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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY.
J. R. MOHLER, Chief of Bureau,

\

SPECIAL REPORT.

ON

SEAvSES OF THE HORSE.

BY

Drs. PEARSON, MICHENER, LAW, HARBAUGH, TRUMBOWER, LIAUTARD,

KOLCOMBE, HUIDEKOPER, MOHLER, EICHHORN,

HALL, AND ADAMS.

REVISED EDITION, 1923.

-A

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1923.

LIBRARY

FACULTY OF FORESTRY
UNIYERSiTY OF TORONTO

[Extract from "An aot making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for tho fiscal year
ending June 30, 1924, and for other purposes," approved February 26, 1923. Tublic— No. 446.]

For printing, binding, and distribution of the publications entitled " Diseases of
the Ilorac" and "Diseases of Cattle," $200,000: Provided, That said publications
shall bo deposited one-third in the folding room of the Senate and two-thirds in the
folding room of the House of Representatives, and said documents shall bo distrib-
uted by Members uf the .Senate and House of Representatives.
2

CONTENTS.

Page,

The examination of a sick horse. By Leonard Pearson 7

Fundamental principles of disease. By Rush Shippen Huidekoper 27

Methods of administering medicines. By Ch. B. Michener 44

Diseases of the digestive organs. By Ch. B. Iklichener 49

Diseases of the respiratory organs. By W. H. Harbaugh 95

Diseases of the urinary organs. By James Law 134

Diseases of the generative organs. By James Law 164

Diseases of the nervous system. By M. R. Trumbower 210

Diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and lymphatics. By M. R. Trumbower. . 247

Diseases of the eye. By James Law 274

Lameness. By A. Liautard 298

Diseases of the fetlock, ankle, and foot. By A. A. Holcombe 395

Diseases of the skin. By James Law 458

Wounds and their treatment. By Ch. B. Michener 484

Infectious diseases. By Rush Shippen Huidekoper 507

Shoeiug. By John W. Adams 583

Index 607

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATES.

Page.

Plate I . Inflammation , 32

II . Inflammation 32

III. Digestive apparatus 48

IV. Age of horses as indicated by teeth 58

V. Intestinal worms 92

VI. Bots 92

VII. Position of the left lung 112

VIII. Longitudinal section through kidney 136

IX. 'Microscopic anatomy of kidney 136

X. Microscopic anatomy of kidney. 136

XI. Calculi and instrument for removal 152

XII. Normal presentation 192

XIII. Some factors in difficult labor 192

XIV. Instruments used in difficult labor 192

XV. Abnormal presentations 200

XVI. Abnormal presentations 200

XVII.- Abnormal presentations 200

XVIII. Abnormal presentations 200

XIX. The nervous system 216

XX. Interior of chest, showing position of heart and diaphragm 248

XXI. Circulatory apparatus 248

XXII. Diagrammatic vertical section through horse 's eye 277

XXIII. Skeleton of horse 304

XXIV. Superficial layer of muscles 304

XXV. Splint 312

XXVI. Ringbone 812

XXVII. Various types of spavin 312

XXVIII. Bone spavin 312

XXIX. Bone spavin 312

XXX. Dislocation of shoulder and elbow, Bourgelat's apparatus 360

XXXI. The sling in use 360

XXXII. Anatomy of foot 400

XXXIII. Anatomy of foot 400

XXXIV. Anatomy and diseases of foot 400

XXXV. Sound and contracted feet .- 400

XXXA^'I. Quarter crack and remedies 432

XXXVII. Foundered feet 432

XXXVIII. The B':iu and its di.seasGs 458

XXXIX. Mtes that infest the horse 480

XL. Glanders 544

XLI. Glanders. 544

XLII. Glanders 544

5

0 ILLUSTRATIONS.

TEXT FIGTJBE8.

Page.

Flu. 1. (J round sunnce 01 a right fore hoof of the "regular" form 590

2. Pair of fore feet of reg^ular form iu regular standing position 591

3. Pair of fore feet of baae-wide form in toe-wide standing position 591

4. Pair of fore feet of base-narrow form in toe-narrow standing position.. 592

5. Side view of an acute-angled fore foot, of a regular fore foot, and of a

etumpy fore foot 592

6. Side view of foot with the foot-axis broken backward as a result of too

long a toe 595

7 Left fore hoof of a regular form, shod with a plain fullered shoe 599

8. Side view of hoof and fullered shoe 599

9. An acute-angled left fore hoof shod with a bar shoe , 6C1

10. A fairly formed right fore ice shoe for a roadster 601

11. Left fore hoof of regular form shod with a rubber pad and "three-

quarter" shoe 602

12. A narrow right fore hoof of the base-wide standing position shod with

a plain "dropped crease" shoe 602

13 Hoof surface of a right bind shoe to prevent interfering 603

14. Ground surface of shoe shown in fig. 13 603

15. Side view of a fore hoof shod so aa to quicken the "breaking over' ' ia

a "forger" 604

16. Side view of a short-toed hind hoof of a forger 604

17. A toe-weight shoe to increase the length of stride of fore feet 605

18. Most common form of punched heel-weight shoe to induce high action

in fore feet , . , , ^ .,.....,.......,,,„...,... „ 605

SPECIAL REPORT

ON

DISEASES OF THE HORSE

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE.

By Leonabd Peasson, B. S., V. M. D.

In the examination of a sick horse it is important to have a method
or system. If a definite plan of examination is followed one may feel
reasonably sure, when the examination is finished, that no important
point has been overlooked and that the examiner is in a position to
arrive at an opinion that is as accurate as is possible for him. Of
course, an experienced eye can see, and a trained hand can feel, slight
alterations or variations from the normal that are not perceptible to
the unskilled observer, A thorough knowledge of the conditions that
exist in health is of the highest importance, because it is only by a
knowledge of what is right that one can surely detect a wrong condi-
tion. A knowledge of anatomy, or of the structure of the body,
and of physiology, or the fimctions and activities of the body, lie at
the bottom of accuracy of diagnosis. It is important to remember
that animals of different races or families deport themselves differ-
ently under the influence of the same disease or pathological process.
The sensitive and highly organized thoroughbred resists cerebral
depression more than does the lymphatic draft horse. Hence a de-
gree of fever that does not produce marked dullness in a thorough-
bred maj^ cause the most abject dejection in a coarsely bred, heavy
draft horse. This and similar facts are of vast importance in the
diagnosis of disease and in the recognition of its significance.

The order of examination, as given hereafter, is one that has proved
to be comparatively easy of application and sufficiently thorough for
the purpose of the readers of this work, and is recommended by
several writere.

8 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

HISTORY.

It i-^ iiupoiLaiit lo know, firbt of all, something of the origin and
development of tlie disease; therefore the cause should be looked for.
'riie cause of a disease is important, not only in connection with diag-
nosis, but also in connection with treatment. The character of feed
that the horse has liad, the use to which he has been put, and the kind
of care he has received should all be closely inquired into. It may be
found by this investigation that the horse has been fed on damaged
feed, such as brewers' grains or moldy silage, and this may be suffi-
cient to explain the profound depression and Aveakness that are char-
acteristic of forage poisoning. If it is learned that the horse has
been kept in the stable without exercise for several days and upon
full rations, and that he became suddenly lame in his back and hind
legs, and finally fell to the ground from what appeared to be partial
paralysis, this knowledge, taken in connection with a few evident
syuiptoms, will be enough to establish a diagnosis of Jizoturia (excess
of nitrogen in the urine). If it is learned that the horse has been
recently shipped in the cars or has been through a dealer's stable,
Avc have knowledge of significance in connection with the causation
of a possible febrile disease, which is, under these conditions, likely
to prove to be influenza, or edematous pneumonia.

It is also important to know whether the particular horse under
examination is the only one in the stable, or on the premises, that is
similarly afflicted. If it is found that several horses are afflicted
uiuch in the same way, we have evidence of a common cause of
disease which may prove to be of an infectious nature.

Another item of importance in connection with the history of the
case relates to the treatment that the horse may have had before he
is examined. It sometimes happens that medicine given in excessive
([uantities produces symptoms resembling those of disease, so it is
iuii)oi-tant that the examiner be fully informed as to the medication
tli:it has been employed.

\TTTTUDE AND GENERAL CONDITION.

IJefore beginning the special examination, attention should be
I'.iid to the attitude and general condition of the animnl. Sometimes
horses assume jjositions that are characteristic of a certain disease.
For exami)le, in tetanus (lockjaw) the muscles of the face, neck, and
shoulders are stiff and rigid, as Avell as the muscles of the jaw.
This condition produces a peculiar attitude, that once seen is subse-
(|uently recognized as ratlier characteristic of the disease. A horse
witli tetanus stands with his muscles tense and his legs in a somewhat
bracing jiosition. as though he were gathered to repel a shock. The
neck is still' aud IkucI. the head is slightly extended upon it. and the

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HOESE. 9

face is drawn, and the nostrils are dilated. The tail is Tisiially held
up a little, and when pressed down against the thighs it springs back
to its previous position. In inflammation of the throat, as in pharyn-
golaryngitis, the head is extended upon the neck and the angle be-
tween the jaw and the lower border of the neck is opened as far as
possible to relieve the pressure that otherwise would fall upon the
throat. In dumminess, or immobility, the hanging position of the
liead and the stupid expression are rather characteristic. In pleurisy,
peritonitis, and some other painful diseases of the internal organs,
the rigid position of the body denotes an effort of the animal to avoid
pressure upon and to protect the inflamed sensitive region.

The horse mav be down in the stall and unable to rise. This condi-
tion ma}'' result from paraplegia (paralysis), from azoturia, from
forage poisoning, from tetanus, or from painful conditions of the
bones or feet, such as ostecporcsis or founder. Lj'Jng down at
unusual times or in unusual positions may indicate disease. The flrst
symptom cf colic may be a desire on the part cf the horse to lie down
at an unusual or inappropriate time or place. Sometimes disinclina-
tion to lie dow^n is an indication of disease. "\A^ien there is difficulty
in breathing, the horse knows that he can manage himself better
upon his feet than upon his breast or his side. It happens, therefore,
that in nearly all serious diseases of the respiratory tract he stands
persistently, day and night, until recovery has commenced and
breathing is easier, or until the animal falls from sheer exhaustion.
If there is stiffness and soreness of the muscles, as in rheumatism,
inflammation of the muscles from overwork, or of the bones in osteo-
porosis, or of the feet in founder, or if the muscles are stiff and be-
yond control cf the animal, as in tetanus, a standing position is main-
tained, because the horse seems to realize that W'hen he lies down he
will be unable to rise.

Abnormal attitudes are assumed in painful diseases of the diges-
tive organs (colic). A horse with colic may sit upon his haunches,
like a dog, or may stand upon his hind feet and rest upon his loiees
m front, or he may endeavcr to balance himself upon his back, with
all four feet in the air. These positions are assumed because they
give relief from pain by lessening pressure or tension upon the sensi-
tive structures.

Under the general condition cf the animal it is necessary to observe
the condition cr state of nutrition, the conformation, so far as it may
indicate the constituticn, and the temperament. Bv observing: the
condition cf nutrition one may be able to determine to a certain ex-
tent the effect that the disease has already had upon the animal and
to estimate the amount cf strength that remains and that will be
available for the repair of the diseased tissues. A good condition of
luitrition is shown by the rotundity cf the body, the pliability and

2() DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

softness of the skin, and the tone of the hair. If the subcutaneous fat
has disappeared and the muscles are wasted, allowing the bony
prominences to stand out; if the skin is tight and inelastic and the
c(^at dry and harsh, we have evidence of a low state of nutrition.
This may have resulted from a severe and long-continued disease or
from lack of proper feed and care. When an animal is emaciated —
that is, becomes thin — there is first a loss of fat and later the muscles
shrink. By observing the amount of shrinkage in the muscles one
has some indication as to the duration of the unfavorable conditions
under Mhich the animal has lived.

By constitution we understand the innate ability of the animal to
withstand disease or unfavorable conditions of life. The constitution
depends largely upon the conformation. The type of construction
that usually accompanies the best constitution is deep, broad chest,
aHowing plenty of room for the lungs and heart, indicating that
these vital organs are well developed; capacious abdomen, allowing
sulHcient space for well-developed organs of digestion; the loins
should be short — that is, the space should be short between the last
i-ib and the point of the hip ; the head and neck should be well molded,
without superfluous or useless tissue; this gives a clear-cut throat.
The ears, eyes, and face should have an expression of alertness and
good breeding. The muscular development should be good; the
shoulders, forearms, croup, and thighs must have the appearance of
strength. The withers are sharp, which means that they are not
loaded with useless, superfluous tissue; the legs are straight and their
axes are parallel ; the knees and hocks are low, which means that the
forearms and thighs are long and the cannons relatively short. The
cannons are broad from in front to behind and relatively thin from
side to side. This means that the bony and tendinous structures of
the legs are well developed and well placed. The hoofs are compact,
tense, firm structures, and their soles are concave and frogs large.
Such a horse is likely to have a good constitution and to be able to
resist hard work, fatigue, and disease to a maximum degree. On the
other hand, a poor constitution is indicated by a shallow, narrow
chest, small bones, long loins, coarse neck and head, with thick throat,
small, bony, and muscular development, short thighs and forearms,
small joints, long, round cannons, and hoofs of open texture with flat
soles.

The temperament is indicated bv the manner in w^hich the horse
responds to external stimuli. When the horse is spoken to, or when
he sees or feels anything that stimulates or gives alarm, if he re-
sponds actively, quickly, and intelligently, he is said to be of lively,
or nervous, temperament. On the other hand, if he responds in a
slow, sluggish manner, he is said to have a sluggish, or lymphatic,

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE. 11

temperament. The temperament is indicated by the gait, by the
expression of the face, and by the carriage of the head and ears. The
nature of the temperament should be taken into consideration in an
endeavor to ascertain the severity of a given case of illness, because
the general expression of an animal in disease as well as in health de-
pends to a large extent on the temperament.

THE SKIN AND THE VISIBLE MUCOUS MEMBRANES.

The condition of the skin is a fair index to the condition of tho
animal. The effect of disease and emaciation upon the pliability of
the skin have been referred to above. There is no part of the body
that loses its elasticity and tone as a result of disease sooner than the
skin. The practical herdsman or flockmaster can gain a great deal of
information as to the condition of an animal merely by grasping the
coat and looking at and feeling the skin. Similarly, the condition of
the animal is shown to a certain extent by the appearance of the
mucous membranes. For example, when the horse is anemic as a
result of disease or of inappropriate feed the mucous membranes
become pale. This change in the mucous membranes can be seen most
readily in the lining of the eyelids and in the lining of the nostril.
For convenience of examination the eyelids can readily be everted.
Paleness means weak circulation or poor blood. Increased redness
occurs physiologically in painful conditions, excitement, and follow-
ing severe exertion. Under such conditions the increase of circula-
tion is transitory. In fevers there is an increased redness in the
mucous membrane, and this continues so long as the fever lasts. In
some diseases red spots or streaks form in the mucous membrane.
This usually indicates an infectious disease of considerable severity,
and occurs in blood poisoning, purpura hemorrhagica, hemorrhagic
septicemia, and in urticaria. "VMien the liver is deranged and does
not operate, or when the red-blood corpuscles are broken down, as
in serious cases of influenza, there is a yellowish discoloration of the
mucous membrane. The mucous membranes become bluish or blue
when the blood is imperfectly oxidized and contains an excess of
carbon dioxid. This condition exists in any serious disease of the
respiratory tract, as pneumonia, and in heart failure.

The temperature of the skin varies with the temperature of the
body. If there is fever the temperature of the skin is likely to be
increased. Sometimes, however, as a result of poor circulation and
irregular distribution of the blood, the body may be warmer than
normal, while the extremities (the legs and ears) may be cold.
Where the general surface of the body becomes cold it is evident that
the small blood vessels in the skin have contracted and are keeping
the blood away, as during a chill, or that the heart is weak and is

12 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

uiiabk' to i^iimp tlie blood to the surface, and that the animal is on
the ver^e of collapse.

The sldn is moist, to a certain degree, at all times in a healthy
horse. This moisture is not in the form of a perceptible sweat, but it
is enough to keep the skin pliable and to cause the hair to have a
soft, healthy feel. In some chronic diseased conditions and in fever,
the skin becomes dry. In this case the hair has a harsh feel that is
quite dilierent from the condition observed in health, and from the
fact of its being so dry the individual hairs do not adhere to one
another, they stand apart, and the animal has what is known as
"a staring coat." When, during a fever, sweating occurs, it is
usually an indication that the crisis is passed. Sometimes sweating is
an indication of pain. A horse with tetanus or azoturia sweats pro-
fusely. Horses sweat freely when there is a serious impediment to
respiration; they sweat under excitement, and, of course, from tlie
well-known physiological causes of heat and work. Local sweating,
or sweating of a restricted area of the body, denotes some kind of
nerve interference.

Swellings of the skin usually come from wounds or other external
causes and have no special connection with the diagnosis of internal
diseases. There are, however, a num.ber of conditions in which the
swelling of the skin is a symptom of a derangement of some other
part of the body. For example, there is the well-known " stocking,"
or swelling of the legs about the fetlock joints, in influenza. There
is the soft swelling of the hind legs that occurs so often in draft
horses when standing still and that comes from previous inflamma-
tion (lymphangitis) or from insufficient heart power. Dropsy, or
edema of the skin, may occur beneath the chest or abdomen from
heart insufficiency or from chronic collection of fluid in the chest or
abdomen (hydrothorax, ascites, or anemia). In anasarca or purpura
hemorrhagica large soft swellings appear on any part of the skin,
but usually on the legs, side of the body, and about the head.

Gas collects under the skin in some instances. This comes from a
local inoculation wath an organism which produces a fermentation
beneath the skin and causes the liberation of gas which inflates the
skin, or the gas may be air that enters through a wotmd penetrating
some air-containing organ, as the lungs. The condition here de-
scribed is known as emphysema. Emphysema may follow the frac-
ture of a rib when the end of a bone is forced inward and caused to
])enetiatc the lung, or it may occur when, as a result of an ulcerat-
ing process, an organ containing air is perforated. This accident is
more cfiiDmon in cattle than it is in horses. Emphysema is recog-
nized by the fact that the swelling that it causes is not hot or sensi-
tive on pressure. It emits a peculiar crackling sound when it is
stroked or pressed upon.

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE. 13

Wounds of the skin may be of importance in the diagnosis of
internal disease. Wounds over the bony prominence, as the point
of the hip, the point of the shoulder, and the greatest convexity of
the ribs, occur when a horse is unable to stand for a long time and,
through continually lying upon his side, has shut off the circulation
to the portion of the skin that covers parts of the body that carry
the greatest weight, and in this way has caused them to mortify.
Little, round, soft, doughlike swellings occur on the skin and may be
scattered freely over the surface of the body when the horse is
afflicted with urticaria. Similar eruptions, but distributed less gen-
erally, about the size of a silver dollar, may occur as a symptom of
dourine, or colt distemper. Hard lumps, from which radiate welt-
like swellings of the lymphatics, occur in ghmders, and blisterlike
eruptions occur around the mouth and pasterns in horsepox,

THE ORGANS OF CIRCULATION.

The first item in this portion of the examination consists in taldng
the pulse. The pulse may be counted and its character may be de-
termined at any point where a large artery occupies a situation
close to the skin and above a hard tissue, such as a bone, cartilage, or
tendon. The most convenient place for taking the pulse of the horse
is at the jaw. The external maxillary artery runs from between the
jaws, around the lower border of the jawbone, and up on the outside
of the jawbone to the face. It is located immedia.tely in front of the
heavy muscles of the cheek. Its throb can be felt most distinctly
just before it turns around the lower border of the jawbone. The
balls of the first and second or of the second and third fingers should
be pressed lightly on the skin over this artery when its pulsations are
to be studied.

The normal pulse of the healthy horse varies in frequency as
follows :

StaUion 28 to 32 beats per minute.

Gelding 33 to 38 beats per minute.

Mare 34 to 40 beats per minute.

Foal 2 to 3 years old 40 to 50 beats per minute.

Foal 6 to 12 months old 45 to 60 beats per minute.

Foal 2 to 4 weeks old TO to 90 beats per minute.

The pulse is accelerated by the digestion of rich food, by hot
weather, exercise, excitement, and alarm. It is slightly more rapid
in the evening than it is in the morning. Well-bred horses have a
slightly more rapid pulse than sluggish, cold-blooded horses. The
pulse should be regular ; that is, the separate beats should follow each
other after intervals of equal length, and the beats should be of equal
fullness, or volume.

24 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

In tlisease, the pulse may become slower or more rapid than ia
liealth. Slowing of the pulse may l:>e caused by old age, great ex-
hau.stiou, or excessive ccld. It may be due to depression of the cen-
tial nervous system, as in dumminess, or be the result of the admin-
ihUation of drugs, such as digitalis or strophanthus. A rapid pulse
is almost always found in fever, and the more severe the infection
ami the weaker the heart the more rapid is the pulse. Under these
conditions, the beats may rise to 80, 90, or even 120 per minute.
\^'hen the pulse is above 100 per minute the outlook for recovery is
n«.t promising, and especially if this symptom accompanies hi^'U
tnnperature or occurs late in an infectious disease. In nearly all of
the diseases of the heart and in anemia the pulse becomes rapid.

The pulbC is irregular in diseases of the heart, and especially where
tlie valves are affected. The irregularity may consist in varying inter-
vals between the beats or the dropping of one or more beats at regu-
lar or irregular intervals. The latter condition sometimes occurs in
'lironic diseases of the brain. The pulse is said to be weak, or soft,
V lien the beats are indistmct, because little blood is forced througli
tiie artery by each contraction of the heart. This condition occurs
whtn there is a constriction of the vessels leading from the heart and
it ()( curs in certain infectious and febrile diseases, and is an indication
of heart weakness.

In examining the heart itself it is necessary to recall that it lies in
the anterior i^ortion of the chest slightly to the left of the median line
and that it extends from the third to the sixth rib. It extends almost
to the breastbone, and a little more than half of the distance between
the breastbone and the backbone. In contracting, it rotates slightly
on its axis, so that the point of the heart, which lies below, is pressed
against the left chest wall at a place immediately above the point of
the elbow. The heart has in it four chambers — two in the left and
two in the right side. The upper chamber of the left side (left auri-
cle) receives the blood as it comes from the lungs, passes it to the
lower chamber of the left side (left ventricle) , and from here it is sent
N\ith great force (for this chamber has very strong, thick walls)
til rough the aorta and its branches (the arteries) to all parts of tho
IhxIv. The blood returns through the veins to the upper chamber of
tlie right side (right auricle), passes then to the lower chamber of the
r:glit side (right ventricle), and from this chamber is forced into the
lungs to be oxidized. The openings between the chambers of each
side and into the aorta are guarded by valves.

I f the horse is not too fat, one may feel the impact of the apex of
the heart against the chest wall with each contraction of the heart by
I la«'ing the hand on the left side back of the fifth rib and above the
joint of the elbow. The thinner and the better bred the horse is the
Mioro distinctly this impact is felt. If the animal is excited, or if he

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HOKSE. 15

has just been exercised, the impact is stronger than when the horse is
at rest. If the horse is weak, the impact is reduced in force.

The examination of the heart with the ear is an important matter in
this connection. Certain sounds are produced by each contraction of
the normal heart. It is customary to divide these into two, and to
call them the jBrst and second sounds. These two sounds are heard
during each pulsation, and any deviation of the normal indicates some
alteration in the structure or the functions of the heart. In making
this examination, one may apply the left ear over the heavy muscles
of the shoulder back of the shoulder joint, and just above the point of
the elbow, or, if the sounds are not heard distinctly, the left fore leg
may be drawn forward by an assistant and the right ear placed
against the lower portion of the chest wall that is exposed in this
manner.

The first sound of the heart occurs while the heart muscle is con-
tracting and while the blood is being forced from the heart and the
valves are rendered taut to prevent the return of the blood from the
lower to the upper chambers. The second sound follows quickly after
the first and occurs during rebound of blood in the arteries, caus-
ing pressure in the aorta and tensions of the valves guarding its open-
ing into the left ventricle. The first sound is of a high pitch and is
longer and more distinct than the second. Under the influence of
disease these sounds may be altered in various ways. It is not profit-
able, in a work such as this, to describe the details of these alterations.
Those who are interested will find this subject fully discussed in the
veterinary textboolis.

TEMPERATURE.

The temperature of the horse is determined roughly by placing
the fingers in the mouth or between the thighs or by allowing the
horse to exhale against the cheek or back of the hand. In accurate
examination, however, these means of determining temperature are
not relied upon, but recourse is had to the use of the thermometer.
The thermometer used for taking the temperature of a horse is a
self-registering clinical thermometer, similar to that used by phy-
sicians, but larger, being from 5 to 6 inches long. The temperature
of the animal is measured in the rectum.

The normal temperature of the horse varies somewhat under dif-
ferent conditions. It is higher in the young animal than in the old,
and is higher in hot weather than in cold. The weather and exer-
cise decidedly influence the temperature physiologically. The nor-
mal temperature varies from 99.5° to 101° F. If the temperature
rises to 102.5° the horse is said to have a low fever; if the tempera-
ture reaches 104° the fever is moderate; if it reaches 106° it is high,

IQ DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

and above this point it is legaicled as very high. In some diseases,
such as tetanus or sunstroke, the temperature goes as high as 108° or
110°. In the ordinary infectious diseases it does not often exceed
106°. A temperature of 107.5° and above is very dangerous and must
be reduced promi)tly if the horse is to be saved.

THE ORGANS OF RESPIRATION.

In examining this system of organs and their functions it is cus- •
tomary to begin by noting the frequency of the respiratory move-
ments. This point can be determined by observing the motions of
the nostrils or of the flanks ; on a cold day one can see the condensa-
tion of the m.oisture of the warm air as it comes from the lungs. The
normal i-ate of respiration for a healthy horse at rest is from 8 to Kj
per minute. The rate is faster in young animals than in old, and is
increased by work, hot weather, overfilling of the stomach, preg-
nancy, lying upon the side, etc. Acceleration of the respiratory rate
where no physiological cause operates is due to a variety of condi-
tions. Among these is fever; restricted area of active lung tissue,
from filling of portions of the lungs with inflammatory exudate, as
in pneumonia ; compression of the lungs or loss of elasticity ; pain
in the nuiscles controlling the respiratory movements; excess of
carbon dioxid in the blood; and constriction of the air passages
leading to the lungs.

Difficult or labored respiration is known as dyspnea. It occurs
when it is difficult, for any reason, for the animal to obtain the
amount of oxygen that it requires. This may be due to filling of the
lungs, as in pneumonia; to painful movements of the chest, as in
riieumatism or pleurisy; to tumors of the nose and paralysis of the
throat, swellings of the throat, foreign bodies, or weakness of the
respiratory passages, fluid in the chest cavity, adhesions between
the lungs and chest walls, loss of elasticity of the lungs, etc. Where
the difficulty is great the accessory muscles of respiration are brought
into play. In great dyspnea the horse stands with his front feet
ajjart, with his neck straight out, and his head extended upon his
neck. The nostrils are widely dilated, the face has an anxious ex-
pression, the eyeballs protrude, the up-and-down motion of the
larnyx is aggravated, the amplitude of the movement of the chest
wnlls increased, and the flanks heave.

'J'iie exi)iied air is of about the temperature of the body. It con-
tains considerable moisture, and it should come with equal force from
each nostril and should not have an unpleasant odor. If the stream
of air from one nostril is stronger than from the other, there is an
indication of an obstruction in a nasal chamber. If the air possesses
a bad odor, it is usually an indication of putrefaction of a tissue or

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE. 17

secretion in some part of the respiratory tract. A bad odor is found
Avhere there is necrosis of the bone in the nasal passages or in chronic
catarrh. An ulcerating tumor of the nose or throat may cause the
breath to have an offensive odor. The most offensive breath occurs
i^A'here there is necrosis, or gangrene, of the lungs.

In some diseases there is a discharge from the nose. In order to
determine the significance of the discharge it should be examined
closely. One should ascertain whether it comes from one or both
nostrils. If but from one nostril, it probably originates in the head.
The color should be noted. A thin, water3^ discharge may be com-
posed of serum, and it occurs in the earlier stages of coryza, or nasal
catarrh. An opalescent, slightly tinted discharge is composed of
mucus and indicates a little more severe irritation. If the discharge
is sticky and puslike, a deeper difficulty or more advanced irrita-
tion is indicated. If the discharge contains flakes and clumps of
more or less dried, agglutinated particles, it is probable that it origi-
nates within a cavity of the head, as the sinuses or guttural pouches.
The discharge of glanders is of a peculiar sticky nature and adheres
tenaciously to the wings of the nostrils. The discharge of pneumonia
is of a somewhat red or reddish brown color and, on this account,
has been described as a prune-juice discharge. The discharge may
contain blood. If the blood appears as clots or as streaks in the dis-
charge, it probably originates at some point in the upper part of the
respiratory tract. If the blood is in the form of a fine froth, it
comes from the lungs.

In examining the interior of the nasal passage one should remem-
ber that the normal color of the mucous membrane is a rosy pink and
that its surface is smootli. If ulcers, nodules, swellings, or tumors
are found, these indicate disease. The ulcer that is characteristic of
glanders is described fully in connection with the discussion of that
disease.

Between the lower jaws there are several clusters of lymphatic
glands. These glands are so small and so soft that it is difficult to
find them by feeling through the skin, but when a suppurative dis-
ease exists in the upper part of the respiratory tract these glands
become swollen and easy to feel. They may become soft and break
down and discharge as abscesses ; this is seen constantly in strangles.
On the other hand, they may become indurated and hard from the
proliferation of connective tissue and attach themselves to the jaw-
bone, to the tongue, or to the skin. This is seen in chronic glanders.
If the glands are swollen and tender to pressure, it indicates that the
disease causing the enlargement is acute ; if they are hard and insen-
sitive, the disease causing the enlargement is chroniCo

54763°— 23 2

Jy DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

The manner in which the horse coughs is of importance in diagno-
sis. The cough is a forced expiration, following immediately upon a
forcible separation of the vocal cords. The purpose of the cough is
to remove some irritant substance from the respiratory passages, and
it occurs when irritant gases, such as smoke, ammonia, sulphur vapor,
or dust, have been inhaled. It occurs from inhalation of cold air if
the respiratory passages are sensitive from disease. In laryngitis,
bronchitis, and pneumonia, cough is very easily excited and occurs
merely from accumulation of mucus and inflammatory product upon
the irritated respiratory mucous membrane. If one wishes to deter-
mine the character of the cough, it can easily be excited by pressing
upon the larynx with the thumb and finger. The larynx should be
pressetl from side to side and the pressure removed the moment the
horse commences to cough. A painful cough occurs in pleurisy, also
in laryngitis, bronchitis, and bronchial pneumonia. Pain is shown
by the effort the animal exerts to repress the cough. The cough is
not painful, as a rule, in the chronic diseases of the respiratory tract.
Tlie force of the cough is considerable when it is not especially pain-
ful and when the lungs are not seriously involved. When the lungs
are so diseased that they can not be filled wdth a large volume of air,
and in heaves, the cough is weak, as it is also in weak, debilitated
animals. If mucus or pus is coughed out, or if the cough is accom-
panied by a gurgling sound, it is said to be moist; it is dry when
these characteristics are not present — that is, when the air in passing
out passes over surface not loaded with secretion.

In the examination of the chest we resort to percussion and aus-
cultation. AVhen a cask or other structure containing air is tapped
ujion, or percussed, a hollow sound is given forth. If the cask con-
tiiins fluid, the sound is of a dull and of quite a different character.
Similarly, the amount of air contained in the lungs can be estimated
by tapjnng upon, or percussing, the walls of the chest. Percussion is
practiced with the fingers alone or with the aid of a special percus-
sion hanmier and an object to strike upon known as a pleximeter.
If the fingers are used, the middle finger of the left hand should be
pressed finnly against the side of the horse and should be struck with
the ends of the fingers of the right hand bent at a right angle so as to
form ii hamuKM-. The percussion hammer sold by instrument makers
is made of rubber or has a rubber tip, so that when the pleximeter,
which is placed against the side, is struck the impact will not be
accompanied by a noise. After experience in this method of exami-
nation one can determine with a considerable degree of accuracy
whether the lung contains a normal amount of air or not. If, as in
pneumonia. :iir luis been displaced by inflammatory product occupy-
ing the air si)ace, or if fluid collects in the lower part of the chest, the
percussion sound becomes dull. If, as in emphysema, or in pneu-

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE. 19

motliorax, there is an excess of air in the chest cavity, the percussion
sound becomes abnormally loud and clear.

Auscultation consists in the examination of the lungs with the ear
applied closely to the chest wall. As the air goes in and out of the
lungs a certain soft sound is made which can be heard distinctly,
especially upon inspiration. This sound is intensified by anything
that accelerates the rate of respiration, such as exercise. This soft,
rustling sound is known as vesicular murmur, and wherever it is
heard it signifies that the lung contains air and is functionally active.
The vesicular murmur is weakened when there is an inflammatory
infiltration of the lung tissue or when the lungs are compressed by
fluid in the chest cavity. The vesicular murmur disappears when air
is excluded by the accumulation of inflammatory product, as in pneu-
monia, and when the lungs are compressed by fluid in the chest
cavity. The vesicular murmur becomes rough and harsh in the early
stages of inflammation of the lungs, and this is often the first sign of
the beginning of pneumonia.

By applying the ear over the lower part of the windpipe in front of
the breastbone a somewhat harsh, blowing sound may be heard. This
is known as the bronchial murmur and is heard in normal conditions
near the lower part of the trachea and to a limited extent in the ante-
rior portions of the lungs after sharp exercise. Allien the bronchial
murmur is heard over other portions of the lungs, it may signify that
the lungs are more or less solidified by disease and the blowing bron-
chial murmur is transmitted through this solid lung to the ear from a
distant part of the chest. The bronchial murmur in an abnormal
place signifies that there exists pneumonia or that the lungs are com-
pressed by fluid in the chest cavity.

Additional sounds are heard in the lungs in some diseased condi-
tions. For example, when fluid collects in the air passages and the
air is forced through it or is caused to pass through tubes containing
secretions or pus. Such sounds are of a gurgling or bubbling nature
and are known as mucous rales. Mucous rales are spoken of as being
large or small as they are distinct or indistinct, depending upon the
quantity of fluid that is present and the size of the tube in which this
sound is produced. Mucous rales occur in pneumonia after the solid-
ified parts begin to break down at the end of the disease. They occur
in bronchitis and in tuberculosis, where there is an excess of secretion.

Sometimes a shrill sound is heard, like the note of a whistle, fife, or
flute. This is due to a dry constriction of the bronchial tubes and it
is heard in chronic bronchitis and in tuberculosis.

A friction sound is heard in pleurisy. This is due to the rubbing
together of roughened surfaces, and the sound produced is similar
to a dry rubbing sound that is caused by rubbing the hands together
or by rubbing upon each other two dry, rough pieces of leather.

2,0 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

THE EXAMINATION OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT.

The first point in connection Avith the examination of the organs of
digestion is the appetite and the manner of taking food and drink. A
healthy animal has a good appetite. Loss of appetite does not point
to a special diseased condition, but comes from a variety of causes.
Some of these causes, indeed, may be looked upon as being physio-
logical. Excitement, strange surroundings, fatigue, and hot weather
may all cause loss of appetite. Where there is cerebral depression,
fexer, profound weakness, disorder of the stomach, or mechanical
dilliculty in chewing or swallowing, the appetite is diminished or
destroyed. Sometimes there is an appetite or desire to eat abnormal
things, such as dirty bedding, roots of grass, soil, etc. This desire
usually comes from a chronic disturbance of nutrition.

Thirst is diminished in a good many mild diseases unaccompanied
by distinct fever. It is seen w' here there is great exhaustion or depres-
sion or profound brain disturbance. Thirst is increased after pro-
fuse sweating, in diabetes, diarrhea, m fever, at the crises of infec-
tious diseases, and when the mouth is dry and hot.

Some diseases of the mouth or throat make it difficult for the
horse to chew or swallow his feed. AMiere difficulty in this respect
ib experienced, the follow^ing-named conditions should be borne in
mind and carefully looked for: Diseases of the teeth, consisting in
decay, fracture, abscess formation, or overgrowth: inflammatory
conditions, or wounds or tumors of the tongue, cheeks, or lips;
jnualysis of the muscles of chewing or swallowing; foreign bodies
in upper part of the mouth between the molar teeth; inflammation
of throat. Difficulty in swallowing is sometimes shown by the s^'mp-
tom known as '' quidding." Quidding consists in dropping from the
mouth well-chewed and insalivated boluses of feed. A mouthful of
hay. for example, after being ground and masticated, is carried to the
back part of the mouth. The horse then finds that from tenderness
of the throat, or from some other cause, swallowing is difficult or
painful, and the bolus is then dropped from the mouth. Another
([uantity of hay is similarly prepared, only to be dropped in turn.
Sometimes (juidding is due to a painful tooth, the bolus being
dropped from the mouth when the tooth is struck and during the
l)ang that follows. Quidding may be practiced so persistently that
u considerable pile of boluses of feed accumulate in the manger or on
the floor of the stall. In pharyngitis one of the symptoms is a
return through the nose of fluid that the horse attempts to swallow.

In some brain diseases, and particularly in chronic internal hydro-
cephalus, the horse has a most peculiar manner of swallowing and
of taking feed. A similar condition is seen in hyperemia of the
brain. In eating the horse will sink his muzzle into the grain in

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE. 21

the feed box and eat for a while without raising the head. Long
pauses are made while the feed is in the mouth. Sometimes the
horse will eat very rapidly for a little while and then slowly; the
jaws may be brought together so forcibly that the teeth gnash. In
eating hay the horse will stop at times with hay protruding from
the mouth and stand stupidly, as though he has forgotten what he
was about.

In examining the mouth one should first look for swellings or for
evidence of abnormal conditions upon the exterior ; that is, the front
and sides of the face, the jaws, and about the muzzle. By this means
wounds, fractures, tumors, abscesses, and disease accompanied by
eruptions about the muzzle may be detected. The interior of the
mouth is examined by holding the head up and inserting the fingers
through the interdental space in such a way as to cause the mouth to
open. The mucous membrane should be clean and of a light-jiink
color, excepting on the back of the tongue, where the color is a ^-el-
lowish gi'ay. As abnormalities of this region, the chief are diffuse
inflammation, characterized by redness and catarrhal discharge;
local inflammation, as from eruptions, ulcers, or wounds; necrosis
of the lower jawbone in front of the first back tooth; and swellings.
Foreign bodies are sometimes found embedded in the mucous mem-
brane lining of the mouth or lodged between the teeth.

The examination of the pharynx and of the esophagus is made
chiefly by pressing upon the skin covering these organs in the region
of the throat and along the left side of the neck in the jugular gutter.
Sometimes, when a more careful examination is necessary, an esopli-
ageal tube or probang is passed through the nose or mouth down the
esophagus to the stomach.

Vomiting is an act consisting in the expulsion of all or part of the
contents of the stomach through the mouth or nose. This act is more
difficult for the horse than for most of the other domestic animals,
because the stomach of the horse is small and does not lie on the floor
of the abdominal cavity, so that the abdominal walls in contracting
do not bring pressure to bear upon it so directly and forcibly, as is
the case in many other animals. Beside this, there is a loose fold of
mucous membrane at the point where the esophagus enters the stom-
ach, and this forms a sort of valve which does not interfere with the
passage of food into the stomach, but does interfere wdth the exit of
food through the esophageal opening. Still, vomiting is a symptom
that is occasionally seen in the horse. It occurs when the stomach is
very much distended with food or with gas. Distention stretches the
mucous membrane and eradicates the valvular fold referred to, and
also makes it possible for more pressure to be exerted upon the stom-
ach through the contraction of the abdominal muscles. Since the

22 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

distention to permit vomiting must be extreme, it not infrequently
happens tiiat it leads to rupture of the stomach walls. This has
caused the impression in the minds of some that vomithig can not
occur in the horse without rupture of the stomach, but this is incor-
rect, since many horses vomit and afterwards become entirely sound.
After ru|)ture of the stomach has occurred vomiting is impossible.

In examination of the abdomen one should remember that its size
depends largely upon the breed, sex, and conformation of the animal,
and also upon the manner in which the animal has been fed and the
use to which it has been put. A pendulous abdomen may be the result
of an abdominal tumor or of an accumulation of fluid in the abdom-
inal cavity; or, on the other hand, it may merely be an indication
of pregnancy, or of the fact that the horse has been fed for a long
time on bulky and innutritions food. Pendulous abdomen occurring
in a work horse kept on a concentrated diet is an abnormal condi-
tion. The abdomen may increase suddenly in volume from accu-
mulation of gas in tympanic colic. The abdomen becomes small and
the horse is said to be " tucked up " from long-continued poor appe-
tite, as in diseases of the digestive tract and in fever. This condi-
tion also occurs in tetanus from the contraction of the abdominal
walls and in diarrhea from emptiness.

In api)lyiiig the ear to the flank, on either the right or left side,
certain bubbling sounds may be heard that are known as peristaltic
sounds, because they are produced by peristalsis, or wormlike con-
traction of the intestines. These sounds are a little louder on the
riglit side than on the left on account of the fact that the large intes-
tines lie in the right flank. Absence of peristaltic sounds is always an
indication of disease, and suggests exhaustion or paralysis of the
intestines. This may occur in certain kinds of colic and is an un-
fa \orable symptom. Increased sounds are heard where the intes-
tines are contracted more violently than in health, as in spasmodic
colic, and also where there is an excess of fluid or gas in the intestinal
canal.

The feces show, to a certain extent, the thoroughness of digestion.
Tliey should show that the feed has been well ground, and should, in
the horse, be free from offensive odor or coatings of mucus. A coat-
ing of mucus shows intestinal catarrh. Blood on the feces indicates
stnere inflammation. Very light color and bad odor mav come from
inactive liver. Parasites are sometimes in the duns:.

Rectal examination consists in examination of the organs of the
pelvic cavity and posterior portion of the abdominal cavity by the
hand inserted into the rectum. This examination should be attempted
by a vetei-inarian only, and is useless except to one who has a good
knowledge of the anatomy of the parts concerned.

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE, 23

THE EXAMINATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

The great braiii, or cerebrum, is the seat of intelligence, and it con-
tains the centers that control motion in many parts of the body.
The front portion of the brain is believed to be the region that is most
important in governing the intelligence. The central and posterior
portions of the cerebrmn contain the centers for the voluntary motions
of the face and of the front and hind legs. The growth of a tumor or
an inflammatory change in the region of a center governing the
motion of a certain part of the body has the effect of disturbing
motion in that part by causing excessive contraction known as cramps,
or inability of the muscles to contract, constituting the condition
known as paralysis. The nerve paths from the cerebrum, and hence
from these centers to the spinal cord and thence to the muscles, pass
beneath the small brain, or the cerebellum, and through the medulla
oblongata to the spinal cord. Interference with these paths has the
effect of disturbing motion of the parts reached by them. If all of
the paths on one side are interfered with, the result is paralysis of one
side of the body.

The small brain, or cerebellum, governs the regularity, or coordi-
nation, of movements. Disturbances of the cerebellum cause a totter-
ing, uncertain gait. In the medulla oblongata, which lies between the
spinal cord and the cerebellum, are the centers governing the circula-
tion and breathing.

The spinal cord carries sensory messages to the brain and motor
impressions from the brain. The anterior portions of the cord con-
tain the motor paths, and the posterior portions of the cord contain
the sensory paths.

Paralysis of a single member or a single group of muscles is known
as monoplegia and results from injury to the motor center or to a
nerve trunk leading to the part that is involved. Paralysis of one-
half of the body is known as hemiplegia and results from destruction
or severe distvirbances of the cerebral hemisphere of the opposite side
of the body or from interference with nerve paths between the cere-
bellum, or small brain, and the spinal cord. Paralysis of the poste-
rior half of the body is known as paraplegia and results from de-
rangement of the spinal cord. If the cord is pressed upon, cut, or
injured, messages can not be transmitted beyond that point, and so
the posterior part becomes paralyzed. This is seen when the back is
fractured.

Abnormal mental excitement may be due to congestion of the brain
or to inflammation. The animal so afflicted becomes vicious, pays no
attention to commands, cries, runs about in a circle, stamps with the
feet, strikes, kicks, etc. This condition is usually followed by a dull,
stupid state, in which the animal stands with his head down, dull and

24 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

invsponsive to external stimuli. Cerebral depression also occurs in
tlie severe febrile infectious diseases, in chronic hydrocephalus, in
chronic diseases of the liver, in poisoning with a narcotic substance,
and with chronic catarrh of the stomach and intestines.

Fainting i^ a symptom that is not often seen in horses. AMien it
<K-cnrs it is shown by unsteadiness of gait, tottering, and, finally, in-
uhility to stand. The cause usually lies in a defect of the small brain,
(»r cerebellum. This defect may be merely in respect of the blood
sui)ply, to congestion, or to anemia, and in this case it is likely to pass
away and may never return, or it may be due to some permanent
cause, as a tumor or an abscess, or it may result from a hemorrhage,
from a defect of the valves of the heart, or from poisoning.

Loss of consciousness is known as coma. It is caused by hemor-
ihage in the brain, by profound exhaustion, or may result from a
^uturation of the system with the poison of some disease. Coma may
follow upon cerebral depression, which occurs as a secondary state
of inflammation of the brain.

Where the sensibility of a part is increased the condition is known
.is hyperesthesia, and w'here it is lost — ^that is, where there is no feel-
ing or knowledge of pain — the condition is known as anesthesia. The
former usually accompanies some chronic disease of the spinal cord
or tlie earlier stages of irritation of a nerve trunk. Hyperesthesia is
difiic'ult to detect in a nervous, irritable animal, and sometimes even
in ji horse of less sensitive temperament. An irritable, sensitive spot
may be found surrounded by skin that is not sensitive to pressure.
This is sometimes a symptom of beginning of inflammation of the
brain. Anesthesia occurs in connection with cerebral and spinal
paralysis, section of a nerve trunk leading to a part, in severe mental
t!ei)ression, and in narcotic poisoning.

URINARY AND SEXUAL ORGANS.

In considering the examination of the urinaiy and sexual organs
'A e may consider, at the beginning, a false impression that prevails to
■ 111 astonishing extent. Many horsemen are in the habit of pressing
ipon the back of a horse over the loins or of sliding the ends of the
lingers along on either side of the median line of this region. If the
liorse depresses his back it is at once said "his kidneys are weak."
Nothing could be more absurd or further from the truth. Any
he:iltliy horse — any horse with normal sensation and with a normally
flexible back — will cause it to sink when manipulated in this way. If
tlic kidneys are inflamed and sensitive, the back is held more rigidly
;iiid is not depressed under this pressure.

To examine the kidneys by pressure the pressure should be brought
to bear over these organs. The kidneys lie beneath the ends of the

THE EXAMINATION OF A SICK HORSE. 25

transverse processes of the vertebrae of the loins and beneath the hind-
most ribs. If the kidneys are actually inflamed and especially sensi-
tive, pressure or light blows applied here may cause the horse to
shrink.

The physical examination of the sexual and generative organs is
made in large part through the rectum, and this portion of the exami-
nation should be carried out by a veterinarian only. By this means
it is possible to discover or locate cysts of the kidneys, urinary
calculi in the ureters, bladder, or upper urethra, malformations, and
acute inflammations accompanied by pain. The external genital
organs are swollen, discolored, or show a discharge as a residt of
local disease or from disease higher in the tract.

The manner of urinating is sometimes of considerable diagnostic
importance. Painful urination is shown by fi'equent attempts, dur-
ing which but a small quantity of urine is passed: by groaning, by
constrained attitude, etc. This condition comes from inflammation
of the bladder or urethra, urinary calculi (stones of the bladder or
urethra), hemorrhage, tumors, bruises, etc. The urine is retained
from spasms of the muscle at the neck of the bladder, from calculi,
inflammatory growths, tumors, and paralysis of the bladder.

The urine dribbles without control when the neck of the bladder
is weakened or paralyzed. This condition is seen after the bladder is
weakened from long-continued retention and where there is a partial
paralysis of the hind quarters.

Horses usually void urine five to seven times a day, and pass from 4
to 7 quarts. Disease may be shown by increase in the number of
voidings or of the quantity. Frequent urination indicates an irritable
or painful condition of the bladder or urethra or that the quan-
tity is excessive. In one form of chronic inflammation of the kidneys
(interstitial nephritis) and in polyuria the quantity may be increased
to 20 or 30 quarts daily. Diminution in the quantity of urine comes
from profuse sweating, diarrhea, high fever, weak heart, diseased and
nonsecreting kidneys, or an obstruction to the flow.

The urine of the healthy horse is a pale or at times a slightly red-
dish yellow. The color is less intense when the quantity is large, and
is more intense when the quantity is diminished. Dark-brown urine
is seen in azoturia and in severe acute muscular rheumatism. A
brownish-green color is seen in jaundice. Red color indicates admix-
ture of blood from a bleeding point at some part of the urinary tract,
usually in the kidneys.

The urine of the healthy horse is not clear and transparent. It
contains mucus, which causes it to be slightly thick and stringy, and
a certain amount of undissolved carbonates, causing it to be cloudy,
A sediment collects when the urine is allowed to stand. The urine of
the horse is normally alkaline. If it becomes acid the bodies in sus-

26 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

pension are dissolved and the urine is made clear. The urine niay be
unusually cloudy from the addition of abnormal constituents, but to
detenu ine their character a chemical or microscopic examination is
necessary. Ked or reddish flakes or clumps in the urine are always
abnormal, and denoU? a hemorrhage or suppuration in the urinary
tract.

The normal specific gravity of the urine of the horse is about 1.04:0.
It is increased when the urine is scanty and decreased when the
quantity is excessive.

Acid reaction of the urine occui*s in chronic intestinal catarrh, in
high fever, and during starvation. Chemical and microscopic tests
and examinati(ms are often of great importance in diagnosis, but
require special apparatus and skill.

Other i)oints in the examination of a sick horse require more discus-
sion than can be afforded in this connection, and require special train-
ing on the part of the examiner. Among such points may be men-
tioned the examination of the organs of special sense, the examination
of the blood, the microscopic examination of the secretions and excre-
tions, bacteriological examinations of the secretions, excretions, and
tissues, specific reaction tests, and diagnostic inoculation.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE.

By Rush Shippen Huidekoper, M. D., Vet.
[Revised by Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D.]

ANIMAL TISSUES.

The nonprofessional reader may regard the animal tissues, which
are subject to inflammation, as excessively simple structures, as simi-
lar, simple, and fixed in their organization as the joists and boards
which frame a house, the bricks and iron coils of pipe which build a
furnace, or the stones and mortar which make the support of a great
railroad bridge. Yet while the principles of structure are thus sim-
ple, for the general understanding by the student who begins their
study the complete appreciation of the shades of variation, which
differentiate one tissue from another, which define a sound tendon or
a ligament from a fibrous band — the result of disease filling in an old
lesion and tying one organ with another — is as complicated as the
nicest jointing of Chinese woodwork, the building of a furnace for
the most difficult chemical analysis, or the construction of a bridge
which will stand for ages and resist any force or weight.

All tissues are composed of certain fundamental and similar ele-
ments which are governed by the same rules of life, though at first
glance they may appear to be widely different. These are (a) amor-
phous substances, (h) fibers, and (c) cells.

(a) Amorphous substances may be in liquid form, as in the fluid
of the blood, which holds a vast amount of salts and nutritive matter
in solution ; or they may be in a semiliquid condition, as the plasma
which infiltrates the loose meshes of connective tissue and lubricates
the surface of some membranes ; or they may be in the form of a glue
or cement, fastening one structure to another, as a tendon or muscle
end to a bone; or, again, they hold similar elements firmly together,
as in bone, where they form a stiff matrix which becomes impreg-
nated with lime salts. Amorphous substances, again, form the pro-
toplasm or nutritive element of cells or the elements of life.

(b) Fibers are formed of elements of organic matter which have
only a passive function. They can be assimilated to little strings, or
cords, tangled one with another like a mass of waste yarn, woven
regularly like a cloth, or bound together like a rope. They are of two

27

2g DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

kindi-^-white connective tissue fibers, only slightly extensible, pliable,
and very strong, and yellow elastic fibers, elastic, curly, ramified, und
very dense. These fibers once created require the constant presence
of fluids around them in order to retain their functional condition, as
a piece of harness leather demands continual oiling to keep its
strength, but tliey undergo no change or alteration in their form
until destroyed by death.

((■) Cells, which may even be regarded as low forms of life, are
nuisses of protoplasm or amorphous living matter, with a nucleus
and frequently a nucleolus, which are capable of assimilating nutri-
ment or food, propagating themselves either into others of the same
form or into fixed cells of another outward appearance and differ-
ent function but of the same constitution. It is simply in the mode
of the grouping of these elements that we have the variation in tis-
sues, as (1) loose connective tissue, (2) aponeurosis and tendons,
(3) muscles, (4) cartilage. (5) bones. (6) epithelia and endothelia,
(7) nerves.

(1) Loose connective tissue forms the great framework, or scaf-
folding, of the body, and is found under the skin, between the
muscles surrounding the bones and blood vessels, and entering into
the structnies of almost all the organs. In this the fibers are loosely
meshed together like a sponge, leaving spaces in which the nutrient
fluid and cells are irregularly distributed. This tissue we find in the
skin, in the spaces between the organs of the body where fat accumu-
lates, and as the framework of all glands.

(2) Aponeurosis and tendons are structures which serve for the
termination of muscles and for their contention, and for the attach-
ment of bones together. In these the fibers are more frequent and
dense, and are arranged with regularity, either crossing each other or
lying ])ar:illel, and liere the cells are found in minimum (juantity.

(3) In tlie muscles the cells lie end to end, forming long fibers
which have the power of contraction, and the connective tissue is in
small <]uantity, serving the passive purpose of a band around the con-
tiactile elements.

(4) In cartilage a mass of firm amorphous substance, with no vas-
cularity and little vitality, forms the bed for the chondroplasts. or
cells of this tissue.

(5) Bone differs from the above in having the amorphous matter
impregnated Avitii lime salts, which gives it its rigidity and firmness.

(0) Kpithelia and endothelia. or the membranes which cover the
body and line all its cavities and glands, are made up of single or
stratified and multii)le layers of cells bound together by a glue of
amori)lious substance and resting on a layer composed of fibers.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 29

When the membrane serves for secreting or excreting purposes, as
in the salivary glands or the kidneys, it is usually simple: when it
serves the mechanical purpose of protecting a part, as over the tongiie
or skin, it is invariably multiple and stratified, the surface wearing
away while new cells replace it from beneath.

(7) In nerves, stellate cells are connected by their rays to each
other, or to fibers which conduct the nerve impressions, or they act
as receptacles, storehouses, and transmitters for them, as the switch-
board of a telephone system serves to connect the various wires.

All these tissues are supplied with blood in greater or less quan-
tity. The vascularity depends upon the function which the tissue is
called upon to perform. If this is great, as in the tongue, the lungs,
or the sensitive part of the hoof, a large quantity of blood is required ;
if the labor is a passive one, as in cartilage, the membrane over the
withers, or the tendons of the legs, the vessels only reach the periph-
ery, and nutrition is fiunished by imbibition of the fluids brought to
their surface by the blood vessels.

Blood is brought to the tissues by arterioles, or the small termina-
tions of the arteries, and is carried off from them by the veinlets, or
the commencement of the veins. Between these two systems are
small, delicate networks of vessels called capillaries, which subdivide
into a veritable lacework so as to reach the neighborhood of every
element.

In health the blood passes through these capillaries with a regular
current, the red cells or corpuscles floating rapidly in the fluid in the
center of the channel, while the white or ameboid cells are attracted
to the walls of the vessels and move very slowly. The supply of
blood is regulated by the condition of repose or activity of the tissue,
and under normal conditions the outflow exactly compensates the sup-
ply. The caliber of the blood vessels, and consequently the quantity
of blood which they carry, is governed by nerves of the sympathetic
system in a healthy body with unerring regularity, but in a diseased
organ the flow may cease or be greatly augmented. In health a tissue
or organ receives its proper quantity of blood : the nutritive elements
are extracted for the support of the tissue and for the product, which
the function of the organ forms. The force required in the achieve-
ment of this is furnished by combustion of the hydrocarbons and
oxygen brought by the arterial blood, then by the veins this same
fluid passes off, less its oxygen, loaded with the waste products, which
are the result of the worn-out and disintegrated tissues, and of those
which have undergone combustion. The foregoing brief outline indi-
cates the process of nutrition of the tissues.

Hypernutrition, or excessive nutrition of a tissue, may be normal
or morbid. If the latter, the tissue becomes congested or inflamed.

30 DISEASES OF THE HOESE,

CONGESTION.

Congestion is an unnatural accumulation of blood in a part. Ex-
cessive accumulation of blood may be normal, as in blushing or in
the red face which temporarily follows a violent muscular effort, or,
as in the stomach or liver during digestion, or in the Imigs after
severe work, from which, in the latter case, it is shortly relieved by a
little rapid breathing. The term congestion, however, usually indi-
cates a morbid condition, with more or less lasting effects. Congestion
is acti\e or passive. The former is produced by an increased supply
of blood to the part, the latter by an obstacle preventing the escape
of blood from the tissue. In either case there is an increased sup-
ply of blood, and as a result increased combustion and augmented
nutrition.

ACTIVE CONGESTION.

Active congestion is caused by —

( 1 ) Functional' activity. — Any organ which is constantly or exces-
sively used is habituated to hold an unusual quantity of blood;
the vessels become dilated; if overstrained the walls become weak-
ened, lose their elasticity, and any sudden additional quantity of
blood engorges the tissues so that they can not contract, and conges-
tion results. Example: The lungs of a race horse, after an unusual
burst of speed or severe work, in damp weather.

(2) Irritants. — Heat and cold, chemical or mechanical. Any of
tliese, by threatening the vitality of a tissue, induce immediately an
augmented flow of blood to the part to furnish the means of repair — a
hot iron, frostbites, acids, or a blow.

(3) Nerve infuence. — This may produce congestion either by act-
ing on the part reflexly or as the result of some central nerve dis-
turbance affecting the branch which supplies a given organ.

(4) Plethora and sanguinary temperament. — Full-blooded animals
are much more predisposed to congestive diseases than those of a
lymphatic character or those in an anemic condition. The circula-
tion in them is forced to all parts with much greater force and in
hirge (juantities. A well-bred, full-blooded horse is much more sub-
ject to congestive diseases than a common, coarse, or old, worn-out
animal.

(5) Fevers. — In fever the heart works more actively and forces the
rnrront of blood more rapidly; the tissues are weakened, and it
re(|nirc's but a sliglit local cause at any part to congest the structures
already overloaded with blood. Again, in certain fevers, we find
alteration of the blood itself, rendering it less or more fluid, which
interferes Avith its free passage through the vessels and induces a
local predisposition to congestion.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 31

(6) Warnh climate and summer heat. — Warmth of the atmosphere
relaxes the tissues; it demands of the animals less blood to keep up
their own body temperature, and the extra quantity accumulates in
the blood-vessel system. It causes sluggishness in the performance
of the organic functions, and in this way it induces congestion,
especially of the internal organs. So we find founders, congestive
colics, and staggers more frequent in summer than in winter.

(7) Previous congestion. — Whether the previous congestion of any
organ has been a continuous nonnal one — that is, a repeated func-
tional activity — or has been a morbid temporary overloading, it
always leaves the walls of the vessels weakened and more predisposed
to recurrent attacks from accidental causes than are perfectly healthy
tissues. Thus a horse which has had a congestion of the lungs from
a severe drive is liable to have another attack from even a lesser cause.

The alterations of congestion are distention of the blood vessels,
accumulation of the cellular elements of the blood in them, and effu-
sion of a portion of the liquid of the blood into the fibrous tissues
which surround the vessels. Wlien the changes produced by conges-
tion are visible, as in the eye, the nostril, the mouth, the genital
organs, and on the surface of the body in white or unpigmented ani-
mals, the part appears red from the increase of blood; it becomes
swollen from the effusion of liquid into the spongelike connective
tissues ; it is at times more or less hot from the increased combustion ;
the part is frequently painful to the animal from pressure of the effu-
sion on the nerves, and the function of the tissue is interfered with.
The secretion or excretion of glands may be augmented or dimin-
ished. Muscles may be affected with spasms or may be unable to con-
tract. The eyes and ears may be affected with imaginary sights and
sounds,

PASSIVE CONGESTION.

Passive congestion is caused by interference with the return of the
current of blood from a part.

Old age and debility weaken the tissues and the force of the circu-
lation, especially in the veins, and retard the movement of the blood.
We then see horses of this class with stocked legs, swelling of the
sheath of the penis or of the milk glands, and of the under surface of
the belly. We find them also with effusions of the liquid parts of the
blood into the lymph spaces of the posterior extremities and organs
of the pelvic cavity.

Tumors or other mechanical obstructions, by pressing on the veins,
retard the flow of blood and cause it to back up in distal parts of the
body causing passive congestion.'

The alterations of passive congestion, as in active congestion, con-
sist of an increased quantity of blood in the vessels and an exudation

32 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

ot Its iluid into tlie tissues surrounding them, but in passive conges-
tion we have a dark, thick blood which has lost its oxygen, instead of
the rich, combustible blood rich in oxygen which is found in active

congestion.

The termination of congestion is by resolution or inflammation. In
the first case, the choked-up blood vessels find an outlet for the exces-
sive quantity of blood and are relieved; the transuded serum or fluid
of the blood is reabsorbed, and the part returns almost to its normal
condition, with, however, a tendency to weakness predisposing to
futui-e trouble of the same kind. In the other case further altera-
tions take place, and we have inflammation.

INFLAMMATION.

(Plates I and 11. i

Inflammation is a hypernutrition of a tissue. It is described by
Dr. Agnew, the surgeon, as "a double-edged sword, cutting either
way for good or for evil." The increased nutrition may be moderate
and cause a growth of new tissue, a simple increase of quantity at
first ; or it may produce a new groAvth differing in quality : or it may
be so great that, like luxuriant, overgrown weeds, the elements die
from their very haste of growth, and we have immediate destruction
of the part. According to the rapidity and intensity of the process
of structural changes which takes place in an inflamed tissue, inflam-
mation is described as acute or chronic, with a vast number of inter-
mediate forms. When the phenomena are marked it is termed
sthenic ; when less distinct, as the result of a broken-down and feeble
constitution in the animal, it is called asthenic. Certain inflamma-
tions are specific, as in strangles, the horsepox, glanders, etc., where a
characteristic or specific cause or condition is added to the origin,
character of phenomena, or alterations which result from an ordinary
inflammation. An inflammation may be circumscribed or limited,
as in tlie abscess on the neck caused by the pressure of a collar, in
pneumonia, in glanders, in the small tumors of a splint or a jack; or
it may be diffuse, as in severe fistulas of the withers, in an extensive
lung fever, in the legs in a case of grease, or in the spavins which
affect horses Avith poorly nourished bones. The causes of inflamma-
tion are practifally the same as those of congestion, which is the
initial stop of all inflammation.

The temperament of a horse predisposes the animal to inflamma-
tion of certain organs. A full-blooded animal, whose veins show on
the surface of the body, and w^hich has a strong, bounding heart
pumping large (juantities of blood into the vascular organs like the
lungs, the intestines, and the lamina? of the feet, is more liable to have
pneumonia, congestive colics, and founder, than lymphatic, cold-
blooded animals which have pleurisies, inflammation of the bones,

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

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rUKDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 33

Spavins, ringbone^!, inflammation of the glands of the less vascular
skin of the extremities, greasy heek. thrush, etc.

Young horses have inflammation of the membranes lining the air
passages and digestive tract, while older animals are more subject to
troubles in the closed serous sacs and in the bones.

The work to which a horse is put (saddle or harness, speed or
draft) will influence the predisposition of an animal to inflammatory
diseases. As in congestion, the functional activity of a part is an
important factoi- in localizing this form of disease. Given a gioup
of horses exposed to the same draft of cold air or other exciting
cause of inflammation, the one which has just been eating will be at-
tacked with an inflammation of the bowels; the one that has just
been working so as to increase its respiration will haA^e an inflamma-
tion of the throat, bronchi, or lungs; the one that has just been using
its feet excessively will have a founder or inflammation of the laminae
of the feet.

The direct cause of inflammation is usually an irritant of some
form. This may be a pathogenic organism — a disease germ — or it
may be mechanical or chemical, external or internal. Cuts, bruises,
injuries of any kind, parasites, acids, blisters, heat, cold, secretions,
such as an excess of tears over the cheek or urme on the legs, all
cause inflammation by direct injury to the part. Strains or wrenches
of joints, ligaments, and tendons cause trouble by laceration of the
tissue.

Inflammations of the internal organs are caused by irritants as
above, and by sudden cooling of the surface of the animal, which
drives the blood to that organ which at the moment is most actively
supplied with blood. This is called repercussion. A horse Avhich
has been worked at speed and is breathing rapidly is liable to have
pneumonia if suddenly chilled, while an animal which has just been
fed is more liable to have a congestive colic if exposed to the same
influence, the blood in this case being driven from the exterior to the
intestines, while in the former it was driven to the lungs.

SyTThptanis. — The symptoms of inflammation are, as in congestion,
change of color, due to an increased supply of blood; swelling, from
the same cause, with the addition of an effusion into the surrounding
tissues; heat, owing to the increased combustion in the part; pain,
due to pressure on the nerves, and altered function. This latter may
be augmented or diminished, or first one and then the other. In
addition to the local symptoms, inflammation always produces more
or less constitutional disturbance or fever. A splint or small spavin
will cause so little fever that it is not appreciable, while a severe
spavin, an inflamed joint, or a pneumonia may give rise to a marked
fever.

64763°— 23 3

34 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

The alterations in an inflamed tissue are first those of congestion,
distention of the blood vessels, and exudation of the fluid of the blood
into the surrounding fibers, with, however, a more nearly complete
stagnation of the blood; fibrin, or lymph, a plastic substance, i3
thiown out as well, and the cells, which we have seen to be living
organisms in themselves, no longer carried in the current of the
blood, migrate from the vessels and, finding proper nutriment, pro-
liferate or multiply with greater or lesser rapidity. The cells which
lie dormant in the meshes of the surrounding fibers are awakened
into activity by the nutritious lymph which surrounds them, and
they also multiply.

Whether the cell in an inflamed part is the white ameboid cell of
the blood or the fixed connective tissue embedded in the fibers, it
nuilti plies in the same way. The nucleus in the center is divided into
two, and then each again into two, ad infinitum. If the process is
slow, each new cell may assimilate nourishment and become, like its
ancestor, an aid in the formation of new tissues; if, however, the
changing takes place rapidly, the brood of young cells have not time
to grow or use up the surrounding nourishment, and, but half devel-
oped, they die, and we then have destruction of tissue, and pus or
matter is formed, a material made up of the imperfect dead elements
and the broken-down tissue. Between the two there is an interme-
diate, form, where we have imperfectly formed tissues, as in " proud
flesh," large, soft splints: fungous growths, greasy heels, and thrush,

'Wliether the inflamed tissue is one like the skin, lungs, or intes-
tines, very loose in their texture, or a tendon or bone, dense in struc-
ture, and comparatively poor in blood vessels, the principle of the
process is the same. The effects, however, and the appearance may
be widely different. After a cut on the face or an exudation into the
lungs, the loose tissues and multiple vessels allow the proliferating
cells to obtain rich nourishment; absorption can take place readily,
and the part regains its normal condition entirely, while a bruise at
the heel or at the withers finds a dense, inextensible tissue where the
multiplying elements and exuded fluids choke up all communication,
and the parts die (necrose) from want of blood and cause a serious
quittor, or fistula.

This effect of structure of a part on the same process shows the
importance of a perfect knowledge in the study of a local trouble, and
the indispensable part which such knowledge plays in judging of the
gravity of an inflammatoi-y disease, and in formulating a prognosis or
opinion of the final termination of it. It is this which allows the vet-
erinarian, through his knowledge of the intimate structure of a part
and the relaticms of its elements, to judge of the severity of a disease,
and to prescribe different modes of treatment in two animals for trou-

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 35

bies which, to the less experienced observer, appear to be absolutely
identical.

Tei'mlnation of infiaTrhmatian. — Like congestion, inflammation may
terminate by resolution. In this case the exuded lymph undergoes
chemical change, and the products are absorbed and carried oif by
the blood vessels and lymphatics, to be thrown out of the body by the
kidneys, liver, the glands of the skin, and the other excretory organs.
The cells, which have wandered into the neighboring tissues from the
blood vessels, gradually disappear or become transformed into fixed
cells. Those which are the result of the tissue cells, wakened into
active life, follow the same course. The vessels themselves contract,
and, havmg resumed their normal caliber, the part apparently reas-
sumes its normal condition; but it is always weakened, and a new
inflammation is more liable to reappear in a previously inflamed part
than in a sound one. The alternate termination is necrosis, or morti-
fication. If the necrosis, or death of a part, is gradual, by small
stages, each cell losing its vitality after the other in more or less
rapid succession, it takes the name of ulceration. If it occurs in a
considerable part at once, it is called gangrene. If this death of the
tissues occurs deep in the organism, and the destroyed elements and
l^roliferated and dead cells are inclosed in a cavity, the result of the
process is called an abscess. Wlien it occurs on a surface, it is an
ulcer, and an abscess by breaking on the exterior becomes then also
an ulcer. Proliferating and dying cells, and the fluid which exudes
from an ulcerating surface and the debris of broken-down tissue is
known as pus, and the process by which this is formed is known as
suppuration, A mass of dead tissue in a soft part is termed a slough,
while the same in bone is called a sequestrum. Such changes are
especially liable to occur when the part becomes infected with micro-
organisms that have the property of destroying tissue and thus caus-
ing the production of pus. These are known as pyogenic micro-
organisms. There are also bacilli that are capable of multiplying in
tissues and so irritating them as to cause them to die (necrose) with-
out forming pus.

Treatment of injiainmation. — The study of the causes and patho-
logical alterations of inflammation has shown the process to be one
of hypernutrition, attended by excessive blood supply, so this study
will indicate the primary factor to be employed in the treatment
of it. Any agent which will reduce the blood supply and prevent
the excessive nutrition of the elements of the part will serve as a
remedy, '-..he means employed may be used locally to the part, or
they may be constitutional remedies, which act indirectly.

Local, treatment. — Removal of the cause will frequently allow the
part to heal at once. Among causes of inflammation may be men-
tioned a stone in the frog, causing a traumatic thrush; a badly fitting

3g DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

liariu'bs or siuldle, causing ulcers of the skin; decomposing manure
and urine in a stable, Avhich, by their vapors, irritate the air tubes
and lungs and cause a cough.

Motion stinudates the action of the blood, and thus feeds an in-
flamed tissue. This is alike apphcable to a diseased point irritated
bv movement to an inflamed pair of lungs surcharged with blood
by the use demanded of them in a working animal, or to an inflamed
eve exposed to light, or an inflamed stomach and intestines still
fmther fatigued by feed. Rest, absolute quiet, a dark stable, and
small quantities of easily digested feed Avill often cure serious in-
flanunatory troubles without further treatment.

Tlie application of ice bags or cold water by bandages, douching
with a hose, or irrigation with dripping water, contracts the blood
vessels, acts as a sedative to the nerves, and lessens the vitality of
a part; it consequently prevents the tissue change which inflamma-
tion produces.

Either dry or moist heat acts as a derivative. It quickens the
circulation and renders the chemical changes more active in the sur-
lounding parts; it softens the tissues and attracts the current of
blood from the inflamed organ ; it also promotes the absorption of tlie
effusion and hastens the elimination of the waste products in the part.
Heat may be applied by hand rubbing or active friction and the a})-
plication of warm coverings (bandages) or by cloths wrung out of
warm water; or steaming M'ith warm, moist vapor, medicated or not.
will answer the same purpose. The latter is especially applicable to
inflannnatory troubles in the air passages.

Local bleeding frequently affords immediate relief by carrying
off the excessive blood and draining the effusion which has already
occurred. It affords direct mechanical relief, and, by a stimulation
of the part, promotes the chemical changes necessary for bringing
the diseased tissues to a healthy condition. Local blood-letting can
be done by scarifying, or making small punctures into the inflamed
j)art, as in the eyelid of an inflamed eye, or into the sheath of the
penis, or into the skin of the latter organ when congested, or the
leg when acutely swelled.

Cotmterirritants are used for deep inflammations. They act by
bringing the blood to the surface and consequently lessening the
blood piesMire Avithin. The derivation of the blood to the exterior
diminishes the amount in the internal organs and is often very rapid
in its action in relieving a congested lung or liA'er. The most com-
mon counterirritant is mustard flour. It is applied as a soft paste
mixed with warm water to the under surface of the belly and to the
sides, wliere the skin is comparatively soft and vascular. Colds in
the throat or inllaiumations at any point demand the treatment ap-
plied in the same numner to the belly and sides and not to the throat

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 3t

or on the legs, as so often used. Blisters, lodin, and many other
irritants are used in a similar way.

Cotistituti'Omd treatment in inflammation is designed to reduce the
current of blood, which is the fuel for the infiannnation in the dis-
eased part, to quiet the patient, and to combat the fever or general
effects of the trouble in the system, and to favor the neutralizatir^n or
elimination of the products of the inflammation.

Eeduction of blood is obtained in various AA-ays. The diminution
of the quantity of the blood lessens the amount of pressure on the
vessels, and, as a sequel, the volume of it which is carried to the point
of inflammation; it diminishes the body temperature or fever: it
numbs the nervous system, which plays an important part as a con-
ductor of irritation in diseases.

Blood-letting is the most rapid means, and frequently acts like a
charm in relieving a commencing inflammatory trouble. One must
remember, however, that the strength of the body and repair depend
on the blood; hence blood-letting should be practiced only in full-
blooded, "well-nourished animals and in the early stages of the
disease.

Cathartics act by drawing off' a large quantity of fluid from the
blood through the intestines, and haAc the advantage over the last
remedy of removing only the Avatery and not the formed elements
from the circulation. The blood cells remain, leaving the blood as'
rich as it was before. Again, the glands of the intestines are stimu-
lated to excrete much waste matter and other deleterious material
which may be acting as a poison in the blood.

Diuretics operate through the kidneys in the same way.

Diaphoretics aid depletion of the blood by pouring water in the
form of sweat from the surface of the skin and stimulating the dis-
charge of waste material out of its glands, which has the same effect
on the blood pressure.

Antipyretics are remedies to reduce the temperature. This may be
accomplished by depressing the center in the brain that controls heat
production. Some coal-tar products are very effective in this way,
but they ha\'e the disadvantage of depressing the heart, which should
always be kept as strong as possible. If they are used it must be with
knowledge of this fact, and it is well to giAe heart tonics or stimu-
lants with them. The temperature of the body may be lowered by
cold packs or by shoAvering with cold water. This is a most useful
23rocedure in many diseases.

Depressants are drugs which act on the heart. They slow or
weaken the action of this organ and reduce the quantity and force
of the current of the blood which is carried to the point of local
disease; they lessen the vitality of the animal, and for this reason
are now used much less than formerlv.

33 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

Anodynes quiet the nervous system. Pain in the horse, as in the
man, is one of the important factors in the production of fever, and
tlie dulling of the former often prevents, or at least reduces, the
latter. Anodynes produce sleep, so as to rest the patient and allow
recuperation for the succeeding struggle of the vitality of the animal
against the exhausting drain of the disease.

The diet of an animal suffering from acute inflammation is a factor
of the greatest importance. An overloaded circulation can be starved
to a reduced quantity and to a less rich quality of blood by reducing
the quantity of feed given to the patient. Feeds of easy digestion do
not tire the already fatigued organs of an animal with a torpid diges-
tive system. Nourishment will be taken by a suffering brute in the
form of slops and cooling drinks when it would be totally refused if
offered in its ordinary form, as hard oats or dry hay, requiring the
labor of grinding between the teeth and swallowing by the weakened
nmscles of the jaws and throat.

Tonics and stimulants are remedies which are used to meet special
indications, as in the case of a feeble heart, and which enter into the
after treatment of inflammatory troubles as well as into the acute
stages of them. They brace up weakened and torpid glands; they
stimulate the secretion of the necessary fluids of the body, and hasten
the excretion of the waste material produced b}' the inflammatory
process; they regulate the action of a weakened heart; they promote
healthy vitalitj"^ of diseased parts, and aid the chemical changes
needed for returning the altered tissues to their normal condition.

FEVERS.

Fever is a general condition of the animal body in which there is an
elevation of the animal body temperature, which may be only a de-
gree or two or may be 10° F. The elevation of the body temperature,
which represents tissue change or combustion, is accompanied with
an acceleration of the heart's action, a quickening of the respiration,
and an aberration in the functional activity of the various organs of
the body. These organs may be stimulated to the performance of
excessive work, or they may be incapacitated from carrying out their
allotted tasks, or, in the course of a fever, the two conditions may
both exist, the one succeeding the other. Fever as a disease is usually
preceded by chills as an essential symptom.

Fevers are divided into essential fevers and symptomatic fevers.
In symptomatic fever some local disease, usually of an inflammatory
character, develops first, and the constitutional febrile phenomena are
the result of the primary point of combustion irritating the whole
l)ody, either through the nervous system or directly by means of the
waste material which is carried into the circulation and through the

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 39

blood vessels, and is distributed to distal parts. Essential fevers are
those in which there is from the outset a general disturbance of the
whole economy. This may consist of an elementary alteration in the
blood or a general change in the constitution of the tissues. Fevers
of the latter class are usually due to some infecting agent and belong,
therefore, to the class of infectious diseases.

Essential fevers are subdivided into ephemeral fevers, whicli last
but a short time and terminate by critical phenomena; intermittent
fevers, in which there are alterations of exacerbations of the febrile
sjanptoms and remissions, in which the body returns to its normal
condition or sometimes to a depressed condition, in which the func-
tions of life are but badly performed; and continued fevers, which
include contagious diseases, such as glanders, influenza, etc., the septic
diseases, such as pyemia, septicemia, etc., and the eruptive fevers,
such as variola, etc.

Whether the cause of the fever has been an injury to the tissues,
such as a severe bruise, a broken bone, an inflamed lung, or excessive
work, which has surcharged the blood with the waste products of the
combustion of the tissues, which were destroyed to produce force, or
the toxins of influenza in the blood, or the presence of irritating ma-
terial, either in the form of living organisms or of their products,
as in glanders or tuberculosis — the general train of symptoms are
much the same, varying as the amount of the irritant differs in
quantity, or when some special quality in them has a specific action
on one or another tissue.

There is in fever at first a relaxation of the small blood vessels,
which may have been preceded by a contraction of the same if there
was a chill, and as a consequence there is an acceleration of the cur-
rent of the blood. There is, then, an elevation of the peripheral
temperature, followed by a lowering of tension in the arteries and
an acceleration in the movement of the heart. These conditions may
be produced by a primary irritation of the nerve centers of the brain
from the effects of heat, as is seen in thermic fever, or sunstroke, or
by the entrance into the blood stream of disease-producing organisms
or their chemical products, as in anthrax, rinderpest, influenza, etc.

There are times when it is difficult to distinguish between the exist-
ence of. fever as a disease and a temporary feverish condition which
is the result of excessive work. Like the condition of congestion of
the lungs, which is normal up to a certain degree in the lungs of a
race horse after a severe race, and morbid when it produces more than
temporary phenomena or when it causes distinct lesions, the tem-
perature may rise from physiological causes as much as four degrees,
so fever, or, as it is better termed, a feverish condition, may follow
any work or other employment of energy in which excessive tissue

40 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

change has taken place; but if the consequences are ephemeral, and
iiu recognizable lesion is apparent, it is not considered morbid. This
condition, however, may predispose to severe organic disturbance
and local infianiniations which will cause disease, as an animal in this
condition is liable to take cold and develop lung fever or a severe
enteritis, if chilled or otherwise exposed.

FeAer in all annuals is characterized by the same general plie-
nomena, but Ave find the intensity of the symptoms modified by tlie,
species of animals affected, by the races which subdivide the species,
by the families which form groups of the races, and by certain condi-
tiojis in individuals themselves. For example, a pricked foot in a
I'horoughbred may cause intense fever, while the same injury in the
foot of a Clydesdale may scarcely cause a visible general SA-mptom.
In the horse, fever produces the following symptoms:

The normal body temperature, which varies from 99^ to 100° F.,
is elevated from 1° to 9°. A temperature of 102' or 103° F. is mod-
erate fever, 104° to 105° F. is high, and 106° F. and over is excessive.
The temperature is accurately measured by means of a clinical ther-
mometer inserted in the rectum.

