the cord and the scrotum, but we scarcely
call it scirrhous cord, unless it becomes enlarged. If in three or
four weeks the cord protrudes and adheres to the edges of the
188 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
wound, you can relieve it by breaking down the adhesions between
the cord and scrotum, in some cases, without throwing the animal ;
then bathe nicely, use astringents, etc., and it may be necessary to
break it down every day or two for several days, and bathe every
day with tepid water for some •time, and give a little exercise.
Sometimes the cord becomes enlarged by a fungoid growth, and, in
some cases the wound may entirely heal up, or there may be a
small opening left, through which issues an ichorous fluid, and it will
remain for a long time, even as long as the horse lives, if it is not
operated on. And the irritation is not confined to the cord alone, but
extends up toward the inguinal canal ; it becomes very vascular, new
growths are formed, etc. In such cases the animal suffers considera-
bly, there is difficulty in progression, he falls off in condition, and
sometimes there is profuse discharge of pus, after which the animal
seems relieved for some time ; but irritation is again set up, and the
same thing occurs. The remedy is to remove the diseased part of the
cord, and the sooner the better. If the animal has suffered, perhaps,
four or eight weeks, it is easily done. Open it up well and apply the
clam as close to the inguinal ring as possible, and cut the diseased
part off and secure the articles by ligature or by cautery — if by liga-
ture, leave the ends of the ligature long, so that they can be taken out
after a time ; and you often have to secure several vessels, and I pre-
fer a ligature. In some cases you might apply a clam and take it off
by torsion, or use the clams and sear the small vessels and ligature
the small ones ; keep him quiet, feed moderately, etc. But sometimes
it exists in the abdominal cavity, and then the operation is not
likely to be successful.
Peritonitis is a result of castration, and is more apt to occur in
colts. It may be due to the manner of the operation, or to a change
of weather ; but I think this is more likely to occur where the tunica
vaginalis is irritated. I have seen it where there was a large amount
of caustic, causing inflammation and peritonitis ; or, it may be due to
atmospheric influence ; the symptoms are sometimes deceptive. It
generally appears in about three or four days. In some cases the
scrotum swells but very little, and there is no discharge of healthy
pus, but there ia a discharge of bloody fluid ; the pulse is quick ; the
appetite gone; slight pains, not violent; he lies down, gets up and
casts a peculiar, anxious look at the abdomen ; gets up and stands
around in a dull, languid manner; the breathing is affected ; the pulse
sixty or seventy, and weak. It has a great tendency to extend over
the whole peritoneum. Give opium and digitalis, and counter-irrita-
tion, etc., and support the system as well as you can by stimulants,
gruel, etc.
Tetanus usually appears about eight or nine days after the opera-
tion, just about the time it begins to heal ; there may have been
changes m the system before this, but the symptoms were not devel-
oped. It may follow any operation, and, as a general thing, the
operator should not be blamed if the horse dies from some of these,
but he generally is. Tetanus may supervene a very trivial injury ;
cold weather, cold draughts and exposure in any way tends to bring it
on. There is an account given in our works of twenty-four horses
that were castrated, and were given a cold bath four times a day after
the operation, and sixteen out of the twenty-four died with tetanus ;
and I saw a case that I think was caused by the colt standing in a
stream. Keep the animal quiet ; apply fomentations, and endeavour
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC AMIMALS. 189
to induce suppuration. Give hydrocyanic acid, belladonna, etc.; treat
it just as a nervous fever ; give a generous diet and bromide of
potassium.
Amaurosis results, and is some1;jmes due to excessive hemorrhage ;
and if it is, the eyes will regain their natural condition as the system
gains strength. But it sometimes occurs through a sympathetic
nervous influence, and remains during life.
(xianders and Farcy, — When this does appear, I think the infec-
tion had been in the system before the operation, and it is due to con-
tagium in some form or other.
Operating upon Originals. — I cannot speak from experience.
Prepare the animal, and make an incision as in other animals ; insert
the fingers, and if the testicle is in the inguinal canal, get hold of it
and draw it out, and take off with the ecraseur. If it is in the
abdominal cavity, it is more difficult, but several of our graduates
have performed the operation successfully. Some claim that they go
behind Poupart's ligament ; others pass the hand up the inguinal
canal and break through the peritoneum with one finger, and the
testicle will generally be found on the fundus of the bladder. How-
ever, the operation requires practice.
THE TESTICLES.
Inflammation of the Testicles. — This is not common in the lower
animals. The causes are injury of some kinder other — sometimes, in
a stallion, from a kick, or exposure to cold. It is caused in a bull in
the same manner, and occasionally from tubercular deposits, but
usually from direct injury. The symptoms are generally plain, and
your attention is usually directed to it. There is intense pain in the
early stage ; a slight injury to these organs sets up great pain ; and
when the whole organ is affected, the pain is intense, and they some-
times become enormously swollen in a very short time, and swelling
generally affords some relief; he walks with great difficulty, and it
increases the pain ; he will sometimes lie down and attempt to roll,
but generally continues standing; lying down increases the pain.
Treatment. — If in a valuable stallion, he is generally in high con-
dition, in which case it is necessary to give a good dose of purgative
medicine, or blood-letting may be necessary ; take six, eight or ten
quarts of blood ; or, instead of this, give aconite ; bathe at first with
tepid water and increase the heat, and bathe for several hours and
keep heat to the parts ; you can do this by means of a bandage over
the loins, kept in its place by means of a surcingle ; keep cotton or
cloths to the parts, and keep them supplied with warm water ; give
belladonna or laudanum. Local blood-letting is beneficial, but it is
difficult to perform in the horse. During the early stage the appe-
tite is entirely gone, and when he is relieved and the appetite
returns, he should be fed sparingly. Give diuretics freely ; sweet
spirits of nitre, iodide of potash, etc., which increases the action of
the kidneys, and stimulates the absorbents. If, after the irritation
subsides, enlargement of the testicles remains, use iodine, both inter-
nally and externally, which, it is said, if used for some time, will
reduce the size of the testicle. The treatment of the balls is similar,
but it is associated with tubercular disease. You may allay the irrita-
tion, but the animal will generally remain impotent.
Hydrocele Dropsy of the testicle and scrotum is most likely to take
190 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
place frorr. injury, when the inflammation is prolonged, but not very
severe ; for when any serious membrane is injured, there is more or
less effusion ; the scrotum is enlarged, and you can feel the testicle,
which does not seem increased in size. The scrotum may be distended
by hydrocele, or hernia, and in gildings from an enlarged condition
of the cord. If there is much fluid present, you must puncture with
a small trochar— something like the one used in human practice.
After this give iodide of potassium internally and use iodine exter-
nally. It is recommended to inject the tunica vaginalis with iodine,
but there is danger of producing irritation.
Diseases of the Scrotum. — These can generally be traced to some
diseased condition of the spermatic cord, the result of castration — as
scirrhous cord, abscesses, fistula, etc. Scirrhous cord may come in
two or three weeks after castration, or it may come years after the
operation. Abscesses may be caused by a foreign body, or may be
due to the scrotum closing up before the cord is completely healed ;
matter is formed at the cord, it becomes dry, sets up irritation and
results in an abscess ; and when due to this, it generally appears about
three or four weeks after the operation. And it may be due to the
incision not having been made large enough. So I again recommend
a pretty large incision. It may come from a small piece of the iron
remaining in the wound, if actual cautery was used. Or it may be
due to a ligature setting up irritation, and the ligature should be left
long, so it can be removed. Abscesses generally seriously interfere
with the condition of the animal ; he is* gradually reduced in flesh ;
the swelling seems to involve other parts — sometimes it extends right
down to the hock, and sometimes you may think there is not much
matter, but it may be present and be two or three inches into it. The
best thing is to throw the animal and open it up pretty freely — you
may have to cut in three or four inches. Then keep it open, foment
the parts and feed the animal well. If you open them well and let
the matter escape freely, it generally effects a cure ; but they form
again and again. We are apt to treat them without opening them ;
but it is not the proper way. I believe horses are * sometimes lost by
this negligence and delay. After opening, inject well with tepid
ws.ter, and even with carbolic acid, and if he is debilitated, give tonics.
Injuries to tlie Penis, — This occurs to both geldings and stallions.
In tlie stallion it may be due to mal-address, causing irritation and
inflammation ; or being kicked when it is erected — this is very apt to
be followed by inflammation — striking with whip, stick, etc., and is
occasionally the result of exposure to cold. This sometimes occurs
with geldings until they are unable to retract it into the sheath, and
this is called
Piiraphymosis, and it is sometimes due to the muscular tissue
losing its power of contraction. This may be the case if a horse is put
to too many mares. But I will speak of that caused by injury. If
the penis protrudes for any length of time, the sheath restricts it, and
sometimes becomes enormously extended, and ulceration is likely to
follow if not relieved.