This elevation of temperature can readily be felt by the harid
placed in the mouth of the animal, or in the rectum, and in the cleft
U^tween the hind legs. It is usually appreciable at any point over
the surface of the body and in the expired air emitted from the nos-
tiils. The ears and cannons are often as hot as the i-est of the body,
but are sometimes cold, which denotes a debility in the circulation and
irregular distribution of the blood. The pulse, which in a healthy
horse is felt beating about 42 to 48 times in the minute, is increased
to 60, 70, 90, or even 100. The respirations are increased from 14 or
Ifj to 24, 30, 36, or even more. With the commencement of a fever
the horse usually has diminished appetite, or it may have total loss
of ap])etite if the feA^r is excessive. There is, howeA-er. a vast diflfer-
«'nce among horses in this regard. With the Siime degi'ee of eleva-
tif)n of temi)eraturc one horse may lose its appetite entirely, Avhile
another, usually of the more common sort. Avill eat at hay throughout
the course of the fcA-er, and Avill even continue to eat oats or otlier
grains. Thirst is usually increased, but the animal desires only a
small <|uantity of Avater at a time, and in most cases of fever a bucket
of water should be kept standing before the patient. Avhich may
be allowed to drink ad libitum. The skin becomes dry and the hairs
stand on end. Sweating is almost unknoAvn in the early stage •►f
levers, but frequently occurs later in their course. Avhen an out-
break of warm SAveat is often a most favorable symptom. The mucous
membranes, which are most easily examined in the conjunctivje of
the eyes and inside of the mouth, change color if the feA-er is an

FUNDAMENTAL PBINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 41

acute one: T^itlioiit alteration ^>f blood the mucous membranes become
of a rosy or deep-ied color at the outset ; if tlie fever is attended with
distinct alteration of the blood, as in intluenza, and at the end of two
cr three days in severe cases of pneumonia or other extensive inflam-
matory troubles the mucous membranes are tinged with yellow, which
may even become a deep ocher in color, the result of the decomposi-
tion of the blood corpuscles and the freeing of their coloring matter,
which acts as a stain. At the outset of a fever tlie various glands
j?re checked in tlieir secretions, the salivary glands fail to secrete the
saliva, and we find the surface of the tongue and inside of the cheeks
dry and covered with a brownish, bad-smelling deposit. The excre-
tion from the liver and intestinal glands is diminished and produces
an inactivity of the digestive organs which causes a constipation.
If this is not remedied at an early period, the undigested material
acts as an irritant, and later we may have it followed by an inflamma-
tory process, producing a severe diarrhea.

The excretion from the kidneys is sometimes at first entirel}' sup-
pressed. It is always considerably diminished, and what urine is
passed is dark in color, imdeigoes ammoniacal change rapidly, and
deposits quantities of salts. At a later period the diminished excre-
tion may be replaced by an excessive excretion, which aids in canying
off waste products and usually indicates an amelioration of the fever.

While the ears, cannons, and hoofs of a horse suffering from fever
are usually found hot, they may frequently alternate from hot to cold,
or be much cooler than they normally are. This latter condition
usually indicates great weakness on the part of the circulatory system.

It is of the greatest importance, as an aid in diagnosing the gravity
of an attack of fever and as an indication in the selection of its mode
of treatment, to recognize the exact cause of a febrile condition in the
horse. In certain cases, in very nervous animals, in which fever is
the result of nerve infliience. a simple anodyne, or even only quiet
with continued care and nursing, will sometimes be sufficient to dimin-
ish it. ^Vhen fever is the result of local injury, the cure of the cause
produces a cessation in the constitutional symptoms, ^^lien it is
the result of a pneumonia or other severe parenchymatous inflam-
mation, it usually lasts for a definite time, and subsides with the
first improvement of the local trouble, but in these cases we constantly
have exacerbations of fever due to secondary inflammatory processes,
such as the formation of small abscesses, the development of second-
ary bronchitis, or the death of a limited quantity of tissue (gangrene).

In specific cases, such as influenza, strangles, and septicemia, there
is a definite poison in the blood-vessel system and carried to the
heart and to the nervous system, which produces a peculiar irritation,
usually lasting for a specific period, during which the temperature
can be but slightly diminished by any remedy.

42 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

In cases attended with complications, the diagnosis at times be-
comes still more difficult, as at the end of a case of influenza which
becomes complicated with pneumonia. The high temperature of the
simple inflammatorv disease may be gi'afted on that of the specific
trouble, and the determination of the cause of the fever, as between
the two, is therefore frequently a difficult matter but an important
one, as upon it dei:)ends the mode of treatment.

Any animal sutl'ering from fever, whatever the cause, is muck
more susceptible to attacks of local inflammation, which become com-
plications of the original disease, than are animals in sound health.
In ievov we have the tissues and the walls of the blood vessels weak-
ened, we have an increased current of more or less altered blood
flowing through the vessels and stagnating in the capillaries, which
need but an exciting cause to transform the passive congestion of
fever into an active congestion and acute inflammation. These con-
ditions become still more distinct when the fever is accompanied with
a decided deterioration in the blood itself, as is seen in influenza,
septicemia, and at the termination of severe pneumonias.

Fever, with its symptoms of increased temperature, acceleration of
the pulse, acceleration of respiration, dry skin, diminished secre-
tions, etc., must be considered as an indication of organic disturb-
ance. This organic disturbance may be the result of local inflamma
tion or other irritants acting through the nerves on nerve centers,
alterations of the blood, in which a poison is carried to the nerve cen-
ters, or direct irritants to the nerve centers them.selves, as in cases of
heat stroke, injury to the brain, etc.

The treatment of fever depends upon its cause. One of the impor-
tant factors in treatment is absolute quiet. This may be obtained
by placing a sick horse in a box stall, away from other animals and
extraneous noises and sheltered from excessive light and drafts of
air. Anodynes, belladonna, hj'oscyamus, and opium act as antipy-
retics simply by quieting the nervous sj'-stem. As an irritant exists
in the blood in most cases of fever, anv remedy which will favor the
excretion of foreign elements from it will diminish this cause. We
therefore use diaphoretics to stimulate the sweat and excretions
from the skin ; diuretics to favor the elimination of matter by the
kidneys; cholagogues and laxatives to increase the action of the liver
and intestines, and to drain from these important organs all tlib
waste material which is aiding to choke up and congest their rick
plexuses of blood vessels. The heart becomes stimulated to increased
action at the outset of a fever, but this does not indicate increased
strength : on the contrary, it indicates the action of an irritant to the
heart that will soon weaken it. It is, therefore, irrational further to
depress the heart by the use of such drugs as aconite. It is better to
strengthen it and to favor the elimination of the substance that is

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 43

irritating it. The increased blood pressure throughout the body may
be diminished by lessening the quantity of blood. This is obtained
in some eases with advantage when the disease is but starting and
the animal is plethoric by direct abstraction of blood, as in bleed-
ing from. the jugular or other veins; or by derivatives, such as mus-
tard, turpentine, or blisters applied to the skin; or by setons, which
draw to the surface the fluid of the blood, thereby lessening its vol-
ume without having the disadvantage of impoverishing the ele-
ments of the blood found in bleeding. In many cases antipyretics
given by the mouth and cold applied to the skin are most useful.

When the irritation which is the cause of fever is a specific one,
either in the form of bacteria (living organisms), as in glanders,
tuberculosis, influenza, septicemia, etc., or in the form of a foreign
element, as in rheumatism, gout, hemaglobinuria, and other so-called
diseases of nutrition, we emploj^ remedies which have been found to
have a direct specific action on them. Among the specific remedies
for various diseases are counted quinin, carbolic acid, salicylic acid,
antipyrene, mercury, iodin, the empyreumatic oils, tars, resins, aro-
matics, sulphur, and a host of other drugs, some of which are of
known effect and others of which are theoretical in action. Certain
remedies, like simple aromatic teas, vegetable acids, such as vinegar,
lemon juice, etc., alkalines in the form of salts, sw^eet spirits of niter,
etc., which are household remedies, are always useful, because they
act on the excreting organs and ameliorate the effects of fever. Other
remedies, which are to be used to influence the cause of fever, must
be selected with judgment and from a thorough knowledge of the
nature of the disease.

METHODS OF ADMINISTERING MEDICINES.

By Ch. B. Michener. V. S.
[Revised b.v Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. !>.]

Medicine may enter the body through any of the following desig-
nated channels: First, by the mouth: second, by the air passages:
ihi)d. by tlie skin: fourth, by the tissue beneath the skin (hypo-
dermic methods) : fifth, by the rectum; sixth, by the genito-urinary
)>assages: and, seventh, by the blood (intravenous injections).

By the mouth. — Medicines can be given by the mouth in th6
form of s«ilids. as powders or pills; liquids, and pastes, or electuaries.

Potrdcrs. — Solids administered as powders should be as finely pul-
verized as possible, in order to obtain rapid solution and absorption.
'Jheir action is in this way facilitated and intensified. Powders must
be free from any irritant or caustic action upon the mouth. Those
that are Avithout any disagreeable taste or smell are readily eaten
Avith the feed or taken in the drinking water. "When placed with the
feed they should first be dissolved or suspended in water and thus
sprinkled on the feed. If mixed dry the horse will often leave the
medicine in the bottom of his manger. Xonirritant powders may be
given in cap>ules, as balls are given.

Pills, or " halls,''' when properly made, are cylindrical in shape, 2
inches in length and about three-fourths of an inch in diameter.
They should be fresh, but if necessary to keep them some time they
should l>e made up with glycenn. or some such agent, to prevent
their becoming too hard. Very old, hard balls are sometimes passed
wliole with the manure without being acted upon at all. Paper is
sometimes wrapped around balls when given, if they are so sticky as
to adhere to the fingers or the balling gun. Paper used for this pur-
]tose should be thin but firm, as the tougher tissue papers. Balls are
])i-efeired to drenches Avhen the medicine is extremely disagreeable or
jiauseating: when the dose is not too large : when the horse is difficult
to drench : or when the medicine is intended to act slowly. Certain
medicines can not or should not be made into balls, as medicines
recjuiriug to be given in large doses, oils, caustic substances, unless in
small dose and diluted and thoroughly mixed with the vehicle, deli-
quescent, or efflorescent salts. Substances suitable for balls can be
made uj) bv the addition of hcmey, sirup, soap. etc.. when required
for immediate use. ( Jelatin capsules of difl^^erent sizes are now obtain-
ablf and are a cniivcnicnt means of inving inedicines in ball form.

METHODS OF ADMINISTERING MEDICINES, 45

IMien balls are to be given Ave should observe the folloAving direc-
titms: In shape they should be cvlindrical, of the size above nien-
lioned, and soft enough to be easily compressed by the lingers. If
made round or egg-shaped, if too long or too hard, they are liable to
become fixed in the gullet and cause choking. Balls may be given
^^rith the "balling gim"" (obtainable at any veterinary instrument
maker's) or by the hand. If given by the hand a mouth speculum or
gag may be used to prevent the animal fi'om biting the liand or crush-
ing the ball. Always loosen the horse before attempting to give a
ball: if tied he may break his halter and injure himself or the one
giving the ball. With a little practice it is much easier to give a ball
without the mouth gag, as the horse always fights more or less against
having his mouth forced open. The tongue must be firmly grasped
with the left hand and gently pulled forward; the ball, slightly
moistened, is then to be placed with the tips of the fingers of the
right hand as far back into the mouth as possible; as the tongue is
loosened it is drawn back into the mouth and carries the ball back-
ward with it. The mouth should be kept closed for a minute or two.
"We should always have a pail of water at hand to offer the horse
after balling. This precaution will often prevent him from cough-
ing out the ball or its becoming lodged in the gullet.

Pastes or electuaHes are medicines mixed with licorice-root poAy-
der. ground flaxseed, molasses, or siiup to the consistency of honey,
or a " soft solid.""' They are intended, chiefly, to act locally upon the
mouth and throat. They are given by being spiead upon the tongue,
gums, or teeth with a wooden paddle or strong, long-handled spoon.

Liquids. — It is, very often, impossible to get balls properly made,
or to induce owners or attendants to attempt to give them, and for
these reasons medicines by the mouth are mostly given in the form
of liquids. Liquids may be given as drenches when the dose is large,
or they may, when but a small quantity is administered, be injected
into the mouth with a hard-rubber syringe or be poured upon the
tongue from a small vial.

^Alien medicine is to be given as a drench we must be carefid to use
water or oil enough to dissolve or dilute it thoroughly; more than this
makes the drench bulky and is unnecessary. Insoluble medicines, if
not irritant or corrosive, may be given simply suspended in water,
the bottle to be well shaken immediately before giving the drench.
The bottle used for drenching purposes should be clean, strong, and
smooth about its neck; it should be without shoulders, tapering, and
of a size to suit the amount to be given. A horn or tin bottle may be
better, because it is not so easily broken by the teeth. If the dose is
a small one the horse's head may be held up by the left hand, while
the medicine is poured into the mouth by the right. The left thumb
is to be placed in the angle of the lower jaw, and the fingers spread

46 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

out in such manner as to support the lower lip. Should the dose
be large, the horse ugly, or the attendant unable to support the head
as directed above, the head is then to be held up by running the tines
of a long-handled wooden fork under the noseband of the halter or
the halter strap or a rope may be fastened to the noseband and
thiown over a limb, beam, or through a pulley suspended from the
ceiling. Anotlier way of supporting the head is to place a loop in the
end of a rope, and introduce this loop into the mouth just behind the
upper front teeth or tusks of the upper jaw, the free end to be run
through a pulley, as before described, and held by an assistant. It
is never to be fastened, as the horse might in that case do himself
serious injury. The head is to be elevated just enough to prevent the
horse from throwing the liquid out of his mouth. The line of the
face should be horizontal, or only the least bit higher. If the head
is drawn too high the animal can not swallow with ease or even with
safety. (If this is doubted, just fill your mouth with water, throw
back the head as far as possible, and then try to swallow.) The per-
son giving the drench should stand on some object in order to reach
the horse's mouth — on a level, or a little above it. The bottle or horn
is then to be introduced at the side of the mouth, in front of the
molar teeth, in an upward direction. This will cause the horse to
open his mouth, when the base of the bottle is to be elevated, and
about 4 ounces of the liquid allowed to escape on the tongue as far
hack as possible, care being taken not to get the neck of the bottle
between the back teeth. The bottle is to be immediately removed,
and if the horse does not swallow this can be encouraged by rubbing
tiie fingers or neck of the bottle against the roof of the mouth, occa-
sionally removing them. As soon as this is swallowed repeat the
opeiation until he has taken all the drench. If coughing occurs, or
if, by any mishap, the bottle should be crushed in the moutli, lower
the liead immediately.

Do not rub, pinch, or pound the throat nor draw out the tongue
when giving a drench. These processes in no way aid the horse to
swallow and oftener do harm than good. In drenching, swallowing
may l)e hastened by pouring into the nose of the horse, while the head
is high, a few teaspoonfuls of clean water, but drenches must never be
giren through the nose. Large quantities of medicine given by pour-
ing into tlie nose are liable to strangle the animal, or, if the medicine
is irritating, it sets up an inflammation of the nose, fauces, windpipe,
and sometimes the lungs.

liYTHF, .\n{ PASSAGES. — Medioincs are administered to the lungs and
upper air passages by insutliation, inhalation, injection, and nasal
doiiclu'.

//Mufffati-on consists in blowing an impalpable powder directly int^
thr nos«'. It is but rarely resorted to.

METHODS OF ADMINISTERING MEDICINES. 47

Inhalation. — Gaseous and volatile medicines are given by inhala-
tion, as is also medicated steam or vapor. Of the gases used there
may be mentioned, as the chief ones, sulphurous acid gas and, occa-
sionally, chlorin. The animal or animals are to be placed in a tight
room, where these gases are generated until the atmosphere is suffi-
ciently impregnated with them. Volatile medicines — as the an-
esthetics (ether, chloroform, etc.)— are to be given bv the attending
surgeon only. Medicated vapors are to be inhaled by placing a
bucket containing hot water, vinegar and water, scalded hay or
bran, to which carbolic acid, iodin, compound tincture of benzoin,
or other medicines have been added, in the bottom of a long grain
bag. The horse's nose is to be inserted into the top of the bag, and
he thus inhales the " medicated steam." Care must be taken not to
have it hot enough to scald the animal. The vapor from scalding'
bran or hay is often thus inhaled to favor discharges in sore throat
or " distemper."

Injections are made into the trachea b}" means of a hj^podermic
syringe. This method of medication is used for the purpose of treat-
ing local diseases of the trachea and upper bronchial tubes. It has
also been used as a mode of administering remedies for their constitu-
'tional effect, but is now rarely used for this purpose.

The nasal douche is employed by the veterinarian in treating some
local diseases of the nasal chambers. Special appliances and profes-
sional laiowledge are necessary when using liquid medicines by this
method. It is not often resorted to, even by veterinary surgeons,
since, as a rule, the horse objects very strongl}'- to this mode of
medication.

By the skin. — ^Medicines are often administered to our hair-
covered animals by the skin, yet care must be taken in applying
some medicines — as tobacco water, carbolic-acid solutions, strong
creolin solutions, mercurial ointment, etc. — over the entire body, as
poisoning and death follow in some instances from absorption
through the skin. For the same reasons care must also be exercised
and poisonous medicines not applied over very large raw or abraded
surfaces. With domestic animals medicines are only to be applied
by the skin to allay local pain or cure local disease.

By the tissue beneath the skin (hypodermatic method). —
Medicines are frequently given by the hypodermic syringe under the
skin. It is not safe for any but medical or veterinary practitioners
to use this form of medication, since the medicines thus given are
powerful poisons. There are many precautions to be observed, and
a knowledge of anatomy is indispensable. One of the chief precau-
tions has to do with the sterilization of the syringe. If it is not sterile
an abscess may be produced.

By the rectum. — Medicines may be given by the rectum when
they can not be given by the mouth, or when thev are not retained in

48 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the stomach: Avheii we want a local action (►n the last pit: when it is
dthiied to destroy the small worms infestin^r the large bowels or to
stimulate the ])eristaltic motion of the intestines and cause evacua-
tion. Medicines are in such cases gi ven in the form of suppositories or
as liquid injections (enemas.) Foods may also be given in this way.

Suppodforks are conical bodies made up of oil of theobroma and
oj)ium (or whatever medicine is indicated in special cases), and are
introduced into the rectum or vagina to allay irritation and pain of
these parts. They are not much used in treating horses.

Eru'mas, wlien giAcn for absorption, should be small in quantity,
neutral or slightly acid in reaction, and of a temperature of from 90'^
to 100° F. These, like feeds given by the rectum, should be intro-
duced only after the last bowel has been emptied by the hand or by
copious injections of tepid Avater. Enemas, or clysters, if to aid the
action of physics, should be in quantities sufficient to distend the
bowel and cause the animal to eject them. Simple water, salt and
water, or soap and water, in quantities of a gallon or more, may be
given every half hour. It is best that the horse retain them for some
little time, as the liquid serves to moisten the dung and favore a pas-
sage. Stimulating enemas, as glycerin, should be administered after
those already mentioned have emptied the last bowel, with the pur-
pose of still further increasing the natural motion of the intestines
and aiding the purging medicine.

Liquids may be thrown into the rectum by the means of a large
sj'ringe or a pump. A very good "irrigator-' can be boTight of any
tinsmith at a trilling cost, and should be constantly at hand on every
stock farm. It consists of a funnel about 0 inches deep and 7 inches
in diameter, which is to be furnished with a prolongation to winch a
l)iece of rubber hose, such as small garden hose. 4 feet long may be
attached. The hose. Avell oiled, is to be inserted gently into the rec-
tum about 2 feet. The liquid to be injected may then be poured \v.
the funnel and the pressure of the atmosphere will force it into the
bowels. This appliance is better than the more complicated inid
exjjensive ones.

( )rdinary cold water or even ice-cold water is highly recommended
by many as a rectal injection for horses overcome by the excessive
heat of summer, and may be given by this simple pipe.

By thk GENrro-uuiNARY PASSAGES. — This method of medication
is especially useful in treating local diseases of the genito-urinary
organs. It finds it chief application in the injection and cleansing
of the uterus and vagina. For this purpose a large syringe or the
irrigator described above may be used.

By THE BLOOD. — lujectious directly into veins are to be practiced
by medical or veterinary practitioners only, as are probably some
othei- means of gi\ ing medicines — intratracheal injections, etc.

U. S. Dept of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

Plate III.

3

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DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS.

By Ch. B. Michener, V. S.
[Revised by .lohu R. Mohler. V. M. D.]

It is not an easy task to write " a plain account of the common
diseases, with directions for preventive measures, hygienic care, and
the simpler forms of medical treatment," of the digestive organs of
the horse. Being limited as to space, the endeavor has been made to
give simply an outline — to state the most important facts — leaving
many gaps, and continually checking the disposition to write any-
thing like a full description as to cause, prevention, and modes of
treatment of diseases.

WATER.

It is generally held, at least in practice, that any water tnat stock
can be induced to drink is sufficiently pure for their use. This prac-
tice occasions losses that would startle us if statistics were at hand.
Water that is impure from the presence of decomposing organic mat-
ter, such as is found in wells and ponds in close proximity to manure
heaps and cesspools, is frequently the cause of diarrhea, dysentery,
and many other diseases of stock, while water that is impregnated
with different poisons and contaminated in very many instances with
specific media of contagion produces death.

Considering first the quantity of Avater required by the horse, it
may be stated that when our animals have access to water continually
they never drink to excess. Were the horse subjected to ship voyages
or any other circumstances where he must depend upon his attendant
for the supply of water, it may be roughly stated that he requires
a daily average of about 8 gallons of water. This varies somewhat
upon the character of his feed; if upon green feed, less water will
be needed than when fed upon dry hay and grain.

The time of giving water should be carefully studied. At rest, the
horse should receive it at least three times a day; when at work,
more frequently. The rule should be to give it in small quantities and
often. There is a popular fallacy that if a horse is warm he should
not be allowed to drink, many asserting that the first swallow of
w^ater " founders " the animal or produces colic. This is erroneous.
No matter how warm a horse may be, it is always entirely safe to
allow him from six to ten swallows of water. If this is given on

49
64763°— 23 4

50 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

going into the stable, he should have at once a pound or two of hay
and allowed to rest about an hour before feeding. If water is now
ofl'ered him it will in many cases be refused, or at least he will drink
but sparingly. The danger, then, is not in the " first swallow " of
water, but is due to the excessive quantity that the animal will take
when warm if he is not restrained.

Ice-cold water should never be given to horses. It may not be
necessarv to add hot water, but we should be careful in placing water
troughs about our barns to have them in such position that the
sun may shine upon the water during the winter mornings. Water,
even though it is thus cold, seldom produces serious trouble if the
horse has not been deprived for a too great length of time.

In reference to the purity of water. Smith, in his " Veterinary Hy-
giene," classes spring water, deep-well water, and upland surface
water as wholesome ; stored rain water and surface water from culti-
vated land as suspicious; river water to which sewage gains access
and shallow-well water as dangerous. The water that is used so
largely for drinking purposes for stock throughout some States can
not but be impure. I refer to those sections where there is an imper-
vious clay subsoil. It is the custom to scoop, or hollow out. a large
basin in the pastures. During rains these basins become filled wdth
water. The clay subsoil, being almost impervious, acts as a jug, and
there is no escape for the water except by evaporation. Such water
is stagnant, but would be kept comparatively fresh by subsequent
rains were it not for the fact that much organic matter is carried
into it by surface drainage during each succeeding storm. This or-
ganic matter soon undergoes decomposition, and, as the result, we
find diseases of different kinds much more prevalent where this water
is drunk than where the water supply is wholesome. Again, it must
not be lost sight of that stagnant surface water is much more cer-
tainly contaminated than is running water by one diseased animal
of the herd, thus endangering the remainder.

The chief impurities of water may be classified as organic and
inorganic. The organic impurities are either animal or vegetable
substances. The salts of the metals are the inorganic impurities.
Lime causes hardness of water, and occasion will be taken to speak of
this when describing intestinal concretions. Salts of lead, iron, and
coi)per are also frequently found in water; they also will be re-
ferred to.

About the only examination of water that can be made by the
average stock raiser is to observe its taste, color, smell, and clearness.
Pure water is clear and is without taste or smell.

Chemical and microscopic examination will frequently be neces-
sary in order to detect the presence of certain poisons, bacteria, etc.,
and can, of course, be conducted by experts only.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 51

FEEDS AND FEEDING.

In this place one can not attempt anything like a comprehensive
discussion of the subject of feeds and feeding, and I must content my-
self with merely giving a few facts as to the different kinds of feed,
preparation, digestibility, proper time of feeding, quality, and quan-
tity. Improper feeding and watering will doubtless account for more
than one-half the digestive disorders met with in the horse, and hence
the reader can not fail to see how very important it is to have some
proper ideas concerning these subjects.

KINDS OF FEED.

In this country horses are fed chiefly upon hay, grass, corn fodder,
roots, oats, corn, wheat, and rye. Many think that they could be fed
on nothing else. Stewart, in " The Stable Book," gives the following
extract from Loudon's Encyclopedia of Agriculture, which is of
interest at this point:

lu some sterile countries they [horses] are forced to subsist on dried fish, and
even on vegetable mold ; in Arabia, on milk, flesh balls, eggs, broth. In India
horses are variously fed. The native grasses are judged very nutritious. Few,
perhaps no, oats are grown; barley is rare, and not commonly given to horses.
In Bengal a vetch, something like the tare, is used. On the western side of
India a sort of pigeon pea, called gram (Clcer arietinum), forms the ordinary
food, with grass while in season, and hay all the year round. Indian corn or
rice is seldom given. In the West Indies maize, guinea corn, sugar-corn tops,
and sometimes molasses are given. In the Mahratta country salt, pepper, and
other spices are made into balls, with flour and butter, and these are supposed
to produce animation and to fine the coat. Broth made from sheep's head is
sometimes given. In France, Spain, and Italy, besides the grasses, the leaves
of limes, vines, the tops of acacia, and the seeds of the carob tree are given to
horses.

We can not, however, leave aside entirely here a consideration of
the digestibility of feeds; and by this we mean the readiness with
which they undergo those changes in the digestive canal that fit
them for absorption and deposition as integral parts of the animal
economy.

The age and health of the animal will, of course, modify the diges-
tibility of feeds, as will also the manner and time of harvesting, pre-
serving, and preparing.

In the horse digestion takes place principally in the intestines, and
here, as in all other animals and with all feeds, it is found that, a
certain part only of the provender is digested; another portion is
undigested. This proportion of digested and undigested feed must
claim passing notice at least, for if the horse receives too much feed,
or bulky feed containing much indigestible waste, a large portion of
it must pass out unused, entailing not only the loss of this unused
feed, but also calling for an unnecessary expenditure of vital force on

52 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the part of the digestive organs of the horse. It is thus that, m
fact, too much feed may make an animal poor.

In selecting feed for the horse we should remember the anatomical
arrangement of the digestive organs, as well as the physiological
functions performed by each one of them. Feeds must be whole-
tiome, clean, and sweet, the hours of feeding regular, the mode of
preparation found by practical experience to be the best must be
adhered to, and cleanliness in preparation and administration must
be obser\ed.

The length of time occupied by stomach digestion in the horse
varies with the different feeds. Hay and straw pass out of the stom-
ach more rapidly than oats. It would seem to follow, then, that oats
should be given after ha}^, for if reversed the hay would cause the
oats to be sent onward into the intestines before being fully acted
upon by the stomach, and as a result produce indigestion. Experi-
ence confirms this. There is another good reason why hay should be
given first, particularly if the horse is very hungry or if exhausted
from overAvork, namely, it requires more time in mastication (insur-
ing proper admixture of saliva) and can not be bolted, as are the
grains. In either instance water must not be given soon after feed-
ing, as it washes or sluices the feed from the stomach before it is fitted
for intestinal digestion.

The stomach begins to empty itself very soon after the commence-
ment of feeding, and continues rapidly while eating. Afterwards
the passage is slower, and several hours are required before the stom-
ach is entirely empty. The nature of the work required of the horse
must guide us in the selection of his feed. Rapid or severe labor can
not be performed on a full stomach. For such labor feed must be
given in small quantit}' and about two hours before going to work.
Even horses intended for slow Avork must neA^er be engorged Avith
Ijiilky, innutritions feed immediately before going to labor. The
small stomach of the hoise Avould seem to lead us to the conclusion
that he should be fed in small quantities and often, Avhieh. in reality,
should be done. The disproportion betAveen the size of tlie stomach
and the quantity of Avater drunk tells us plainly that the horee
should alAvays be Avatered before feeding. One of the common
errors of feeding, and the one that produces more digestiA-e disorders
than any other, is fo feed too soon after a hard daifs icorl'. Tliis
must never be done. If a horse is completely jaded, it Avill be found
beneficial to give him an alcoholic stimulant on going into the stable.
A small (quantity of hay may then be giA'en, but his grain should be
withheld for one or tAvo hours. These same remarks Avill apply with
e(jual force to the hoise that for any reason has been fasting for a
hmg time. After a fast, feed less than the horse Avould eat, for if
ialloAvcd too much the stomach becomes engorged, its Avails paralyzed,
and "colir"' ic: almost sui-e to folloAv. The horse should be fed

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 53

three or four times a day. It will not do to feed him entirely upon
concentrated feed. Bulky feed must be given to detain the grains
in their passage through the intestinal tract; bulk also favors dis-
tention, and thus mechanically aids absorption. For horses that
do slow work the gi-eater part of the time, chopped or cut hay fed
with crushed oats, ground corn, etc., is the best manner of feed-
ing, as it gives the required bulk, saves time, and half the labor of
feeding.

Sudden changes of diet are always dangerous. AVhen desirous cf
changing, do so very gradually. If a horse is accustomed to oats,
a sudden change to a full meal of corn will almost always sicken him.
If we merely intend to increase the quantity of the usual feed, this
also must be done gradually. The quantity of feed given must
always be in proportion to the amount of labor to be performed. If
a horse is to do a small amount of work, or rest entirely from work
for a few days, he should receive a proportionate quantity of feed.
If this should be observed even on Saturday night and Sunday, there
would be fewer cases of "Monday morning sickness," such as colics
and lymphangitis.

Feeds should also be of a more laxative nature when the horse is to
stand for several days.

Musty or moldy feeds. — Above all things, avoid feeding musty
or moldy feeds. They are very frequent causes of disease of different
kinds. Lung trouble, such as bronchitis and ^"heaves," often follows
their use. The digestive organs always suffer from moldy or musty
feeds. Musty hay is generally considered to produce disorder of
the kidneys, and all know of the danger from feeding pregnant
animals upon ergotized grasses or grains. It has often been said
to produce that peculiar disease known variously as cerebrospinal
meningitis, putrid sore throat, or choking distemper.

Hay. — The best hay for horses is timothy. It should be about one
year old, of a greenish color, crisp, clean, fresh, and possessing a
sweet, pleasant aroma. Even this good hay, if kept too long, loses
part of its nourishment, and, while it may not be positively in-
jurious, it is hard, dry, and indigestible. New hay is difficult to
digest, produces much salivation (slobbering), and occasional purg-
iner and irritation of the sldn. If fed at all it should be mixed with
old hay.

Second erop^ or afterm.ath. — This is not considered good hay for
horses, but it is prized by some farmers as good for milch cows,
the claim being made that it increases the flow of milk. The value
of hay depends upon the time of cutting, as well as care in the
curing. Hay should be cut when in full flower, but before the seeds
fall; if left longer it becomes dry, woody, and lacks in nutrition.

54 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

All essential point in making hay is that when the crop is cut it
shoukl remain in the field as short a time as possible. If left too
long in the sun it loses color, flavor, and dries or wastes. Smith
asserts that one hour more than is necessary in the sun causes a loss
of 15 to 20 per cent in the feeding value of hay. It is impossible to
state any fixed time that hay must have to cure, this depending, of
course, upon the weather, thickness of the crop, and many other cir-
cumstances: but it is well known that in order to preserve the color
and aroma of hay it should be turned or tedded frequently and
cured as quickly as possible. On the other hand, hay spoils in the
mow if harvested too green or when not sufficiently dried. Mow-
burnt hay produces disorder of the kidneys and bowels and causes the
horse to fall off in condition.

The average horse on grain should be allowed from 10 to 12 pounds
of good hay a day. It is a mistake of many to think that horses at
light work can be kept entirely on hay. Such horses soon become
put-bellied, fall off in flesh, and do not thrive. The same is true of
colts; unless the latter are fed with some grain they grow up to be
long, lean, gawky creatures, and never make so good horses as those
accustomed to grain with, or in addition to, their hay.

Straw\ — The straws are not extensively fed in this country, and
when used at all they should be cut and mixed with hay and ground
or crushed grain. Wheat, rye, and oat straw are the ones most
used; of these, oat straw is most easily digested and contains the
most nourishment. Pea and bean straw are occasionally fed to
horses, the pea being preferable, according to most writers.

Chaff. — Wheat and rye chaff should never be used as a feed for
horses. The beards frequently become lodged in the mouth or throat
and are productive of more or less serious trouble. In the stomach
and intestines they often, serve as the nucleus of the "soft concre-
tions," which are to be described when treating of obstructions of the
digestive tract.

Oat chaff, if fed in small quantities and mixed with cut hay or
corn fodder, is very much relished by horses. It is not to be given in
large quantities, as I have repeatedly witnessed a troublesome and
sometimes fatal diarrhea following the practice of allowing horses
or cattle free access to a pile of oat chaff.

Grains. — Oats take precedence of all grains as a feed for horses,
as the ingredients necessary for the complete nutrition of the body
exist in them in the best proportions. Oats are, besides, more easily
digested and a larger }noi)ortion absorbed and converted into the
various tissues of the body. Care must be taken in selecting oats.
According to Stewart, the best oats are one year old, plump, short,
hard, clean, bright, and sweet. New oats are indi«restible. Kiln-

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 55

dried oats are to be refused, as a rule, for even though originally
good this drying process injures them. Oats that have sprouted or
fermented are injurious and should never be fed. Oats are to be
given either whole or crushed — whole in the majority of instances;
crushed to old horses and those having defective teeth. Horses that
bolt their feed are also best fed upon crushed oats and out of a
manger large enough to permit of spreading the gi'ain in a thin
layer.

In addition to the allowance of hay above mentioned, the average
horse requires about 12 quarts of good oats daily. The best oats are
those cut about one week before they are fully ripe. Not only is the
grain richer in nutritive materials at this time, but there is also less
waste from " scattering " than if left to become dead ripe. Moldy
oats, like hay and straw, not only produce serious digestive disorders
but have been the undoubted cause of outbreaks of that dread disease
in horses, already referred to, characterized by inability to eat or
drink, sudden parah^sis, and death.

Wheat and rye. — These grains are not to be used for horses except
in small quantities, bruised or crushed, and fed mixed with other
grains or hay. If fed alone, in any considerable quantities, they are
almost certain to produce digestive disorders, laminitis (founder),
and similar troubles. They should never constitute more than one-
fourth the grain allowance, and should always be ground or crushed.

Bran. — The bran of wheat is the one most used, and its value as a
feeding stuff is variously estimated. It is not to be depended upon if
given alone, but may be fed with other grains. It serves to keep the
bowels open. Sour bran is not to be given, for it disorders the
stomach and intestines and may even produce serious results.

Maize (corn). — This grain is not suitable as an exclusive feed for
young horses, as it is deficient in salts. It is fed whole or ground.
Corn on the cob is commonly used for horses affected with " lampas,"
If the corn is old and is to be fed in this manner it should be soaked
in pure, clean water for 10 or 12 hours. Corn is better given ground,
and fed in quantities of from 1 to 2 quarts at a meal, mixed with
crushed oats or wheat bran. Great care should be taken in giving
corn to a horse that is not accustomed to its use. It must be com-
menced in small quantities and very gradually increased. I know
of no grain more liable to produce what is called acute indigestion
than corn if these directions are not observed.

Linseed. — Ground linseed is occasionally fed with other feeds to
keep the bowels open and to improve the condition of the skin. It is
of particular service during convalescence, when the bowels are slug-
gish in their action. Linseed tea is very often given in irritable or
inflamed conditions of the digestive organs.

56 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Potatoes. — These are used as an article of feed for the horse in
rnany sections. If fed raw and in large quantities they often produce
indigestion. Their digestibility is increased b}^ steaming or boiling.
They possess, in common with other roots, slight laxative properties.

Beets. — These are not much used as feed for horses.

Carrots. — These make a most excellent feed, particularly during
sickness. They improve the appetite and slightly increase the action
of the bowels and kidneys. They possess also certain alterative projD-
erties, making the coat smooth and glossy. Some veterinary writers
assert tliat chronic cough is cured by giving carrots for some time.
Tlie roots may be considered, then, as an adjunct to the regular
legimen, and if fed in small quantities are highly beneficial.

Grasses. — Grass is the natural food of horses. It is composed of
a gi-eat variety of plants, differing widely as to the amount of nour-
ishment contained, some being almost entirely without value and
only eaten when nothing else is obtainable, while others are posi-
tively injurious, or even poisonous. None of the grasses are suffi-
cient to keep the horse in condition for work. Horses thus fed are
"'soft," sweat easily, purge, and soon tire on the road or when at
liard work. Grass is indispensable to growing stock, and there is
little or no doubt that it acts as an alterative when given to horses
accustomed to grain and hay. It must be given to such horses in
small (juantities at first. The stomach and intestines undergo rest,
and recuperate if the horse is turned to grass for a time each year.
It is also certain that during febrile diseases grass acts almost as a
medicine, lessening the fever and favoring recovery. Wounds heal
more rapidly than when the horse is on grain, and some chronic dis-
(fiders (chronic cough, for instance) disappear entirely when at grass.
In my experience, gi-ass does more good when the horse crops it him-
self. This may be due to the sense of freedom he enjoys at pasture,
to tlie rest to his feet and limbs, and for many other similar reasons.
WTien cut for him it should be fed fresh or when but slightly w ilted.

Sii^oE. — Regarding silage as a feed for horses, Rommel in Farm-
ers' Bulletin 578 writes as follows:

Silii^e lias not been generally fed to horses, partly on account of a certain
amount of danger which attends its use for this purpose, Init still more, per-
hjips, on account of prejudice. In many cases horses have been killed by
♦ atiriK moldy silage, and the careless person who fed it at once blamed the
Bilago itself, rather than his own carelessness and the mold which really was
tlie cause of the trouble. Horses are peculiarly susceptible to the effects of
iiHilds. and under certain conditions certain molds grow on silage which are
deadly poisons t<» both horses and mules. Molds must have air to grow, and
therefore silage wliich is packed air-tight and fed out rapidly will not become
moldy. If the feeder watches the silage carefully as the weather warms up
lie en II soon detect the presence of mold. When mold appears, feeding to
horses or nnil<s slioiild >^iop iniiiiediately.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 57

It is also unsafe to feed horses frozen silage on account of the danger of
colic. * * *

To summarize, silage is safe to feed to horses and mules only when it is
made from fairly mature corn, properly store<l in the silo. When it is prop-
erly stored and is not allowed to mold, no feed exceeds it as a cheap winter
ration. It is most valuable for horses and mules which are not at heavy
work, such as brood mares and work horses during the slack season. With
plenty of grain on the cornstalks, horses will keep in good condition on a
ration of 20 pounds of silage and 10 pounds of hay for each 1,000 pounds of
live weight.

PREPARATION OF FEEDS.

Feed is prepared for any of the following reasons: To render it
more easily eaten; to make it more digestible; to economize in
amount; to give it some new property; and to preserve it. We have
already spoken of the preparation of drying, and need not revert to
this again, as it only serves to preserve the different feeds. Drying
doe«, however, change some of the properties of feed, /. e., removes
the laxative tendency of most of them.

The different grains are more easily eaten when ground, crushed,
or even boiled. Rye or wheat shoidd never be given whole, and even
of corn it is found that there is less waste when ground, and. in
common with all other grains, it is more easily digested than when
fed whole.

Hay and fodder are economized when cut in short pieces. Not
only will the horse eat the necessary quantity in a shorter time, but it
will be found that there is less waste, and the mastication of the
grains (whole or crushed) fed with them is insured.

Reference has already been made to those horses that bolt their
feed, and we need only remark here that the consequences of such
ravenous eating may be prevented if the grains are fed with cut hay,
straw, or fodder. Long or uncut hay should also be fed, even though
a certain quantity of hay or straw is cut and fed mixed with grain.

One objection to feeding cut hay mixed with ground or crushed
grains, and wetted, must not be overlooked during the hot months.
Such feed is liable to undergo fermentation if not fed directly after
it is mixed: even the mixing trough, unless frequently scalded and
cleaned, becomes sour and enough of its scrapings are given with the
feed to produce flatulent (wind) colic. A small quantity of salt
should always be mixed with such feed. Bad hay should never be
cut simply because it insures a greater consumption of it ; bad feeds
are dear at any price, and should never be fed.

The advantage of boiling roots has been mentioned. Not only
does this render them less liable to produce digestive disorders, but it
also makes them clean. Boiling or steaming grains is to be recom-
mended when the teeth are poor, or when the digestive organs are
weak.

58 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

DISEASES OF THE TEETH.

Dentition.— This covers the period during which the young horse
is cutting his teeth— from birth to the age of 5 years. With the
liorse more difficulty is experienced in cutting the second or per-
manent teeth than with the first or milk teeth. There is a tendency
among farmers and many veterinarians to pay too little attention to
the teeth of young horses. Percivall relates an instance illustrative
of this that is best told in his own words :

I was requested to give my opiniou concerning a horse, then in his fifth year,
who had fed so sparingly for the last fortnight, and so rapidly declined in con-
dition in consequence, that his owner, a veterinary surgeon, was under no light
apprehensions about his life. He had himself examined his mouth without
liaving discovered any defect or disease, though another veterinary surgeon
was of opinion that the difficulty or inability manifested in mastication, and
the consequent cudding, arose from preternatural bluntness of the surfaces of
the molar teeth, which were, in consequence, filed, but without beneficial result.
It was after this that I saw the horse, and I confess I was, at my first examina-
tion, quite as much at a loss to offer any satisfactory interpretation as others
had been. While meditating, however, after my inspection, on the apparently
extraordinary nature of the case, it struck me that I had not seen the tusks. I
went back into the stable and discovered two little tumors, red and hard, in the
situation of the inferior tusks, which, when pressed, gave the animal insuffer-
al)le pain. I instantly took out my pocketknife and made crucial incisions
through them both, down to the coming teeth, from which moment tlie horse
recovered his appetite and, by degrees, his wonted condition.

The mouths of young horses should be examined from time to tune
to see whether one or more of the milk teeth are not remaining too
long, causing the second teeth to grow in crooked, in which case the
first teeth should be removed with the forceps.

Irregularities of teeth. — There is a fashion of late years, espe-
cially in large cities, to have horses' teeth regularly " floated,"' or
" rasped," by " veterinary dentists." In some instances this is very
beneficial, while in most cases it is entirely unnecessary. From the
character of the feed, the rubbing, or grinding, surface of the horse's
teeth should be rough. Still, we must remember that the upper jaw
is somewhat wider than the lower, and that, from the fact of the teeth
not being perfectly apposed, a sharp ridge is left unworn on the
inside of the lower molars and on the outside of the upper, which may
excoriate the tongue or cheeks to a considerable extent. This condi-
tion may readily be felt by the hand, and these sharp ridges when
found should be rasped down by a guarded rasp. In some instances
the fiist or last molar tooth is unnaturally long, owing to the fact
lliat its fellow in the opposite jaw has been lost or does not close per-
fectly against it. Should it be the last molar that is thus elongated,

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

PLATE IV.

ZEESE-WILKINSON CO., INC., N.Y.

AGE OF HORSES AS INDICATED BY TEETH.

Longitudinal section of left central lower incisor
and cross sections of same tooth showing table surfaces
as they appear at the ages of 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 20 and 25
years. C, Cement; D, Dentine; E, Enamel; I, Infundib-
ulum; K, Cup; P, Pulp Cavity; S, Star.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 59

it will require the aid of the veterinary surgeon, who has the neces-
sary forceps or chisel for cutting it. The front molar may be rasped
down, if much patience is taken. In decay of the teeth it is quite
common to find the tooth corresponding to the decayed one on the
opposite jaw very much elongated, sometimes to such an extent that
the mouth can not be perfectly closed. Such teeth must also be
shortened by the tooth forceps, chisel, tooth saw, or rasp. In all
instances in which horses " quid " their feed, if they are slobbering,
or evince pain in mastication, shown by holding the head to one side
while chewing, the teeth should be carefully examined. Horses whose
teeth have unduly sharp edges are liable to drive badly; they pull
to one side, do not bear on the bit, or bear on too hard and " big," toss
the head, and start suddenly when a tender spot is touched. If, as
iS mostly the case, all the symptoms are referable to sharp corners or
j)rojections, these must be removed by the rasp. If decayed teeth
v.vQ found, or other serious difficulty detected, or if the cause of the
annoying symptoms is not discovered, an expert should be called.

Toothache. — This is rare in the horse and is mostly witnessed when
there is decay of a tooth or inflammation about its root. Toothache
is to be discovered in the horse by the pain expressed by him while
feeding or drinking cold water. I have seen horses, affected with
toothache, that would suddenly stop chewing, throw the head to one
side, and slightly open the mouth. They behave as though some
sharp body had punctured the mouth. If upon examination no
foreign body is found, we must then carefully examine each tooth.
If this can not be done w ith the hand in the mouth, we can, in most
instances, discover the aching tooth by pressing each tooth from
without. By tapping the teeth in succession with a hard object, such
as a small hammer, the one that is tender may be identified. The
horse will flinch when the sore tooth is pressed or tapped upon. In
most cases there is nothing to be done but extract the decayed tooth,
and this, of course, is to be attempted by the veterinarian only.

Deformity. — There is a deformity, known as parrot-mouth, that
interferes with prehension, mastication, and, indirectly, with diges-
tion. The upper incisors project in front of and beyond the lower
ones. The teeth of both jaws become unusually long, as they are not
worn down by friction. Such horses experience much difficulty in
grazing. Little can be done except to examine the teeth occasionally,
and if those of the lower jaw become so long that they bruise the
" bars" of the upper jaw, they must be shortened by the rasp or saw.
Horses with this deformity should never be left entirely at pasture.

The method of determining the age of a horse by the teeth is illus-
trated in Plate IV.

QQ DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

DISEASES OF THE MOUTH.

LAMPAS.

Lanipas is the name given to a swelling of the mucous membrane"
covering the hard palate and projecting in a more or less prominent
ridge immediately behind the upper incisors. The hard palate is
composed of spongy tissue that fills with blood when the horse is
feeding, which causes the ridges to become prominent, and they then
help to keep feed from dropping from the mouth. This swelling is
entirely natural and occurs in every healthy horse. Where there is
some irritation in the mouth, as in stomatitis or during teething, the
prt.minence of the hard palate may persist, owing to the increased
blood supply. In such cases the cause of the irritation should be
sought for and removed. By way of direct treatment, slight scari-
fication is the most that will be required. Burning the lampas is
barbarous and injurious, and it should never be tolerated.

It is a quite common opinion among owners of horses and stable-
men that lampas is a disease that very frequently exists. In fact
whenever a horse fails to eat, and if he does not exhibit very marked
symptoms of a severe illness, they say at once " he has the lampas."
It is almost impossible to convince them to the contrary: yet it is
not the case. It may be put down, then, as an affliction of the stable-
man's imagination rather than of the horse's mouth.

STOMATITIS.

Stomatitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the
mouth and is produced by irritating medicines, feeds, or other sub-
t^tances. The symptoms are swelling of the mouth, which is also hot
and painful to the touch; there is a copious discharge of saliva: the
mucous membrane is reddened, and in some cases vesicles or ulcers
\n the mouth are observed. The treatment is simple, soft feed alone
often being all that is necessary. A bucket of fresh, cold Avater
siiould be kept constantly in the manger so that the horse may drink
or rinse his mouth at will. In some instances, it may be advisable
to u<^e a wash of chlorate of potash, borax, or alum, about one-half
ounce to a pint of water. Hay, straw, or oats should not be fed
unless steamed or boiled. A form of contagious stomatitis, charac-
terized by the formation within the mouth of small vesicles, or blis-
ters. Sometimes occuis. In this disease the horse should be isolated
fiom other horses, and his stall, especially the feed box, and his bit
should lie disinfected.

GLOSSITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE TONGUE).

Glossitis, tir inflammation of the tongue, is very similar to stoma-
titis, and njostly exists with it and is due to the same causes. Injuries
to the tongue luay ))roduf'e this simple inflammation of its covering

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE OROANS. 61.

membrane, or, if severe, may produce lesions much more extensive,
such as lacerations, abscesses, etc. These latter would require sur-
gical treatment, but for the simpler forms of inflammation of the
tongue the treatment recommended for stomatitis should be followed.

SALIVATION (PTYALISM).

Ptyalism, or salivation, consists in an abnormal and excessive se-
cretion of saliva. This is often seen as a symptom of irregular teeth ;
inflammation of the mouth or tongue, or of the use of such medicines
as lobelia, mercury, and many others. Some feeds, such as clover,
and particularly second crop, produce it; foreign bodies, such as
nails, wheat chaff, and corncobs becoming lodged in the mouth, also
are causes. If the cause is removed no further attention is necessary,
as a rule. Astringent washes may be applied to the mouth as a
gargle or by means of a sponge.

PHARYNGITIS.

Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining
©f the pharynx or throat. It rarely exists unless accompanied with
stomatitis or laryngitis, especially the latter. In those rare instances
in which the inflammation is mostly confined to the pharynx* are
noticed febrile symptoms — difficulty of swallowing either liquids or
solids; there is but little cough except when trying to swallow; there
is no soreness on pressure over larynx (head of the windpipe). In-
creased flow of saliva, difficult}^ of swallowing liquids in particular,
and cough only when attempting to swallow, are the symptoms best
marked in pharyngitis. In some cases the throat becomes gangrenous
and the disease ends in death. For treatment a wet sheet should be
wrapped around the throat and covered with rubber sheeting and a
warm blanket. This should be changed three times daily; or the
region of the throat may be rubbed with mercurial ointment twice
daily until the skin becomes irritated, but no longer; chlorate of
potash may be given in 2-dram doses four times daily, mixed with
flaxseed meal or licorice-root powder and honey, as an electuary.
Soft feeds should be given, and fresh water should be constantly
before the horse.

PARALYSIS OF THE PHARYNX.

Paralysis of the pharynx, or, as it is commonly called, " paralysis
of the throat," is a rare but very serious disease. The symptoms are
as follows : The horse will constantly try to eat or drink, but will be
unable to do so; if water is oifered him from a pail he will ap-
parently drink with avidity, but the quantity of water in the pail
will remain about the same; he will continue by the hour to try to
drink ; if he can get any fluid into the back part of the mouth it will
come out at once through the nose. Feeds also return through the

62 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

nose, or are dropped from the mouth, qiiidded. An examination
of the mouth by inserting the hand fails to find any obstruction or
any abnormal condition. These cases go on from bad to worse ; the
horse constantly and rapidly loses in condition, becomes very much
emaciated, the eyes are hollow and lusterless, and death occurs from

inanition.

Treatment is very unsatisfactory. A severe blister should be ap-
plied behind and under the jaw; the mouth is to be frequently
swabbed out with alum or chlorate of potash, 1 ounce to a pint of
water, by means of a sponge fastened to the end of a stick. Strych-
nia may be given in 1-grain doses two or three times a day.

This disease may be mistaken at times for foreign bodies in the
mouth or for the so-called cerebrospinal meningitis. It is to be dis-
tinguished from the former, upon a careful examination of the
mouth, by the absence of any offending body and by the flabby feel
of the mouth, and from the latter by the animal appearing in perfect
health in every particular except this inability to eat or drink.

ABSCESSES.

Abscesses sometimes form back of the pharynx and give rise to
synijitoms resembling those of laryngitis or distemper. Interference
with breathing that is of recent origin and progression, without any
observable swelling or soreness about the throat, will make one sus-
pect the formation of an abscess in this location. But little can be
done in the way of treatment, save to hurry the ripening of the
abscess and its discharge by steaming with hops, hay, or similar sub-
stances and by poulticing the throat. The operation for opening an
abscess in this region necessitates an intimate knowledge of the
complex anatomy of the throat region.

DISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS OR GULLET.

It is rare to find diseases of this organ, except as a result of the
introduction of foreign bodies too large to pass or to the administer-
ing of irritating medicines. In the administration of irritant or
caustic medicines great care should be taken that they be thoroughly
diluted. If this is not done, erosions and ulcerations of the throat
ensue, and this again is prone to be followed by constriction (nar-
rowing) of the gullet.

CHOKING.

The mechanical trouble of choking is quite common. It may
occur when the animal is suddenly startled while eating apples or
roots, and we should be careful never to approach suddenly or put
a dog after hoi'ses or cows that are feeding upon such substances.
If left alone these animals very rarely attempt to swallow the object
until it is sutticientlv masticated.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 63

Choking also arises from feeding oats in a deep, narrow manger to
such horses as eat very greedily or bolt their feed. ^^Tieat chaff is
also a frequent cause of choke. This accident may result from the
attempts to force eggs down without breaking or from giving balls
that are too large or not of the proper shape.

A^Tiatever object causes the choking, it may lodge in the upper
part of the esophagus, at its middle portion, or close to the stomach,
giving rise to the designations of pharyngeal, cervical, and thoracic
choke. In some cases where the original obstruction is low we find
all that part of the gullet above it to be distended with feed.

SyTnjytonis. — The symptoms vary somewhat according to the posi-
tion of the body causing choke. In pharyngeal choke the object is
lodged in the upper portion of the esophagus. The horse will pre-
sent symptoms of great distress, hurried breathing, frequent cough,
excessive flow of saliva, sweating, trembling, or stamping with the
fore feet. The abdomen rapidly distends with gas. The diagnosis
is completed by manipulating the upper part of the throat from
without and by the introduction of the hand into the back part of
the mouth, finding the body lodged here. In cervical choke (where
the obstruction is situated at any point between the throatlatch and
the shoulder) the protrusion caused by the object can be seen and the
object can be felt. The symptoms here are not so severe ; the horse
will be seen occasionally to draw himself up, arch his neck, and
make retching movements as though he wished to vomit. The ab-
domen may be tj^mpanitic. Should there be any question as to the
trouble, a conclusion may be reached by pouring water into the throat
from a bottle. If the obstruction is complete, by standing on the
left side of the horse and watching the course of the esophagus,
you can see the gullet, just above the windpipe, become distended
with each bottle of water. This is not always a sure test, as the
obstruction may be an angular body, in which case liquids would pass
it. Solids taken would show in these cases; solids should not, how-
ever, be given, as they serve to increase the trouble by rendering the
removal of the body more difficult.

In thoracic choke the symptoms are less severe. Feed or water
may be ejected through the nose or mouth after the animal has taken
a few swallows. There will be some symptoms of distress, fullness
of the abdomen, cough, and occasionally retching movements. Some-
times a choking horse is heard to emit groans. The facial expression
always denotes great anxiety and the eyes are bloodshot. The
diagnosis is complete if, upon passing the probang (a flexible tube
made for this purpose) , an obstruction is encountered.

Treatment. — If the choke is at the beginning of the gullet (pharyn-
geal) an effort must be made to remove the obstacle through the
mouth. A mouthgag. or speculum, is to be introduced into the

04 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

iDOutli to protect the hand and arm of the operator. Then, while an
assistant, with his hands grasped tightly hekind the object, presses
it upward and forward with all his force, the operator miist pass his
hand into the mouth until he can seize the obstruction and draw it
outward. This mode of procedure must not be abandoned with the
first failure, as by continued efforts we may get the obstacle fjirther
toward the moutii. If we fail with the hand, forceps may be intro-
duced through the mouth and the object seized when it is just beyond
the reach of the lingers. Should our efforts entirely fail, we must
then endeavor to force the obstruction downward by means of the
probang. This instrument, which is of such signal service in remov-
ing choke in cattle, is decidedly more dangerous to use for the horse,
and I can not pass this point without a Avord of caution to those who
have been known to introduce into the horse's throat such objects as
whipstalks, shovel handles, etc. These are always dangerous, and
more than one horse has been killed by such barbarous treatment.

In cervical as well as in thoracic choke we must first of all endeavor
to soften or lubricate the obstruction by pouring oil or mucilaginous
drinks down the gullet. After this has been done endeavor to move
the object by gentle manipulations with the hands. If choked with
oats or chaff (and these are the objects that most frequently pro-
duce choke in the horse), begin by gently squeezing the lower por-
tion of the impacted mass and endeavor to work it loose a little at a
time. This is greatly favored at times if we apply hot fomentations
immediately about the obstruction. Persist in these efforts for at
least an hour before deciding to resort to other and more dangerous
modes of treatment. If unsuccessful, however, the probang may
be used. In the absence of the regular instrument, a piece of inch
hose 6 feet long or a piece of new three-quarter-inch manila rope
well wrapped at the end with cotton twine and thoroughly gieased
with tallow should be used. The mouth is to be kept open by a gag
of wood or iron and the head slightly raised and extended. The pro-
bang is then to be carefully guided by the hand into the upper part of
the gullet and gently forced downward until the obstruction is
reached. Pressure must then be gi^adual and firm. At first too
much force should not be used, or the esophagus will be ruptured.
Fii-m. gentle pressure should be kept up until the object is felt to
move, after which it should be followed rapidly to the stomach.
If this mode of treatment is unsuccessful, a veterinarian or a physi-
cian should be called, who can remove the object by cutting down
upon it. This should scarcely be attempted by a novice, as a knoAvl-
edge of the anatomy of the parts is essential to avoid cutting the
large aitery, vein, and nerve that are closely related to the esophagus
in its cervical portion.

DISEASES OP THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 65

Thoracic choke can be treated only by means of the introduction
of oils and mucilaginous drinks and the careful use of the probang.

STRICTURE OF THE ESOPHAGUS.

This is due to corrosive medicines, previous choking (accompanied
with lacerations, which, in healing, narrow the passage), or pressure
on the gullet by tumors. In the majority of cases of stricture, dila-
tation of the gullet in front of the constricted portion soon occurs.
This dilatation is the result of the frequent accumulation of solid feed
above the constriction. Little can be done in either of these instances
except to give sloppy or liquid feed.

SACULAR DILATATION OF THE ESOPHAGUS.

This follow^s choking, and is due to stretching or rupture of the
muscular coat of the gullet, allowing the internal, or mucous, coat
to protrude through the lacerated muscular walls. Such a dilatation,
or pouch, may gradually enlarge from the frequent imprisonment
of feed. AVhen liquids are taken, the solid materials are partially
washed out of the pouch.

The symptoms are as follows : The horse is able to swallow a few
mouthfuls without apparent difficulty; then he will stop feeding,
paw, contract the muscles of his neck, and eject a portion of the feed
through his nose or mouth, or it Avill gradually work down to the
stomach. As the dilatation thus empties itself the symptoms grad-
ually subside, only to reappear when he has again taken solid feed.
Liquids pass without any, or but little, inconvenience. Should this
dilatation exist in the cervical region, surgical interference may
sometimes prove effectual; if in the' thoracic portion, nothing can
be done, and the patient rapidly passes from hand to hand by " swap-
ping," until, at no distant date, the contents of the sac become too
firm to be dislodged as heretofore, and the animal succumbs.

DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND INTESTINES.

As a rule it is most difficult to distinguish between diseases of the
stomach and of the intestines of the horse. The reason for this is
that the stomach is relatively small. It lies away from the abdom-
inal wall, and so pressure from without can not be brought to bear
upon it to reveal sensitiveness or pain. Nor does enlargement, or
distention, of the stomach produce visible alteration in the foi"m of
the abdomen of the horse. Moreover, it is a rule to which there are
few exceptions, that an irritant or cause of disease of the stomach
acts likewise upon the intestines, so that it is customary to find them
similarly deranged. For these reasons it is logical to discuss together
54763°— 23 5

g5 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the diseases of the stomach and intestines and to point out such
localizations in one organ or another as are of importance in recog-
nizing and treating the diseases of the digestive organs of the horse.
It should be understood that gastritis signifies an inflammation of
the stomach and enteritis an inflammation of the intestines. The two
terms may be used together to signify a disease of the stomach and
intestines, as gastroenteritis.

COLIC.

The disease of the horse that is most frequently met with is what
is termed "colic," and many are the remedies that are reputed to be
" sure cures " for this disease. Let us discover, then, what the word
" colic " means. This term is applied loosely to almost all diseases of
the organs of the abdomen that are accompanied with pain. If the
horse evinces abdominal pain, he probabh^ will be considered as suf-
fering with colic, no matter whether the difficulty is a cramp of the
bowel, an internal hernia, overloading of the stomach, or a painful
disease of the bladder or liver. Since these conditions differ so much
in their causation and their nature, it is manifestly absurd to treat
tliem alike and to expect the same drugs or procedures to relieve them
all. Therefore, it is important that, so far as possible, the various
diseased states that are so roughly classed together as colic shall be
separated and individualized in order that appropriate treatments
may be prescribed. With this object in view, colics will be consid-
ered under the following headings: (1) Engorgement colic, (2) ob-
struction colic, (3) flatulent or tympanitic colic, (1) spasmodic
colic. Worm colic is discussed under the heading " Gastrointestinal
parasites," page 90.

The general symptoms of abdominal pain, and therefore of colic,
are restlessness, cessation of whatever the horse is about, lying down,
looking around toward the flank, kicking with the hind feet upward
and forward toward the bell3% jerky switching of the tail, stretching
as though to urinate, frequent change of position, and groaning. In
the more intense forms the horse plunges about, throws himself, rolls,
assumes unnatural positions, as sitting on the haunches, and grunts
loudly. Usually the pain is not constant, and during the intermis-
sions the horse may eat and appear normal. During the period of
pain sweat is poured out freely. Sometimes the horse moves con-
stantly in a circle. The respirations are accelerated, and usually
there is no fever.

Engokgemkxt colic. — This form of colic consists in an overload-
ing of the stomach with feed. The horse may have been overfed or
the feed may have collected in the stomach through failure of this
organ to digest it and pass it backward into the intestines. Even a
normal quantity of feed that the horse is unaccustomed to may cause

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 67

disease. Hence a sudden change of feed mnj produce engorgement
colic. Continued full rations while the horse is resting for a day or
two or working too soon after feeding may serve as a cause. New
oats, corn, or hay, damaged feed, or that which is difficult of diges-
tion, such as barley or beans, may incite engorgement colic. This
disease may result from having fed the horse twice by error or from
its having escaped and taken an unrestricted meal from the grain
bin. Ground feeds that pack together, making a sort of dough, may
cause engorgement colic if they are not mixed with cut hay. Greedy
eaters are predisposed to this disease.

/SymptoTris. — The horse shows the general signs of abdominal pain,
W' hich may be long continued or of short duration. Retching or vom-
iting movements are made; these are shown by labored breathing,
upturned upper lip, contraction of the flank, active motion at the
throat, and drawing in of the nose toward the breast, causing high
arching of the neck. The horse may assume a sitting position like a
dog. At times the pain is very great and the horse makes the most
violent movements, as though mad. At other times there is profound
mental depression, the horse standing in a sleepy, or dazed, way,
with the head down, the eyes closed, and leaning his head against
the manger or wall. There is, during the struggles, profuse perspira-
tion. Following retching, gas may escape from the mouth, and this
may be followed by a sour froth and some stomach contents. The
horse can not vomit except when the stomach is violently stretched,
and, if the accumulation of feed or gas is great enough to stretch the
stomach so that vomiting is possible, it may be great enough to rup-
ture that organ. So it happens not infrequently that a horse dies
from ruptured stomach after vomiting. After the stomach ruptures,
however, vomiting is impossible. The death rate in this form of
colic is high.

Treatment. — The bowels should be stimulated to contraction by the
use of clysters of large quantities of water and of glycerin. Veteri-
narians use hypodermic injections of eserin or arecolin or intra-
venous injections of barium chlorid, but they must be employed wdth
great caution. It is not profitable to give remedies by the stomach,
for they can not be absorbed. But small doses of morphin (5 grains)
or of the fluid extract of Indian hemp (2 drams) may be placed in
the mouth and are absorbed in part, at least, without passing to the
stomach. These drugs lessen pain and thus help to overcome the
violent movements that are dangerous, because they may be the means
of causing rupture of the diaphragm or stomach. If facilities are
available, relief may be afforded by passing an esophageal tube
through which some of the gaseous and liquid contents of the stomach
may escape.

68 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

liupture of the storruvch, — This mostly occurs as a result of en-
poiged or tympanitic stomach (engorgement colic) and from the
liorse violently throwing himself when so affected. It may result
from disease of the coats of the stomach, gastritis, stones (calculi),
tumors, or anything that closes the opening of the stomach into the
intestines, and v^ry violent pulling or jumping immediately after the
animal has eaten heartily of bulky feed. These or similar causes may
lead to this accident.

Tlie symptoms of rupture of the stomach are not constant or
always reliable. Always make inquiry as to what and how much the
horse has been fed at the last meal. Vomiting may precede rupture
of this organ, as stated above. This accident appears to be most
liable to occur in heavy draft horses. A prominent symptom ob-
served (though it may also occur in diaphragmatic hernia) is w^hen
the horse, if ])ossible, gets the front feet on higher ground than the
liind ones or sits on his haunches, like a dog. This position affords
relief to some extent, and it w'ill be maintained for several minutes;
it is also quickly regained when the hoi*se has changed it for some
other. Colicky symptoms, of course, are present, which vary much
and present no diagnostic value. As the case progresses the horse
will often stretch forw-ard the fore legs, lean backward and down-
ward until the belly nearly touches the ground, and then rise up
again with a groan, after W'hich the fluid from his nostrils is issued
in increased quantity. The pulse is fast and weak, breathing hur-
ried, body bathed in a clammy sweat, limbs tremble violently, the
liorse reels or staggers from side to side, and death quickly ends the
•^cene.

In the absence of any pathognomonic s3nnptom we must consider
the history of the case ; the symptoms of colic that cease suddenly
and are succeeded by cold sweats and tremors; the pulse quick and
small and thready, growing weak and more frequent, and at length
running down and becoming altogether imperceptible; looking back
at the flank and groaning; sometimes crouching with the hind quar-
ters; with or without eiuctation and vomiting.

There is no treatment that can be of any use whatever. Could we
he sure of our diagnosis it would be better to destroy the animal at
<mce. Since, however, there is always the possibility of a mistake in
• liagonsis, we may give powdered opium in 1-dram doses every two
<'!• three hours, with the object of keeping the stomach as quiet as
possil)le.

OnsTHiTCTioN coLTC. — The stomach or bowels may be obstructed
hy accniniilations of partly digested feed (fecal matter), by foreign
bodit^, by dis])lacements, by paralysis, or by abnormal growths.

I m/xu-tum of the large mtestines. — This is a very common bowel
trouble and one which, if not promptly recognized and properly

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 69

treated, results in death. It is caused by overfeeding, especially of
bulky feed containing an excess of indigestible residue ; old, dry, hard
hay, or stalks when largely fed ; deficiency of secretions of the intes-
tinal tracts; lack of water; want of exercise, medicines, etc.

Impaction of the large bowels is to be diagnosed by a slight
abdominal pain, which may disappear for a day or two to reappear
with more violence. The feces are passed somewhat more frequently,
but in smaller quantities and drier; the abdomen is full, but not dis-
tended with gas; the horse at first is noticed to paw and soon begins
to look back at his sides. Probably one of the most characteristic
symptoms is the position assumed when down. He lies flat on his
side, head and legs extended, occasionally raising his head to look
toward his flank; he remains on his side for from five to fifteen
minutes at a time. Evidently this position is the one giving the most
freedom from pain. He rises at times, walks about the stall, paws,
looks at his sides, backs up against the stall, which he presses with his
tail, and soon lies down again, assuming his favored position. The
mtestinal sounds, as heard by applying the ear to the flank, are dimin-
ished, or there is no sound, indicating absence of motion of the bowels.
The bowels may cease entirely to move. The pressure of the dis-
tended intestine upon the bladder may cause the horse to make fre-
quent attempts to urinate. The pulse is but little changed at first,
being full and sluggish; later, if this condition is not overcome, it
becomes rapid and feeble. Horses may suffer from impaction of the
bowels for a w^eek, yet eventually recover, and cases extending two
or even three Aveeks have ended favorably. As a rule, however, they
seldom last more than four or five days, many, in fact, dying sooner
than this.

The treatment consists of efforts to produce movement of the bowels
and to prevent inflammation of the same from arising. A large
cathartic is to be given as early as possible. Either of the follow-
ing is recommended: Powdered Barbados aloes 1 ounce, calomel 2
drams, and powdered nux vomica 1 dram; or linseed oil 1 pint and
croton oil 15 drops; or from 1 pint to 1 quart of castor oil may be
given. Some favor the administration of Epsom or Glauber's salt,
1 pound, with one-quarter pound of common salt, claiming that this
causes the horse to drink largely of water, thus mechanically soften-
ing the impacted mass and favoring its expulsion. Whichever physic
is selected, it is essential that a full dose be given. This is much
better than small and repeated doses. It must be borne in mind that
horses require about twenty-four hours in which to respond to a
physic, and under no circumstances is it to be repeated sooner. If
aloes has been given and has failed to operate at the proper time,
oil or some different cathartic should then be administered. Allow

70 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the liorse all the water he will drink. Calomel may be administered
in half-dram doses, the powder being placed on the tongue, one dose
every two hours until four doses are given.

Enemas of glycerin, 2 to 4 ounces, are often beneficial. Rubbing
or kneading of the abdominal walls and the application of stimulat-
ing liniments or strong mustard water also, at times, favor the ex-
pulsion of this mass. Walking exercise must occasionally be given.
If this treatment is faithfully carried out from the start the majority
of cases will terminate favorably. When relief is not obtained in-
flamnuition of the bowels may ensue and cause death.

( ' onstipation, or costiveness. — This is often witnessed in the horse,
and j)articularly in the foal. Many colts die every year from failure
on the part of the attendant to note the condition of the bowels soon
after birth. WhencAer the foal fails to pass any feces, and in partic-
ular if it presents any signs of colicky pains — straining, etc. — imme-
diate attention must be given it. As a rule, it will be necessary only
to give a few injections of soapy water in the rectum and to introduce
the finger through the anus to break down any hardened mass of
dung found there. If this is not effective a purgative must be given.
Oils are the best for these J^oung animals, and preferably castor oil,
giving from 2 to 4 ounces. The foal should always get the first of
the mother's milk, which, for a few days, possesses decidedly laxative,
properties. If a mare, while suckling, is taking laudanum, morphin,
atropia, or similar medicines, the foal during this time should be fed
by hand and the mare milked upon the ground. Constipation in
adult horses is often the result of long feeding on dry, innutritious
feed, deficiency of intestinal secretions, scanty water supply, or lack
of exercise. If the case is not complicated with colicky symptoms a
change to light, sloppy diet, linseed gruel or tea, with plenty of exer-
cise, is all that is required. If colic exists a cathartic is needed. In
very many instances the constipated condition of the bowels is due
to lack of intestinal secretions, and when so caused may be treated
by giving fluid extract of belladonna in 2-dram doses three times a
day and handful doses of Epsom salt daily in the feed. It is always
best, when ])ossible, to overcome this trouble by a change of diet
lather than by the use of medicines. For the relief of constipation
such succulent feeds as roots, grass, or green forage are recommended.
Silage, however, should be fed sparingly, and not at all unless it is
in the very best condition. Moldy silage may cause fatal disease.

Forelqn hodiefi {caUtiU, stones) in the stomach.— T\\^v^ are prob-
iil)ly but few symptoms exhil)ited by the horse that will lead one to
susjiect the piesence of gastric calculi, and possibly none by which we
(^an unmistakably assert their presence. They have been found most
fre(|uently in millers' horses fed sweepings from the mills. A de-

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 71

praved and capricious appetite is common in horses that have a stone
forming in the stomachs. There is a disposition to eat the wood-
work of the stable, earth, and, in fact, ahnost any substance within
their reach. This symptom must not, however, be considered as
pathognomonic, since it is observed when calculi are not present.
Occasional colics may result from these " stomach stones," and when
the latter lodge at the outlet of the stomach they may give rise to
symptoms of engorged stomach, already described. There is, of
course, no treatment that will prove effectiA'e. Remedies to move the
bowels, to relieve pain, and to combat inflammation should be given.

Intestinal concretions {calculi or stones in the intestm^es) . — These
concretions are usually found in the large bowels, though they are
occasionally seen in the small intestines. They are of various sizes,
weighing from 1 ounce to 25 pounds ; they may be single or multiple,
and differ in composition and appearance, some being soft (com-
posed mostly of animal or vegetable matter) , while others are porous,
or honeycombed (consisting of animal and mineral matter), and
others are entirely hard and stonelike. The hair balls, so common
to the stomach and intestines of cattle, are very rare in horses.
Intestinal calculi form around some foreign body, as a rule — a nail
or piece of wood — whose shape they may assume to a certain extent.
Layers are arranged concentrically around such nucleus until the
sizes above spoken of are attained. These stones are also often
found in millers' horses, as well also as in horses in limestone dis-
tricts, where the water is hard. When the calculi attain a sufficient
size and become lodged or blocked in some part of the intestines,
they cause obstruction, inflammation of the bowels, colicky symp-
toms, and death. There are no certain signs or symptoms that re-
veal them. Recurring colics of the type of impaction colic, but
more severe, may lead one to suspect the existence of this condition.
Examination through the rectum may reveal the calculus.

The symptoms will be those of obstruction of the bowels. Upon
post-mortem examinations these stones will be discovered mostly in
the large bowels ; the intestines will be inflamed or gangrenous about
the point of obstruction. Sometimes calculi have been expelled by
the action of a physic, or they may be removed by the hand when
found to occupy the rectum.

As in concretions of the stomach, but little can be done in the way
of treatment more than to overcome spasm (if any exists), and to
give physics with the hope of dislodging the stone or stones and
carrying them on and outward.

Intussusception^ or invagination. — This is the slipping of a portion
of the intestine into another portion immediately adjoining, like a
partially turned glove finger. This may occur at any part of the
bowels, but is most frequent in the small guts. The invaginated por-

72 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

tion may be slight— 2 or 3 inches only— or extensive, measuring as
many feet. In intussusception, the inturned bowel is in the direction
of the anus. There are adhesions of the intestines at this point, con-
gestion, inflammation, or even gangrene. This accident is most liable
to occur in horses that are suffering from spasm of the bowel, or in
those in which a small portion of the gut is paralyzed. The natural
wormlike or ringlike contraction of the gut favors the passage of
the contracted or paralyzed portion into that immediately behind it.
It may occur during the existence of almost any abdominal trouble,
as diarrhea, inflammation of the boAvels, or from injuries, exposure to
cold. etc. A fall or leaping may give the initial maldirection. Foals
are most likely to be thus afflicted.

Unless the invaginated portion of the gut becomes strangulated,
probably no symptoms except constipation will be appreciable.
Strangulation of the bowel may take place suddenly, and the horse
die within 24 hours, or it may occur after several days — a w^eek
even— and death then follow. There are no symptoms positively
diagnostic. Colicky pains, more or less severe and continuous,
are observed, and' at first there may be diarrhea, followed by con-
stipation. Severe straining occurs in some instances of intussuscep-
tion, and when this occurs it should receive due credit. As death
approaches, the horse sweats profusely, sighs, presents an anxious
countenance, the legs and ears become cold, and there is often free-
dom from pain immediately before death. In some rare instances he
recovers, even though the invaginated portion of the gut has become
strangulated. In this case the imprisoned portion sloughs away so
gi-adually that a. union has taken place between the intestines at the
point where one portion has slipped into that behind it. The piece
ploughing off is found passed with the manure. Such cases are ex-
ceedingly rare. Nonirritating laxatives, such as castor oil, sweet oil,
or calomel in small doses, should be given. Soft feed and mucilagi-
nous and nourishing drinks should be given during these attacks.
E. Mayhew Michener has operated successfully on a foal with intus-
susce})tion by opening the abdomen and releasing the imprisoned gut.

Volnilu.^^ (jut f'«\ or tiristhif/ of tJie hotrds. — These are the terms
applied to the bowels when twisted or knotted. This accident is
rather a common one, and frequently results from the violent manner
in which a horse throw's himself about when attacked by spasmodic
colic. The symptoms are the same as those of intussusception and
obstructions of the boAvels; the same directions as to treatment are
therefore to be observed.

P<irah/slti of the intestine. — This occurs in old, debilitated animals
that have been fed on coarse, innutritions fodder. This produces
a condition of dilatation so pronounced as to make it impossible for
the intestine to advance its contents, and so obstruction results. The

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 73

symptoms are as in other forms of obstruction colic. The history of
the case is of much service in diagnosing the trouble. The treatment
consists in the administration of laxatives. One may give 1 quart of
raw linseed oil and follow it the next day with 1 pound of Glauber's
salt dissolved in a quart of warm water. Strychnia may be given in
doses of 1 grain two or three times daily. If the stagnant mass of
feces is in the rectum, it must be removed with the hand.

Ahnorrruil growths^ such as tumors or fibrous tissue, producing
contraction or stricture, may be causes of obstruction. The colic
caused by these conditions is chronic. The attacks occur at gradually
shortening intervals and become progressively more severe. Relief is
afforded by the use of purgatives that render the feces soft and thin
and thus enable them to pass the obstruction, but in time the con-
tracted place is liable to close so far that passage is impossible and
the horse will die.

Flatule]s?t colic (tympanitic colic, wind colic, or bloat). —
Among the most frequent causes of this form of colic are to be men-
tioned sudden changes of feed, too long fasting and feed then given
while the animal is exhausted, new hay or grain, large quantities of
feed that is green or that has lain in the manger for some time and
become sour, indigestible feed, irregular teeth, crib biting, and, in
fact, anything that produces indigestion may produce flatulent colic.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of wind colic are not so suddenly
developed nor so severe as those of cramp colic. At first the horse
is noticed to be dull, paws slightly, and may or may not lie down.
The pains from the start are continuous. The belly enlarges, and
by striking it in front of the haunches a drumlike sound results.
If not soon relieved the above symptoms are aggravated, and in
addition difficult breathing, bloodshot eyes, and red mucous mem-
branes, loud tumultuous heart beat, profuse perspiration, trembling
of front legs, sighing respiration, staggering from side to side are
noticed, and, finally, plunging forward dead. The diagnostic symp-
tom of flatulent colic is the distention of the bowels with gas,
detected by the bloated appearance and resonance on percussion.

Treatment. — The treatment for wind colic differs very greatly
from that of cramp colic. Absorbents are of some service, and
charcoal may be given in any quantity. Relaxants and antispas-
modics are also beneficial in this form of colic. Chloral hydrate not
only possesses these qualities, but it also is an antiferment and a
pain reliever. It is, then, particularly well adapted to the treatment
of wind colic, and should be given in the same-sized doses and in
the nianner directed for spasmodic colic. Aromatic spirits of am-
monia in 1-ounce doses may be given at short intervals.

74 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

A i^hysic should always be given as early as possible in flatulent
colic, the best being Barbados aloes in the dose already mentioned.
Injections, per rectum, of turpentine 1 to 2 ounces, linseed oil 8
ounces, may be given frequently to stimulate the peristaltic motion
of the bowels and to favor the escape of wind. Blankets wrung out
of hot water do much to afford relief; they should be renewed every
5 or 10 minutes and covered with a dry woolen blanket. This form
of colic is much more fatal than cramp colic, and requires prompt
and persistent treatment. It is entirely unsafe to predict the result,
some apparently mild attacks going on to speedy death, while others
that at the onset appear to be very severe yielding rapidly to treat-
ment. No efforts should be spared until the animal is known to be
dead. In these severe cases puncturing of the bowels in the most
prominent (distended) part by means of a small trocar and cannula
or with a needle of a hypodermic syringe, thus allowing the escape
of gas, has often saved life, and such punctures, if made with a
clean, sharp instrument that is not allowed to remain in the horse
too long, are accompanied with little danger and do more to relieve
the patient quickly than any other treatment.

Spasmodic or cramp colic. — This is the name given to that form
of colic in'oduced by contraction, or spasm, of a portion of the small
intestines. It is produced by indigestible feed; large drinks of cold
water when the animal is warm ; driving a heated horse through deep
streams: cold rains: drafts of cold air, etc. Unequal distribution of
or interference Avith the nervous supply here produces ci'amp of
the bowels, the same as external cramps are produced. Spasmodic
colic is much more frequently met with in high-bred, nervous hoi-ses
than in coarse, lymphatic ones.

Sympto7)is. — These should be carefully studied in order to diagnose
this from other forms of colic requiring quite different treatment.
Spasmodic colic always begins suddenly. If feeding, the horse is
seen to stop abruptly, stamp impatiently, and probably look back.
He soon evinces more acute pain, shown by pawing, suddenly lying
down, rolling, and getting up. During the period of pain the in-
testinal sounds, as heard by applying the ear over the flank, are
louder than in health. There is then an interval of ease; he will re-
sume feeding and aj^pear to be entirely Avell. In a little while, how-
ever, the pains return and are increased in severity, only to pass
off again for a time. As the attack progresses these intervals of ease
become shorter and shorter, and pain may be continuous, though even
then there are exacerbations of pain. Animals suffering from this
foiin of colic evince the most intense pain: they throw themselves,
roll ovei- and over, jump up, whirl about, drop down again, paw, or
strike rather, with the front feet, steam and sweat, and make fre-
quent attempts to pass their urine. Only a small quantity of water

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 75

is passed at a time; this is due to the bladder being so frequently
emptied. These attempts to urinate are often regarded by horsemen
as symi)toms of trouble of the kidneys or bladder. In reality they
are only one of the many ways in which the horse expresses the pres-
ence of pain. As a matter of fact, diseases of the bladder or kidneys
of the horse are exceedingly rare.

To recapitulate the SA^mptoms of spasmodic colic : The history of
the case, the type of horse, the suddenness of the attack, the in-
creased intestinal sounds, the intervals of ease (which become of
shorter duration as the case progresses), the violent pain, the normal
temperature and pulse during the intervals of ease, the frequent at-
tempts to urinate, etc., should be kept in mind, and there is then but
little danger of confounding this with other forms of colic.

Treatment. — Since the pain is due to spasm or cramp of the bowels,
medicines that overcome spasms — antispasmodics — are the ones indi-
cated. Chloral hydrate may be used. This is to be given in a dose
of 1 ounce in a pint of water as a drench. As this drug is irritant to
the throat and stomach, it has to be well diluted. A common and
good remedy is sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each 2 ounces, in a
half pint of linseed oil. Another drench may be composed of 2
ounces each of sulphuric ether and alcohol in 8 ounces of water.
Jamaica ginger is useful. If relief is not obtained in one hour from
any of the above doses, they may then be repeated. The body should
be warmly clothed and perspiration induced. Blankets dipped in
very hot water to which a small quantity of turpentine has been
added should be placed around the belly and covered with dry
blankets, or the abdomen may be rubbed with stimulating liniments
or mustard water. The difficulty, however, of applying hot blankets
and keeping them in place forces us in most instances to dispense
with them. If the cramp is due to irritants in the bowels, a cure is
not complete until a cathartic of 1 ounce of aloes or 1 pint of linseed
oil is given. Injections of warm, soapy water or salt and water into
the rectum aid the cure.

Rectal injections, clysters, or enemas as a rule should be lukewarm,
and from 3 to 6 quarts are to be given at a time. They may be
repeated every half hour if necessary. Great care is to be taken not
to injure the rectum in giving such injections. A large syringe or a
piece of rubber hose 4 or 5 feet long, with a funnel attached at one
end, affords the best means by which to give them. The pipe of the
syringe or the hose introduced into the rectum must be blunt, rounded,
and smooth; it is to be thoroughly oiled and then carefully pushed
through the anus in a slightly upward direction. Much force must
be avoided, for the rectum may be lacerated and serious complications
or even death result. Exercise will aid the action of the bowels in this
and similar colicky troubles, but severe galloping or trotting is to be

76 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

avoided. If the horse can have a loose box or paddock, it is the best,
as he will then take what exercise he wants. If the patient is ex-
tl-emely violent, it is often wise to restrain him by leading him with a
halter, since rupture of the stomach or displacement of the bowels
may result and complicate the trouble.

INDIGESTION OR GASTROINTESTINAL CATARRH.

From the facts that they merge insensibly into each other and
usually occur simultaneously, there is ample reas(m for considering
these conditions together. This condition may be acute — that is. of
sudden onset — or it may be chronic. The changes of structure pro-
duced by this disease occur in the mucous membrane lining of the
^^tomach and intestines. This membrane becomes red from increased
blood supply or from hemorrhage into it, is swollen, and is covered
by a coating of slimy mucus. In some especially severe cases the mem-
biane is destroyed in spots, causing the appearance of ulcers or of
erosions.

The causes of indigestion are numerous, but nearly all are the
result of errors in feeding.

Some horses are naturally endowed with weak digestive organs,
and such are predisposed to this condition. Anything that irritates
the stomach or intestines may cause this disease. Feeds that the
animal is unaccustomed to, sudden changes of diet, imperfectly cured,
unripe, or damaged feeds are all fruitful causes, and so are worms.
In suckling foals this condition may come from some disease of the
dam that renders her milk indigestible, or from oA^erexertion or over-
heating of the mare. Another prolific cause is bad teeth, making
mastication imperfect, and thus causing the horse to swallow his feed
in a condition unfit for the action of the digestive juices. Working a
horse too soon or too hard after feeding may cause either colic or
indigestion. Any condition that reduces the vitality, such as disease,
overwork, poor feed, or lack of care, may directly bring on indiges-
tion by weakening the digestive organs.

Si/mptoms. — Indigestion is characterized by irregular appetite;
refusing all feed at times, and at others eating ravenously: the appe-
tite is not only irregular, but is often depraved : there is a disposition
on the part of the horse to eat unusual substances, such as wood,
soiled bedding, or even his ow^n feces: the bowels are irregular to-day,
loose and bnd smelling, to-morrow bound: whole grain is often passed
in the feces, and the hay passed in balls or impacted masses, under-
going but little change: the horse frequently passes considerable
(piantities of Sour-smelling wind. The animal loses flesh, the skin
presents a hard, dry appearance and seems very tight (hide-bound).
If the stomach is very seriouslv involved, the horse mav vawn bv

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 77'

stretching the head forward and upward and by turning the upper
lip outward. There may be more or less colicky pain. In the chronic
cases there is mental depression ; the horse is sluggish and dull. The
abdomen gradually becomes small, giving a " tucked up " appearance,
or, on the other hand, it becomes flaccid and pendulous.

Treatment. — One should commence with the feed — its quality,
quantity, and time of feeding; examine the water supply, and see,
besides, that it is given before feeding; then carefully observe the
condition of the mouth and teeth; and, continuing the observations
as best we may, endeavor to find the seat of the trouble. If the teeth
are sharp or irregular they must be rasped down ; if any are decayed
they must be extracted; if indigestion is due to ravenous eating or
bolting, the feed must then be given from a large manger where the
grain can be spread and the horse thus compelled to eat slowly.

Any irritation, such as worms, undigested feed, etc., that is oper-
ating as a cause is to be removed by appropriate treatment, as advised
elsewhere. If there is a tendency to distention of the stomach and
bowels, with gas, during indigestion, the following may be used:
Baking soda, powdered ginger, and powdered gentian, equal parts.
These are to be thoroughly mixed and given in heaping tablespoonful
doses, twice a day, before feeding. This powder is best given by
dissolving the above-named quantity in a half pint of water and
given as a drench.

As a digestive tonic the following is good : Glauber's salt, 2 pounds ;
common salt, 1 pound; baking soda, one-half pound. Of this a
heaping tablespoonful may be given in each feed. If diarrhea exists,
the treatment advised below may be used.

DIARRHEA.

Diarrhea is due to indigestion or intestinal catarrh or to irritation
of the bowels from eating moldy or musty feed, drinking stagnant
water, diseased condition of the teeth, eating irritating substances, to
being kept on low, marshy pastures, and to exposure during cold
nights, or in low, damp stables. Some horses are predisposed to scour
and are called " washy " by horsemen ; they are those with long
bodies, long legs, and narrow, flat sides. Horses of this build are
almost sure to scour if fed or watered immediately before being put to
work. Fast or road work, of course, aggravates this trouble. Diar-
rhea may exist as a complication of other diseases, as pneumonia and
influenza, for instance, and again during the diseases of the liver.

The symptoms are the frequent evacuations of liquid stools, with or
without pronounced abdominal pain, loss of appetite, emaciation, etc.

Treatment is at times very simple, but requires the utmost care and
judgment. If due to faulty feed or water it is sufficient to change
these. If it results from some irritant in the intestines this is best

78 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

gotten rid of by the administration of an oleaginous purge, for which
nothing is better than castor oil, although raw linseed oil may be used
if the case is not severe. The diarrhea often disappears with the ces-
sation of the operation of the medicine. If, however, purging con-
tinues it may be checked by giving wheat flour in water, starch
water, white-oak bark tea, chalk, opium, or half-dram doses of sul-
])huric acid in one-half pint of water twice or thrice daily. Good
results follow the use of powdered opium 2 drams and subnitrate of
bismuth 1 ounce, repeated three times a day. In all cases it should
be remembered to look to the water and feed the horse is receiving.
If either of these is at fault it is at once to be discontinued. We
should feed sparingly of good, easily digested feeds. With that
peculiar build of nervous horses that scour on the road but little can
be done as a rule. They should be watered and fed as long as possi-
ble before going on a drive. If there is much flatulency accompany-
ing diarrhea baking soda or other alkaline medicines may effect a
cure, while if the discharges have a very disagreeable odor it may
be corrected by 1 ounce of sulphite of soda or dram doses of creolin in
water, repeated twice a day. Be slow to resort to either the vege-
table or mineral astringents, since the majority of cases will yield to
change of feed and water or the administration of oils. Afterwards
feed upon wheat-flour gruel or other light feeds. The body should
be warmly clothed.

SuPERPURGATiON. — This is the designation of that diarrhea, or flux
from the bowels, that, at times, is induced by and follows the action
of a physic. It is accompanied with much irritation or even in-
flammation of the bowels and is always of a serious character. Al-
though in rare instances it follows from a usual dose of physic and
where every precaution has been taken, it is most likely to result
under the following circumstances: Too large a dose of physic; giv-
ing physics to horses suffering from pneumonia, influenza, or other
debilitating diseases; riding or driving a horse when purging; ex-
posure or drafts of cold air; or giving large quantities of cold water
while the physic is operating. There is always danger of super-
]uii-gntion if a ])hysic is given to a horse suffering from diseases of
the respiratory organs. Small and often-repeated physics are also to
be avoided, as they produce debility and great depression of the
system and predispose to this disorder. When a physic is to be
given one should rest the horse and give him sloppy feed until the
medicine begins to operate; clothe the body with a warm blanket;
keep out of drafts; give only Avarm water in small quantities. After
a horse has purged from twelve to twenty-four hours it can mostly
be stoi)iHMl. or "set," as horsemen say, by feeding on dry oats and
hay. Should the jMirging continue, however, it is best treated by
giving demulcent drinks — linseed tea and oatmeal or wheat-flour

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 79

gruel. After this the astringents si>oken of for diarrhea may be
given. Besides this the horse is to receive brandy in doses of from
2 to 4 ounces, with milk and eggs, four or five times a day.

Laminitis ("founder") is a frequent sequel of superpurgation and
is to be guarded against by removing the shoes and standing the horse
on moist sawdust or some similar bedding.

DYSENTERY.

This disease, sometimes called "bloody flux," is an intestinal disease
attended with fever, occasional abdominal pains, and fluid dis-
charges mingled with blood. Discharges in dysentery are coffee
colored or bloody, liquid, and very offensive in odor, and passed
with much straining. It is rare in the horse, but is sometimes
quite prevalent among foals.

Causes. — Probably the most common cause is keeping young horses
in particular for a long time on low, wet, marshy pastures, without
other feed (a diarrhea of long standing sometimes terminates in dys-
entery) ; exposure during cold, wet weather; decomposed feeds; stag-
nant water that contains large quantities of decomposing vegetable
matter; low, damp, and dark stables, particularly if crowded; the
existence of some disease, as tuberculosis of the abdominal form. In
suckling foals it may come from feeding the dam on irritant feeds or
from disease of the udder. In other foals it may be produced by
exposure to cold and damp, to irritant feed, or to worms.

SymptoTns. — The initial symptom is a chill, which probably escapes
notice in the majority of instances. The discharges are offensive and
for the most part liquid, although it is common to find lumps of solid
fecal matter floating in this liquid portion; shreds of mucous mem-
brane and blood may be passed or the evacuations may be muco-puru-
lent; there is much straining, and, rarely, symptoms of abdominal
pain; the subject lies down a great deal; the pulse is quickened and
the temperature elevated. Thirst is a prominent symptom. In the
adult, death rarely follows under two to three weeks, but in foals the
disease may end in death after a few days.

Treatment. — This is most unsatisfactory, and I am inclined to
place more dependence upon the care and feed than any medication
that may be adopted. First of all the horse must be placed in a dry,
warm, yet well-ventilated stable; the skin is to receive attention by
frequent rubbings of the surface of the body, with blankets, and
bandages to the legs. The water must be pure and given in small
quantities; the feed, that which is light and easily digested. Medici-
nally, give at first a light dose of castor oil, about one-half pint, to
which has been added 2 ounces of laudanum. The vegetable or min-
eral astringents are also to be given. Starch injections containing
laudanum often afford great relief. The strength must be kept up

go DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

by milk punches, eggs, beef tea, oatmeal gruel, etc. In spite of the
best care and treatment, however, dysentery is likely to prove fatal.
In the case of nurslings, the dam should be placed in a healthy con-
dition or, failing in this, milk should be had from another mare or
from a cow.

GASTROENTERITIS,

This condition consists in an inflammation of the stomach and
intestines. Instead of being confined to the mucous, or lining, mem-
brane, as in gastrointestinal catarrh, the inflammatory process ex-
tends deeper and may even involve the entire thickness of the wall of
the organ.

This disease may be caused by irritant feed, hot drinks, sudden
chilling, moldy or decayed feeds, foul Avater, parasites, or by chemical
poisons. It may also complicate some general diseases, especially
infectious diseases, as anthrax, influenza, rabies, or petechial fever.
Long-continued obstruction of the bowels or displacement resulting
in death are preceded by enteritis.

Symptoms. — The symptoms differ somewhat with the cause and
depend also, to some extent, upon the chief location of the inflamma-
tion. In general the animal stops eating or eats but little : it shows
colicky pain; fever develops; the pulse and respiration become rapid;
the mucous membrane becomes red; the mouth is hot and dry.
Pressure upon the abdomen may cause pain. Intestinal sounds can
not be heard at the flank. There is constipation in the earlier stages
that is followed later by diarrhea. The extremities become cold.
Sometimes the feces are coated w^ith or contain shreds of fibrin,
looking like scraps of dead membrane, and they have an evil, putrid
odor. If the disease is caused by moldy or damaged feed there may
be great muscular weakness, with partial paralysis of the throat, as
shown by inability to swallow\ If chemical poisons are the cause,
this fact may be shown by the sudden onset of the disease, the his-
tory of the administration of a poison or the entire absence of known
cause, the rapid development of threatening symptoms, the involve-
ment of a series of animals in the absence of a contagious disease,
and the special symptoms and alterations known to be produced by
certain poisons. To make this chain of evidence complete, the poison
may be discovered in the organs of the horse by chemical analysis.
In nearly all cases of gastroenteritis there is nervous depression.

The poisons that are most irritant to the digestive tract are arsenic,
corrosive sublimate, sugar of lead, sulphate of copper, sulphate or
chlorid of zinc, lye, or other strong alkalies, mineral acids, and,
among the vegetable poisons, tobacco, lobelia, and water hemlock.

Ti'eatment. — The treatment will depend upon the cause, but if this
can not be detected, certain general indications may be observed. In
all cases feed should be given in small amounts and should be of the

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 81

most soothing description, as oatmeal gi'iiel, flaxseed tea, hay tea,
fresh grass, or rice water. The skin should be well rubbed with
alcohol and wisps of straw, to equalize the distribution of the blood ;
the legs, after being rubbed until warm, should be bandaged in raw
cotton or with woolen bandages. The horse should be warmly
blanketed. It is well to apply to the abdomen blankets wrung out
of hot water and frequently changed; or mustard paste may be
rubbed on the skin of the belly. Internally, opium is of service to
allay pain, check secretion, and soothe the inflamed membrane. The
dose is from 1 to 2 drams, given every three of four hours. If there is
constipation, the opium should be mixed with 30 grains of calomel.
Subnitrate of bismuth may be given with the opium or separately in
2-dram doses. Stimulants, such as aromatic spirits of ammonia or
camphor, may be given in 2-ounce doses, mixed with warm water to
make a drench.

If putrid feed has been consumed, creolin may be administered in
doses of 2 drams, mixed with 1 pint of warm water or milk. If there
is obstinate constipation and if a laxative must be employed, it should
be sweet or castor oil, from 1 pint to 1 quart.

Antidotes for poisons. — For the various poisons the remedies are
as follows:

Arsenic: Oxyhydrate of iron solution, 1 pint to 1 quart; or
calcined magnesia, one-half ounce in 1 pint of water.

Corrosive sublimate (bichlorid of mercury) : The whites of a
dozen eggs, or 2 ounces of flowers of sulphur.

Sugar of lead: Glauber's salt, 1 pound in 1 quart of warm water;
to be followed with iodid of potash, 3 drams at a dose, in water,
three times daily for five days.

Sulphate of copper : Milk, the whites of eggs, or reduced iron.

Sulphate or chlorid of zinc : Milk, the whites of eggs, or calcined
magnesia.

Lye or alkalies, as caustic potash or soda: Vinegar, dilute sul-
phuric acid, and linseed tea, with opium, 3 drams.

Mineral acids: Chalk, or calcined magnesia, or baking soda; later
give linseed tea and opium.

HEMORRHOIDS, OR PILES.

These are rare, comparatively, in horses. They are diagnosed by
the appearance of bright-red irregular tumors after defecation,
which may remain visible at all times or be seen only when the horse
is down or after passing his manure. They are mostly due to con-
stipation, irritation, or injuries, or follow from the severe straining
during dysentery. I have observed them to follow from severe labor
pains in the mare.
54763°— 23 G

g2 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Treatment. — Attention must be paid to the condition of the bowels;
they should be soft, but purging is to be avoided. The tumors
should be washed in warm water and thoroughly cleansed, after
which scarify them and gently but firmly squeeze out the liquid that
will be seen to follow the shallow incisions. After thus squeezing
these tumors and before replacing through the anus, bathe the parts
with some anodyn wash. For this purpose the glycerite of tannin
and laudanum in equal parts is good. Mucilaginous injections into
the rectum may be of service for a few days.

HERNIA, OR RUPTURE.

There are several kinds or hernias that require notice, not all of
which, however, produce serious symptoms or results. Abdominal
hernias, or ruptures, are divided into reducible, irreducible, and
strangulated, according to condition ; and into inguinal, scrotal, ven-
tral, umbilical, and diaphragmatic, according to their situation.* A
hernia is reducible when the displaced organ can be returned to its
natural location. It consists of a soft swelling, without heat, pain,
or any uneasiness, generally larger on full feed, and decreases m size
as the bow^els become empty. An irreducible hernia is one that can
not be returned into the abdomen, and yet does not cause any pain
or uneasiness. Strangulated hernia is one in which the contents of
the sac are greatly distended, or when from pressure upon the blood
vessels of the imprisoned portion the venous circulation is checked or
stopped, thereby causing congestion, swelling, inflammation, and, if
not relieved, gangrene of the part and death of the animal. Accord-
ing to the time or mode of origin, hernias may be congenital or
acquired.

Congenital scrotal hernia. — Not a few foals are noticed from
birth to have an enlarged scrotum, which gradually increases in size
until about the sixth month, sometimes longer. Sometimes the scro-
tum of a six-months-old colt is as large as that of an adult stallion,
and operative treatment is considered. This is unnecessary in the
great majority of cases, as the enlargement often disappears by the
time the colt has reached his second year. Any interference, medic-
inal or surgical, is worse than useless. If the intestine contained
within the scrotum should at any time become strangulated, it must
then be treated the same as in an adult horse.

Scrotal hernia is caused by dilatation of the sheath of the testicle,
combined with relaxation of the fibrous tissues surrounding the in-
guinal ring, thus allowing the intestine to descend to the scrotum.
At first this is intermittent, appearing during work and returning
when the horse is at rest. For a long time this form of hernia may

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 83

not cause the least uneasiness or distress. In course of time, however,
the imprisoned gut becomes filled with feces, its return into the ab-
dominal cavity is prevented, and it becomes strangulated. Wliile
the gut is thus filling the horse often appears dull, is disinclined to
move, appetite is impaired, and there is rumbling and obstruction of
the bowels. Colicky symptoms now supervene. Strangulation and
its consequent train of symptoms do not always follow in scrotal
hernia, for often horses have this condition for years without suffer-
ing inconvenience.

Inguinal hernia is but an incomplete scrotal hernia, and, like the
latter, may exist and cause no signs of distress, or, again, it may
become strangulated and cause death. Inguinal hernia is seen mostly
in stallions, next in geldings, and very rarely in the mare. Bearing
in mind that scrotal hernia is seen only in entire horses, we may
proceed to detail the symptoms of strangulated, inguinal, and scrotal
hernia at the same time. When, during the existence of colicky
symptoms, we find a horse kicking with his hind feet while standing
or lying upon his back, we should look to the inguinal region and
scrotum. If scrotal hernia exists, the scrotum will be enlarged and
lobulated ; by pressure we may force a portion of the contents of the
gut back into the abdomen, eliciting a gurgling sound. If we take
a gentle but firm hold upon the enlarged scrotum and then have an
assistant cause the horse to cough, the swelling will be felt to expand
and as quickly contract again.

The history of these cases will materially aid us, as the owner can
often assure us of preceding attacks of " colic," more or less severe,
that have been instantaneously relieved in some (to him) unaccount-
able manner. The colicky symptoms of these hernias are not diag-
nostic, but, probably, more closely resemble those of enteritis than
any other bowel diseases. In many cases the diagnosis can be made
only by a veterinarian, when he has recourse to a rectal examination :
the bowels can here be felt entering the internal abdominal ring.

TreatTTient of inguinal hernia. — If the reader is sure of the exist-
ence of hernia, he should secure the horse upon its back, and, with
a hand in the rectum, endeavor to catch hold of the wandering bowel
and pull it gently back into the cavity of the abdomen. Pressure
should be made upon the scrotum during this time. If this fails, a
veterinarian must be called to reduce the hernia by means of incising
the inguinal ring, replacing the intestines, and to castrate, using
clamps and performing the " covered operation."

"Ventral hernia.— In this form of hernia the protrusion is through
some accidental opening or rupture of the abdominal wall. It may
occur at any part of the belly except at the umbilicus, and is caused
by kicks, blows, hooks, severe jumping or pulling, etc. Ventral

84 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

hernia is most common in pregnant mares, and is here due to the
weiglit of the fetus or to some degenerative changes taking place in
the abdominal coats. It is recognized by the appearance of a swell-
ing, at the base of which can be felt the opening or i-ent in the ab-
dominal tunics, and from the fact that the swelling containing the
intestines can be made to disappear when the animal is placed in a
favorable position.

Treatment of ventral hei^ia. — In many instances there is no occa-
sion for treatment, and again, where the hernial sac is extensive,
treatment is of no avail. If the hernia is small, a cure may be at-
tempted by the methods to be described in treating of umbilical
hernia. If one is fortunate enough to be present when the hernia
occurs, and particularly if it is not too large, he may, by the proper
application of a pad and broad bandage, effect a perfect cure.

Umbilical, hernia is the passing of any portion of the bowel or
omentum (" caul ") through the navel, forming a " tumor " at this
point. This is often congenital in our animals, and is due to the im-
perfect closure of the umbilicus and to the position of the body.
Many cases of umbilical hernia, like inguinal and scrotal of the con-
genital kind, disappear entirely by the time the animal reaches its
second or third year. Advancing age favors cure in these cases from
the fact that the omentum (swinging support of the bowels) is pro-
portionally shorter in adults than in foals, thus lifting the intestines
out of the hernial sac and allowing the opening in the walls to close.
Probably one of the most frequent causes of umbilical hernia in foals
is the practice of keeping them too long from their dams, causing
them to fret and worry, and to neigh, or cry, by the hour. The con-
traction of the abdominal muscles and pressure of the intestines dur-
ing neighing seem to open the umbilicus and induce hernia. Acci-
dents may cause umbilical hernia in adults in the same manner as
ventral hernia is produced, though this is very rare.

Treatment of nmhilical hernia-. — In the treatment of umbilical
liernia it should be remembered that congenital hernias are often
removed with age, but probably congenital umbilical Jiernias less fre-
(luently than others. Among the many plans of treatment are to be
mentioned the application of a pad over the tumor, the pad being
held in place by a broad, tight bandage placed around the animal's
body. The chief objection to this is the difficulty in keeping the pad
in its place. Blisters are often applied over the swelling, and, as
the skin hardens and contracts by the formation of scabs, an artificial
bandage or ])ressure is produced that at times is successful. Another
treatment that has gained considerable repute of late years consists
in first clip]>ing off the hair over the swelling. Nitric acid is then
aj>plit'd with a small brush, using only enough to moisten the skin.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE OltGANS. 85

This sets up a deep-seated, adhesive inflammation, which, in very
many cases, closes the opening in the navel. Still another plan is to
inject a solution of common halt by means of the hypodermic syringe
at three or four pomts about the base of the swelling. This acts in
the same manner as the preceding, but may cause serious injury if
the syringe or solution is not sterile.

Others, again, after keeping the animal fasting for a few hours,
cast and secure it upon its back ; the bowel is then carefully returned
into the abdomen. The skin over the opening is pinched up and one
or two skewers are run through the skin from side to side as close as
possible to the umbilical opening. These skewers are kept in place
by passing a cord around the skin between them and the abdomen and
securely tying it. Great care must be taken not to draw these cords
too tight, as this would cause a speedy slough of the skin, the intes-
tines would extrude, and death result. If properly applied, an adhe-
sion is established between the skin and the umbilicus, which effectu-
ally closes the orifice. Special clamps are provided for taking up
the fold of the skin covering the hernial sac and holding it until the
adhesion is formed.

Diaphragmatic herxia. — This consists of the passage of any of
the abdominal viscera through a rent in the diaphragm (midriff)
into the cavity of the thorax. It is a rather rare accident, and one
often impossible to diagnose during life. Colicky symptoms, ac-
companied with great difficulty in breathing, and the peculiar posi-
tion so often assumed (that of sitting upon the haunches), are some-
what characteristic of this trouble, though these symptoms, as we
have already seen, may be present during diseases of the stomach or
anterior portion of the bowels. Even could we diagnose with cer-
tainty this form of hernia, there is little or nothing that can be done,
leading the horse up a very steep gangway or causing him to rear
up may possibly cause the hernial portion to return to its natural
position. This is not enough, however; it must be kept there.

PERITONITIS.

Peritonitis is an inflammation of the serous membrane lining the
cavity of and covering the viscera contained within the abdomen.
It is very rare to see a case of primary peritonitis. It is, however,
somewhat common as a secondary disease from extension of the in-
flammatory action involving organs covered by the peritoneum.
Peritonitis is often caused by injuries, as punctured wounds of the
abdomen, severe blows or kicks, or, as is still more common, follow-
ing the operation of castration. It follows strangulated hernia,
invagination, or rupture of the stomach, intestines, liver, or womb.

36 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Symptoms. — Peritonitis is mostly preceded by a chill ; the horse is
not disposed to move, and, if compelled to do so, moves with a stiff or
sore gait; he paws with the front feet and may strike at his belly
with the hind ones; lies down very carefully; as the pain is increased
while down, he maintains the standing position during most of the
time; he walks uneasily about the stall. Constipation is usually
present. Pressure on the belly causes acute pain, and the horse will
bite, strike, or kick if so disturbed; the abdomen is tucked up; the
extremities are fine and cold. The temperature is higher than nor-
mal, reaching from 102° to 104° F. The pulse in peritonitis is
rather characteristic; it is quickened, beating from 70 to 90 beats
a minute, and is hard and wiry. This peculiarity of the pulse
occurs in inflammation of the serous membrane, and if accompanied
with colicky symptoms, and, in particular, if following any in-
juries, accidental or surgical, of the peritoneum, there is reason to
think that peritonitis is present. Peritonitis in the horse is mostly
fatal when it is at all extensive. If death does not occur in a short
time, the inflammation assumes a chronic form, in which there is an
extensive effusion of water in the cavity of the belly, constituting
v/hat is loiown as ascites, and which, as a rule, results in death.

Treatment. — The treatment of peritonitis is somewhat like that of
enteritis. Opium in powder, 1 to 2 drams, with calomel, one-half
dram, is to be given every two, three, or four hours, and constitutes
the main dependence in this disease. Extensive counterirritants over
the belly, consisting of mustard plasters, applications of mercurial
ointment, turpentine stupes, or even mild blisters, are recommended.
Purgatives must never be given during this complaint. Should we
desire to move the bowels, it can be done by gentle enemas, though
it is seldom necessary to resort even to this.

ASCITES, OR DROPSY OF THE ABDOMEN.

This is seen as a result of subacute or chronic peritonitis, but
may be due to diseases of the liver, kidneys, heart, or lungs. There
will be found, on opening the cavity of the belly, a large collection of
yellowish or reddish liquid; from a few quarts to several gallons may
be present. It may be clear in color, though generally it is yellowish
or of a red tint, and contains numerous loose flakes of coagulable
lymph.

Symptoms. — There is slight tenderness on pressure ; awkward gait
of the hind legs; the horse is dull, and may have occasional very
slight colicky pains, shown by looking back and striking at the belly
with the hind feet. Oftener, however, these colicky symptoms are
absent. Diarrhea often precedes death, but during the progress of

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 87

the disease the bowels are alternately constipated and loose. On per-
cussing the abdominal walls we find that dullness exists to the same
height on both sides of the belly ; by suddenly pushing or striking the
abdomen we can hear the rushing or flooding of water. If the case
is an advanced one, the horse is potbellied in the extreme, and
dropsical swellings are seen under the belly and upon the legs.

Treatment is, as a rule, unsatisfactory. Saline cathartics, as Ep-
som or Glauber's salt, and diuretics, ounce doses of saltpeter, may be
given. If a veterinarian is at hand he will withdraw the accumula-
tion of water by tapping and then endeavor to prevent its recurrence
(though this is almost sure to follow) by giving three times a day
saltpeter 1 ounce and iodid of potash 1 dram, and by the applica-
tion of mustard or blisters over the abdominal walls. Tonics, min-
eral and vegetable, are also indicated. Probably the best tonic is one
consisting of powdered sulphate of iron, gentian, and ginger in equal
parts ; a heaping tablespoonf ul of the mixture is given as a drench or
mixed with the feed, twice a day. Good nutritious feeds and gentle
exercise complete the treatment.

DISEASES OF THE LIVER.

In the United States the liver of the horse is but rarely the seat
of disease, and when we consider how frequently the liver of man is
affected this can not but appear strange. The absence of the gall
bladder may account to a certain extent for his freedom from liver
diseases, as overdistention of this and the presence in it of calculi
(stones) in man is a frequent source of trouble. In domestic animals,
as in man, hot climates tend to produce diseases of the liver, just as in
cold climates lung diseases prevail. Not only are diseases of the liver
rare in horses in temperate climates, but they are also very obscure,
and in many cases pass totally unobserved until after death. There
are some symptoms, however, which, when present, should make us
examine the liver as carefully as possible. These are jaundice
(yellowness of the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and eyes)
and the condition of the dung, it being light in color and pasty in
appearance.

HEPATITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER.

This disease may be general or local, and may assume an acute or
chronic form.

Symptotns. — ^The symptoms of acute hepatitis are: Dullness; the
horse is suffering from some internal pain, but not of a severe type ;
constipated and clay-colored dung balls; scanty and high-colored
Brine; and general febrile symptoms. If lying down, he is mostly

gg DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

found on the left side; looks occasionally toward the right side,
which, upon close inspection, may be found to be slightly enlarged
ever the posterior ribs, where pain upon pressure is also evinced. Ob-
scure lameness in front, of the right leg mostly, may be a symptom of
hepatitis. The horse, toward the last, reels or staggers in his gait and
falls backward in a fainting fit, during one of which he finally suc-
cumbs. Death is sometimes due to rupture of the enveloping coat of
the liver or of some of its blood vessels.

Causes. — Among the causes that lead to this disease we must men-
tion first the stimulating effect of overfeeding, particularly during
hot weather. Horses that are well fed and receive but little exercise
:n-e the best subjects for diseases of this organ. We must add to
these causes the more mechanical ones, as injuries on the right side
<'ver the liver, worms in the liver, gallstones in the biliary ducts, for-
eign bodies — as needles or nails that have been swallowed and in their
wanderings have entered the liver — and, lastly, in some instances, the
extension of inflammation from neighboring parts, thus involving
this organ. Acute hepatitis may terminate in chronic inflammation,
abscesses, rupture of the liver, or may disappear, leaving behind no
trace of disease whatever.

Treatment. — This should consist, at first, of the administration of
1 ounce of Barbados aloes or other physic. General blood-letting, if
had recourse to early, must prove of much benefit in acute inflamma-
tion of the liver. The vein in the neck (jugular) must be opened,
and from 4 to 6 quarts of blood may be drawn. Saline medicines, as
Glauber's salt or the artificial Carlsbad salt, are indicated. These
may be given with the feed in tablespoonful doses. The horse is to
be fed sparingly on soft feed, bran mashes chiefly. If treatment
proves successful and recovery takes place, see to it that the horse
afterwards gets reguhvr exercise and that his feed is not of a too
hi2;hlv nutritious character and not excessive.

JAUNDICE, ICTERUS. OR THE YELLOWS.

This is a condition caused by the retention and absorption of bile
into the blood. It was formerly considered to be a disease of itself,
but is now regarded as a symptom of disorder of the liver. " The
yellows" is observed by looking at the eyes, nose, and mouth, when
it will be seen that these parts are yellowish instead of the pale-
pink color of health. In white or light-colored horses the skin even
may show this yellow tint. The urine is saffron colored, the dung is
of a dirty-gray color, and constipation is usually present. Jaundice
inay be pfesent as a symptom of almost any inflammatory disease.
We know tliat when an animal has fever the secretions are checked,
the bilo nia\' be retained and absorbed throughout the system, and

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 89

yellowness of the mucous membranes follows. Jaundice may also
exist during the presence of simple constipation, hepatitis, biliary
calculi, abscesses, hardening of the liver, etc.

Treatinent. — When jaundice exists we must endeavor to rid the
system of the excess of bile, and this is best accomplished by giving
purgatives that act upon the liver. Calomel, 2 drams, with aloes, 7
drams, should be given. Glauber's salt in handful doses once or
twice a day for a week is also effective. May apple, rhubarb, castor
oil, and other cathartics that act upon the first or small bowels may
be selected. We must be careful to see that the bowels are kept open
by avoiding hard, dry, bulky feeds.

RUPTUKE OF THE LIVER.

This is known to occur at times in the horse, most frequently in
old, fat horses and those that get but little exercise. Horses that
have suffered from chronic liver disease for years eventually present
symptoms of colic and die quite suddenly. Upon post mortem ex-
amination we discover that the liver has ruptured. The cicatrices,
or scars, that are often found upon the liver indicate that this organ
may suffer s^nall rupture and yet the horse may recover from it.
This can not be the result, however, if the rent or tear is extensive,
since in such cases death must quickly follow from hemorrhage, or,
later, -from peritonitis. Enlarged liver is particularly liable to rup-
ture.

The immediate causes of rupture appear to be excessive muscular
exertion, as leaping a fence, a fall, a blow from a collision, a kick
from a horse, or sudden distention cf the abdomen with gas.

The symptoms of rupture of the liver will depend upon the extent
of the laceration. If slight, there will be simply the symptoms of
abdominal pain, looking back to the sides, lying down, etc. ; if exten-
sive, the horse is dull and dejected, has no appetite, breathing be-
comes short and catching, he sighs or sobs, visible* mucous membranes
are pale, extremities cold, pulse fast, small, and w^eak or running
down. Countenance now shows much distress, he sweats profusely,
totters in his gait, props his legs wide apart, reels, staggers, and falls.
He may get up again, but soon falls dead. The rapid running-down
pulse, paleness of the eyes, nose, and mouth, sighing, stertorous
breathing, tottering gait, etc., are symptoms by which we know that
the animal is dying from internal hemorrhage.

Treatment. — But little can be done in the way of treatment. Opium
in powder, in doses of 2 drams every two or three hours, may be
given, with the idea of preventing as much as possible all movements
of intei'nal organs. If there is reason to suspect internal bleeding,

90 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

we should give large and frequent doses of white-oak bark tea, dram
doses of tannic or gallic acid, or the same quantity of sugar of lead,
every half hour or hour. Fluid extract of ergot or tincture of the
chlorid of iron, in ounce doses, may be selected. Cold water dashed
upon the right side or injected into the rectum is highly spoken of as
a means of checking the hemorrhage.

BILIARY CALCULI, OR GALLSTONES.

These are rarely found in the horse, but may occupj'^ the hepatic
ducts, giving rise to jaundice and to colicky pains. There are no
absolutely diagnostic symptoms, but should one find a horse that
suffers from repeated attacks of colic, accompanied with symptoms
of violent pain, and that during or following these attacks the animal
is jaundiced, it is possible that gallstones are present. There is little
or nothing to be done except to give medicines to overcome pam,
trusting that these concretions may pass on to the bowels, where,
from their small size, they will not occasion any inconvenience.

DISEASES OF THE PANCREAS AND SPLEEN.

Diseases of the pancreas and spleen are so rare, or their symptoms
so little understood, that it is impossible to write anything concerning
either of these organs and their simple diseases that will convey to
the reader information of practical value. ,

GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES.

iBy Maurice C. Hall, Ph. D.. D. V. M.]

Horses are subject to infestation by a ninnber of species of worms,
these worms being especially numerous at certain points in the
alimentary canal.

The tapeworms of the horse are relatively unimportant and not
very common. There are three species, the smallest about two inches
long and the largest about eight inches long. These two occur in
the small intestine; a form intermediate in size may also be found
in the cecum and colon. These are flat, segmented worms with the
head at the smaller end.

Flukes occur in horses elsewhere, but have apparently never been
reported in the United States.

Koundworms, or nematodes, constitute the most important gi'oup
of parasitic worms in the horse. The more important of these are
as follows :

Koi'NinvoKM (Ascaris equorum). — This is the common large, yel-
lowisl) roundworm (PI. V, fig. 5), about the size of a lead pencil
or larger, which may be found in horses almost anywhere in the

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE OEGANS. 91

United States. It occurs in the intestine and probably occasions
little damage as a rule, except when present in large numbers, ia
which case it will probably be found in the droppings. The symp-
toms occasioned by it are rather obscure and are such as might arise
from a number of other causes, namely, colicky pains, depraved ap-
petite, diarrhea or constipation, and general unthriftiness. In a
general way, the presence of parasites may be suspected when an
animal shows no fever but is unthrifty, debilitated, and shows dis-
ordered bowel movements in cases where there is no evident explana-
tion in the way of feed, care, and surroundings.

Treatment for the removal of this worm consists in the use of
anthelmintics such as tartar emetic, turpentine, and carbon bisulphid,
but as these remedies are essentially poisons intended to kill the
worm, and as their use by persons unused to determining conditions
unfavorable for their use is dangerous and likely to result in the
death of the animal or in permanent injury to the Iridneys or other
organs, it is advisable to call in a veterinarian in such cases.

PiNwoRM {Oxyuris equi). — This is a rather large worm (PL V,
fig. 1), somewhat smaller than the foregoing and readily distin-
guishable from it by the presence of a long, slender tail. It also
occurs generally throughout the United States, and except when
present in large numbers probably does- very little damage. It in-
habits the large intestine and hence is difficult to reach with medicines
administered by the mouth. The use of a half ounce of gentian
on the feed night and morning for a week has been recommended,
but the use of rectal enemas will give more prompt and perhaps more
certain results. These enemas may be made up with one or two table-
spoonfuls of salt to the pint, or infusions of quassia chips, a half
pound to the gallon of water, and injected into the rectum once or
twice a day.

Stomach worms of the horse {Hahrmiema spp.). — These worms
(PI. V, fig. 4) occur in nodules in the mucous lining of the horse's
stomach and are credited with doing more or less damage. Their
presence is not likely to be diagnosed in the present state of our
knowledge, but in case their presence is determined or suspected in
connection with the summer sores noted later, tartar emetic is recom-
mended. At least one of these worms has an intermediate stage in
the ordinary housefly, the fly becoming infested while it is a larva
developing in horse manure. Obviously, therefore, any measures
looking toward the eradication of the fly or the proper disposal of
manure will aid in the control and eradication of this worm. The
United States Bureau of Entomology has shown that fly maggots
travel downward through a manure pile as it comes time for the
maggot to enter the ground and pupate, and an excellent maggot

92 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

trap, consisting of an exposed manure platform raised on posts which
are set in a concrete basin extending under the platform and filled
with three or four inches of water, has been devised. As maggots
work down they come to the platform and escape through the spaces
between the boards, left open for the purpose, to the water in the con-
crete basin, where they are drowned. In this way the exposed
manure pile serves to attract flies with a deceptive profier of a breed-
ing place.

Api)arently it is the young forms of these stomach worms which
develop at times on the skin, causing a cutaneous habronemiasis
known as summer sores. This is discussed under diseases of the skin.

STRON(iYi^>s {^Strongylus spp. and Cylicostmnum spp.). — These
worms (PI. y, figs. 2 and 3) live in the large intestines of the horse
;is adult worms and are often present in enormous numbers. Many
of tliem are very small, and the largest are less than two inches long.
The adult worms do considerable damage, but the immature or larval
worms do even more.

The larva of Strongylus vulgans enters the blood vessels of the
intestinal wall and finally attaches in the great mesenteric artery,
where it causes aneurisms; here it transforms to an adult without
sexual organs, which passes to the walls of the cecum and encysts,
giving rise to small cysts or abscesses; these cysts finally discharge
to the interior of the cecum, setting the worms, now mature, at lib-
erty in the lumen of the intestines.

The larva) of Strongylus equinus are found principally in the liver,
lungs, and pancreas.

The larvre of jStrongylus edentatus may be met with almost any-
where, especially under the serous membranes, the pleura and peri-
toneum.

The embryos and larvje of species of CyUcostoTrvutn aie found in
the mucosa of the large intestine.

Aneurisms impede the circulation of the blood, and may give rise
to intermittent lameness. The aneurism may rupture, since it con-
stitutes a Meak place in the wall of the blood vessel, and the horse
die of the resulting hemorrhage. Particles of blood clots in the
aneurisms may break off and plug a blood vessel at the point where
ihey lodge, thereby causing the death of the part from which the
blood is bhut oft" and occasioning a type of colic which often termi-
nates fatally. The larva> of Cyllcostommn form cysts in the walls
of the large intestine, and when these open they give rise to small
.sores; when they are numerous they cause a thickening and harden-
ing which impair the proper functioning of the intestine. Abscesses
sometimes perforate, causing death. The adult worm attacks the
intestinal wall, causing bleeding which results in anemia. The

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

Oyyuris ci/iii.

Stfong \-/ii.^- e(fuinns.

M.Mji.-sil.-l

AsCiiri^s <'i/!ii)fiini
IXTK STIJCAL WOR M S.

U. S. Depl. of Agriculture, Diseases of trie Horse.

P>T..VX3-: V'l.

rt««*V.f?i!»'r?-^_

■/it

■';■■ .,/,■,//

DISEASES OP THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 93

Biunerous small sores thus caused allow bacteria to get into the circu-
lation, sometimes resulting in localized abscesses or in septic arthritis
©r joint disease.

The disease due to these worms is quite common. The worms enter
the body as immature forms in the spring, when the animal is turned
out on pasture. The first symptoms show in November or December,
the disease being in a latent stage during the development of the
worms. The first symptoms are diarrhea, loss of appetite, and ema-
ciation. The animal becomes anemic. Secondary symptoms are
edema and such complications as joint infection, colic due to embo-
lism, and accidents from falls, hemorrhage from ruptured aneurisms,
or perforation at the site of abscess. The animal may die, recover,
or become a chronic sufferer, the internal injuries failing to make a
satisfactory recovery even with the removal of the worms in chronic
cases.

Treatinent calls for the expulsion of the adult worms from the in-
testine, the development of the body resistance to repair the damage
wrought by the developing worms, and the combating of complica-
tions. For the expulsion of the worms the use of carbon bisulphid
in gelatin capsules, 2 to 5 grams, according to the size of the patient,
for five days, followed by magnesium sulphate the sixth day, has
been recommended. Owing to the difficulty and danger in the ad-
ministration of carbon bisulphid in capsule, it is advisable to call in
a veterinarian. Tonic treatment consists in the subcutaneous admin-
istration of artificial serum and caffein. The various complications
of bacterial infection, colic, heart depression, etc., call for the atten-
tion of a veterinarian. Preventive measures consist in avoiding re-
infection with worms so far as possible by using dry upland pasture
in preference to low, wet land, and by rotating pastures or rotation
of the stock on a given pasture. Horses may be alternated with
cattle, sheep, or hogs to advantage, so far as parasites are concerned.
Another feature, always of importance, is the provision of a pure,
potable drinking water.

BoTs {Gastrophilus spp.). — Bots (PI. VI) are quite common in the
stomach and upper part of the small intestine of the horse any-
w^here in the United States, one kind being occasionally found in the
rectum. They attach to that portion of the mucous lining of the
stomach nearest the esophagus or sometimes around the pyloric open-
ing to the intestine or even in the upper intestine, and undoubtedly
interfere with the proper functioning of the stomach and the health
of the animal to a certain extent. The symptoms are rather vague
as a rule, but the general result is a condition of unthriftiness.

A treatment which has been found effective consists in feeding
lightly on the day preceding treatment, withholding food in the
evening and giving an ounce of Barbados aloes or a pint of linseed

94 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

oil. The next day give 3 drams of carbon bisulphid in a gelatin
capsule at 0 o'clock, repeat the dose at 7 o'clock, and again at 8
o'clock, making a total of 9 drams altogether for an adult horse;
half that amount will be sufficient for a yearling colt. As previously
noted, there is some little difficulty and danger of accident m the ad-
ministration of treatments of this character and it is advisable to call
in a veterinarian.

Unless destroyed by treatment, the bots in the stomach of the horse
pass out in the manure in the spring and burrow down into the soil
an inch or two. Here they undergo a certain amount of development
and finally emerge as adult flies. These bot flies mate and during the
summer the eggs are deposited by the female en the forelegs and
shoulders or around the chin, mouth and nostrils of the horse, the
location and appearance of the eggs varying somewhat with different
species of bot flies. These eggs or the young maggots escaping from
them are ingested by the horse in licking the portions irritated by
the movement of the escaping maggots, and when swallowed develop
to form bots in the stomach. Careful currying, especially around the
forequarters, is an aid in keeping down bot infestation, but this is not
commonly feasible with horses on pasture, the ones most liable to
become infested.

I

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS.

By W. H. Haebaugh, V. S.
[Revised by Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D.]

The organs pertaining to the respiratory function may be enu-
merated in natural order as follows : The nasal openings, or nostrils ;
the nasal chambers, through which the air passes in the head; the
sinuses in the head, communicating with the nasai chambers; the
pharnyx, common to the functions of breathing and swallowing;
the larynx, at the top of the windpipe ; the trachea, or windpipe ; the
bronchi (into which the windpipe divides), two tubes leading from
the windpipe to the right and left lungs, respectively ; the bronchial
tubes, which penetrate and convey air to all parts of the lungs ; the
lungs.

The pleura is a thin membrane that envelops the lung and lines the
walls of the thoracic cavity. The diaphragm is a muscular structure,
completely separating the contents of the thoracic cavity from those
of the abdominal cavity. It is essentially a muscle of inspiration,
and the principal one. Other muscles aid in the mechanism of res-
piration, but the diseases or injuries of them have nothing to do with
the diseases under consideration.

Just within the nasal openings the skin becomes gradually but per-
ceptibly finer, until it is succeeded by the mucous membrane. Near
the junction of the skin and membrane is a small hole, presenting
the appearance of having been made with a punch ; this is the open-
ing of the lachrymal duct, a canal that conveys the tears from the
eyes. Within, and above the nasal openings are the cavities, or fis-
sures, called the false nostrils. The nasal chambers are completely
separated, the right from the left, by a cartilaginous partition, the
nasal septum. Each nasal chamber is divided into three continuous
compartments by two thin, scroll-like turbinated bones.

The mucous membrane lining the nasal chambers, and, in fact, the
entire respiratory tract, is much more delicate and more frequently
diseased than the mucous membrane of any other part of the body.
The sinuses of the head are compartments which communicate with
the nasal chambers and are lined with a continuation of the same
membrane that lines the nasal chambers; their presence increases. the
volume and modifies the form of the head without increasing its
weight.

The horse, in a normal condition, breathes exclusively through the
nostrils. The organs of respiration are quite liable to become dis-

95

96 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

eased, and, as many of the causes which lead to these attacks can
be avoided, it is both important and profitable to know and study
the causes.

CAUSES OF DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS.

The causes of many of the diseases of these organs may be given
under a common head, because even a simple cold, if neglected or
badly treated, may run into the most complicated lung disease and
terminate fatally. In the spring and fall, when the animals are
changing their coats, there is a marked predisposition to contract
disease, and consequently at those periods care should be taken to
prevent other exciting causes.

Badly ventilated stables are a frequent source of disease. It is a
mistake to think that country stables necessarily have purer air than
city stables. Stables on some farms are so faultily constructed that
it is almost impossible for the foul air to gain an exit. All stables
should have a sufficient supply of pure air, and be so arranged that
strong drafts can not blow directly on the animals. In ventilating a
stable, it is best to arrange to remove air from near the floor and ad-
mit it through numerous small openings near the ceiling. The reason
for this is that the coldest and most impure air in the stable is near
the floor, while that which is warmest and purest, and therefore can
least be spared, is near the top of the room. In summer, top exits and
cross currents should be provided to remove excessive heat. Hot
stables are almost always poorly ventilated, and the hot stable is a
cause of disease on account of the extreme change of temDerature
that a horse is liable to when taken out, and extreme changes of tem-
perature are to be avoided as certain causes of disease.

A cold, close stable is invariably damp, and is to be avoided as
much as the hot, close, and foul one. Horses changed from a cold
to a warm stable are more liable to contract cold than when changed
from a warm to a cold one. Pure air is more essential than warmth,
and this fact should be especially remembered when the stable is
made close and foul to gain the warmth. It is more economical to
keep the horse warm with blankets than to prevent the ingi-ess of
pure air in order to make the stable warm.

Stables should be well drained and kept clean. Some farmers
allow large quantities of manure to accumulate in the stable. Tliis is
a pernicious practice, as the decomposing organic matter evolves
gases that arc predisposing or exciting causes of disease. lAHien a
horse is overheated, it is not safe to allow him to dry by evaporation ;
iiibbing him dry and gradually cooling him out is the wisest treat-
ment. "WHien a horse is hot — covered with sweat — it is dangerous to
allow him to stand in a draft: it is the best plan to walk him until his

DISEASES OF THE EESPIKATOEY ORGANS. 97

temperature moderates. In such cases a light blanket thrown over
the animal may prevent a cold. Overwork or overexertion often
causes the greater number of fatal cases of congestion of the lungs.
Avoid prolonged or fast work when the horse is out of condition or
unaccustomed to it. Animals that have been working in cold rains
should be dried and cooled out and not left to dr}^ by evaporation.
When the temperature of the weather is at the extreme, either of heat
or cold, diseases of the organs of respiration are most frequent.

It is not to be supposed that farmers can give their horses the par-
ticular attention given to valuable racing and pleasure horses, but
they can most assuredly give them common-sense care, and this may
often save the life of a valuable animal. If the owner properly con-
siders his interests, he will study the welfare of his horses so that he
may be able to instruct the servant in details of stable management'.

WOUNDS ABOUT THE NOSTRILS.

Wounds in this neighborhood are common, and are generally
caused by snagging on a nail or splinter or by the bite of another
horse; or by getting "run into," or by running against something.
Occasionally the nostril is so badly torn and lacerated that it is im-
possible to effect a cure without leaving the animal blemished for life,
but in the majority of instances the blemish, or scar, is the result of
want of conservative treatment. As soon as possible after the acci-
dent the parts should be brought together and held there by stitches.
If too much time is allowed to elapse, the swelling of the parts will
considerably interfere. Never cut away any skin that may be loose
and hanging, or else a scar will certainly remain. Bring the parts
in direct apposition and place the stitches from a quarter to a half-
inch apart, as circumstances may demand. It is not necessary to
have special surgeons' silk and needles for this operation ; good linen
thread or ordinary silk thread will answer. The wound afterwards
only requires to be kept clean. For this purpose it should be cleansed
and discharges washed away daily with a solution made of carbolic
acid 1 part in 40 parts of water. If on account of the irritability the
horse is inclined to rub the wound against some object, his head
should be tied by means of two halter ropes attached to the opposite
sides of the stall to prevent him from opening the wound. Except
when at work or eating, the head should be so tied about 10 days.

TUMORS WITHIN THE NOSTRILS.

A small, globular tumor is sometimes found within the false nostril,
under that part of the skin that is seen to puff or rise and fall when a
horse is exerted and breathing hard. These tumors contain matter of
a cheesy consistency.

54763°— 23 7

98 DISEASES OP THE HOKSE.

Treatment. — If the tumor is well opened and the matter squeezed
out, nature will perform a cure. If the opening is made from the out-
side through the skin, it should be at the most dependent part, but
much the best way to open the tumor is from the inside. Quiet the
animal, gently insert your finger up in the direction of the tumor, and
you will soon discover that it is much larger inside than it appears to
be on the outside. If necessary put a twitch on the ear of the horse
to quiet him; run the index finger of your left hand against the
tumor; now, with the right hand, carefully insert the knife by run-
ning the back of the blade along the index finger of the left hand
until the tumor is reached; with the left index finger guide the point
of the blade quickly and surely into the tumor; make the opening
large. A little blood may flow for a while, but it is of no consequence.
Squeeze out the matter and keep the part clean.

COLD IN THE HEAD, OR NASAL CATARRH.

Catarrh is an inflammation of a mucous membrane. It is accom-
panied with excessive secretion. In nasal catarrh the inflammation
may extend from the membrane lining the nose to the throat, the in-
side of the smuses, and to the eyes. The causes are the general causes
of respiratory disease enumerated above. It is especially common in
young horses and in horses not acclimated.

Symptoms. — The membrane at the beginning of the attack is dry,
congested, and irritable; it is of a deeper hue than natural, pinkish
red or red. Soon a watery discharge from tlie nostrils makes its
appearance; the eyes may also be more or less affected and tears flow
over the cheeks. The animal has some fever, which may be easily
detected by means of a clinical thermometer inserted in the rectum
or, roughly, by placing the finger in the mouth, as the feeling of heat
conveyed to the finger will be greater than natural.

To become somewhat expert in ascertaining the changes of temper
ature in the horse it is only necessary to place the finger often in the
mouths of horses known to be healthy. After you have become accus-
tomed to the warmth of the mouth of the healthy animal you will
have no difficulty in detecting a marked increase of the temperature.
The animal may bo dull; he sneezes or snorts, but does not cough
unless the throat is affected; he expels the air forcibly through his
aostrils, very often in a manner that may be aptly called " blowing
his nose." A few days after the attack begins the discharge from
the nostrils changes from a watery to that of a thick, mucilaginous
tate, of a yellowish-white color, and may be more or less profuse.
')ften the appetite is lost and the animal becomes debilitated.

Treatment. — This disease is not serious, but inasmuch as neglect or
bad treatment may cause it to lead to something worse or become
chronic it should receive proper attention. The animal should not

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 99

be worked for a time. A few days of rest, with pure air and good
feed, will be of greater benefit than most medication. The value of
pure air can not be overestimated, but drafts must be avoided. The
benefit derived from the inhalation of steam is considerable. This
is effected by holding the horse's head over a bucketful of boiling
water, so that the animal will be compelled to inhale steam with
every inhalation of air. Stirring the hot water with a wisp of hay
causes the steam to arise in greater abundance. One may cause the
horse to put his nose in a bag containing cut hay upon which hot
water has been poured, the bottom of the bag being stood in a bucket,
but the bag must be of loose texture, as gunny sack, or, if of canvas,
holes must be cut in the side to admit fresh air.

The horse may be made to inhale steam four or five times a day,
about 15 or 20 minutes each time.

Particular attention should be paid to the diet. Give bran mashes,
scalded oats, linseed gruel, and grass, if in season. If the horse
evinces no desire for this soft diet, it is better to allow any kind of
feed he will eat, such as hay, oats, corn, etc., than to keep him on
short rations.

If the animal is constipated, relieve this symptom by injections
(enemas) of warm water into the rectum three or four times a day,
but do not administer purgative medicines, except of a mild character.

For simple cases the foregoing is all that is required, but if the
appetite is lost and the animal appears debilitated and dull, give 3
ounces of the solution of acetate of ammonia and 2 drams of pow-
dered chlorate of potassium diluted with a pint of water three times
a day as a drench. Be careful when giving the drench; do not
pound the horse on the gullet to make him swallow ; be patient, and
take time, and do it right.

If the weather is cold, blanket the animal and keep him in a com-
fortable stall. If the throat is sore, treat as advised for that ail-
ment, to be described hereafter.

If, after 10 days or 2 weeks, the discharge from the nostrils con-
tinues, give one-half dram of reduced iron three times a day. This
may be mixed with damp feed. Common cold should be thoroughly
understood and intelligently treated in order to prevent more dan-
gerous diseases.

CHRONIC CATARRH (OR NASAL GLEET, OR COLLECTION IN THE

SINUSES).

This is a subacute or chronic inflammation of some part of the
membrane affected in common cold, the disease just described. It is
manifested by a persistent discharge of a thick white or yellowish-
white matter from one or both nostrils. The commonest cause is a
neglected or badly treated cold, and it usually follows those cases

IQQ DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

where the horse has suffered exposure, been overworked, or has not
received proper feed, and, as a consequence, has become debilitated.
It may occur as a sequel to influenza.

Other but less fiequent causes for this affection are : Fractures of
the bones that involve the membrane of the sinuses, and even blows
on the head over the sinuses. Diseased teeth often involve a sinus
and cause a fetid discharge from the nostril. Violent coughing is
said to have forced particles of feed into the sinus, which acted as a
cause of the disease. Tumors gi^owing in the sinuses are known to
liave caused it. It is also attributed to disease of the turbinated
bones. Absorption of the bones forming the walls of the sinuses has
been caused by the pressure of pus collecting in them and by tumors
filling up ths cavity.

Sym'ptoms. — Great caution must be exercised when examining these
cases, for the horse may have glanders, while, on the other hand,
horses have been condemned as glandered when really there was
nothing ailing them but nasal gleet. This is not contagious, but may
stubbornly resist treatment and last for a long time. In most cases
the discharge is from one nostril only, which may signify that the
sinuses on that side of the head are affected. The discharge may
be intermittent; that is, quantities may be discharged at times and
again little or none for a day or so. Such an intermittent discharge
usually signifies disease of the sinuses. The glands under and be-
tween the bones of the lower Jaw may be enlarged. The peculiar
ragged-edged ulcer of glanders is not to be found on the membrane
within the nostrils, but occasionally sores are to be seen there. If
there is any doubt about it, the symptoms of glanders should be well
studied in order that one may be competent to form a safe opinion.

The eye on the side of the discharging nostril may have a peculiar
appearance and look smaller than its fellow. There may be an en-
largement, having the appearance of a bulging out of the bone over
the part affected, between or below the eyes. The breath may be
offensive, which indicates decomposition of the matter or bones or
disease of the teeth. A diseased tooth is further indicated by the
horse holding his head to one side when eating, or by dropping the
feed from the mouth after partly chewing it. When the bones
between the eyes, below the eyes, and above the back teeth of the
upper jaw are tapped on, a hollow, drumlike sound is emitted, but
if the sinus is filled with pus or contains a large tumor the sound
emitted will be the same as if a solid substance were struck; by this
means the sinus affected may be located in some instances. The hair
may be rough over the affected part, or even the bone may be soft to
the touch and the part give somewhat to pressure or leave an im-
pression where it is pressed upon with the finger.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIEATORY ORGANS. 101

Treatment. — The cause of the trouble must be ascertained before
treatment is commencedo In the many cases in which the animal is
in poor condition (in fact, in all cases) he should have the most nutri-
tive feed and regular exercise. The feed, or box containing it, should
be placed on the ground, as the dependent position of the head favors
the discharge.

The cases that do not require a surgical operation must, as a rule,
have persistent medical treatment. Mineral tonics and local medica-
tion are of the most value. For eight days give the following mix-
ture: Eeduced iron, 3 ounces; powaered nux vomica, 1 ounce. Mix
and make into 16 powders; one powder should be mixed with the
feed twice a day. Arsenious acid (white arsenic) in doses of from
3 to 6 grains three times daily is a good tonic for such cases. Sulphur
burnt in the stable wdiile the animal is there to inhale its fumes is also
a valuable adjunct. Care should be taken that the fumes of the
burning sulphur are sufficiently diluted with air so as not to suffocate
the horse. Chlorid of lime sprinkled around the stall is good. Also
keep a quantity of it under the hay in the manger so that the gases
will be inhaled as the horse holds his head over the hay while
eating. Keep the nostrils washed and the discharge cleaned away
from the manger and stall. The horse may be caused to inhale
the vapor of compound tincture of benzoin by pouring 2 ounces of
this drug into hot water and fumigating in the usual wa3^

If the nasal gleet is the result of a diseased tooth, the latter must
be removed. Trephining is the best possible way to remove it in
such ciiSes, as the operation immediately opens the cavity, which can
be attended to direct. In all those cases of nasal gleet in which
sinuses contain either tumors or collections of pus the only relief is
hy the trephine; and, no matter how thoroughly described, this
IS an operation that will be seldom attempted by the nonprofessional.
It would therefore be a waste of time to give the modus operandi.

An abscess involving the turbinated bones is similar to the collec-
tion of pus in the sinuses and must be relieved by trephining.

THICKENING OF THE NASAL MEMBRANE.

This is sometimes denoted by a chronic discharge, a snuffling in the
breathing, and a contraction of the nostril. It is a result of common
cold and requires the same treatment as prescribed for nasal gleet,
namely, the sulphate of iron, sulphate of copper, iodid of potassium,
etc. The membranes of both sides may be affected, but one side only
is the rule; the affected side may be easily detected by holding
the hand tightly over one nostril at a time. When the healthy side is
closed in this manner the breathing through the affected side will
demonstrate a decreased caliber or an obstruction.

102 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

NASAL POLYPUS.

Tumors with narrow bases (somewhat pear-shaped) are occasion-
ally found attached to the membrane of the nasal chambers, and are
obstructions to breathing through the side in which they are located.
They A^ary much in size ; some are so small that their presence is not
manifested, while others almost completely fill the chamber, thereby
causing a serious obstruction to the passage of air. The stem, or
base, of the tumor is generally attached high in the chamber, and
usually the tumor can not be seen, but occasionally it increases in
size until it can be observed within the nostril. Sometimes, instead of
hanging down toward the nasal opening, it falls back into the phar-
ynx. It causes a discharge from the nostril, a more or less noisy
snuflling sound in breathing, according to its size, a discharge of
blood (if it is injured), and sneezing. The side that it occupies can
be detected in the same way as described for the detection of the
affected side when the breathing is obstructed by a thickened
membrane.

The only relief is removal of the polypus, which, like all other
operations, should be done by an expert when it is possible to obtain
one. The operation is performed by grasping the base of the tumor
with suitable forceps and twisting it round and round until it is torn
from its attachment, or by cutting it off with a noose of wire. The
resulting hemorrhage is checked by the use of an astringent lotion,
such as a solution of the tincture of iron, or by packing the nostrils
with surgeon's gauze.

PHARYNGEAL POLYPUS.

This is exactly the same kind of tumor described as nasal polypus,
the only difference being in the situation. Indeed, the stem of the
tumor may be attached to the membrane of the nasal chamber, as
before explained, or it may be attached in the fauces (opening of the
back part of the mouth), and the body of the tumor then falls into
the pharynx. In this situation it may seriously interfere with breath-
ing. Sometimes it drops into the larynx, causing the most alarming
symptoms. The animal coughs, or tries to cough, saliva flows from
the mouth, the breathing is performed with the greatest difficulty and
accompanied with a loud noise; the animal appears as if strangled
and often falls exhausted. When the tumor is coughed out of the lar-
ynx the aninuil regains quickly and soon appears as if nothing were
ailing. These sudden attacks and quick recoveries point to the nature
of the trouble. The examination must be made by holding the ani-
mal's mouth open with a balling iron or speculum and running the
iiand back into the mouth. If the tumor is within reach, it must be
removed in the same manner as though it were in the nose.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 103

BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE.

This often occurs during the course of certain diseases, namely,
influenza, bronchitis, purpura hemorrhagica, glanders, etc. But it
also occurs independently of other aifections and, as before men-
tioned, is a symptom of polypus, or tumor, in the nose.

Injuries to the head, exertion, violent sneezing — causing a rupture
of a small blood vessel — also induce it. The bleeding is almost inva-
riably from one nostril only, and is never very serious. The blood
escapes in drops (seldom in a stream) and is not frothy, as when
the hemorrhage is from the lungs. (See Bleeding from the lungs,
p. 127.) In most cases bathing the head and washing out the nostril
with cold water are all that is necessary. If the cause is known, you
will be guided according to circumstances. If the bleeding continues,
pour ice-cold water over the face, between the eyes and down over
the nasal chambers. A bag containing ice in small pieces applied to
the head is often efficient. If in spite of these measures the hemor-
rhage continues, plugging the nostrils with cotton, tow, or oakum,
should be tried. A string should be tied around the plug before it is
pushed up into the nostril, so that it can be safely withdrawn after
4 or 5 hours. If both nostrils are bleeding, only one nostril at a time
should be plugged. If the hemorrhage is profuse and persistent, a
drench composed of 1 dram of acetate of lead dissolved in 1 pint of
water, or ergot, 1 ounce, should be given.'

INFLAMMATION OF THE PHARYNX.

As already stated, the pharynx is common to the functions of both
respiration and alimentation. From this organ the air passes into
the larynx and thence onward to the lungs. In the posterior part of
the pharynx is the superior extremity of the gullet, the canal through
which the feed and water pass to the stomach. Inflammation of the
pharynx is a complication of other diseases — namely, influenza,
strangles, etc. — and is probably always more or less complicated with
inflammation of the larynx. That it may exist as an independent
affection there is no reason to doubt, and it is discussed as such with
the diseases of the digestive tract.

SORE THROAT, OR LARYNGITIS.

The larynx is situated in the space between the lower jawbones just
back of the root of the tongue. It may be considered as a box (some-
what depressed on each side), composed principally of cartilages and
small muscles, and lined on the inside with a continuation of the
respiratory mucous membrane. Posteriorly it opens into and is con-
tinuous with the windpipe. It is the organ of the voice, the vocal
cords being situated within it; but in the horse this function is of

104 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

little consequence. It dilates and contracts to a certain extent, thus
re<^uliiting the volume of air passini^ through it. The mucous mem-
brane lining it internally is so highly sensitive that if the smallest
particle of feed happens to drop into it from the pharynx violent
coughing ensues instantly and is continued until the source of irri-
tation is ejected. This is a provision of nature to prevent foreign
substances gaining access to the lungs. That projection called
Adam's apple in the neck of man is the prominent part of one of the
cartilages forming the larynx.

Inflammation of the larynx is a serious and sometimes fatal dis-
ease, and, as before stated, is usually complicated with inflammation
of the pharynx, constituting what is popularly known as "sore
throat." The chief causes are chilling and exposure.

Symptoms. — About the first symptom noticed is cough, followed by
diiliculty in swallowing, which may be due to( soreness of the mem-
brane of the phaiynx, over which the feed or water must pass, or
from the pain caused by the contraction of the muscles necessary to
impel the feed or water onward to the gullet; or this same contraction
of the muscles may cause a pressure on the larjmx and produce pain.
In many instances the difficulty in swallowing is so great that water,
and in some cases feed, is returned through the nose. This, however,
does not occur in laryngitis alone, but only when the phar3mx is
in^•olved in the inflammatii)n. The glands between the lower jaw-
bones and below the ears may be swollen. Pressure on the larynx
induces coughing. The head is more or less " poked out," and has
tli2 appearance of being stiffly carried. The membrane in the nose
becomes red. A discharge from the nostrils soon appears. As the
disease advances, the breathing may assume a more or less nois}^ char-
acter ; sometimes a harsh, rasping snore is emitted with every respira-
tion, the breathing becomes hurried, and occasionally the animal
seems threatened with suffocation.

Treatment. — In all cases steam the nostrils, as has been advised for
cold in the head. In bad cases cause the steam to be inhaled continu-
ously for hours — until relief is afforded. Have a bucketful of fresh
boiling Avater every fifteen or twenty minutes. In each bucketful of
water put a tablespoonful of oil of turpentine, or compound tincture
of benzoin, the vapor of which will be carried along with the steam to
the affected parts and have a beneficial effect. In mild cases steaming
the nostrils five, six, or seven times a day will suffice.

The animal should be placed in a comfortable, dry stall (a box stall
preferred), and should have pure air to breathe. The body should
be blanketed, and bandages applied to the legs. The diet should
consist of soft feed — bran mashes, scalded oats, linseed gruel, and,
best of all, fresh grass, if in season. The manger, or trough, should
neither be too high nor too low, but a temporary one should be con-

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 105

structed at about the height he carries his head. Having to reach
too high or too low may cause so much pain that the animal would
rather forego satisfying what little appetite he may have than inflict
pain by craning his head for feed or water. A supply of fresh- water
should be before him all the time ; he will not drink too much, nor
will the cold water hurt him. Constipation (if present) must be
relieved by enemas of warm water, administered three or four times
during the twenty- four hours.

A liniment composed of 2 ounces of olive oil and 1 each of solu-
tion of ammonia and tincture of canthandes, well shaken together,
may be thoroughly rubbed in about the throat from ear to ear, and
about 6 inches down over the windpipe, and in the space between the
lower jaws. This liniment should be applied once a day for two or
three days.

If the animal is breathing with great difliculty, persevere in steam-
ing the nostrils, and dissolve 2 drams of chlorate of potassium in
every gallon of water he will drink ; even if he can not swallow much
of it, and even if it is returned through the nostrils, it will be of some
benefit to the pharynx as a gargle.

An electuary of acetate of potash, 2 drams, honey, and licorice
poAvder may be spread on the teeth with a paddle every few hours.
If the pain of coughing is gTeat, 2 or 3 grains of morphin may be
added to the electuary.

When the breathing begins to be loud, relief is afforded in some
cases by giving a drench composed of 2 drams of fluid extract of
jaborandi in half a pint of water. If benefit is derived, this drench
may be repeated four or five hours after the first dose is given. It
will cause a free flow of saliva from the mouth. •

In urgent cases, when suffocation seems inevitable, the operation of
tracheotomy must be performed. To describe this operation in words
that would make it comprehensible to the general reader is a more
difficult task than performing the operation, which, in the hands of
the expert, is simple and attended with little danger.

The operator should be provided with a tracheotomy tube (to be
purchased from any veterinary instrument maker) and a sharp knife,
a sponge, and a bucket of clean cold water. The place to be selected
for opening the windpipe is that part which is found, upon examina-
tion, to be least covered with muscles, about 5 or 6 inches below the
throat. Right here, then, is the place to cut through. Have an
assistant hold the animal's head still. Grasp your knife firmly in
the right hand, select the spot and make the cut from above to below
directly on the median line on the anterior surface of the windpipe.
Make the cut about 2 inches long in the windpipe; this necessitates
cutting three or four rings. One bold stroke is usually sufficient, but
if it is necessary to make several other cuts to finish the operation, do

IQQ DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

not hesitate. Your purpose is to make a hole in the windpipe suffi-
ciently large to admit the tracheotomy tube. It is quickly manifested
when the windpipe is severed; the hot air rushes out, and when air
is taken in it is sucked in with a noise. A slight hemorrhage may
result (it never amounts to much), which is easily controlled by wash-
ing the wound with a sponge and cold water, but use care not to get
any water in the windpipe. Do not neglect to instruct your assistant
to hold the head down immediately after the operation, so that the
neck will be in a horizontal line. This will prevent the blood from
getting into the windpipe and will allow it to drop directly on the
ground. If you have the self-adjustable tube, it retains its place
in the wound without further trouble after it is inserted. The other
kind requires to be secured in position by means of two tapes or
strings tied around the neck. After the hemorrhage . is somewhat
abated, sponge the blood away and see that the tube is thoroughly
clean, then insert it, directing the tube downward toward the lungs.

The immediate relief this operation affords is gratifying to behold.
The animal, a few minutes before on the verge of death from suffoca-
tion, emitting a loud wheezing sound with every breath, with hag-
gard countenance, body swaying, pawing, gasping, fighting for
breath, now breathes tranquilly, and may be in search of something
to eat.

The tube should be removed once a day and cleaned with carbolic-
acid solution (1 to 20), and the discharge washed away from the
wound with a solution of carbolic acid, 1 part to 40 parts water.
Several times a day the hand should be held over the opening in the
tube to test the animal's ability to breathe through the nostrils, and
as soon as it is demonstrated that breathing can be performed in the
natural way the tube should be removed, the wound thoroughly
cleansed with carbolic-acid solution (1 to 40), and closed by in-
serting four or five stitches through the skin and muscle. Do not
include the cartilages of the windpipe in the stitches. Apply the
solution to the wound three or four times a day until healed. Wlien
the tube is removed to clean it the lips of the wound may be pressed
together to ascertain whether or not the horse can breathe through
the larynx. The use of the tube should be discontinued as soon as
possible.

It is true that tracheotomy tubes are seldom to be found on farms,
and especially when most urgently required. In such instances there
is nothing left to be done but, with a strong needle, pass a waxed end
or other strong string through each side of the wound, including the
cartilage of the windpipe, and keep the wound open by tying the
strings over the neck.

During the time the tube is used the other treatment advised must
not be neglected. After a few days the discharge from the nostrils

DISEASES OF THE EESPIRATOKY OEGANS. 107

becomes thicker and more profuse. This is a good symptom and
signifies that the acute stage has passed. At any time during the
attack, if the horse becomes weak, give aromatic spirits of ammonia,
2 ounces in water. Do not be in a hurry to put the animal back to
work, but give plenty of time for a complete recovery. Gentle and
gradually increasing exercise may be given as soon as the horse is
able to stand it. The feed should be carefully selected and of good
quality. Tonics, as iron or arsenic, may be employed.

If abscesses form in connection with the disease they must be
opened to allow the escape of pus, but do not rashly plunge a knife
into swollen glands ; wait until you are certain the swelling contains
pus. The formation of pus may be encouraged by the constant appli-
cation of poultices for hours at a time. The best poultice for the
purpose is made of linseed meal, with sufficient hot water to make a
thick paste. If the glands remain swollen for some time after the
attack, rub well over them an application of the following ; Biniodid
of mercury, 1 dram; lard, 1 ounce; mix well. This may be applied
once every day until the part is blistered.

Sore throat is also a symptom of other diseases, such as influenza,
strangles, purpura hemorrhagica, etc., which diseases may be con-
suited under their proper headings.

After a severe attack of inflammation of the larynx the mucous
membrane may be left in a thickened condition, or an ulceration of
the part ma}'^ ensue, either of which is liable to produce a chronic
cough. For the ulceration it is useless to prescribe, because it can
neither be diagnosed nor topically treated by the nonprofessional.

If a chronic covigh remains after all the other symptoms have
disappeared, it is advisable to give 1 dram of iodid of potassium dis-
solved in a bucketful of drinking water, one hour before feeding,
three times a day for a month if necessary. Also rub in well the
preparation of iodid of mercury (as advised for the swollen glands)
about the throat, from ear to ear, and in the space between the lower
jawbones. The application may be repeated every third day until
the part is blistered.

SPASM OF THE LARYNX.

The symptoms are as follows: Sudden seizure by a violent fit of
coughing; the horse may reel and fall, and after a few minutes re-
cover and be as well as ever. The treatment recommended is this:
Three drams of bromid of potassium three times a day, dissolved in
the drinking water, or give as a drench in about a half pint of water
for a week. Then give 1 dram of powdered nux vomica (either on
the food or shaken with water as a drench) once a day for a few
weeks.

108 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

CROUP AND DIPHTHERIA.

Neither of these diseases affects the horse, but these names are
sometimes wrongly applied to severe laryngitis or pharyngitis, or to
forage poisoning, in which the throat is paralyzed and becomes ex-
cessively inflamed and gangrenous.

THICK WIND AND ROARING.

Horses that are affected with chronic disease that causes a loud,
unnatural noise in breathing are said to have thick wind, or to be
roarers. This class does not include those affected with severe sore
throat, as in these cases the breathing is noisy only during the attack
of the acute disease.

Thick wind is caused by an obstruction to the free i^assage of the
air in some part of the respiratory tract. Nasal polypi, thickening of
the membrane, pharyngeal polypi, deformed bones, paralysis of the
wing of the nostril, etc., are occasional causes. The noisy breathing
of horses after having been idle and put to sudden exertion is not due
to any disease and is only temporar3\ Very often a nervous, ex-
citable horse will make a noise for a short time when started off,
generally caused by the cramped position in wiiich the head and neck
are forced in order to hold him back.

ISIany other causes may occasion temporary, intermittent, or per-
manent noisy respiration, but chronic roaring is caused by paralysis
of the muscles of the larynx ; and almost invariably it is the muscles
of the left side of the larynx that are affected.

In chronic roaring the noise is made when the air is drawn into the
lungs; only wiien the disease is far advanced is a sound produced
when the air is expelled, and even then it is not nearly so loud as
during inspiration.

In a normal condition the muscles dilate the aperture of the larynx
by moving the cartilage and vocal cord outward, allowing a sufficient
volume of air to rush through. But when the muscles are paralyzed
the cartilage and vocal cord that are normally controlled by the
affected muscles lean into the tube of the larynx, so that wiien the air
rushes in it meets this obstruction and the noise is produced. When
the air is expelled from the lungs its very force pushes the cartilage
and vocal cords out, and consequently noise is not produced in the
expiratory act.

The paralysis of the muscles is due to derangement of the nerve
that supplies them with energy. The muscles of both sides are not
supplied by the same nerve; there is a right and a left nerve, each
supplying its respective side. The reason why the muscles on the
left side are the (mes usually paralyzed is owing to the difference m
the anatomical arrangement of the nerves. The left nerve is much
longer and more exposed to interference than the right nerve.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATOEY ORGANS, 109

In chronic roaring there is no evidence of any disease of the larynx
other than the wasted condition of the muscles in question. The
disease of the nerve is generally far from the larynx. Disease of
parts contiguous to the nerve along any part of its course may inter-
fere with its proper function. Enlargement of lymphatic glands
within the chest through which the nerve passes on its way back
to the larynx is the most frequent interruption of nervous supply,
and consequently roaring. When roaring becomes confirmed, medical
treatment is entire!}^ useless, as it is impossible to restore the wasted
muscle and at the same time remove the cause of the interruption
of the nervous supply. Before roaring becomes permanent the con-
dition may be benefited by a course of iodid of potassium, if caused
by disease of the lymphatic glands. Electricity has been used with
indifferent success. Blistering or firing over the larynx is, of course,
not worthy of trial if the disease is due to interference of the nerve
supply. The administration of strychnia (nux vomica) on the
ground that it is a nerve tonic with the view of stimulating the af-
fected muscles is treating only the result of the disease without con-
sidering the cause, and is therefore useless. The operation of extir-
pating the collapsed cartilage and vocal cord is believed to be the
only relief, and, as this operation is critical and can be performed
only by the skillful veterinarian, it will not be described here.

From the foregoing description of the disease it will be seen that
the name " roaring," by which the disease is generally laiown, is only
a symptom and not the disease. Chronic roaring is also in many
cases accompanied with a cough. The best way to test whether a
horse is a " roarer " is either to make him pull a load rapidly up a
hill or over a sandy road or soft ground ; or, if he is a saddle horse,
gallop him up a hill or over soft ground. The object is to make him
exert himself. Some horses require a great deal more exertion than
others before the characteristic sound is emitted. The greater the
distance he is forced, the more he will appear exhausted if he is a
roarer; in bad cases the animal becomes utterly exhausted, the
breathing is rapid and difficult, the nostrils dilate to the fullest ex-
tent, and the animal appears as if suffocation was imminent.

An animal that is a roarer should not be used for breeding pur-
poses. The taint is transmissible in many instances.