Treatment. — If it is of only one or two days' standing, try fomenta-
tions—warm water, in this case, perhaps, is preferable to cold, al-
though cold causes contraction of muscular fibres. In this case it is
so swollen that it could not be contracted, and the swelling must be
reduced some before ijb can be contracted, and, in some cases, it is
necessary to scarify it in two or three places, even, in some cases,
before trying the warm water. When scarified it will bleed, and you
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 191
should encourage the bleeding. I have seen cases where it would be
retracted from this treatment in five or six hours ; but in some cases
you may have to keep it up for twenty-four hours. It will generally
retract when the swelling is reduced, unless there is great injury to
the muscles ; and after it enters into the sheath, try cold water, and
I do not think it bad practice, in some cases, to put a stitch or two
through the sheath to keep it in for aa hour or two. In some cases it
is necessary to give constitutional remedies, and in nearly all cases
give diuretics, iodide of potassium and nitrate of potash. This may
result from the debility caused by strangles, influenza, etc., and the
treatment is similar. But it may lose the power of retraction in a
stallion from too frequent coition ; the muscles have been strained,
and so lost the power of contraction. Such a case requires a great
deal of time, and so long as he is in this condition he is useles ; but he
may completely recover after having been in this condition for a long,
time, even as long as twelve or eighteen months. If it is due to this
cause he is apt to be in high condition, and it is necessary to reduce
him some, but still feed him tolerably well ; give nutritious food and
some exercise ; apply cold water to the penis and peroneal space, and
use a suspensory bandage and keep it up, for hanging down tends to
increase the irritation. Try the effects of iron and nux vomica, etc.,
to improve the condition. The penis is also sometimes the seat of
Warts and Growths, of various kinds, often prove troublesome
and painful, especially when urinating. They are more common in
the gelding than the stallion, and may result from the penis not
being properly protruded when urinating. Sometimes they are of
a malignant character, which generally ends fatally, sooner or later.
Your attention is generally directed to it, but in examining for
soundness it might be overlooked. If a horse is in health, and the
sheath is well developed, there is not much the matter with the
penis. But if he is debilitated and tucked up in the flanks, and
has a small sheath, there may be trouble. There may be ulceration
of the glans penis, from the causes I have mentioned. Get hold of
the penis, have it nicely washed in soap and water, and touch the
parts with nitrate of silver, carbolic acid, sulphate of copper, etc.
In case of warts, remove them with the knife, and if you think
there is danger of them growing again, touch with nitrate of silver,
or the actual cautery, and keep the parts clean. Sometimes the
penis is one solid growth of these, and in most cases it is necessary to
throw the animal. I do not think it bad practice if there is hem-
orrhage to touch with the hot iron ; and if the horse is in poor con-
dition, give tonics, good food, etc. Sometimes the glans penis is so
swollen that the only chance of saving the animal's life is by ampu-
tating the penis, which looks like a very formidable operation — but it
is not a very serious affair. First insert the catheter, and in cutting
bring it to a point and secure the arteries ; or you may, in some cases,
arrest the hemorrhage by using cold water, and if you can keep the
catheter in for a day or two, it is all the better, which will prevent
cicatrization, for if it occurs, you will have ursemic poisoning and
death — and this is the trouble I have had. But you can generally tell
whether this is taking place. In about nine or ten days, just when
you think it is about getting well, the urine is passed in a small
stream ; so that if you can keep the catheter in do so. Keep the
sheath clean and allay the irritation by astringents-. Some recom-
mend taking the warts off by ligature, but it is not best.
192 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
URETHRA, ETC,
Stricture of the Urethra sometimes occurs. It is usually the
result of inflammation, but may result from injury. It is, perhaps,
oftener seen in cattle and sheep than in the horse, and may be associ-
ated with calculi. There is difficulty in urinating ; the urine passes
in a small stream. Inject with tepid water, with five or ten grains of
sulphate of zinc to the ounce, and endeavour to relieve by passing the
probang, if necessary ; but this cannot be done in cattle.
Phyinosis. — This results from inflammation, and is sometimes a
sequel of castration, from swelling of the sheath ; but so long as
there are no great symptoms of fever it is not very serious. But if
the pulse is quick and the appetite gone, it shows inflammation, and,
perhaps, internal inflammation as well ; or it may be the result of
growth within the sheath. This is more likely to occur in geldings,
because the penis is not protruded so freely as in the entire horse.
Make a careful examination, and if it is the result of castration,
scarifying and fomenting may relieve it ; but if it is from growths
remove them. Touch the parts with caustics— as sulphate of copper,
carbolic acid, nitrate of silver, etc. ; and if the animal is in poor con-
dition, build up the system, wash the parts carefully and use a little oil.
Ulceration of the Urethra is generally the result of injury, from
being kicked, getting over a partition in the stall, etc. Endeavour to
allay such an irritation as quickly as possible ; but if ulceration has
occurred, and a fistula is produced, then it is difficult to treat. Bring
the divided edges together and, if it is of long standing, scarify, and
then bring the edges together, and if you can keep a catheter in for
some time, it is best to do so; and sometimes it is impossible to relieve
it. The sheath, also, sometimes becomes dirty, and we have some-
times to attend to such cases. It may, if neglected, give rise to seri-
ous results ; and there may be a kind of sabulous matter in the
meatus urinarius, which, in some cases, may obstruct the passage of
the urine. But if it is small, perhaps the size of your finger, it is not
serious ; but if it obstructs the passage of the urine, then just remove
it and it affords relief ; then wash with a solution of carbolic acid,
chloride of lime, or sulphate of zinc.
Excoriation of the Penis. — This may occur in covering stallions,
which may be due to the manner in which the penis is handled, or it
may be due to the parts of the mare being small, or to serving a mare
too soon after parturition — some discharge from the mare affecting it.
Give a good dose of purgative medicine ; lessen the diet ; give diure-
tics, and bathe with cold water ; and give some mild astringent, but
be careful about anything strong, or you may lose the service of the
horse for a long time ; but it is not generally necessary to lay him up
more than two or three days.
Inflammation of the Urethra is also occasionally noticed, both in
horses and bulls, but is more common in dogs. There seems to be a
kind of gonorrhoea in the dog, somewhat similar to that in man.
Inflammation sometimes occurs in bulls, from jumping too violently
upon a cow. It may be due to contagious influence in the dog, and
there is said to be such a disease in the bull. In such cases act upon
the system by laxatives, diuretics, etc., and use sulphate of zinc.
Powerful astringents may suddenly arrest the discharge, but this
sometimes sets up constitutional fever, so I would recommend iodide
of potassium, nitrate of potash, etc., followed by iodide of iron, which
is excellent in the dog, and in any animal.
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIilALS. 193
PAKTURITION.
The Membranes that enclose the Foetns before Birth.— The ex-
ternal is the chorion ; the internal is the amnion, and between these
two we have the alantois, which is a kind of serous membrane, and
presents two portions — one in connection with the amnion, and the
other with the chorion. It contains the amoniotic fluid. It serves
to keep the foetus warm, and to protect the foetus and the mother ;
and in connection with the foetus, at an early period, there is what
is called the umbilical vessel, which, at birth, is hard to detect.
Then we have the placenta, by which the blood vessels of the foetus
and those of the mother are brought into close contact ; yet they do
not anastamose, but the changes take place in the blood by osmotic
influence. Then there is umbilical cord, which is formed of the two
umbilical or hypogastric arteries and the umbilical vein, covered by
a gelatinous matter. Then there is the urachus, which is in con-
nection with the bladder, and in after-life forms a ligament for the
bladder. The placenta in the mare is attached by villi. In the cow
it is attached by cotyledons, which are about sixty or seventy in num-
ber. The capillaries of the foetus and uterus come in close contact,
and so form these villi and cotyledons. They are little tufts attached
to the uterus. The period of gestation varies in different animals. In
the mare it is eleven months, in the cow nine months, in the ewe five
months, in the bitch sixty-three days, in the sow one hundred and
twenty to one hundred and forty days. But a mare may go even a
month longer than the time ; and a case is recorded where a filly had
a fold at twenty-two months old, and heifers at fourteen months old;
and a case is recorded of a mare having a foal at thirty years old.