Grunting. — A common test used by veterinarians when examining
" the wind " of a horse is to see if he is a " grunter." This is a sound
emitted during expiration when the animal is suddenly moved, or
startled, or struck at. If he grunts he is further tested for roaring.
Grunters are not always roarers, but, as it is a common thing for a
roarer to grunt, such an animal must be looked upon with suspicion
until he is thoroughly tried by pulling a load or galloped up a hill.
The test should be a severe one. Horses suffering with pleurisy,

110 DISEASES OP THE HOESE.

pleiirodjniia, or rheumatism, and other affections accompanied with
much pain, will grunt when moved, or when the pain is aggravated,
but grunting under these circumstances does not justify the term of
"grunter" being applied to the horse, as the grunting ceases when
the animal recovers from the disease that causes the pain.

High blowing. — This term is applied to a noisy breathing made by
some horses. It is distinctly a nasal sound, and must not be con-
founded with " roaring." The sound is produced by the action of the
nostrils. It is a habit and not an unsoundness. Contrary to roaring,
when the animal is put to severe exertion the sound ceases. An ani-
mal that emits this sound is called a "high blower." Some horses
have naturally very narrow nasal openings, and they may emit
sounds louder than usual in their breathing when exercised.

Whistling is only one of the variations of the sound emitted by a
horse called n " roarer," and therefore needs no further notice, except
to remind the reader that a whistling sound may be produced during
an attack of severe sore throat or inflammation of the larynx, which
passes away with the disease that causes it.

CHRONIC BRONCHITIS.

This may be due to the same causes as acute bronchitis or it may
follow the latter disease. An attack of the chronic form is liable to
be converted into acute bronchitis by a very slight cause. This
chronic affection in most instances is associated with thickening of
the walls of the tubes. Its course is slower, it is less severe, and is not
accompanied with so much fever as the acute form. If the animal is
exerted, the breathing becomes quickened and he soon shows signs of
exhaustion. In many instances the animal keeps up strength and
appearances moderately well, but in other cases the appetite is lost,
flesh gradually disappears, and he becomes emaciated and debilitated.
It is accompanied with a persistent cough, which in some cases is
husky, smothered, or muflfled, while in others it is hard and clear. A
whitish matter, which may be curdled, is discharged from the nose.
If the ear is placed against the chest behind the shoulder blade, the
rattle of the air passing through the mucus can be heard within.

Treatment. — Rest is necessary, as even under the most favorable
circumstances a cure is difficult to eft'ect. The animal can not stand
exertion and should not be compelled to undergo it. It should have
much the same general care and medical treatment prescribed for
the acute form. Arsenious acid in tonic doses (3 to 7 grains) three
times daily may be given. As arsenic is irritant, it must be mixed
with a considerable bulk of moist feed and never given alone. Ar-
senic may be given in the form of Fowler's solution, 1 ounce three
times daily in the drinking water. An application of mustard ap-

DISEASES OF THE EESPIKATORY ORGANS. Ill

plied to the breast is a beneficial adjunct. The diet should be the
most nourishing. Bulky feed should not be given. Linseed mashes,
scalded oats, and, if in season, grass and green-blade fodder are the
best diet.

THE LUNGS.

The lungs (see PL VII) are the essential organs of respiration.
They consist of two (right and left) spongy masses, commonly called
the " lights," situated entirely within the thoracic cavity. On account
of the space taken up by the heart, the left lung is the smaller. Ex-
ternally, they are completely covered by the pleura. The structure of
the lung consists of a light, soft, but very strong and remarkably
elastic tissue, which can be torn only with difficulty. Each lung is
divided into a certain number of lobes, which are subdivided into
numberless lobules (little lobes). A little bronchial tube terminates
in every one of these lobules. The little tube then divides into minute
branches which open into the air cells (pulmonary vesicles) of the
lungs. The air cells are little sacs having a diameter varying from
one-seventieth to one two-hundredth of an inch; they have but one
opening, the communication with the branches of the little bronchial
tubes. Small blood vessels ramify in the walls of the air cells. The
air cells are the consummation of the intricate structures forming
the respiratory apparatus. They are of prime importance, all the
rest being complementary. It is here that the exchange of gases takes
place. As before stated, the walls of the cells are very thin ; so, also,
are the walls of the blood vessels. Through these walls escapes from
the blood the carbonic acid gas that has been absorbed by the blood
in its circulation through the different parts of the body; through
these walls also the oxygen gas, which is the life-giving element of
the atmosphere, is absorbed by the blood from the air in the air cells.

CONGESTION OF THE LUNGS.

Congestion is essentially an excess of blood in the vessels of the
parts affected. Congestion of the lungs in the horse, when it exists
as an independent affection, is generally caused by overexertion when
the animal is not in a fit condition to undergo more than moderate
exercise. Very often what is recognized as congestion of the iungs
is but a symptom of exhaustion or dilatation of the heart.

The methods practiced by the trainers of running and trotting
horses will give an idea of what is termed " putting a horse in condi
tion" to stand severe exertion. The animal at first gets walking
exercises, then after some time he is made to go faster and farther
each day; the amount of work is daily increased until he is said to
be " in condition." An anunal so prepared runs no risk of beinp'

112 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

affected with congestion of the lungs, if he is otherwise healthy.
On the other hand, if the horse is kept in the stable for the purpose
of laying on fat or for want of something to do, the muscular system
becomes soft, and the horse is not in condition to stand the severe
exertion of going fast or far, no matter how healthy he may be in
other respects. If such a horse be given a hard ride or drive, he may
start off in high spirits, but soon becomes exhausted, and if he is
pushed he will slacken his pace, show a desire to stop, and may stag-
ger or eA^en fall. Examination will show the nostrils dilated, the
flanks heaving, the countenance haggard, and the appearance of suf-
focation. The heart and muscles were not accustomed to the sudden
and severe strain put upon them; the heart became unable to perform
its work; the blood accumulated in the vessels of the lungs, which
eventuallj'' became engorged with the stagnated blood, constituting
congestion of the lungs.

The animal, after having undergone severe exertion, may not
exhibit alarming symptoms until returned to the stable ; then he will
be noticed standing with his head down, legs spread out, the eyes
wildly staring or dull and sunken. The breathing is very rapid and
almost gasping ; in most cases the body is covered with perspiration,
Avhich, however, may soon evaporate, leaving the surface of the body
and the legs and ears cold ; the breathing is both abdominal and tho-
racic ; the chest rises and falls and the flanks are powerfully brought
into action. If the pulse can be felt at all it will be found beating
very frequently, one hundred or so to a minute. The heart may be
felt tumultuously thumping if the hand is placed against the chest
behind the left elbow, or it may be scarcely perceptible. The animal
may tremble all over. If the ear is placed against the side of the
chest a loud murmur will be heard and perhaps a fine, crackling
sound.

One can scarcely fail to recognize a case of congestion of the lungs
when brought on by overexertion, as the history of the case indicates
the nature of the ailment. In all cases of suffocation the lungs are
congested. It is also seen in connection with other diseases.

Treatment. — If the animal is attacked by the disease while on the
road, stop him immediately. Do not attempt to return to the stables.
If he is in the stable, make arrangements at once to insure an unlim-
ited supply of pure air. If the weather is warm, out in the open air
is the best place, but if too cold let him stand with head to the door.
Let him stand still ; he has all he can do, if he obtains sufficient pure
air to sustain life. If he is encumbered with harness or saddle,
remove it at once and rub the body with cloths or wisps of hay or
straw. This stimulates the circulation in the skin, and thus aids in
relieving the lungs of the extra quantity of blood that is stagnated
there. If you have three or four assistants, let them rub the body

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases otthe Horse.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATOKY 0RGA2TS. 113

and legs well until the skin feels natural ; rub the legs until they are
warm, if possible. When the circulation is reestablished, put band-
ages on the legs from the hoofs up as far as possible. Throw a blan-
ket over the body and let the rubbing be done under the blanket.
Diffusible stimulants are the medicines indicated — ether and aro-
matic spirits of ammonia. A drench of 2 ounces each of spirits of
nitrous ether and alcohol, diluted with a pint of water, every hour
until relief is afforded, is among the best remedies. Or give 1 ounce of
tincture of arnica in a pint of water every hour until five or six doses
have been given. If none of these remedies are at hand, 2 ounces of
oil of turpentine, shaken with a half pint of milk, may be given once,
but not repeated. The animal may be bled from the jugular vein.
Do not take more than 5 or 6 quarts from the vein, and do not repeat
the bleeding. The blood thus drawn will have a tarry appearance.
When the alarming symptoms have subsided active measures may
be stopped, but care must be used in the general treatment of the ani-
mal for several days, for it must be remembered that congestion may
be followed by pneumonia. The animal should have a comfortable
stall, where he will not be subjected to drafts or sudden changes of
temperature; he should be blanketed and the legs kept bandaged.
The air should be pure, a plentiful supply of fresh, cold water
always in the stall ; and a diet composed principally of bran mashes,
scalded oats, and, if in season, grass. Wlien ready for use again the
horse should at first receive only moderate exercise, which may be
daily increased until he may safely be put to regular work.

PNEUMONIA, OR LUNG FEVER.

Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs. The chief varieties of
pneumonia are catarrhal — later discussed in connection with bron-
chitis, imder the name of broncho-pneumonia — and the fibrinous or
croupous variety. The latter form receives its names from the fact
that the air spaces are choked with coagulated fibrin thrown out from
the blood: This causes the diseased portions of the lungs to become
as firm as liver, in which condition they are said to be hepatized. As
air is excluded by the inflammatory product, the diseased lung will
not float in water.

The inflammation usually begins in the lower part of the lung and
extends upward. The first stage of the disease consists of conges-
tion, or engorgement, of the blood vessels, followed by leakage of
serum containing fibrin from the blood vessels into the air passages.
The fluids thus escaping into the air cells and in the minute branches
of the little bronchial tubes become coagulated.
54763°— 23 8

114 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

The pleura covering the affected parts may be more or less inflamed.
A continuance of the foregoing phenomena is marked by a further
escape of the constituents of the blood, and a change in the membrane
of the cells, which becomes swollen. The exudate that fills the air
cells and minute bronchial branches undergoes disintegi^ation and
softening when healing commences.

The faA'orable termination of pneumonia is in resolution, that is,
a restoration to health. This is gi-adually brought about by the
exuded material contained in the air cells ancl lung tissues being
broken down and softened and absorbed or expectorated through the
nostrils. The blood vessels return to their natural state, and the
blood circulates in them as before. In the cases that do not termi-
nate so happily the lung may become gangrenous (or mortified), an
abscess may form, or the disease may be merged into the chronic
variety.

Pneumonia may be directly induced by any of the influences named
as general causes for diseases of the organs of respiration, but in
many instances it is from neglect. A common cold or sore throat
may be followed by pneumonia if neglected or improperly treated.
An animal may be debilitated by a cold, and when in this weakened
state may be compelled to undergo exertion beyond his strength ; or
he may be kept in a badly ventilated stable, where the foul gases
are shut in and the pure air is shut out ; or the stable may be so open
that parts of the body are exposed to drafts of cold air. An animal
is predisposed to pneumonia when debilitated by any constitutional
disease, and especially during convalescence if exposed to any of
the exciting causes. Foreign bodies, such as feed accidentally getting
into the lungs by way of the windpipe, as well as the inhalation of
irritating gases and smoke, ofttimes produce fatal attacks of inflam-
mation of the lung and bronchial tubes. Pneumonia is frequently
seen in connection with other diseases, such as influenza, purpura
hemorrhagica, strangles, glanders, etc. Pneumonia and pleurisy are
most common during cold, damp weather, and especially during the
prevalence of the cold north or northeasterly winds. Wounds punc-
turing the thoracic cavity may cause pneumonia.

SymptoTns. — Pneumonia, when a primary disease, is ushered in by
a chill, more or less ^prolonged, which in many cases is seen neither
by the owner nor the attendant, but is overlooked. The breathing
becomes accelerated, and the animal hangs its head and has a very
dull appearance. The mouth is hot and has a sticky feeling to the
touch ; the heat conveyed to the finger in the mouth demonstrates a
fever; if the thermometer is placed in the rectum the temperature
will be found to have risen to 103° F. or higher. The pulse is fre-

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 115

quent, beating from fifty or sixty to eighty or more a minute. There
is usually a dry cough from the beginning, which, however, changes
in character as the disease advances; for instance, it may become
moist, or if pleurisy sets in, the cough will be peculiar to the latter
affection ; that is, cut short in the endeavor to suppress it. In some
cases the discharge from the nostrils is tinged with blood, while in
other cases it has the appearance of muco-pus. The appetite is lost
to a greater or less extent, but the desire for water is increased, par-
ticularly during the onset of the fever. The membrane within the
nostrils is red and at first dry, but sooner or later becomes moist. The
legs are cold. The bowels are more or less constipated, and what
dung is passed is uually covered with a slimy mucus. The urine is
passed in smaller quantities than usual and is of a darker color.

The animal prefers to have the head where the freshest air can be
obtained. When affected with pneumonia a horse does not lie down,
but persists in standing from the beginning of the attack. If pneu-
monia is complicated with pleurisy, however, the horse may appear
restless and lie down for a few moments to gain relief from the
pleuritic pains, but he soon rises. In pneumonia the breathing is
rapid and difficult, but when the j)neumonia is complicated with
pleurisy the ribs are kept as still as possible and the breathing is
abdominal; that is, the abdominal muscles are now made to do as
much of the work as they can perform. If pleurisy is not present
there is little pain. To the ordinary observer the animal may not
appear dangerously ill, as he does not show the seriousness of the
ailment by violence, as in colic, but a careful observer will discover
at a glance that the trouble is something more serious than a cold.
By percussion it will be shown that some portions of the chest are
less resonant than in health, indicating exclusion of air. If the air
is wholly excluded the percussion is quite dull, like that elicited by
percussion over the thigh.

By auscultation important information may be gained. When the
ear is placed against the chest of a healthy horse, the respiratory
murmur is heard more or less distinctly, according to the part of the
chest that is beneath the ear. In the very first stage of pneumonia
this murmur is louder and hoarser; also, there is a fine, crackling
sound something similar to that produced when salt is thrown in a
fire. After the affected part becomes solid there is an absence of
sound over that particular part. After absorption begins one may
again hear sounds that are of a more or less moist character and
resemble bubbling or gurgling, which gradually change until the
natural sound is heard announcing return to health.

When a fatal termination is approaching all the symptoms be-
come intensified. The breathing becomes still more rapid and diffi-
cult; the flanks heave; the animal stares wildly about as if seeking

116 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

aid to drive off the feeling of suffocation; the body is bathed with
sweat; the horse staggers, but quickly recovers his balance; he may
now, for the first time during the attack, lie down ; he does so, how-
ever, in the hope of relief, which he fails to find, and with difficulty
struggles to his feet; he pants; the nostrils flap; he staggers and
sways from side to side and backward and forward, but still tries to
retain the standing position, even by propping himself against the
stall. It is no use, as after an exhausting fight for breath he goes
down; the limbs stretch out and become rigid. In fatal cases death
usually occurs in from 10 to 20 days after the beginning of the
attack. On the other hand, when the disease is terminating favor-
ably the signs axe obvious. The fever abates and the animal gradu-
ally improves in appetite; he takes more notice of things around
him; his spirits improve; he has a general appearance of returning
health, and he lies down and rests. In the majority of cases pneumo-
nia, if properly treated, terminates in recovery.

Treatment. — The comfort and surroundings of the patient must be
attended to first. The quarters should be the best that can be pro-
vided. Pure air is essential. Avoid placing the animal in a stall
where he may be exposed to drafts of cold air and sudden changes of
temperature. It is much better for the animal if the air is cold and pure
than if it is warm and foul. It is better to make the animal comfort-
able with warm clothing than to make the stable warm by shutting off
the ventilation. From the start the animal should have an unlimited
supply of fresh, cold drinking water. Blanket the body. Rub the legs
until they are warm and then put bandages on them from the hoofs
up to the knees and hocks. If warmth can not be reestablished in
the legs by hand rubbing alone, apply dry, ground mustard and rub
well in. The bandages should be removed once or twice every day,
the legs well rubbed, and the bandages replaced. Much harm is often
done by clipping off hair and rubbing in powerful blistering com-
poimds. They do positive injury and retard recovery, and should
not be allowed. Much benefit may be derived from hot application
to the sides of the chest if the facilities are at hand to apply them.
If the weather is not too cold, and if the animal is in a comfortable
stable, the following method may be tried : Have a tub of hot water
handy to the stable door; soak a woolen blanket in the water, then
quickly wring as much water as possible out of it and w rap it around
the chest. See that it fits closely to the skin ; do not allow it to sag
so that air may get between it and the skin. Now wrap a dry blanket
over the wet hot one and hold in place with three girths. The hot
blanket should be renewed every half hour, and while it is off being
wetted and wrung the dry one should remain over the wet part of
the chest to prevent reaction. The hot applications should be kept
up for three or four hours, and when stopped the skin should be

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 117

quickly rubbed as dry as possible, an application of alcohol rubbed
over the wet part, and a dry blanklet snugly fitted over the animal.
If the hot applications appear to benefit, they may be tried on three
or four consecutive days. Unless ever}^ facility and circumstance
favors the application of heat in the foregoing manner, it should not
be attempted. If the weather is very cold or any of the details are
omitted, more harm than good ma}^ result. Mustard may be applied
by making a paste with a pound of freshly ground mustard mixed
with warm water. This is to be spread evenh^ over the sides back
of the shoulder blades and down to the median line below the chest.
Care should be taken to avoid rubbing the mustard upon the thin
skin immediately back of the elbow. The mustard-covered area
should be covered with a paper and this with a blanket passed up
from below and fastened over the back. The blanket and paper
should be removed in from one to two hours. A^^ien pneumonia fol-
lows another disease, the system is always more of less debilitated
and requires the careful use of stimulants from the beginning. To
weaken the animal still further by bleeding him is one of the most
effectual methods of retarding recovery, even if it does not hasten
a fatal termination.

Another and oftentimes fatal mistake made by the nonprofessional
is the indiscriminate and reckless use of aconite. This drug is one
of the most active poisons, and should not be handled by anyone
who does not thoroughly understand its action and uses. It is only
less active than prussic acid in its poisonous effects. It is a common
opinion, often expressed by nonprofessionals, that aconite is a stimu-
lant. Nothing could be more erroneous; in fact, it is just the reverse.
It is one of the most powerful sedatives used in the practice of medi-
cine. In fatal doses it kills by paralyzing the very muscles used in
breathing ; it weakens the action of the heart, and should not be used.
Do not give purgative medicines. If constipation exists, overcome it
by an allowance of laxative diet, such as scalded oats, bran, and lin-
seed mashes ; also, grass, if in season. If the costiveness is not re-
lieved by the laxative diet, give an enema of about a quart of warm
water three or four times a day.

A diet consisting principally of bran mashes, scalded oats, and,
when in season, grass or corn fodder is preferable if the animal
retains an appetite; but if no desire is evinced for feed of this par-
ticular description, then the animal must be allowed to eat anything
that will be taken spontaneously. Hay tea, made by pouring boiling
water over good hay in a large bucket and allowing it to stand until
cool, then straining off the liquid, will sometimes create a desire for
feed. The animal may be allowed to drink as much of it as he
desires. Corn on the cob is often eaten when everything else is
refused. Bread may be tried ; also apples or carrots. If the animal

118 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

can be persuaded to drink milk, it may be supported by it for days.
Three or four gallons of sweet milk may be given during the day, in
which may be stirred three or four fresh eggs to each gallon. Some
horses will drink milk, while others will refuse to touch it. It
should be borne in mind that all feed must be taken by the horse as
he desires it; none should be forced down him. If he will not eat,
vou will only have to wait until a desire is shown for feed. All
kinds may l^e offered, first one thing and then another, but feed
should not be allowed to remain long in trough or manger; the very
fact of its constantly being before him will cause him to loathe it.
When the animal has no appetite for anything the stomach is not in
a proper state to digest food, and if it is poured or drenched into
him it will only cause indigestion and aggravate the case. It is a
good j)ractice to do nothing when there is nothing to be done that
will benefit. This refers to medicine as well as feed. Nothing is well
done that is overdone.

There are many valuable medicines used for the different stages
and different types of pneumonia, but in the opinion of the writer
it is useless to refer to them here, as this work is intended for the
use of those who are not sufficiently acquainted with the disease
to recognize its various types and stages; therefore they would only
confuse. If you can administer a ball or capsule, or have anyone at
hand who is capable of doing it, a dram of sulphate of quinin in a
capsule, or made into a ball with sufficient linseed meal and molasses,
given every three hours during the height of the fever, will do good
in many cases. The ball of carbonate of ammonia, as advised in
the treatment of bronchitis, may be tried if the animal is hard to
drench. The heart should be kept strong by administering digitalis
in doses of 2 drams of the tincture every three hours, or strychnia
1 gi'ain, made into a pill with licorice powder, three times daily.

If the horse becomes very much debilitated, stimulants of a more
pronounced character are required. The following drench is useful :
Rectified spirits, 3 ounces; spirits of nitrous ether, 2 ounces; water,
1 pint. This may be repeated every four or five hours if it seems
to benefit.

During the j^eriod of convalescence good nutritive feed should
be allowed in a moderate quantity. Tonic medicines should be sub-
stituted for those used during the fever. The same medicines advised
for the convalescing period of bronchitis are equally efficient in this
case, especially the iodid of potash; likewise, the same general in-
structions apply here.

The chief causes of death in pneumonia are heart failure from
exhaustion, suffocation, or blood poisoning from death (gangrene) of
lung tissue. The greater the area of lung tissue diseased the greater

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 119

the danger; hence double pneumonia is more fatal than pneumonia
of one lung.

•THE WINDPIPE.

The windpipe, or trachea as it is technically called, is the flexible
tube that extends from the larynx, which it succeeds at the throat,
to above the base of the heart in the chest, where it terminates by
dividing into the right and left bronchi — the tubes going to the right
and left lung, respectively. The windpipe is composed of about fifty
incomplete rings of cartilage united by ligaments. A muscular layer
is situated on the superior surface of the rings. Internally the tube
is lined with a continuation of the mucous membrane that lines the
entire respiratory tract, which here has very little sensibility in
contrast to that lining the larynx, which is endowed with exquisite
sensitiveness.

The windpipe is not subject to any special disease, but is more or
less affected during laryngitis (sore throat), influenza, bronchitis,
etc., and requires no special treatment. The membrane may be left
in a thickened condition after these attacks. One or more of the
rings may be accidentally fractured, or the tube may be distorted or
malformed as the result of violent injury. After the operation of
tracheotomy it is not uncommon to find a tumor or malformation as
a result, or sequel, of the operation. In passing over this section
attention is merely called to these defects, as they require no particu-
lar attention in the way of treatment. It may be stated, however,
that any one of the before-mentioned conditions may constitute one
of the causes of noisy respiration described as " thick wind."

GUTTURAL POUCHES.

These two sacs are situated above the throat, and communicate
with the pharynx, as well as with the cavity of the tympanum of
the ear. They are peculiar to solipeds. Normally, they contain air.
Their function is unknown.

One or both guttural pouches may contain pus. The symptoms are
as follows: Swelling on the side below the ear and an intermittent
discharge of matter from one or both nostrils, especially when the
head is depressed.

The swelling is soft, and, if pressed upon, matter will escape from
the nose if the head is depressed. As before mentioned, these
pouches communicate with the pharynx, and through this small
opening matter may escape. A recovery is probable if the animal is
turned out to gi-aze, or if he is fed from the ground, as the dependent
position of the head favors the escape of matter from the pouches.
In addition to this, give the tonics recommended for nasal gleet. If
this treatment fails, an operation must be performed, which should
not be attempted by any one unacquainted with the anatomy of the
part.

120 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

BRONCHITIS AND BRONCHO-PNEUMONIA.

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes. "V\Tien this
inflammation extends to the air sacs at the termini of the smallest
branches of the bronchial tubes, the disease is broncho-pneumonia.
Bronchitis afl^'ecting the larger tubes is less serious than when the
smaller are involved. The disease may be either acute or chronic.
The causes are generally much the same as for other diseases of the
respiratory organs, noticed in the beginning of this article. The
si)ecial causes are these : The inhalation of irritating gases and smoke
and fluids or solids gaining access to the parts. Bronchitis is occa-
sionally associated with influenza and other specific fevers. It also
supervenes on common cold or sore throat.

Symptoms. — The animal appears dull ; the appetite is partially or
Avholly lost ; the head hangs ; the breathing is quickened ; the cough,
at first dry, and having somewhat the character of a "barking
cough," is succeeded in a few days by a moist, rattling cough; the
mouth is hot; the visible membranes in the nose are red; the pulse
is frequent, and during the first stage is hard and quick, but as the
disease advances becomes smaller and more frequent. There is a
discharge from the nostrils that is at first whitish, but later becomes
creamy or frothy, still later it is sometimes tinged with blood, and
occasionally it may be of a brownish or rusty color. By auscul-
tation, or placing the ear to the sides of the chest, unnatural sounds
can now be heard. The air passing through the diseased tubes causes
a wheezing sound when the small tubes are affected, and a hoarse,
cooing, or snoring sound when the larger tubes are involved. After
one or two days the dry stage of the disease is succeeded by a moist
state of the membrane. The ear now detects a different sound,
caused by the bursting of the bubbles as the air passes through the
fluid, which is the exudate of inflammation and the augmented mu-
cous secretions of the membrane. The mucus may be secreted in
great abundance, which, by blocking up the tubes, may cause a col-
lapse of a large extent of breathing surface. Usuallj^ the mucus is
expectorated; that is, discharged through the nose. The matter is
coughed up, and when it reaches the larynx much of it may be swal-
lowed, and some is discharged from the nostrils. The horse, unlike
the human being, can not spit, nor does the matter coughed up gain
access to the mouth. If in serious cases all the symptoms become
aggravated, the breathing is labored, short, and quick, it usually in-
dicates that the inflammation has reached the breathing cells and that
catarrhal pneumonia is established. In this case the ribs rise and
fall much more than natural. This fact alone is enough to exclude
the idea that the animal may be affected with pleurisy, because in
that disease the ribs are kept in a fixed state as much as possible,

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 121

and the breathing is accomplished to a great extent by aid of the
abdominal muscles. The horse persists in standing throughout the
attack. He prefers to stand with head to a door or window to gain
all the fresh air possible, but if not tied may occasionally wander
listlessly about the stall. The bowels most likely are constipated;
the dung is covered with slimy mucus. The urine is decreased in
quantity and darker in color than usual. The animal shows
more or less thirst ; in some cases the mouth is full of saliva.
The discharge from the nose increases in quantity as the disease
advances and inflammation subsides. This is rather a good symp-
tom, as it shows that one stage has passed. The discharge then
gradually decreases, the cough becomes less rasping, but of more
frequent occurrence, until it gradually disappears with the return
of health.

Bronchitis, affecting the smaller tubes, is one of the most fatal
diseases, while that of the larger tubes is never very serious. It must
be stated, however, that it is an exceedingly difficult matter for a
nonexpert to discriminate between the two forms, and, further, it
may as well be said here that he will have difficulty in discriminat-
ing between bronchitis and pneumonia.

Treatment. — The matter of first importance is to insure pure air
to breathe, and next to make the patient's quarters as comfortable
as possible. A well- ventilated box stall serves best for all purposes.
Cover the body with a blanket, light or heavy, as the season of
the year demands. Hand-rub the legs until they are warm, then
wrap them in cotton and apply flannel or Derby bandages from
the hoofs to the knees and hocks. If the legs can not be made
warm with hand rubbing alone, apply dry mustard. Rub in
thoroughly and then put the bandages on; also rub mustard paste
well over the side of the chest, covering the space beginning im-
mediately behind the shoulder blade and running back about eigh-
teen inches, and from the median line beneath the breast to within
ten inches of the ridge of the backbone. Repeat the application
to the side of the chest about three days after the first one is ap-
plied.

Compel the animal to inhale steam from a bucketful of boiling
water containing a tablespoonful of oil of turpentine and spirits of
camphor, as advised for cold in the head. In serious cases the steam
should be inhaled every hour, and in any case the oftener it is done
the greater will be the beneficial results. Three times a day admin-
ister an electuary containing acetate of potash (2 drams), with lico-
rice and molasses or honey. It is well to keep a bucketful of cold
water before the animal all the time. If the horse is prostrated and
has no appetite, give the following drench : Spirits of nitrous ether,

122 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

2 ounces; rectified spirits, 3 ounces; water, 1 pint. Repeat the dose
every four or five hours if it appears to benefit. When the horse is
hard to drench, give the following: Pulverized carbonate of am-
monia, 3 drams; linseed meal and molasses sufficient to make the
whole into a stiff mass; wrap it with a small piece of tissue paper
and give as a ball. This ball may be repeated every four or five
hours. Wlien giving the ball care should be taken to prevent its
breaking in the mouth, as in case of such accident it will make the
mouth sore and prevent the animal from eating. If the bowels are
constipated, give enemas of warm water. Do not give purgative
medicines. Do not bleed the animal.

If the animal retains an appetite, a soft diet is preferable, such as
scalded oats, bran mashes, and grass, if in season. If he refuses
cooked feed, allow in small quantities anything he will eat. Hay,
cob corn, oats, bread, apples, and carrots may be tried in turn.
Some horses will drink sweet milk when they refuse all other kinds
of feed, and especially is this the case if the drinking water is with-
held for a while. One or 2 gallons at a time, four or five times a
day, will support life. Bear in mind that when the disease is estab-
lished recovery can not occur in less than two or three weeks, and
more time may be necessary. Good nursing and patience are re-
quired.

When the symptoms have abated and nothing remains of the dis-
ease except the cough and a white discharge from the nostrils, all
other medicines should be discontinued and a course of tonic treat-
ment pursued. Give the following mixture: Reduced iron, 3 ounces;
powdered gentian, 8 ounces ; mix well together and divide into sixteen
powders. Give a powder every night and morning mixed with bran
and oats, if the animal will eat it, or shaken with about a pint of flax-
seed tea and administered as a drench.

If the cough remains after the horse is apparently well, give 1
dram of iodid of potassium dissolved in a bucketful of drinlcing
water one hour before each meal for two or three weeks if necessary.
Do not put the animal to work too soon after recovery. Allow ample
time to regain strength. This disease is prone to become chronic and
may run into an incurable case of thick wind.

PLEURISY.

The thoracic cavity is divided into two lateral compartments, each
containing one lung and a part of the heart. Each lung has its sepa-
rate pleural membrane, or covering. The pleura is the thin, glisten-
ing membrane that covers the lung and also completely covers the in-
ternal walls of the chest. It is very thin, and to the ordinary ob-
server appears to be part of the lung, which, in fact, it is for all

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 123

practical purposes. The smooth, shiny surface of the lung, as well as
the smooth, shiny surface so familiar on the rib, is the plura. In
health this surface is always moist. A fluid is thrown off by the
pleura, which causes the surface to be constantly moist. This is to
prevent the effects of friction between the lungs and the walls of the
chest and other contiguous parts which come in contact. It must be
remembered that the lungs are dilating each time a breath is taken
in, and contracting each time a breath of air is expelled. It may be
readily seen that if it were not for the moistened state of the surface
of the pleura the continual dilatation and contraction and the conse-
quent rubbing of the parts against each other would cause serious
friction.

Inflammation of this membrane is called pleurisy. Being so closely
united with the lung, it can not always escape participation in the
disease when the latter is inflamed. Pleurisy may be due to the
same predisposing and exciting causes as mentioned in the beginning
of this work as general causes for diseases of the organs of respi-
ration, such as exposure to sudden changes of temperature, confine-
ment in damp stables, etc. It may be caused also by wounds that
penetrate the chest, for it must be remembered that such wounds
must necessarily pierce the pleura. A fractured rib may involve
the pleura. The inflammation following such wounds may be cir-
cumscribed ; that is, confined to a small area surrounding the wound,
or it may spread from the wound and involve a large portion of the
pleura. The pleura may be involved secondarily when the heart or
its membrane is the primary seat of the disease. It may occur in
conjunction with bronchitis, influenza, and other diseases. Diseased
growths that interfere with the pleura may induce pleurisy. The
most frequent cause of pleurisy is an extension of inflammation from
adjacent diseased lung. It is a common complication of pneu-
monia. Pleurisy will be described here as an independent affection,
although it should be remembered that it is very often associated
with the foregoing diseases.

The first lesion of pleurisy is overfilling of the blood vessels that
ramify in this membrane and diyness of the surface. This is fol-
lowed by the formation of a coating of coagulated fibrin on the
diseased pleura and the transudation of serum which collects in the
chest. This serum may contain flakes of fibrin and it may be straw
colored or red from an admixture of blood. The quantity of this
accumulation may amount to several gallons.

Symptcnrhs. — When the disease exists as an independent affection
it is ushered in by a chill, but this is usually overlooked. About the
first thing noticed is the disinclination of the animal to move or turn
around. When made to do so he grunts or groans with pain. He
stands stiff; the ribs are fixed — that is, they move very little in the

124 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

act of breathing — but the abdomen works more than natural; both
the fore feet and elbows may be turned out ; during the onset of the
attack the animal may be restless and act as if he had a slight colic ;
he may even lie down, but does not remain long down, for when he
finds no relief he soon gets up. After effusion begins these signs of
restlessness disappear. Every movement of the chest causes pain;
therefore the cough is peculiar ; it is short and suppressed and comes
as near being no cough as the animal can make it in his desire to
suppress it. The breathing is hurried, the mouth is hot, the tem-
perature being elevated from 102° or 103° to 105° F. Symptoms
that usually accompany fever are present, such as costiveness, scanty,
dark-colored urine, etc. The pulse is fi*equent, perhaps 70 or more
a minute, and is hard and wiry. The legs and ears are cold.

Percussion is of valuable service in this affection. After effusion
occurs the sound produced by percussing over the lower part of the
chest is dull. By striking different parts one may come to a spot of
greater or less extent where the blows cause much pain to be evinced.
The animal may grunt or groan every time it is struck. Another
method of detecting the affected part is to press the fingers between
the ribs, each space in succession, beginning behind the elbow, until
a place where the pressure causes more flinching than at any other
part is reached. Auscultation is also useful. In the first stage, when
the surfaces are dry and rough, one may hear, immediately under the
ear, a distinct sound very much like that produced by rubbing two
pieces of coarse paper together. No such friction sound occurs when
the membrane is healthy, as the natural moisture, heretofore men-
tioned, prevents the friction. In many cases this friction is so pro-
nounced that it may be felt by placing the hand over the affected
part. When the dry stage is succeeded by the exudation of fluid this
friction sound disappears. After the effusion into the cavity takes
place sometimes there is heard a tinkling or metallic sound, due to
dropping of the exudate from above into the collected fluid in the
bottom of the cavity, as the collected fluid more or less separates the
lung from the chest walls.

Within two or three days the urgent symptoms may abate owing
to the exudation of the fluid and the subsidence of the pain. The
fluid may now undergo absorption, and the case may terminate
favorably within a week or 10 days.

If the quantity of the effusion is large its own volume retards the
process of absorption to a great extent, and consequently convales-
cence is delayed. In severe cases the pulse becomes more frequent,
the breathing more hurried and labored, the flanks work like bellows,
the nostrils flap, the eyes stare wildly, the countenance expresses
much anxiety, and general signs of dissolution are plain. After a

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATOEY ORGANS. 125

time swellings appear under the chest and abdomen and down the
legs. The accumulation in the chest is called hydrothorax, or dropsy
of the chest. When this fluid contains pus the case usually proves
fatal. The condition of pus withm the cavity is called empyema.

Pleurisy may affect only a small area of one side or it may affect
both sides. It is of tener confined to the right side.

Treatment. — The instructions in regard to the general management
of bronchitis and pneumonia must be adhered to in the treatment of
pleurisy. Comfortable quarters, pure air, warm clothing to the body
and bandages to the legs, a plentiful supply of pure cold water, the
laxative feed, etc., in this case are equally necessary and efficacious.
The hot applications applied to the chest, as directed in the treatment
of pneumonia, are very beneficial in pleurisy, and should be kept up
Avhile the symptoms show the animal to be in pain.

During the first few days, when pain is manifested by restlessness,
apply hot packs to the sides diligently. After four or five days, when
the symptoms show that the acute stage has somewhat subsided, mus-
tard may be applied as recommended for pneumonia. From the
beginning the following drench may be given every six hours, if the
horse takes it kindly : Solution of the acetate of ammonia, 3 ounces ;
spirits of nitrous ether, 1 ounce ; bicarbonate of potassium, 3 drams ;
water, 1 pint.

If the patient becomes debilitated, the stimulants as prescribed for
pneumonia should be used according to the same directions. The
same attention should be given to the diet. If the animal will par-
take of the bran mashes, scalded oats, and grass, it is the best; but
if he refuses the laxative diet, then he should be tried with different
kinds of feed and allowed whichever kind he desires.

In the beginning of the attack, if the pain is severe, causing the
animal to lie down or paw, morphin may be given by the mouth in
5-grain doses, or the fluid extract of Cannabis indica may be used in
doses of 2 to 4 drams.

If the case is not progressing favorably in ten or twelve days after
the beginning of the attack, convalescence is delayed by the fluid in
the chest failing to be absorbed. The animal becomes dull and weak
and evinces little or no desire for feed. The breathing becomes still
more rapid and difficult. An effort must now be made to excite
the absorption of the effusion. An application of liniment or mild
blister should be rubbed over the lower part of both sides and the
bottom of the chest. The following drench may be given three times
a day, for seven or eight days, if it is necessary and appears to bene-
fit: Tincture of the perchlorid of iron, 1 ounce; tincture of gentian,
2 ounces; water, 1 pint. Also give 1 dram of iodid of potassium,
dissolved in the drinldng water, an hour before feeding every night
and morning for a week or two.

126 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

HydrotJiarax is sometimes difficult to overcome by means of the
use of medicines alone, when the operation of tapping the chest is
performed to allow an escape for the accumulated fluid. The opera-
tion is performed with a combined instrument called the trocar and
cannula. The puncture is made in the lower part of the chest, in
the space between the eighth and ninth ribs. Wounding of the
intercostal artery is avoided by inserting the instrument as near as
possible to the anterior edge of the rib. If the operation is of
benefit, it is only so when performed before the strength is lowered
beyond recovery. The operation merely receives a passing notice
heie, as it is not presumed that the nonprofessional will attempt
it, although in the hands of the expert it is attended with little
danger or difficulty.

We have described here bronchitis, pneumonia, and pleurisy
mainly as they occur as independent diseases, but it should be remem-
bered that they merge into each other and may occur together at one
time. While it is true that much more might have been said in regard
to the different stages and types of the affections, and also in regard
to the treatment of each stage and each particular type, the plan
adopted of advising plain, conservative treatment is considered the
wisest on account of simplifying as much as possible a subject of
which the reader is supposed to know very little.

PLEUROPNEUMONIA.

This is the state in which an animal is affected with pleurisy and
pneumonia combined, which is not infrequently the case. At the
beginning of the attack only one of the affections may be present, but
the other soon follows. It has already been stated that the pleura is
closely adherent to the lung. The pleura on this account is frequently
more or less affected by the spreading of the inflammation from the
lung tissue. There is a combination of the symptoms of both diseases,
but to the ordinary observer the symptoms of pleurisy are the most
obvious. The course of treatment to be pursued differs in no manner
from that given for the affections when they occur independently.
The symptoms will be the guide as to the advisability of giving oil
and laudanum for the pain if the pleurisy is very severe. It should
not be resorted to unless it is necessary to allay the pain.

BRONCHO-PLEUROPNEUMONIA.

This is the term or terms applied when bronchitis, pleurisy, and
pneumonia all exist at once. It is impossible for one who is not an
expert to diagnose the state with certainty. The apparent symptoms
are the same as when the animal is affected with pleuropneumonia.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 127

SUPPURATION AND ABSCESS IN THE LUNG.

There are instances, and especially when the surroundings of the
patient have been bad or the disease is of an especially severe type,
when pneumonia terminates in an abscess in the lung. Sometimes,
when the inflammation has been extreme, suppuration in a large por-
tion of the lung takes place. Impure air, the result of improper ven-
tilation, is among the most frequent causes of this termination. The
symptoms of suppuration in the lung are chronic pneumonia, a
solidified area of lung tissue, continued low fever, and, in some cases,
offensive smell of the breath, and the discharge of the matter from
the nostrils.

MORTIFICATION.

Gangrene, or mortification, means the death of the part affected.
Occasionally, owing to the intensity of the inflammation or bad treat-
ment, pneumonia and pleuropneumonia terminate in mortification,
which is soon followed by the death of the animal. Perhaps the most
common cause of this complication is the presence of a foreign body
in the lung, as food particles or medicine. Kough drenching or
drenching through the nostrils may cause this serious condition.

HEMOPTYSIS, OR BLEEDING FROM THE LUNGS.

Bleeding from the lungs may occur during the course of congestion
of the lungs, bronchitis, pneumonia, influenza, purpura hemorrhagica,
or glanders. An accident or exertion may cause a rupture of a vessel.
Plethora and hypertrophy of the heart predispose to it. Following
the rupture of a vessel the blood may escape into the limg tissue and
cause a serious attack of pneumonia, or it may fill up the bronchial
tubes and prove fatal by suffocating the animal. When the hemor-
rhage is from the lung it is accompanied with coughing ; the blood is
frothy, of a bright red color, and comes from both nostrils; whereas
when the bleeding is merely from a rupture of a vessel in some
part of the head (hertofore described as bleeding from the nose) the
blood is most likely to issue from one nostril only, and the discharge
is not accompanied with coughing. The ear may be placed against
the windpipe along its course, and if the blood is from the lungs a
gurgling or rattling sound will be heard. When it occurs in connec-
tion with another disease it seldom requires special treatment. When
caused by accident or overexertion the animal should be kept quiet.
If the hemorrhage is profuse and continues for several hours, 1 dram
of the acetate of lead dissolved in a pint of water may be given as a
drench, or 1 ounce of the tincture of the perchlorid of iron, diluted
with a pint of water, may be given instead of the lead. It is rare

128 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

that the hemorrhage is so profuse as to require internal remedies.
But hemorrhage into the lung may occur and cause death by suffo-
cation without the least manifestation of it by the discharge of blood
from the nose.

TUBERCULOSIS OF THE LUNGS.

Pulmonary consumption or tuberculosis has been recognized in
the horse in a number of instances. The symptoms are as of chronic
pneumonia or pleurisy. There is no treatment for the disease.

HEAVES, BROKEN WIND, OR ASTHMA.

Much confusion exists in the popular mind in regard to the nature
of heaves. Many horsemen loosely apply the term to all ailments
where the breathing is difficult or noisy. Scientific veterinarians are
well acquainted with the phenomena and locality of the affection, but
there is a great diversity of opinion as regards the exact cause.
Asthma is generally thought to be caused by spasm of the small cir-
cular muscles that surround the bronchial tubes. 'Ihe continued
existence of this affection of the muscles leads to a paralysis of them,
and the forced breathing to emphysema, which always accompanies
heaves.

Heaves is usually associated with disorder of the function of diges-
tion or to an error in the choice of feed. Feeding on clover hay or
damaged hay or straw, too bulky and innutritions feed, and keeping
the horse in a dusty atmosphere or a badly ventilated stable produce
or predispose to heaves. Horses brought from a high to a low level
are predisposed.

In itself broken wind is not a fatal disease, but death is generally
caused by an affection closely connected with it. After death, if the
organs are examined, the lesions found depend much upon the length
of time broken wind has affected the animal. In recent cases very
few changes are noticeable, but in animals that have been broken-
M'inded for a long time the changes are well marked. The lungs are
paler than natural, and of much less weight in proportion to the vol-
ume, as evidenced by floating them in water. The w^alls of the small
bronchial tubes and the membrane of the larger tubes are thickened.
The right side of the heart is enlarged and its cavities dilated. The
stomach is enlarged and its walls stretched. The important change
found in the lungs is a condition technically called pulmonary em-
physema. This is of two varieties : First, what is termed " vesicular
emphysema," which consists of an enlargement of the capacity of the
air cells (air vesicles) by dilation of their walls. The second form
is called interlobular, or interstitial. *ynphysema, and follows the

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 129

first. In this variety the air finds its way into the lung tissue be-
tween the air ceils or the tissue between the small lobules.

Symptoms. — Almost every experienced horseman is able to detect
heaves. The peculiar movement of the flanks and abdomen point out
the ailment at once. In recent cases, however, the affected animal
does not always exhibit the characteristic breathing unless exerted
to a certain extent. The cough which accompanies this disease is
peculiar to it. It is difficult to describe, but the sound is short and
something like a grunt. When air is inspired — that is, taken in — it
appears to be done in the same manner as in health ; it may possibly
be done a little quicker than natural, but not enough to attract any
notice. It is when the act of expiration (or expelling the air from
the lungs) is performed that the gi-eat change in the breathing is
perceptible. It must be remembered that the lungs have lost much
of their elasticity, and in consequence of their power for contracting
on account of the degeneration of the walls of the air cells, and also
on account of the paralysis of muscular tissue before mentioned.
The air passes into them freely, but the power to expel it is lost to
a great extent by the lungs; therefore the abdominal muscles are
brought into play. These muscles, especially in the region of the
flank, are seen to contract, then pause for a moment, then complete
the act of contracting, thus making a double bellowslike movement
at each expiration, a sort of jerky motion with every breath. The
double expiratory movement may also be detected by allowing the
horse to exhale against the face or back of the hand. It will be ob-
served that the expiratory current is not continuous, but is broken
into two jets. When the animal is exerted a wheeezing noise accom-
panies the breathing. This noise may be heard to a less extent when
the animal is at rest if the ear is applied to the chest.

As before remarked, indigestion is often present in these cases.
The animal may have a depraved appetite, as shown by a desire to
eat dirt and soiled bedding, which he often devours in preferencce
to the clean feed in the trough or manger. The stomach is liable
to be overloaded with indigestible feed. The abdomen may assume
that form called "potbellied." The animal frequently passes wind
of a very offensive odor. When first put to work dung is passed
frequently; the bowels are often loose. The animal can not stand
much work, as the muscular system is sof^. Eound-chested horses
are said to be predisposed to the disease, and it is certain that in
cases of long standing the chest usually becomes rounder than natural.

Certain individuals become very expert in managing a horse af-
fected with heaves in suppressing the symptoms for a short time.
They take advantage of the fact that the breathing is much easier
■when the stomach and intestines are empty. They also resort to the

547t53°— 23 9

130 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

use of medicines that have a depressing effect. When the veterina-
rian is examining a horse for soundness, and he suspects that the
animal has been " fixed," he usually gives the horse as much water as
he will drink and then has him ridden or driven rapidly up a hill or
on a heavy road. This will bring out the characteristic breathing of
heaves if the horse is so afflicted, but will not cause the symptoms of
heaves in a healthy horse. All broken-winded horses have the
cough peculiar to the affection, but it is not regular. A considerable
time may elapse before it is heard and then it may come on in
paroxysms, especially when first brought out of the stable into the
cold air, or when excited by work, or after a drink of cold water.
The cough is usually the first symptom of the disease.

Treatment. — When the disease is established there is no cure for it.
Proper attention paid to the diet will relieve the distressing symp-
toms to a certain extent, but they will undoubtedly reappear in their
intensit}'^ the first time the animal overloads the stomach or is al-
lowed food of bad quality. Clover hay or bulky feed which contains
but little nutriment have much to do with the cause of the disease,
and therefore should be entirely omitted when the animal is affected,
as well as before. It has been asserted that the disease is unlaiown
where clover hay is never used. The diet should be confined to feed
of the best quality and in the smallest quantity. The bad effect of
moldy or dusty hay, fodder, or feed of any kind can not be over-
estimated. A small quantity of the best hay once a day is sufficient.
This should be cut and damjoened. The animal should invariably
be watered before feeding; never directly after a meal. The animal
should not be worked immediately after a meal. Exertion, when the
stomach is full, invariably aggravates the symptoms. Turning on
pasture gives relief. Carrots, potatoes, or turnips chopped and
mixed with oats or corn are a good diet. Half a pint to a pint of
thick, dark molasses with each feed is useful.

Arsenic is efficacious in palliating the symptoms. It is best ad-
ministered in the form of a solution of arsenic, as Fowler's solution
or as the white powdered arsenious acid. Of the former the dose is
1 ounce to the drinking water three times dail.y; of the latter one
may give 3 grains in each feed. These quantities may be cautiously
increased as the animal becomes accustomed to the drug. If the
bowels do not act regularly, a pint of raw linseed oil maj^ be given
once or twice a month, or a handful of Glauber's salt may be given
in the feed twice daily, so long as necessary. It must, however, be
borne in mind that all medicinal treatment is of secondary considera-
tion; careful attention paid to the diet is of greatest importance.
Broken-winded animals should not be used for breeding purposes.
A predisposition to the disease may be inherited.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 131

CHRONIC COUGH.

A chronic cough may succeed the acute disease of the respiratory
organs, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, laryngitis, etc. It accom-
panies chronic roaring, chronic bronchitis, broken wind; it may
succeed influenza. As previously stated, cough is but a symptom and
not a disease in itself. Chronic cough is occasionally associated with
diseases other than those of the organs of respiration. It may be a
symptom of chronic indigestion or of worms. In such cases it is
caused by a reflex nervous irritation. The proper treatment in all
cases of chronic cough is to ascertain the nature of the disease of
which it is a symptom, and then cure the disease if possible and the
cough will cease.

The treatment of the affections will be found under their appro-
priate heads, to which the reader is referred.

PLEURODYNIA.

This is a form of rheumatism that affects the intercostal muscles;
that is, the muscles between the ribs. The apparent symptoms are
very similar to those of pleurisy. The animal is stiff and not in-
clined to turn round; the ribs are kept in a fixed state as much as
possible. If the head is pulled round suddenly, or the affected side
struck with the hand, or if the spaces between the ribs are pressed
with the fingers, the animal will flinch and perhaps emit a grunt or
groan expressive of much pain. It is distinguished from pleurisy
by the absence of fever, cough, the friction sound, the effusion into
the chest, and by the existence of rheumatism in other parts. The
treatment for this affection is the same as for rheumatism affecting
other parts.

WOUNDS PENETRATING THE WALLS OF THE CHEST.

A wound penetrating the wall of the chest admits air into the tho-
racic cavity outside the lung. This condition is known as pneumo-
thorax and may result in collapse of the lung. The wound may be
so made that when the walls of the chest are dilating a little air is
sucked in, but during the contraction of the wall the contained air
presses against the torn part in such manner as entirely to close the
wound; thus a small quantity of air gains access with each inspira-
tion, while none is allowed to escape until the lung is pressed into a
very small compass and forced into the anterior part of the chest.
The same thing may occur from a broken rib inflicting a wound in
the lung. In this form the air gains access from the lung, and there
may not be even an opening in the walls of the chest. In such cases
the air may be absorbed, when a spontaneous cure is the result, but

132 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

when the symptoms are urgent it is recommended that the air be
removed by a trocar and cannula or by an aspirator.

It is evident that the treatment of wounds that penetrate the tho-
racic cavity should bo prompt. It should be quickly ascertained
whether or not a foreign body remains in the wound ; then it should be
thoroughly cleaned with a solution of carbolic acid, 1 part in 40 parts
of water. The wound should then be closed immediately. If it is an
incised wound, it should be closed with sutures or with adhesive plas-
ters; if torn or lacerated, adhesive plaster may be used or a bandage
around the chest over the dressing. At all events, air must be pre-
vented from getting into the chest as soon and as effectually as pos-
sible. The after treatment of the wound should consist i)riiicipally in
Iveeping the pai-ts clean with a solution of carbolic acid, and applying
fresh dressing as often as required to keep the wound in a healthy
condition. Care should be taken that the discharges from the wound
have an outlet in the most dependent part. (See Wounds and their
treatment, p. 484.) If pleurisy supervenes, it should be treated as
advised under that head.

THUMPS, OR SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

" Thumps " is generally thought by the inexperienced to be a pal-
pitation of the heart. While it is true that palpitation of the heart
is sometimes called "thumps," it must not be confounded with the
affection under consideration.

In the beginning of this article on the diseases of the organs of
respiration, the diaphragm was briefly referred to as the principal
and essential muscle of respiration. Spasmodic or in-egular con-
tractions of it in man are manifested by what is familiarly known
as hiccoughs. Thumps in the horse is similar to hiccoughs in man,
although in all cases the peculiar noise is not made in the throat
of the horse.

There should be no difficulty in distinguishing this affection from
palpitation of the heart. The jerky motion affects the whole body,
and is not confined to the region of the heart. If one hand is placed
on the body at about the middle of the last rib, while the other hand
is placed over the heart behind the left elbow, it will be easily demon-
strated that there is no connection between the thumping or jerking
of the diaphragm and the beating of the heart. In fact, when the
animal is affected with spasms of the diaphragm the beating of the
heart is usually much weaker and less perceptible than natural.
Thumps is produced by causes similar to those that produce con-
gestion of the lungs and dilatation or palpitation of the heart, and
may occur in connection with these conditions. If not relieved,
death usually results from congestion or edema of the lungs, as

DISEASES OP THE KESPIEATORY OBGANS. 133

the breathing is interfered with by the inordinate action of this
important muscle of uispiration so much that proper aeration of
the blood can not take place. The treatment should be as pre-
scribed for congestion of the lungs, and, in addition, antispasmodics,
such as 1 ounce of sulphuric ether in warm water or 3 drams of
iisafetida.

RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

Post-mortem examinations after colic or severe accident sometimes
reveal rupture of the diaphragm. This may take place after death,
from the generation of gases in the decomposing carcass, which
distend the intestines so tliat the diaphragm is ruptured by the
great pressure against it. The symptoms are intensely difficult res-
piration and gi-eat depression. TTiere is no treatment.

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS.

By James Law, P. R. C. V, S.,
Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University.

USES OF THE URINARY ORGANS.

The urinary organs constitute the main channel through which are
excreted the nitrogenous or albuminoid principles, whether derived
directly from the feed or from the muscular and other nitrogenized
tissues of the body. They constitute, besides, the channel through
which are thrown out most of the poisons, whether taken in by the
mouth or skin or developed in connection with faulty or natural
digestion, blood-forming, nutrition, or tissue destruction ; or, finally,
poisons that are developed within the body, as the result of normal
cell life or of the life of bacterial or other germs that have entered the
body from without. Bacteria themselves largely escape from the
body through the kidneys. To a large extent, therefore, these organs
are the sanitary scavengers and purifiers of the system, and when
their functions are impaired or arrested the retained poisons quickly
show their presence in resulting disorders of the skin and connective
tissue beneath it, of the nervous system, or other organs. Nor is this
influence one-sided. Scarcely an important organ of the body can
suffer derangement without entailing a corresponding disorder of the
urinary system. Nothing can be more striking than the mutual bal-
ance maintained between the liquid secretions of the skin and kidneys
during hot and cold weather. In summer, when so much liquid ex-
hales through the skin as sweat, comparatively little urine is passed,
whereas in winter, when the skin is inactive, the urine is correspond-
ingly increased. This vicarious action of skin and kidneys is usually
kept within the limits of health, but at times the draining off of the
water by the skin leaves too little to keep the solids of the urine safely
in solution, and these are liable to crystallize out and form stone and
gravel. Similarly the passage, in the sweat, of some of the solids
that normally leave the body, dissolved in the urine, serves to irritate
the skin and produce troublesome eruptions.

PROMINENT CAUSES OF URINARY DISORDERS.

A disordered liver contributes to the production under different

circumstances of an excess of biliary coloring matter which stains

the urine; of an excess of hippuric acid and allied products which,

being less soluble than urea (the normal product of tissue change),

134

DISEASES OF THE URINABY ORGANS. 135

favor the formation of stone, oi taiu'ocholic acid, and other bodies
that tend when in excess to destroy the blood globules and to cause
irritation of the kidneys by the resulting hemoglobin excreted in the
urine, and of glycogen too abundant to be burned up in the system,
which induces saccharine urine (diabetes). Any disorder leading to
impaired functional activity of the lungs is causative of an excess of
hippuric acid and allied bodies, of oxalic acid, of sugar, etc., in the
urine, which irritate the kidneys, even if they do not produce solid
deposits m the urinary passages. Diseases of the nervous system,
and notably of the base of the brain and of the spinal cord, induce
various urinary disorders, prominent among which are diabetes,
chylous urine, and albuminuria. Certain affections, with imperfect
nutrition or destructive waste of the bony tissues, tend to charge the
urine with phosphates of lime and magnesia and endanger the
formation of stone and gravel. In all extensive inflammations and
acute fevers the liquids of the urine are diminished, while the solids
(waste i^roducts), which should form the urinary secretion, are
increased, and the surcharged urine proves irritant to the urinary
organs or the retained waste products poison the system at large.

Diseases of the heart and lungs, by interfering with the free,
onward flow of the blood from the right side of the heart, tend to
throw that liquid back on the veins, and this backward pressure
of venous blood strongly tends to disorders of the kidneys. Certain
poisons taken with the feed and water, notably that found in mag-
nesian limestone and those found in irritant, diuretic plants, are
especially injurious to the kidneys, as are also various cryptogams.
whether in musty hay or oats. The kidneys may be irritated by
feeding green vegetables covered with hoar frost or by furnishing
an excess of feed rich in phosphates (wheat bran, beans, peas, vetches,
lentils, rape cake, cottonseed cake) or by a privation of water, which
entails a concentrated condition and high density of the urine. Ex-
posure in cold rain or snow storms, cold drafts of air, and damp
beds are liable to further disorder an already overworked or irritable
kidney. Finally, sprains of the back and loins may cause bleeding
from the kidneys or inflammation.

The right kidney, weighing 23^ ounces, is shaped like a French
bean, and extends from the loins forward to beneath the heads of
the last two ribs. The left kidney (PI. VIII) resembles a heart
of cards, and extends from the loins forward beneath the head of
the last rib only. Each consists of three distinct parts — (a) the
external (cortical), or vascular part, in which the blood vessels form
elaborate capillary networks within the dilated globular sacs which
form the beginnings of the secreting (uriniferous) tubes and on the
surface of the sinuous, secreting tubes leading from the sacs inward
toward the second, or medullary, part of the organ; (b) the in-

136 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

ternal (medullary) part, made up in the main of blood vessels,
lymphatics, and nerves extending between the notch on the inner
border of the kidney to and from the outer vascular portion, in which
the secretion of urine is almost exclusively carried on; and (d) a
large, saccular reservoir in the center of the kidney, into which all
uriniferous tubes pour their secretions and from which the urine
is carried away through a tube g (ureter), which passes out of the
notch at the inner border of the kidney and which opens by a valve-
closed orifice into the roof of the bladder just in front of its neck.
The bladder is a dilatable reservoir for the retention of the urine
until the discomfort of its presence causes its voluntary discharge.
It is kept closed by circular, muscular fibers surrounding its neck
or orifice, and is emptied by looped, muscular fibers extending in
all directions forward from the neck around the blind anterior end
of the sac. From the bladder the urine escapes through a dilatable
tube (urethra) which extends from the neck of the bladder backward
on the floor of the pelvis, and in the male through the penis to its
free end, where it opens through a pink, conical papilla. In the mare
the uretha is not more than an inch in length, and is surrounded by
the circular, muscular fibers closing the neck of the bladder. Its
opening may be foimd directly in the median line of the floor of the
vulva, about 4^ inches from its external opening.

GENERAL SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE.

These apply especially to acute inflammations and the irritation
caused by stone. The animal moves stiffly on the hind limbs, strad-
dles, and makes frequent attempts to pass urine, which may be in
excess, deficient in amount, liable to sudden arrest in spite of the
straining, passed in driblets, or entirely suppressed. Again, it may
be modified in density or constituents. Difficulty in making a sharp
turn, or in lying down and rising with or without groaning, drop-
ping the back when mounted or when pinched on the loins is sugges-
tive of kidney disease, and so to a less extent are swelled legs, dropsy,
and diseases of the skin and nervous system. The oiled hand intro-
duced through the rectum may feel the bladder beneath and detect
any overdistention, swelling, tenderness, or stone. In ponies the kid-
neys eA^en may be reached.

EXAMINATION OF THE URINE.

In some cases the changes in the urine are the sole sign of disease.
In health the horse's urine is of a deep amber color and has a strong
odor. On a feed of grain and hay it may show a uniform transpar-
ency, while on a green ration there in an abundant white deposit of
carbonate of lime. Of its morbid changes the following are to be

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

pla-Te; viii.

rx.

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i'.'o.Mnrx ilc'l.ril'!(<r DArbirs-nl peeS.

I-()NC.ITi;i)INAL SECTION THROUGH KTDNKY

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

F1L.AJTS: IX.

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U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases cf the Horse.

I'LATE X.

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DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 137

looked for: (1) Color: White from deposited salts of lime; brown
or red from blood clots or coloring matter; yellow or orange from
bile or blood pigment; pale from excess of water; or variously
colored from vegetable ingredients (santonin makes it red; rhubarb
or senna, brown; tar or carbolic acid, gTeen). (2) Density: The
horse's urine may be 1.030 or 1.050, but it may greatly exceed this in
diabetes and may sink to 1.007 in diuresis. (3) Clierrdcal reaction^ as
ascertained by blue litmus or red test papers. The horse on vegetable
diet has alkaline mine turning red test papers blue, while in the
sucking colt and the horse fed on flesh or on his own tissue (in
starvation or abstinence during disease) it is acid, turning blue litmus
red. (4) Organic constituents^ as when glairy from albumen co-
agulable by strong nitric acid and boiling, when charged with micro-
scopic ca&ls of the uriniferous tubes, with the eggs or bodies of worms,
with sugar, blood, or bile. (5) I nits salts, which may crystallize out
spontaneously, or on boiling, or on the addition of chemical reagents.

Albuminous urine in the horse is usually glairy, so that it may be
drawn out in threads, but its presence can alwaj'^s be tested as follows :
If the liquid is opaque, it may be first passed through filter paper;
if very dense and already precipitating its salts, it may be diluted
with distilled water; add to the suspected liquid acetic acid drop by
drop until it reddens the blue litmus paper; then boil gently in a
test tube ; if a precipitate is thrown down, set the tube aside to cool
and then add strong nitric acid. If the precipitate is not dissolved, it
is albumen; if dissolved it is probably urate or hippurate of am-
monia. Albumen is normally present in advanced gestation ; abnor-
mally it is seen in diseases in which there occurs destruction of blood
globules (anthrax, low fevers, watery states of the blood, dropsies), in
diseases of the heart and liver which prevent the free escape of blood
from the veins and throw back venous pressure on the kidneys, in
inflanunation of the lungs and pleurae, and even tympany (bloat-
ing), doubtless from the same cause, and in all congestive or inflam-
matory diseases of the kidneys, acute or chronic.

Casts of the uriniferous tubes can be seen only by placing the sus-
pected urine under the microscope. They are usually very elastic and
mobile, waving about in the liquid when the cover glass is touched,
and showing a imiform, clear transparency (waxy) or entangled cir-
cular epithelial cells or opaque granules or flattened, red-blood glob-
ules or clear, refrangent oil globules. They may be even densely
opaque from crystals of earthy salts.

Pus cells may be found in. the urine associated with albumen, and
are recognized by clearing up, when treated with acetic acid, so that
each cell shows two or three nuclei.

138 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

DIURESIS (POLYURIA, DIABETES INSIPIDUS, OR EXCESSIVE

SECRETION OF URINE).

This consists in an excessive secretion of a clear, watery urine of a
low specific gravity (1.007) with a correspondingly ardent thirst, a
rapidly advancing emaciation, and great loss of strength and spirit.

Causes. — Its causes may be any agent — medicinal, alimentary, or
poisonous — which unduly stimulates the kidneys; the reckless admin-
istration of diuretics, which form such a common constituent of quack
horse, powders ; acrid diuretic plants in grass or hay ; new oats still
imperfectly cured; an excess of roots or other very watery feed; a
full allowance of salt to animals that have become inordinately fond
of it; but, above all, feeding on hay, grain, or bran which has not
been properly dried and has become musty and permeated by fungi.
Thus hay, straw, or oats obtained in wet seasons and heating in the
rick or stack is especiallj^ injurious. Hence this malady, like coma
somnolentum (sleepy staggers), is widespread in wet seasons, and
especially in rainy districts.

SyTnjytoTns. — -The horse drinks deep at every opportunity and
passes urine on every occasion when stopped, the discharge being
pale, watery, of a low density, and inodorous ; in short, it contains a
great excess of water and a deficiency of the solid excretions. So
great is the quantity passed, however, that the small amount of
solids in any given specimen amounts in 24 hours to far more tiian
the normal — a fact in keeping with the rapid wasting of the tissues
and extreme emaciation. The flanks become tucked up, the fat dis-
appears, the bones and muscles stand out prominently, the skin l)e-
comes tense and hidebound, and the hair erect, scurfy, and deficient
in luster. The eye becomes dull and sunken, the spirits are de-
pressed, the animal is weak and sluggish, sAveats on the slightest
exertion, and can endure little. The subject may survive for months,
or may die early of exhaustion. In the slighter cases, or when the
cause ceases to operate, a somewhat tardy recovery may be made.

Treatment consists in stopping the ingestion of the faulty drugs,
poisons, or feed, and supplying sound hay and grain free from all
taint of heating or mustiness. A liberal supply of boiled flaxseed in
the drinking water at once serves to eliminate the poison and to
slieathe and protect the irritated kidneys. Tonics like sulphate or
phosphate of iron (2 drams morning and evening) and powdered
gentian or Peruvian bark (4 drams) help greatly by bracing the
i?ystem and hastening repair. To these may be added agents calcu-
lated to destroy the fungus and eliminate its poisonous products. In
that form which depends on musty food nothing acts better than
large doses of iodid of potassium (2 drams), while in other cases
creosote, carbolic acid (1 dram), or oil of turpentine (4 drams),
properly diluted, may be resorted to.

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 139

SACCHARINE DIABETES (DIABETES MELLITUS, GLYCOSURIA, OR

INOSURIA).

This is primarily a disease of the nervous system or liver rather
than of the kidneys, yet, as the most prominent symptom is the sweet
urine, it may be treated here.

Causes. — Its causes are varied, but resolve themselves largely into
disorder of the liver or disorder of the brain. One of the most
prominent functions of the liver is the formation of glycogen, a prin-
ciple allied to gi*ape sugar, and passing into it by further oxidation
in the blood. This is a constant function of the liver, but in health the
resulting sugar is burned up in the circulation and does not appear in
the urine. On the contrary, when the supply of oxj^gen is defective,
as in certain diseases of the lungs, the whole of the sugar does not
undergo combustion and the excess is excreted by the kidneys. Also
in certain forms of enlarged liver the quantity of sugar produced is
more than can be disposed of in the natural way, and it appears in the
urine. A temporary sweetness of the urine often occurs after a
hearty meal on starchy feed, but this is due altogether to the super-
abundant supply of the sugar-forming feed, lasts for a few hours
only, and has no pathological significance. In many cases of fatal
glycosuria the liver is found to be enlarged, or at least congested, and
it is found that the disorder can be produced experimentally by
agencies which produce an increased circulation through the liver.
Thus Bernard produced glycosuria by pricking the oblong medulla at
the base of the brain close to the roots of the pneumogastric nerve,
which happens to be also the nerve center (vasomotor) which presides
over the contractions of the minute blood vessels. The pricking and
irritation of this center leads to congestion of the liver and the exces-
sive production of sugar. Irritation carried to this point through the
pneumogastric nerve causes saccharine urine, and, in keeping with
this, disease of the pancreas has been found in this malady. The com-
plete removal of the pancreas, hoA^ever, determines glycosuria, the
organ having in health an inhibitive action on sugar production by
the liver. The same result follows the reflection of irritation from
other sources, as from different ganglia (corpora striata, optic thalami,
pons, cerebellum, cerebrum) of the brain. Similarly it is induced by
interruption of the nervous control along the vasomotor tracts, as in
destruction of the upper or lower cervical sympathetic ganglion, by
cutting the nervous branch connecting these two, in injury to the
spinal marrow in the interval between the brain and the second or
fourth dorsal vertebra, or in disease of the celiac plexus, which
directly presides over the liver. Certain chemical poisons also cause
saccharine urine, notably woorara, strychnia, morphia, phosphoric
acid, alcohol, ether, quinia, chloroform, ammonia, arsenic, and
phlorizin.

140 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are ardent thirst and profuse secre-
tion of a pale urine of a high density (1.060 and upward), rapid loss
of condition, scurfy, unthrifty skin, costiveness or irregularity of
the bowels, indigestion, and the presence, in the urine, of a sweet
principle — grape sugar or inosite, or both. This may be most
promptl}' detected by touching the tip of the tongue with a drop.
Sugar may be detected simply by adding a teaspoonful of liquid
yeast to 4 ounces of the urine and keeping it lightly stopped at a
temperature of T0° to 80° F. for 12 hours, when the sugar will be
found to have been changed into alcohol and carbon dioxid. The
loss of density will give indication of the quantitj'^ of sugar trans-
formed ; thus a density of 1.035 in a urine which was formerly 1.060
would indicate about 15 grains of sugar to the fluid ounce.

Inosite, or muscle sugar, frequently present in the horse's urine,
and even replacing the glucose, is not fermentable. Its presence may
be indicated by its sweetness and the absence of fermentation or by
Gallois's test. Evaporate the suspected urine at a gentle heat almost
to dryness, then add a drop of a solution of mercuric nitrate and
evaporate carefully to drjmess, when a yellowish residue is left that
is changed on further cautious heating to a deep rose color, which
disappears on cooling and reappears on heating.

In advanced diabetes, dropsies in the limbs and under the chest
and belly, puffy, swollen eyelids, cataracts, catarrhal inflammation
of the lungs, weak, uncertain gait, and drowsiness may be noted.

Treatment is most satisfactory in cases dependent on some curable
disease of liver, pancreas, lungs, or brain. Thus, in liver diseases, a
run at pasture in warm weather, or in winter a warm, simny, well-
aired stable, with sufficient clothing and laxatives (sulphate of soda,
1 ounce daily) and alkalies (carbonate of potassium, one- fourth
ounce) may benefit. To this may be added mild blistering, cupping,
or even leeching over the last ribs. Diseases of the brain or pancreas
majT^ be treated according to their indications. The diet should be
mainly albuminous, such as wheat bran or middlings, peas, beans,
vetches, and milk. Indeed, an exclusive milk diet is one of the very
best remedial agencies. It may be given as skimmed milk or butter-
milk, and in the last case combines an antidiabetic remedy in the
lactic acid. Under such an exclusive diet recent and mild cases are
often entirely restored, though at the expense of an attack of rheu-
matism. Codeia, one of the alkaloids of opium, is strongly recom-
mended by Tyson. The dose for the horse would be 10 to 15 grains
thrice daily. In cases in which there is manifest irritation of the
brain, bromid of potassium, 4 drams, or ergot one-half ounce, may
be resorted to. Salicylic acid and salicylate of sodium have proved
useful in certain cases; also phosphate of sodium. Bitter tonics (es-
pecially mix vomica one-half dram) are useful in improving the di-
gestion and general henUh.

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 141

HEMATURIA (BLOODY URINE).

Cause. — As seen in the horse, bloody urine is nsiially the direct
result of mechanical injuries, as sprains and fractures of the loins,
lacerations of the sublumbar muscles (psoas), irritation caused by
stone in the kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra. It may, however,
occur with acute congestion of the kidney, with tumors in its sub-
stance, or with papilloma or other diseased growth in the bladder.
Acrid diur-etic plants present in the feed may also lead to the escape
of blood from the kidney. The predisposition to this affection is,
however, incomparably less than in the case of the ox or the sheep,
the difference being attributed to the greater plasticity of the horse's
blood in connection with the larger quantity of fibrin.

The blood may be present in small clots or in more or less intimate
admixture with the urine. Its condition may furnish some indication
as to its source ; thus, if f roin the kidneys it is more liable to be uni-
formly diffused through the urine, while as furnished by the bladder
or passages clots are more liable to be present. Again, in bleeding
from the kidney, minute, cylindrical clots inclosing blood globules
and formed in the uriniferous tubes can be detected under the micro-
scope. Precision also may be approximated by observing whether
there is coexisting fracture, sprain of the loins, or stone or tumor in
the bladder or urethra.

Treatment. — The disease being mainly due to direct injury, treat-
ment will consist, first, in removing such cause whenever possible, and
then in applying general and local styptics. Irritants in feed must
be avoided, sprains appropriately treated, and stone in bladder or
urethra removed. Then give mucilaginous drinks (slippery elm, lin-
seed tea) freely, and styptics (tincture of chlorid of iron 3 drams,
acetate of lead one-half dram, tannic acid one-half dram, or oil of
turpentine 1 ounce). If the discharge is abundant, apply cold water
to the loins and keep the animal perfectly still.

HEMOGLOBINURIA (AZOTURIA, AZOTEMIA, POISONING BY

ALBUMINBIDS).

Like diabetes, this is rather a disease of the liver and blood-form-
ing functions than of the kidney, but as prominent symptoms are loss
of control over the hind limbs and the passage of ropy and dark-
colored urine, the vulgar idea is that it is a disorder of the urinary
organs. It is a complex affection directly connected with a plethora
in the blood of nitrogenized constituents, with extreme nervous and
Hiuscular disorder and the excretion of a dense reddish or brownish
urine. It is directly connected with high feeding, especially on
highly nitrogenized feed (oats, beans, peas, vetches, cottonseed meal),
and with a period of idleness in the stall under full rations. The
disease is never seen at pasture, rarely under constant daily work.

142 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

even though the feeding is high, and the attack is usually precipi-
tated by taking the horse from the stable and subjecting it to exer-
cise or work. The poisoning is not present when taken from the
stable, as the horse is likely to be noticeably lively and spirited, but
he will usually succumb under the first hundred yards or half mile
of exercise. It seems as if the aspiratory power of the chest under
the sudden exertion and accelerated breathing speedily drew from
the gorged liver and abdominal veins (portal) the accumulated store
of nitrogenous matter in an imperfectly oxidized or elaborated condi-
tion, and as if the blood, surcharged with these materials, were un-
able to maintain the healthy functions of the nerve centers and
muscles. It has been noticed rather more frequently in mares than
horses, attributable, perhaps, to the nervous excitement attendant
on heat, and to the fact that the unmutilated mare is naturally more
excitable than the docile gelding.

Lignieres has found in hemoglobinuria a streptococcus which pro-
duced nephritis, bloody urine, and paraplegia in experimental ani-
mals, including horses.

Symptons. — In the milder forms this affection may appear as a
lameness in one limb, from indefinite cause, succeeding to some sud-
den exertion and attended by a dusky-brown color of the membranes
of the eye and nose and some wincing when the last ribs are struck.
The severe forms come on after one or two days of rest on a full
ration, when the animal has been taken out and driven one hundred
paces or more. The fire and life with which he had left the stable
suddenly give place to dullness and oppression, as shown in heaving
flanks, dilated nostrils, pinched face, perspiring skin, and trembling
body. The muscles of the loins or haunch become swelled and rigid,
the subject moves stiffly or unsteadily, crouches behind, the limbs
being carried semiflexed, and he soon drops, unable to support him-
self. When down, the body and limbs are moved convulsively, but
there is no power of coordination of movement in the muscles. The
pulse and breathing are accelerated, the eyes red with a tinge of
brown, and the urine, if passed, is seen to be highly colored, dark
brown, red, or black, but it contains neither blood clots nor globules.
The color is mainly due to hemoglobin and other imperfectly elabo-
rated constituents of the blood.

It may end fatally in a few hours or days, or a recovery may ensue,
which is usually more speedy and perfect if it has set in at an early
stage. In the late and tardy recoveries a partial paralysis of the
hind limbs may last for months. A frequent sequel of these tardy
cases is an extensive wasting of the muscles leading up from the
front of the stifle (those supplied by the crural nerve) and a com-
plete inability to stand.

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 143

Prevention. — The prevention of this serious affection lies in re-
stricting the diet and giving daily exercise when the animal is not
at work. A horse that has had one attack should never be left idle
for a single day in the stall or barnyard. Wlien a horse has been
condemned to absolute repose on good feeding he may have a laxa-
tive (one-half to 1 pound Glauber's salt), and have graduated ex-
ercise, beginning with a short walk and increasing day by day.

Treatment. — The treatment of the mild cases may consist in a laxa-
tive, graduated daily exercise, and a daily dose of saltpeter (1 ounce).
Sudden attacks will sometimes promptly subside if taken on the
instant and the subject kept still and calmed by a dose of bromid
of potassium (4 drams) and sweet spirits of niter (1 ounce). The
latter has the advantage of increasing the secretion of the kidneys,
lodid of potassium in one-half ounce doses every four hours has
succeeded well in some hands. In severe cases, as a rule, it is desir-
able to begin treatment by a dose of aloes (4 to 6 drams) with the
above-named dose of bromid of potassium, and this latter may be
continued at intervals of four or six hours, as may be requisite to
calm the nervous excitement. Fomentations with warm water over
the loins are always useful in calming the excitable conditions of the
spinal cord, muscles, liver, and kidneys, and also in favoring secre-
tion from the two latter. On the second day diuretics may be re-
sorted to, such as saltpeter one-half ounce, and powdered colchicum
one-half dram, to be repeated twice daily. A laxative may be re-
peated in three or four days should the bowels seem to demand it,
and as the nervous excitement disappears any remaining muscular
weakness or paralysis may be treated by one-half dram doses of nux
vomica twice a day and a stimulating liniment (aqua ammonia and
sweet oil in equal proj^ortions) rubbed on the torpid muscles.

During the course of the disease friction to the limbs is useful, and
in the advanced paralytic stage the application of electricity along
the line of the affected muscles. When the patient can not stand he
must have a thick, soft bed, and should be turned from side to side
at least every twelve hours. As soon as he can be made to stand he
may be helped up and even supported in a sling.

ACUTE INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS, OR ACUTE NEPHRITIS.

Inflammations of the kidneys have been differentiated widely, ac-
cording as they were acute or chronic, parenchymatous or tubal, sup-
purative or not, with increased or shrunken kidney, etc. In a work
like the present, however, utility will be consulted by classing all
under acute or chronic inflammation.

Causes. — The causes of inflammation of the kidneys are extremely
varied. Congestion occurs from the altered and irritant products
passed through these organs during recovery from inflammations of

144 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

tither organs and during fevers. This may last only during the exist-
ence of its cause, or may persist and become aggravated. Heart dis-
ease, throwing the blood pressure back on the ^eins and kidneys,
is another cause. Disease of the ureter or bladder, preventing the
escape of urine from the kidney and causing increased fullness and
tension in its pelvis and tubes, will determine inflannnation. Decom-
position of the detained urine in such cases and the production of
ammonia and other irritants must also be named. In elimination of
bacteria through the kidney, the latter is liable to infection with con-
.se([uent inflammation. The advance of bacteria upward from the
bladder to the kidneys is another cause. The consumption in hay or
other fodder of acrid or irritant plants, including fungi, the absorp-
tion of cantharidine from a surface blistered by Spanish flies, the
reckless administration of diuretics, the presence of stones in the
kidney, exposure of the surface to cold and wet, and the infliction of
blows or sprains on the loins, may contribute to its production. Liver
disorders which throw on the kidneys the work of excreting irritant
products, diseases of the lungs and heart from which clots are car-
ried, to be arrested in the small blood vessels of the kidney, and
injuries and paralysis of the spinal cord, are additional causes.

SymptorrbS. — The symptoms are more or less fever, manifest stiff-
ness of the back and straddling gait wdth the hind limbs, difficult}' in
lying down and rising, or in walking in a circle, the animal sometimes
groaning under the effort, arching of the loins and tucking up of the
flank, looking back at the abdomen as if from colicky pain, and ten-
derness of the loins to pinching, especially just beneath the bony
processes 6 inches to one side of the median line. Urine is passed
frequently, a small quantity at a time, of a high color, and sometimes
mixed with blood or even pus. Under the microscope it shows the
microscopic casts referred to under general symptoms. If treated by
acetic acid, boiling and subsequent addition of strong nitric acid, the
resulting and persistent precipitate indicates the amount of albumen.
The legs tend to swell from the foot up, also the dependent parts
beneath the belly and chest, and effusions of liquid may occur within
the chest or abdomen. In the male the alternate drawing up and
relaxation of the testicles in the scrotum are suggestive, and in small
horses the oiled hand introduced into the rectum may reach the
Iddney and ascertain its sensitiveness.

Treatment demands, first, the removal of any recognized cause.
Then, if the suffering and fever are high, 2 to 4 quarts of blood may
be abstracted from the jugular vein; in weak subjects or unless in
high fever this should be omitted. Next relieve the kidneys so far
as possible by throwing their work on the bowels and skin. A pint
of castor oil is less likely than either aloes or salts to act on the kid-
neys. To affect the skin a warm stall and heavy clothing may be

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 145

supplemented by dram doses of Dover's powder. Pain may be
soothed by dram doses of bromid of potassium. Boiled flaxseed
may be added to the drinking water, also thrown into the rectum
as an injection, and blankets saturated with hot water should be per-
sistently applied to the loins. This may be followed by a very thin
pulp of the best ground mustard made with tejDid water, rubbed in
against the direction of the hair and covered with paper and a
blanket. This may be kept on for an hour, or until the skin thickens
and the hair stands erect. It may then be rubbed or sponged off and
the blanket reapplied. When the action of the bowels has been
started it maj;^ be kept up by a daily dose of 2 or 3 ounces of
Glauber's salt.

During recovery a course of bitter tonics (nux vomica 1 scruple,
ground gentian root 4 drams) should be given. The patient should
also be guarded against cold, wet, and any active exertion for some
time after all active symptoms have subsided.

CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS.

Causes. — Chronic inflammation of the kidneys is more commonly
associated with albumen and casts in the urine than the acut© form,
and in some instances these conditions of the urine may be the only
prominent symptoms of the disease. Though it may supervene on
blow, injuries, and exposures, it is much more commonly connected
with faulty conditions of the system — as indigestion, heart disease,
lung or liver disease, imperfect blood formation, or assimilation; in
short, it is rather the attendant on a constitutional infirmity than on
a simple local injury.

It may be associated with various forms of diseased kidneys, as
shrinkage (atrophy), increase (hypertrophy), softening, red conges-
tion, white enlargement, etc., so that it forms a group of diseases
rather than a disease by itself.

Symptoms. — The symptoms may include stiffness, weakness, and
increased sensibility of the loins, and modified secretion of urine
(increase or suppression), or the flow may be natural. Usually it
contains albumen, the quantity furnishing a fair criterion of the grav-
ity of the affection, and microscopic casts, also most abundant in bad
cases. Dropsy, manifested in swelled leg's, is a significant symptom,
and if the effusion takes place along the lower line of the body or in
chest or abdomen, the significance is increased. A scurfy, unthrifty
skin, lack-luster hair, inability to sustain severe or continued exer-
tion, poor or irregular appetite, loss of fat and flesh, softness of the
muscles, and pallor of the eyes and nose are equally suggestive. So
are skin eruptions of various kinds. Any one or more of these symp-
toms would warrant an examination of the urine for albumen and
casts, the finding of which signifies renal inflammation.
54763°— 23 10

146 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Treatment of these cases is not always satisfactory, as the cause is
liable to he maintained in the disorders of important organs else-
where. If any such coincident disease of another organ or function
can be detected, that should be treated first or simultaneously with
this affection of the kidneys. In all cases the building up of the
general health is important. Hence a course of tonics may be given
(phosphate of iron 2 drams, nux vomica 20 grains, powdered gentian
root4 drams, daily) or 60 drops of sulphuric acid or nitrohydrochloric
acid may be given daily in the drinking water. If there is any ele-
vated temperature of the body and tenderness of the loins, fomenta-
tions may be applied, followed by a mustard pulp, as for acute
inflammation, and even in the absence of these indications the mus-
tard may be resorted to with advantage at intervals of a few days.
In suppression of urine, fomentations with warm water or with infu-
sion of digitalis leaves is a safer resort than diuretics, and cupping
over the loins may also benefit. To apply a cup, shave the skin and
oil it ; then take a narrow-mouthed glass, rarify the air within it by
introducing a taper in full flame for a second, withdraw the taper
and instantly apply the mouth of the glass to the slvin and hold it
closely applied till the cooling tends to form a vacuum in the glass
and to draw up the skin, like a sucker.

As in the acute inflammation, every attention must be given to
secure warm clothing, a warm stall, and pure air.

TUMORS OF THE KIDNEYS.

Tumors, whether malignant or simple, would give rise to symptoms
resembling some form of inflammation, and are not liable to be recog-
nized during life.

PARASITES.

To parasites of the kidney belong the echinococcus, the larval, or
bladder worm, stage of the small echinococcus tapeworm of the dog.
Dioctophyme renale^ the largest of roundworms, has been found in
the kidney of the horse. Its presence can be certified only by the
passage of its microscopic eggs or of the entire worm. Immature
stages of roundworms, either Strongylus equinus or a related species,
may be found in the renal artery or in the kidney itself.

SPASM OF THE NECIl OF THE BLADDER.

This affection consists in spasmodic closure of the outlet from
the bladder by tonic contraction of the circular muscular fibers.
It may be accompanied with a painful contraction of the muscles
on the body of the bladder; or, if the organ is already unduly dis-
tended, these will be affected with temporary paralysis. It is most
frequent in the horse, but by no means unknown in the mare.

DISEASES OP THE URINARY ORGANS. 147

Causes. — The causes are usually hard and continuous driving
without opportunity for passing urine, cold rainstorms, drafts of
cold air when perspiring and fatigued, the administration of
Spanish fly or the application of extensive blisters of the same,
abuse of diuretics, the presence of acrid, diuretic plants in the
fodder, and the presence of stone in the bladder. As most mares
refuse to urinate while in harness, they should be unhitched at
suitable times for urination. Spasms of the bowels are always
attended by spasm of the bladder, hence the free passage of water
is usually a symptom of relief.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are frequent stretching and strain-
ing to urinate, with no result or a slight dribbling only. These
vain efforts are attended by pain and groaning. On resuming his
natural position the animal is not freed from the pain, but moves
uneasily, paws, shakes the tail, kicks at the abdomen with his hind
feet, looks back to the flank, lies down and rises, arches the back,
and attempts to urinate as before. If the oiled hand is introduced
into the rectum the greatly distended bladder may be felt beneath,
and the patient will often shrink when it is handled.

It is important to notice that irritation of the urinary organs is
x)ften present in impaction of the colon with solid matters, because
the impacted intestine under the straining of the patient is forced
backward into the pelvis and presses upon and irritates the bladder.
In such cases the horse stands with his fore limbs advanced and
the hind ones stretched back beyond the natural posture and makes
frequent efforts to urinate, with varying success. Unpracticed ob-
servers naturally conclude that the secondary urinary trouble is
the main and only one, and the intestinal impaction and obstruction
is too often neglected until it is irremediable. In cases in which
the irritation has caused spasm of the neck of the bladder and
overdistention of that organ, the mistake is still more easily made;
hence it is important in all cases to examine for the impacted bowel,
forming a bend or loop at the entrance of the pelvis and usually
toward the left side. The impacted intestine feels soft and doughy
and is easily indented with the knuckles, forming a marked contrast
with the tense, elastic, resilient, overdistended bladder.

It remains to be noted that similar symptoms may be determined
by a stone or sebaceous mass, or stricture obstructing the urethra, or
in the newborn by thickened mucus in that duct and by the pres-
sure of hardened, impacted feces in the rectum. In obstruction,
the hard, impacted body can usually be felt by tracing the urethra
along the lower and posterior surface of the penis and forward to
the median line of the floor of the pelvis to the neck of the bladder.
That part of the urethra between the seat of obstruction and the

148 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

bladder is usually distended with urine and feels enlarged, elastic,
and fluctuating.

Treatment. — Treatment may be begun by taking the animal out of
harness. This failing, spread clean litter beneath the belly or turn
the patient out on the dung heap. Some seek to establish sympa-
thetic action by pouring water from one A^essel into another with
dribbling noise. Others soothe and distract the attention by slow
whistling. Friction of the abdomen with wisps of straw may suc-
ceed, or it may be rubbed with ammonia and oil. These failing, an
injection of 2 ounces of laudanum or of an infusion of 1 ounce of
tobacco in water may be tried. In the mare the neck of the bladder
is easily dilated by inserting two oiled fingers and slightly parting
them. In the horse the oiled hand introduced into the rectum may
press from before backward on the anterior or blind end of the blad-
der. Finally, a well-oiled gum-elastic catheter may be entered into
the urethra through the papilla at the end of the penis and pushed
on carefully until it has entered the bladder. To effect this the penis
must first be withdraAvn from its sheath, and when the advancing
end of the catheter has reached the bend of the urethra beneath the
anus it must be guided forward by pressure with the hand, Avhich
guidance must be continued onward into the bladder, the oiled hand
being introduced into the rectum for this purpose. The horse cathe-
ter, 34 feet long and one-third inch in diameter, may be bought of a
surgical-instrument maker.

PARALYSIS OF THE BLADDER.

Paralysis of the body of the bladder with spasm of the neck has
been described under the last heading, and may occur in the same
way from overdistention in tetanus, acute rheumatism, paraplegia,
and hemiplegia, in which the animal can not stretch himself to urinate,
and in cystitis, affecting the body of the bladder but not the neck.
In all these cases the urine is suppressed. It also occurs as a result
of disease of the posterior end of the spinal marrow and with broken
back, and is then associated with palsy of the tail, and, it may be, of
the hind limbs.

Sympfonns. — The sj^mptoms are a constant dribbling of urine when
the neck is involved, the liquid running down the inside of the thighs
and irritating the skin. When the neck is unaffected the urine is
retained until the bladder is greatly overdistended, when it may be
expelled in a gush by the active contraction of the muscular walls of
the abdomen ; this never empties the bladder, however, and the oiled
hand introduced through the rectum may feel the soft, flabby organ
still half full of urine. This retained urine is liable to decompose
and give off ammonia, which dissolves the epithelial cells, exposing
the raw, nnicous membrane and causing the worst type of cystitis.

DISEASES OP THE URINAEY OEGANS. 149

Suppression and incontinence of urine are common also to obstruc-
tion of the iiretlira by stone or otherwise ; hence this source of f aUac}''
should be excluded by manual examination along the whole course
of that duct.

Treatment. — Treatment is onl}^ applicable in cases in which the de-
termining cause can be abated. In remedial sprains of the back or
disease of the spinal cord these must have appropriate treatment, and
the urine must be drawn off frequently with a catheter to prevent
overdistention and injury to the bladder. If the paralj^sis persists
after recovery of the spinal cord, or if it continues after relief of
spasm of the neck of the bladder, apply a pulp of mustard and water
over the back part of the belly in front of the udder, and cover with
a rug until the hair stands erect. In the male the mustard may be
applied between the thighs from near the anus downward. Daily
doses of 2 drams extract of belladonna or of 2 grains powdered
Spanish fly may serve to rouse the lost tone. These failing, a mild
current of electricity daily may succeed.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER (CYSTITIS, OR UROCYSTITIS).

Cystitis may be slight or severe, acute or chronic, partial or gen-
eral. It may be caused by abuse of diuretics, especially such as are
irritating (cantharides, turpentine, copaiba, resin, etc.), by the pres-
ence of a stone or gravel in the bladder, the irritation of a catheter
or other foreign body introduced from without, the septic ferment
(bacterium) introduced on a filthy catheter, the overdistention of the
bladder by retained urine, the extrication of ammonia from retained
decomposing urine, resulting in destruction of the epithelial cells and
irritation of the raw surface, and a too concentrated and irritating
urine. The application of Spanish flies or turpentine over a too ex-
tensive surface, siidden exposure of a perspiring and tired horse to
cold or wet, and the presence of acrid plants in the fodder may cause
cystitis, as they may nephritis. Finally, inflammation may extend
from a diseased vagina or urethra to the bladder.

SrjTnptoms. — The symptoms are slight or severe colicky pains; the
animal moves his hind feet uneasily or even kicks at the abdomen,
looks around at his flanli, and may even lie down and rise frequently.
More characteristic are frequently repeated efforts to urinate, result-
ing in the discharge of a little clear, or red, or more commonly floc-
culent urine, always in jets, and accompanied with signs of pain,
which persist after the discharge, as shown in continued straining,
groaning, and perhaps in movements of the feet and tail. The penis
hangs from the sheath, or in the mare the vulva is frequently opened
and closed, as after urination. The animal winces when the abdomen

150 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

is pressed in the region of the sheath or udder, and the bladder is
found to be sensitive and tender when pressed with the oiled hand
introduced through the rectum or vagina. In the mare the thicken-
ing of the walls of the bladder may be felt by introducing one finger
through the urethra. The discharged urine, which may be turbid or
even oily, contains an excess of mucus, with flat shreds of membrane,
with scaly epithelial cells, and pus corpuscles, each showing two or
more nuclei when treated with acetic acid, but there are no micro-
scopic tubular casts, as in nephritis. If due to stone in the bladder,
that will be found on examination through rectum or vagina.

Treatment implies, first, the removal of the cause, whether poisons
in feed or as medicine, the removal of Spanish flies or other blistering
agents from the skin, or the extraction of stone or gravel. If the
urine has been retained and decomposed it must be completely evacu-
ated through a clean catheter, and the bladder thoroughly washed out
with a solution of 1 dram of borax in a quart of water. This must
be repeated twice daily until the urine no longer decomposes, be-
cause so long as ammonia is developed in the bladder the protecting
layer of epithelial cells will be dissolved and the surface kept raw
and irritable. The diet must be light (bran mashes, roots, fresh
grass), and the drink impregnated with linseed tea, or solution ot
slippery elm or marsh mallow. The same agents may be used to
inject into the rectum, or they va^y even be used along with boras
and opium to inject into bladder (gum arabic 1 dram, opium 1 dram,
tepid water 1 pint). Fomentations over the loms are often of great
advantage, and these may be followed or alternated with the appli
cation of mustard, as in parah^sis ; or the mustard may be applied on
the back part of the abdomen below or between the thighs from the
anus downward. Finally, when the acute symptoms have subsided,
a daily dose of buchu 1 dram and nux vomica one-half dram will
serve to restore lost tone.

IRRITABLE BLADDER.

Some horses, and especially mares, show an irritability of the blad-
der and nerve centers presiding over it by frequent urination in small
quantities, though the urine is not manifestly changed in character
and no more than the natural quantity is passed in the twenty-four
hours. The disorder appears to have its source quite as frequently in
the generative or nervous sj'stem as in the urinary. A troublesome
and dangerous form is seen in mares, which dash off and refuse all
control by the rein if driven with a full bladder, but usually prove
docile if the bladder has been emptied before hitching. In other
cases the excitement connected with getting the tail over the reins is

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 151

a powerful determining cause. The condition is marked in many
mares during the period of heat.

An oleaginous laxative (castor oil 1 pint) will serve to remove any
cause of irritation in the digestive organs, and a careful dieting will
avoid continued irritation by acrid vegetable agents. The bladder
should be examined to see that there is no stone or other cause of irri-
tation, and the sheath and penis should be washed with soapsuds, any
sebaceous matter removed from the bilocular cavity at the end of the
penis, and the whole lubricated with sweet oil. Irritable mares
should be induced to urinate before they are harnessed, and those
that clutch the lines under the tail may have the tail set high by
cutting the cords on its lower surface, or it may be prevented from
getting over the reins by having a strap carried from its free end to
the breechingo Those proving troublesome when " in heat " may have
4-dram doses of bromid of potassium, or they may be served by the
male or castrated. Sometimes irritability may be lessened by daily
doses of belladonna extract (1 dram), or a better tone may be given
to the parts by balsam copaiba (1 dram).

DISEASED GROWTHS IN THE BLADDER.

These may be of various kinds, malignant or simple. In the horse
I have found villous growths from the mucous membrane especially
troublesome. They may be attached to the mucous membrance by a
narrow neck or by a broad base covering a great part of the organ.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are frequent straining, passing of urine
and blood with occasionally gravel. An examination of the bladder
with the hand in the rectum will detect the new growth, which may
be distinguished from a hard, resistant stone. In mares, in which the
finger can be inserted into the bladder, the recognition is still more
satisfactory. The polypi attached by narrow necks may be removed
by surgical operation, but for those with broad attachments treatment
is eminently unsatisfactory.

DISCHARGE OF URINE BY THE NAVEL, OR PERSISTENT URACHUS.

This occurs only in the newborn, and consists in the nonclosure of
the natural channel (urachus), through which the urine is discharged
into the outer water bag (allantois) in fetal life. At that early stage
of the animal existence the bladder resembles a long tube, which is
prolonged through the navel string and opens into the outermost of
the two water bags in which the fetus floats. In this way the urine
is prevented from entering the inner water bag (amnion), where it
would mingle with the liquids, bathing the skin of the fetus and
cause irritation. At birth this channel closes up, and the urine takes

152 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the course normal to extrauterine life. Imperfect closure is more fre-
quent in males than in females, because of the great length and small
caliber of the male urethra and its consequent tendency to obstruction.
In the female there may be a discharge of a few drops only at a time,
while in the male the urine will be expelled in strong jets coincidently
with the contractions of the bladder and walls of the abdomen.

The first care is to ascertain whether the urethra is pervious by
passing a human catheter. This determined, the open urachus may be
firmly closed by a stout, waxed thread, carried with a needle through
tlie tissues back of the opening and tied in front of it so as to inclose
as little skin as possible. If a portion of the naval string remains, the
tying of that may be all sufficient. It is important to tie as early as
possible so as to avoid inflammation of the navel from contact with
the urine. In summer a little carbolic-acid water or tar water may
be applied to keep the flies off.

EVERSION OF THE BLADDER.

This can occur only in the female. It consists in the turning of the
organ outside in through the channel of the urethra, so that it appears
as a red, pear-shaped mass hanging from the floor of the vulva and
protruding externally between its lips. It may be a mass like the fist,
or it may swell up to the size of an infant's head. On examining its
upper surface the orifices of the urethra may be seen, one on each side,
a short distance behind the neck, with the urine oozing from them
drop by drop.

This displacement usually supervenes on a flaccid condition of the
bladder, the result of paralysis, overdistention, or severe compression
during a difficult parturition.

The protruding organ ma}^ be washed with a solution of 1 ounce of
laudanum and a teaspoonful of carbolic acid in a quart of water, and
returned by pressing a smooth, rounded object into the fundus and
directing it into the urethra, while careful pressure is made on the
surrounding parts with the other hand. If too large and resistant it
may be wound tightly in a strip of bandage about 2 inches broad
to express the great mass of blood and exudate and diminish the bulk
of the protruded organ so that it can be easily pushed back. This
method has the additional advantage of protecting the organ against
bruises and lacerations m the effort made to return it. After the
return, straining may be kept in check by giving laudanum (1 to 2
ounces) and by applying a truss to press upon the lips of the vulva.
(See Eversion of the womb.) The patient should be kept in a stall a
few inches lower in front than behind, so that the action of gravity
■will favor retention.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

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DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 153

INFLAMMATION OF THE URETHRA (URETHRITIS, OR GLEET).

This affection belongs quite as mnrli to the generative organs, vet
it can not be entirel}^ overlooked in a treatise on urinary disorders.
It may be induced by the same causes as cystitis (which see) : by the
passage and temporary arrest of small stones, or gravel ; by the irri-
tation caused by foreign bodies introduced from without; by blows
on the penis by sticks, stones, or by the feet of a mare that kicks
while being served ; by an infecting inflammation contracted from a
mare served in the first few days after parturition or one suffering
from leucorrhea ; by infecting matter introduced on a dirty catheter,
or by the extension of inflammation from an irritated, bilocular
cavity filled with hardened sebaceous matter, or from an uncleansed
sheath.

Sym/ptorm. — The symptoms are swelling, heat, and tenderness of
the sheath and penis; difficulty, pain, and groaning in passing urine,
which is liable to sudden temporary arrests in the course of micturi-
tion, and later a whitish, mucopurulent oozing from the papilla on
the end of the penis. There is a tendency to erection of the penis,
and in cases contracted from a mare the outer surface of that organ
will show more or less extensive sores and ulcers. Stallions suffering
in this way will refuse to mount or, having mounted, will fail to
complete the act of coition. If an. entrance is effected, infection of
the mare is liable to follow.

Treatment in the early stages consists in a dose of physic (aloes 6
drams) and fomentations of warm water to the sheath and penis. If
there is reason to suspect the presence of infection, inject the urethra
twice daily with borax 1 dram, tepid water 1 quart. When the
mucopurulent discharge indicates the supervention of the second
stage a more astringent injection may be used (nitrate of silver 20
grains, water 1 quart), and the same may be applied to the surface
of the penis and inside the sheath. Balsam of copaiba (1 dram daily)
may also be given with advantage after the purulent discharge has
appeared.

Every stallion suffering from urethritis should be withheld from
service, as should mares with leucorrhea.

STRICTURE OF THE URETHRA.

This is a permanent narrowing of the urethra at a given point, the
result of previous inflammation, caused by the passage or arrest of a
stone, or gravel, by strong astringent injections in the early nonsecret-
ing stage of urethritis, or by contraction of the lining membrane
occurring during the healing of ulcers in neglected inflammations of
that canal. The trouble is shown by the passage of urine in a fine
stream, with straining, pain, and groaning, and by frequent painful

154 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

erections. It must be remedied by mechanical dilatation, with cathe-
ters just large enough to pass with gentle force, to be inserted once a
day, and to be used of larger size as the passage will admit them.
The catheter should be kept perfectly clean and washed in a borax
solution and well oiled before it is introduced.

URINARY CALCULI (STONE, OR GRAVEL).

These consist in some of the solids of the urine that have been
precipitated from the urine in the form of crystals, which remain
apart as a fine, powdery mass, or magma, or aggregate into calculi, or
stones, of varying size. (See PL XL) Their composition is there-
fore determined in different animals by the salts or other constitu-
ents found dissolved in the healthy urine, and by the additional con-
stituents which may be thrown off in solution in the urine in disease.
In this connection it is important to observe the following analysis
of the horse's urine in health :

Water , 918. 5

Urea _. 13. 4

Uric acid and urates . 1

Hippuric acid 26.4

Lactic acid and lactates 1.2

Mucus and organic matter 22.0

Sulpliates (alkaline) 1.2

Phosphates (lime and soda) .2

Chlorids (sodium) 1.0

Carbonates (potash, magnesia, lime) 16.0

1000.0

The carbonate of lime, which is present in large quantity in the
urine of horses fed on green fodder, is practically insoluble, and
therefore forms in the passages after secretion, and its miscroscopic
rounded crystals give the urine of such horses a milky whiteness, it
is this material which constitutes the soft, white, pultaceous mass that
sometimes fills the bladder to repletion and requires to be washed
out. In hay-fed horses carbonates are still abundant, while in those
mainly grain-fed they are replaced by hippurates and phosphates —
the products of the wear of tissues — the carbonates being the result
of oxidation of the vegetable acids in the feed. Carbonate of lime,
therefore, is a very common constituent of urinary calculi in herbi-
vora, and in many cases is the most abundant constituent.

Oxalate of lime, like carbonate of lime, is derived from the burning
up of the carbonaceous matter of the feed in the system, one impor-
tant factor being the less perfect oxidation of the carbon. Indeed,
Fiistenberg and Schmidt have demonstrated on man, horse, ox, and
rabbit that under the full play of the breathing (oxidizing) forces
oxalic acid, like other organic acids, is resolved into carbonic acid.

DISEASES OF THE URUSTARY ORGAN'S. 155

In keeping with this is the observation of Lehmann, that in all cases
in which man suffered from interference Avith the breathing oxalate
of lime appeared in the urine. An excess of oxalate of lime in the
urine may, however, claim a different origin. Uric and hippuric
ncids are found in the urine of carnivora and herbivora, respectively,
as the result of the healthy wear (disassimilation) of nitrogenous tis-
sues. If these products are fully oxidized, however, they are thrown
out in the form of the more soluble urea rather than as these acids.
^Yhen uric acid out of the body is treated with peroxid of lead it is
resolved into urea, allantoin, and oxalic acid, and Woehler and Fver-
richs found that the administration of uric acid not only increased
the excretion of urea but also of oxalic acid. It may therefore be
inferred that oxalic acid is not produced from the carbonaceous feed
alone but also from the disintegration of the nitrogenous tissues of
the body. An important element of its production is, however, the
imperfect performance of the breathing functions, and hence it is
liable to result from diseases of the chest (heaves, chronic bronchitis,
etc.). This is, above all, liable to prove the case if the subject is fed
to excess on nighly carbonaceous feeds (grass and green feed gener-
ally, potatoes, etc.).

Carbonate of magnesia, another almost constant ingredient of the
urinary calculi of the horse, is formed the same wav as the carbo-
iiate of lime — from the excess of carbonaceous feed (organic acids)
becoming oxidized into carbon dioxid, which unites with the mag-
nesia derived from the feed.

The phosphates of lime and magnesia are not abundant in urinary
calculi of the horse, the phosphates being present to excess in the
urine in only two conditions — {a) when the ration is excessive and
especially rich in phosphorus (wheat, bran, beans, peas, vetches, rape
cake, oil cake, cottonseed cake) ; and (h) when, through the morbid,
destructive changes in the living tissues, and especially of the bones,
a great quantity of phosphorus is given off as a waste product.
Under these conditions, however, the phosphates may contribute to
the formation of calculi, and this, above all, is liable if the urine
is retained in the bladder until it has undergone decomposition and
given off ammonia. The ammonia at once unites with the phos-
phate of magnesia to form a double salt — phosphate of ammonia
and magnesia — which, being insoluble, is at once precipitated. The
precipitation of this salt is, however, rare in the urine of the horse,
though much more frequent in that of man and sheep.

These are the chief mineral constituents of the urine which form
ingredients in the horse's calculi, for though iron and manganese
are usually present it is only in minute quantities.

156 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

The excess of ininoial matter in a specimen of urine unquestion-
ably contributes to the formation of calculi, just as a solution of such
matters out of the body is increasingly disposed to throw them down
in the form of crystals as it becomes more concentrated and ap-
proaches nearer to the condition of saturation. Hence, in consider-
ing the causes of calculi we can not ignore the factor of an excessive
ration, rich in mineral matters and in carbonaceous matters (the
source of carbonates and much of the oxalates), nor can we overlook
tlie concentration of the urine that comes from dry feed and priva-
tion of water, or from the existence of fever which causes suspension
of the secretion of water. In these cases, at least the usual quantity
of solids is thrown off by the kidneys, and as the water is dimin-
ished there is danger of its approaching the point of supersatura-
tion, when the dissolved solids must necessarily be thrown down.
Hence, calculi are more common in stable horses fed on dry grain
and hay, in those denied a sufRcienc}' of water or that have water
supplied irregularly, in those subjected to profuse perspiration (as
in sunnner), and in those suffering from a watery diarrhea. On
the whole, calculi are most commonly found in winter, because the
horses are then on dry feeding, but such dry feeding is even more
conducive to them in siimmer when the condition is aggravated by
the abundant loss of water by the skin.

In the same way the extreme hardness of the water in certain dis-
tricts must be looked upon as contributing to the concentration of the
urine and correspondingly to the production of stone. The carbon-
ates, sulphates, etc., of lime and magnesia taken in the water must be
again thrown out, and just in proportion as these add to the solids of
the urine they dispose it to precipitate its least soluble constituents.
Thus the horse is very subject to calculi on certain limestone soils,
as over the calcareous formations of central and western New York,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio, in America; of Norfolk, Suffolk, Derbyshire,
Shropshire, and Gloucestershire, in England; of Poitou and Landes,
in France; and Munich, in Bavaria.

The saturation of the urine from any or all of these conditions can
only be looked on as an auxiliar}^ cause, however, and not as in itself
an efficient one, except on the rarest occasions. For a more direct and
immediate cause we must look to the organic matter which forms a
large proportion of all urinary calculi. This consists of mucus, albu-
men, pus, hyaline casts of the uriniferous tubes, epithelial cells, blood,
etc., mainly agents that belong to the class of colloid or noncrystalline
bodies. A horse may live for months and years with the urine habit-
ually of a high density and having the mineral constituents in excess
without the formation of stone or gravel; again, one with dilute
urine of low si)ecific gravity will have a calculus.

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 157

Rainey, Orel, and others furnish the explanation. They not only
show that a colloid body, like miicns, albumen, pus, or blood, deter-
mined the precipitation or the crystalline salts in the solution, but
they determined the precipitation in the form of globules, or spheres,
capable of developing by further deposits into calculi. Heat intensi-
fies this action of the colloids, and a colloid in a state of decomposition
is specially active. The presence, therefore, of devt^loping fungi and
bacteria must be looked upon as active factors in causing calculi.

In looking, therefore, for the immediate causes of calculi we must
consider especially all those conditions which determine the presence
of albumen, blood, and excess of mucus, pus, etc., in the urine. Thus
diseases of distant organs leading to albuminuria, diseases of the kid-
neys and urinary passagCvS causing the escape of blood or the forma-
tion of mucus or pus, become direct causes of calculi. Foreign bodies
of all kinds in the bladder or kidney have long been known as deter-
mining causes of calculi and as forming the central nucleus. This is
now explained by the fact that these bodies are liable to carry bac-
teria into the passages and thus determine decomposition, and they
are further liable to irritate the mucous membrane and become envel-
oped in a coating of mucus, pus, and perhaps blood.

The fact that horses, especially on the magnesian limestones, the
same districts in which they suifer from goiter, appear to suffer from
calculi may be similarly explained. The unknown poison which pro-
duces goiter presumably leads to such changes in the blood and urine
as will furnish the colloid necessary for precipitation of the urinary
salts in the form of calculi.

CLASSIFICATION OF URINARY CALCULI.

These have been named according to the place where they are
found, renal (kidney), ureteric (ureter), vesical (bladder), urethral
(urethra), and preputial (sheath, or prepuce). They have been
otherwise named according to their most abundant chemical constit-
uent, carbonate of lime, oxalate of lime, and phosphate of lime cal-
culi. The stones formed of carbonates or phosphates are usually
smooth on the surface, though they may be molded into the shape of
the cavity in which they have been f omied ; thus those in the pelvis
of the kidney may have two or three short branchlike prolongations,
while those in the bladder are round, oval, or slightly flattened upon
each other. Calculi containing oxalate of lime, on the other hand,
have a rough, open, crystalline surface, which has gained for them
the name of mulberry calculi, from a supposed resemblance to that
fruit. These are usually covered with more or less mucus or blood,
produced by the irritation of the mucous membrane by their rough

15R DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

siuicioes. The color of calculi varies from white to yellow and deep
brown, the shades depending mainly on the amount of the coloring
matter of blood, bile, or urine which they may contain.

Renal calculi. — These may consist of minute, almost microscopic,
deposits in the uriniferous tubes in the substance of the kidney, but
more commonly they are large masses and lodged in the pelvis. The
larger calculi, sometimes weighing 12 to 24: ounces, are molded in the
pelvis of the kidney into a cylindroid mass, with irregular rounded
swellings at intervals. Some have a deep brown, rough, crystalline
surface of oxalate of lime, while others have a smooth, pearly white
aspect from carbonate of lime. A smaller calculus, which has been
called coralline, is also cylindroid, with a number of brown, rough,
crystalline oxalate of lime branches and whitish depressions of car-
bonate. These vary in size from 15 grains to nearly 2 ounces. Less
frequently are found masses of very hard, brownish white, rounded,
pealike calculi. These are smoother, but on the surface crystals of
oxalate of lime may be detected with a lens. Some renal calculi are
formed of more distinct layers, more loosely adherent to one another,
and contain an excess of mucus, but no oxalate of lime. Finally, a
loose aggregation of small masses, forming a very friable calculus,
is found of all sizes within the limits of the pelvis of the kidney.
These, too, are in the main carbonate of lime( 84 to 88 per cent) and
without oxalate.

Symptoms of renal calculi are violent, coliclr^^ pains, appearing sud-
denly, very often in connection with exhausting work or the drawing
of specially heavy loads, and in certain cases disappearing with equal
suddenness. The nature of the colic becomes more manifest if it is
associated with stiffness of the back and hind limbs, frequent passage
of urine, and, above all, the passage of gravel with the urine, espe-
cially at the time of the access of relief. The passage of blood and
pus in the urine is equally significant. If the irritation of the kid-
ney goes on to active inflammation, then the symptoms of nephritis
are added.

Ureteric calculi. — These are so called because they are found in the
passage leading from the kidney to the bladder. They are simply
small, renal calculi which have escaped from the pelvis of the kidney
and have become arrested in the ureter. They give rise to symptoms
almost identical with those of renal calculi, with this difference, that
the colicky pains, caused by the obstruction of the .ureter by the
impacted calculus, are more violent, and if the calculus passes on
into the bladder the relief is instantaneous and complete. If the
ureter is completely blocked for a length of time, the retained urine
may give rise to destructive inflammation in the kidney, which may
end in the entire absorption of that organ, leaving only a fibrous

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 159

capsule containing an urinous fluid. If both the ureters are similarly
blocked, the animal will die of uremic poisoning.

Treatment of renal and ureteric calculi. — Treatment is unsatisfac-
tory, as it is only the small calculi that can pass through the ureters
and escape into the bladder. This may be favored by agents which
will relax the walls of the ureters by counteracting their spasm and
j even lessening their tone, and by a liberal use of water and watery
fluids to increase the urine and the pressure upon the calculus from
behind. One or two ounces of laudanum, or 2 drams of extract of
belladonna, may be given and repeated as it may be necessary, the
relief of the pain being a fair criterion of the abating of the spasm.
To the same end use warm fomentations across the loins, and these
should be kept up persistently until relief is obtained. These act not
only by soothing and relieving the spasm and inflammation, but they
also favor the freer secretion of a more watery urine, and thus tend to
carry oft" the smaller calculi. To accomplish this object further give
cool water freely, and let the feed be only such as contains a large pro-
portion of liquid, gruels, mashes, turnips, beets, apples, pumpkins,
ensilage, succulent grasses, etc. If the acute stage has passed and
the presence of the calculus is manifested only by the frequent passage
of urine with gritty particles, by stiffness of the loins and hind limbs,
and by tenderness to pressure, the most promising resort is a long run
at pasture where the grasses are fresh and succulent. The long-
continued secretion of a waterv urine will sometimes cause the break-
ing down of a calculus, as the imbibition of the less dense fluid by the
organic, spongelike framework of the calculus causes it to swell and
thus lessens its cohesion. The same end is sought by the long-con-
tinued use of alkalies (carbonate of pctassinni), and of acids
(muriatic), each acting in a different way to alter the density and
cohesion of the stone. It is only exceptionally, however, that any one
of these methods is entirely satisfactory. If inflammation of the
kidneys develops, treat as advised under that head.

Stone in the hladder {vesical calculus., or cystic calculus). — These
may be of any size up to over a pound in weight. One variety is
rough and crystalline and has a yellowish-white or deep-brown color.
These contain about 87 per cent carbonate of lime, the remainder
being carbonate of magnesia, oxalate of lime, and organic matter.
The phosphatic calculi are smooth, white and formed of thin, con-
centric layers of great hardness extending from the nucleus out-
ward. Besides the phosphate of lime they contain the carbonates of
lime and magnesia and organic matter. In some cases the bladder
contains and may be even distended by a soft, pultaceous mass made
up of minute, round granules of carbonates of lime and magnesia.
This, when removed and dried, makes a firm, white, and stony mass.

160 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Sometimes this magma is condensed into a solid mass in the bladder
by reason of the binding action of the mucus and other organic mat-
ter, and then forms a conglomerate stone of nearly uniform consist-
ency and without stratification.

SyinptoTns of stone in the 'bladder. — The symptoms of stone in the
bladder are more obvious than those of renal calculus. The rough,
mulberry calculi especially lead to irritation of the mucous mem-
brane and frequent passing of urine in small quantities and often
mingled with mucus or blood or containing minute, gritty particles.
At times the flow is suddenly arrested, though the animal continues
to strain and the bladder is not quite emptied. In the smooth, phos-
j)hatic variety the irritation is much less marked and may even be
altogether absent. With the pultaceous deposit in the bladder there
is incontinence of urine, which dribbles away continually and keeps
the hair on the inner side of the thighs matted with soft magma. In
all cases alike the calculus may be felt by the examination of the
bladder with the oiled hand in the rectum. The pear-shaped outline
of the bladder can be felt beneath, and within it the solid, oval body.
It is most easily recognized if the organ is half full of liquid, as then
it is not grasped by the contracting walls of the bladder, but may be
made to move from place to place in the liquid. If a pultaceous mass
is present it has a soft, doughy feeling, and when pressed an indenta-
tion is left.

In the mare the hard stone mav be touched bv the finger introduced
through the short urethra.

Treatment of storue in the hladder. — The treatment of stone in the
bladder consists in the removal of the offending body; in the mare
this is easily effected with the lithotomy forceps. These are slightly
Avarmed and oiled, and carried forward along the floor of the passage
of the vulva for 4 inches, when the orifice of the urethra will be felt
exactly in the median line. Through this the forceps are gradually
pushed with gentle, oscillating movement until they enter the bladder
and strike against the hard surface of the stone. The stone is now
grasped between the blades, care being taken to include no loose fold
of the mucous membrane, and it is gradually withdrawn with the
same careful, oscillating motions as before. Facility and safety in
seizing the stone will be gi-eatly favored by having the bladder half
full of liquid, and if necessary one oiled hand may be introduced
into the rectum or vagina to assist. The resulting irritation may be
treated by an injection of laudanum, 1 ounce in a pint of tepid water.

The removal of the stone in the horse is a much more difficult pro-
ceeding. It consists in cutting into the urethra just beneath the anus
and introducing the lithotomy forceps from this forward into the
bladder, as in the mare. It is needful to distend the urethra with

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 161

tepid water or to insert a sound or catheter to furnish a guide upon
which the incision may be made, and in case of a large stone it may
be needful to enlarge the passage by cutting in a direction upward
and outward with a probe-pointed knife, the back of which is slid
along in the groove of a director until it enters the bladder.

The horse may be operated upon in the standing position, being
simply pressed against the wall by a pole passed from before back-
ward along the other side of the body. The tepid water is injected
into the end of the penis until it is felt to fluctuate under the pressure
of the finger, in the median line over the bone just beneath the anus.
The incision is then made into the center of the fluctuating canal, and
from above downward. "V\Tien a sound or catheter is used as a guide
it is inserted through the penis until it can be felt through the skin
at the point where the incision is to be made beneath the anus. The
skin is then rendered tense by the thumb and fingers of the left hand
pressing on the two sides of the sound, while the right hand, armed
with a scalpel, cuts downward onto the catheter. This vertical in-
cision into the canal should escape wounding any important blood
vessel. It is in making the obliquely lateral incision in the subse-
quent dilatation of the urethra and neck of the bladder that such
danger is to be apprehended.

If the stone is too large to be extracted through the urethra, it may
be broken down with the lithotrite and extracted piecemeal with the
forceps. The lithotrite is an instrument composed of a straight stem
bent for an inch or more to one side at its free end so as to form an
obtuse angle, and having on the same side a sliding bar moving in a
groove in the stem and operated by a screw so that the stone may be
seized between the two blades at its free extremity and crushed again
and again into pieces small enough to extract. Extra care is required
to avoid injury to the urethra in the extraction of the angular frag-
ments, -and the gravel or powder that can not be removed in this way
must be washed out, as advised below.

When a pultaceous magma of carbonate of lime accumulates in the
bladder it must be washed out by injecting water through a catheter
by means of a force pump or a funnel, shaking it up with the hand
introduced through the rectum and allowing the muddy liquid to flow
out through the tube. This is to be repeated until the bladder is
empty and the water comes away clear. A catheter with a double
tube is sometimes used, the injection passing in through the one tube
and escaping through the other. The advantage is more apparent
than real, however, as the retention of the water until the magma has
been shaken up and mixed with it hastens greatly its complete
evacuation.

54763°— 23 11

162 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

To prevent the formation of a new deposit any fault in feeding
(dry grain and hay with privation of water, excess of beans, peas,
wheat bran, etc.) and disorders of stomach, liver, and lungs must
be corrected. Give abimdance of soft drinking water, encouraging
the animal to drink by a handful of salt daily. Let the feed be laxa-
tive, consisting largely of roots, apples, pumpkins, ensilage, and give
daily in the drinking water a dram of either carbonate of potash or
soda. Powdered gentian root (3 drams daily) will also serve to
restore the tone of the stomach and system at large.

Urethral calculus {stone in the urethra). — This is less frequent in
horses than in cattle and sheep, owing to the larger size of the urethra
in the horse and the absence of the S-shaped curve and vermiform
appendix. The calculi arrested in the urethra are never formed
there, but consist of cystic calculi which have been small enough to
pass through the neck of the bladder, but are too large to pass
through the whole length of the urethra and escape. Such calculi
therefore are primarily formed either in the bladder or kidney, and
have the chemical composition of the other calculi found in those
organs. They may be arrested at any point of the urethra^ from the
neck of the bladder back to the bend of the tube beneath the anus,
and from that point down to the extremity of the penis. I have
found them most frequently in the papilla on the extreme end of the
penis, and immediately behind this.

Symptoins of urethral calculus. — The symptoms are violent strain-
ing to urinate, but without any discharge, or with the escape of water
in drops only. Examination of the end of the penis will detect the
swelling of the papilla or the urethra behind it, and the presence
of a hard mass in the center. A probe inserted into the urethra will
strike against the gritty calculus. If the stone has been arrested
higher up, its position may be detected as a small, hard, sensitive
knot on the line of the urethra, in. the median line of the lower sur-
face of the penis, or on the floor of pelvis in the median line from
the neck of the bladder back to the bend of the urethra beneath the
anus. In any case the urethra between the neck of the bladder and
the point of obstruction is liable to be filled with fluid, and to feel
like a distended tube, fluctuating on pressure.

Treatment of urethral calculus may be begun by an attempt to
extract the calculi by manipulation of the papilla on the end of the
penis. This failing, the calculus may be seized with a pair of fine-
l^ointed forceps and withdrawn from the urethra ; or, if necessary, a
probe-pointed knife may be inserted and the urethra slightly dilated,
or even laid open, and the stone removed. If the stone has been
arrested higher up it must be extracted by a direct incision through
the walls of the urethra and down upon the nodule. If in the free

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 163

(protractile) portion of the penis, that organ is to be withdrawn from
its sheath until the nodule is exposed and can be incised. If behind
the scrotum, the incision must be made in the median line between
the thighs and directly over the nodule, the skin having been rendered
tense by the fingers and thumb of the left hand. If the stone has
been arrested in the intrapelvic portion of the urethra, the incision
must be made beneath the anus and the calculus extracted with for-
ceps, as in stone in the bladder. The wound in the urethra may be
stitched up, and usually heals slowly but satisfactorily. Healing will
be favored by washing two or three times daily with a solution of a
teaspoonful of carbolic acid in a pint of water.

Preputial calculus {calculus in the sheath, or hilocular cavity). —
These are concretions in the sheath, though the term has been also
applied to the nodule of sebaceous matter which accumulates in the
blind pouches (bilocular cavity) by the sides of the papilla on the
end of the penis. Within the sheath the concretion may be a soft,
cheesy-like sebaceous matter, or a genuine calculus of carbonate,
oxalate, phosphate and sulphate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, and
organic matter. These are easily removed with the fingers, after
which the sheath should be washed out with castile soap and warm
water and smeared with sweet oil.

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS.

By James Law, F. R. C. V. S.,
Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University.

CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE TESTICLES, OR

ORCHITIS.

In the prime of life, in vigorous health, and on stimulating feed,
stallions are subject to congestion of the testicles, which become
swollen, hot, and tender, but without any active inflammation. A
reduction of the grain in the feed, the administration of 1 or 2 ounces
of Glauber's salt daily in the feed, and the bathing of the affected
organs daily with tepid water or alum water will usually restore
them to a healthy condition.

When the factors producing congestion are extraordinarily potent,
when there has been frequent copulation and heavy grain feeding,
when the weather is warm and the animal has had little exercise, and
when the proximity of other horses or mares excites the generative
instinct without gratification, this congestion may grow to actual
inflammation. Among the other causes of orchitis are blows and
penetrating wounds implicating the testicles, abrasions of the scro-
tum by a chain or rope passing inside the thigh, contusions and
frictions on the gland under rapid paces or heavy draft, compression
of the blood vessels of the spermatic cord by the ingiiinal ring under
the same circumstances, and, finally, sympathetic disturbance in
cases of disease of the kidneys, bladder, or urethra. Stimulants of
the generative fimctions, like rue, savin, tansy, cantharides, and
damiana, may also be accessory causes of congestion and inflamma-
tion. Finally, certain specific diseases, like dourine, glanders, and
tuberculosis, localized in the testicles, will cause inflammation.

Symptams. — Apart from actual wounds of the parts, the symp-
toms of orchitis are swelling, heat, and tenderness of the testicles,
straddling with the hind legs alike in standing and walldng, stiffness
and dragging of the hind limbs or of the limb on the affected side,
arching of the loins, abdominal pain, manifested by glancing back
at the flank, more or less fever, elevated body temperature, acceler-
ated pulse and breathing, lack of appetite, and dullness. In bad
164

DISEASES OP THE GENEEATIVE OEGANS. 165

cases the scanty urine may be reddish and the swelling may extend
to the skin and envelopes of the testicle, which may become thickened
and doughy, pitting on pressure. The swelling may be so much
greater in the convoluted excretory duct along the upper border of
the testicle as to suggest the presence of a second stone. Even in
the more violent attacks the intense suffering abates somewhat on the
second or third day. If it lasts longer, it is liable to give rise to the
formation of matter (abscess). In exceptional cases the testicle is
struck Avith gangrene, or death. Improvement may go on slowly to
complete recovery, or the malady may subside into a subacute and
chronic form with induration. Matter (abscess) may be recognized
by the presence of a soft spot, where pressure with two fingers will
detect fluctuation from one to the other. When there is liquid exu-
dation into the scrotum, or sac, fluctuation may also be felt, but
the liquid can be made out to be around the testicle and can be
pressed up into the abdomen through the inguinal canal. When
abscess occurs in the cord the matter may escape into the scrotal sac
and cavity of the abdomen and pyemia may follow.

Treatment consists in perfect rest and quietude, the administration
of a purgative (1 to 1|^ pounds Glauber's salt), and the local appli-
cation of an astringent lotion (acetate of lead 2 drams, extract of
belladonna 2 drams, and water 1 quart) upon soft rags or cotton wool,
kept in contact wdth the part by a suspensory bandage. This band-
age, of great value for support, may be made nearly triangular and
tied to a girth around the loins and to the upper part of the same sur-
cingle by two bands carried backward and upward between the
thighs. In severe cases scarifications one-fourth inch deep serve to
relieve vascular tension. When abscess is threatened its formation
may be favored by warm fomentations or poultices, and on the occur-
rence of fluctuation the knife may be used to give free escape to the
pus. The resulting cavity may be injected daily with a weak car-
bolic-acid lotion, or salol may be introduced. The same agents may
be used on a gland threatened with gangrene, but its prompt removal
by castration is to be preferred, antiseptics being applied freely to
the resulting cavity.

SARCOCELE.

This is an enlarged and indurated condition of the gland, resulting
from chronic inflammation, though it is often associated with a
specific deposit, like glanders. In this condition the natural struc-
ture of the gland has given place to embryonal tissue (small, round
cells, with a few fibrous bundles) , and its restoration to health is ver}^
improbable. Apart from active inflammation, it may increase very
slowly. The diseased testicle is enlarged, firm, nonelastic, and com-

166 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

paratively insensible. The skin of the scrotum is tense, and it may-
be edematous (pitting on pressure) , as are the deeper envelopes and
spermatic cord. If liquid is present in the sac, the symptoms are
masked somewhat. As it increases it causes awkward, straddling,
drafffifinar movement of the hind limbs, or lameness on the affected
side. The spermatic cord often increases at the same time with the
testicle, and the inguinal ring being thereby stretched and enlarged,
a portion of intestine may escape into the sac, complicating the
disease with hernia.

The only rational and effective treatment is castration, and when
the disease is specific (glanders, tuberculosis), even this may not
succeed.

HYDROCELE, OR DROPSY OF THE SCROTUM.

This may be merely an accompaniment of dropsy of the abdomen,
the cavity of which is continuous with that of the scrotum in horses.
It may be the result, however, of local disease in the testicle, sper-
matic cord, or walls of tlie sac.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are enlargement of the scrotum, and
fluctuation under the fingers, the testicle being recognized as floating
in water. By pressure the liquid is forced, in a slow stream and with
a perceptible thrill, into the abdomen. Sometunes the cord or the
scrotum is thickened and pits on pressure.

Treatrtwnt may be the same as for ascites, yet when the effusion has
resulted from inflammation of the testicle or cord, astringent applica-
tions (chalk and vinegar) may be applied to these. Then, if the
liquid is not reabsorbed under diuretics and tonics, it may be drawn
off through the nozzle of a hypodermic syringe which has been first
j)assed through carbolic acid. In geldings it is best to dissect out the
sacs.

VARICOCELE.

This is an enlargement of the venous network of the spermatic
cord, and gives rise to general thickening of the cord from the tes-
ticle up to the ring. The same astringent dressings may be tried as
in hydrocele, and, this failing, castration may be resorted to.

ABNORMAL NUMBER OF TESTICLES.

Sometimes one or both testicles are wanting; in most such cases,
however, they are merel}^ partially developed, and retained in the
inguinal canal or abdomen (cryptorchid). In rare cases there may
be a third testicle, the animal becoming to this extent a double mon-
ster. Teeth, hair, and other indications of a second fetus have like-
wise been found in the testicle or scrotum.

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 167

DEGENERATION OF THE TESTICLES.

The testicles may become the seat of fibrous, calcareous, fatty,
cartilaginous, or cystic degeneration, for all which the appropriate
treatment is castration. They also become the seat of cancer, glan-
ders, or tuberculosis, and castration is requisite, though with less
hope of arresting the disease. Finally, they may become infested
with cystic tapeworms or the agamic stage of a strongyle {Stronglyus
edentatus).

WARTS ON THE PENIS.

These are best removed by twisting them off, using the thumb
and forefinger. They may also be cut off with scissors and the roots
cauterized with nitrate of silver.

DEGENERATION OF PENIS (PAPILLOMA, OR EPITHELIOMA).

The penis of the horse is subject to gi^eat cauliflower-like growths
on its free end, which extend back into the substance of the organ,
obstruct the passage of urine, and cause very fetid discharges. The
only resort is to cut them off, together with whatever portion of the
penis has become diseased and indurated. The operation, which
should be performed by a veterinary surgeon, consists in cutting
through the organ from its upper to its lower aspect, twisting or
tying the two dorsal arteries, and leaving the urethra longer by half
an inch to 1 inch than the adjacent structures.

EXTRAVASATION OF BLOOD IN THE PENIS.

As the result of kicks, blows, or of forcible striking of the penis
on the thighs of the mare which it has failed to enter, the penis
may become the seat of effusion of blood from one or more ruptured
blood vessels. This gives rise to a more or less extensive swelling
on one or more sides, followed by some heat and inflammation, and
on recovery a serious curving of the organ. The treatment in the
early stages may be the application of lotions, of alum, or other
astringents, to limit the effusion and favor absorption. The penis
should be suspended in a sling.

PARALYSIS OF THE PENIS.

This results from blows and other injuries, and also in some cases
from too frequent and exhausting service. The penis hangs from
the sheath, flaccid, pendulous, and often cold. The passage of urine
occurs with lessened force, and especially without the final jets. In
cases of local injury the inflammation should first be subdued by
astringent and emollient lotions, and in all cases the system should

l(jy DISEASES OP THE HOKSE,

be invigorated by nourishing diet, while 30-grain doses of nux vomica
are given tAvice a day. Finally, a weak current of electricity sent
through the penis from just beneath the anus to the free portion of
the penis, continued for 10 or 15 minutes and repeated daily, may
prove successful.

SELF-ABUSE, OR MASTURBATION.

Some stallions acquire this vicious habit, stimulating the sexual
instinct to the discharge of semen by rubbing the penis against the
belly or between the fore limbs. The only remedy is a mechanical
one, the fixing of a net under the penis in such fashion as to prevent
the extension of the penis or so prick the organ as to compel the
animal to desist through pain.

DOURINE.

This disease is discussed in the chapter on " Infectious Diseases."

CASTRATION.
CASTRATION OF STALLIONS.

This is usually done at 1 year old, but may be accomplished at a
few weeks old at the expense of an imperfect development of the
fore parts. The simplicity and safety of the operation are greatest
in the young. The delay till 2, 3, or 4 years old will secure
a better development and carriage of the fore parts. The essential
part of castration is the safe removal or destruction of the testicle
and the arrest or prevention of bleeding from the spermatic artery
found in the anterior part of the cord. Into the many methods of
accomplishing this limited space forbids us to enter here, so that but
one, castration by clamps, will be noticed. The animal having been
thrown on his left side, and the right hind foot drawn up on the
shoulder, the exposed scrotum, penis, and sheath are washed with
soap and water, any concretion of sebum being carefully removed
from the bilocular cavity in the end of the penis. The left sper-
matic cord, just above the testicle, is now seized in the left hand,
so as to render the skin tense over the stone, and the right hand,
armed with the knife, makes an incision from before backward,
about three-fourths of an inch from and parallel to the median
line between the thighs, deep enough to expose the testicle and long
enough to allow that organ to start out through the skin. At the
moment of making this incision the left hand must grasp the cord
very firmly, otherwise the sudden retraction of the testicle by
the cremaster muscle may draw it out of the hand and upward
through the canal and even into the abdomen. In a few seconds,

DISEASES OP THE GENERATIVE OEGANS. 169

when the struggle and retraction have ceased, the knife is inserted
through the cord, between its anterior and posterior portions, and the
latter, the one \*ihich the muscle retracts, is cut completely through.
The testicle will now hang limp, and there is no longer any tendency
to retraction. It should be pulled down until it will no longer hang
loose below the wound and the clamps applied around the still at-
tached portion of the cord, close up to the skin. The clamps, which
may be made of any tough wood, are grooved along the center of the
surfaces opposed to each other, thereby fulfilling two important in-
dications— (a) enabling the clamps to hold more securely and (h)
providing for the application of an antiseptic to the cord. For this
purpose a dram of sulphate of copper may be mixed with an ounce
of vaseline and pressed into the groove in the face of each clamp.
In applying the clamp over the cord it should be drawn so close with
pincers as to press out all blood from the compressed cord and de-
stroy its vitality, and the cord applied upon the compressing clamps
should be so hard-twined that it will not stretch later and slacken the
hold. When the clamp has been fixed the testicle is cut off one-half
to 1 inch below it, and the clamp may be left thus for 24 hours ; then,
by cutting the cord around one end of the clamp, the latter may be
opened and the stump liberated without any danger of bleeding.
Should the stump hang out of the wound it should be pushed inside
with the finger and left there.

The young horse suffers less from castration than the old, and very
rarely perishes. Good health in the subject is all important. Castra-
tion should never be attempted during the prevalence of strangles,
influenza, catarrhal fever, contagious pleurisy, bronchitis, pneumonia,
purpura hemorrhagica, or other specific disease, nor on subjects that
have been kept in close, ill-ventilated, filthy buildings, where the
system is liable to have been charged with putrid bacteria or other
products. Warm weather is to be preferred to cold, but the fly time
should be avoided or the flies kept at a distance by the application of
a watery solution of tar, carbolic acid, or camphor to the wound.

CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCHIDS (RIDGLINGS).

This is the removal of a testicle or testicles that have failed to
descend into the scrotum, but have been detained in the inguinal
canal or inside the abdomen. The manipulation requires an accurate
anatomical knowledge of the parts, and special skill, experience, and
manual dexterity, and can not be made clear to the unprofessional
mind in a short description. It consists, however, in the discovery
and removal of the missing gland by exploring through the. natural
channel (the inguinal canal), or, in case it is absent, through the in-

170 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

guinal ring or through an artificial opening made in front and above
that channel between the abdominal muscles and the strong fascia on
the inner side of the thigh (Poupart's ligament). "VYhatever method
is used, the skin, hands, and instruments should be rendered aseptic
with a solution of mercuric chlorid 1 part, water 2,000 parts (a car-
bolic-acid lotion for the instruments), and the spermatic cord is best
torn through by the ecraseur. In many such cases, too, it is desirable
to sew up the external wound and keep the animal still, to favor heal-
ing of the wound by adhesion.

CONDITIONS FOLLOWING CASTRATION.

Pain after castration. — Some horses are pained and very restless
for several hours after castration, and this may extend to cramps of
the bowels and violent colic. This is best kept in check by carefully
rubbing the patient dry when he rises from the operation, and then
leading him in hand for some time. If the pain still persists a
dose of laudanum (1 ounce for an adult) may be given.

Bleeding after castration. — Bleeding from the wound in the scro-
tum and from the little artery in the posterior portion of the sper-
matic cord always occurs, and in warm weather may appear to be
quite free. It scarcely ever lasts, however, more than 15 minutes,
and is easily checked by dashing cold water against the part.

Bleeding from the spermatic artery in the anterior part of the cord
may be dangerous when due precaution has not been taken to prevent
it. In such case the stump of the cord should be sought for and
the artery twisted with artery forceps or tied with a silk thread.
If the stump can not be found, pledgets of tow wet with tincture of
muriate of iron may be stuffed into the canal to favor the formation
of clot and the closure of the artery.

Strangulated sperirhatic cord. — If in castration the cord is left
too long, so as to hang out of the wound, the skin wound in con-
tracting grasps and strangles it, preventing the free return of blood
and causing a steadily advancing swelling. In addition the cord
becomes adherent to the lips of the wound in the skin, whence it
derives an increased supply of blood, and is thereb}^ stimulated to
more rapid swelling. The subject walks stiffly, with a straddling gait,
loses appetite, and has a rapid pulse and high fever. Examina-
tion of the wound discloses the partial closure of the skin wound and
the protrusion, from its lips, of the end of the cord, red, tense, and
varying in size from a hazelnut upward. If there is no material swell-
and little protrusion, the wound may be enlarged with the knife and
the end of the cord broken loose from any connection with the skin
and pushed up inside. If the swelling is larger, the mass constitutes
a tumor and must be removed. (See beloAv.)

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 171

Swelling of the sheath^ perils^ mid abdomen. — This occurs in cer-
tain unhealthy states of the system, in unhealthf ul seasons, as the re-
sult of operating without cleansing the sheath and penis, or of
keeping the subject in a filthy, impure building, as the result of
infecting the wound by hands or instruments bearing septic bacteria,
or as the result of premature closure of the wound, and imprison-
ment of matter.

Pure air and cleanliness of groin and wound are to be obtained.
Antiseptics, like the mercuric-chlorid lotion (1 part to 2,000) are ti>
be applied to the parts; the w^ound, if closed, is to be opened anew,
any accumulated matter or blood washed out, and the antiseptic
liquid freely applied. The most tense or dependent parts of the
swelling in sheath or penis, or beneath the belly, should be pricked at
intervals of 3 or 4 inches to a depth of half an inch, and antiseptics
freely applied to the surface. Fomentations with warm water may
also be used to favor oozing from the incisions and to encourage
the formation of white matter in the original wounds, which must not
be allowed to close again at once. A free, creamlike discharge im-
plies a healthy action in the sore, and is the precursor of recovery.

Phymosis and jjayxi-phyrrhosis. — In cases of swelling, as above, the
penis may be imprisoned within the sheath (phymosis) or protruded
and swollen so that it can not be retracted into it (paraphymosis).
In these cases the treatment indicated above, and especially the scarifi-
cations, will prove a useful preliminaiy resort. The use of astringent
lotions is always desirable, and in case of the protruded penis the
application of an elastic or simple linen bandage, so as to press the
blood and accumulated fluid out, will enable the operator to return it.

Tumors on the sperTnatic cord. — These are due to rough handling
or dragging upon the cord in castration, to strangulation of unduly
long cords in the external wound, to adhesion of the end of the cord
to the skin, to inflammation of the cord succeeding exposure to cold
or wet, or to the presence of infection {Staphylococcus hotrlomyces).
These tumors give rise to a stiff, straddling gait, and may be felt as
hard masses in the groin connected above with the cord. They may
continue to grow slowly for many years until they reach a weight of
15 or 20 pounds, and contract adhesions to all surrounding parts. If
disconnected from the skin and inguinal canal they may be removed
in the same manner as the testicle, while if larger and firmly adherent
to the skin and surrounding parts generally, they must be carefully
dissected from the parts, the arteries being tied as they are reached
and the cord finally torn through with an ecraseur. When the cord
has become swollen and indurated up into the abdomen such removal
is impossible, though a partial destruction of the mass may still be
attempted by passing white-hot, pointed irons upward toward the
inguinal ring in the center of the thickened and indurated cord.

172 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

CASTRATION BY THE COVERED OPERATION.

This is only required in case of hernia or protrusion of bowels or
omentum into the sac of the scrotum, and consists in the return of
the hernia and the application of the caustic clamps over the cord
and inner walls of the inguinal canal, so that the walls of the latter
become adherent above the clamps, the canal is obliterated, and fur-
ther protrusion is hindered. For the full description of this and of
the operation for hernia for geldings, see remarks on hernia.

CASTRATION OF THE MARE.

Castration is a much more dangerous operation in the mare than in
the females of other domesticated quadrupeds and should never be
resorted to except in animals that become unmanageable on the recur-
rence of heat and that will not breed or that are utterly unsuited to
lireeding. Formerly the operation was extensively practiced in
Europe, the incision being made through the flank, and a large pro-
portion of the subjects perished. By operating through the vagina
the risk can be largely obviated, as the danger of unhealthy inflam-
mation in the wound is greatly lessened. The animal should be
fixed in a trevis, with each foot fixed to a post and a sling placed
under the body, or it may be thrown and put under chloroform.
The manual operation demands special professional knowledge and
skill, but it consists essentially in making an opening through the
roof of the vagina just above the neck of the womb, then following
with the hand each horn of the womb until the ovary on that side
is reached and grasped between the lips of forceps and twisted otf.
It might be torn off by an ecraseur especially constructed for the
purpose. The straining that follows the operation may be checked
by ounce doses of laudanum, and any risk of protrusion of the bowels
may be obviated by applying the truss advised to prevent eversion
of the womb. To further prevent the pressure of the abdominal con-
tents against the vaginal wound the mare should be tied short and
high for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, after which I have found
it best to remove the truss and allow the privilege of lying down.
Another important point is to give bran mashes and other laxative
diet only, and in moderate quantity, for a fortnight, and to unload
the rectum by copious injections of warm water in case impaction is
imminent.

STERILITY.

Sterility may be in the male or in the female. If due to the stal-
lion, then all the mares put to him remain barren; if the fault is in
the mare, she alone fails to conceive, while other mares served by the
same stallion get in foal.

In the stallion sterility may be due to the following causes: (a)
Imperfect development of the testicles, as in cases in which they are

DISEASES OP THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 173

retained within the abdomen; (h) inflammation of the testicles, re-
siilting in induration; (c) fatty degeneration of the testicles, in stal-
lions liberally fed on starchy feed and not sufficiently exercised; (d)
fatty degeneration of the excretory ducts of the testicles (vasa defe-
rentia) ; (e) inflammation or ulceration of these ducts; (/) inflam-
mation or ulceration of the mucous membrane covering the penis;
{g) injuries to the penis from blows (often causing paralysis) ; (h)
warty growths on the end of the penis; (i) tumors of other kinds
(largely pigmentary), affecting the testicles or penis; (y) nervous
diseases which abolish the sexual appetite or that control the muscles
which are essential to the act of coition; (k) azoturia with resulting
weakness or paralysis of the muscles of the loins or the front of the
tliigh (above the stifle) ; (l) ossification (anchylosis) of the joints
of the back or loins, which render the animal unable to rear or
mount; (m) spavins, ringbones, or other painful affections of the
hind limbs, the pain of which in mounting causes the animal to sur-
denly stop short in the act. In the first three of these only {a, h,
and c) is there real sterility in the sense of the nondevelopment or
imperfect development of the male vivifying element (spermatozoa).
In the other examples the secretion may be imperfect in kind and
amount, but as copulation is prevented it can not reach and impreg-
nate the ovum.

In the mare barrenness is equally due to a variety of causes. In
a number of breeding studs the proportion of sterile mares has
varied from 20 to 40 per cent. It may be due to: (a) Imperfect
development of the ovary and nonmaturation of ova; (h) cystic
or other tumors of the ovary; (c) fatty degeneration of the ovary
in very obese, pampered mares; (d) fatty degeneration of the excre-
tory tubes of the ovrries (Fallopian tubes) ; (e) catarrh of the womb,
with mucopurulent discharge; (/) irritable condition of the womb,
with profuse secretion, straining, and ejection of the semen; (g)
nervous irritability, leading to the same expulsion of the male ele-
ment; (h) high condition (plethora), with profuse secretion and
excitement; (i) low condition, with imperfect maturation of the
ova and lack of sexual desire; (j) poor feeding, overwork, and
chronic debilitating diseases, as leading to the condition just named;
(k) closure of the neck of the womb, temporarily by spasm or per-
manently by inflammation and induration; (?) closure of the en-
trance to the vagina through imperforate hymen, a rare, though not
unknown, condition in the mare ; (m) acquired indisposition to breed,
seen in old, hard-worked mares which are first put to the stallion
when aged ; (n) change of climate has repeatedly been followed by
barrenness; (o) hybridity, which in male and female alike usually
entails stei'ility.

174 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Treatment. — The treatment of the majority of these conditions
will be found dealt with in other parts of this work, so that it is
only necessary here to name them as causes. Some, however, must
be specially referred to in this place. Stallions with undescended
testicles are bevond the reach of medicine, and should be castrated
and devoted to other uses. Indurated testicles may sometimes be
remedied in the early stages by smearing with a weak iodin ointment
daily for a length of time, and at the same time invigorating the
system by liberal feeding and judicious work. Fatty degeneration
is best met by an albuminoid diet (wheat bran, cottonseed meal,
rape cake) and constant, well-regulated work. Saccharine, starchy,
and fatty food (potatoes, wheat, corn, etc.) are to be specially
avoided. In the mare one diseased and irritable ovary should be
remo^■ed, to do away with the resulting excitability of the remainder
of the generative organs. An irritable womb, with frequent strain-
ing and the ejection of a profuse secretion, may sometimes be cor-
rected by a restricted diet and full but well-regulated work. Even
fatigue will act beneficially in some such cases, hence the practice of
the Arab riding his mare to exhaustion just before service. The
perspiration in such case, like the action of a purgative or the
abstraction of blood just before service, benefits, by rendering the
blood vessels less full, by lessening secretion in the womb and else-
where, and thus counteracting the tendency to the ejection and loss
of semen. If these means are ineifectual, a full dose of camphor (2
drams) or of salicin may at times assist. Low condition and anemia
demand just the opposite kind of treatment — rich, nourishing, al-
buminoid feed, bitter tonics (gentian), sunshine, gentle exercise,
liberal grooming, and supporting treatment generally are here in
order.

Spasmodic closure of the neck of the womb is common and is
easily remedied in the mare by dilatation with the fingers. The hand,
smeared with belladonna ointment and with the fingers drawn into
the form of a cone, is introduced through the vagina until the pro-
jecting, rounded neck of the womb is felt at its anterior end. This
is opened by the careful insertion of one finger at a time, until the
fingers have been passed through the constricted neck into the open
cavity of the womb. The introduction is made with a gentle, rotary
motion, and all precipitate violence is avoided, as abrasion, lacera-
tion, or other cause of irritation is likely to interfere with the
letention of the semen and conse<iuently with impregnation. If
the neck of the womb is rigid and unyielding from the induration
which follows inflammation — a rare condition in the mare, though
common in the cow — ^more force will be requisite, and it may even
be needful to incise the neck to the depth of one-sixth of an inch

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 175

in four or more opposite directions prior to forcible dilatation. The
incision may be made with a probe-pointed knife, and should be
done by a jjrof essional man if possible. The subsequent dilatation may
be best effected by the slow expansion of sponge or seaweed tents
inserted into the narrow canal. In such cases it is best to let the
wounds of the neck heal before putting to horse. An imperforate
hymen may be freely incised in a crucial manner until the passage
will admit the human hand. An ordinary knife may be used for this
purpose, and after the operation the stallion may be admitted at
once or only after the wounds have healed.

PREGNANCY.

INDICATIONS OF PREGNANCY.

As the mere fact of service by the stallion does not insure preg-
nancy, it is important that the result should be determined to save
the mare from unnecessary and dangerous work or medication when
actually in foal and to obviate wasteful and needless precautions
when she is not.

The cessation and nonrecurrence of the symptoms of heat (horsing)
are most significant, though not an infallible, sign of conception. If
the sexual excitement speedily subsides and the mare jjersistently
refuses the stallion for a month, she is probably pregnant. In very
exceptional cases a mare, though pregnant, will accept a second or
third service after weeks or months, and some mares will refuse the
horse persistently, though conception has not taken place, and this in
spite of warm weather, good condition of the mare, and liberal feed-
ing. The recurrence of heat in the pregnant mare is most liable to
take place in hot weather. If heat merely persists an undue length
of time after service, or if it reappears shortly after, in warm
weather and in a comparatively idle mare, on good feeding, it is
less significant, while the persistent absence of heat under such con-
ditions may be usually accepted as proof of conception.

An unwonted gentleness and docility on the part of a previously
irritable or vicious mare, and supervening on service, is an excellent
indication of pregnancy, the generative instinct which caused the
excitement having been satisfied.

An increase of fat, with softness and flabbiness of muscle, a loss of
energy, indisposition for active work, a manifestation of laziness,
indeed, and of fatigue early and easily induced, when preceded by
service, will usually imply conception.

Enlargement of the abdomen, especially in its lower third, with
slight falling in beneath the loins and hollowness of the back are sig-
nificant symptoms, though they may be entirely absent. Swelling

176 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

and firmness of the udder, with the smoothmg out of its wrinkles,
is a suggestive sign, even though it appears only at intervals during
gestation.

A steady increase in weight (1^ pounds daily) about the fourth or
fifth month is a useful indication of pregnancy. So is a swollen and
red or bluish-red appearance of the vaginal mucous membrane.

From the seventh or eighth month onward the foal may be felt by
the hand (palm or knuckles) pressed into the abdomen in front of the
left stifle. The sudden push displaces the foal. toward the opposite
side of the womb, and as it floats back its hard body is felt to strike
against the hand. If the pressure is maintained the movements of
the live foal are felt, and especially in the morning and after a drink
of cold water or during feeding. A drink of cold water will often
stimulate the fetus to movements that may be seen by the eye, but
an excess of iced water may prove injurious, even to the causing of
abortion. Cold water dashed on the belly has a similar effect on the
fetus and is equally provocative of abortion.

Examination of the uterus with the oiled hand introduced into the
rectum is still more satisfactory, and, if cautiously conducted, no
more dangerous. The rectum must be first emptied and then the
hand carried forward until it reaches the front edge of the pelvic
bones below, and pressed downward to ascertain the size and outline
of the womb. In the unimpregnated state the vagina and womb can
be felt as a single rounded tube, dividing in front to two smaller
tubes (the horns of the womb). In the pregnant mare not only the
body of the womb is enlarged, but still more so one of the horns
(right or left), and on compression the latter is found to contain a
hard, nodular body, floating in a liquid, which in the latter half of
gestation may be stimulated by gentle pressure to manifest spon-
taneous movements. By this method the presence of the fetus may
be determined as early as the third month. If the complete, natural
outline of the virgin womb can not be made out, careful examination
should always be made on the right and left side for the enlarged
horn and its living contents. Should there still be difficulty the mare
should be placed on an inclined plane, with her hind parts lowest,
and two assistants, standing on opposite sides of the bod}'^, should
raise the lower part of the abdomen by a sheet passed beneath it.
Finally the ear or stethoscope applied on the wall of the abdomen
in front of the stifle may detect the beating of the fetal heart (one
hundred and twenty-five a minute) and a blowing sound (the uterine
sougli), much less rapid and corresponding to the number of the
pulse of the dam. It is heard most satisfactorily after the sixth or
eightli month and in the absence of active rumbling of the bowels
of the dam.

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 177

DURATION OF PREGNANCY.

Mares usually go about eleven months with young, though first
pregnancies often last a year. Foals have lived when born at the
three hundredth day, so with others carried till the four hundredth
day. With the longer pregnancies there is a greater probability of
male offspring.

HYGIENE OF THE PREGNANT MARE.

The pregnant mare should not be exposed to teasing by a young
and ardent stallion, nor should she be overworked or fatigued, par-
ticularly under the saddle or on uneven ground. Yet exercise is bene-
ficial to both mother and offspring, and in the absence of moderate
work the breeding mare should be kept in a lot where she can take
exercise at will.

The feed should be liberal, but not fattening — oats, bran, sound
hay, and other feeds rich in the principles which form flesh and bone
being especially indicated. All aliments that tend to indigestion are
to be especially avoided. Thus rank, aqueous, rapidly growing
grasses and other green feed, partially ripe rye grass, millet, Hun-
garian grass, vetches, peas, beans, or maize are objectionable, as is
overripe, fibrous, innutritious hay, or that which has been injured
and rendered musty by wet, or that which is infested with smut or
ergot. Feed that tends to costiveness should be avoided. Water
given often, and at a temperature considerable above freezing, will
avoid the dangers of indigestion, which result from taking too much
ice-cold water at one time. Very cold or frozen feed is objectionable
in the same sense. Severe surgical operations and medicines that
act violently on the womb, bowels, or kidneys are to be avoided as
being liable to cause abortion. Constipation should be corrected, if
possible, by bran mashes, carrots, or beets, seconded by exercise, and
if a medicinal laxative is required it should be olive oil or other
equally bland agent.

The stall of the pregnant mare should not be too narrow, so as to
cramp her when lying down or to entail violent effort in getting up,
and it should not slope too much from the front backward, as this
throws the weight of the uterus back on the pelvis and endangers
protrusions and even abortion. It is important to prevent pro-
longed, acute suffering by the pregnant mare, as certain troubles of
the eyes, feet, and joints in the foals have been clearly traced to cor-
responding injured organs in herself. Sire and dam alike tend to
54763°— 23 12

178 mSEASES OF THE HORSE.

reproduce their individual defects which predispose to disease, l)ut
the dam is far more liable to perpetuate the evil in her progeny whicfi:
was carried while she was individually enduring severe suffering;
caused by such defects. Hence, an active bone spavin or ringbone^
causing lameness, is more objectionable than that in which the in-
flammation and lameness have both passed, and an active ophthalmia
is more to be feared than even an old cataract. For this reason all
active diseases in the breeding mare should be soothed and abated
as early as possible.

EXTRA-UTERINE GESTATION.

It is rare in the domestic animals to find the fetus developed else-
where than in the womb. The exceptional forms are those in which
the sperm of the male, making its way through the womb and Fallo-
pian tubes, impregnates the ovum prior to its escape, and in which
the now vitalized and growing ovum, by reason of its gradually in-
creasing size, becomes imprisoned and fails to escape into the womb.
The arrest of the ovum may be in the substance of the ovary itself
(ovarian pregnancy), in the Fallopian tube (tubal pregnancy), or
when by its continuous enlargement it has ruptured its envelopes so
that it escapes into the cavity of the abdomen, it may become attached
to any part of the serous membrane and draw its nourishment di-
rectly from that (abdominal pregnancy). In all such cases there is
an increase and enlargement of the capillary blood vessels at the
point to which the embryo has attached itself so as to furnish the
needful nutriment for the growing offspring.

All appreciable symptoms are absent, unless from the death of the
fetus, or its interference with normal functions, general disorder and
indications of parturition supervene. If these occur later than, the
natural time for parturition, they are the more significant. There
may be general malaise, loss of appetite, elevated temperature, acceler-
ated pulse, with or without distinct labor pains. Examination with
the oiled hand in the rectum will reveal the womb of the natural,
unimpregnated size and shape and with both horns of one size. Fur-
ther exploration may detect an elastic mass apart from the womb, in
the interior of which may be felt the characteristic solid body of the
fetus. If the latter is still alive and can be stimulated to move, the
evidence is even more perfect. The fetus may die and be carried
for years, its soft structures becoming absorbed so as to leave only the
bones, or by pressure it may form a fistulous opening through the
abdominal walls, or less frequently through the vagina or rectum. In
the latter cases the best course is to favor the expulsion of the foal and
to wash out the resulting cavity with a solution of carbolic acid 1 part

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 179

to water 50 parts. This may be repeated daily. When there is no
spontaneous opening it is injudicious to interfere, as the danger from
the retention of the fetus is less than that from septic fermentation
in the enormous fetal sac when that has been opened to the air.

MOLES, OR ANIDIAN MONSTERS.

These are evidently products of conception, in which the impreg-
nated ovum has failed to develop naturally, and presents only a cha-
otic mass of skin, hair, bones, muscles, etc., attached to the inner
surface of the womb by an umbilical cord, which is itself often shriv-
eled and w^asted. They are usually accompanied with a well-devel-
oped fetus, so that the mole may be looked upon as a twin which has
undergone arrest and vitiation of development. They are expelled
by the ordinary process of parturition, and usually at the same time
with the normally developed offspring.

CYSTIC DISEASE OF THE WALLS OF THE WOMB, OR VESICULAR MOLE.

This condition appears to be attributable to hypertrophy (enlarge-
ment) of the villi on the inner surface of the womb, which become
greatly increased in number and hollowed out internally into a series
of cysts, or pouches, containing liquid. Unlike the true mole, there-
fore, they appear to be disease of the maternal structure of the womb
rather than of the product of conception. Eodet, in a case of this
kind, which had produced active labor pains, quieted the disorder
with anodynes and effected a recovery. Wlien this can not be done,
attempts may be made to remove the mass with the ecraseur or other-
wise, following it up with antiseptic injections, as advised under the
last heading.

DROPSY OF THE WOMB.

This appears as a result of some disease of the walls of the womb,
but has been frequently observed as the result of infection after sex-
ual congress, and has, therefore, been confounded with pregnancy.
The symptoms are those of pregnancy, but without any movements of
the fetus and without the detection of any solid body in the womb
when examined with the oiled hand in the rectum. At the end of
four or eight months there are signs of parturition or of frequent
straining to pass urine, and after a time the liquid is discharged clear
and watery, or muddy, thick, and fetid. The hand introduced into
the womb can detect neither fetus nor fetal membrane. If the neck
of the womb closes, the liquid may accumulate a second time, or even
a third, if no means are taken to disinfect it or to correct the tend-
ency. The best resort is to remove any diseased product that may be
found attached to the walls of the womb and to inject it daily with a
warm solution of carbolic acid 2 drams, chlorid of zinc one-half

180 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

dram, water 1 quart. A course of bitter tonics (gentian 2 drams,
sulphate of iron 2 drams, daily) should be given, and a nutritious,
easily digested, and slightly laxative diet allowed.

DROPSY OF THE AMNION.

This differs from simple dropsy of the w^omb in that the fluid col-
lects in the inner of the tAvo water bags (that in w'hich the foal floats)
and not in the otherwise void cavity of the womb. This affection
can occur only in the pregnant animal, while dropsy of the womb
occurs in the unimpregnated. The blood of the pregnant mare con-
tains an excess of water and a smaller proportion of albumen and red
globules, 'and when this condition is still further aggi'avated by poor
feeding and other unhygienic conditions there is developed the tend-
ency to liquid transudation from the vessels and dropsy. As the
watery condition of the blood increases with advancing pregnancy,
so dropsy of the amnion is a disease of the last four or five months of
gestation. The abdomen is large and pendulous, and the swelling
fluctuates under pressure, though the solid body of the fetus can still
be felt to strike against the hand pressed into the swelling. If the
hand is introduced into the vagina, the womb is found to be tense and
round, with the projecting rounded neck effaced, Avhile the hand in
the rectum will detect the rounded, swollen mass of the womb so firm
and tense that the body of the fetus can not be felt wdthin it. The
mare moves weakly and unsteadily on her limbs, having difficulty in
supporting the great weighty and in bad cases there may be loss of
appetite, stocking (drop)sy) of the hind limbs, difficult breathing, and
colicky pains. The tension may lead to abortion, or a slow, labo-
rious parturition may occur at the usual time.

Treatment consists in relieving the tension and accumulation by
puncturing the fetal membrane with a cannula and trocar introduced
through the neck of the w^omb and the w^ithdrawal of the trocar so
as to leave the cannula in situ, or the membranes may be punctured
with the finger and the excess of liquid allowed to escape. This may
bring on abortion, or the w^omb may close and gestation continue to
the full term. A course of tonics (gentian root 2 drams, sulphate of
iron 2 drams, daily) will do much to fortify the system and counter-
act further excessive effusion.

DROPSY OF THE LIMBS. PERINEUM, AND ABDOMEN.

The disposition to dropsy often shows itself in the hind and even
in the fore limbs, around and beneath the vulva (perineum), and be-
neath the abdomen and chest. The affected parts are SAVollen and
pit on pressure, but are not especially tender, and subside more or
less perfectly under exercise, hand rubbing, and bandages. In ob-
stinate cases rubbing: with the following liniment may be resorted to :

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 181

Compound tincture of iodin, 2 ounces; tannic acid^ one-half dram;
water, 10 ounces. It does not last more than, a day or two after
parturition.