Mares moderately kept and worked will breed longer than one kept in
opposite manner. Difference of temperature is also supposed to have
an influence. We are sometimes called to tell whether a mare or a
cow is pregnant or not, and a correct opinion can sometimes be given,
and in other cases a mistake is easily made. A mare generally be-
comes quieter in disposition, thrives better, and, after a certain period,
the belly becomes distended, and some mares may go eight or nine
months without showing this much. There are various ways recom-
mended to determine this. The stethoscope is recommended, by
which you can hear the foetal heart beat ; but you will be very liable
to make a mistake in this way. Another is to insert the hand into
the vagina and find out the condition of the os-uteri. But the best
way is to examine per rectum, and in any case where it is necessary to
give a definite opinion, examine in this way. As to the manner in
which a mare should be used during pregnancy, there is difference of
opinion. Keeping her in her natural condition is perhaps the best,
but it is necessary sometimes to work her, and so long as Mforked mod-
erately and not put to the waggon or cart, nor backed violently, there
is no great danger. Such is the case with farm mares, and parturition
is easier with them than those kept in the stable. There are certain
signs of immediate parturition ; the sacro-sceatic ligament changes to
a certain extent, and there is milk secreted; and when a wax appears
on the teat, parturition generally occurs in two or three days, and
often in twenty-four hours, and the water bag appears. The mare
usually lies down, but the cow sometimes stands during parturition.
It is sometimes best to be present to ligature the artery. Tie it about
an inch from the umbilical opening, and cut off about an inch from
the ligature. The natural presentation of the 'foetus is the fore feet
9
194 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
and head protruding ; and when you are called and find the membranes
protruding, examine the parts, if you can, before rupturing the mem-
branes, and if all is right, delivery is generally easy ; and do not use
much force, but while the pains are present, use gentle force. But
there are abnormal or unnatural presentations. Sometimes the abdo-
men of the foetus is enlarged to an enormous extent, the result of
dropsy. Although the head and feet protrude in a natural way, it is
impossible for delivery to be accomplished without help. In such a
case return the fcstus to a certain extent, and see if there are any ab-
normal conditions. If it is dropsy, let the water out, either with a
long trochar, and canula, or make an incision in the belly and let the
fluid out. The foetus is not generally alive in such cases ; and if alive,
there is no use keeping it alive ; and you may meet a case of hydroce-
phalus, until the head is distended — until delivery is impossible. The
feet and nose are perhaps protruding, and by inserting the hand you
can feel the enlarged condition of the head ; then let the water out.
And there are other deformities, which, although the presentation be
natural, will give you trouble; and when you see a proper presenta-
tion and DO delivery, you may expect some difficulty, and hard work
and perseverance are necessary. And do not be hasty in giving a case
up, but make a careful examination, and find whether it is a fore leg
or a hind one, which seems an easy thing, but when it is covered by
the membranes it is not so very easy. We sometimes meet a case
where the labour pains are present to a certain extent, without any
signs of delivery. Make an examination, and if a mare is suffering
from pains previous to her time, give one to one-and-a-half ounces of
tincture of opium ; or the powdered opium, one to one-and-a-half
drachms. If the os-uteri is not dilated, use a little patience, and do not
resort to force too soon, but dilate the os-uteri ; and after you have
properly dilated it, delivery will take place ; but there are exceptional
cases. If the pains have been present for some time, then dilate the
os-uteri, and in some cases, inject with tepid water ; smear the parts
with belladonna and oil, or soap and water ; get one or two fingers in
and work away, and dilation will gradually take place just by the force
of the hand. If this fails, you will, in some cases, have to cut it, and
this is attended with more success in the cow than in the mare ; but,
in some cases, it is the only chance. Make the incision in the upper
part, but do not be in a hurry using the knife. We sometimes meet
with cases where the hind feet are presented, but this is not a very
difficult presentation. It is about second in the list, and it is rare
that it is accomplished with some assistance. Possibly the body is
turned on one side. The way to proceed is to examine closely, to see
what you have to deal with, and turn upon the belly, as nearly as pos-
sible, by making an assistant pull the feet while you get your hand in
beside the body and turn it over, and delivery can be accomplished.
Another condition is having the hind feet presented and the foetus
upon its back, when delivery cannot be accomplished without assist-
ance. Proceed to turn it upon the belly, if possible, by attaching a
rope and manipulating, and the fewer instruments used the better ; but
you will often find benefit from the rope, and it is best to raise the
hind parts a little, and while the rope is being pulled, endeavour to
raise the buttock of the foetus over the pelvic bones. Great damage is
done by pulling upon the foetus when in this position, and when you
use force pull upward.
Breech Presentation Proper is where the buttocks and hind quar-
ters are presented. It is very difficult, and if it is a powerful mare,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 195
and the pains have been present for an hour or two, and by putting
the hand in you find the only thing protruding is the tail, then it is
difficult, and in some cases, it is impossible to deliver it without
cutting, and the way to proceed is to endeavour to get hold of the
hind legs, which is easier said than done. The crotch is useful to press
the foetus forward to some extent ; at the same time endeavour to get
the hind legs. Get a rope under the stifle and pull back some, and if
you can get the rope down to the fetlock and get one leg, you will
generally be able to get the other. Use force while the mare is strain-
ing. You may not be able to get the feet into position, when the only
chances are to cut the limbs off at the hock — that is, where the hocks
are protruding — and the best instrument is the chain saw, which I
would recommend you to have. Having removed the hock, put the
foetus forward, when you will be able to get the limbs. Another
method is embryotomy, or cutting away the foetus. Another way is
to make an incision just below the tail and remove the contents of the
abdomen, and by diminishing the size of the bowels you may be able
to deliver it. A hook is of use in this operation. If you fail in this,
then cut through to the brim of the pelvis and take off one hind leg.
This requires perseverance and hard work. Another false presentation
is where the fore legs protrude, and the head is turned back over the
shoulder. In such a case improperly applied force is of great danger.
In such a case apply a cord around the fetlock and push the foetus
back into the cavity and get hold of the head, and you may be able to
get a cord around the under jaw ; then push it back with the crotch
and straighten it out, and you will be able to deliver it. One of the
limbs may protrude and the other be back with the head, or the head
thrown down between the fore limbs. In such cases no amount of
force will be able to deliver it. Where the head is thrown down it is a
pretty difficult case. Push it back and endeavour to get hold of and
straighten the hand, and delivery will be easy. Another presentation
is the head protruding without the feet. In such a case the foetus
soon suffocates if relief is not afforded. Push it back into the cavity
and get hold of the limbs, and then deliver it. But if it is two or three
hours after the foetus has protruded, and it is dead and the head swol-
len, then disarticulate the head and attach a cord around the cervical
vertebra, then push it back and get hold of the fore feet and take it
away ; but do not be in too nluch of a hurry in giving up a case, and
use your head as well as your hands. As to medicines, there is benefit
in opium, chloroform, etc., and it is best sometimes to put the animal
under the influence of chloroform. Change the position of the animal,
elevate the hind quarters, etc. Sometimes we meet a case where the
side of the neck is presented and the feet turned upward. The best
way is to turn it and bring it into its natural position ; endeavour to
get a rope around under the head and a portion of the limb ; get an
assistant to pull, and get your hand in ; manipulate and you can gener-
ally turn it, but not always, and it is sometimes necessary to perform
embryotomy. Endeavour to sever the attachment of the fore extremity
from the trunk ; draw the leg out and make an incision as high up as
possible, and run the knife up the inside of the leg to the shoulder,
but do not ci^t the leg off about the knee, for it makes the case worse.
In some exceptional cases you may have to cut off the other leg.
Another is a back presentation. It is very difficult. When you ex-
amine perhaps you will find the loins or dorsal vertebrae presented,
and if the hind quarters are nearer than the fore, endeavour to make
it a breech presentation ; but if the fore quarters are nearer, try to
106 CAUSES. SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
make it a natural presentation. You may be able to turn it with the
crotch, but if you can not change it, then perform embryotomy. Cut
through the vertebral column the best you can, and use the chain saw ;
get into the thoracic cavity and get the contents of the abdomen out,
but it is a very difficult case. Another condition is where the whole
four legs, or perhaps three of them, or a fore and a hind one are pre-
sented. It can not be delivered in this way, and you must endeavour
to make it a natural or breech presentation. It you endeavour to
make it a breech presentation, get a rope around the hind leg ; if you
intend to make a natural presentation, get the rope on the fore leg.
Then use the crotch, and turn it. In the case of twins you may meet
with difficult presentations, but when they are twins they are not
usually so large as where there is but one. You may meet with breech
presentation where the hind limbs of both are presented, or the fore
limbs of both. I saw a case where they were coming belly to belly.