CRAMPS OF THE HIND LIMBS.

The pressure of the distended womb on the nerves and blood vessels
of the pelvis, besides conducing to dropsy, occasionally causes cramps
of the hind limbs. The limb is raised without flexing the joints, the
front of the hoof being directed toward the ground, or, the spasms
occurring intermittently, the foot is kicked violently against the
ground several times in rapid succession. The muscles are felt to be
firm and rigid. The cramp may be promptly relieved by active rub-
bing or by walking the animal about, and it does not reappear after
parturition.

CONSTIPATION.

This may result from compression by gravid womb, and is best
corrected by a graduated allowance of boiled flaxseed.

PARALYSIS.

The pressure on the nerves of the pelvis is liable to cause paralysis
of the hind limbs or of the nerve of sight. These are obstinate until
after parturition, when they recover spontaneously, or under a
course of nux vomica and (local) stimulating liniments.

PROLONGED RETENTION OF THE FETUS (FOAL).

Though far less frequently than in the case of the cow, parturition
may not be completed at term, and the mare, to her serious and even
fatal injury, may carry the foal in the womb for a number of months.
Hamon records one case in which the mare died after carrying the
fetus for 17 months, and Caillier a similar result after it had been
carried 22 months. In these cases the fetus retained its natural form,
but in one reported by Gohier the bones only were left in the womb
amid a mass of apparently purulent matter.

Cause. — The cause may be any effective obstruction to the act of
parturition, such as lack of contractile power in the womb, unduly
strong (inflammatory) adhesions between the womb and the fetal
membranes, wrong presentation of the fetus, contracted pelvis (from
fracture or disease of the bones), or disease and induration of the
neck of the womb.

The mere prolongation of gestation does not necessarily entail the
death of the foal; hence the latter has been born alive at the four
himdredth day. Even when the foal has perished putrefaction does
not set in unless the membranes (water bags) have been ruptured and
septic bacteria have been admitted to the interior of the womb. In
the latter case a fetid decomposition advances rapidly, and the mare
usually perishes from poisoning with the putrid matters absorbed.

182 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

At the natural period of parturition preparations are apparently
made for that act. The vulva swells and discharges much mucus, the
udder enlarges, the belly becomes more pendent, and the animal
strains more or less. No progress is made, however; there is not
even opening of the neck of the womb, and after a time the symptoms
subside. The mare usually refuses the male, yet there are exceptions
to this rule. If the neck of the womb has been opened and putrefy-
ing changes in its contents have set in, the mare loses appetite and
condition, pines, discharges an offensive matter from the generative
passages, and dies of inflammation of the womb and putrid infection.
In other cases there is a slow wearing out of the strength, and she
finally dies of exhaustion.

The treatment is such as will facilitate the expulsion of the fetus
and its membranes and the subsequent washing out of the womb with
disinfectants. So long as the mouth of the womb is closed time
should be allowed for its natural dilatation, but if this does not come
about after a day or two of straining, the opening may be smeared
with extract of belladonna, and the oiled hand, with the fingers and
thumb drawn into the form of a cone, may be inserted bv slow oscil-
lating movements into the interior of the womb. The water bags
may now be ruptured, any malpresentation rectified (see "Difficult
parturition"), and delivery effected. After removal of the mem-
branes wash out the womb first with tepid water and then with a solu-
tion of 2 ounces of borax in half a gallon of water.

This injection may have to be repeated if a discharge sets in. The
same course may be pursued even after prolonged retention. If the
soft parts of the fetus have been absorbed and the bones only left,
these must be carefully sought for and removed, and subsequent daily
injections will be required for some time. In such cases, too, a course
of iron tonics (sulphate of iron, 2 drams daily) will be highly bene-
ficial in restoring health and vigor.

ABORTION.

Abortion is, strictly speaking, the expulsion of the impregnated
ovum at any period from the date of impregnation until the foal can
survive out of the womb. If the foal is advanced enough to live, it
is premature parturition, and in the mare this may occur as early as
the tenth month (three hundredth day).

The mare may abort by reason of almost any cause that very pro-
foundly disturbs the system; hence, very violent inflammations of
important internal organs (bowels, kidneys, bladder, lungs) may in-
duce abortion. Profuse diarrhea, whether occurring from the reck-
less use of purgatives, the consumption of irritants in the feed, or a
simple indigestion, is an effective cause. Xo less so is acute indiges-
tion with evolution of gas in the intestines (bloating). The presence

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 183

of stone in the kidneys, uterus, bladder, or urethra may induce so
much sympathetic disorder in the womb as to induce abortion. In
exceptional cases wherein mares come in heat during gestation, service
by the stallion may cause abortion. Blows or pressure on the abdo-
men, rapid driving or riding of the pregnant mare, especially if she
is soft and out of condition from idleness, the brutal use of the spur
or whip, and the jolting and straining of travel by rail or boat are
prolific causes. Bleeding the pregnant mare, a painful surgical op-
eration, and the throwing and constraint resorted to for an operation
are other causes. Traveling on heavy, muddy roads, slips and falls
on ice, and jumping must be added. The stimulation of the abdom-
inal organs by a full drink of iced water may precipitate a miscar-
riage, as may exposure to a cold rainstorm or a very cold night after a
warm day. Irritant poisons that act on the urinary or generative
organs, such as Spanish flies, rue, savin, tansy, cotton-root bark, ergot
of rye or other grasses, the smut of maize and other grain, and
various fungi in musty fodder are additional causes. Frosted or
indigestible feed, and, above all, green succulent vegetables in a
frozen state, have proved effective factors, and filthy, stagnant water
is dangerous. Low condition in the dam and plethora have in oppo-
site ways caused abortion, and hot, relaxing stables and lack of
exercise strongly conduce to it. The exhaustion of the sire by too
frequent service, entailing debility of the offspring and disease of
the fetus or of its envelopes, must be recognized as a further cause.

The symptoms vary mainly according as the abortion is early or
late in pregnancy. In the first month or two of pregnancy the mare
may miscarry without observable symptoms, and the fact appears
onlj^ by her coming in heat. If more closely observed a small clot
of blood may be found behind her, in which a careful search reveals
the rudiments of the foal. If the occurrence is somewhat later in
gestation, there will be some general disturbance, loss of appetite,
neighing, and straining, and the small body of the fetus is expelled,
enveloped in its membranes. Abortions during the later stages of
pregnancy are attended with greater constitutional disturbance, and
the process resembles normal parturition, with the aggravation that
more effort and straining is requisite to force the fetus through the
comparatively undilatable mouth of the womb. There is the swelling
of the vulva, with mucus or even bloody discharge; the abdomen
droops, the flanks fall in, the udder fills, the mare looks at her flanks,
paws with the fore feet and kicks with the hind, switches the tail,
moves around uneasily, lies down and rises, strains, and, as in natural
foaling, expels first mucus and blood, then the waters, and finally the
fetus. This may occupy an hour or two, or it may be prolonged for
a day or more, the symptoms subsiding for a time, only to reappear
with renewed energy. If there is malpresentation of the fetus it will

184 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

hinder progress until rectified, as in difficult parturition. Abortion
may also be followed by the same accidents, as flooding, retention of
the placenta, and leucorrhea.

The most important object in an impending abortion is to recog-
nize it at as early a stage as possible, so that it may, if possible, be
cut short and prevented. Any general, indefinable illness in a preg-
nant mare should lead to a close examination of the vulva as regards
swelling, vascularity of its mucous membrane, and profuse mucus
secretion, and, above all, any streak or staining of blood; also the
condition of the udder, if that is congested and swollen. Any such
indication, with colicky pains, straining, however little, and active
movement of the fetus or entire absence of movement, are suggestive
symptoms and should be duly counteracted.

The changes in the vulva and udder, with a soiled and bloody con-
dition of the tail, may suggest an abortion already accomplished, and
the examination with the hand in the vagina may detect the mouth
of the womb soft and dilatable and the interior of the organ slightly
filled with a bloody liquid.

TreatTTient should be preventive if possible, and would embrace the
avoidance of all causes mentioned, and particularly of such as may
seem to be particularly operative in the particular case. If abortions
have already occurred in a stud, the especial cause in the matter of
feed, water, exposure to injuries, overwork, lack of exercise, etc.,
may often be identified and removed. A most important point is to
avoid all causes of constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, bloating, vio-
lent purgatives, diuretics or other potent medicines, painful opera-
tions, and slippery roads, unless well frosted.

Wlien abortion is imminent, the mare should be placed alone in a
roomy, dark, quiet stall, and have the straining checked by some
sedative. Laudanum is usually at hand and may be given in doses of
1 or 2 ounces, according to size, and re ideated after two or three hours,
and even daily if necessary. Chloroform or chloral In'drate, 3 drams,
may be substituted if more convenient. These should be given in a
pint or quart of water, to avoid burning the mouth and throat. Or
Viburnum, prunifoUum, (black haw), 1 ounce, may be given and re-
])eated if necessary to prevent straining.

When all measures fail and miscarriage proceeds, all that can be
done is to assist in the removal of the fetus and its membranes, as in
ordinary parturition. As in the case of retention of the fetus, it may
be necessary after delivery to employ antiseptic injections into the
womb to covmteract putrid fermentation. This, however, is less nec-
essary in the mare than in the cow, in which the prevalent contagious
abortion must be counteracted by the persistent local use of antisep-
tics. After abortion a careful hygiene is demanded, especially in the
matter of pure air and easily digestible feed. The mare should not

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE OROANS. 185

be served again for a month or longer, and in no case until after all
discharge from the vulva has ceased.

INFECTIOUS ABORTION IN MARES.

This disease is discussed in the chapter on " Infectious Diseases."

PARTURITION.

SYMPTOMS OF PARTURITION.

As the period of parturition approaches, the swelling of the udder
bespeaks the coming event, the engorgement in exceptional cases
extending forward on the lower surface of the abdomen and even into
the hind limbs. For about a week a serous fluid oozes from the teat
and concretes as a yellow, waxlike mass around its orifice. About
24 hours before the birth this gives place to a whitish, milky liquid,
which falls upon and mats the hairs on the inner sides of the
legs. Another symptom is enlargement of the vulva, with redness
of its lining membrane, and the escape of glairy mucus. The belly
droops, the flanks fall in, and the loins may even become depressed.
Finally the mare becomes uneasy, stops feeding, looks anxious,
whisks her tail, and may lie down and rise again. In many mares
this is not repeated, but they remain down; violent contractions of
the abdominal muscles ensue; after two or three pains the water
bags appear and burst, followed by the fore feet of the foal, with
the nose between the knees, and by a few more throes the fetus is
expelled. In other cases the act is accomplished standing. The
whole act may not occupy more than 5 or 10 minutes. This, together
with the disposition of the mare to avoid observation, renders the
act one that is rarely seen by the attendants.

The navel string, which connects the foal to the membranes, is
ruptured when the fetus falls to the ground, or when the mare rises,
if she has been down, and the membranes are expelled a few minutes
later.

NATURAL PRESENTATION.

Wlien there is a single foal, the common and desirable presentation
is with the fore feet first, the nose between the knees, and with the
front of the hoofs and knees and the forehead directed upward toward
the anus, tail, and croup. (Plate XII, fig. 1.) In this way the
natural curvature of the body of the fetus corresponds to the curve
of the womb and genital passages, and particularly of the bony
pelvis, and the foal passes with much greater ease than if placed
with its back downward toward the udder. When there is a twin
birth the second foal usually comes with its hind feet first, and the
backs of the legs, the points of the hocks, and the tail and croup are
turned upward toward the anus and tail of the mare. (Plate XII,

186 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

fig. 2.) In this way, even with a posterior presentation, the curva-
ture of the body of the foal still corresponds to that of the passages,
and its expulsion may be quite as easy as in anterior presentation.
Any presentation aside from these two may be said to be abnormal
and will be considered under " Difficult parturition."

PREMATURE LABOR PAINS.

These may be brought on by any violent exertion, use under the
saddle, or in heavy draft, or in rapid paces, or in travel by rail or sea,
blows, kicks, crushing by other animals in a doorway or gate. Ex-
cessive action of purgative or diuretic agents, or of agents that irri-
tate the bowels or kidneys, like arsenic, paris green, all caustic salts
and acids, and acrid and narcotico-acrid vegetables, is equally in-
jurious. Finally, the ingestion of agents that stimulate the action of
the gravid womb (ergot of rye or of other grasses, smut, various
fungi of fodders, rue, savin, cotton root, etc.) may bring on labor
pains prematurely.

Besides the knowledge that parturition is not yet due, there will be
less enlargement, redness, and swelling of the vulva, less mucous dis-
charge, less filling of the udder, and fewer appearances of wax and
probably none of milk from the ends of the teats. The oiled hand
introduced into the vulva will not enter with the ease usual at full
term, and the neck of the womb will be felt not only closed, but with
its projecting papillae, through which it is perforated, not yet flat-
tened down and effaced, as at full term. The symptoms are, indeed,
those of threatened abortion, but at such an advanced stage of gesta-
tion as is compatible with the survival of the offspring.

Treatment. — The treatment consists in the separation of the mare,
in a quiet, dark, secluded place, from all other animals, and the free
use of antispasmodics and anodynes. Opium in dram doses every
two hours, or laudanum in ounce doses at similar intervals, will often
suffice. When the more urgent symptoms have subsided these doses
may be relocated thrice a day till all excitement passes off or until the
passages have become relaxed and prepared for parturition. Yiburn-
um fimmf oliuTYh (black haw), in ounce doses, may be added if neces-
sary. Should parturition become inevitable, it may be favored and
any necessary assistance furnished.

DIFFICULT PARTURITION.

With natural presentation this is a rare occurrence. The great
length of the fore limbs and face entail, in the anterior presentation,
the formation of a long cone, which dilates and glides through the
passages with comparative ease. Even with the hind feet first a simi-
lar conical form is presented, and the process is rendered easy and

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 187

quick. Difficulty and danger arise mainly from the act being brought
on prematurely before the passages are sufficiently dilated, from nar-
rowing of the pelvic bones or other mechanical obstruction in the
passages, from monstrous distortions or duplications in the fetus,
or from the turning back of one of the members so that the elongated
conical or wedge-shaped outline is done away with. Prompt as is tlie
normal parturition in the mare, however, difficult and delayed par-
turitions are surrounded by special dangers and require unusual
precautions and skill. From the proclivity of the mare to unhealthy
inflammations of the peritoneum and other abdominal organs, pene-
trating wounds of the womb or vagina are liable to prove fatal.
The contractions of the womb and abdominal walls are so powerful
as to exhaust and benumb the arm of the assistant and to endanger
penetrating wounds of the genital organs. By reason of the looser
connection of the fetal membranes with the womb, as compared with
those of ruminants, the violent throes early detach these membranes
throughout their whole extent, and the foal, being thus separated
from the mother and thrown on its own resources, dies at an early
stage of any protracted parturition. The foal rarely survives four
hours after the onset of parturient throes. From the great length
of the limbs and neck of the foal it is extremely difficult to secure
and bring up limb or head which has been turned back when it
should have been presented. Wlien assistance must be rendered,
the operator should don a thick woolen undershirt with the sleeves
cut out at the shoulders. This protects the body and leaves the whole
arm free for manipulation. Before inserting the arm it should be
smeared with lard. This protects the skin against septic infection
and favors the introduction of the hand and arm. The hand should
be inserted with the thumb and fingers drawn together like a cone.
Whether standing or lying, the mare should be turned with head
downhill and hind parts raised as much as possible. The contents
of the abdomen gravitating forward leave much more room for
manipulation. Whatever part of the foal is presented (head, foot)
should be secured with a cord and running noose before it is pushed
back to search for the other missing parts. Even if a missing part
is reached, no attempt should be made to bring it up during a labor
pain. Pinching the back will sometimes check the pains and allow
the operator to secure and bring up the missing member. In intract-
able cases a large dose of chloral hydrate (1 ounce in a quart of
water) or the inhalation of chloroform and air (equal proportions)
to insensibility may secure a respite, during which the missing
members may be replaced. If the waters have been discharged and
the mucus dried up, the genital passages and body of the fetus
should be lubricated with lard or oil before any attempt at extrac-
tion is made. AVlien the missing member has been brought up into

188 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

position and presentation has been rendered natural, traction on
the fetus must be made only during a labor pain. If a mare is
inclined to kick, it may be necessary to apply hobbles to protect the
operator.

Difficult parturition from narrow pelvis. — A disproportion
between the fetus got by a large stallion and the pelvis of a small
dam is a serious obstacle to parturition, sometimes seen in the mare.
This is not the rule, however, as the foal up to birth usually accommo-
dates itself to the size of the dam, as illustrated in the successful
crossing of Percheron stallions on mustang mares. If the dispro-
portion is too great the only resort is embryotomy.

Fractured hip bones. — More commonly the obstruction comes
from distortion and narrowing of the pelvis as the result of fractures.
(Plate XIII, fig. 2.) Fractures at any point of the lateral wall or
floor of the pelvis are repaired with the formation of an extensive
bony deposit bulging into the passage of the pelvis. The displace-
ment of the ends of the broken bone is another cause of constriction,
and between the two conditions the passage of the fetus may be ren-
dered impossible without embryotomy. Fracture of the sacrum (the
continuation of the backbone forming the croup) leads to the de-
pression of the posterior part of that bone in the roof of the pelvis
and the narrowing of the passage from above downward by a bony
ridge presenting its sharp edge forward.

In all cases in which there has been injury to the bones of the pelvis
the obvious precaution is to withhold the mare from breeding and to
use her for work only.

If a mare with a pelvis thus narrowed has got in foal inadvert-
ently, abortion may be induced in the early months of gestation by
slowly introducing the oiled finger through the neck of the womb
and following this by the other fingers until the whole hand has
V)een introduced. Then the water bags may be broken, and with the
escape of the liquid the womb will contract on the solid fetus and
labor pains will ensue. The fetus being small will pass easily.

Tumors in the vagina and pelvis. — Tumors of various kinds may
form in the vagina or elsewhei-e within the pelvis, and when large
enough will obstruct or prevent the passage of the fetus. Gray mares,
which are so subject to black pigment tumors (melanosis) on the
tail, anus, and vulva, are the most liable to suffer fi-om this. Still
more rarely the wall of the vagina becomes relaxed, and being pressed
l)y a mass of intestines will protrude through the lips of the vulva
as a hernial sac, containing a part of the bowels. If a tumor is small
it may only retard and not absolutely prevent parturition. A hernial
l)rotrusion of the wall of the vagina may be pressed back and
emptied, so that the body of the fetus engaging in the passage may

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 189

find no further obstacle. When a tumor is too large to allow delivery
the only resort is to remove it, but before proceeding it must be
clearly made out that the obstruction is a mass of diseased tissue, and
not a sac containing intestines. If the tumor hangs by a neck it can
usually be most safely removed by the ecraseur, the chain being
passed around the pedicel and gradually tightened until that is torn
through.

Hernia or the womb. — The rupture of the musculo-fibrous floor of
the belly and the escape of the gravid womb into a sac formed by
the peritoneum and skin hanging toward the ground is described by
all veterinary obstetricians, yet it is very rarely seen in the mare.
The form of the fetus can be felt through the walls of the sac, so
that it is easy to recognize the condition. Its cause is usually exter-
nal violence, though it may start from an umbilical hernia. When
the period of parturition arrives, the first effort should be to return
the fetus within the proper abdominal cavity, and this can sometimes
be accomplished with the aid of a stout blanket gradually tightened
around the belly. This failing, the mare may be placed on her side
or back and gravitation brought to the aid of manipulation in effect-
ing tne return. Even after the hernia has been reduced the relaxed
state of the womb and abdominal walls may serve to hinder parturi-
tion, in which case the oiled hand must be introduced through the
vagina, the fetus brought into position, and traction coincident with
the labor pains employed to produce delivery.

Twisting or the neck of the womb. — This condition is very
uncommon in the mare, though occasionally seen in the cow, owing
to the greater laxity of the broad ligaments of the womb in that
animal. It consists in a revolution of the womb on its own axis,
so that its right or left side will be turned upward (quarter revolu-
tion), or the lower surface may be turned upward and the upper
surface downward (half revolution). The effect is to throw the
narrow neck of the womb into a series of spiral folds, turning in
the direction in which the womb has revolved, closing the neck and
rendering distention and dilatation impossible.

The period and pains of parturition arrive, but in spite of contin-
ued efforts no progress is made, neither water bags nor liquids
appearing. The oiled hand introduced into the closed neck of the
womb will readily detect the spiral direction of the folds on its inner
surface.

The method of relief which I have successfully adopted in the
cow may be equally effective in the mare. The dam is placed (with
her head uphill) on her right side if the upper folds of the spiral
turn toward the right, and on her left side if they turn toward the
left, and the oiled hand is introduced through the neck of the womb
and a limb or other part of the body of the fetus is seized and

190 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

pressed against the wall of the womb, while two or three assistants
turn the animal over on her back toward the other side. The object
is to keep the womb stationary while the animal is rolling. If suc-
cess attends the effort, the constriction around the arm is suddenly
relaxed, the spiral folds are effaced, and the water bags and fetus
press forward into the passage. If the first attempt does not succeed.
it may be repeated again and again until success crowns the effort.
Among my occasional causes of failure have been the prior death
and decomposition of the fetus, with the extrication of gas and over-
distention of the womb, and the supervention of inflammation and
inflammatory exudation around the neck of the womb, which hinders
untwisting. The first of these conditions occurs early in the horse
from the detachment of the fetal membranes from the wall of the
womb ; and as the mare is more subject to fatal peritonitis than the
cow, it may be concluded that both these sources of failure are more
probable in the former subject.

'\^nien the case is intractable, though the hand may be easily intro-
duced, the instrument shown in Plate XIV, figure 7, may be used.
Each hole at the small end of the instrument has passed through it
a stout cord with a running noose, to be passed around two feet or
other portion of the fetus which it may be possible to reach. The
cords are then drawn tight and fixed around the handle of the instru-
ment ; then, by using the cross handle as a lever, the fetus and womb
may be rotated in a direction opposite to that causing the obstruction.
During this process the hand must be introduced to feel when the
twist has been undone. This method may be supplemented, if neces-
sary, by rolling the mare as described above.

Effusion of blood in the vaginal walls. — This is common as
a result of difficult parturition, but it may occur from local injury
before that act, and may seriously interfere with it. This condition
is easily recognized by the soft, doughy swelling so characteristic
of blood clots, and by the dark-red color of the mucous membrane.
J have laid open such swellings with the knife as late as 10 days
before parturition, evacuated the clots, and dressed the wound daily
with an astringent lotion (sulphate of zinc 1 dram, carbolic acid
1 dram, water 1 quart). A similar resort might be had, if necessary,
during parturition.

Calculus ( stone ) and tumor in the bladder. — The pressure upon
the bladder containing a stone or a tumor may prove so painful that
the mare will voluntarily suppress the labor pains. Examination
of the bladder with the finger introduced through the urethra will
detect the offending agent. A stone should be extracted with forceps.
(See "Lithotomy.'') The large papillary tumors which I have met
with in the mare's bladder have been invariably delicate in texture

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 191

rnd could be removed piecemeal by forceps. Fortunately, mares
atfected in this way rarely breed.

Fecal impaction of the rectum. — In some animals, with more or
less paralj^sis or weakness of the tail and rectum, the rectum may be-
come so impacted with solid feces that the mare is unable to discharge
them, and the accumulation both by reason of the mechanical ob-
struction and the pain caused by pressure upon it will impel the
animal to cut short all labor pains. The rounded swelling surround-
ing the anus will at once suggest the condition, when the obstruction
may be removed by the well-oiled or well-soaped hand.

Spasm of the neck of the womb. — This occurs in the mare of
specially excitable temperament, or under particular causes of irrita-
tion, local or general. Labor pains, though continuing for some time,
produce no dilatation of the neck of the womb, which will be found
firmly closed so as to admit but one or two fingers ; this, although the
projection at the mouth of the womb may have been entirely effaced,
so that a simple round opening is left, with rigid margins.

The simplest treatment consists in smearing this part with solid
extract of belladonna, and after an interval inserting the hand with
fingers and thumb drawn into the form of a cone, rupturing the
membranes and bringing the fetus into position for extraction, as
advised under " Prolonged retention of the fetus." Another mode
is to insert through the neck of the womb an ovoid rubber bag,
empty, and furnished with an elastic tube 12 feet long. Carry the
free end of this tube upward to a height of 8, 10, or 12 feet, insert
a filler into it, and proceed to distend the bag with tepid or warm
water.

Fibrous bands constricting or crossing the neck or the womb. —
These, occurring as the result of disease, have been several times
observed in the mare. They may exist in the cavity of the abdomen
and compress and obstruct the neck of the womb, or they may extend
from side to side of the vagina across and just behind the neck of the
womb. In the latter position they may be felt and quickly remedied
by cutting them across. In the abdomen they can be reached only by
incision, and two alternatives are presented : ( 1 ) To perform embry-
otomy and extract the fetus piecemeal, and (2) to make an incision
into the abdomen and extract by the Caesarean operation, or simply to
cut the constricting band and attempt delivery by the usual channel.

Fibrous constriction of vagina or vulva. — This is probably al-
ways the result of direct mechanical injury and the formation of
rigid cicatrices which fail to dilate with the remainder of the pas-
sages at the approach of parturition. The presentation of the fetus
in the natural way and the occurrence of successive and active labor
pains without any favorable result will direct attention to the rigid
and unyielding cicatrices which may be incised at one, two, or more

19ii DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

points to a depth of half an inch or more, after which the natural
expulsive efforts Avill usually prove effective. The resulting wounds
may be washed frequentl}' with a solution of 1 part of carbolic acid
to 50 parts of water, or of 1 part of mercuric chlorid to 1,000 parts
of water.

Fetus adherent to the walls of the womb. — In inflammation of
the mucous membrane lining the cavity of the womb and implicat-
ing the fetal membranes the resulting embryonic tissue sometimes
establishes a medium of direct continuity between the womb and fetal
membranes; the blood vessels of the one communicate freely with
those of the other and the fibers of the one are prolonged into the
other. This causes retention of the membranes after birth, and a
special risk of bleeding from the womb, and of septic poisoning. In
exceptional cases the adhesion is more extensive and binds a portion
of the body of the foal firmly to the womb. In such cases it has
I'epeatedly been found impossible to extract the foal until such ad-
hesions were broken down. If they can be reached with the hand
and recognized, they may be torn through with the fingers or with
a blunt hook, after which delivery may be attempted with hope of
success.

Excessive size of fetus. — It Avould seem that a small mare may
usually be safely bred to a large stallion, yet this is not always the
case, and when the small size is an individual rather than a racial
characteristic or the result of being very young, the rule can not
be expected to hold. There is always great danger in breeding the
young, small, and undeveloped female, and the dwarfed representa-
tive of a larger breed, as the offspring tend to partake of the large
race characteristics and to show them even prior to birth. When
impregnation has occurred in the very young or in the dwarfed
female there are two alternatives — to induce abortion or to wait imtil
there are attempts at parturition and to extract by embryotomy if
impracticable otherwise.

Constriction of a member by the navel string. — In man and
animals alike the winding of the umbilical cord around a member
of the fetus sometimes leads to the amputation of the latter. It is
also known to get wound around the neck or a limb at biith, but in
the mare this does not seriously impede parturition, as the loosely
attached membranes are easily separated from the womb and no
strangulation or retarding occurs. The foal may, however, die from
the cessation of the placental circulation unless it is speedily de-
livered.

Water in the head (hydrocephalus) of the foal. — This consists
in the excessive accumulation of liquid in the ventricles of the brain
so that the cranial cavity is enlarged and constitutes a great, project-
ing, rounded mass occupying the space from the eyes upward. (See

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

PLATK XII.

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^uaytet-ati ^ Jafea--S-9siij§iCa^iai^aByy»*^.- ^4a«^-ir;:<i-i-:!aisab«i,

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Hors6.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

3?I-.^vtih: XIV

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DISEASES OF THE GENEEATIVE ORGANS. 193

Plate XIII. fig*. 3.) With an anterior presentation (fore feet and
nose) this presents an insuperable obstacle to progress, as the dis-
eased cranium is too large to enter the pelvis at the same time with
the fore arms. With a posterior presentation (hind feet) all goes well
until the body and shoulders have passed out, w^ien progress is sud-
denly arrested by the great bulk of the head. In the first case, the
oiled hand introduced along the face detects the enormous size of
the head, which nvAj be diminished by puncturing it with a knife or
trocar and cannula in the median line, evacuating the water and
pressing in the thin, bony walls. With a posterior presentation, the
same course must be followed; the hand passed along the neck will
detect the cranial swelling, which may be punctured with a knife or
trocar. Oftentimes with an anterior presentation the great size
of the head leads to its displacement backward, and thus the fore
limbs alone engage in the passages. Plere the first object is to seek
and bring uj) the missing head, and then puncture it as above sug-
gested.

Ascites, or dkopsy of the abdomen in the foal. — ^The accumula-
tion of liquid in the abdominal cavity of the fetus is less frequent,
but when present it may arrest parturition as completely as will
hydrocephalus. With an anterior presentation the foal may pass as
far as the shoulders, but behind this all efforts fail to effect a further
advance. With a posterior presentation the hind legs as far as the
thighs may be expelled, but at this point all progress ceases. In
either case the oiled hand, passed inward by the side of the foal,
wdll detect the enormous distension of the abdomen and its soft, fluc-
tuating contents. The only course is to puncture the cavity and evac-
uate the liquid. With the anterior presentation this may be done
with a long trocar and camiula, introduced through the chest and
diaphragm, or with a knife an incision may be made between the
first two ribs and the lungs and heart cut or torn out, when the
diapliragm will be felt projecting strongly forward, and may be
easily punctured. Should there not be room to introduce the hand
through the chest, the oiied hand may be passed along beneath the
breast bone and the adbomen punctured. With a posterior presen-
tation the abdomen must be punctured in the same way, the hand,
armed with a knife protected in its palm, being passed along the side
of the flank or between the hind limbs. It should be added that
moderate dropsy of the abdomen is not incompatible with natural
delivery, the liquid being at first crowded back into the portion of
the belly still engaged in the womb, and passing slowly from that
into the advanced portion as soon as that has cleared the narrow
passage of the pelvis and passed out where it can expand.

General dropsy of the fetus. — In this case the tissues generally
are distended with liquid, and the skin is found at all points tense
54763°— 23 13

194 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

and rounded, and pitting on pressure with the fingers. In some
such cases delivery may be effected after the skin has been punctured
at narrow intervals to allow the escape of the fluid and then liberally
smeared with fresh lard. More commonly, however, it can not be
reached at all points to be so punctured nor sufficiently reduced to be
extracted whole, and resort must be had to embryotomy.

EaiPHYSEMA, OR SWILLING OF THE FETUS WITH GAS. — Tliis lias been
described as occuring in a living fetus, but I have met with it
onl}^ in the dead and decomposing foal after futile efforts had been
made for several days to effect delivery. These cases are very diffi-
cult, as the foal is inflated to such extent that it is impossible to
advance it into the passages, and the skin of the fetus and the walls
of the womb and vagina have become so dry that it is impracticable
to cause the one to glide on the other. The hair comes off any part
that may be seized, and the case is rendered the more offensive and
dangerous by the very fetid liquids and gases. The only resort is
embryotomy, by which I have succeeded in saving a valuable mare
that had carried a colt in this condition for four days.

Contractions of muscles. — The foal is not always developed
symmetrically, but certain groups of muscles are liable to remain
short, or to shorten because of persistent spasmodic contraction, so
that even the bones become distorted and twisted. This is most
common in the neck. The bones of this part and even of the face
are drawn to one side and shortened, the head being held firmly to
the flank and the jaws being twisted to the right or left. In other
cases the flexor muscles of the fore limbs are contracted so that the
latter are strongly bent at the knee. In neither of these cases can
the distorted part be extended and straightened, so that body or
limbs must necessarily present double, and natural delivery is ren-
dered impossible. The bent neck may sometimes be straightened
after the muscles have been cut on the side to which it is turned, and
the bent limbs after the tendons on the back of the shank bone have
been cut across. Failing to accomplish this, the next resort is
embryotomy.

Inclosed ovum, or tumors of the fetus. — Tumors or diseased
growths may form on any part of the foal, internal or external, and
by their size impede or hinder parturition. In some cases what
appears as a tumor is an imprisoned and undeveloped ovum which
has grafted itself on the fetus. These are usually sacculated, and
may contain skin, hair, muscle, bone, and other natural tissues. The
only course to be pursued in such cases is to excise the tumor, or, if
this is not feasible, to perform embryotomy.

Monstrosities. — Monstrosity in the foal is an occasional cause of
difficult parturition, especially such monsters as show excessive de-
velopment of some part of the body, a displacement or distortion of

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 195

parts, or a redundancy of parts, as in double monsters. Monsters
may be divided into —

(1) Monsters with absence of parts — absence of head, limb, or
other organ.

(2) Monsters with some part abnormally small — dwarfed head,
limb, trunk, etc.

(3) Monsters through umiatural division of parts — cleft head,
trunk, limbs, etc.

(-1) Monsters through absence of natural divisions — absence of
mouth, nose, eyes, anus, confluent digits, etc.

(5) Monsters through fusion of parts — one central eye, one nasal
opening, etc.

(G) Monsters through abnormal position or form of parts — curved
spine, face, limb, etc'.

(7) Monsters through excess of formation — enormous head, super-
numerary digits, etc.

(8) Monsters through imperfect differentiation of sexual organs — •
hermaphrodites.

(9) Double monsters — double-headed, double-bodied, extra limbs,
etc.

Causes. — The causes of monstrosities appear to be very varied.
Some monstrosities, like extra digits, absence of horns or tail, etc.,
run in families and are produced almost as certainly as color or form.
Others are associated with too close breeding, the powers of symmet-
rical development being interfered with, just as in other cases a sex-
ual incompatibility is developed, near relatives failing to breed with
each other. Mere arrest of development of a part may arise from
accidental disease of the embryo ; hence vital organs are left out, or
portions of organs, like the dividing walls of the heart, are omitted.
Sometimes an older fetus is inclosed in the body of another, each
having started independently from a separate ovum, but the one
having become embedded in the semifluid mass of the other and hav-
ing developed there simultaneously with it, but not so largely nor
perfectly. In many cases of redundance of parts the extra part or
member has manifestly developed from the same ovum and nutrient
center with the normal member to which it remains adherent, just as
a new tail will grow out in a newt when the former has been cut off.
In the early embryo, with its great powers of development, this fac-
tor can operate to far greater purpose than in the adult animal. Its
influence is seen in the fact pointed out by St. Hilaire that such
redundant parts are nearly always connected with the corresponding
portions in the normal fetus. Thus superfluous legs or digits are
attached to the normal ones, double heads or tails are connected to a
common neck or rump, and double bodies are attached to each other
by corresponding points, navel to navel, breast to breast, back to

196 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

back. All this suggests the development of extra parts from the
same primary layer of the impregnated and developing ovum. The
effect of disturbing conditions in giving such wrong directions to
the developmental forces is well shown in the experiments of St.
Hilaire and Valentine in varnishing, shaking, and otherwise break-
ing up the natural connections in eggs, and thereby determining the
formation of monstrosities at will. So, in the mammal, blows and
other injuries that detach the fetal membranes from the walls of the
womb or that modify their circulation by inducing inflammation are
at times followed by the development of a monster. The excitement,
mental and physical, attendant on fright occasionally acts in a simi-
lar way, acting probably through the same channels.

The monstrous forms liable to interfere with parturition are such
as, from contracted or twisted limbs or spine, must be presented
double; where supernumerary limbs, head, or body must approach
the passages with the natural ones; where a head or other member
has attained to an unnatural size; where the body of one fetus has
become inclosed in or attached to another, etc.

Extraction is sometimes possible by straightening the members
and obtaining such a presentation as will reduce the presenting mass
to its smallest and most wedgelike dimensions. To effect this it
may be needful to cut the flexor tendons of bent limbs or the muscles
on the side of a twisted neck or body; one or more of the manipu-
lations necessary to secure and bring up a missing member may be
required. In most cases of monstrosity by excess, however, it is
needful to remove the superfluous parts, in which case the general
principles employed for embryotomy must be followed. The Csesa-
rean section, by which the fetus is extracted through an incision in
the walls of the abdomen and womb, is inadmissible, as it prac-
tically entails the sacrifice of the mare, which should never be done
for the sake of a monster. ' (See " Embryotomy," p. 202.)

Entrance of twins into the passage at once. — Twins are rare in
the mare, and still more rare is the impaction of both at once into
the pelvis. The condition would be easily recognized by the fact
that two fore limbs and two hind would occupy the passage at once,
the front of the hoofs of the fore feet being turned upward and
those of the hind feet downward. If both belonged to one foal, they
would be turned in the same direction. Once recognized, the con-
dition is easily remedied by passing a rope with a running noose
round each foot of the foal that is furthest advanced or that prom-
ises to be most easily extracted, and to push the members of the
other fetus back into the depth of the womb. As soon as the one
fetus is fully engaged into the passage it will hold its place and its
delivery will proceed in the natural way.

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE OEGANS. 197

ABNORMAL PRESENTATIONS.

(Pis. XV-XVIII.)

Abnormal presentations may be tabulated as follows :

Anterior pres-
entations.

Posterior pres
entations.

Fore limbs.

Head.

Incompletely extended. Flexor tendons short-
ened.

Grossed over the neck.

Bent back at the knee.

Bent back from the shoulder.

Bent downward on the neck.

Head and neck turned back beneath the breast.

Turned to one side.

Turned upward and backward on the back.

Hind limbs Hind feet engaged in the pehis.

Transverse Back of foal to side of pelvis.

Inverted Back of foal to floor of pelvis.

Tj- J f -u /Bent on itself at the hock.

^^^ ^^bs |g^^^ ^^ ^^^ j^.p

Transverse Back of foal to side of pelvis.

Inverted Back of foal to floor of pelvis.

m 4- 4-: e-u 1 [With back and loins presented.

Transverse presentation of body. . . .j^-^j^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^U^ presented.

Fore limbs incompletely extended. — In cases of this kind, not
only are the back tendons behind the knee and shank bone unduly
short, but the sinew extending from the front of the shoulder blade
over the front of the elbow and down to the head of the shank bone
is also shortened. Tho result is that the fore limb is bent at the knee
and the elbow is also rigidly bent. The condition obstructs parturi-
tion by the feet becoming pressed against the floor of the pelvis or
by the elbow pressing on its anterior brim. Relief is to be obtained
by forcible extension. A rope with a running noose is passed around
each fetlock and a repeller (see Plate XIV) planted in the breast
is pressed in a direction upward and backward while active traction
is made on the ropes. If the feet are not thereby raised from the
floor of the pelvis the palm of the hand may be placed beneath them
to protect the mucous membrane until they have advanced suffi-
ciently to obviate this danger. In the absence of a repeller, a smooth
rounded fork handle may be employed. If the shortening is too
great to allow of the extension of the limbs in this way, the tense
tendons may be cut across behind the shank bone and in front of
the elbow, and the limb will be easily straightened out. This is
most easily done with an embryotomy knife furnished with a ring
for the middle finger, so that the blade may be protected in the
palm of the hand. (See Plate XIII, fig. 4.)

Fore llivib crossed o\'er back or neck. — With the long fore limbs
I of the foal this readily occurs, and the resulting increase in thickness,
both at the head and shoulder, offers a serious obstacle to progress.
(See Plate XV, fig. 2.) The hand introduced into the passage de-
tects the head and one fore foot, and farther back on the same side
of the head the second foot, from which the limb may be traced
obliquely across the back of the neck.

198 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

If parturition continues to make progress the displaced foot may
bruise and lacerate the vagina. By seizing the limb above the fetlock
it may be easily pushed over the head to the proper side, when partu-
rition will proceed normally.

Fore limb bent at knee. — The nose and one fore foot present, and
on examination the knee of the missing fore limb is foimd farther
back. (Plate XV, fig. 1.) First place a noose each on the pre-
senting pastern and lower jaw, and push back the body of the fetus
with a repeller, while the operator seizing the shank of the bent
limb extends it so as to press back the knee and bring forward the
fetlock and foot. As progress is made little by little the hand is
slid down from the region of the knee to the fetlock, and finally
that is secured and brought up into the passage, when parturition
will proceed without hindrance. If both fore limbs are bent back
the head must be noosed and the limbs brought up as above, one after
the other. It is usually best to employ the left hand for the right
fore limb, and the right hand for the left fore limb.

Fore limb turned back from shoulders. — In this case, on explora-
tion by the side of the head and presenting limb, the shoulder only
can be reached at first. (Plate XV, fig 4.) By noosing the head and
presenting fore limb, they may be drawn forward into the pelvis,
and the oiled hand being carried along the shoulder in the direction
of the missing limb is enabled to reach and seize the forearm just
below the elbow. The body is now pushed back by the assistants
pressing on the head and presenting limb or on a repeller planted
in the breast until the knee can be brought up into the pelvis, after
which the procedure is the same as described in the last paragraph.

Head bent down between fore limbs. — This may be so that the
poll or nape of the neck, with the ears, can be felt far back betw^een
the fore limbs, or so that only the upper border of the neck can be
reached, head and neck being bent back beneath the body. With the
head only bent on the neck, noose the two presenting limbs, then in-
troduce the hand between them until the nose can be seized in the
palm of the hand. Next have the assistants push back the present-
ing limbs, while the nose is strongly lifted upward over the brim
of the pelvis. This accomplished, it assumes the natural position and
parturition is easy.

When both head and neck are bent downward it may be impossible
to reach the nose. If, however, the labor has only commenced, the
limbs may be drawn upon until the operator can reach the ear, by
dragging on which the head may be so far advanced that the fingers
may reach the orbit; traction upon this while the limbs are being
pushed back may bring the head up so that it bends on the neck only,
and the further procedure will be as described in the last paragraph.

DISEASES OP THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 199

If the labor has been long in progress and the fetus is jammed into
the pelvis, the womb emptied of the waters, and firmly contracted on
its solid contents, the case is incomparably more difficult. The mare
may be chloroformed and turned on her back with hind parts ele-
vated, and the womb may be injected with sweet oil. Then, if the
ear can be reached, the correction of the malpresentation may be at-
tempted as above described. Should this fail, one or more sharp
hooks may be inserted in the neck as near the head as can be reached,
and ropes attached to these may be dragged on, while the body of the
foal is pushed back by the fore limbs or by a repeller. Such repul-
sion should be made in a direction obliquely upward toward the loins
of the mother, so as to rotate the fetus in such a way as to bring the
head up. As this is accomplished a hold should be secured nearer
and nearer to the nose, with hand or hook, until the head can be
straightened out on the neck.

All means failing, it becomes necessary to remove the fore limbs
(embryotomy) so as to make more space for bringing up the head.
If, even then, this can not be accomplished, it may be possible to
push the body backward and upward with the repeller until the hind
limbs are brought to the passage, when they may be noosed and
delivery effected with the posterior presentation.

Head turned on shotjlders. — In this case the fore feet present,
and the oiled hand passed along the fore arms in search of the missing
head finds the side of the neck turned to one side, the head being per-
haps entirely out of reach. (Plate XVIII, fig. 1.) To bring the head
forward it may be desirable to lay the mare on the side opposite to
that to which the head is turned, and even to give chloroform or
ether. Then the feet being noosed, the body of the fetus is pushed
by the hand or repeller forward and to the side opposite to that
occupied by the head until the head comes within reach, near the
entrance of the pelvis. If such displacement of the fetus is difficult,
it may be facilitated by a free use of oil or lard. Wlien the nose
can be seized it can be brought into the passage, as when the head is
turned down. If it can not be reached, the orbit may be availed of to
draw the head forward until the nose can be seized or the lower jaw
noosed. In very difficult cases a rope may be passed around the neck
by the hand or with the aid of a curved carrier (Plate XIV), and
traction may be made upon this while the body is being rotated to
the other side. In the same way in bad cases a hook may be fixed in
the orbit or even between the bones of the lower jaw to assist in
bringing the head up into position. Should all fail, the amputation
of the fore limbs may be resorted to, as advised under the last
heading.

Head turned upward on back. — This differs from the last mal-
presentation only in the direction of the head, which has to be sought

200 DISEASES OP THE HOESE.

above rather than at one side, and is to be secured and brought for-
ward in a siniihu- manner. (Plate XVIII, fig. 2.) If a rope can be
passed around the neck it will prove most effectual, as it naturally
slides nearer to the head as the neck is straightened and ends by-
bringing the head within easy reach.

HixD FEET ENGAGED IN PELVIS. — In tliis case fore limbs and head
present naturally, but the hind limbs bent forward from the hip and
the loins arched allow the hind feet also to enter the passages, and
the further labor advances the more firmly does the body of the foal
become wedged into the pelvis (Plate XVII, fig. 2.) The condition
is to be recognized by introducing the oiled hand along the belly of
the fetus, when the hind feet will be felt advancing. An attempt
should at once be made to push them back, one after the other, over
the brim of the pelvis. Failing in this, the mare may be turned on
her back, head downhill, and the attempt renewed. If it is possible
to introduce a straight rope carrier, a noose passed through this may
be put on the fetlock and the repulsion thereby made more effective.
In case of continued failure the anterior presenting part of the body
ma}^ be skinned and cut off as far back toward the pelvis as possible
(see " Embryotomy ") ; then nooses are placed on the hind fetlocks
and traction is made upon these while the quarters are pushed back
into the womb. Then the remaining portion is brought away by the
posterior presentation.

Anterior presentation with back turned to one side. — The
diameter of the axis of the foal, like that of the pelvic passages, is
from above downward, and when the fetus enters the pelvis with
this greatest diameter engaged transversely or in the narrow diame-
ter of the pelvis, parturition is rendered difficult or impossible. In
such a case the pasterns and head may be noosed, and the passages
and engaged portion of the foal freely lubricated with lard, the
limbs may be crossed over each other and the head, and a movement
of rotation effected in the fetus until its face and back are turned
up toward the croup of the mother; then parturition becomete)
natural.

Back of foal, turned to floor of pelvis. — In a roomy mare this
is not an insuperable obstacle to parturition, yet it may seriously
impede it, by reason of the curvature of the body of the foal being
opposite to that of the passages, and the head and withers being
liable to arrest against the border of the pelvis. Lubrication of the
passage with lard and traction of the limbs and head will usually
suffice with or without the turning of the mare on her back.

In obstinate cases two other resorts are open : First, to turn the
foal, pushing back the fore parts and bringing up the hind so as to
make a posterior presentation, and, second, the amputation of the
fore limbs, after which extraction will usually be easy.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

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U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

PLATE XA'r.

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U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

FLATE XVII.

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PL.A.XJT; XA'III.

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DISEASES OF THE GENEEATIVE OEGANS. 201

Hind presentation with leg bent at hock. — In this form the
quarters of the foal with the hind legs bent up beneath them present,
but can not advance through the pelvis by reason of their bulk.
(PlateXV, fig. 3.) The oiled hand introduced can recognize the out-
line of the buttocks, with the tail and anus in the center and the
sharp points of the hocks beneath. First pass a rope around each
limb at the hock, then with hand or repeller push the buttocks back-
ward and upward, until the feet can be brought up into the passages.
To this the great length of the shank and pastern in the foal is a
serious obstacle, and in all cases the foot should be protected in the
palm of the hand while being brought up over the brim of the pelvis ;
otherwise the womb may be torn. When the pains are too violent
and constant to allow effective manipulation, some respite may be
obtained by the use of chloroform or morphin and by turning the
mare on her back, but too often the operator fails and the foal must
be sacrificed. Two courses are still open: First, to cut through the
cords behind and above the hock and extend the upper part of the
limb, leaving the hock bent, and extract in this way, and, second, to
amputate the hind limbs at the hip joint and remove them separately,
after which the body may be extracted.

Hind presentation with legs bent forward from hip. — This is
merely an aggravated form of the presentation last described. (Plate
XVII, fig. 1.) If the mare is roomy, a rope may be passed around
each thigh and the body pushed upward and forward, so as to bring
the hocks and heels upward. If this can be accomplished, nooses
are placed on the limb further and further down until the fetlock
is reached and brought into position. If failure is met with, then
amputation at the hips is the last resort.

Hind presentations with back turned sideways or downward. — •
These are the counterparts of similar anterior presentations and
are to be managed in the same way.

Presentation of the back. — This is rare, yet not unknown, the
foal being bent upon itself with the back, recognizable by its sharp
row of spines, presented at the entrance of the pelvis and the head
and all four feet turned back into the womb. (Plate XVI, fig. 1.)
The body of the fetus may be extended across the opening trans-
versely, so that the head corresponds to one side (right or left),
or it may be vertical, with the head above or below.

In any such position the object should be to push the body of the
fetus forward and upward or to one side, as may best promise to bring
up the fore or hind extremities, and bring the latter into the pas-
sage so as to constitute a normal anterior or posterior presentation.
This turning of the fetus may be favored by a given position of the
mother, by the free use of oil or lard on the surface of the fetus, and
by the use of a propeller.

202 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

Presentatiox or breast and abdomex. — This is the reverse of the
back presentation, tlie foal being extended across in front of the
pehdc opening, but with the belly turned toward the passages and
with all four feet engaged in the passage. (Plate XVI, fig. 2.)
The most promising course is to secure the hind feet with nooses and
then push the fore feet forward into the womb. As soon as the fore
feet are pushed forward clear of the brim of the pelvis, traction
is made on the hind feet so as to bring the thighs into the passage
and prevent the reentrance of the fore limbs. If it proves difficult
to push the fore limbs back, a noose may be passed around the fetlock
of each and the cord drawn through the eye of a rope carrier, by
means of which the members may be easily pushed back.

EMBRYOTOMY.

Embrvotomv consists in the dissection of the fetus, so as to reduce
its bulk and allow of its exit through the pelvis. The indications for
its adoption have been furnished in the foregoing pages. The op-
eration will vary in different cases according to the necessitj^ for the
removal of one or more parts in order to secure the requisite reduc-
tion in size. Thus it may be needful to remove head and neck, one
fore limb or both, one hind limb or both, to remove different parts
of the trunk, or to remove superfluous (monstrous) parts. Some of
the simplest operations in embryotomy (incision of the head in
hydrocephalus, incision of the belly in dropsy) have already been
described. It remains to notice the more difficult procedures which
can be best undertaken by the skilled anatomist.

Amputation of the head. — This is easy when both fore limbs are
turned back and the head alone has made its exit in part. It is more
difficult when the head is still retained in the passages or womb, as
in double-headed monsters. The head is secured by a hook in the
lower jaw, or in the orbit, or by a halter, and the skin is divided
circularly around the lower part of the face or at the front of the
ears, according to the amount of head protruding. Then an incision
is made backward along the line of the throat, and the skin dissected
from the neck as far back as possible. Then the muscles and other
soft parts of the neck are cut across, and the bodies of two vertebrae
(neck bones) are severed by cutting completely across the cartilage
of the joint. The bulging of the ends of the bones will serve to indi-
cate the seat of the joint. The head and detached portion of the
neck may now be removed by steady pulling. If there is still an
obstacle, the loiife may be again used to sever any obstinate con-
nections. In the case of a double-headed monster, the whole of the
second neck must be removed with the head. "When the head has
been detached, a rope should be passed through the eyeholes, or

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 203

through an artificial opening in tlie skin, and tied firmly around
the skin, to be employed as a means of traction when the missing
limbs or the second head have been brought up into position.

ATnputation of the hind limh. — This may be required when there
are extra hind limbs or when the hind limbs are bent forward at hock
or hip joint. In the former condition the procedure resembles that
for removal of a fore limb, but requires more anatomical knowledge.
Having noosed the pastern, a circular incision is made through the
skin aromid the fetlock, and a longitudinal one from that up to the
groin, and the skin is dissected from the limb as high up as can be
reached, over the croup, if possible. Then cut through the muscles
around the hip joint, and, if possible, the two interarticular liga-
ments of the joint (pubofemoral and round), and extract the limb
by strong dragging.

Amputation of the fore limbs. — This may usually be begun on the
fetlock of the limb projecting from the vulva. An embryotomy
knife is desirable. This knife consists of a blade with a sharp,
slightly hooked point, and one or two rings in the back of the blade
large enough to fit on the middle finger, while the blade is protected
in the palm of the hand. (See Plate XIII, fig. 4.) Another form
has the blade inserted in a mortise in the handle, from which it is
pushed out by a movable button when wanted. First place a noose
around the fetlock of the limb to be amputated, cut the skin circu-
larh^ entirely around the fetlock, then make an incision on the inner
side of the limb from the fetlock up to the breastbone. Next dissect
the skin from the limb, from the fetlock up to the breastbone on the
inner side, and as far up on the shoulder blade as possible on the
outer side. Finally, cut through the muscles attaching the limb to
the breastbone, and employ strong traction on the limb, so as to
drag out the whole limb, shoulder blade included. The muscles
around the upper part of the shoulder blade are easily torn through
and need not be cut, even if that were possible. In no case should
the fore limb be removed unless the shoulder blade is taken with it,
as that furnishes the greatest obstruction to delivery, above all when
it is no longer advanced by the extension of the fore limb, but is
pressed back so as to increase the already thickest posterior portion
of the chest. The preservation of the skin from the whole limb is
advantageous in various ways ; it is easier to cut it circularly at the
fetlock than at the shoulder ; it covers the hand and knife in making
the needful incisions, thus acting as a protection to the womb; and
it affords a means of traction on the body after the limb has been
removed. In dissecting the skin from the limb the knife is not
needful at all points ; much of it may be stripped off with the fingers
or knuckles, or by a blunt, iron spud pushed up inside the hide,
which is meanwhile held tense to render the spud effective.

204 DISEASES OF THE HOESE,

In case the limb is bent forward at the hock, a rope is passed round
that and pulled so as to bring the point of the hock between the lips
of the vulva. The hamstring and the lateral ligaments of the hock
are now cut through, and the limbs extended by a rope tied round the
lower end of the long bone above (tibia). In case it is still needful
to remove the upper part of the limb, the further procedure is the
same as described in the last paragraph.

In case the limb is turned forward from the hip, and the fetus so
wedged into the passage that turning is impossible, the case is very-
difficult. I have repeatedly succeeded by cutting in on the hip joint
and disarticulating it, then dissecting the muscles back from the
upper end of the thigh bone. A noose was placed around the neck of
the bone and pulled on forcibly, while any unduly resisting struc-
tures were cut with the knife.

Cart Wright recommends to make free incisions round the hip joints
and tear through the muscles when they can not be cut; then with
cords round the pelvic bones, and hooks inserted in the openings in
the floor of the pelvis to drag out the pelvic bones; then put cords
around the heads of the thigh bones and extract them ; then remove
the intestines ; finally, by means of the loose, detached skin, draw out
the body with the remainder of the hind limbs bent forward be-
neath it.

Reuff cuts his way into the pelvis of the foal, and with a knife
separates the pelvic bones from the loins, then skinning the quarter
draws out these pelvic bones by means of ropes and hooks, and along
with them the hind limbs.

The hind limbs having been removed by one or the other of these
procedures, the loose skin detached from the pelvis is used as a means
of traction and delivery is effected. In case of a monstrosity with
extra hind limbs, it may be possible to bring these up into the passage
and utilize them for traction.

Removal of the abdominol viscera. — In case the belly is unduly
large, from decomposition, tumors, or otherwise, it may be needful
to lay it open with the Imife and cut or tear out the contents.

Removal of the thoracic viscera. — To diminish the bulk of the chest
it has been found advisable to cut out the breastbone, remove the
heart and lungs, and allow the ribs to collapse with the lower free
ends overlapping each other.

Dissection of the trunk. — In case it becomes necessary to remove
other portions of the trunk, we should follow the general rule of
preserving the skin so that all manipulations can be made inside this
as a protector, that it may remain available as a means of exercising
traction on the remaining part of the body, and as a covering to
protect the vaginal walls against injuries from bones while such
part is passing.

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE OEGANS. 205

FLOODING, OR BLEEDING FROM THE WOMB.

This is rare in the mare, but not unknown, in connection with a
faihire of the womb to contract on itself after parturition, or with
eversion of the womb (casting the withers), and congestion or lacera-
tion. If the blood accumulates in the flaccid womb, the condition
may be suspected only by reason of the rapidly advancing weakness,
swaying, unsteady gait, hanging head, paleness of the eyes and other
mucous membranes, and weak, small, failing pulse. The hand in-
troduced into the womb detects the presence of the blood partly
clotted. If the blood escapes by the vulva, the condition is evident.

Treatment consists in evacuating the womb of its blood clots, giv-
ing a large dose of powdered ergot of rye, and in the application of
cold water or ice to the loins and external generative organs. Besides
this, a sponge impregnated with a strong solution of alum, or, still
better, with tincture of muriate of iron, may be introduced into the
womb and squeezed so as to bring the liquid in contact with the
walls generally.

EVERSION OF THE WOMB.

If the womb fails to contract after difficult parturition, the after-
pains will sometimes lead to the fundus passing into the body of the
organ and passing through that and the vagina until the whole
inverted organ appears externally and hangs down on the thighs.
The result is rapid engorgement and swelling of the organ, impaction
of the rectum with feces, and distention of the bladder with urine, all
of which conditions seriously interfere with the return of the mass.
In returning the womb the standing is j)referable to the recumbent
position, as the abdomen is more pendent and there is less obstruc-
tion to the return. It may, however, be necessary to put hobbles on
the hind limbs to prevent the mare from kicking. A clean sheet
should be held beneath the womb, and all filth, straw, and foreign
bodies washed from its surface. Then with a broad, elastic (india-
rubber) band, or in default of that a long strip of calico 4 or 5 inches
wide, wind the womb as tightly as possible, beginning at its most
dependent part (the extremity of the horn). This serves two good
ends. It squeezes out into the general circulation the enormous mass
of blood which engorged and enlarged the organ, and it furnishes a
strong protective covering for the now delicate, friable organ, through
which it may be safely manipulated without danger of laceration.
The next step may be the pressure on the general mass while those
portions next the vulva are gradually pushed in with the hands : or
the extreme lowest point (the end of the horn) may be turned within
itself and pushed forward into the vagina by the closed fist, the
return being assisted by manipulations by the other hand, and even
by those of assistants. By either mode the manipulations may be

206 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

made with almost perfect safety so long as the organ is closely
wrapped in the bandage. Once a portion has been introduced into
the vagina the rest will usually follow with increasing ease, and the
operation should be completed with the hand and arm extended the
full length within the womb and moved from point to point so as to
straighten out all parts of the organ and insure that no portion still
remain inverted within another portion. Should any such partial
inversion be left it will give rise to straining, under the force of which
it will gradually increase until the whole mass will be protruded as
before. The next step is to apply a truss as an effectual me-
chanical barrier to further escape of the womb through the vulva.
The simplest is made with two 1-inch ropes, each about 18 feet long,
each doubled and interw^oven at the bend, as seen in Plate XIV,
figure 4. The ring formed by the interlacing of the two ropes is
adjusted around the vulva, the two ends of the one rope are carried
up on the right and left of the tail and along the spine, being wound
aromid each other in their course, and are finally tied to the upper
part of the collar encircling the neck. The remaining two ends,
belonging to the other rope, are carried downward and forward be-
tween the thighs and thence forward and upward on the sides of
the belly and chest to be attached to the right and left sides of the col-
lar. These ropes are drawn tightly enough to keep closely applied to
the opening without chafing, and will fit still more secm-ely when the
mare raises her back to strain. It is desirable to tie the mare short so
that she may be unable to lie down for a day or two, and she should
be kept in a stall with the hind parts higher than the fore. Violent
straining may be checked by full doses of opium (one-half dram),
and any costiveness or diarrhea should be obviated by a suitable laxa-
tive or binding diet.

In some mares the contractions are too violent to allow of the return
of the womb, and full doses of opium one-half dram, laudanum 2
ounces, or chloral hydrate 1 ounce, may be demanded, or the mai^e
must be rendered insensible by ether or chloroform.

RUPTURE. OR LACERATION, OF THE WOMB.

This may occur from the feet of the foal during parturition, or
from ill-directed efforts to assist, but it is especially liable to take
place in the everted, congested, and friable organ. The resultant
dangers are bleeding from the wound, escape of the bowels through
the opening and their fatal injury by the mare's feet or otherwise, and
peritonitis from the extension of inflannnation from the wound and
from the poisonous action of the septic liquids of the womb escaping
into the abdominal cavity. The first object is to close the wound,
but unless in eversion of the womb this is practically impossible. In
the last-named condition the woimd must be carefully and accurately

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 207

sewed up before the womb is returned. After its return, the womb
must be injected daily with an antiseptic solution (borax, one-half
ounce, or carbolic acid, 3 drams to a quart of tepid water). If in-
flammation threatens, the abdomen may be bathed continuously with
hot water by means of a heavy woolen rag, and large doses of opium
(one-half dram) may be given twice or thrice daily.

RUPTURES OF THE VAGINA.

These are attended with dangers similar to those belonging to rup-
ture of the womb, and in addition by the risk of protrusion of the
bladder, which appears through the lips of the vulva as a red, pyri-
form mass. Sometimes such lacerations extend downward into the
bladder, and in others upward into the terminal gut (rectum). In
still other cases the anus is torn so that it forms one common orifice
with the ^Tilva.

Too often such cases prove fatal, or at least a recovery is not at-
tained, and urine or feces or both escape freely into the vagina. The
simple laceration of the anus is easily sewed up, but the ends of the
muscular fibers do not reunite and the control over the lower bowel
is never fully reacquired. The successful stitching up of the wound
communicating with the bladder or the rectum requires unusual skill
and care, and though I have succeeded in a case of the latter kind, I
can not advise the attempt by unprofessional persons.

BLOOD CLOTS IN THE WALLS OF THE VAGINA.

(See " Effusion of blood in the vaginal walls," p. 190.)'

LAMINITIS. OR FOUNDER. FOLLOWING PARTURITION.

This sometimes follows on inflammation of the womb, as it fre-
quently does on disorder of the stomach. Its symptoms agree with
those of the common form of founder, and treatment need not differ.

INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB AND PERITONEUM.

These may result from injuries sustained by the womb during or
after parturition, from exposure to cold or wet, or from the irritant
infective action of putrid products within the womb. Under the
inflammation the womb remains dilated and flaccid, and decomposi-
tion of its secretions almost always occurs, so that the inflammation
tends to assume a putrid character and general septic infection is
likely to occur.

Symptom's. — The symptoms are ushered in by shivering, staring
coat, small, rapid pulse, elevated temperature, accelerated breathing,
loss of appetite, with arched back, stiff movement of the body, look-
ing back at the flanks, and uneasy motions of the hind limbs, dis-
charge from the vulva of a liquid at first watery, reddish, or yellow-
ish, and later it may be whitish or glairy, and fetid or not in dif-
ferent cases. Tenderness of the abdomen shown on pressure is

208 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

especially characteristic of cases affecting the peritoneum or lining
of the belly, and is more marked lower down. If the animal sur-
vives, the inflammation tends to become chronic and attended bv a
whitish mucopurulent discharge. If, on the contrary, it proves
fatal, death is preceded by extreme prostration and weakness from
the general septic poisoning.

Treatment. — In treatment the first thing to be sought is the re-
moval of all offensive and irritant matters from the womb through a
caoutchouc tube introduced into the womb, and into which a funnel
is fitted. Warm water should be passed until it comes away clear.
To insure that all the womb has been washed out, the oiled hand
may be introduced to carry the end of the tube into the two horns
successively. When the offensive contents have been thus removed,
the womb should be injected with a quart of water holding in solution
1 dram permanganate of potash, or, in the absence of the latter, 2
teaspoonfuls of carbolic acid, twice daily. Fomentation of the abdo-
men, or the application of a warm flaxseed poultice, may greatly
relieve. Acetanilid, in doses of half an ounce, twice or thrice a day,
or sulphate of quinia in doses of one-third ounce, may be employed
to reduce the fever. If the great prostration indicates septic poison-
ing, large doses (one-half ounce) bisulphite of soda, or salicylate of
soda, or sulphate of quinin may be resorted to.

LEUCORRHEA.

This is a white, glutinous, chronic discharge, the result of a con-
tinued, subacute inflammation of the mucous membrane of the womb.
Like the discharge of acute inflammation, it contains many forms of
bacteria, by some of which it is manifestly inoculable on the penis of
the stallion, producing ulcers and a specific, gonorrheal discharge.

Treatment may consist in the internal use of tonics (sulphate of
iron, 3 drams, daily) and the washing out of the womb, as described
under the last heading, followed by an astringent antiseptic injection
(carbolic acid, 2 teaspoonfuls; tannic acid, -J dram; water, 1 quart).
This may be giA^en two or three times a day.

DISEASES OF THE UDDER AND TEATS.

CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE UDDER.

This is comparatively rare in the mare, though in some cases the
udder becomes painfully engorged before parturition, and a doughy
swelling, pitting on pressure, extends forward on the lower surface of
the abdomen. When this goes on to active inflammation, one or both
of the glands becomes enlarged, hot, tense, and painful; the milk is
dried up or replaced by a Avatery or reddish, serous fluid, AThicli at
times becomes fetid; the animal walks lame, loses appetite, and shows
general disorder and fever. The condition may end in recoA^ery, in

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 209

abscess, induration, or gangrene, and, in some cases, may lay the
foundation for a tumor of the ghind.

Treatment. — The treatment is simple so long as there is only con-
gestion. Active rubbing with lard or oil, or, better, camphorated
oil, and the frequent drawing oif of the milk, by the foal or with
the hand, will usually bring about a rapid improvement. When
active inflammation is present, fomentation with warm water may be
kept up for an hour and followed by the application of the cam-
phorated oil, to which has been added some carbonate of soda and
extract of belladonna. A dose of laxative medicine (4 drams Bar-
bados aloes) will be of service in reducing fever, and one-half ounce
saltpeter daily will serve a similar end. In case the milk coagulates
in the udder and can not be withdrawn, or when the liquid becomes
fetid, a solution of 20 grains carbonate of soda and 10 drops carbolic
acid dissolved in an ounce of water should be injected into the teat.
In doing this it must be noted that the mare has three separate ducts
opening on the summit of each teat and each must be carefully in-
jected. To draw off the fetid product it may be needful to use a
small milking tube, or spring teat dilator designed by the writer.
(Plate XIV, figs. 2 and 3.) When pus forms and points externally
and can not find a free escape by the teat, the spot where it fluctu-
ates must be opened freely with the knife and the cavity injected
daily with the carbolic-acid lotion. AVlien the gland becomes hard
and indolent, it may be rubbed daily with iodin ointment 1 part,
vaseline 6 parts.

TUMORS OF THE UDDER.

As the result of inflammation of the udder it may become the seat
of an indurated diseased growth, which may go on growing and seri-
ously interfere with the movement of the hind limbs. If such sAvell-
Ings do not give way in their early stages to treatment by iodin,
the only resort is to cut them out with a knife. As the gland is often
implicated and has to be removed, such mares can not in the future
suckle their colts and therefore should not be bred.

SORE TEATS. SCABS, CRACKS. WARTS.

By the act of sucking, especially in cold weather, the teats are sub-
ject to abrasions, cracks, and scabs, and as the result of such irrita-
tion, or independently, warts sometimes grow and prove troublesome.
The warts should be clipped off with sharp scissors and their roots
burned with a solid pencil of lunar caustic. This is best done before
parturition to secure healing before suckling begins. For sore teats
use an ointment of vaseline 1 ounce, balsam of tolu 5 grains, and
sulphate of zinc 5 grains.

54763°— 23 11

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

By M. R. Tkumbower, V. S.
[Revised by John R. Mohler, A. M., V. M. D.]

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS

SYSTEM.

(PI. XIX.)

The nervous system may be regarded as consisting of two sets of
organs, f)eriplieral and central, the function of one being to estab-
lish a communication between the centers and the diilerent parts
of the body, and that of the other to generate nervous force. The
whole may be arranged under two divisions : First, the cerebrospinal
system; second, the sympathetic or ganglionic system. Each is
possessed of its own central and peripheral organs.

In the first, the center is made up of two portions — one large
and expanded (the brain) placed in the cranial cavity; the other
elongated (spinal cord), continuous with the brain, and lodged in
the canal of the vertebral column. The peripheral portion of this
system consists of the cerebrospinal nerves, which leave the axis
in symmetrical pairs and are distributed to the skin, the voluntary
muscles, and the organs.

In the second, the central organ consists of a chain of ganglia,
connected by nerve cords, which extends on each side of the spine
from the head to the rump. The nerv'es of this system are dis-
tributed to the involuntary muscles, mucous membrane, viscera, and
blood vessels.

The two systems have free intercommunication, ganglia being at
the junctions.

Two substances, distinguishable by their color, namely, the white
or medullary and the gray or cortical substance, enter into the for-
mation of nervous msi»tter. Both are soft, fragile, and easily injured,
in consequence of which the principal nervous centers are well pro-
tected by bony coverings. The nervous substances present two dis-
tinct forms — nerve fibers and nerve cells. An aggregation of nerve
cells constitutes a nerve ganglion.

The nerve fibers represent a conducting apparatus and serve to
place the central nervous organs in connection with peripheral end
organs. The nerve cells, however, besides transmitting impulses,
act as physiohjgical centers for automatic, or reflex, movements,
and also for the sensory, perceptive, trophic, and 'secretory functions.
A nerve consists of a bundle of tubular fibers, held together by
210

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 211

areolar tissue, each j&ber of which is inclosed in a sheath — the neuri-
lemma. Nerve fibers possess no elasticity, but are very strong.
Divided nerves do not retract.

Nerves are thrown into a state of excitement when stimulated, and
are, therefore, said to possess excitable or irritable properties. The
stimuli may be applied to, or may act upon, any part of the nerve.
Nerves may be paralyzed by continuous pressure being applied.
When the nerves divide into branches, there is never any splitting
up of their ultimate fibers, nor yet is there ever any coalescing of
them; they retain their individuality from their source to their
termination.

Nerves which convey impressions to the centers are termed sensory,
or centripetal, and those which transmit stimulus from the centers to
organs of motion are termed motor, or centrifugal. The function of
the nervous system may, therefore, be defined in the simplest terms,
as follows : It is intended to associate the different parts of the body
in such a manner that stimulus applied to one organ may excite or
depress the activity of another.

The brain is that portion of the cerebro-spinal axis within the cra-
nium, which may be divided into four parts — the medulla oblongata,
the cerebellum, the pons Varolii, and the cerebrum — and it is cov-
ered by three membranes, called the meninges. The outer of these
membranes, the dura mater, is a thick, white, fibrous membrane which
lines the cavity of the cranium, forming the internal periosteuru of
the bones ; it is continuous with the spinal cord to the extremity of the
canal. The second, the arachnoid, is a delicate serous membrane, and
loosely envelops the brain and spinal cord ; it forms two layers, hav-
ing betAveen them the arachnoid space which contains the cerebro-
spinal fluid, the use of which is to protect the spinal cord and brain
from pressure. The third, or inner, the pia mater, is closely adher-
ent to the entire surface of the brain, but is much thinner and more
vascular than when it reaches the spinal cord, which it also envelops,
and is continued to form the sheaths of the spinal nerves.

The medulla oblongata is the prolongation of the spinal cord,
extending to the pons Varolii. This portion of the brain is very
large in the horse : it is pyramidal in shape, the narrowest part join-
ing the cord.

The pons Varolii is the transverse projection on the base of the
brain, between the medulla oblongata and the peduncles of the cere-
brum.

The cerebellum is lodged in the posterior part of the cranial cavity,
immediately above the medulla oblongata ; it is globular or ellip-
tical in shape, the transverse diameter being greatest. The body
of the cerebellum is composed of gray matter externally and of
white matter in the center. The cerebellum has the function of co-

212 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

oi'dinating movements: that is, of so associating them as to cause
them to accomplish a definite purpose. Injuries to the cerebelhun
cause disturbances of the equilibrium but do not interfere with the
will power or intelligence.

The cerebrum, or brain proper, occupies the anterior portion of the
cranial cavity. It is ovoid in shape, with an irregular, flattened base,
and consists of lateral halves or hemispheres. The greater part of
the cerebrum is composed of white matter. The hemispheres of the
cerebrum are usually said to be the seat of all psychical activities.
Only when they are intact are the process of feeling, thinking, and
willing possible. After they are destroyed the organism comes to be
like a complicated machine, and its activity is only the expression of
the internal and external stimuli which act upon it.

The spinal cord, or spinal marrow, is that part of the cerebro-
spinal system which is contained in the spinal canal of the backbone,
and extends from the medulla oblongata to a short distance behind
the loins. It is an irregularly cjdindrical structure, composed of
two lateral, symmetrical halves. The spinal cord terminates pos-
teriorly in a pointed extremity, which is continued by a mass of
nerve trunks — cauda equinae. A transverse section of the cord reveals
that it is composed of white matter externally and of gray matter
internalh'. The spinal cord does not fill the whole spinal canal.
The latter contains, besides, a large venous sinus, fatty matter, the
membranes of the cord, and the cerebrospinal fluid.

The spinal nerves, forty-two or forty-three in number, arise each
by two roots, a superior or sensory, and an inferior or motor. The
nerves originating from the brain are twenty-four in number, and
arranged in pairs, which are named first, second, third, etc., counting
from before backward. They also receive special names, according
to their functions or the parts to which they are distributed, viz:

1. Olfactory. 7. Facial.

2. Optic. 8. Auditory.

3. Oculo-motor. 9. Glossopharyngeal.

4. Pathetic. 10. Pneumojrastric.

5. Trifacial. 11. Spinal accessory.

6. Abducens. 12. Hypoglossal.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN AND ITS MEMBRANES (ENCEPHA-
LITIS, MENINGITIS, CEREBRITIS).

Inflannnation may attack these membranes singly, or any one of the
anatomical divisions of the nerve matter, or it may invade the whole
at once. Practical experience, hoAvever, teaches us that prinuiry
inflammation of the dura mater is of rare occurrence, except in direct
mechanical injuries to the head or diseases of the bones of the cra-
nium. Neither is the aiachnoid often affected with acute inflamma-
tion, except as a secondary result. The pia nuiter is most commonly

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 213

the seat of inflammation, acute and subacute, but from its intimate
relation with the surface of the brain the latter very soon becomes
involved in the morbid changes. Practically, we can not separate
inflammation of the pia mater from that of the brain proper. Inflam-
mation may, however, exist in the center of the great nerve masses — ■
the cerebrum, cerebellum, pons Varolii, or medulla at the base of the
brain — without involving the surface. When, therefore, inflamma-
tion invades the brain and its enveloping membranes it is properly
called encephalitis; when the membranes alone are affected it is
called meningitis, or the brain substance alone cerebritis. Since all
the conditions merge into one another and can scarcely be recognized
separately during the life of the animal, they may here be considered
together.

Causes. — Exposure to extreme heat or cold, sudden and extreme
changes of temperature, excessive continued cerebral excitement, too
much nitrogenous feed, direct injuries to the brain, such as concus-
sion, or from fracture of the cranium, overexertion, sometimes as
sequelae to influenza, pyemia, poisons having a direct influence upon
the encephalic mass, extension of inflammation from neighboring
structures, food poisoning, tumors, parasites, metastatic abscesses, etc.

Symptoms. — The diseases here grouped together are accompanied
Avith a variety of symptoms, almost none of which, however, are asso-
ciated so definitely with a special pathological process as to point
unmistakably to a given lesion. Usually the first symptoms indicate
mental excitement, and are followed by symptoms indicating depres-
sion. Acute encephalitis may be ushered in by an increased sensi-
bility to noises, with more or less nervous excitability, contraction of
the pupils of the eyes, and a quick, hard pulse. In very acute at-
tacks these symptoms, however, are not always noted. This condi-
tion M^ll soon be followed by muscular twitchings, convulsive or
spasmodic movements, eyes wide open with shortness of sight. The
animal becomes afraid to have his head handled. Convulsions and
delirium will develop, with inability of muscular control, or stupor
and coma may supervene. ^AHien the membranes are greatly impli-
cated, convulsions and delirium with violence may be expected, but if
the brain substances are principally affected stupor and coma will be
the prominent symptoms. In the former condition the pulse will be
quick and hard ; in the latter, soft and depressed, with often a dilata-
tion of the pupils, and deep, slow, stertorous breathing. The symp-
toms may follow one another in rapid succession, and the disease
approach a fatal termination Avithin 12 hours. In subacute at-
tacks the symptoms are better defined, and the animal seldom dies
before the third day. Within three or four days gradual improve-
ment ma}^ become manifest, or cerebral softening Avith partial paral-

214 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

ysis may occur. In all cases of encephalitis there is a marked rise in
temperature from the very onset of the disease, with a tendency to
increase until th€ most alarming symptoms develop, succeeded by* a
decrease when coma becomes manifest. The violence and character of
the symptoms gieatly depend upon the extent and location of the
structures involved. Thus, in some cases there may be marked paral-
ysis of certain muscles, while in othei^s there may be spasmodic rigid-
ity of muscles in a certain region. Very rarely the animal becomes
extremely violent early in the attack, and by rearing up, striking
with the fore feet, or falling over, may do himself great injury.
Usually, however, the animal maintains the standing position, prop-
ping himself against the manger or wall, until he falls from inability
of muscular control, or from unconsciousness. Occasionally, in his
delirium, he may go through a series of automatic movements, such
as trotting or walking, and, if loose in a stall, will move around per-
sistently in a circle. Early and persistent constipation of the bowels
is a marked symptom in nearly all acute affections of the brain; re-
tention of the urine, also, is frequently observed.

Following these sj^mptoms there are depression, loss of power and
consciousness, lack of abilitv or desire to move, and usually fall of
temperature. At this stage the horse stands with legs propped, the
head hanging or resting on the manger, the eyes partly closed, and
does not respond when spoken to or when struck with a whip.

Chronic encephalitis or meningitis may succeed the acute stage,
or may be due to stable miasma, blood poison, narcotism, lead poison-
ing, etc. This form may not be characterized in its initial stages by
excitability, quick and hard pulse, and high fever. The animal
usually appears at first stupid ; eats slowly ; the pupil of the eye does
not respond to light quickly; the animal often throws his head up
or shakes it as if suffering sudden twinges of pain. He is slow and
sluggish in his movements, or there may be partial paralysis of one
limb, one side of the face, neck, or body. These symptoms, with
some variations, may be present for several days and then subside,
or the disease may pass into the acute stage and terminate fatally.
Chronic encephalitis may effect an animal for ten days or two weeks
without much variation in the symptoms before the crisis is reached.
If improvement commences, the symptoms usually disappear in the
reverse order to that in which they developed, with the exception of
the paralytic effects, which remain intractable or permanent. Paral-
ysis of certain sets of muscles is a very common result of chronic,
subacute, and acute encephalitis, and is due to softening of the brain
or to exudation into the cavities of the brain or arachnoid space.
■ Softening and abscess of the brain are terminations of cerebritis.
It may also be due to an insufficient supply of blood as a result

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, 215

of diseased cerebral arteries and of apoplexy. The symptoms are
drowsiness, vertigo, or attacks of giddiness, increased timidity, or
fear of familiar objects, paralysis of one limb, hemiplegia, imperfect
control of the limbs, and usually a weak, intermittent pulse. In some
cases the symptoms are analogous to those of apoplexy. The char-
acter of the symptoms depends upon the seat of the softening or
abscess within the brain.

Cerebral sclerosis sometimes follows inflammation in the structure
of the brain affecting the connective tissues, which eventually become
hypertrophied and press upon nerve cells and fibers, causing their
ultimate disappearance, leaving the parts hard and indurated. This
condition gives rise to a progressive paralysis and may extend along
a certain bundle of fibers into the spinal cord. Complete paralysis
almost invariably supervenes and causes death.

Lesions. — On making post-mortem examinations of horses which
have died in the first stages of either of these diseases we find an
excessive engorgement of the capillaries and small blood vessels, with
correspondingly increased redness and changes in both the contents
and the walls of the vessels. If death has occurred at a later period
of the disease, it will be found that, in addition to the redness and
engorgement, an exudation of the contents of the blood vessels into
the tissues and upon the surfaces of the inflamed parts has super-
vened. If the case has been one of encephalitis, there will usually
be found more or less watery fluid in the ventricles (natural caA^ities
in the brain), in the subarachnoid space, and a serous exudation be-
tween the convolutions and interstitial spaces of the gray matter un-
der the membranes of the brain. The quantity of fluid varies in
different cases. Exudations of a membranous character may be
present, and are found attached to the surfaces of the pia mater.

In meningitis, especially in chronic cases, in addition to the serous
effusion, there are changes which may be regarded as characteristic in
the formation of a delicate and highly vascular layer or layers of
membrane or organized structure on the surface of the dura mater,
and also indications of hemon-hages in connection with the membra-
nous formations. Hematoma, or blood tumors, may be found em-
bedded in this membrane. In some cases the hemorrhages are copious,
causing paralysis or apoplexy, followed by speedy death. The menin-
gitis may be suppurative. In this case a puslike exudate is found
between the membranes covering the brain.

In cerebritis, or inflammation of the interior of the brain, there
is a tendency to softening and suppuration and the formation of
abscesses. In some cases the abscesses are amall and numerous, sur-
rounded with a softened condition of the brain matter, and some-
times we may find one large abscess. In cases of recent development

216 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

the walls of the abscesses are fringed and ragged and have no lining
membrane. In older or chronic cases the walls of the abscesses are
generally lined with a strong membrane, often having the appearance
of a sac or cyst, and the contents have a very offensive odor.

Treatment. — In all acute attacks of inflammation involving the
membranes or cerebral masses, it is the pressure from the distended
and engorged blood vessels and the rapid accumulation of inflamma-
tory products that endangers the life of the animal in even the very
early stage of the disease. The earlier the treatment is commenced to
lessen the danger of fatal pressure from the engorged blood vessels,
the less effusion and smaller number of inflammatory products we
have to contend with later. The leading object, then, to be accom-
plished in the treatment of the first stage of encephalitis, meningitis,
or cerebritis, and before a dangerous degree of effusion or exudation
has taken place, is to relieve the engorgement of the blood vessels and
thereby lessen the irritation or excitability of the affected structures.
If the attempt to relieve the engorgement in the first stage has been
only partially successful, and the second stage, with its inflammatory
products and exudations, whether serous or plastic, has set in, then
the main objects in further treatment are to keep up the strength of
the animal and hasten the absorption of the exudative products as
much as possible. To obtain these results, when the animal is found
in the initial stage of the disease, if there is unnatural excitability or
stupor with increase of temperature and quickened pulse, we should
apply cold to the head in the form of cold water or ice. For this pur-
pose cloths or bags may be used, and they should be renewed as often
as necessary. If the disease is still in its early stages -and the animal
is strong, bleeding from the jugular vein may be beneficial. Good
results are to be expected only during the stage of excitement, while
there is a strong, full pulse and the mucous membranes of the head
are red from a plentiful supply of blood. The finger should be kept
on the pulse and the blood allowed to flow until there is distinct
softening of the pulse. As soon -as the animal recovers somewhat
from the shock of the bleeding the following medicine should be
made into a ball or dissolved in a pint of warm water and be given
at one dose: Barbados aloes, 7 drams; calomel, 2 drams; powdered
ginger. 1 dram; tincture of aconite, 20 drops.

The animal should be placed in a cool, dark place, as free from
noise as possible. When the animal becomes thirsty half an ounce
of bromid of potash may be dissolved in the drinking water every
six hours. Injections of warm water into the rectum may facilitate
the action of the purgative. Norwood's tincture of veratrum viride,
in 20-drop doses, should be given every hour and 1 dram of solid
extract of Itelladonna every four hours until the symptoms become
modified and the pulse regular and full.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

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DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 217

If this treatment fails to give relief, the disease will pass into the
advanced stages, or, if the animal has been neglected in the early
stages, the treatment must be supplanted with the hypodermic injec-
tion of ergotin, in 5-grain doses, dissolved in 1 dram of water, every
six hours. The limbs may be poulticed above the fetlocks with mus-
tard. Warm blanketing, to promote perspiration, is to be observed
always when there is no excessive perspiration.

If the disease becomes chronic (encephalitis or meningitis), we
must place our reliance upon alteratives and tonics, with such inci-
dental treatment as special symptoms may demand. lodid of potas-
sium in 2-dram doses should be given three times a day and 1 dram
of calomel once a day to induce absorption of effusions or thickened
membranes. Tonics, in the form of iodid of iron in 1-dram doses, to
which is added 2 drams of powdered hydrastis, may also be giA^en
every six or eight hours, as soon as the active fever has abated.
After the disappearance of the acute symptoms, blisters (cantharides
ointment) may be applied behind the poll. "WTien paralytic effects
remain after the disappearance of all other symptoms, sulphate of
strychnia in 2-grain doses, in combination with the other tonics, may
be given twice a day and be continued until it produces muscular
twitching. In some cases of paralysis, as of the lips or throat, benefit
may be derived frpm the moderate use of the electric battery. Many
of the recoveries will, however, under the most active and early
treatment, be but partial, and in all cases the animals become pre-
disposed to subsequent attacks. A long time should be allowed to
pass before the animal is exposed to severe work or great heat.
When the disease depends upon mechanical injuries, they have to be
treated and all causes of irritation to the brain removed. If it is
due to stable miasma, uremic poisoning, pyemia, influenza, rheuma-
tism, toxic agents, etc., they should receive prompt attention for their
removal or mitigation.

Cerebral softening, abscess, and sclerosis are practically inacces-
sible to treatment, otherwise than such relief as may be afforded by
the administration of opiates and general tonics, and, in fact, the
diagnosis is largely presumptive. '

CONGESTION OF THE BRAIN, OR MEGRIMS.

Congestion of the brain consists in an accumulation of blood in the
vessels, also called hyperemia, or engorgement. It may be active or
passive — active when there is an undue accumulation of blood or
diminished arterial resistance, and passive when it accumulates in
the vessels of the brain, owing to some obstacle to its return by the
veins.

; Causes. — Active cerebral congestion may be from hypertrophy of
the left ventricle of the heart, excessive exertion, the influence of

218 DISEASES OP THE HOESE.

extreme heat, sudden and great excitement, artificial stimulants, etc.
Passive congestion may be produced by any mechanical obstruction
which prevents the proper return of blood through the veins to the
heart, such as a small or ill-fitting collar, which often impedes the
blood current, tumors or abscesses pressing on the vein in its course,
and organic lesions of the heart with regurgitation.

Extremely fat animals with short, thick necks are peculiarly sub-
ject to attacks of cerebral congestion. Simple congestion, however,
is merely a functional affection, and in a slight or moderate degree
involves no immediate danger. Extreme engorgement, on the con-
trary, may be followed by rupture of previously weakened arteries
and capillaries and cause immediate death, designated then as a
stroke of apoplexy.

Symptoms. — Congestion of the brain is usually sudden in its mani-
festation and of short duration. The animal may stop very suddenly
and shake its head or stand quietly braced, then stagger, make a
plunge, and fall. The eyes are staring, breathing hurried and
stertorous, and the nostrils widely dilated. This may be followed by
coma, violent convulsive movements, and death. Generally, however,
the animal gains relief in a short time, but may remain weak and
giddy for several days. If it is due to organic change of the heart or
the disease of the blood vessels in the brain, then tlie symptoms may
be of slow development, manifested by drowsiness, dimness or im-
perfect vision, difficulty in voluntary movements, diminished sensi-
bility of the skin, loss of consciousness, delirium, and death. In
milder cases effusion may take place in the arachnoid spaces and
ventricles of the brain, followed bj'' paralj^sis and other complications.

Pathology. — In congestion of the brain the cerebral vessels are
loaded with blood, the venous sinuses distended to an extreme
degree, and the pressure exerted upon the brain constitutes actual
compression, giving rise to the symptoms just mentioned. On post-
mortem examinations this engorgement is found universal through-
out the brain and its membranes, which serves to distinguish it from
inflammations of these structures, in which the engorgements are
confined more or less to circumscribed portions. A prolonged con-
gestion may, however, lead to active inflammation, and in that case
we find serous and plastic exudations in the cavities of the brain. In
addition to the intensely engorged condition of the vessels we fibad
the gray matter of the brain redder than natural. In cases in which
several attacks have occurred the blood vessels are often found
permanently dilated.

Treatment. — The animal should be taken out of harness at once,
with prompt removal of all mechanical obstructions to the circula-
tion. If it is caused by venous obstruction by too tight a collar, the

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 219

loosening of the collar will give immediate relief. The horse should
be bled freely from the jugular vein. If due to tumors or abscesses,
a surgical operation becomes necessary to afford relief. To revive
the animal if it becomes partially or totally unconscious, cold water
should be dashed on the head. Give a purge of Glauber's salt. If
the limbs are cold, tincture of capsicum or strong mustard water
should be applied to them. If symptoms of paralj^sis remain after
two or three days, an active cathartic and iodid of potassium will
be indicated, to be given as prescribed for inflammation of the brain.
In confirmed cases, treatment is not advisable, as there is consider-
able danger to the owner should an attack occur in a crowded street.
Prevention. — Well-adjusted collar, with strap running from the
collar to the girth, to hold down the collar when pulling upgrade;
regular feed and exercise, without allowing the animal to become
excessively plethoric; moderate checking, allowing a free-and-easy
movement of the head; well- ventilated stabling, proper cleanliness,
pure water, etc.

SUNSTROKE, HEAT STROKE, OR HEAT EXHAUSTION.

The term sunstroke is applied to affections occasioned not exclu-
sively by exposure to the sun's rays, as the word signifies, but by the
action of great heat combined generally with humid atmosphere.
Exhaustion produced by long-continued heat is often the essential
factor, and is called heat exhaustion. Horses on the race track un-
dergoing protracted and severe work in hot weather often succumb
to heat exhaustion. Draft horses which do not receive proper care
in watering, feeding, and rest in shady places and are exposed for
many hours to the direct rays of the sun suffer very frequently from
sunstroke.

Symptoms. — Sunstroke is manifested suddenly. The animal stops,
drops his head, begins to stagger, and soon falls to the ground uncon-
scious. The breathing is marked with great stertor, the pulse is very
slow and irregular, cold sweats break out in patches on the surface
of the body, and the animal often dies without having recovered
consciousness.

The temperature becomes very high, reaching 105° to lOO'^ F.

In heat exhaustion the animal usually requires urging for some
time prior to the appearance of any other symptoms, generally
perspiration is checked, and then the horse becomes weak in its gait,
the breathing hurried or panting, eyes watery or bloodshot, nostrils
dilated and highly reddened, assuming a dark, purple color ; the pulse
is rapid and weak, the heart bounding, followed by unconsciousness
and death. If recovery takes place, convalescence extends over a
long period of time, during which incoordination of movement may
persist.

220 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

Pathology. — Sunstroke, virtually active congestion of the brain,
often accompanied with effusion and blood extravasation, character-
izes this condition, with often rapid and fatal lowering of all the vital
functions. In many instances the death may be due to the complete
stagnation in the circulation of the brain, inducing anemia, or want
of nourishment of that organ. In other cases it may be directly due
to the excessive compression of the nerve matter controlling the
lieart's action, and cause paralysis of that organ. There are also
changes in the composition of the blood.

Treat7nent. — The animal should be placed in shaded surroundings.
Under no circumstances is bloodletting permissible in sunstroke.
Ice or very cold water should be applied to the head and along
the spine, and half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia or 6 ounces
of whisky should be given in 1 pint of Avater. Cold water may
be used as an enema and should also be show^ered upon the body of
the horse from the hose or otherwise. This should be continued until
the temperature is down to 103° F. Brisk friction of the limbs
and the application of spirits of camphor often yields good results.
The administration of the stimulants should be repeated in one hour
it the pulse has not become stronger and slower. In either case,
when reaction has occurred, preparations of iron and general tonics
may be given during convalescence: Sulphate of iron, 1 dram;
gentian. 3 drams; red cinchona bark, 2 drams; mix and gi^^e in feed
morning and evening.

Prevention. — In very hot weather horses should have wet sponges
or light sunshades on the head Avhen at Avork, or the head may be
sponged with cold water as many times a da}'^ as possible. Proper
attention should be given to feeding and watering, never in excess.
During the warm months all stables should be cool and well ven-
tilated, and if an animal is debilitated from exhaustive work or
disease it should receive such treatment as Avill tend to build up the
system. Horses should be permitted to drink as much water as they
want while they are at work during hot weather.

An animal which has been affected with sunstroke is very liable
to have subsefjuent attacks when exposed to the necessary exciting
causes.

APOPLEXY OR CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE.

Apoplexy is often confounded with cerebral congestion, but true
apoplexy always consists in rupture of cerebral blood vessels, with
blood extravasation and formation of blood clot.

Causes. — Two causes are involved in the production of apoplexy,
the ]iredisposing and the exciting. The predisposing cause is degen-
eration, or disease Avhich weakens the blood vessel ; the exciting cause
is any one which tends to induce cerel^ral congestion.

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 221

SyTnptoTns, — Apoplexy is characterized by a sudden loss of sensa-
tion and motion, profound coma, and stertorous, difficult breathing.
The action of the heart is little disturbed at first, but soon becomes
slower, then quicker and feebler, and after a little time ceases. If
the rupture is one of a small artery and the extravasation limited,
sudden paralysis of some part of the body is the result. The extent
and location of the paralysis depend upon the location within the
brain which is functionally deranged by the pressure of the extra vii-
sated blood ; hence these conditions are very variable.

In the absence of any premonitory symptoms or an increase of tem-
perature in the early stage of the attack, we may be reasonably cer-
tain in making the distinction between this disease and congestion of
the brain, or sunstroke.

Pathology. — In apoplexy there is generally found an atheromatous
condition of the cerebral vessels, with w-eakening and degeneration of
their walls. When a large artery has been ruptured it is usually fol-
lowed by immediate death, and large rents may be found in the cere-
brum, with great destruction of brain tissue, induced by the forcible
pressure of the liberated blood. In small extravasations producing
local paralysis without marked general disturbance the animal may
recover after a time; in such cases gradual absorption of the clot
takes place. In large clots atrophy of the brain substances may fol-
low, or softening and abscess from want of nutrition may result,
and render the animal worthless, ultimately resulting in death.

Treatment. — Place the animal in a quiet, cool place and avoid all
stimulating feed. Administer, in the drinking water or feed, 2
drams of the iodid of potassium twice a day for several weeks if
necessary. Medical interference with sedatives or stimulants is more
liable to be harmful than of benefit, and bloodletting in an apoplectic
fit is extremely hazardous. From the fact that cerebral apoplexy
is due to diseased or weakened blood vessels, the animal remains sub-
ject to subsequent attacks. For this reason treatment is \gvj unsatis-
factory.

COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN.

Causes. — In injuries from direct violence a piece of broken bone
may press upon the brain, and, according to its size, the brain is
robbed of its normal space within the cranium. It may also be due
to an extravasation of blood or to exudation in the subdural or arach-
noid spaces. Death from active cerebral congestion results through
compression. The occurrence may sometimes be traced to the direct
cause, w^hich will give assurance for the correct diagnosis.

Symptoms. — Impairment of all the special senses and localized
paralysis. All the symptoms of lessened functional activity of the
brain are manifested to some degree. The paralysis remains to be

222 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

our guide for the location of the cause, for it will be found that the
paralysis occurs on the opposite side of the body from the location
of the injury, and the parts suffering paralysis will denote, to an
expert veterinarian or physician, the part of the brain which is
suffering compression.

Treatment. — Trephining, b}" a skillful operator, for the removal
of the cause when due to depressed bone or the presence of foreign
bodies. When the symptoms of compression follow other acute
diseases of the brain, apoplectic fits, etc., the treatment must be such
as the exigencies of the case demands.

CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN.

This is generally caused by falling over backward and striking
the poll, or perhaps falling forward on the nose, by a blow on the
head, etc. Train accidents during shipping often cause concussion
of the brain.

^2/77^/?fow5.— Concussion of the brain is characterized by giddi-
ness, stupor, insensibility, or loss of muscular power, succeeding
immediately upon a blow or severe injury involving the cranium.
The animal may rally quickly or not for hours ; death may occur on
the spot or after a few days. When there is only slight concussion
or stunning, the animal soon recovers from the shock. "WTien more
severe, insensibility may be complete and continue for a considerable
time; the animal lies as if in a deep sleep; the pupils are insensible
to light; the pulse fluttering or feeble; the surface of the body cold,
muscles relaxed, and the breathing scarcely perceptible. After a
variable interval partial recovery may take place, which is marked
by paralysis of some parts of the body, often of a limb, the lips, ear,
etc. Convalescence is usually tedious, and frequently permanent im-
pairment of some organs remains.

Pathology. — Concussion produces laceration of the brain, or at
least a jarring of the nervous elements, which, if not sufficiently
severe to produce sudden death, may lead to softening or inflamma-
tion, with their respective symptoms of functional derangement.

Treatment. — The first object in treatment will be to establish reac-
tion or to arouse the feeble and weakening heart. This can often be
accomplished by dashing cold water on the head and bod}^ of the ani-
mal; frequent injections of weak ammonia water, ginger tea, or oil
and turpentine should be given per rectum. In the majority of cases
this will soon bring the horse to a state of consciousness. In more
severe cases mustard poultices should be applied along the spine and
above the fetlocks. As soon as the animal gains partial consciousness
stimulants, in the form of wliisky or capsicum tea, should be given.
Owing to severity of the structural injury to the brain or the pos-
sible rupture of blood vessels and blood extravasation, the reaction

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 223

may often be followed by encephalitis or cerebritis, and will then
have to be treated accordingly. For this reason the stimulants
should not be administered too freely, and they must be abandoned
as soon as reaction is established. There is no need for further
treatment unless complications develop as a secondary result. Bleed-
ing, which is so often practiced, proves almost invariably fatal in
this form of brain affection. We should also remember that it is
never safe to drench a horse with large quantities of medicine when
he is unconscious, for he is very liable to draw the medicine into the
lungs in inspiration.

Prevention: — Young horses, when harnessed or bitted for the first
few times, should not have their heads checked high, for it fre-
quently causes them to rear up, and, being unable to control their
balance, they are liable to fall over sideways or backwards, thus
causing brain concussion when they strike the ground.

ANEMIA OF THE BRAIN.

This is a physiological condition in sleep. It is considered a
disease or may give rise to disease when the circulation and blood
supply of the brain are interfered with. In" some diseases of the
heart the brain becomes anemic, and fainting fits occur, with tem-
porary loss of consciousness. Tumors growing within the cranium
may press upon one or more arteries and stop the supply of blood
to certain parts of the brain, thus inducing anemia, ultimately
atrophy, softening, or suppuration. Probably the most frequent
cause is found in plugging, or occlusion, of the arteries by a blood
clot.

Synhptoms. — Imperfect vision, constantly dilated pupils, frequently
a feeble and staggering gait, and occasionally cramps, convulsions, or
epileptic fits occur.

Pathology. — The exact opposite of cerebral hyperemia. The blood
vessels are found emj^ty, the membranes blanched, and the brain sub-
stance softened.

Treatment. — Removal of the remote cause when possible. General
tonics, nutritious feed, rest, and removal from all causes of nervous
excitement.

HYDROCEPHALUS, OR DROPSY OF THE BRAIN.

This condition consists in an unnatural collection of fluid about or
in the brain. Depending upon the location of the fluid, we speak of
external and internal hydrocephalus.

External hydrocephalus is seen chiefly in young animals. It com-
sists in a collection of fluid under the meninges, but outside the brain
proper. This defect is usually congenital. It is accompanied with

224 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

an enlargement of the skull, especially in the region of the forehead.
The pressure of the fluid may cause the bones to soften. The dis-
ease is incurable and usually fatal.

Internal hydrocephalus is a disease of mature horses, and consists
in the accumulation of an excessive quantity of fluid in the cavities
or ventricles of the cerebrum. The cause of this accumulation may
be a previous inflammation, a defect in the circulation of blood
through the brain, heat stroke, overwork, excessive nutrition, or long-
continued indigestion. Common, heavy-headed draft horses are pre-
disposed to this condition.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are an expression of dullness and stu-
pidity, and from their nature this disease is sometimes known as
" dumminess " or " immobility." A horse so afflicted is called a
" dummy." Among the symptoms are loss of intelligence, stupid ex-
pression, poor memory, etc. The appetite is irregular ; the horse may
stop chewing with a wisp of hay protruding from his lips; he seems
to forget that it is there. Unnatural positions are sometimes as-
sumed, the legs being placed in clumsy and unusual attitudes. Such
horses are difficult to drive, as they do not respond readily to the
word, to pressure of the bit, or to the whip. Gradually the pulse
becomes weaker, respiration becomes faster, and the subject loses
weight. Occasionally there are periods of great excitement due to
temporary congestion of the brain. At such times the horse becomes
quite uncontrollable. A horse so afflicted is said to have " staggers."
The outlook for recovery is not good.

Treatment is merely palliative. Eegular work or exercise and
nutritious feed easy of digestion, with plenty of fresh water, are
strongly indicated. Intensive feeding sliould not be practiced. The
bowels should be kept open by the use of appropriate diet or by tlie
use of small regular doses of Glauber's salt.

TUMORS WITHIN THE CRANIUM.

Tumors within the cranial cavity and the brain occur not infre-
quently, and give rise to a variety of symptoms, imperfect control of
voluntary movement, local paralysis, epilepsy, etc. Among the more
common tumors are the following :

Osseous tumors, growing from the Avails of the cranium, are not
very uncommon.

Dentigerous cysts, containing a formation identical to that of a
tooth, growing from the temporal bone, sometimes are found lying
loose within the cranium.

Tumors of tlie choroid plexus, known as brain sand, are frequently
met with on post-mortem examinations, but seldom give rise to any

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 225

appreciable symptoms during life. They are found in horses at all
ages, and are slow of development. They are found in one or both
of the lateral ventricles, enveloped in the folds of the choroid plexus.

Melanotic tumors have been found in the brain and meninges in
the form of small, black nodules in gray horses, and in one instance
are believed to have induced the condition InioAvn as stringhalt.

Fibrous tumors may develop Avithin or from the meningeal struc-
tures of the brain.

Gliomatous tumor is a variety of sarcoma very rarely found in tlie
structure of the cerebellum.

Treatment foi tumors of the brain is imjDossible.

SPASMS, OR CRAMPS.

Spasm is a marked symptom in many diseases of the brain and
of the spinal cord. Spasms may result from irritation of the motor
nerves as conductors, or may result from irritation of any part of
the sympathetic nervous system, and they usually indicate an ex-
cessive action of the reflex motor centers. Spasms may be induced
by various medicinal agents given in poisonous doses, or by effete
materials in the circulation, such as nux vomica or its alkaloid
strychnia, lead preparations, or an excess of the urea products in the
circulation, etc. Spasms may be divided into two classes: Tonic
spasm^ when the cramp is continuous or results in persistent rigidity,
as in tetanus ; clonic spasm, when the cramping is of short duration,
oris alternated with relaxations. Spasms may affect involuntary as
well as the voluntary muscles, the muscles of the glottis, intestines,
and even the heart. They are always sudden in their development.

Spasm of the glottis. — This is manifested by a strangling respira-
tion ; a wheezing noise is produced in the act of inspiration : extreme
anxiety and suffering for want of air. The head is extended, the
body profuseW perspiring; pulse very rapid; soon great exhaustion
becomes manifest; the mucous membranes become turgid and very
dark colored, and the animal thus ma}^ suffocate in a short time.

Spasm of the intestines. — (See " Cramp colic." p. 74.)

Spasm of the neck of the hiadder. — This may be due to spinal irri-
tation or a reflex from intestinal irritation, and is manifested bj^ fre-
quent but ineffectual attempts to urinate.

Spasm of the dkiphragrn., or thumps. — Spasmodic contraction of
the diaphragm, the principal muscle used in respiration, is generally
occasioned by extreme and prolonged speeding on the race track or
road. The severe strain thus put upon this muscle finally induces
irritation of the nerves controlling it, and the contractions become
very forcible and violent, giving the jerking character known among

54763°— 23 15

226 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

horsemen as " thumps." This condition may be distinguished from
violent beating of the heart by feeling the pulse beat at the angle of
the jaw, and at the same time watching the jerking movement of the
body, when it will be discovered that the two bear no relation to each
other. (See " Palpitation of the heart," p. 259.)

S'pasm of the thigh, or cramfif of a, hind liinb. — This is frequently
witnessed in horses that stand on sloping plank floors — generally in
cold weather — or it may come on soon after severe exercise. It is
probably due to an irritation of the nerves of the thigh. In cramps
of the hind leg the limb becomes perfectly rigid, and attempts to flex
are unsuccessful; the animal stands on the affected limb, but is
unable to move it; it is unnaturally cold; it does not, however,
appear to cause much suffering unless attempts are made to change
position. This cramp may be of short duration — a few minutes — or
it may persist for several days. This condition is often taken for a
dislocation of the stifle joint. In the latter the foot is extended back-
ward, and the horse is unable to advance it, but drags the limb. An
examination of the joint also reveals a change in form. Spasms
may affect the eyelids, by closure or by retraction. Spasm of the
sterno-maxillaris muscle has been witnessesd, and the animal was
unable to close the jaws until the muscle became relaxed.

Treatment of spasms. — An anodyne liniment, composed of chloro-
form 1 part and soap liniment 4 parts, applied to cramped muscles
will usually cause relaxation. This may be used when single exter-
nal muscles are affected. In spasms of the glottis, inhalation of sul-
phuric ether will give quick relief. In spasm of the diaphragm, rest
and the administration of half an ounce of chloroform in 3 ounces of
whisky, with a pint of water added, will generally suffice to bring
relief, or if this fails give 5 grains of sulphate of morphia by hypo-
dermic injection. If spasms result from organic disease of the nerv-
ous system, the latter should receive such treatment as its character
demands. In cramp of the leg, compulsory movement usually causes
relaxation very quickly; therefore the animal should be led out of
the stable and be forced to run or trot. Sudden, nervous excitement
caused by a crack of the whip or smart blow will often bring about
immediate relief. Should this fail, the anodyne liniment may be
used along the inside of the thigh, and chloroform, ether, or lauda-
num given internally. An ounce of the chloral hydrate will cer-
tainly relieve the spasm when given internally, but the cramp may
return soon after the effect has passed off, which in many cases it
does very quickly.

Convulsions. — ^Although there is no disease of the nervous system
which can be properly termed convulsive, or justify the use of the
word convulsion to indicate any particular disease, yet it is often
such a prominent symptom that a few words may not be out of place.

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 227

General, irregular muscular contractions of various parts of the body,
witli unconsciousness, characterize what we regard as convulsions,
and like ordinary spasms are dependent upon some disease or irrita-
tion of the nervous structures, chiefly of the brain. No treatment 13
required; in fact, a general convulsion must necessarily be self-
limited in its duration. Suspending, as it does, respiratory move-
ments, checking the oxygenation and decarbonization of the blood,
the rapid accumulation of carbonic-acid gas in the blood and the
exclusion of oxygen quickly puts the blood in a condition to produce
the most reliable and speedy sedative effect upon the nerve excitabil-
ity that could be found, and consequently furnishes its own remedy
so far as the continuance of the convulsive paroxysm is concerned.
Whatever treatment is instituted must be directed toward a removal
of the cause of the convulsive paroxysm.

CHOREA, OR ST. VITUS'S DANCE.

Chorea is characterized by involuntary contractions of voluntary
muscles. This disease is an obscure disorder, which may be from
pressure upon a nerve, cerebral or spinal sclerosis, small aneurisms
in the brain, etc. Choreic symptoms have been produced by injecting
granules of starch into the arteries entering the brain. Epilepsy and
other forms of convulsions simulate chorea in appearance.

Stringhalt is by some termed " chorea." This is manifested by a
sudden jerking up of one or both hind legs when the animal is
walking. This symptom may be very slight in some horses, but has
a tendency to increase with age. In some the catching up of the
affected leg is very violent, and when it is lowered to the ground the
motion is equally sudden and forcible, striking the foot to the ground
like a pile driver. Very rarely chorea may be found to affect one of
the fore legs, or the muscles of one side of the neck or the upper
part of the neck. Involuntary jerking of the muscles of the hip or
thigh is seen occasionally, and is termed " shivering " by horsemen.

Chorea is often associated with a nervous disposition, and is not
so frequent in animals with a sluggish temperament. The involun-
tary muscular contractions cause no pain, and do not appear to pro-
duce much exhaustion of the affected muscles, although the jerking
may be regular and persistent whenever the animal is in motion.

Treatment. — In a few cases, early in the appearance of this affec-
tion, general nerve tonics may be of benefit, viz, iodid of iron, 1
dram; pulverized nux vomica, 1 dram; pulverized Scutellaria (skull-
cap), i ounce. Mix and give in the feed once a day for two weeks.
Arsenic in the form of Fowler's solution is often beneficial. If tho
cause is connected with organic brain lesions, treatment is usually
unsuccessful.

228 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

EPILEPSY, OR FALLING FITS.

The cause of epilepsy is seldom traceable to any special brain
lesions. In a few cases it accompanies disease of the pituitary body,
which is located in the under surface of the brain. Softening of the
brain may give rise to this affection. Attacks may occur only once
or twice a year or they may be of frequent recurrence.

Symptoms. — Xo premonitory symptoms precede an epileptic fit.
The animal suddenly staggers; the muscles become cramped; the
jaws may be spasmodically opened and closed, and the tongue be-
come lacerated between the teeth; the animal foams at the mouth and
falls in a spasm. The urine flows involuntarily, and the breathing
may be temporarily arrested. The paroxysm soon passes off, and the
animal gets on its feet in a few minutes after the return of con-
sciousness.

Treatment. — Dashing coid water on the head during the paroxysm.
After the recovery 1 dram of oxid of zinc may be given in the feed
twice a day for several weeks, or benefit may be derived from the
tonic prescribed for chorea.

PARALYSIS, OR PALSY.

Paralysis is a weakness or cessation of the muscular contraction
by diminution of loss of the conducting power or stimulation of the
motor nerves. Paral5rtic affections are of two kinds, the complete
and the incomplete. The former includes those in which both
motion and sensibility are affected; the latter those in which only
one or the other is lost or diminished. Paralysis may be general
or partial. The latter is divided into hemiplegia and paraplegia.
When only a small portion of the body is affected, as the face, a
limb, the tail, it is designated by the term local paralysis. When the
irritation extends from the periphery of the center it is termed
reflex paralysis.

Causes are much varied. Most of the acute affections of the brain
and spinal cord may lead to paralysis. Injuries, tumors, disease of
the blood vessels of the brain, etc., all have a tendency to produce
suspension of the conducting motive power to the muscular struc-
tures. Pressure upon, or the severing of, a nei-ve causes a paralysis
of the parts to which such a nerve is distributed. Apoplexy may
be termed a general paralysis, and in nonfatal attacks is a frequent
cause of the various forms of palsy.

General paralysis. — This can not take place without producing
immediate death. The term is, however, usually applied to paralysis
of the four extremities, whether any other portions of the body are
involved or not. Tliis form of palsy is due to compression of the
brain by congestion of its vessels, large clot formation in apoi)lexy,

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 229

concnssion, or shock, or any disease in Avhich the whole brain struc-
ture is involved in functional disturbance.

Hemiplegia (paralysis of one side or hale of the body). — Hemi-
plegia is frequently the result of a tumor in the lateral ventricles of
the brain, softening of one hemisphere of the cerebrum, pressure
from extravasated blood, fracture of the cranium, or it may be due
to poisons in the blood or to reflex origin. When hemiplegia is
due to or the result of a prior disease of the brain, especially of an
inflammatory character, it is seldom complete; it may affect only
one limb and one side of the head, neck, or muscles along the back,
and may pass off in a few days after the disappearance of all the
other evidences of the primary affection. In most cases, however,
hemiplegia arises from emboli obstructing one or more blood vessels
of the brain, or the rupture of some vessel the wall of which had
become weakened by degeneration and the extravasation of blood.
Sensibility in most cases is not impaired, but in some there is a
loss of sensibility as well as of motion. In some cases the bladder
and rectum are involved in the paralysis.

Sij')'rhptoms. — In hemiplegia the attack may be very sudden, and
the animal fall, powerless to move one side of the body ; one side of
the lips will be relaxed ; the tongue may hang out on one side of the
mouth; the tail curved around sideways; an inability to swallow
feed or water may be present, and often the urine dribbles away as
fast as it collects in the bladder. Sensibility of the affected side may
be entirely lost or only partial ; the limbs may be cold and sometimes
unnaturally warm. In cases wherein the attack is not so severe the
animal may be able to maintain the standing position, but will have
great difficulty in moving the affected side. In such cases the animal
may recover from the disability. In the more severe, in which there
is complete loss of power of movement, recoveries are rare.

Paraplegia (TRAiS:s\TERSE paralysis of the hind extremities). —
Paralysis of the hind extremities is usually due to some injury or
inflammation affecting the spinal cord. (See " Spinal meningitis,"
p. 232, and "Myelitis," p. 233.) It may also be due to a reflex irri-
tation from disease of peripheral nerves, to spinal irritation or
congestion caused by blood poisons, etc.

Symptoms. — When due to mechanical injury of the spinal cord,
from a broken back or spinal hemorrhage, it is generally progressiA'e
in its character, although it may be sudden. When it is caused by
agents in the bond, it may be intermittent or recurrent.

Paraplegia is not difficult to recognize, for it is characterized by a
weakness and imperfect control of the hind legs and powerless tail.
The urine usually dribbles away as it is formed and the manure is
pushed out, ball by ball, without any voluntary effort, or the passages
may cease entirely. When paraplegia is complete, large and ill-con-

230 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

ditioned sores soon form on the hips and thighs from chafing and
bruising, which have a tendency quickly to weaken the animal and
necessitate his destruction.

Locomotor ataxia, ok incoordination of movement. — This is
characterized by an inability to control properly the movement of
the limbs. The animal appears usually perfectly healthy, but when
he is led out of his stall his legs have a wobbly movement and he
will stumble or stagger, especially in turning. When this is con-
fined to the hind parts it may be termed a modified form of para-
plegia, but often it may be seen to affect nearly all the voluntary
muscles when they are called into play, and must be attributed to
some pressure exerted on the base of the brain.

Local paralysis. — This is frequently met with in horses. It may
affect many parts of the body, even vital organs, and it is verv
frequently overlooked in diagnosis.

Facial paralysis. — This is a frequent type of local paralysis, and
is due to impairment of function of the motor nerve of the facial
muscles, the portio dura. The cause may exist at the base of the
brain, compression along its course after it leaves the medulla oblon-
gata, or to a bruise after it spreads out on the great masseter muscle.

SyniptO'tihs. — A flaccid condition of the cheek muscles, pendulous
lips, inability to grasp the feed, often a slow and weak movement in
chewing, and difficulty and slowness in drinking.

Laryngismus paralyticus, or roaring. — This condition is charac-
terized by roaring, and is usually caused by an inflamed or hypertro-
phied bronchial gland pressing against the left recurrent laryngeal
nerve, which interferes with its conducting power. A similar con-
dition is occasionally induced in acute pleurisy, when the recurrent
nerve becomes involved in the diseased process or compressed by
plastic exudation.

Paralysis of the rectum and tail. — This is generally the result of
a blow or fall on the rump, which causes a fracture of the sacrum
bone and injury to the nerves supplying the tail and part of the
rectum and muscles belonging thereto. This fracture would not
be suspected were it not for the loss of motion of the tail.

Intestinal paralysis. — Characterized by persistent constipation;
frequently the strongest purgatives have no effect whatever on the
movement of the bowels. In the absence of symptoms of indigestion,
or special diseases implicating the intestinal canal, torpor of the
bowels must be attributed to deficient innervation. This condition
may depend upon brain affections or be due to reflex paralysis. Sud-
den checks of perspiration may induce excessive action of the bowels
or paralysis.

Paralysis of the bladder. — This usually affects the neck of the
bladder, and is characterized by incontinence of urine; the urine
dribbles away as fast as it is secreted. The cause may be of reflex

DISEASES OF THE NEKVOUS SYSTEM. 231

origin, disease of the rectum, tumors growing within the pelvic cav-
ity, injury to the spinal cord, etc.

Paralysis of the optic nerve (amaurosis). — A paralysis of eye-
sight may occur very suddenly from rupture of a blood vessel in the
brain, acute local congestion of the brain, the administration of ex-
cessive doses of belladonna or its alkaloid atropia, etc. In amaurosis
the pupil is dilated to its full extent; the eye looks clear, but does
not respond to light.

Paralysis of hearing, of the external ear, of the eyelid, partial
paralysis of the heart and organs of respiration, of the blood vessels
from injury to the vasomotor nerves of the esophagus, or loss of
deglutition, palsy of the stomach, all may be manifested when the
suppl}^ of nervous influence is impaired or suspended.

Treatmext eor paralysis. — In all paralytic affections there may be
anesthesia, or impairment of sensibility, in addition to the loss of
motion, or there may be hyperesthesia, or increased sensibility, in
connection with the loss of motion. These conditions may call for
special treatment in addition to that for loss of motion. If hyper-
esthesia is well marked local anodynes may be needed to relieve
suffering. Chloroform liniment or hypodermic injections of from
3 to 5 grains of sulphate of morphia will allay local pain. If there is
marked anesthesia, or loss of sensibility, it may become necessary to
secure the animal in such way that he can not suffer serious injury
from accidents which he can not avoid or feel. In the treatment
of any form of paralysis we must always refer to the cause, and
attempt its removal if it can be discovered. In cases in which the
cause can not be determined we have to rely solely upon a general
external and internal treatment. Externally, fly blisters or strong,
irritant liniments may be applied to the paralyzed parts. In hemi-
plegia they should be applied along the bony part of the side of the
neck; in paraplegia, across the loins. In some cases hot-water cloths
will be beneficial. Internally, it is well to administer 1 dram of
powdered nux vomica or 2 gi^ains of sulphate of strychnia twice a
day until twitching of some of the voluntary muscles occurs; then
discontinue it for several days, and then commence again with a
smaller dose, gradually increasing it until twitching recurs. lodid
of potassium in 1 to 2 dram doses two or three times daily may be used
with the hope that it will favor the absorption of the clot or obstruc-
tion to the nervous current. In some cases Fowler's solution of
arsenic in teaspoonful doses twice a day in the drinking water
proves beneficial. Occasionally benefit may be derived from the
application of the electric current, especially in cases of roaring,
facial paralysis, paralysis of the eyelid, etc. Nutritious but not
two bulky feed, good ventilation, clean stabling, moderate exercise
if the animal is capable of taking it, good grooming, etc., should
be observed in all cases.

232 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

SPINAL xMENlNGITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE MEMBRANES
ENVELOPING THE SPINAL CORD.

This may be induced by the irritant properties of blood poisons,
exhaustion and exposure, spinal concussion, all forms of injury to
the spine, tumors, caries of the vertebra?, rheumatism, etc.

SyTYiptoms. — A chill may be the precursor, a rise in temperature,
or a general weakness and shifting of the legs. Soon a painful, con-
vulsive twitching of the muscles sets in, followed by muscular rigid-
ity along the spine, in which condition the animal will move very
stiffly and evince great pain in turning. Evidences of paralysis or
paraplegia develop, retention or incontinence of urine, and often-
times sexual excitement is present. The presence of marked fever at
the beginning of the attack, associated with spinal symptoms, should
lead us to suspect spinal meningitis or myelitis. These two condi-
tions usually appear together, or myelitis follows inflammation of the
meninges so closel}^ that it is almost impossible to separate the tAvo;
practically it does not matter much, for the treatment will be about
the same in both cases. Spinal meningitis generally becomes chronic,
and is then marked principally by paralysis of that jDortion, or parts
of it, posterior to the seat of the disease.

Pathology. — In spinal meningitis Ave find essentiality the same con-
dition as in cerebral meningitis; there is an effusion of serum be-
tween the membranes, and often a plastic exudation firmly adherent
to the pia mater serves to maintain a state of paralysis for a long time
after the acute symptoms ha^e disappeared by cornpressmg the cord.
Finally, atroph}^, softening, and even abscess may develop Avithin the
cord. Unlike in man, it is usually found localized in horses.

TreatTnent. — Bags filled with ice should be applied along the spine,
to be followed later by strong blisters. The fever should be con-
trolled as early as possible by gi^dng 20 drops of Norwood's tincture
of veratrum viride eA^ery hour until the desired result is obtained.
One dram of the fluid extract of belladonna, to control pain and vas-
cular excitement of the spinal cord, may be given eA'ery fiA'-e or six
hours until the pupils of the eyes become pretty Avell dilated. If the
pain is very intense 5 grains of sulphate of morphia should be in-
jected hypodermically. The animal must be kept as free from excite-
ment as possible. If the urine is retained in the bladder it must be
draAvn off eA'ery four or six hours. In very acute attacks the disease
generally proves fatal in a few days. If, hoAvever, the animal grows
better, some form of paralysis is liable to remain for a long time, and
the treatment Avill have to be directed then toAvard a remoA'al of the
exudative products and a strengthening of the system and stimula-
tion of the nervous functions. To induce absorption, iodid of potas-
sium in 2-dram doses, dissolved in the drinking water, may be given

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 233

twice a day. To strengthen the system, iodid of iron 1 dram twice a
day and 1 dram of nux vomica once a day may be given in the feed.
Electricity to the paralyzed and weakened muscles is advisable; the
current should be weak, but be continued for half an hour two or
three times daily. If the disease is due to a broken back, caries of
the vertebrae, or some other irremediable cause, the animal should be
destroyed at once.

MYELITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE

SPINAL CORD.

This is a rare disease, except as a secondary result of spinal menin-
gitis or injuries to the spine. Poisoning by lead, arsenic, mercury,
phosphorus, carbonic-acid gas, etc., has been known to produce it.
Myelitis may be confined to a small spot in the cord or may involve
the Avhole for a variable distance. It may lead to softening abscess
or degeneration.

Sy7npto7ns. — The attack may begin with a chill or convulsion : the
muscles twitch or become cramped very early in the disease, and the
bladder usually is affected at the outset, in which there may be either
retention or incontinence of urine. These conditions are followed by
complete or partial paral,ysis of the muscles posterior to the locality
of the inflamed cord, and the muscles begin to waste away rapidly.
The paralyzed limb becomes cold and dry, due to the suspension of
proper circulation; the joints may swell and become edematous;
vesicular eruptions appear on the skin; and frequently gangrenous
sloughs form on the paralyzed parts. It is exceedingly seldom that
recovery takes place. In a few instances it may assume a chronic
type, when all the symptoms become mitigated, and thus continue
for some time, until septicemia, pyemia, or exhaustion causes death.

Pathology. — The inflammation may involve nearly the whole
length of the cord, but generally it is more intense in some places
than others; when due to mechanical injury, the inflanmiation may
remain confined to a small section. The cord is swollen and con-
gested, reddened, often softened and infiltrated with pus cells, and
the nerve elements are degenerated.

Treatment. — Similar to that of spinal meningitis.

SPINAL CONGESTION.

This condition consists in an excess of blood. As the blood vessels
of the pia mater are the principal source of supply to the spinal
cord, hyj)eremia of the cord and of the meninges usually go together.
The symptoms are, therefore, closely allied to those of spinal menin-
gitis and congestion. When the pia mater is diseased, the spinal
cord is almost invariablv affected also.

234 DISEASES OF TKE HORSE.

Cause. — Sudden checking of the perspiration, violent exercise,
blows, and falls.

SymptoTus. — The symptoms may vary somewhat with each case,
and closely resemble the first symptoms of spinal meningitis, spinal
tumors, and myelitis. First, some disturbance in movement, lower-
ing the temperature, and partial loss of sensibility posterior to the
seat of the congestion. If in the cervical region, it may cause inter-
ference in breathing and the action of the heart. When in the region
of the loins, there may be loss of control of the bladder. When the
congestion is sufficient to produce compression of the cord, paraplegia
may be complete. Usually fever, spasms, muscular twitching, or
muscular rigidity are absent, which will serve to distinguish spinal
congestion from spinal meningitis.

Treatment. — Hot-water applications to the spine, l-dram doses

fluid extract of belladonna repeated every four hours, and tincture

of aconite root 20 drops every hour until the symptoms become

ameliorated. If no inflammatory products occur, the animal is

likely to recover.

SPINAL ANEMIA.

This may be caused by extreme cold, exhausting diseases, spinal
embolism or plugging of a spinal blood vessel, an interference with
the circulation through the abdominal aorta, from compression,
thrombosis, or aneurism of that vessel; the spinal vessels may be
caused to contract through vasomotor influence, a result of periph-
eral irritation of some nerve.

Spinal anemia causes paralysis of the muscles used in extending
the limbs. When the bladder is affected, it precedes the weakness
of motion, while in spinal congestion it follows, and increased
sensibility, in place of diminished sensibility, as in spinal congestion,
is observed. Pressure along the spine causes excessive pain.

If the exciting cause can be removed, the animal recovers ; if this
fails, the spinal cord may undergo softening.

SPINAL COMPRESSION.

When caused by tumors or otherwise, when pressure is slight, it
produces a paralysis of the muscles used in extending a limb and
contraction of those which flex it. When compression is great it
causes complete loss of sensibilty and motion posterior to the com-
pressed part of the cord.

Compression of a lateral half of the cord produces motor paralysis,
disturbance of the circulation, and difficulty of movement, an in-
creased sensibility on the side corresponding to the compressed sec-
tion, and a diminished sensibility and some paralysis on the opposite
side.

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 235

Treatment. — When it occurs as a sequence of a preceding inflam-
matory disease, iodid of potassium and general tonics are indicated.
When due to tumors growing within the spinal canal, or to pressure
from displaced bone, no form of treatment will result in any benefit.

SPINAL HEMORRHAGE.

This may occur from changes in the wall of the blood vessels, in
connection with tumors, acute myelitis, traumatic injuries, etc. The
blood may escape through the pia mater into the subarachnoid cavity,
and large clots be formed.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are largely dependent upon the seat
and extent of the hemorrhage, as they are principally owing to
the compression of the cord. A large clot may produce sudden
paraplegia, accompanied with severe pain along the spine; usually,
however, the paralysis of both motion and sensation is not very
marked at first ; on the second or third day fever is liable to appear,
and increased or diminished sensibility along the spine posterior
to the seat of the clot. When the bladder and rectum are involved
in the symptoms it indicates that the spinal cord is compressed.

Treatment. — In the occurrence of injuries to the back of a horse,
whenever there is any evidence of paralysis, it is always advisable to
apply bags of ice along the spine to check or prevent hemorrhage
or congestion, and 2 drams of the fluid extract of ergot and 20 drops
of tincture of digitalis may be given every hour until three doses
have been taken. Subsequently tincture af belladonna in half -ounce
doses may be given three times a day. If there is much pain, 5 grains
of sulphate of morphia, injected under the skin, will afford relief
and lessen the excitability of the animal. In all cases the animal
should be kept perfectly quiet.

SPINAL CONCUSSION.

This is rarely observed in the horse, and unless it is sujfficiently
severe to produce well-marked symptoms it would not be suspected.
It may occur in saddle horses from jumping, or it may be pro-
duced by falling over an embankment, or a violent fall upon the
haunches may produce it. Concussion may be followed by partial
paralysis or spinal hemorrhage; generally, however, it is confined to
a jarring and some disturbance of the nerve elements of the cord,
and the paralytic effect which ensues soon passes off. Treatment
consists in rest until the animal has completely recovered from the
shock. If secondary effects follow from hemorrhage or compression,
they have to be treated as heretofore directed.

236 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

SPINAL TUMORS.

Within the substance of the cord glioma or the mixed gliosarco-
niata are found to be the most frequent, tumors may form from the
meninges and the vertebrae, being of a fibrous or bony nature, and
affect the spinal cord indirectly by compression. In the meninges
Ave may find glioma, cancers, and psammoma. fibromata: aneurisms
of the spinal arteries have been discovered in the spinal canal.

Si/7npto7ns. — Tumors of the spinal canal cause symptoms of spinal
irritation or compression of the cord. The gradual and slow de-
velopment of symptoms of paralysis of one or both hind limbs or
certLiin muscles may lead to a suspicion of spinal tumors. The par-
alysis induced is progressive, but not usually marked with atrophy
of the muscles or increased sensibility along the spine. When the
tumor is within the spinal cord itself all the symptoms of myelitis
may be present.

'rreatinent. — General tonics and 1-dram doses of mix vomica may
be given; iodid of iron or iodid of potassium in 1-dram doses, three
times a day in feed, piay. in a very few cases, give some temporary
benefit. ITsually the disease progresses steadily until it proves fatah

NEURITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF A NERVE.

This is caused by a bruise or wound of a nerve or by strangulation
in a ligature when the nerve is included in the ligation of an artery.
The changes in an inflamed nerve are an enlargement, reddening of
the nerve sheath, spots of ^travasated blood, and sometimes an infil-
tration of serum mixed with pus.

ASyinptoms. — Acute pain of the parts supplied h\ the nerve and
absence of sAvelling or increased heat of the part.

Treatment. — Hypodermic injections of from 3 to 5 grains of mor-
phia to relieve pain, hot fomentations, and rest. If it is due to an
inclusion of a ligature, the nerve should be divided above and below
the ligature.

NEUROMA, OR TUMOR OF A NERVE.

Neuroma may be from enlargement of the end of a divided nerve
or due to fibrous degeneration of a nerve which has been bruised or
wounded. Its most frecpient occurrence is found after the operation
of neurotomy for foot lameness, and it may appear after the lapse of
months or even j^ears. Neuroma usually develops within the sheath
of the nerve with or without iuii)licating the nerve fibers. It is oval,
running lengthwise Avith the direction of the nerve.

Sf/m- ptosis. — Pain of the affected limb or part is manifested, uiore
especially after resting a while, and when pressure is made upon the
tumor it causes extreme suffering.

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 237

Treatinent. — Excision of the tumor, including part of the nerve
above and below, and then treat it like any other simple wound.

INJURIES TO NERVES.

These may consist in wounding, bruising, laceration, stretching,
compression, etc. The symptoms which are produced will depend
upon the extent, seat, and character of the injury. Recovery may
quickly take place, or it may lead to neuritis, neuroma, or spinal or
cerebral irritation, which ma}'^ result in tetanus, paralysis, and other
serious derangements. In all diseases, whether produced by some
form of external violence or intrinsic causes, the nerves are necessa-
rily involved, and sometimes it is to a primary injury of them that the
principal fault in movement or change of nutrition of a part is due.
It is often difficult or impossible to discover that an injury to a nerve
has been inflicted, but whenever this is possible it may enable us to
remedy that which otherwise would result in permanent evil. Treat-
ment should consist in relieving compression, in hot fomentations,
the application of anodyne liniments, excision of the injured part,
and rest. .

FORAGE POISONING, OR SO-CALLED CEREBROSPINAL MENIN-

GITIS.

This disease prevails among horses in nearly all parts of the
United States. Its appearance in America is by no means of recent
occurrence, for the malady was reported by Large in 1817, by
Michener in 1850, and by Liautard in 1869 as appearing in both
sporadic and enzootic form in several of the Eastern States. Since
then the disease has occurred periodically in many States in all sec-
tions of the country, and has been the subject of numerous investi-
gations and publications by a number of the leading men of the
veterinary profession. It is preAalent with more or less severity
every year in certain parts of the United States, and during the year
1912 the Bureau of Animal Industry received urgent requests for
help from Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia. While
in 1912 the brunt of the disease seemed to fall on Kansas and Ne-
braska, other States were also seriously afflicted. In previous years,
for instance in 1882, as Avell as in 1897, the horses of southeastern
Texas were reported to have died by the thousand, and in the follow-
ing year the horses of Iowa were said to have "died like rats,"
However, Kansas seems to have had more than her share of this
trouble, as a severe outbreak that extended over almost the entire
State occurred in 1891, while in 1902, in 1906, and again in 1912 the
disease recurred with equal severity in various portions of the State.

238 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

This condition consists in a poisoning and depression of the ner-
vous system from eating or drinking feed or water containing poison
generated by mold or bacteria. It has been shown to be owing to
eating damaged ensilage, corn, brewers' grains, oats, etc., or to drink-
ing stagnant pond water or water from a well contaminated by sur-
face drainage. Horses at pasture may contract the disease when
the growth of grass is so profuse that it mats together and the
lower part dies and ferments or becomes moldy.

In England a similar disease has been called " grass staggers," due
to eating rye grass when it is ripening or when it is cut and eaten
while it is heating and undergoing fermentation. In eastern Penn-
sylvania it Avas formerly known by the name of " putrid sore throat "
and " choking distemper." A disease similar in many respects which
is very prevalent in Virgina, especially along the eastern border, is
commonly known by the name of "blind staggers," and in many of
the Southern States this has been attributed to the consumption of
worm-eaten corn. Horses of all ages and mules are subject to this
disease.

Symptoms and lesions. — The symptoms which typify sporadic or
epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis in man are not witnessed among
horses, namely, excessive pain, high fever, and early muscular
rigidity. In the recognition of the severity of the attack we may
divide the symptoms into three grades. In the most rapidly fatal
attacks the animal may first indicate it by weak, staggering gait,
partial or total inability to swallow solids or liquids, impairment of
eyesight; twitching of the muscles and slight cramps may be ob-
served. As a rule, the temperature is not elevated — indeed, it is
sometimes below normal. This is soon followed by a paralysis of
the whole body, inability to stand, delirium in which the animal
sometimes goes through a series of automatic movements as if trot-
ting or running; the delirium may become very violent and the un-
conscious animal may bruise his head very seriously in his struggles ;
but usually a deep coma renders him quiet until he expires. Death in
these cases usually takes place in from 4 to 24 hours from the time
the first symptoms become manifest. The pulse is variable during
the progress of the disease ; it may be almost imperceptible at times,
and then again very rapid and irregular; the respirations generally
are quick and catching. In the next form in which this disease may
develop it first becomes manifest by a difficulty in swallowing and
slowness in mastication, and a weakness which may be first noticed
in the strength of the tail ; the animal will be unable to switch it or
to offer resistance when we bend it up over the croup. The pulse is
often a little slower than normal. There is no evidence of pain ; the
respirations are unchanged, and the temperature little less than nor-
mal; the bowels may be somewhat constipated. These symptoms

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 239

may remain unchanged for two or three days and then gradual im-
provement may take phice, or the power to swallow may become
entirely lost and the weakness and uncertainty in gait more and more
perceptible ; then sleepiness or coma may appear ; the pulse becomes
depressed, slow, and weak, the breathing stertorous, and paroxysms
of delirium develop, with inability to stand, and some rigidity of the
spinal muscles or partial cramp of the neck and jaws. In such cases
death may occur in from 6 to 10 days from the commencement of
the attack. In many cases there is no evidence of pain, spasm, or
fever at any time during the progress of the disease, and finally
profound coma develops and death follows, painless and without a
struggle.

In the last or mildest form the inability of voluntary control of the
limbs becomes but slightly marked, the power of swallowing never
entirely lost, and the animal has no fever, pain, or unconscious move-
ments. Generally the animal will begin to improve about the fourth
day and recovers.

In a few cases the spinal symptoms, manifested by paraplegia, may
be the most prominent symptoms; in others they may be altogether
absent and the main symptoms may be difficulty in mastication and
swallowing; rarely it may affect one limb only. In all cases in
which coma remains absent for six or seven days the animal is
likely to recover. "Wlien changes toward recovery take place, the
symptoms usually leave in the reverse order to that in which they
developed, but local paralysis may remain for some time, rarely
persistent.

On post-mortem the number of lesions observable to the naked
eye is in marked contrast to the severity of the symptoms noted.
The pharynx and larynx are inflamed in many cases, and sometimes
coated with a yellowish-white glutinous deposit, extending at times
over the tongue and occasionally a little way down the trachea. The
lungs are normal, except from complications following drenching or
recumbence for a long period. The heart is usually normal in appear-
ance, except an occasional cluster of hemorrhagic points on the outer
surface, while the blood is dark and firmly coagulated. The lining of
the stomach indicates a subacute gastritis, while occasionally an
erosion is noted. An edema is observed in the submucosa of such
cases. The first few inches of the small intestines likewise may show
slight inflammation in certain cases, while in others it is quite se-
vere; otherwise the digestive tract appears normal, excluding the
presence of varying numbers of bots, Strongylus vulgatus^ and a
few other nematodes. The liver is congested and swollen in some
cases, while it appears normal in others. The spleen is, as a rule,
normal, and at times the kidneys are slightly congested. The bladder
is often distended with dark-colored urine, and occasionally a marked

240 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

cystitis has been observed. The adipose tissue throughout the carcass
may show a pronounced icteric appearance in certain cases. On re-
moving the bones of the skull the brain appears to be normal macro-
scopically in a few instances, but in most cases the veins and capil-
laries of the meninges of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and occasionally
the medulla is distinctly dilated and engorged, and in a few cases
there are pronounced lesions of a leptomeningitis. An excessive quan-
tity of cerebrospinal fluid is present in most of the cases. On the
lloor of the lateral ventricles of several brains there was noted a slight
softening caused by hemorrhages into the brain substance. There is
alwaj^s an abundance of fluid in the subarachnoid spaces, ventricles,
and at the base of the brain, usually of the color of diabetic urine,
and containing a limited number of flocculi, but in a few cases it was
slightly blood tinged. The spinal cord was not found involved in the
few cases examined.

Treatment. — One attack of the disease does not confer immunity.
Horses have been observed which have recovered from two attacks,
and still others that recovered from the first but died as a result of
the second attack.

Inasmuch as a natural immunity does not appear after an attack
of cerebrospinal meningitis, it might be anticipated that serum
of recovered cases would possess neither curative nor prophylactic
qualities. Nevertheless, experiments have been made along these
lines with serum from recovered cases, but without any positive
results. Similar investigations have been conducted by others in
Europe with precisely the same results. With the tendency of the
disease to produce pathological lesions in the central nervous system,
it seems scarcely imaginable that a medicinal remedy will be found
to heal these foci, and even when recovery takes place considerable
disturbance in the functions, as blindness, partial paralysis, dumb-
ness, etc., is liable to remain. Indeed, when the disease once be-
comes established in an animal, drugs seem to lose their physio-
logical action. Therefore, with all the previously mentioned facts
before us, it is evident that the first principle in the treatment of
this disease is prevention, which consists in the exercise of proper
care in feeding only clean, well-cured forage and grain and pure
water. These measures M'hen faithfully carried out check the de-
velopment of additional cases of the disease upon the affected
premises.

AVhile medicinal treatment has proved unsatisfactory in most
cases, nevertheless the first indication is to clean out the digestive
tract thoroughly, and to accomplish this prompt measures nuist be
used early in the disease. Active and concentrated remedies shoidd
be given, preferably subcutaneously or intravenously, owing to the
great difficulty in swallowing, even in the early stage. Arecolin in

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 241

one-half grain doses, subcutaneoiisly, has given as much satisfaction
as any other drug. After purging the animal the treatment is mostly
symptomatic. Intestinal disinfectants, particularly calomel, sjilol,
and salicylic acid, have been recommended, and mild, antiseptic
mouth washes are advisable. Antipyretics are of doubtful value, as
better results are obtained, if the temperature is high, by copious
cold-water injections. An ice pack applied to the head is beneficial
in case of marked psychic disturbance. One-ounce doses of chloral
hydrate per rectum should be given if the patient is violent or if
nmscular spasms are severe. If the temperature becomes subnormal,
the animal should be warmly blanketed, and if much Aveakness is
shown this should be combated with stimulants, such as strychnin,
camphor, alcohol, atropin, or aromatic spirits of ammonia. Early
in the disease urotropin (liexamethylenamin) in doses of 2.5 grains,
dissolved in water and given by the mouth- every- two hours, ap-
peared to have been responsible for the recovery of some cases of
the malady. During convalescence tonic treatment is indicated.

Hygienic measures needful. — Whenever this disease appears in a
stable all the animals should be removed as soon as possible. They
should be provided with clean, well-ventilated, and well-drained
stables, and each animal should receive a laxative and be fed feed
and given water from a new, clean source. The abandoned stable
should be thoroughly cleansed from all waste matters, receive a coat
of whitewash containing 4 ounces of carbolic acid to the gallon of
water and should have time to dry thoroughly before the horses are
replaced. A complete change of feed is of the very greatest im-
portance on account of the belief that the cause resides in diseased
grain, hay, and grass.

TETANUS, OR LOCKJAW.

This disease is characterized by spasms affecting the muscles of
the face, neck, body, and limbs and of all muscles supplied by the
cerebrospinal nerves. The spasms or muscular contractions are rigid
and persistent, yet mixed with occasional more intense contractions
of convulsive violence.

Causes. — This disease is caused by a bacillus that is often foimd in
the soil, in manure, and in dust. This germ forms spores at the end
of the organism and grows only in the absence of oxygen. It pro-
duces a powerful nerve poison, which causes the symptoms of tetanus.
The germ itself multiplies at the point where it is introduced, but its
poison is absorbed and is carried by the blood to all parts of the body,
and thus the nervous system is poisoned. Deep wounds infected by
this germ are more dangerous than superficial wounds, because in
them the germ is more remote from the oxygen of the air. Hence,

54763°— 23 16 ' -^ '" -

242 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

nail pricks, etc., are especially dangerous. In the majority of in-
stances the cause of tetanus can be traced to wounds, especially pricks
and wounds of the feet or of tendinous structures. It sometimes fol-
lows castration, docking, the introduction of setons, inclusion of a
nerve in a ligature, etc. It may come on a long time after the womid
is healed — three or four months. Horses with a nervous, excitable
disposition are more predisposed than those of a more sluggish
nature. Stallions are more subject to deA^elop tetanus as the result
of wounds than geldings, and geldings more than mares.

SyTryptoms. — The attacks ma}'' be acute or subacute. In an acute
attack the animal usually dies within four days. The first symptoms
which attract the attention of the ov,Tier is difficulty in chewing and
swallov.ing, an extension of the head and protrusion over the inner
part of the eye of the membrana nictitans, or haw\ An examination
of the mouth will reveal an inability to open the jaws to their full
extent, and the endeavor to do so will produce great nervous excita-
bility and increased spasm of the muscles of the jaw and neck. The
muscles of the neck and along the spine become rigid and the legs are
moved in a stiff manner. The slightest noise or disturbance throws
the animal into increased spasm of all the affected muscles. The tail
is usually elevated and held inunovable; the bowels become consti-
pated early in the attack. The temperature and pulse are not much
changed. These symptoms in the acute type become rapidly aggra-
vated until all the muscles are rigid — ^in a state of tonic spasm — with
a continuous tremor running through them; a cold perspiration
breaks out on the body; the breathing becomes painful from the
spasm of the muscles used in respiration; the jaws are completely
set, eyeballs retracted, lips drawn tightly over the teeth, nostrils di-
lated, and the animal presents a picture of the most extreme agony
until death relieves him. The pulse, which at first was not much
affected, will become quick and hard, or small and thready wdien the
spasm affects the muscles of the heart. In the subacute cases the jaws
may never become entirely locked ; the nervous excitability and rigid-
ity of the muscles are not so great. There is, however, always some
stiffness of the neck or spine manifest in turning ; the haw is turned
over the eyeball when the nose is elevated. It is not uncommon for
owners to continue such animals at their work for several days after
the first symptoms have been observed. All the symptoms may gi-ad-
ually increase in severity for a period of ten days, and then gradually
diminish under judicious treatment, or they may reach the stage
wherein all the characteristics of acute tetanus become developed. In
some cases, however, we find the muscular cramps almost solely con-
fined to the head or face, perhaps involving those of the neck. In
such cases we have complete trismus (lockjaw), and all the head
symptoms are acutely developed. On the contrary, we may find the

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 24tJ

head almost exempt in some cases, and have the body and limbs
perfectly rigid and incapable of movement without falling.

Tetanus may possibly be confounded with spinal meningitis, but
the character of the spasm-locked jaw, retraction of the eyeballs, the
difficulty in swallowing due to spasms of the muscles of the pharynx,
and above all, the absence of paralysis, should serve to make the
distinction.

Prevention. — When a valuable horse has sustained a wound that it
is feared may be followed by tetanus, it is well to administer a dose of
tetanus antitoxin. This is injected beneath the skin with a hypoder-
mic syringe. A very high degree of protection may in this w^ay be
afforded. This antitoxin should be administered only by a competent
veterinarian.

Treatment. — The animal should be placed in a box stall without
bedding, as far as possible from other horses. If in a country dis-
trict, the animal should be put into an outbuilding or shed, where
the noise of other animals will not reach it ; if the place is moder-
ately dark, it is all the better ; in fly time it should be covered with a
light sheet. The attendant must be very careful and quiet to prevent
all unnecessary excitement and increase of spasm. Tetanus antitoxin
appears to be useful as a remedy in some cases, if given in very large
quantities early in the disease ; otherwise it is useless. Subcutaneous
injections of carbolic acid in glycerin and water (carbolic acid 30
grains, glycerin and water each 1 ounce) appear to be useful in
some cases. Injections should be given twice daily.

A cathartic, composed of Barbados aloes 6 to 8 drams, with which
may be mixed 2 drams of the solid extract of belladonna, should be
given at once. This is best given in a ball form ; if, however, the ani-
mal is greatly excited by the attempt or can not swallow, the ball may
be dissolved in 2 ounces of olive oil and thrown on the back of the
tongue with a syringe. If the jaws are set, or nearly so, an attempt
to administer medicine by the mouth should not be made. In such
cases one-quarter of a grain of atropia, with 5 grains of sulphate of
morphia, should be dissolved in 1 dram of pure water and injected
under the skin. This should be repeated sufficiently often to keep the
animal continually under its effect. This will usually mitigate the
severity of the spasmodic contraction of the affected muscles and
lessen sensibility to pain. Good results may be obtained sometimes
by the rectal injection of the fluid extract of belladonna and of can-
nabis indica, of each 1 dram, every four or six hours. This may
be diluted with a quart of milk. When the animal is unable to swal-
low liquids, oatmeal gruel and milk should be given by injection per
rectum to sustain the strength of the animal. A pailful of cool water
should be constantly before him, placed high enough for him to reach
it without special effort ; even if drinking is impossible, the laving of

244 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the mouth is refreshing. Excellent success f reijuently may be obtained
by clothing the upper part of the head, the neck, and greater part of
the body in woolen blankets kept saturated with very Avarm water.
This treatment should be continued for six or eight hours at a time.
It often relaxes the cram])ed muscles and gives them rest and the ani-
mal almost entire freedom from pain: but it should be used ever}' day
until the acute spasms have permanently subsided in order to be of
any lasting benefit.

Recently subcutaneous injections of brain emulsion have been rec-
ommended. It is thought that the tetanus toxin will attach itself to
the brain cells so injected and thus free the system of this poison.
When it is due to a wound, the wound should be thoroughly cleaned
and disinfected with carbolic acid. If from a wound which has
healed, an excision of the cicatrix may be beneficial. In all cases it
is not uncommon to have a partial recovery followed by relapse when
the animal becomes excited from any cause.

RABIES, HYDROPHOBIA, OR MADNESS.

This disease does not arise spontaneously among horses, but is the
result of a bite from a rabid animal — generally a dog or cat. The
development of the disease follows the bite in from three weeks to
thi-ee months — ver}' rarely in two weeks. (See also p. 559.)

Sym/ptoTTis. — The first manifestation of the development of this dis-
ease may be an increased excitability and viciousness; very slight
noises or the approach of a person incites the animal to kick, strike,
or bite at any near object. Very often the horse will bite his own
limbs or sides, lacerating the flesh and tearing the skin. The eyes
appear staring, bloodshot; the ears are on the alert to catch all
sounds: the head is held erect. In some cases the animal will con-
tinually rub and bite the locality of the wound inflicted by the rabid
animal. This symptom may precede all others. Generally the
bowels become constipated and the animal makes frequent attempts
at urination, which is painful, and the urine very dark colored. Tlie
furious symptoms appear in paroxysms; at other times the animal
may eat and drink, although swallowing appears to become painful
toward llie latter stage of the disease, and may cause renewed parox-
ysms. The muscles of the limbs or back may be subject to intermittent
spasms, or spasmodic tremors: finally, the hind limbs become para-
lyzed, breathing very difBcult, and convulsions supervene, followed
by death. The pulse and respirations are increased in frequency
from the outset of the attack. Rabies may possibly be mistaken for
tetanus. In the latter disease we find tonic spasms of the muscles of
the jaws, or stiffness of the neck or back very early in the attack, and
evidence of viciousness is absent.

DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 245

TreatTnent. — As soon as the true nature of the disease is ascertained
the animal should be killed.

Preventi^yn. — When a horse is known to have been bitten by a
rabid animal, immediate cauterization of the wound with a red-hot
iron may possibly destroy the virus before absorption of it takes
place.

PLUMBISM, OR LEAD POISONING.

This disease is not of frequent occurrence. It may be due to the
habitual drinking of water which has been standing in leaden con-
ductors or in old paint barrels, etc. It has been met with in enzootic
form near smelting works, where, by the fumes arising from the
Avorks, lead in the form of oxid, carbonate, or sulphate was deposited
on the grass and herbage which the horses ate.

Symptoms. — Lead poisoning produces derangement of the func-
tions of digestion and locomotion, or it may affect the lungs princi-
pally. In whatever system of organs the lead is mostly deposited
there we have the symptoms of nervous debility most manifest. If
in the lungs, the breathing becomes difficult and the animal gets out
of breath very quickly when compelled to run. Roaring, also, is
very frequently a symptom of lead poisoning. AYhen it affects the
stomach, the animal gradually falls away in flesh, the hair becomes
rough, the skin tight, and colicky symptoms develop. When the
deposit is principally in the muscles, partial or complete paralysis
gradually develops. T\lien large quantities of lead have been taken
in and absorbed, symptoms resembling epilepsy may result, or coma
and delirium develop and prove fatal. In lead poisoning there is
seldom any increase in temperature. A blue line forms along the
gums of the front teeth, and the breath assumes a peculiarly offensive
odor. Lead can always be detected in the urine by chemical tests.

Treatm^-ent. — The administration of 2-dram doses of iodid of potas-
sium three times a day is indicated. This will form iodid of lead in
the system, which is rapidly excreted by the kidneys. If much
muscular weakness or paralysis is present, sulphate of iron in 1-dram
doses and strychnia in 2-grain doses may be given twice a day. In
all cases of suspected lead poisoning all utensils which have entered
into the supply of feed or water should be examined for the presence
of soluble lead. If it occurs near lead works, great care must be
given to the supply of uncontaminated fodder, etc.

UREMIA.

L'remic poisoning may affect the brain in nephritis, acute albumi-
nuria, or when, from any cause, the functions of the kidneys become
impaired or suppressed and urea (a natural product) is no longer
eliminated from these organs, causing it to accumulate in the system
and give rise to uremic poisoning.

246 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Uremic poisoning is usually preceded by dropsy of the limbs or
abdomen ; a peculiar, fetid breath is often noticed ; then drowsiness,
attacks of diarrhea, and general debility ensue. Suddenly extreme
stupor or coma develops; the surface of the body becomes cold; the
pupils are insensible to light; the pulse slow and intermitting; the
breathing labored, and death supervenes. The temperature through-
out the disease is seldom increased, unless the disease becomes com-
plicated with acute, inflammatory disease of the brain or respiratory
organs, which often occur as a result of the urea in the circulation.
Albumen and tube casts may frequently be found in the urine. The
disease almost invariably proves fatal.

Treatment must be directed to a removal of the cause.

ELECTRIC SHOCK.

Electric shock, from coming in contact with electric wires, is becom-
ing a matter of rather frequent occurrence, and has a similar effect
upon the animal system as a shock from lightning. Two degrees of
electric or lightning shock may be observed, one producing temporary
contraction of muscles and insensibility, from which recovery is pos-
sible, the other killing directly, by producing a condition of nervous
and general insensibility. In shocks which are not immediately fatal
the animal is usually insensible, the respiration slow, labored, or gasp-
ing, the pulse slow, feeble, and irregular, and the pupils dilated and
not sensitive, or they may be contracted and sensitive. The tempera-
ture is lowered. There may be a tendency to convulsions or spasms.
The predominating symptoms are extreme cardiac and respiratory
depression.

Treatment. — Sulphate of atropia should be given hypodermically
in one-quarter grain doses every hour or two hours until the heart
beats are invigorated, the number and fullness of the respirations
increased, and consciousness returns. Stimulating injections per rec-
tum may also be useful in arousing the circulation ; for this purpose
whislry or ammonia water may be used.

DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND

LYMPHATICS.

By M. R. Tktjmbower, V. S.
[Revised by Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D.]

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HEART AND BLOOD

VESSELS.

(Pis. XX and XXI.)

The heart is a hollow, muscular organ, situated a little to the left
of the center of the chesL Its impulse is felt on the left side on
account of its location and from the rotarv movement of the organ
in action. It is cone-shaped, with the base upward; the Apex points
downward, backward, and to the left side. It extends from about
the third to the sixth ribs, inclusive. The average weight is about
7 to 8 pounds. In hoi-ses used for speed the heart is relatively larger,
according to the weight of the animal, than in horses used for slow
work. It is suspended from the spine by the large blood vessels and
held in position below by the attachment of the pericardium to the
sternmn. It is inclosed in a sac, the pericardium, which is com-
posed of a dense fibrous membrane lined by a delicate serous mem-
brane, which is reflected over the heart; the inner layer is firmly
adherent to the heart, the outer to the fibrous sac, and there is an
inter\'ening space, known as the pericardial space, in which a small
amount of serum — a thin translucent liquid — is present constantly.

The heart is divided by a shallow fissure into a right and left side;
each of these is again subdivided by a transverse partition into two
compartments wliich communicate. Thus there are four cardiac
cavities — the superior, or upper, ones called the auricles ; the inferior,
or lower, ones the ventricles. These divisions are marked on the
outside by grooves, which contain the cardiac blood vessels, and are
generally filled with fat.

The right side of the heart may be called the venous side, the left
the arterial side, named from the kind of blood which passes through
them. The auricles are thin-walled cavities placed at the base, and
are connected with the great veins — the vena? cavae and pulmonary
veins — through which they receive blood from all parts of the body.
The auricles communicate with the ventricles each by a large aper-

247

248 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

ture, the anriciilo-ventriciilai' orifice, which is furnished with a
remarkable mechanism of A'alves. allowing the transmission of blood
from the auricles into the ventricles, but preventing a reverse course.
The ventricles are thick-walled cavities, forming the more massive
portion of the heart toward the apex. They are separated by a par-
tition, and are connected with the gi*eat arteries — ^the pulmonary
artery and the aorta — by which they send blood to all parts of the
body. At the mouth of the aorta and at the mouth of the pulmonary
artery is an arrangement of valves in each case wdiich prevents the
reflux of blood into the ventricles. The auriculo-ventricular valve
in the left side is composed of two flaps, hence it is called the
bicuspid valve; in the right side this valve has three flaps and is
called the tricuspid valve. The flaps which form these valves are
connected with a tendinous ring between the auricles and ventricles ;
and each flap of the auriculo-ventricular valves is supplied with
tendinous cords, which are attached to the free margin and imder-
surface, so as to keep the valves tense when closed — a condition Avhich
is produced by the shortening of muscular pillars wdth vvdiich the
cords are connected. The arterial openings, both on the right and
on the left side, are provided with three-flapped semilunar-shaped
valves, to prevent the re'gurgitation of blood w^hen the ventricles
contract. The veins emptying into the auricles are not capable of
closure, but the posterior vena cava has an imperfect valve at its
aperture.

The inner surface of the heart is lined by a serous membrane, the
endocardium, which is smooth and firmly adherent to the muscular
structure of the heart. This membrane is continuous with the lining
membrane of the blood vessels, and it enters into the formation of
the valves.

The circulation through the heart is as follows : The venous blood
is carried into the right auricle by the anterior and posterior vense
cavfe. It then passes through the right auriculo-ventricular opening
into the right ventricle, thence through the pulmonary artery to the
lungs. It returns by the pulmonary veins to the left auricle, then is
forced through the auriculo-ventricular opening into the left ven-
tricle, which propels it through the aorta and its branches into the
system, the veins returning it again to the heart. The circulation,
therefore, is double, the pulmonary, or lesser, being performed by the
right side, and the systemic, or greater, by the left side.

As the blood is forced through the heart by forcible contractions of
its muscular walls, it has the action of a force pump, and gives the
impulse at each beat, which we call the pulse — the dilatation of the
arteries throughout the system. The contraction of the auricles is
quickly followed by that of the ventricles, and then a slight pause
occurs; this takes place in I'ogular rhythmical order during health.

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DISEASES OF HEABT^ BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 249

The action of the heart is governed and maintained by the pnenmo-
gastric nerve (tenth pair of cranial nerves) ; it is the inhibitory
nerve of the heart, and regidates, slows, and governs its action. When
the nerve is cut, the heartbeats increase lapidly, and, in fact, the
organ works without control. When the nerve is midiily irritated the
holdback, or inhibitor}^ force, is increased, and the heart slows np in
the same measure. The left cavities of the heart, the pulmonary
veins, and the aorta, or systemic artery, contain red or florid blood,
fit to circulate through the body. The right cavities of the heart,
with the venae cavfe, or systemic veins, the pulmonary artery, contain
dark blood, which must be transmitted through the lungs for reno-
A'ation.

The arteries, commencing" in two great trunks, the aorta and the
pulmonary artery, undergo division, as in the branching of a tree.
Their branches mostly come off at acute angles, and are commonly of
uniform diameter in each case, but successively diminish after and in
consequence of division, and in this manner gradually merge into the
capillary system of blood vessels. As a general rule, the combined
area of the branches is greater than that of the vessels from which
they emanate, and hence the collective capacity of the arterial system
is greatest at the capillary vessels. The same rule applies to tlie
veins. The effect of the division of the arteries is to make the blood
move more slowly along their branches to the capillary vessels, and
the effect of the union of the branches of the veins is to accelerate the
speed of the blood as it returns from the capillary vessels to the
venous trunks.

In the smaller vessels a frequent running together, or anastomosis,
occurs. This admits of a free communication between the currents of
blood, and must tend to promote equability of distribution and of
pressure, and to obviate the effects of local interruption. The arteries
are highly elastic, being extensile and retractile both in length and
breadth. During life they are also contractile, being provided with
muscular tissue. When cut across they present, although empty, an
open orifice ; the veins, on the other hand, collapse.

In most parts of the body the arteries are inclosed in a sheath
formed of connective tissue, but are connected so loosely that, when
the vessel is cut across, its ends readily retract some distance within
the sheath. Independently of this sheath, arteries are usualh^ de-
scribed as being formed of three coats, named, from the relative
positions, external, middle, and internal. This applies to their struc-
ture so far as it is discernible by the naked eye. The internal, serous,
or tunica intima, is the thinnest, and is continuous w^ith the lining-
membrane of the heart. It is made up of two layers — an inner, con-
sisting of a layer of epithelial scales, and an outer, transparent,
whitish, highly elastic, and perforated. The middle coat, tunica

250 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

media, is elastic, dense, and of a yellow color, consisting of nonsferi-
ated muscular and elastic fibers, thickest in the largest arteries and
becoming thinner in the smaller. In the smallest vessels it is
almost entirely muscular. The external coat, tunica adventitia, is
composed mainly of fine and closely woven bundles of white con-
nective tissue, which chiefly run diagonally or obliquely around the
vessel. In this coat the nutrient vessels, the vasa vasorum, form a
capillary network, from which a few penerate as far as the muscular
coat.

The veins differ from arteries in possessing thinner walls, less
elastic and muscular tissue, and for the mos-t part a stronger tunica
adventitia. They collapse when cut across or when they are empty.
The majority of veins are provided with valves; these are folds of
the lining membrane, strengthened by fibrous tissue. They favor the
course of the blood and prevent its reflux. The nerves which supply
both the arteries and the veins come from the sympathetic system.
The smaller arteries terminate in the system of minute vessels known
as the capillaries, which are interposed between the termination of
the arteries and the commencement of the veins. Their average
diameter is about one three-thousandth of an inch.

DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD VESSELS.

In considering diseases of the heart we meet with many difficulties,
depending much upon the position which this organ occupies in the
animal. The shoulders cover so much of the anterior portion of the
chest, and often in very heavy -muscled horses the chest walls are so
thick that a satisfactory examination of the heart is attended with
difficulty. Diseases of the heart are not uncommon among horses;
the heart and its membranes are frequently involved in diseases of
the respiratory organs, diseases of the kidneys, rheumatism, influ-
enza, etc. Some of the diseases of this organ are never suspected by
the ordinary observer during life, and are so difficult to diagnose
with any degree of certainty that we will have to confine ourselves
to a general outline, giving attention to such symptoms as may serve
to lead to a knowledge of their existence, with directions for treat-
ment, care, etc.

Nervous affections often produce prominent heart symp)toms by
causing functional disturbance of that organ, which, if removed, will
leave the heart restored to perfect vigor and normal action. Organic
changes involving the heart or valves, however, usually grow worse
and eventually prove fatal. Therefore it is necessary that we arrive
at an appreciation of the true nature and causes so that we ma3' be
able to form a true estimate of the possibilities for recovery or en-
couragement for medical treatment.