The remedy in such a case is to push one back into the cavity and
effect a delivery of the other. And you may meet with many presen-
tations different from the ones I have mentioned. The first thing is
to make an examination ; the second, to use force if necessary ; and
the third is, to persevere in it. Sometimes the foetus dies, and the
liquids in connection with it escape, and the parts become dry, and
delivery is assisted by injecting with tepid water. Some recommend
oil ; I prefer tepid water. And sometimes decomposition sets in, and
the foetus and the vagina of the mare swell greatly ; perhaps the mare
can not get up ; the pulse is almost imperceptible, and it is best to
destroy the animal. This seldom occurs, only after a great deal of
force has been used. Sometimes you will meet a case where the foetus
is carried for a long time over the time, and it is said that the mother,
in such a case, may conceive again ; but if the foetus carried is in the
uterus, and not in the tubes or in the abdomen, conception can not
take place. I saw a case of a cow that seemed to be pregnant for
seven or eight months About the eighth or ninth she decreased in
size, and about four months after the usual time of calving I examined
and found the uterus but slightly enlarged. I dilated it with my hand
without any great amount of force. But, in such cases, I believe there
is a certain union between the foetus and the uterus, which has to be
broken down. In this case I worked five or six hours, until I was tired
out, and thought better to desist for the time, and make another
attempt ; then in five or six days I returned and worked five or six
hours, using the hand and a knife carefully, and again left it, and
again returned and removed it entirely, and the cow recovered com-
pletely, but I do not know that she was ever again in calf. A cow
will stand a great amount of cutting and carving, if you do not in-
jure the uterus. In such cases your arm will suffer considerably
from the acrid properties of the fluid, not that it is of a poisonous
character, but eruptions may come on the arm and be painful ; and
sometimes we hear of a practitioner dying from the effects of it ; but
I do not think it is caused by any poison, but by the irritation se^.
up ; erysipelatous or phlegmonous inflammation is set up, although
it has been said that it was due to the poison of the decomposing
matter. A mare should be carefully used after difficult parturition ;
keep her nice and warm, and bathe nicely with warm water, to allay
the swelling. I believe some cases are lost by carelessness after
parturition, as by allowing the animal to lie on the cold ground,
which sets up inflammation of the womb. But keep warm, give an
opiate, sweet spirits of nitre or alcoholic stimulants, and if there is
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 197
no irritation after a day or two there is no great danger. Sometimes
the entire membranes are retained after parturition, and it is called
retention of the placenta; more properly, perhaps, retention of the
foetal membranes. It is more common in the cow, and also in the
sheep, than in the mare. There is a difference of opinion as to
what should be done in such cases. I think it is best not to be in
too much of a hurry in removing it in such cases by force, especially
in the mare. In most cases it comes away in from five to fifteen
minutes up to eight or ten hours. There are certain remedies re-
commended, as savin, laurel, bi-sulphite of soda, etc. I do not
think powerful remedies are called for, but in the cow regulate the
diet and give from two to eight ounces of Epsom salts, with some
gentian and ginger, perhaps given in two doses ; keep her warm,
give nice food, and the after-ljirth will, in most cases, come away.
But if this fails you must remove it, and do not allow it to remain
too long. But so long as it does not decompose to any great extent,
there is no great danger ; but when it does decompose, it may give
rise to septicaemia. It is j^enerally easily taken away. Just get
hold of the membranes with one hand, then insert the other hand
into the uterus and break down any adhesions with your fingers.
In the mare it is removed in the same way. After removing it, sup-
posing it had remained in for eight or ten days, inject the uterus
with tepid water, and after this with a weak solution of carbolic
acid, feed well and keep her comfortable. There is a more serious
result than this, which is inversoin of the uterus. This is very
serious, and not uncommon, and is more frequent in cows than in
mares, and the treatment is more successful in cows. It is most
likely to occur in weak and debilitated animals. In those fed upon
poor food the ligaments of the uterus become more than naturally
relaxed. In the mare it is similar, and is a very serious condition,
and is seldom treated with success. If it is only partially inverted,
it is not so serious; but if it is complete, you can notice the uterus
protruding, which is a large, reddened, swollen mass, and the foetal
membrane may be attached to it. If it is complete in the cow she
does not stand long, owing to the weight, and when she does lie
down she may not be able to get up. The uterus becomes dirty
and exposed to the cold. The proper thing is to cleanse and return
it, which is difficult, but it can be done. If the foetal membranes
are attached, remove them carefully ; bathe the parts nicely, and it
is recommended to scarify, but you must be exceedingly careful
about scarifying. As well as tepid water, bathe with laudanum and
water (but before it is necessary to put a large cloth, as a
table-cloth, under the parts); then endeavour to return it, which is
easier done when the cow is on her feet ; so, if you can, get her on
her feet, and if you cannot do this, turn her upon her back. There
is difference of opinion whether to begin at the fundas or neck to
return it, but if you cannot do it one way try the other. Then
there is another difficulty, and that is to get it in position after it is
returned ; but endeavour to carefully unfold it, and then give
opiates, or stimulants — some recommend one, some the other. And
it is necessary to keep it in by some means — elevating the hind
quarters is of benefit, and there are various pessaries recommended.
A good one can be formed by covering a piece of wood with cloth or
chamois skin, pass this in and secure it in some way ; a bottle has
been recommended, but it may get broken, and a piece of wood the
shape of a beetle makes a good one. Secure and keep it in by ropes
198 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
or straps. Another way is to put three or four stitches through the
vulva — the animal can urinate through the lower opening. And
there are various trusses which are of benefit in some cases, but I
think the pessary the most successful. It is a good plan to press
upon and get the back to bend down. Some recommend, and I
have tried, inserting a big pin through the skin on the back, and
put twine around it, which causes the back to bend. This is similar
and more troublesome, but not so common, in the mare. You may
meet a case where the uterus is gangrenous. Then do not return
it, but you may endeavour to save the life of the animal by remov-
ing it, which is sometimes successful. And in some cases it is best to
place the animal under chloroform, then tie a cord around it as close
to the OS-uteri as possible, then cut the parts off and arrest the
hemorrhage. Some recommend using the ecraseur, taking one-half,
one-third, etc., at a time ; then keep her quiet. If she is weak, as she
is apt to be, give stimulants, but I do not know whether it is juecessary
to operate on a mare. I never knew a mare to recover. Another con-
dition is prolapsus, or inversion of the vagina, both before and after
parturition, and is more common in cows than in mares. Poor keep-
ing is a common cause ; another cause is an impacted state of the
rectum ; or standing in a stall higher in front than behind. By ex-
amining you can tell the difference between this and inversion of the
uterus, and sometimes the uterus protrudes at the same time. If
due to a compacted state of the rectum, clear out the rectum,
and it is generally easily returned. Remove the cause, elevate the
hind parts, and you can use a truss of some kind, and if the animal
is in poor condition, give a generous diet, tone up the system, etc.
The treatment after parturition is just the same as before parturition,
and it may protrude for some time before parturition without doing
much harm. In some cases it may be advisable to put a suture
through the lips. Astringents, acetate of lead and water, have been
recommended. After cleansing use cold instead of warm water,
which tends to contraction. But if there is irritation I prefer warm
applications. If the uterus is lacerated, stitch it up and then en-
deavour to return it. It is recorded that some have recovered. I
never saw a case recover.
D[SEASES AFTER PARTURITION.
Milk, or Parturient, Fever, which differs from parturient apoplexy.
Any case of parturition produces more or less fever, the pulse is
slightly quickened, the temperature elevated, etc. Parturient fever
usually accompanies the secretion of the milk. There is a great
amount of blood in the system which goes to the milk, and milk fever
is an invariable sign of a good milker.
Symptoms. — The pulse increases some ; the udder becomes tender
and slightly swollen, the swelling extending along the belly, and
sometimes between the fore legs — and even in some cases before
parturition; the breathing is slightly quickened; the mouth hot;
and when the milk is properly secreted there is no danger to be
apprehended. Although it is simple, we are sometimes called to
treat it, and sometimes the symptoms are premonitory symptoms of
parturient apoplexy. It exists moi'e in well bred animals than in
others.
DISEASES OK DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 199
Treatment. — Regulate the diet ; give good food ; give about eight
ounces of Epsom salts and an ounce of saltpetre, dissolve in a quart
of water, and follow it by a few doses of diuretic medicine. If the
udder is swollen and hard, foment and hand-rub it, and, in some
cases, use some simple ointment, as calamine ointment ; stimulants
are generally unnecessary. If it continues too long, give a few doses
of iodide of potassium. It is a simple febrile affection. Give but
little food for twenty-four or thirty hours.
Pu»'pliral Fever, of which there may be different kinds — a par-
turient peritonitis, in which the peritoneum and uterus are inflamed,
and, perhaps, the large nerves of the parts involved. Another serious
condition is that in which the brain is the principal seat of the dis-
ease, but the spinal cord is involved. This is called parturient apop-
lexy. There is another form in which the spine is the principal seat
of the disease, and the large nerves going from the spine to the poste-
rior extremity of the body are affected, causing loss of power, and in
post mortems there is sometimes effusion into the peritoneal cavity.
I will first speak of
Parturient Peritonitis, but the inflammation is not generally con-
fined to the peritoneum alone, but it also affects the uterus, and we
have a low fever, and in post mortems we find diffuse inflammation of
the peritoneum, and more or less in the uterus. The vessels going to
and coming from the uterus are affected, and the nerves are thickened
to a certain extent. It may occur at any age and follow any case of
parturition, but it is generally the result of bad usage, either before or
after parturition. Animals exposed to the cold, or having been driven,
are more liable to it.
Symptoms. — It usually shows itself the second, third or fourth day
after calving. The supply of milk is impaired more or less ; the
urine is coffee-coloured, and it usually attains its intensity in from
six to ten hours. The symptoms are somewhat like parturient
apoplexy ; she paddles with the feet when walking ; looks at the sides ;
lies down, and, in some cases, is not able to get up — (when a cow
becomes affected by urinary or abdominal diseases she is generally
very helpless) — she will moan, stretch out the neck, lift the head and
look at the flanks ; respiration increases ; the mouth, muzzle and
horns hot, and the temperature of the body is increased ; constipation
is present, and if any feces are passed they will be hard and covered
with mucous ; and there may be a discharge of a brownish-coloured
fluid from the vulva ; power is lost, and you are apt to think it is
apoplexy. But there are no cerebral symptoms developed, and there
is more pain present. It is a very fatal complaint.
Treatment. — Give sedatives and opiates. At one time purgatives
were recommended, but I do not use them as freely as I used to do,
and do not recommend giving large doses of purgative medicine.
But it is good to give a slight laxative, and opiates do not act so well
in cattle, but give opium and belladonna. Some recommend blood-
letting in the early stages ; but if the cow is down, and effusion has
taken place, blood-letting should not be practised. Attend to the care
of the animal, and get her well on the breast, and if the bowels are
costive give injections, and if feces are passed freely it seems to give
relief. Draw the urine with the catheter if it does not come away.
Use counter-irritation, which must be stronger for cattle than horses,
and sometimes use a little croton oil. Sometimes this prevails as an
enzootic disease, due to the manner in which they are kept and the
weather.
200 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF
Parturient Apoplexy. — This disease principally affects the brain
and spinal cord, due, in most cases, to a congested state of the brain,
in which it differs from parturient peritonitis, and, in some cases, it
involves the sympathetic system, which has a great deal to do with
certain diseases, and it may be influenced in various ways. There are
various theories brought forward in regard to it. It was thought to
be due to a specific poison in the blood, which would produce the dis-
ease in other animals ; it is also said to be due to the arteries of the
brain in cattle differing from those of the horse. But these are not
tenable. Another is that the sympathetic system has something to
do with it. This is tenable. When a cow is in good health and the
secretions going on in a natural manner, parturition is easily accom-
plished, and there is a large amount of blood in the system which is to
go to the milk, and, instead of going there, it is thrown back upon the
system, to a certain extent, influencing the sympathetic system. It is
due, generally, to a plethoric condition — those affected are those in
perfect health. Prof. Williams' theory is a good one (Williams' Veter-
inary Medicine, page 462). Post mortems usually reveal lesions of the
brain and spinal cord. There is, even, effusion into the ventricle some-
times, and the spinal cord is sometimes reddened. There are other
conditions, but they are generally incident to the condition of the ani-
mal before death. There may be hypostatic congestion of the lungs or
liver. The most noticeable characteristic is the rapidity of its develop-
ment. An animal may appear in perfect health, and be dead in four or
five hours. It appears from the first to the third day after calving,
and the sooner it appears the more fatal it is. Another peculiarity is,
it seldom or never follows an abortion, while parturient peritonitis
does ; and it does not occur in very young cows, but is most likely to
attack a cow in her prime It follows difficult parturition, when force
has been used, or where there was hemorrhage from the womb, and
seldom occurs in an animal in poor condition.
Symptoms. — Perhaps the first noticed is, the cow does not give as
much milk as she should ; the urine depressed and the bowels con-
stipated ; fever takes place, and all the secretions are affected, and
perhaps there are no other symptoms, and if you are called to a case
in which there is not the milk expected, and the above symptoms,
then look out for it, and give something to prevent it. There may be
but little pain, and the thermometer will reveal a slight increase in
temperature. When the well-marked symptoms appear the cow
moves first one and then the other leg, paddles, as it is called, when
she walks, lies down, gets up and lies down again, until, perhaps, she
can not get up ; then, perhaps, dashes the head violently, throwing it
up over the shoulder, which seems to be a favorite position ; then she
may, perhaps, become comatose, the pupil dilated, and the breathing
stertorious ; the pulse forty, fifty or sixty, and almost imperceptible ;
there is but little feeling, and death soon occurs. In other cases the
symptoms are not so rapidly developed, and such are more easily
treated. It is generally easily diagnosed, but you may make a mis-
take in the early stage of the disease.
Treatment. — There are many remedies recommended, and, I think,
in the early stage, before the animal gets down, that abstraction of
blood is beneficial ; but there is difference of opinion here, therefore I
recommend taking blood, and, as well as that, give a pretty good dose
of purgative medicine — from one to two pounds of Epsom salts— and
give injections ; but if partially or completely comatose, do not take
blood, but give stimulants — as sweet spirits of nitre, nitrate of potash,
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 201
etc., and a dose of purgative medicine ; give injections ; draw the urine ;
turn her from one side to the other ; bed well and make her as comfort-
able as possible, and if comatose, put cold water or pounded ice to the
head. Tieat the same as sun stroke. A case may recover after being
comatose for five or six hours. While comatose you must be careful
in giving medicine, for it may pass into the trachea and cause suffo-
cation. In such cases, try the stomach pump, or the small tube, and
get stimulants into the stomach, or use hypodermic injections of
ether, etc. In the early stages give bromide of potassium in pretty
large doses ; keep cold to the head, and inject freely with soap
and water ; keep her clothed, and attend to the general comfort of
the patient. If the animal shows signs of recovery in about twenty-
four hours, feed sparingly, and give nux vomica if the nervous system
is affected. It is easier prevented than cured, and if a cow is
so affected and cured, she is more liable to be affected again, and if
in any cow you suspect it, restrict the food before parturition and
give one-half or pound of Epsom salts, and give diuretics or hypo-
sulphite of soda. This sometimes occurs before parturition, but
not often, and is easily prevented. Do not give much food for
some time after parturition ; do not even allow her upon luxuriant
pasture, but turn upon a poor pasture. Croton oil, calomel, etc., have
been recommended, but I do not think they should be used.
Parturient Paralysis makes its appearance about the third or
fourth day after calving, and it is not so serious as apoplexy. The
spine is sometimes affected, and sometimes just the large nerves.
Loss of power is the principal symptom. There is paddling action ;
the animal falls or lies down and can not get up ; perhaps the secre-
tion of milk is impaired ; if you prick her with a pin there will be
sensation but no motion. Regulate the diet ; give a laxative ; stimu-
late the loins with the ammoniacal liniment, mustard, etc. An old
and perhaps a good way is to cover the loins with a blanket, and take
a warm smoothing iron and rub over the outside. If it continues too
long, use the galvanic battery, and, in some cases, afte* live or six
days the animal will get up as well as ever. Or she may knuckle at
the fetlocks for some time ; then try strychnine, and apply a strych-
nine liniment to the loins — but not too much at a time, or you may
cause poisoning.
Mammitis, Inflammation of the Udder, Garget, etc, is inflam-
mation of the mammary glands, which may occur with other
diseases, as from inflammation of the womb, irritation of the stom-
ach. It occurs usually in the milch cow, but it may occur in the
heifer. It occurs in two forms, which differ some from each other,
but I do not know that the treatment differs much. In one form the
skin and membranes under the skin are affected ; in the other, the
glandular substance is affected. It may be circumscribed, or it may
extend and involve the deep-seated structures.
Symptoms. — The udder is hard, hot and tender, and is accompanied
by constitutional fever, which is, in many cases, ushered in by shiv-
ers ; the animal begins to breathe rapidly, and you might think it was
some disease of the respiratory organs ; the pulse is quickened ; the
appetite more or less impaired, and cessation of rumination ; the
bowels may be constipated, or there may be diarrhoea, but the febrile
state of the system is apt to produce constipation. But some irritant
may be present, and may have had something to do in causing the dis-
ease. When this disease involves the deep-seated structures, suppu-
202 CAUSEH, SYMPTOMS AN1> TREATMENT OF
ration and a scirrhous condition are produced, which destroy the secre-
tion of the milk.
Causes. — Irregular milking is a common cause, which irritates the
glands and causes inflammation. It is also produced by changes of
temperature, exposure to colds, etc., and sometimes results from par-
turient apoplexy, due to the manner in which she lies, pressing upon
the udder, etc., or it is due to the sudden changes in temperature, as the
hot days and cool nights of September ; standing in wet, dirty stables ;
exposure to wet, etc. Inflammation of the glandular substance may
terminate in resolution, but it is likely to terminate in resolution, but
it is likely to terminate in ulceration and destruction of the gland ;
but if it is circumscribed and is opened in time, it may impair it but
little. A common termination is fibrous degeneration or scirrhous
condition.
Treatiuent. — If in the early stage, give two or three ounces of
nitrous ether, with one to one and a half ounces of nitrate of potash,
followed by aconite. Use warm fomentations and keep them up
for some time, then dry well and use the camphorated liniment ;
or you may put a bandage to the parts, having holes for the teats ;
pad it with wool, cotton, etc., and pour in warm water. A hot
poultice is an old and very good remedy, but in cold weather poul-
tices, etc., are not best, but apply liniments, and wool, tow, etc.,
warmed at the stove and applied to keep heat in the parts, should
be used. Some use cold water, but I think warm is preferable —
better to relieve pain— and if the pain is very great, use anodynes,
as belladonna, laudanum, arnica, etc. If it has terminated in sup-
puration it is best to let it out through the teat by means of an
ordinary concealed bistoiiri, by pushing it up the teat. But if it is
circumscribed and points, open at the prominent part. Sometimes a
part becomes scirrhous or gangrenous, and it may be necessary to
remove a part of it. Have the animal well kept ; give tonics if the
animal is weak. It is necessary to milk the cow occasionally, which
adds to the irritation, but you may overcome this by means of a teat
siphon, allowing the milk to drain off. If there is a slight induration,
without much change, then use iodine ointment, and possibly iodide
of potassium internally.
AZOTURIA, ETC.
Azoturia, Partial Paralysis, is a dietetic disease, a hypernitro-
genous condition of the blood, and of the system generally. There
is partial or complete loss of power of the hind limbs, although the
nerves are not altogether affected ; but it is due to spasms of
the muscles of the loins and the tissues in connection, and affects
the kidneys more or less. It was called hysteria, and was supposed
to be peculiar to mares only. Another term is enzootic htematuria ;
another is hajmogloburia. It attacks a horse that has been working,
then stood in the stable and fed well upon nutritive food, which pro-
duces a large amount of albumen in the blood in particular, and in
the system in general ; and then the horse is taken out and exercised.
The result is an increased oxidation of the albumen, and it is changed
into various compounds, causing an excess of urea and hippuric acid,
producing spasms and contractions, especially of the large muscles
and tissues of the loins, producing loss of motor power. And when it
attacks the psoas muscles it is more severe than when it attacks the
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIiFALS. ZUiJ
gluteal muscles. This condition extends further than the muscles, in
some cases, and in some cases even the covering of the spinal cord
may be affected, the sheathes of the nerves and the kidneys also,
arresting the secretion of the kidneys in the early stage. The faster
the work the more serious will be the attack. It is more common in
the winter months, as the animal is kept in the stable, well fed, for a
time, then taken out and worked.
Symptoms. — Suppose a case : A horse is taken from the stable and
trotted out half a mile to three or four miles ; he becomes sluggish,
perspires more freely than he should : then well-marked stiffness appears
in connection with the muscles of the loins. If stopped, the breathing
is noticed to be increased, the pulse quick and weak, and the loins, in
many cases, are hard and tense ; the bowels, in some cases, aretympantic.
In aggravated cases the symptoms become more severe ; he drops on the
hind quarters, staggers, and perhaps falls ; he may lie down, get up and
lie down, etc., until he is not able to get up any longer : or he may
suddenly falter during a drive, as if he had picked up a nail. But if the
above symptoms are also present, and you are informed that the horse
was standing in the stable for some time, it is likely to be azoturia.
The ears and legs cold, pain in the parts, and colickly pains. But in
some cases the symptoms are not so well developed, and if allowed to stand
fifteen or twenty minutes it will show itself by stiffness. The urine is of
a dark red colour, and contains an excess of urea, and, in some cases,
albumen. If the urine is allowed to stand, a sediment is thrown down,
and nitric acid will precipitate nitrate of urea. Azoturia is often mistaken
for inflammation of the kindneys. Post mortems reveal the muscles
affected— soft and flabby, of a darkish red colour — the kidneys slightly
congested ; there is dark urine in the bladder, and hypostatic congestion,
which is, perhaps, due to the position the animal has occupied. If the
animal is properly treated in time the symptoms will disappear in from
four to ten hours, and in two or three dajs the animal will be well.
Your prognosis will be based upon the severity of the symptoms. If the
animal is unable to rise, there is great pain, the pulse quick and full, it is
unfavourable. I believe it is sometimes combined with irritation of
the bowels ; but although the patient is down, and the pulse is not full
and bounding, but just quickened some, and no great pain, the prognosis
is favourable.
Treatment. — In an ordinary case I recommend a slight stimulant ;
give sweet spirits of nitre ; cover the body well and induce copious per-
spiration, and give a good dose of purgative — from six to twelve drachms
of aloes — and give injections ; apply counter-irritation to the loins.
Some object to this, but I think hot water is beneficial. Immerse a
blanket in hot water and place it over the loins and cover it with dry
blankets. Or, if you cannot apply this, take a liniment and rub in as a
shampoo over the loins ; or mustard may be used, but do not use any-
thing that will blemish ; and, if necessary, draw off the urine, which is
often retained in the bladder. After treatment, carefully use sedatives —
aconite and carbonate of soda. There is great thirst and the animal
should have plenty of water, in small amounts at a time, with, perhaps,
ju;t the chill taken oft", and keep the animal as comfortable as possible,
and turn him from side to side as necessary, and, where there are signs
of amendment, try to get him upon his feet, even if he only stands fifteen
or twenty minutes. It is best to take the shoes off if the animal is kick-
around much ; and, in some cases, you may use slings. It is a disease
that is generally satisfactory to treat. If a horse was stopped and not
driven any further, when the symptoms are pieseut.it would notgfnerally
^04
CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT Of
become serious ; but I do not know whether the horse, after recovering,
is more liable to another attack or not ; but when recovering, and the
appetite is good, if he is allowed to eat too much, it is more apt to
return. Nitrate of potash is another remedy, but I prefer one to one and
a-half ounces of carbonate of soda each day for several days. Blood-
letting is recommended, and, if taken in the early stages, it is, possibly,
beneficial. Sedatives are not demanded if the pulse is weak and amrao-
niacal stimulants are not generally advisable. Do not push opium too
far, but if there is much pain give belladonna or hypodermic injections of
morphia, and, unless the animal is suffering great pain, do not give
opiates. I saw a case combined with spasms of the diaphragm. This
proves serious. Give anti-spasmodics ; the other treatment is the same.
When he lies down the spasms are increased, and respiration is more
difficult, and death may result from asphyxia.
Metritis, Inflammation of the Uterus.— In the mare this is in-
flammation of the substance of the womb — it is endo-metritus when
confined to the lining membrane. It is usually a sequel of parturition
when prolonged, or where force has been used. But there are other
causes — as exposure after foaling, lying on damp ground, etc., and these
are common causes of it when it is not due to parturition.
Symptoms. — It usually occurs in three or four days after parturition.
There is uneasiness and pain; the back is arched--straining— and, in
some cases there is a dark red fluid passes from the vagina. In some
cases she will lie down, moan, and occasionally cast anxious glances to
the abdomen ; the pulse quick and wiry, the mouth hot, the ears cold or
alternately cold and hot ; cold sweats, perhaps, appear behind the
shoulders and in the flanks, and the vulva may be swollen ; the urine is
passed often and in small quantities, and the symptoms may be more
aggravated, apd the animal may die in two or three days. This disease
may extend and involve the peritoneum, but not so apt to do this as in
cows.
Treatment. — Allay the action of the heart by Fleming's tincture of
aconite, ten to fifteen drops ; combat the pain by opium or hypodermic
injection of morphia, and keep her comfortable ; if cold, clothe nicely ;
counter-irritation to the loins is recommended — as mustard, hot cloths,
or a newly -flayed sheep-skin ; but do not keep the sheep-skin on too long,
perhaps twenty-four hours will do, and keep the parts warm after taking
it ofi'— and give injections. It is also recommended to inject the uterus,
and you may put laudanum in the water. Give a purgative — ten or
twelve ounces of oil, which is preferable to aloes. Treat it about the
same as inflammation of the bowels. Keep her extremely warm. If
there is a discharge from the vagina, inject first with tepid water, then
with a solution of sulphate of zinc, or carbolic acid, one part to forty or
fifty of water.
Leuehorrhoeaj or Whites. — This is met with in old debilitated
mares, especially after they cease to breed. There is a white, g'airy dis-
charge from the uterus, which looks like curdled milk. It sometimes
accumulates in the uterus and then comes away in large quantities, and
there is a foetid smell ; the animal gradually becomes debilitated. Dis-
ease of the ovaries may produce it, but it is most likely to occur from
debility. It is common in well-bred cattle, and may be associated with
tubercular disease in cattle.
Treatment. — Use both local and constitutional treatment. First inject
the uterus with warm water, and then with cold water — and one of the .
best preparations is carbolic acid, about one to forty, which may, in some
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 205
cases, be increased' I have used it as strong as one to sixteen, but do
not keep up the use of this strong lotion, but after one injection use the
weak solution ; give general tonics — iodide of potassium, iodide of iron,
etc. Percival recommends acetate of lead, 1 drachm ; opium, 1 scruple :
turpentine, 2 ounces. But the best, perhaps, is the iodide of iron, iodide
of potassium, etc. In cattle, it is similar, but if it is associated with
tubercular disease, the animal will be unfit for breeding purposes.
Barreiiuess may be due to contraction of the os-uteri. Apply bella-
donna, and dilate by means of the fingers and catheters.
DISEASES OF THE OVARIES.
Enlargemeuts— Ovarian Tumours are generally of an encysted
character. They are more likely to occur in mares that have had several
colts, but they may come in any from faulty conformation.
Symptoms are not very plain. It may exist to a great extent without
extending the abdomen. The mare is supposed to have slight attacks of
colic, but the symptoms differ from some colic. The pain continues per-
haps a half hour or an hour, the pulse is not materially affected, and the
symptoms gradually disappear ; the mare is usually irritable, falls off in
condition, and may have a tucked up appearance ; the tumour may pass
around some of the intestines and cause strangulation — causing the
ordinary symptoms of strangulation. If there is slight irritation in con-
nection with the generative organs, and these symptoms are present,
make an examination fcr rectum, and if it is any great size you can
detect it. There may be a slight discharge from the vagina. There can
not be much done by way of treatment in the mare. I would recom-
mend iodine, iodide of potassium, etc., and you may deem it worth trying
an operation, but it is not generally successful.
Vaginitis is generally the result of difficult parturition. Give a laxa-
tive and iodide of potassium, and you may use some slight astringent.
Allay the irritation.
Abscess on the Vulva, caused by some irritation. Open up and let
the matter out. If she is in good condition, give a laxative ; if in poor
condition, give nutritious food.
Partial Closure of the Lips of the Vulva, may occur in the cow
after difficult parturition. The lips may grow up until you could scarcely
introduce the ordinary director. It is best treated by opening up, and,
if seen in the early stage, you can do this with the fingers ; then use a
pledget of tow to keep the lips from uniting. Allay the irritation ;
apply lotions, etc.
Ovariotomy. — This, like everything else, requires practice. It is
frequently performed in pigs, by cutting into the flank on either side,
remove the ovaries, secure the vessels and treat as a wound. It is best
to get a dead animal and examine as to the position of the ovaries,
etc., before operating on a living animal. Cattle are sometimes operated
on They take on flesh more rapidly after the operation. It has been,
and is still, recommended to splay milk cows four or five months after
calving, and it is said that they will give milk for four or five years and
take less food. It was advocated in Scotland some twenty-five years ago,
but I think it proved a failure. But lately it has been practiced and
recommended, especially in the southern part of the United States.
One way of operating is to cut into either side, the same as in the pig.
206 DISEASES OP DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
Another is to cut into the abdomen. The way it is now performed is to
pass the hand into the vagina, dilating it carefully (but it cannot be per-
formed until the animal is from six to twelve months old), make your
incision through the walls of the vagina about one and a half or two
inches from the os-uteri, get the fingers through and get hold of the
ligament of the ovaries and pull them down and remove them. The
ecraseur is, perhaps, the best mode of removing them. First examine
a dead animal and operate for experiment. The ovaries were removed
from a mare by one of our students, and she lived for several days, and
was getting along nicely, when she was taken to the dissecting room.
Perpetual Bulling is due to an abnormal condition of the ovaries,
and, in well-bred cattle, to tubercular disturbance. The best treatment,
perhaps, is ovariotomy. It sometimes occurs in the mare. A good seda-
tive, in some cases, may allay the irritation.
The Clitoris may be enlarged or lacerated, due to irritation of some
kind or other. Use local and constitutional remedies ; touch with nitrate
of silver, carbolic acid, etc. If there is an enlargement remove it.
Melanotic Tumours may be present, especially in a white mare
They are a kind of black tumour, and may be in other parts also.
208
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DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
211
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DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
213
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INDEX
Abnormal Growths from Tracheotomy 27
Abscesses 17
" of the Turbinated Bones 17
in the Rectum 165
" of the Vulva 205
Albuminuria 180
Amaurosis 66
Anasarca 60
Anchylosis 80
Aphthae 149
Ascites 167
Atrophy of the Brain 48
Azoturia 202
Barbs 148
Barrenness 205
Biliary Calculi 174
Bile Stones 174
Bladder, Sabulous Matter-in 183
" Cysts in 182
" Inversion of 183
" Paralysis of i84
Blood, Composititon of 5
Blown 167
Bleeding of the Nose 19
Bone, Disease of 79
Bony Tumours 48
Brain. Softening of 48
' ' Atrophy of 48
' • Bony Tumours in 48
" Hypertrophy of 48
Melanotic deposits in 48
Breakdown 119
Broken Wind 25
Bronchitis in Horses 24
" in Cattle 29
Filaria in Cattle .*. 29
216 INDEX.
PAGE.
Bronchocele 17
Bruises of the Feet 138
of the Knee 117
Bursal Enlargement in the Heck 129
Calks 136
Calculi 181
Biliary 174
" Salivary 152
" Urethral 183
Canker 135
Capped Elbow 114
Hock 127
Caruncula Lachrymalis, Enlarged 70
Caries 80-85
Castration 184
Castration, Results of 186
" " Adhesions 186
" " Amaurosis i8g
" Champignon 187
" Glanders and Farcy 189
Hernia 187
Peritonitis 188
" " Scirrhous Cord , 187
Suppuration ." i86
Tetanus 188
of Originals 189
Cataract 65
Catarrh in Horses 15
in Cattle 27
Cerebritis 45
Cerebral Tumours ■. 48
Cerebro-spinal Meningitis 52
Choking 1 50
Chorea 53
Colic, Flatulent 156
" Spasmodic i55
Collar Galls 113
Concussion of the Brain 47
Spine 48
Congestion of the Lungs 19
Conjunctivitus 62
Costiveness 160
INDEX. 217
PAGE.
Constipation i6o
" in Cattle 171
Contagious Diseases 70
Contraction of the Back Tendons 118
" Sheath of the Tendons 119
Convulsive Ergotism 54
Cough, Chronic . . • • 18
Coronitis 132
Corns 133
Croup 17
Crusta Labialis 40
Curb 128
Cystitis 180
Cysts in the Bladder 182
Deafness 78
Diabetes Insipidia 178
Diaphragm, Lesions of 26
" Rupture of 27
' ' Spasms of 26
Diarrhoea 160-161
" in Cattle 171
Disease ; 3
Dislocation of the Fetlock 122
Patella 124
Diseases of the Air Passages in Cattle 27
Diuresis 178
Dose Table 208-213
Dropsy , 167
Duramater, Thickening of 48
Dysentery 162
Dyspepsia 154
Ear, Diseases of 78
" Canker of 79
Ectropium 68, 69
Eczema, Simple 38
Rubrum 39
Ejection 169
Elephantiasis 59
Encephalitis 43
Enchondroma 83
Enlargements on the Shoulder iii
10
218
Entropium
Enteritis in Horses
" in Cattle
Enuresis
Epilepsy
Epistxis
Eye
Eversion of the Eyelids
False Quarter
Filaria Oculi
Fistula
" of Stenos' Duct
Flux
Fractures
Fracture of the Acetabulum
" " Astragalus
" " Basilar Process of the Occiput
" " Condyle of the Femur
" " External Orbital Process
" " " Tuberosity of the Femur
" Femur
" Fibula
" Frontal Bones
" Humerus
•' Hock
" Knee Joint
" '* Lower Jaw
Metacarpal Bones
Navicular "
Nasal Bones
Occipital Bones
*' " Oscalcis
Olecranon ,
Oscorona
" " Ossuffraginis ,
" Ospedis ,
Parietal Bones
" Patella
" " Pelvic Bones
■" " Posterior Iliac
" Pubes and Ischium
*' " Sacrum
" " Shaft of the Ilium ,
INDEX. 219
PAGE
Fracture of the Symphysis Pubes 88
" Tibia 91
" " Trochanter Major gi
Tuberosity of the Ischium 89
" Zygomatic Process 93
Fraenum Linguae, Injuries to 147
FragiHtas Ossium 82
Fungus, Bleeding or Cancerous 66
Fungoid Growths in the Bladder 180
Garget 201
Gastro Enteritis 152
Gid 51
Glancoma 68-70
Glanders, Chronic 74
' ' Acute 76
Glands, Parotid 151
Glossitis 148
Grain Sack 168
Grease 37
Gut Tis 167
Haemoturia 184
Hair Balls 169
Head and Neck, Diseases of 105
Hemiplegia 49
Hemorrhage of the Lungs 19
Hepatitis 172
Hernia 162
Diaphragmatic 165
Scrotal 163
Umbilical 164
Ventral 164
Hoven 167
Hydrocephalus 5°
Hydrocele i8g
Hydrophobia « 55
Impaction of the Rumen 168
" " Manyplies i6g
Imperforate Anus 166
Injuries to the Abdomen no
" " Axis 85
" Back Tendons 118
Cervical Vertebrae 83
220
PAGE.
■ 206
86
113
123
■ 109
106
105
115
87
Pectoral Muscles i lo-i 13
Injuries to the Clitoris
" Dorsal Clitoris . .
" Elbow Joint
" Gluteal Muscles. .
" Groin
from being Halter Cast . .
to the Head and Neck . .
Knee Joint
Lumber Vertebrae
Perinaeual
Psoae Muscles
Semilunar Cartilages
Shoulder Joint
Tendons of the Knee
Indigestion, Acute
" Chronic
Inflammation, Signs of
' ' Definition of
of the Bladder
" Involving the Pleura
of the Hip Joint
" Kidneys
" Hock
" " Liver
Lungs
Inflammation of the Membrana Nictitans
Palate
" " Pharnyx
" . " Trachea
" " True Digestive Stomach
" Udder
" " Urethra
" " Testicles
Influenza
Interfering
Intestinal Concretions
Intussusception
Inversion of the Eyelids
Ischuria
Jaundice.
Kidneys
Inflammation of
no
125
125
112
116
152
154
9
7
180
22
122
177
125
172
21
68
149
149
27
171
201
201
189
29
121
159
159
69
179
173
177
177
INDEX. 221
PAGE.
Knee Sprung . .' 121
Knuckling 121
Lachrymal Ducts, Disease of 69
Malformation of 69
Lampas 144
Laminitis, Acute 131
Chronic 132
Laryngitis in Horses 15
Cattle 28
Leucorrhoea 204
Lice, Poultry 43
Lips, Laceration of 148
Liver, Diseases of 171
" Atrophy of 174
" Congestion of 171
" Functional Disorders of 174
Inflammation of , 172
Rupture of 173
Scirrhous Induration of 174
Lymphatic System 58
Lymphangitis 58
Mallenders 39
Mange 41
" in Cattle 42
" in Dogs 42
" in Horses 41
Mammitis 201
Megrims 47
Melanotic Tumours 206
Melanotic Condition of the Eye 70
Metritis 204
Milk Fever 198
Mollifies Ossium 83
Mouth, Diseases of 148
• ' Foreign Bodies in i47
Mud Fever 3^
Myopia 7°
Nasal Gleet 16
Polypi 17
Navicular Disease 138
Navicularthritis 138
Necrosis 81
'222 INDEX.
PAGE.
Nephritis 177-17S
Nervous System 44
Nettle Rash 39
Oesophagus, Stricture of . 150
" Dilitation of 150
Open Joint 116
Ophthalmis, Periodic 63
" Simple 62
Organs of Respiration 14
Osteo Sarcoma 81
'•* " in Cattle 95
Osteo Parosis 95
Ostitis 79
Osteophytes 100
Over-Reach 1 36
Ovarian Tumours 205
Ovariotomy 205
Partial closure of the Vulva 205
Paraphymosis 190
Paralysis 49
" Partial 202
of the Lips 50
Parturition 193
" Presentations in 194-198
Diseases after 198
Parturient Fever 198
" Apoplexy 200
Paralysis 201
" Peritonitis 199
Penis, Injuries to 190
" Excoriations of 192
Paraphymosis of 190
Phymosis of 192
Peritonitis 188
Perpetual Bulling 206
Pharyngitis in Cattle 28
Pharnyngeal Polypi 1 50
Phlebitis 107
Phymosis 192
Pink Eye or Epizootic Cellulitis 31
Pleurisy 22
" Results of 23
Pleuro-pneumonia in Horses 24
INDEX. 223
PAGE.
Pleuro-pneumonia Contagiosa in Cattle 72
Pleurodynia 26
Pneumonia 21
Poll Evil 10.5
Polyuria 178
Pumiced Foot 132
Pricks 135
Puritis 40
Protrusion of the Rectum 166
Ptyalism ... 152
Puerperal Fever 199
Punctures 134
Purpura Hemorrhagica 32
Quittor 137
Rabies 55
Rickets 82
Ringbone 99
Ringworm 43
Roaring 18
Rot in Sheep 174
Rupture 162
of the Colon 165
" Rectum 165
Saddle Galls 109
Salivary Glands 151
Sallenders 39
Sand Cracks 1 36
Scab in Sheep 42
Scours, White 170
Scratches 36
Scrotum, Diseases of 190
Sesamoiditis 120
Sheath, swelling of 60
Shoulderslip no
Sidebones 100
Seedy Toe 13S
Slavering 152
Sore Shins . 98
Spasms of the Larynx 19
Spavin, Bone 1 00
" Bog 126
Speedy Cut 116
Spleen 175
224 INDEX.
PAGE.
Spinitis 48
Splenic ApoplexN' 176
Splenitis 175
Splint 96
Sprain of the Metacarpal Ligament iiS
" " Back Tendons 118
" " Flexor Tendons 118
" " Gastrocgnemis Muscles 129
Hock 129
Inferior Sesanoid Ligament 120
" Metacarpal Ligament 118
Muscles below the Stifle 125
" " Vastus Muscles 125
Spring Hock 127
Stiffness of the Neck and Back 108
Stomach, Diseases of 152-
" Rupture of 154
Stomatitis Contagiosa 41
Strangles 33
Stricture of the Intestines 159
String-halt 51
Sturdy 51
Strongy lus Equinea 67
Sunstroke 46
Sweeney no
Tabes, Mesenterica 59
Teeth 141
Irritation of 144
" Caries of 146
Testicles, Inflamation of 189
Testicles, Dropsy of • 189
Tetanus 56
Thickening of the Membrane of the Nose 18
Thoroughpin 126
Thrombus 108
Thrush 133
Thyroid Glands 17
" Hypertrophy of 17
Tongue, Injuries to 147
Tread 136
Tuberculosis in Cattle 28
Tumours in the Nose 17
Tympanites 167
INDEX. 225
PAGE.
Ulceration of the Arytenoid Cartilage i8
" Tibia 129
Urethral Calculi 183
Urethra, Inflammation of 192
Stricture of 192
" Ulceration of 192
Vaginitis 205
Variola 70
Equinea 71
Vaccinea 72
Vertigo 47
Villitis 132
Volvulus 1 59
Vomiting 169
Warbles in Cattle . . 44
Warts 40-191
Windgalls 122
Wolf Teeth 147
Wounds, Definition of 103
%j^;
J^
JAN 1 1 201
JUN82
N. MANCHESTER,
INDIANA 46962
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