DISEASES OP HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 251

Disease of the heart may occur at any age, but it is witnessed most
frequently in young horses, which, when being trained for fast work,
are often subjected to excessive hardship and fatigue. Nervous or
timid animals also suffer from such diseases more frequently than
those of a sluggish disposition. Any cause which induces a violent
or sudden change in the circulation may result in injury to the heart.
Symptoms which may frequently denote disease of the heart are
difficult breathing or short-windedness, dropsies of the limbs, ha-
bitual coldness of the extremities, giddiness or fainting attacks, in-
ability to stand work, although the general appearance would indi-
cate strength and ability, etc.

MYOCARDITIS. OR INFLAMMATION OF THE MUSCULAR STRUCTURE OF THE

HEART.

The heart muscle sometimes becomes inflamed as a complication or
result of the existence of general or febrile and of infectious diseases.
Severe influenza or infectious pneumonia is not infrequently followed
by myocarditis. By extension of inflammation of the endocardium
or pericardium the muscle of the heart may become involved. Over-
exertion or especially hard work continued for a long time may cause
this muscle to become inflamed.

Symptoms. — Inflammation of the heart muscle is shown by inabil-
ity to contract forcibly. This results in a rapid but weak, soft pulse
and irregular heart sounds. The pulse may be quite irregular as a
result of the irregular, tumultuous action of the heart. There is
great general weakness, shortness of breath, and rapid respiratory
movements. In some cases, where the muscle is very much softened
and weakened, or, perha]3S when an abscess forms in the wall of the
heart, the course of the disease is very rapid and terminates suddenly
from paralysis or rupture of the heart.

Alter at'wtis.—T^iQ heart muscle has a brownish or yellowish, boiled
appearance, and is so brittle that it tears easily. There may be a
spotted appearance of the muscle from the intense changes in struc-
ture in small areas. These small areas may be due to suppuration, in
which case they have the chai-acteristics of small abscesses. This last
condition is seen in pyemia (blood poisoning). If the disease is of
long duration, the fibrous tissue in the wall of the heart may increase
to such an extent as to produce an unnatural hardness of the wall.

Treatment. — In this disease the nutrition and strength of the heart
should be kept up as much as possible with good food, good care,
and heart tonics and stimulants. The horse should be tempted to eat
such foods as he will take ; he should be kept in an airy box stall ; his
legs should be well rubbed as often as necessary to keep them warm
and bandaged loosely with flannel bandages. Internally the horse
may have strychnia in 2-gi'ain doses twice daily, whisky in 4-ounce

252 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

doses every two to four hours, digitalis in the form of the tincture in
doses of 1 dram eA'ery three to six hours. Artificial Carlsbad salts in
heaping tablespoonful doses in the feed may be given three times daily
for a couple of weeks. Rest is of the gi'eatest importance and should
be allowed for a few weeks after recovery seems to he complete.

ENDOCARDITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LINING MEMBRANE OF THE HEART.

P^ndocarditis frequently occurs as a complication of rheumatism,
some of the specific or zymotic fevers, specific poisoning, etc. This
is a more frequent disease among horses than is generally known,
and often gives rise to symptoms which at first ai-e obscure and
unnoticed.

In influenza we may find the heart becoming involved in the dis-
ease, in consequence of the morbid material conveyed through the
heart in the blood stream. In view of the fact that many affections
tin even remote portions of the body laay be traced directly to a
primary endocardial disease, we shall feel justified in inviting special
attention to this disease.

Endocarditis may be acute, subacute, or chronic. In acute inflam-
mation we find a thickening and a roughened appearance of the
endocardium throughout the cavities of the heart. This condition
may be followed by a coagulation of fibrin upon the inflamed sur-
face, which adheres to it, and by attrition soon becomes worked up
into shreddy-like granular elevations. This may lead to a formation
of fibrinous clots in the heart and sudden death early in the disease
the second or third day.

Subacute endocarditis, which is the most common form, may not
become appreciable for several days after its commencement. It is
characterized by being confined to one or more anatomical divisions
of the heart, and all the successive morbid changes follow each other
in a comparatively slow process. Often we would not be led to
suspect heart affection were it not for the distress in breathing, which
it generally occasions when the animal is exercised, especially if the
valves are much involved. When coagula or vegetations form upon
the inflamed membrane, either in minute shreds or patches, or when
formation of fibrinous clots occurs in the cavity affected. some of these
materials may be carried from the cavity of the heart by the blood
current into remote organs, constituting emboli that are liable to
suddenly plug vessels and thereby interrupt imjiortant functions. In
the great majority of either acute or subacute grades of endocarditis,
whatever the exciting cause, the most alarming symptoms disappear
in a week or 10 daj^s, often leaving, however, ^uch changes in the
interior lining or valvular structures as to cause impairment in the
circulation for a much longer period of time. These changes usually
consist of thickening or induration of the inflamed structures. .But

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS, 253

while the effects of the inflammation in the membrane lining the
walls of the ventricles may subside to such a degree as to cause little
or no inconvenience, or even ayIioIIv disappear, yet after the valvular
structures have been involved, causing them to be thicker, less flexible
than normal, they usually remain, obstructing the free passage of the
blood through the openings of the heart, thereby inducing secondary
changes, which take place slowly at first, but ultimateh'^ seriously
impair the animal's usefulness. What was but a slight obstruction to
the circidation during the first few weelis after the subsidence of
the cardiac inflammatory attack becomes in process of time so much
increased as to induce increased growth in the muscular structure of
the heart, constituting hypertrophy of the walls of the ventricles,
more particularly of the left, with corresponding fullness of the left
auricle and pulmonaiy veins, thereby producing fullness of the cap-
illaries in the lungs, pressure upon the air cells, difficult or asth-
matic breathing — greatly increased in attempts to work — until in a
few months many of these cases become entirely disabled for work.
Sometimes, too, dropsical effusions in the limbs or into the cavities
of the body result from the irregular and deficient circulation.
Derangement of the urinary secretion, with passive congestion of
the kidneys, may also appear.

Endocardial inflammation is seldom fatal in its early stages, but
in many cases the recovery is incomplete, for a large proportion is
left with some permanent thickening of the valves, which constitutes
the beginning of valvular disease.

/Sytriptoms. — Endocarditis may be ushered in by a chill, with sud-
den and marked rise in temperature. The pulse rapidly decreases
in strength or may become irregular, while the heart beats more or
less tumultuously. In the early stages soft-blowing sounds may be
heard by placing the ear over the heart on the left side, which corre-
spond in number and rhythm to the heart's action. Excessive pain,
though not so great as in acute pleuritis, is manifested when the
animal is compelled to trot; very often difficulty in breathing, or
shortness of breath, on the slightest exertion develops early in the
attack. When the valves are invoh^ed in the inflammatory process
the visible mucous membranes become either very pale or very dark
colored, and fainting may occur when the head is suddenly elevated.
When the valves of the right side are affected we may find a regurgi-
tant pulsation in the jugular vein. Occasionally it happens that the
heart contracts more frequently than the pulse beats — that is, there
may be twice as many contractions of the heart in a minute as there
are pulse waves in the arteries. The pulse is always very fast. In
some cases we find marked lameness of the left shoulder, and when
the animal is turned short to the left side he may groan with pain,
and the heart's action become violently excited, although pressure

254 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

against the chest wall will not produce pain unless roughly applied.
The animal is not disposed to eat or drink much ; the surface of the
body and legs are cold — rarely excessively hot — and frequently the
body of the animal is in a subdued tremor. In nearly all cases there
is partial supj^ression of the urinary secretion. The symptoms may
continue with very little modification for three or four days, some-
times seven days, without any marked changes. If large fibrinous
clots form in the heart the change will be sudden and quickly prove
fatal unless they become loosened and are carried away in the cir-
culation; then apoplexy may result from the plugging of arteries
too small to give further transmission. If the animal manifests
symptoms of improvement, the changes usually are slow and steady
until he feels apparently as well as ever, eats well, and moves freely
in his stall or yard. When he is taken out, however, the seeming
strength often proves deceptive, as he may quickly weaken if urged
into a fast gait, the breathing becomes quickened with a double flank
movement as in heaves, and all the former symptoms reappear in a
modified degree. An examination at this stage may reveal valvular
insufficiency, cardiac hypertrophy, or pulmonary engorgement.

In fatal cases of endocarditis death often occurs about the fourth
day, from the formation of heart clot or too great embarrassment of
the circulation. Endocarditis may be suspected in all cases where
plain symptoms of cardiac affection are manifested in animals af-
fected with influenza, rheumatism, or any disease in which the blood
may convey septic matter.

Acute endocardial inflammation may be distinguished from pleu-
ritis by the absence of any friction murmur, absence of pain when the
chest wall is percussed, and the absence of effusion in the cavity of
the chest. It may be distinguished from pericarditis by the absence
of the friction sounds and want of an enlarged area of dullness on
percussion.

Treatment. — The objects to be attained by treatment will be to
remove or mitigate as much as possible the cause inducing the dis-
ease ; to find a medicine which will lessen the irritability of the heart
without weakening it; and, last, to maintain a free urinary secretion
and prevent exudation and hypertrophy. So long as there is an
increase of temperature, with some degree of scantiness of the urine,
it may be safe to believe that there is some degree of inflammatory
action existing in the cardiac structures, and as long as any evidence
of inflammatory action remains, however moderate in degree, there
is a tendency to inciease or hypertrophy of the connective tissue of
the heart or valves, thereby rendering it almost certain that the
structural changes will become permanent miless counteracted by
persistent treatment and complete rest.

DISEASES OF HEAET, BLOOB VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 255

The tincture of digitalis, in 20-drop doses, repeated every hour,
is perhaps the most reliable agent we know to control the irri-
tability of the heart, and this also has a decided influence upon the
urinary secretion. After the desired impression upon the heart is
obtained the dose may be repeated every two or three hours, or as
the case may demand. Tincture of strophanthus, in 2-dram doses,
will quiet the tumultuous action of the heart in some cases where the
digitalis fails. Bleeding, blistering, and stimulating applications to
the chest should be avoided. They serve to irritate the animal and
can do no possible good. Chlorate of potassium in 2-dram doses
may be given in the drinking water every four hours for the first
five or six days, and then be superseded by the nitrate of potassium
in half-ounce doses for the following week or until the urinary
secretion becomes abnormally profuse. \ATiere the disease is asso-
ciated with rheumatism, 2-dram doses of salicylate of soda may be
substituted for the chlorate of potassium. To guard against chronic
induration of the valves, the iodid of potassium, in 1 to 2 dram doses,
should be given early in the disease and may be repeated two
or three times a day for several weeks. When chronic effects remain
after the acute stage has passed this drug becomes indispensable.

When dropsy of the limbs develops, it is due to weakened circula-
tion or functional impairment of the kidneys. When there is much
weakness in the action of the heart, or general debility is marked, the
iodid of iron, in 1-dram doses, combined with hydrastis, 3 drams,
may be given three tim.es a day. Arsenic, in 5-gi-ain doses twice a
day, will give excellent results in some cases of weak heart associated
with difficult breathing. In all cases absolute rest and warm stabling,
with comfortable clothing, become necessary, and freedom from
work should be allowed for a long time after all symptoms have dis-
appeared.

PERICARDITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE SAC INCLOSING THE HEART.

t35

Causes. — Pericarditis may be induced by cold and damp stabling
exposure and fatigue, from wounds caused by broken ribs, etc. Gen-
erally, however, it is associated with an attack of influenza, rheuma-
tism, pleuritis, etc.

Symptoms. — Usually the disease manifests itself abruptly by a
brief stage of chills coincident with pain in moving, a short painful
cough, rapid and short breathing, and high temperature, with a
rapid and hard pulse. In the early stages of the disease the pulse is
regular in beat; later, when there is much exudation present in the
j)ericardial sac, the heartbeat becomes muffled, and may be of a
double or rebounding character. By placing the ear against the left
side of the chest behind the elbow a rasping sound may be heard, cor-

256 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

responding to the frequency of the heartbeat. This is known as a
friction sound. Between the second and fourth davs this sound may
disappear, due to a distension of the pericardium by an exudate or
serous effusion. As soon as this effusion partly filis the pericardium,
percussion will reveal an abnormally increased area of dullness over
the region of the heart, the heartbeats become less perceptible than
in health, and in some cases a splashing or flapping sound may be-
come audible.

If the effusion becomes absorbed, the friction sound usually recurs
ior a short time ; this friction may often be felt by applying the
liand to the side of the chest. In a few cases clonic spasms of the
muscles of the neck may be present. In acute pericarditis, when the
effusion is rapid and excessive, the animal may die in a few days or
recovery may begin equally as early. In subacute or in chronic cases
the effusion may slowly become augmented until the pressure upon
the lungs and interference with the circulation become so great that
death will result. Whether the attack is acute, subacute, or chronic,
the characteristic symptoms which will guide us to a correct diagnosis
are the friction sound, which is always synchronous with the heart's
action, the high temperature with hard, irritable pulse, and, in cases
of pericardial effusion, the increased area of dullness over the car-
diac region. When the disease is associated with influenza or rheu-
matism, some of the symptoms may be obscure, biTt a careful exami-
nation will reveal sufficient evidence upon which to base a diagnosis.
When pericarditis develops as a result of or in connection with pleu-
ritis, the distinction may not be A^ery clearlj?^ definable, neither will
many recover. When it results from a wound or broken rib, it
almost invariably proves fatal.

Pathology. — Pericarditis may at all times be regarded as a very
serious affection. At first we will find an intense injection or accu-
mulation of blood in the vessels of the pericardium, giving it a red
and swollen appearance, during which we have the friction sound.
In 24 to 48 hours this engorgement is followed by an exudation of
sero-fibrinous fluid, the fibrinous portion of which may soon form a
coating over the internal surface of the pericardial sac, and may
ultimately form a union of the opposing surfaces. Generally this
adhesion will only be found to occupy a portion of the surfaces. As
the serous or watery portion of this effusion is absorbed, the dis-
tinctness of the friction sound recurs, and may remain perceptible in
a varied degree for a long time. When the serous effusion is very
great, the pressure exerted upon the heart weakens its action, and
may produce death soon ; when it is not so great, it may cause dropsies
of other portions of the body. When the adhesions of the peri-
cardial sac to the body of the heart are extensive, they generally lead
to increased growth, or hypertrophy, of the heart, with or Avithout

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 257

dilatation of its cavities; when they are but slight, tiiev may not
cause any inconvenience.

Treatment. — In acute or subacute pericarditis the tincture of digi-
talis may be given in 2t3 to 30 drop doses every hour until the pulse
and temperature become reduced. Carbonate of ammonia may be
given regularly as a stimulant. Bandages should be applied to the
legs; if the legs are very cold, tincture of capsicum should be first
applied ; the body should be warmly clothed in blankets, to pro-
mote perspiration. Wlien the suffering from pain is very severe, 10
grains of morphin may be given by the mouth once or twice a day;
nitrate of potassium, lialf an ounce, in drinking water, every six
hours; after the third day, iodid of potassium, in 2-dram doses, may
be substituted. Cold packs to the chest in the early stages of the
disease may give marked relief, or, late in the disease, smart blisters
may be applied to the sides of the chest with benefit. If the disease
becomes chronic, iodid of iron and gentian to support the strength
will be indicated, but the iodid of potassium, in 1 or 2 dram doses,
tAvo or three times a day, must not be abandoned so long as there is
an evidence of effusion or plastic exudate accumulating in the peri-
cardial sac. Where the effusion is gi-eat and threatens the life of
the patient, tapping by an expert veterinarian may save the animal.

VALVULAR DISEASE OF THE HEART.

xVcute valvular disease can not be distinguished from endocarditis,
and chronic valvular affections are generally the result of endocar-
dial inflammation. The valves of the left side are the most subject —
the bicuspid or mitral and the aortic or semilunar. The derange-
ment may consist of mere inflammation and swelling, or the edges of
the Aalves may become covered by the organization of the exudation,
thus narrowing the passage. Valvular obstruction and adhesions
may occur or the tendinous cords may be lengthened or shortened,
thus obstructing the orifices and permitting the regurgitation of
blood. In protected cases the fibrous tissue of the valves may be
transformed into fibro-cartilage or bone, or there may be deposits of
salts of lime beneath the serous membrance, which may terminate in
ulceration, rupture, or fissures. Sometimes the valves become cov-
ered by fibrinous, fleshy, or hard vegetations, or excrescences. In
cases of considerable dilatation of the heart there may be atrophy and
shrinking of the valves.

Symptoms. — Valvular disease may be indicated by a venous pulse,
jerking pulse, intermittent pulse, irregular pulse; palpitation; con-
stant abnormal fullness of the jugular veins; difficulty of breathing
when the animal becomes excited or is urged out of a walk or mto a

54763°— 23 17

258 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

fast trot; attacks of vertigo; congestion of the brain; dropsical swell-
ing of the limbs, A blowing, cooing, or bubbling murmur ni&j some-
times be heard by placing the ear over the heart on the left side of
the chest.

Hypertrophy, or dilatation, or both, usually follow valvular
disease.

Treat7n,ent. — When the pulse is irregular or irritable, tonics, such
as preparations of iron, gentian, and ginger, may be given. When
the action of the lieart is jerking or violent, 20 to 30 drop doses of
tincture of digitalis or of veratrum viride may be given until these
symptoms abate. As the disease nearly always is the result of endo-
carditis, the iodid of potassium and general tonics, sometimes stimu-
lants, when general debility supervenes, may be of temporary benefit.
Very few animals recover or remain useful for any length of time
after once marked organic changes have taken place in the valvular
structure of the heart.

ADVENTITIOUS GROWTHS IN THE HEART.

Fibrous, cartilaginous, and bonj^ formations have been observed in
some rare instances in the muscular tissue. Isolated calcareous
masses have sometimes been embedded in the cardiac walls.
Fibrinous coagula and polypous concretions may be found in the
cavities of the heart. The former consist of coagulated fibrin, sepa-
rated from the mass of blood, of a whitish or j^ellowish wdiite color,
translucent, of a jellylike consistence, and having a nucleus in the
center. They may slightly adhere to the surface of the cavity, from
which they can easily be separated without altering the structure
of the endocardium. They probably result from an excess of coagu-
lability of fibrin, which is produced by an organization of the lymph
during exudation. They are usually found in the right auricle and
ventricle.

Polypous concretions are firmer than in the preceding, more
opaque, of a fibrous texture, and may be composed of successive
layers. In some instances they are exceedingly minute, while in
others they almost fill one or more of the cavities. Tlieir color is
usually white, but occasionally red from the presence of blood. They
firmly adhere to the endocardium, and when detached from it give it
£1. torn appearance. Occasionally, a vascular commimication seems
to exist between them and the substance of the heart. They may
be the result of fibrinous exudation from inflammation of the inner
surface of the heart or the coagulation of a portion of the blood
which afterwards contracts adhesion with the lieart. These con-
cretions prove a source of great inconvenience and often danger, no
matter how formed. They cause a diminution in the cavity in
which they are found, thus narrowing the orifice through which the

DISEASES OF HEAET, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 259

blood passes, or preventing a proper coaptation of the valves, which
may produce most serious valvular disease.

Sym2?t&ms. — These are frequently uncertain ; they niay, however,
be suspected when the action of the heart suddenly becomes embar-
rassed with irregular and confused pulsations, great difficulty of
breathing, and the usual signs dependent upon the imperfect ar-
terialization of the blood.

Treatment. — Stimulants, whisky, or carbonate of ammonia may
be of service.

PALPITATION OF THE HEART.

This is a tumultuous and usually irregular beating of the heart.
It may be due to a variety of causes, both functional and organic.
It may occur as a result of indigestion, fi*ight, increased nervous-
ness, sudden excitement, excessive speeding, etc. (See "Thumps,"
p. 225.)

Symptoms. — The heart may act with such violence that each beat
may jar the whole body of the animal; very commonly it may be
heard at a short distance away from the animal. It can usually be
traced very readily to the exciting cause, which we may be able to
avoid or overcome in the future and thereby obviate subsequent
attacks. Rest, a mild stimulant, or a dose or two of tincture of digi-
talis or opium will generally give prompt relief. "When it is due to
organic impairment of the heart it must be regarded as a symptom,
not as a matter of primary specific treatment.

SYNCOPE, OR FAINTING.

Actual fainting rarely occurs among horses. It may, however, be
induced by a rapid and great loss of blood, pain of great intensity, a
mechanical interference with the circulation of the brain, etc.

Symptoms. — Syncope is characterized by a decrease or temporary
suspension of the action of the heart and respiration, w^ith partial or
total loss of consciousness. It generally occurs suddenly, though
there may be premonitory symptoms, as giddiness, or vertigo, dilated
pupil, staggering, blanching of the visible mucous membranes, a rap-
idly sinking pulse, and dropping to the ground. The pulse is feeble
or ceases to beat; the surface of the body turns cold; breathing is
scarcely to be perceived, and the animal may be entirely unconscious.
This state is uncertain in duration — generally it lasts only a few
minutes; the circulation becomes restored, breathing becomes more
distinct, and consciousness and muscular strength return. In cases
attended with much hemorrhage or organic disease of the heart, the
fainting fit may be fatal; otherwise it will prove but a transient
occurrence. In paralysis of the heart the symptoms may be exactly
similar to syncope. Syncope may be distinguished from apoplexy by

260 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the abfience of stertorous breathing and lividity of the visible mu-
cous membranes.

TreatTnent. — Dash cold water on the head; administer a stimu-
lant— half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia. Prevent the animal
from getting up too soon, or the attack may immediately recur.
Afterwards, if the attack was due to Aveakness from loss of blood,
impoverished blood, or associated with debility, general tonics, rest,
and nourishing food are indicated.

HYPERTROPHY OF THE HEART, OR CARDIAC ENLARGEMENT.

Hypertrophy of the heart implies augmentation of bulk in its
muscular substance, with or without dilatation or contraction of its
cavities. It may exist with or without other cardiac affections. In
valvular disease or valvular insufficiency hypertrophy frecjuently re-
sults as a consequence of increased demand for propelling power.
The difficulties with which it is most frequently connected aie dilata-
tion and ossification of the valves. It may also occur in connection
with atrophied kidneys. Aveak heart, etc. It may be caused by an
increased determination of blood to the organ or from a latent form
of myocarditis, and it may arise from a long-continued increase of
action dependent upon nervous disease. All the cavities of the heart
may have their walls hypertrophied or the thickening may involve
one or more. While the wall of a ventricle is thickened, its cavity
may retain its normal size (simple hypertrophy) or be dilated (eccen-
tric hypertrophy), or it may be contracted (concentric hypertrophy).
Hypertrophy of both ventricles increases the length and breadth of
the heart. Hypertrophy of the left ventricle alone increases its
length ; of the right ventricle ajone increases its breadth toward the
right side. Hypei'trophy with dilatation may affect the chambers
of the heart conjointly or separately. This form is by far the most
frequent variety of cardiac enlargement. When the entire heart is
affected, it assumes a globular appearance, the apex being almost
obliterated and situated transversely in the chest. The bulk may
become three or four times gieater than the average heart.

Sy^nptoms. — In hypertrophy of the heart, in addition to the usual
symptoms manifested in organic diseases of the heart, there is a pow-
erful and heaving impulse at each beat, which may be felt on the left
side, often also on the right. These pulsations are regular, and when
full and strong at the jaw there is a tendency to active congesti(m of
the capillary vessels, which frequently give rise to local inflamma-
tion, active hemorrhage, etc. If the pulse is small and feeble at the
jaw, we may conclude that there is some obstacle to the escape of the
blood from the left ventricle into the aorta, which has given rise to
the hypertrophy. In case of hypertrophy with dilatation, the im-
pulse is not only pov:erful and heaving, but it is diffused over the

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS 261

whole region of the heart, and the normal sounds of the heart are
greatly increased in intensity. Percussion reveals an enlarged area
of dullness, while the impulse is usually much stronger than normal.

Dropsy of the pericardium will give the same wide space of dull-
ness, but the impulse and sound are lessened. An animal with a
moderate degree of enlargement may possibly live a number of years
and be capable of ordinary work; it depends largely upon con-
comitant disease. As a rule, an animal affected with hypertrophy
of the heart will soon be incapacitated for work, and becomes useless
and incurable.

Treatment. — If the cause can be discovered and is removable, it
should be done. The iodid of potassium, in cases of valvular thicken-
ing, iwixy be of some benefit if continued ior a sufficient length of
time; it may be given in 2-dram doses, twice a day, for a month or
more. The tincture of digitalis may be given, in cases where the
pulse is weak, in doses of 2 teaspoonfuls three times daily. This
remedy should not l)e continued if the i^ulse 'oecomes irregailar.
General tonics, freedom from excitement or fatigue, avoidance of
bulky food, good ventilation, etc., are indicated.

DILATATION OF THE HEART.

This is an enlargement, or stretching, of the cavities of the heart,
and may be confined to one or extend to all. Two forms of dilata-
tion may be mentioned — simple dilatation, where there is normal
thickness of the walls, and passive, or attenuated, dilatation, whei"©
the walls are simph^ distended or stretched out without any addition
of substance.

Causes. — Any cause producing constant and excessive exertion of
the heart may lead to dilatation. Valvular disease is the most fre-
quent cause. General anemia predisposes to it by producing relaxa-
tion of muscular fiber. Changes in the muscular tissue of the heart
walls, serous infiltration from pericarditis, myocarditis, fatty degen-
eration and infiltration, and atrophy of the muscular fibers may all
lead to dilatation.

Symptoms. — The movements of the heart are feeble and pro-
longed, a disposition to staggei'ing or vertigo, dropsy of the limbs,
very pale or very dark-colored membranes, and difficult breathing
on the slightest excitement.

Treatment. — General tonics, rich feed, and rest.

FATTY DEGENERATION OF THE HEART.

Fatty degeneration ma^^ involve the whole organ, or may be lim-
ited to its walls, or even to cii'cumscribed patches. The latter is
situated at the exterior, and gives it a mottled appearance. When

262 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

generally involved it is flabby or flaccid, and in extreme cases col-
lapses when emptied or cut. Upon dissection the interior of th«
\'entricles is observed to be covered with bnlF-colored spots of a
singular zigzag form. This appearance may be noticed beneath the
pericardium, and pervading the whole thickness of the ventricular
walls, and in extreme cases those of the flesliy col umns in the interior
of the heart. These spots are found to be degenerated muscular
fibers and colonies of oil globules. Fatty degeneration is often asso-
ciated with other morbid conditions of the heart, such as obesity,
dilatation, rupture, aneurism, etc. It may be connected with fatty
diseases of other organs, such as the liver, kidneys, etc. When it
exists alone its presence is seldom suspected previous to death. It
may be secondary to hypertrophy of the heart, to myocarditis, or
to pericarditis. It may be due to deteriorated conditions of the
blood in wasting diseases, excessive hemorrhages, etc., or to poisoning
with arsenic rnd phosphorus.

SyTnptoms. — The most prominent symptoms of fatty degeneration
are a feeble action of the heart, a remarkably slow pulse, general
debility, and attacks of vertigo. It may exist for a long time, but is
apt to terminate suddenly in death upon the occurrence of other
diseases, surgical operations, etc. It may involve a liability to
sudden death from rupture of the ventricular walls.

Treatment. — Confinement in feed to oats, wheat or rye bran, and
timothy hay. Twenty drops of sulphuric acid may be given in
drinking water three times a day, and hypophosphite of iron in 2-
dram doses, mixed with the feed, twice a day. Other tonics and stim-
ulants as they may be indicated.

RUPTURE OP THE HEART.

This may occur as the result of some previous disease, such as
fatty degeneration, dilatation with weakness of the muscular walls,
etc. It may be caused by external violence, a crushing fall, pressure
of some great weight, etc. Usually death follows a rupture very
quickly, though an animal may live for some time when the rent is
not very large.

WEAKNESS OF THE HEART.

This may arise from general debility, the result of exhausting dis-
ease, overwork, or heart strain, or loss of blood. It is indicated by a
small, feeble, but generally regular pulse, coldness of the body, etc.

Treatment should be directed to support and increase the strength
of the animal by tonics, rest, and nutritious feed. Carbonate of
annnonia may be given to stinudate the heart's action and to prevent
the formation of heart clot.

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 263
CONGESTION OF THE HEART.

Congestion, or an accumulation of the blood in the cavities of the
heart, may occur in consequence of fibrinous deposits interfering
with the free movements of the valves, usually the product of endo-
carditis or as a result of excessive muscular exertion.

Symptoms are great difficulty of breathing, paleness of the visible
mucous membranes, great anxiety, frequently accompanied by a gen-
eral tremor and cold perspiration, followed by death. It usually
results in death very quickly.

CYANOSIS OF NEWBOKN FOALS.

This is a condition sometimes found in foals immediately after
birth, and is due to nonclosure of the foramen ovale, which allows a
mixture of the venous with the arterial blood in the left cavities of
the heart. It is characterized by a dark purple or bluish color of the
visible mucous membranes, shortness of breath, and a general feeble-
ness Foals thus affected generally live only a few hours after birth.

DISEASES OF ARTERIES, OR ARTERITIS AND ENDARTERITIS.

Inflammation of arteries is rarely observed in the horse as a pri-
mary affection. Direct injuries, such as blows, may produce a con-
tusion and subsequent inflammation of the wall of an artery ; sever©
muscular strain may involve an arterial trunk; hypertrophy of the
heart, by increasing arterial tension, may result in the production of
a general endarteritis. Septic infection may affect the inner coat
and ultimately involve all three, or it may be the result of an inflam-
mation in the vicinity of the vessels, etc. Inflammation of arteries,
whatever the cause may be, often leads to very serious results in the
development of secondar}'^ changes in their walls. Arteritis may be
acute, subacute, or chronic; when the inner coat alone is affected it
is known as endarteritis.

Symptoms. — Arteritis is characterized by a painful swelling along
the inflamed vessel, throbbing pulse, coldness of the parts supplied by
the inflamed vessel, sometimes the formation of gangrenous sloughs,
suppuration, abscess, etc. In an inflammation of the iliac arteries we
find coldness and excessive lameness or paralysis of one or both hind
limbs.

Pathology. — In acute arteritis we find swelling along the vessel,
loss of elasticity, friability, and thickening of the walls ; a roughness
and loss of gloss of the inner coat, with the formation of coagiila or
pus in the vessel. Subacute or chronic arteritis may affect only the
outer coat (periarteritis), both the outer and middle coat, or the
inner coat alone (endarteritis) ; and by weakening the respective
coats leads to rupture, aneurism, or to degenerations, such as bony,
calcareous, fatty, atheromatous, etc. It may also lead to sclerosis or

264 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

increase of fibrous tissue, especially in the kidneys, when it may result
in the condition known as arterio-capillary fibrosis. Chronic endar-
teritis is fruitful in the production of thrombus and atheroma. Ar-
teritis may be limited to single trunks or it may affect, more or less,
all the arteries of the body. Arteries which are at the seat of chronic
endarteritis are liable to suffer degenerative changes, consisting
chiefly of fatty degeneration, calcification, or the breakmg down of
the degenerated tissue, and the formation of erosions or ulcerlike
openings in the inner coat. These erosions are freciuently called
atheromatous ulcers, and fragments of tissue from these idcers may
be carried into the circulation, forming emboli. Fibrinous thrombi
are apt to form upon the roughened surface of the inner coat or upon
the surface of the erosions.

Fatty degeneration and calcification of the middle and outer coats
may occur, and large, hard, calcareous plates project inward, upon
which thrombi may form or may exist in connection with atheroma
of the inner coat. When there is much thickening and increase of
new tissue in the wall of the affected artery it may encroach upon the
capacity' of the Aessel, and even lead to obliteration. This is often
associated with interstitial inflammation of glandular organs.

TreaUnent. — Carbonate of potassium in 1-dram doses, to be given
in 4 ounces liquor acetate of ammonia every six hours; scalded bran
sufficient to produce loosening of the bowels, and complete rest;
externally, applications of hot water or hot hop infusion.

ATHEROMA.

Atlieroma is a direct result of an existing chronic endarteritis, the
lining membrane of the vessels being invariably involved to a greater
or less degree. It is most frequently found in the arteries, although
the veins ma}^ develop an atheromatous condition whcM exposed to
any source of prolonged irritation. Atheroma may affect arteries in
any part of the bod}^; in some instances almost every vessel is dis-
eased, in others only a few, or even parts of one vessel. It is a very
common result of endocarditis extending into the aorta, which we
find perhajjs the most frequent seat of atheroma. As a result of this
condition the affected vessel becomes impaired m its contractile
power, loses its natural strength, and, in consequence of its inability
to sustain its accustomed internal pressure, undergoes in many cases
dilatation at the seat of disease, constituting aneurism. In an
atheromatous vessel, calcareous deposits soon occur, which render it
rigid, brittle, and subject to ulceration or rupture. In such vessels
the contJactility is destroyed, the middle coat atrophied and beyond
repair. Atheroma in the vessels of the brain is a frequent cause of
cerebral apoplexy. No symptoms are manifested by which we can
recognize this condition during life.

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 265

CONSTRICTION OF AN ARTE,RY.

This is usually the result of arteritis, and may partly or wholly be
impervious to the flow of blood. When this occurs in a large vessel
it may be followed by gangrene of the parts; usually, however, col-
lateral circulation will be established to nourish the parts previously
supplied by the obliterated vessel. In a few instances constriction of
the aorta has produced death.

ANEURISM.

Aneurism is usually described as true or false. I'rue aneurism is a
dilatation of the coats of an artery over a larger or smaller part of its
course. Such dilatations are usually due to chronic endarteritis and
atheroma. False aneurism is formed after a puncture of an artery by
a dilatation of the adhesive lymph by which the puncture was united.

Syw^ptcmis. — If the aneurism is seated along the neck or a limb it
appears as a tumor in tlie course of an artery and pulsating with it.
The tumor is round, soft, and compressible, and yields a peculiar
fluctuation upon pressure. By applying the ear over it a peculiar
l^urring or hissing sound may sometimes be heard. Pulsation, syn-
chronous with the action of the heart, is the diagnostic symptom. It
is of a slow, expansive, and heavy character, as if the whole tumor
were enlarging under the hand. Aneurisms seated internally may
occupy the cavity of the cranium, chest, or abdomen. As regards the
first, little is known during life, for all the symptoms which they pro-
duce may arise from other causes. Aneurism of the anterior aorta
may be situated very closely to the heart or in the arch, and it is very
seldom that we can distinguish it from disease of the heart. The
tumor may encroach upon the windpipe and produce difficulty in
breathing, or it may produce pressure upon the vena cava or the
thoracic duct, obstructing the flow of blood and lymph. In fact,
whatever parts the aneurism may reach or subject to its pressure, may
have their functions suspended or disturbed. When the tumor in the
chest is large, we generally find much irregularity in the action of the
heart; the superficial veins of the neck are distended, and there is
usually dropsical swelling under the breast and of the limbs. There
may be a very troublesome cough without any evidence of lung affec-
tion. Sometimes pulsation of the tumor may be felt at the lower
part of the neck w^here it joins the chest. When the aneurism occurs
in the posterior aorta no diagnostic symptoms are appreciable; when
it occurs in the internal iliac arteries an examination per rectum will
reveal it.

There is one form of aneurism which is not infrequently over-
looked, affecting the anterior mesenteric artery, primarily induced by
a worm — Strongylus vulgaris. This worm produces an arteritis, with

266 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

atheroma, degeneration, and dilatation of the mesenteric arteries,
associated with thrombus and aneurism. The aneurism gives rise to
colic, which appears periodically in a very violent and often persis-
tent type. Ordinary colic remedies have no effect, and after a time
the animal succumbs to the disease. In all cases of animals which are
habitually subject to colicky attacks, parasitic aneurism of the an-
terior mesenteric artery may be suspected. (See p. 92.)

Pathology. — Aneurisms may be diffuse or sacculated. The diffuse
consists in a uniform dilatation of all the coats of an artery, so that it
assumes the shape of a cylindrical swelling. The wall of the aneu-
rism is atheromatous, or calcified ; the middle coat may be atrophied.
The sacculated, or circumscribed, aneurism consists either in a dila-
tation of the entire circumference of an artery over a short portion
of its length, or in a dilatation of only a small portion of one side of
tlie wall. Aneurism may become very large ; as it increases in size it
presses upon and causes the destruction of neighboring tissues. The
cavity of the aneurismal sac is filled with fluid or clotted blood or
with layers of fibrin which adhere closely to its wall. Death is pro-
duced usually by the pressure and interference of the aneurism with
adjoining organs or by rupture. In worm aneurism we usually find
large thrombi within the aneurismal dilatation of the artery, which
sometimes plug the whole vessel or extend into the aorta. Portions of
this thrombus, or clot, may be washed away and produce embolism of
a fimaller artery. The effect in either case is to produce anemia of the
intestinal canal, serous or bloody exudation in its walls, which leads
to paralysis of the intestine and resultant colicky symptoms.

Treatment. — The onl}'^ treatment advisable is to extirpate or ligate
the tumor above and below.

RUPTURE OF AN ARTERY.

Endarteritis, with its subsequent changes in the walls of arteries, is
the primary cause of rupture in the majority of instances. The rup-
ture may be partial, involving only one or two coats, and will tlien
form an aneurism. If complete, it may produce death when it in-
volves a large vessel, especially if it is situated in one of the large
cavities permitting an excessive escape of blood. Rupture may be
produced by mex^hanical violence or accident.

/Symptoms. — In fatal rupture, associated with profuse bleeding,
the animal becomes weak, the visible mucoiis membranes become
blanched, the breathing hurried or gasping, pupils dilated, stagger-
ing in gait, syncope, death. When the hemorrhage is limited the
symptoms may not become noticeable; if it is near the surface of
the body a round or diffuse swelling or tumor may form, constituting
a hygroma. If the rupture is associated with an external wound,
tlie bleeding artery should be ligated, or where a bandage is ap-

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 267

plicable, pressure may be applied by tight bandaging. As a sec-
ondary result of rupture of an artery we may have formation of
abscess, gangi'ene of a part, etc.

Treatment. — When rupture of a deep-seated artery is suspected,
large doses of fluid extract of ergot may be given to produce con-
traction of the blood vessels. Tannin and iron are also useful. The
animal should be allowed to have as much water as he desires. After-
wards stimulants and nourishing feed are indicated.

THKOMBUS AND EMBOLISM.

By thrombosis is generally understood the partial or complete clo-
sure of a vessel by a morbid product developed at the site of the
obstruction. The coagulum, which is usually fibrinous, is known as
a thrombus. The term " embolism " designates an obstruction caused
by any body detached and transported from the interior of the heart
or of some vessel. Thrombi occur as the result of an injury to the
wall of the vessel or may follow its compression or dilatation; they
may result from some alteration of the wall of the vessel by disease
or by the retardation of the circulation. These formations may
occur during life, in the heart, arteries, veins, or in the portal system.
When a portion of fibrin coagulates in one of the arteries and is
carried along by the circulation, it will be arrested, of course, in the
capillaries, if not before; when in the veins, it may not be stopped
until it reaches the lungs; and when in the portal system the capil-
laries of the liver will prevent its further progress. The formation
of thrombi may act primarily by causing partial or complete obstruc-
tion, and, secondarily, either by larger or smaller fragments becom-
ing detached from their end and by being carried along by the
circulation of the blood to remote vessels, embolism ; or by the coagu-
lum becoming softened and converted into pus, constituting sup-
purative phlebitis. These substances occur most frequentl}'^ in those
affections characterized by great exhaustion or debility, such as
pneumonia, purpura hemorrhagica, endocarditis, phlebitis, puerperal
fever, hemorrhages, etc. These concretions may form suddenly and
produce instantaneous death by retarding the blood current, or they
may arise gradually, in which case the thrombi may be organized and
attached to the walls of the heart, or they may soften, and frag-
ments of them (emboli) may be carried away. The small, wartlike
excrescences occurring sometimes in endocarditis may occasionally
form a foundation on which a thrombi may develop.

Symptoms. — When heart clot, or thrombus, exists in the right side,
the return of blood from the body and the aeration in the lungs is
impeded, and if death occurs, it is owing to syncope rather than to
strangulation in pulmonary respiration. There will be hurried and

268 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

^aspinc^ breathing, paleness and coldness of the surface of the body,
a feeble and intermittent or fluttering pulse, and fainting. When a
fibrinous coagulum is carried into the puhnonary artery from the
right side of the heart, the indications are a swelling and infiltration
of the lungs and pulmonary apoplexy. WHien the clot is situated in
the left cavities of the heart or in the aorta, death, if it occurs, takes
place either suddenly or at the end of a few hours from coma.

Pathology. — Wlien a coagulum is observed in the heart it may be-
come a question whether it was formed during life or after death.
The loose, dark coagula so oft^n found after death are polypi. If
the deposition has taken place during the lasi moments of life, the
fibrin will be isolated and soft, but not adherent to the walls; if it
be isolated, dense, and adherent or closely intertwined with the
muscles of the papillae and tendinous cords, the deposition has oc-
curred more or less remote from the act of dying. Occasionally the
fibrin may be seen lining one of the cavities of the heart, like a false
endocardium, or else forming an additional coat to the aorta or other
large vessels without producing much obstruction. Thrombi, in
some instances, soften in their centers, and are then observed to con-
tain a puslike substance. I£ this softening has extended considerably,
an outer shell, or cyst, only may remain. The sources of danger exist
not only in the interruption of the circulation of the blood, but also
in a morbid state of the system, produced by the disturbed nutrition
of a limb or organ, as well as the mingling of purulent and gan-
grenous elements with the blood.

TreatTTient. — The urgent symptoms should be relieved bj^ rest,
stimulants, and the use of agents which will act as solvents to the
fibrinous clots. Alkalis are specially useful for this purpose. Car-
bonate of ammonia may be administered in all cases of thrombus,
and should be continued for a long time in small doses several times a
day. In cases of great debility associated with a low grade of fever,
stimulants and tonics, and nitro-muriatic acid as an antiseptic, may
be beneficial.

DISEASES OF VEINS, OR PHLEBITIS.

Inflammation of veins may be simple or diffuse. In simple phleb-
itis the disease of the vein is confined to a circumscribed or limited
portion of a vein ; in diffuse it involves the vein for a long distance ;
it may even extend from a limb or foot to the heart.

Causes. — Phlebitis may be induced by contusions or direct injuries,
an extension of inflammation from surrounding tissue, such as in
abscess, formation of tumor, or malignant growth. It is often due
to embolism of infective material, gangrenous matter, etc. Blood-
letting from the jugular vein is occasionally followed by dangerous
phlebitis.

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 269

SymptoTiv^. — The symptoms vary according to the extent and sever-
ity of the inflammation. In most cases the vein is swollen, thick-
ened, and indurated to such a degree as to resemble an artery. A
diffused swelling, with gi^at tenderness, may extend along the af-
fected vessel and the animal manifest all the symptoms connected
with acute fever and general functional disturbance.

Pathology. — The disease is only serious when large veins are
nffected. The coats undergo the same changes as in arteritis; clots
of blood and lymph plug the inflamed vessel, and, if the inflammatory
process continues, these are converted into pus, which ruptures the
A essel and produces a deep abscess ; or it ma}^ be carried away in the
circulation and produce metastatic abscess in the lungs or other re-
mote organs. In mild cases the clots may become absorbed and the
vessel restored to health. Phlebitis in the course of the veins of the
limbs frequently leads to numerous abscesses, which may be mistaken
for farcy ulcerations. A very common result of phlebitis is an oblit-
eration of the affected portion of the vein, but as collateral circulation
is readily established this is seldom of any material inconvenience.

Treatment. — Phlebitis should be treated by the application of a
smart blister along the course of the inflamed vessel ; early opening
of any abscesses which may form; the animal should have complete
rest, and the bowels be kept loose with bran mashes. "WHien the fever
runs high, half-ounce doses of nitrate of potassium may be given in
the drinking water, which may be changed in two or three days for
1-dram doses of the iodid of potassium. If the animal becomes de-
bilitated, carbonate of ammonia, 1 dram, and powdered gentian, 3
drams, may be given every six hours.

VARICOSE VEINS, VARIX, OR DILATATION OF VEINS.

This may be a result of weakening of the coats from inflammatory
disease and degeneration. It may also be due to mechanical obstruc-
tion from internal or external sources. It is sometimes found in the
vein which lies superficial over the inside of the hock joint, and may
be due to the pressure of a spavin. Occasionally it may be observed
in stallions, which are more or less subject to varicocele, or dilatation
of the veins of the testicular cord. Hemorrhoidal veins, or piles, are
occasionally met with, generally in horses which run at pasture.
Varicose veins ma}^ ulcerate and form an abscess in the surrounding-
tissues, or they may rupture from internal blood pressure and the
blood form large tumors where the tissues are soft.

Treatment, — Stallions which manifest a tendency to varicocele
should wear suspensory bags when they are exercised. Piles may
often be reduced by astringent washes — tea made from white-oak
bark or a saturated solution of alum. The bowels should be kept
loose with bran mashes and the animal kept quiet in the stable.

270 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

When varicose veins exist suj>erficially and threaten to produce incon-
venience, they may be ligated above and below and thus obliterated.
Sometimes absorption may be induced by constant bandages.

AIR IN VEINS, OR AIR EMBOLISM.

It was formerly supposed that the entrance of air into a vein at the
time of the infliction of a woimd or in blood-letting was extremely
dangerous and very often produced sudden death by interfering with
the circulation of the blood through the heart and lungs. Danger
from air embolism is exceedingly doubtful, unless great quantities
were forced into a large vein by artificial means.

PURPURA HEMORRHAGICA.

Purpura hemorrhagica usually occurs as a sequel to debilitating
diseases, such as strangles, influenza, etc. It may, however, arise in
the absence of any previous disease in badly ventilated stables, among
poorly fed horses, and in animals subject to exhausting work and
extreme temperatures. The disease is probably due to some as yet
undiscovered infectious principle. Its gravity does not depend so
much upon the amount of blood extra vasated as it does upon the dis-
turbance or diminished action of the vaso-motor centers.

Synhptom.s. — This disease becomes manifested by the occurrence of
sudden swellings on various parts of the body, on the head or lips,
limbs, abdomen, etc. These swellings may be diffused or very mark-
edly circumscribed, though in the advanced stages they cover large
areas. They pit on pressure and are but slightly painfiU to the touch.
The limbs may swell to a very large size, the nostrils may become
almost closed, and the head and throat may swell to the point of suf-
focation. The swellings not infrequently disappear from one portion
of the body and develop on another, or may recede from the surface
and invade the intestinal mucous membrane. The mucous lining of
the nostrils and mouth show more or less dark-red or purple spots.
There may be a discharge of blood-colored serum from the nostrils;
the tongue may be swollen so as to prevent eating or closing of the
jaws. In the most intense cases, within from twenty-four to forty-
eight hours bloody serum may exude through the skin over the
swollen parts, and finally large gangrenous sloughs may form. The
temperature is never very high, the pulse is frequent and com-
pressible, and becomes feebler as the animal loses strength. A cough
is usually present. The urine is scanty and high colored, and when
the intestines are much affected a bloody diarrhea may set in, with
colicky pains. Some of the internal organs become implicated in the
disease, the lungs may become edematous, extravasation may occur
in the intestinal canal, or effusion of serum into the cavitv of the

DISEASES OF HEABT, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 271

chest or abdomen; occasionally the brain becomes affected. A few
cases run a mild course and recovery may commence in three or
four days ; generally, however, the outlook is unfavorable. In severe
cases septic poisoning is liable to occur, which soon brings the case
to a fatal issue.

Pathology. — On section we find the capillaries dilated, the connec-
tive tissue filled with a coagulable or coagulated lymph, and fre-
quently we may discover gangrenous spots beneath the skin or involv-
ing the skin. The lymphatic glands are swollen and inflamed. Ex-
tensive extravasations of blood may be found embedded between the
coats of the intestines, or excessive effusion into the substance of
the lungs.

Treatment. — Diffusible stimulants and tonics should be given from
the start. Carbonate of ammonia, 1 dram, fluid extract of red cin-
chona bark, 2 drams, and tincture of ginger half an ounce, with hali
a pint of water ; thin gruel or milk should be given every four or six
hours. But especial care should be exercised to avoid injury by
drenching. If the horse has difficulty in getting the head up and
swallowing, smaller doses must be given with a small hard-rubber
syringe. Sulphate of iron in 1-dram doses may be dissolved in water
and given every six hours. Chlorate of potassium, in 2-ounce doses,
may be given every eight or twelve hours. Colloidal silver may be
administered intravenously in doses of from 5 to 12 grains. Wash-
ings wit' . lead and alum water are useful and may be repeated several
times each day. If the swellings are very great, they may be incised
freely and the resulting wounds should be washed at least twice daily
with a warm 3 per cent solution of carbolic acid or other good anti-
septic. Tracheotomy may be necessary. Complications, when they
arise, must be treated with proper circumspection.

DISEASES OF THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM.

The lymphatic, or absorbent, system is connected with the blood-
vascular system, and consists of a series of tubes which absorb and
convey to the blood certain fluids. These tubes lead to lymphatic
glands, through which the fluids pass to reach the right lymphatic
vein and thoracic duct, both of which enter the venous system near
the heart. Through the excessively thin walls of the capillaries the
fluid part of the blood transudes to nourish the tissues outside the
capillaries; at the same time fluid passes from the tissues into the
blood. The fluid, after it passes into the tissues, constitutes the
lymph, and acts like a stream irrigating the tissue elements. Much of
the surplus of this lymph passes into the lymph vessels, which in their
commencement can hardly be treated as independent structures, sinc^
their walls are so closely joined with the tissues through which they

272 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

pass, being nothing inore than spaces in the connective tissue until
they reach the hirger lymph vessels, which finally empty into lymph
glands. These lymph glands are structures so placed that the lymph
flowing toward the larger trunks passes through them, undergoing a
sort of filtration. From the fact of this arrangement lymph glands
are subject to inflammatory diseases in the vicinity of diseased struc-
tures, because infective mateiial being conveyed in the lymph stream
lodges in the glands and produces irritation.

LOCAL INFLAMMATION AND ABSCESS OF LYMPHATIC GLANDS.

Acute inflammation of the lymph glands usually occurs in connec-
tion with some inflammatory process in the region from which its
lymph is gathered. Several or all of the glands in a cluster may
become affected, as in strangles, nasal catarrh, or nasal gleet, diseased
or ulcerated teeth, the lymph glands between the branches of the
lower jaw almost invariably become affected, which may lead to sup-
puration or induration. Similar results obtain in other portions of
the body; in pneumonia the bronchial glands become affected: in
pharyngitis the postpharyngeal glands lying above the trachea be-
come affected, etc.

Symptoms. — The glands swell and become painful to the touch, the
connective tissue surrounding tliem becomes involved, suppuration
usually takes place, and one or more abscesses form. If the inflam-
mation is of a milder type, resolution may take place and the swelling
recede, the exudative material being absorbed, and the gland restored
without the occurrence of suppuration. In the limbs a w^liole chain
of the glands along the lymphatic vessels may become affected, as in
farcy, phlebitis, or septic poisoning.

Treatment. — Fomentation wath hot water and the application of
camphorated soap liniment or camphorated oil may produce a revul-
sive action and prevent suppuration. If there is any indication of
abscess forming, poultices of linseed meal and bran made into a paste
with hot Avater should be applied, or a mild blistering ointment
rubbed in over the swollen gland. As soon as fluctuation can be felt
a free opening must be made for the escape of the contained pus.
The wound may subsequently be Avashed out with a solution of
chlorid of zinc. 5 grains to the ounce of water, three times a day.

LYMPHANGITIS.

Specific inflammation of the lymphatic structures usually affects
the hind legs; very seldom a fore ieg. This disease is very sudden in
its attack, exceedingly painf^d, accompanied by a high temperature
and great general disturbance.

DISEASES OF HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 273

Causes. — Horses of lymphatic or sluggish temperament are predis-
posed to this affection. It usually attacks well-fed animals, and in
such cases may be due to an excess of nutritive elements in the blood.
Sudden changes in work or in the habits of the animal may induce an
attack.

Symptoms. — It is usually ushered in by a chill, rise in temperature,
and some uneasiness; in a very short time this is followed by lame-
ness in one leg and swelling on the inside of the thigh. The swelling
gradually surrounds the whole limb and continues on downward until
it reaches the foot. The limb is excessively tender to the touch, the ani-
mal perspires, the breathing is accelerated, pulse hard and quick, and
the temperature may reach 106° F The bowels early become very con-
stipated and urine scanty. The symptoms usually are on the increase
for about two days, then they remain stationary for the same length
of time ; the fever then abates ; the swelling recedes and becomes less
painful. It is very seldom, though, that all the swelling leaves the
leg ; generally it leaves some permanent enlargement, and the animal
becomes subject to recurrent attacks. Occasionally the inguinal lymph-
atic glands (in the groin) undergo suppuration, and pyemia may
supervene and prove fatal. In severe cases the limb becomes de-
nuded of hair in patches, and the skin remains indurated with a
fibrous growth, which is known by the name of elephantiasis.

Treatment. — The parts should be bathed freely and frequently with
water as hot as the hand can bear and then fomented with vinegar
and water, equal parts, to which add 2 ounces of nitrate of potassium
for each gallon. This should be applied frequently, after the hot
water, for the first day. Afterwards the leg may be dried with a
woolen cloth and bathed with camphorated soap liniment. Internally
administer artificial Carlsbad salts in 2 to 4 ounce doses three times
dail3^ Feed lightly and give complete rest. This treatment, if insti-
tuted early in the attack, very frequently brings about a remarkable
change within 24 hours.

54763°— 23 18

DISEASES OF THE EYE.

By James Law, F. R. C. V. S.,
Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., Cornell University.

We can scarcely overestimate the value of sound eyes in the horse,
and hence all diseases and injuries which seriously interfere with
vision are matters of extreme gravity and apprehension, for should
they prove permanent they invariably depreciate the selling price to
a considerable extent. A blind horse is always dangerous in the sad-
dle or in single harness, and he is scarcely less so when, with partially
impaired vision, he sees things imperfectly, in a distorted form or in
a wrong place, and when he shies or avoids objects which are com-
monplace or familiar. When we add to this that certain diseases of
the eyes, like recurring inflammation (moon blindness), are habitu-
ally transmitted from parent to offspring, we can realize still more
fully the importance of these maladies. Again, as a mere matter of
beauty, a sound, full, clear, intelligent eye is something which must
always add a high value to our equine friends and servants.

STRUCTURE OF THE EYE.

(PI. XXII.)
THE EYEBALL.

A full description of the structure of the eye is incompatible with
our prescribed limits, and yet a short description is absolutely essen-
tial to the clear understanding of what is to follow.

The horse's eye is a spheroidal body, flattened behind, and with its
posterior four-fifths inclosed by an opaque, white, strong fibrous
membrane (the sclera), on the inner side of which is laid a more
delicate, friable membrane, consisting mainly of blood vessels and
pigment cells (the choroid), which in its turn is lined b}^ the ex-
tremely delicate and sensitive expansion of the nerve of sight (the
retina). The anterior fifth of the globe of the eye bulges forward
from what would have been the direct line of the sclera, and thus
forms a segment of a much smaller sphere than is inclosed by tlie
sclera. Its walls, too, have in health a perfect translucency, from
which it has derived the name of transparent cornea. This trans-
parent coat is composed, in the main, of fibers with lymph interspaces,
274

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 275

and it is to the condition of these and their condensation and com-
pression that the translucency is largely due. This may be shown
by compressing with the fingers the eye of an ox which has just been
killed, when the clear transparent cornea will suddenly become
clouded over with a whitish-blue opacity, and this will remain until
the compression is interrupted. The interior of the eye contains
three transparent media for the refraction of the rays of light on
their way from the cornea to the visual nerve. Of these media the
anterior one (aqueous humor) is liquid, the posterior (vitreous
humor) is semisolid, and the intermediate one (crystalline lens) is
solid. The space occupied by the aqueous humor corresponds nearly
to the portion of the eye covered by the transparent cornea. It is,
however, divided into two chambers, anterior and posterior, by the
iris, a contractile curtain with a hole in the center (the pupil), and
which may be looked on as in some sense a projection inward of the
vascular and pigmentary coat from its anterior margin at the point
where the sclera or opaque outer coat becomes continuous with the
cornea or transparent one. This iris, or curtain, besides its abun-
dance of blood vessels and pigment, possesses two sets of muscular
fibers, one set radiating from the margin of the pupil to the outer
border of the curtain at its attachment to the sclera and choroid,
and the other encircling the pupil in the manner of a ring. The
action of the two sets is necessarily antagonistic, the radiating fibers
dilating the pupil and exposing the interior of the eye to view,
while the circular fibers contract this opening and shut out the rays
of light. The form of the pupil in the horse is ovoid, with its longest
diameter from side to side, and its upper border is fringed by several
minute, black bodies (corpora nigra) projecting forward and serving
to some extent the purpose of eyebrows in arresting and absorbing
the excess of rays of light which fall upon the eye from above. These
pigmentary projections in front of the upper border of the pupil are
often mistaken for the products of disease or injury in place of the
normal and beneficent protectors of the nerve of sight which they
are. Like all other parts, they may become the seat of disease, but so
long as they and the iris retain their clear, dark aspect, without any
tints of brown or yellow, they may be held to be healthy.

The vitreous or semisolid refracting mediimi occupies the posterior
part of the eye — the part corresponding to the sclera, choroid, and
retina — and has a consistency corresponding to that of the white of
an egg, and a power of refraction of the light rays correspondingly
greater than the aqueous humor.

The third or solid refracting medium is a biconvex lens, with its
convexity greatest on its posterior surface, which is lodged in a de-
pression in the vitreous humor, while its anterior surface corresponds
to the opening of the pupil. It is inclosed in a membranous covering

276 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

(capsule) and is maintained in position by a membrane (suspensory
ligament) which extends from the margin of the lens outward to the
sclera at the point of junction of the choroid and iris. This liga-
ment is, in its turn, furnished with radiating, muscular fibers, which
change the form or position of the lens so as to adapt it to see with
equal clearness objects at a distance or close by.

Another point which strikes the observer of the horse's eye is that
in the darkness a bright, bluish tinge is reflected from the widely
dilated pupil. This is owing to a comparative absence of pigment
in the choroid coat inside the upper part of the eyeball, and enables
the animal to see and advance with security in darkness where the
human eye would be of little use. The lower part of the cavity
of the horse's eye, into which the dazzling rays fall from the sky, is
furnished with an intensely black lining, by which the rays penetrat-
ing the inner nervous layer are instantly absorbed.

MUSCLES OF THE EYE.

These consist of four straight muscles, two oblique, and one re-
tractor. The straight muscles pass from the depth of the orbit
forward on the inner, outer, upper, and lower sides of the eyeball,
and are fixed to the anterior portion of the fibrous (sclerotic) coat,
so that in contracting singly they respectively turn the eye inward,
outward, upward, and downward. When all act together they draw
the eyeball deeply into its socket. The retractor muscle also consists
of four muscular slips, repeating the straight muscles on a smaller
scale, but as they are only attached on the back part of the eyeball
they are less adapted to roll the eye than to draw it down into its
socket. The two oblique muscles rotate the eye on its own axis, the
upper one turning its outer surface upward and inward, and the
lower one turning it downward and inward.

THE HAW (THE WINKING CARTILAGE, OR CARTILAGO NICTITANS).

This is a structure which, like the retractor muscle, is not found in
the eye of man, but it serves in the lower animals to assist in remov-
ing foreign bodies from the front of the eyeball. It consists, in the
horse, of a cartilage of irregular form, thickened inferiorly and pos-
teriorly where it is intimately connected with the muscles of the e3'^e-
ball and the fatty material around them, and expanded and flattened
anteriorly where its upper surface is concave, and, as it were, molded
on the lower and inner surface of the eyeball. Externally it is cov-
ered by the mucous membrane which lines the eyelids and extends
over the front of the eye. In the ordinary restful state of the eye the
edge of this cartilage should just appear as a thin fold of membrane
at the inner angle of the eye, but when the eyeball is drawn deeply
into the orbit the cartilage is pushed forward, outward, and upward

0. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

i->j.^v rp; xxii.

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y . j rrui, ,1 jl—v

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(ii>ii.M.ux ilol.alti'i II ,\rl'(n-il i> ;iV'l

DIAGRAMMATJC VliiniCAL SECTION TllHOUUll liUUSES KYK

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 27T

over it until the entire globe may be hidden from sight. This pro-
trusion of the cartilage so as to cover the eye may be induced in the
healthy eye by pressing the finger and thumb on the upper and lower
lids, so as to cause retraction of the eyeball into the socket. When
foreign bodies, such as sand, dust, and chaff, or other irritants, have
fallen on the eyeball or eyelids it is similarly projected to push them
off, their expulsion being further favored by a profuse flow of tears.
This is seen, to a lesser extent, in all painful inflammations of the
eye, and to a very marked degree in lockjaw, when the spasm of the
muscles of the eyeball draws the latter deeply into the orbit and pro-
jects forward th^ masses of fat and the cartilage. The brutal prac-
tice of cutting off this apparatus whenever it is projected necessitates
this explanation, which it is hoped may save to many a f aithf id serv-
ant a most valuable appendage. That the cartilage and membrane
may become the seat of disease is undeniable, but so long as its edge
is thin and even and its surface smooth and regular the mere fact of
its projection over a portion of the eyeball is no evidence of disease
in its substance, nor any warrant for its removal. It is usually but
the evidence of the presence of some pain in another part of the
eye, which the suffering animal endeavors to assuage by the use of
this beneficent provision. For the diseases of the cartilage itself, see
" Encephaloid cancer."

LACRIMAL APPARATUS,

This consists, first, of a gland for the secretion of the tears, and,
second, of a series of canals for the conveyance of the superfluous
tears into the cavity of the nose.

The gland is situated above the outer part of the eyeball, and the
tears which have flowed over the eye and reached the inner angle are
there directed by a small, conical papilla (lacrimal caruncle) into
two minute orifices, and thence by two ducts (lacrimal) to a small
pouch (lacrimal sac) from which a canal leads through the bones
of the face into the nose. This opens in the lower part of the nose on
the floor of the passage and a little outside the line of union of the
skin which lines the false nostril with the mucous membrane of the
nose. In the ass and mule this ojoening is situated on the roof instead
of the floor of the nose, but still close to the external opening.

EXAMINATION OF THE EYE.

To avoid unnecessary repetition the following general directions are
given for the examination of the eye : The eye, and to a certain extent
the mucous membrane lining the eyelids, may be exposed to view
by gently parting the eyelids with the thumb and forefinger pressed
on the middle of the respective lids. The pressure, it is true, causes

278 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the protrusion of the haw over a portion of the lower and inner part
of the eye, but by gentleness and careful graduation of the pressure
this may be kept within bounds, and oftentimes even the interior of
the eye can be seen. As a rule it is best to use the right hand for the
left eye, and the left hand for the right, the finger in each case being
pressed on the upper lid while the thumb depresses the lower one. In
cases in which it is desirable to examine the iimer side of the eyelid
further than is possible by the above means, the upper lid may be
drawn down by the eyelashes with the one hand and then everted
over the tip of the forefinger of the other hand, or over a probe laid
flat against the middle of the lid. When the interior of the eye must
be examined it is useless to make the attempt in the open sunshine or
under a clear sky. The worst cases, it is true, can be seen imder such
circumstances, but for the slighter forms the horse should be taken
indoors, where all light from above will be shut off, and should be
placed so that the light may fall on the eye from the front and side.
Then the observer, placing himself in front of the animal, will receive
the reflected rays from the cornea, the front of the lens and the back,
and can much more easily detect any cloudiness, opacity, or lack of
transparency. The examination can be made much more satisfactory
by placing the horse in a dark chamber and illuminating the eye by
a lamp placed forward and outward from the eye which is to be exam-
ined. Any cloudiness is thus easily detected, and any doubt may be
resolved by moving the lamp so that the image of the flame may be
passed in succession over the whole surface of the transparent cornea
and of the crystalline lens. Three images of the flame will be seen,
the larger one upright, reflected from the anterior surface of the eye ;
a smaller one upright, reflected from the anterior surface of the lens;
and a second small one inverted from the back surface of the lens.

So long as these images are reflected from healthy surfaces they
will be clear and perfect in outline, but as soon as one strikes on an
area of opacity it will become diffused, cloudy, and indefinite. Thus,
if the large, upright image becomes hazy and imperfect over a partic-
ular spot of the cornea, that will be found to be the seat of disease
and opacity. Should the large image remain clear, but the small
upright one become diffuse and indefinite over a given point, it indi-
cates opacity on the front of the capsule of the lens. If both upright
images remain clear while the inverted one becomes indistinct at a
given point, then the opacity is in the substance of the lens itself or in
the posterior part of its capsule.

If in a given case the pupil remains so closely contracted that the
deeper parts of the eye can not be seen, the eyelids may be rubbed
with extract of belladonna, and in a short time the pupil will be
found widely dilated.

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 2T9

DISEASES OF THE EYELIDS.

CONGENITAL DISORDERS.

Some faulty conditions of the eyelids are congenital, as division
of an eyelid in two, after the manner of harelip, abnormally small
opening between the lids, often connected with imperfect develop-
ment of the eye, and closure of the lids by adhesion. The first is
to be remedied by paring the edges of the division and then bring-
ing them together, as in torn lids. The last two, if remediable at all,
require separation by the knife, and subsequent treatment with a
cooling astringent eyewash.

NERVOUS DISORDERS.

Spasm of eyelids may be owing to constitutional susceptibility, or
to the presence of local irritants (insects, chemical irritants, sand,
etc.) in the eye, to woimds or inflammation of the mucous membrane,
or to disease of the brain. ^Mien due to local irritation it may be
temporarily overcome by instilling a few drops of a 4 per cent solu-
tion of cocaine into the eye, when the true cause may be ascertained
and removed. The nervous or constitutional disease must be treated
according to its nature.

Drooping eyelids, or ptosis. — This is usually present in the upper
lid, or is at least little noticed in the lower. It is sometimes but a
symptom of paralysis of one-half of the face, in which case the ear,
lips, and nostrils on the same side will be found soft, drooping, and
inactive, and even the half of the tongue may partake of the palsy.
If the same condition exists on both sides, there is difficult, snuffling
breathing, from the air drawing in the flaps of the nostrils in inspira-
tion, and all feed is taken in by the teeth, as the lips are useless. In
both there is a free discharge of saliva from the mouth during mas-
tication. This paralysis is a frequent result of injury, by a poke, to
the seventh nerve, as it passes over the back of the lower jaw. In
some cases the paralysis is confined to the lid, the injury having been
sustained by the muscles which raise it, or by the supraorbital nerve,
which emerges from the bone just above the eye. Such injury to the
nerve may have resulted from fracture of the orbital process of the
frontal bone above the ej^eball.

The condition may, however, be due to spasm of the sphincter
muscle, which closes the lids, or to inflammation of the upper lid,
usuall}'^ a result of blows on the orbit. In the latter case it may run
a slow course with chronic thickening of the lid.

The paralysis due to the poke may be often remedied, first, by the
removal of any remaining inflammation by a wet sponge worn be-
neath the ear and kept in place by a bandage ; secondly, when all in-
flammation has passed, by a blister on the same region, or by rubbing

280 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

it daily with a mixture of olive oil and strong aqua ammonia in equal
proportions. Improvement is usually slow, and it may be months
before complete recovery ensues.

In paralysis from blows above the eyes the same treatment may be
applied to that part.

Thickening of the lid may be treated by painting with tincture of
iodin, and that failing, by cutting out an elliptical strip of the skin
from the middle of the upper lid and stitching the edges together.

INFLAMMATION OF THE EYELIDS.

The eyelids suffer more or less in all severe inflammations of the
eye, whether external or internal, but inasmuch as the disease some-
times starts in the lids and at other times is exclusively confined to
them, it deserves independent mention.

Among the causes may be named : Exposure to drafts of cold air,
or to cold rain or snow storms ; the bites or stings of mosquitoes, flies,
or other insects; snake bites, pricks with thorns, blows of whip or
club ; accidental bruises against the stall or ground, especially during
the violent struggles of colic, enteritis, phrenitis (staggers), and
when thrown for operations. It is also a result of infecting inocula-
tions, as of erysipelas, anthrax, boil, etc., and is noted by Leblanc as
especially prevalent among horses kept on low, marshy pastures.
Finally, the introduction of sand, dust, chaff, beards of barley and
seeds of the finest grasses, and the contact with irritant, chemical
powders, liquids, and gases (ammonia from manure or factory,
chlorin, strong sulphur fumes, smoke, and other products of com-
bustion, etc. ) may start the inflammation. The eyelids often undergo
extreme inflammatory and dropsical swelling in urticaria (nettle-
rash, surfeit) and in the general inflammatoiy dropsy known as*
purpura hemorrhagica.

The affection will, therefore, readily divide itself into (1) inflam-
mations due to constitutional causes; (2) those due to direct injury,
mechanical or chemical; and (3) such as are due to inoculation with
infecting material.

(1) Inflammations due to constitutional causes are distinguished
by the absence of any local wound, and the history of a low, damp
pasture, exposure, indigestion from unwholesome feed, or the pres-
ence elsewhere on the limbs or body of the general, doughy swellings
of purpura hemorrhagica. The lids are swollen and thickened; it
may be slightly or it may be so extremely that the eyeball can not be
seen. If the lid can be everted to show its mucous membrane, that
is seen to be of a deep-red color, especially along the branching lines
of the blood vessels. The part is hot and painful, and a profuse flow
of tears and mucus escapes on the side of the face, causing irritation

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 281

and loss of the hair. If improvement follows, this discharge becomes
more tenacious, and tends to cause adhesion to the edges of the upper
and lower lids and to mat together the eyelashes in bundles. This
gradually decreases to the natural amount,* and the redness and con-
gested appearance of the eye disappears, but swelling, thickening,
and stiffness of the lids may continue for a time. There may be
more or less fever according to the violence of the inflammation, but
so long as there is no serious disease of the interior of the eye or of
other vital organ, it is usually moderate.

The local treatment consists in astringent, soothing lotions (sugar
of lead 30 grains, atropin sulphate 30 grains, rain water — boiled and
cooled — 1 pint), applied with a soft cloth kept wet with the lotion,
and hung over the eye by tying it to the headstall of the bridle on the
two sides. If the mucous membrane lining of the lids is the seat of
little red granular elevations, a drop of solution of 2 grains of nitrate
of silver in an ounce of distilled water should be applied with the soft
end of a clean feather to the inside of the lid twice a day. The
patient should be removed from all such conditions (pasture, faulty
feed, exposure, etc.) as may have caused or aggravated the disease,
and from dust and irritant fumes and gases. He should be fed from
a manger high enough to favor the return of blood from the head,
and should be kept from work, especially in a tight cellar which
would prevent the descent of blood by the jugular veins. The diet
should be laxative and nonstimulating (grass, bran mashes, carrots,
turnips, beets, potatoes, or steamed hay), and any costiveness should
be corrected by a mild dose of raw linseed oil (1 to 1^ pints). In
cold weather warm blanketing may be needful, and even loose flannel
bandages to the limbs, but heat should never be sought at the expense
of pure air.

(2) In inflammations due to local irritants of a noninfective kind
a careful examination will usually reveal their presence, and the first
step must be their removal with a pair of blunt forceps or the point
of a lead pencil. Subsequent treatment will be in the main the local
treatment advised above.

(3) In case of infective inflammation there will often be found a
prick or tear by which the septic matter has entered, and in such case
the inflammation Avill for a time be concentrated at that point. A
round or conical sv/elling around an insect bite is especially character-
istic. A snake bite is marked by the double prick made by the two
teeth and by the violent and rapidly spreading inflammation. Ery-
sipelas is attended with much swelling, extending beyond the lids
and causing the mucous membrane to protrude beyond the edge of
the eyelid (chemosis). This is characterized by a bright, uniform,
rosy red, disappearing on pressure, or later by a dark, livid hue, but
with less branching redness than in noninfecting inflammation and

282 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

less of the dark, dusky, brownish or yellowish tint of anthrax. Lit-
tle vesicles may appear on the skin, and pus may be found without
any distinct limiting membrane, as in abscess. It is early attended
with high fever and marked general weakness and inappetence. An-
thrax of the lids is marked by a firm swelling, surmounted by a blis-
ter, with blood}^ serous contents, which tends to burst and dry up
into a slough, while the surrounding parts become involved in the
same way. Or it may show as a diffuse, dropsical swelling, with less
of the hard, central sloughing nodule, but, like that, tending to spread
quickly. In both cases alike the mucous membrane and the skin, if
white, assume a dusky-brown or yellowish-brown hue, which is
largely characteristic. This may pass into a black color by reason
of extravasation of blood. Great cxjnstitutional disturbance appears
early, with much prostration and weakness and generalized anthrax
symptoms.

Treatinent. — The treatment will vary according to the severity.
Insect bites may be touched with a solution of equal parts of glycerin
and aqua ammonia, or a 10 per cent solution of carbolic acid in water.
Snake bites may be bathed with aqua ammonia, and the same agent
given in doses of 2 teaspoonfuls in a quart of water, or tincture of
nux vomica in teaspoonful doses may be given every four hours.
In erysipelas the skin may be painted with tincture of chlorid of
iron, or with a solution of 20 grains of iodin in an ounce of carbolic
acid, and one-half an ounce of tincture of chlorid of iron may be
given thrice daily in a bottle of water. In anthrax the swelling
should be painted with tincture of iodin, or of the mixture of iodin
and carbolic acid, and if very threatening it may have the tincture of
iodin injected into the swelling with a hypodermic syringe, or the
hard mass may be freely incised to its depth with a sharp lancet and
the lotion applied to the exposed tissues. Internally, ioclid of potas-
sium may be given in doses of 2 drams thrice a day, or tincture of
the chlorid of iron every four hours.

If anthrax infection is suspected, immediate assistance of a vet-
erinarian should be obtained. In the early stages of anthrax infec-
tion the subcutaneous and intravenous injection of large doses of
antianthrax serum (50 to 100 c. c.) is indicated. Prevent sprf^acling
the disease to other animals and man by isolation of the affected
animals, rigid sanitary precautions, and disinfection of infected
quarters.

STY, OR FURUNCLE (BOIL) OF THE EYELID.

This is an inflammation of limited extent, advancing to the forma-
tion of matter and the sloughing out of a small mass of the natural
tissue of the eyelid. It forms a firm, rounded swelling, usually near
the margin of the lid, which suppurates and bursts in four or five
days. Its course may be hastened by a poultice of camomile flowers,
to which have been added a few drops of carbolic acid, the whole
applied in a very thin muslin bag. If the swelling is slow to open
after having become yellowish white, it may be opened by a lancet,
the incision being made at right angles to the margin of the lid.

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 283

ENTROPION AND ECTROPION, OR INVERSION AND EVERSION OF THE EYELID.

These are respective!}' caused by wounds, sloughs, ulcers, or other
causes of loss of substance of the mucous membrane on the inside of
the lid and of the skin on the outside ; also of tumors, skin diseases,
or paralysis which leads to displacement of the margin of the eyelid.
As a rule, they require a surgical operation, with removal of an elli}i-
tical portion of the mucous membrane or skin, as the case may be, but
which requires the skilled and delicate hand of the surgeon.

TRICmASIS.

This consists in the turning in of the eyelashes so as to irritate the
front of the eye. If a single eyelash, it may be snipped oil with scis-
sors close to the margin of the eyelid or pulled out by the root with a
pair of flat-bladed forceps. If the divergent lashes are more numer-
ous, the treatment may be as for entropion, by excising an elliptical
portion of skin opposite the offending lashes and stitching the edges
together, so as to draw outward the margin of the lid at that point.

WARTS AND OTHER TUMORS OF THE EYELIDS.

The eyelids form a favorite site for tumors, and above all, warts,
which consist in a simple diseased overgrowth (hypertrophy) of the
surface layers of the skin. If small, they may be snipped off with
scissors or tied around the neck with a stout, waxed thread and left
to drop off, the destruction being completed, if necessary, by the
daily application of a piece of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol),
until any unhealthy material has been removed. If more widely
spread, the wart may still be clipped off with curved scissors or
knife, and the caustic thoroughly applied day by day.

A bleeding wart, or erectile tumor, is more liable to bleed, and is
best removed by constricting its neck with the waxed cord or rubber
band, or if too broad it may be transfixed through its base by a
needle armed with a double thread, which is then to be cut in two
and tied around the two portions of the neck of the tumor. If still
broader, the armed needle may be carried through the base of the
tumor at regular intervals, so that the wdiole may be tied in moder-
ately sized sections.

In gray and in white horses black, pigmentary tumors (melanoma)
are common on the black portions of skin, such as the eyelids, and are
to be removed hj scissors or knife, according to their size. In the
horse they do not usually tend to recur when thoroughly removed,
but at times they prove cancerous (as is the rule in man), and then
they tend to reappear in the same site or in internal organs with, it
may be, fatal effect.

^-^ J

284 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

Encysted, honeylike (melicerous), sebaceous, and fibrous tumors of
the lids all require removal with the knife.

TORN EYELIDS OR WOUNDS OF EYELmS.

The eyelids are torn by attacks with horns of cattle, or with the
teeth, or by getting caught on nails in stall, rack, or manger, on the
point of stumps, fences, or fence rails, on the barbs of wire fences,
and on other pointed bodies. The edges should be brought together
as promptly as possible, so as to effect union without the formation of
matter, puckering of the skin, and unsightly distortions. Great care
is necessary to bring the two edges together CA^enly without twisting
or puckering. The simplest mode of holding them together is by a
series of sharp pins passed through the lips of the wound at intervals
of not more than a third of an inch, and held together by a thread
twisted around each pin in the form of the figure 8, and carried
obliquely from pin to pin in two directions, so as to prevent gaping
of the wound in the intervals. The points of the pins may then be
out off with scissors, and the wound may be wet twice a day with a
weak solution of carbolic acid.

TUMOR OF THE HAW, OR CARIES OF THE CARTILAGE.

Though cruelly excised for alleged " hooks," when itself perfectly
healthy, in the various diseases which lead to retraction of the eye
into its socket, the haw may, like other bodily structures, be itself the
seat of actual disease. The pigmentary, black tumors of white horses
and soft (encephaloid) cancer may attack this part primarily or
extend to it from the eyeball or eyelids ; hairs have been found grow-
ing from its surface, and the mucous membrane covering it becomes
inflamed in common with that covering the front of the eye. These
inflammations are but a phase of the inflammation of the external
structures of the eye, and demand no particular notice nor special
treatment. The tumors lead to such irregular enlargement and dis-
tortion of the haw that the condition is not to be confounded with
the simple projection of the healthy stiiicture over the eye when the
lids are pushed apart Avith the finger and thumb, and the same re-
mark applies to the ulceration, or caries, of the cartilage. In the
latter case, besides the swelling and distortion of the haw, there is
this peculiarity, that in the midst of the red inflamed mass there
appears a white line or mass formed by the exposed edge of the
ulcerating cartilage. The animal having been thrown and properly
fixed, an assistant holds the eyelids apart while the operator seizes
the haw with forceps or hook and carefully dissects it out with blunt-
pointed scissors. The eye is then covered with a cloth, kept wet
with an eyeAvash, as for external ophthalmia.

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 285

OBSTRUCTION OF THE LACRIMAL APPARATUS, OR WATERING

EYE.

The escape of tears on the side of the cheek is a symptom of exter-
nal inflammation of the eye, but it may also occur from any disease
of the lacrimal apparatus which interferes with the normal prog-
ress of the tears to the nose ; hence, in all cases when this symptom
is not attended with special redness cr swelling of the eyelids, it is
well to examine the lacrimal apparatus. In some instances the orifice
of the lacrimal duct on the floor of the nasal chamber and close to
its anterior outlet will be found blocked by a portion of dry muco-
purulent matter, on the removal of which tears may begin to escape.
This implies an inflammation of the canal, which may be helped by
occasional sponging out of the nose with warm water, and the ap-
plication of the same on the face. Another remedy is to feed warm
mashes of wheat bran from a nosebag, so that the relaxing effects
of the water vapor may be secured.

The two lacrimal openings, situated at the inner angle of the eye,
may fail to admit the tears by reason of their deviation outward in
connection with the eversion of the lower lid or by reason of their
constriction in inflammation of the mucous membrane. The lacrimal
sac, into which the lacrimal ducts open, may fail to discharge its
contents by reason of constriction or closure of the duct leading to the
nose, and it then forms a rounded swelling beneath the inner angle of
the eye. The duct leading from the sac to the nose may be compressed
or obliterated by fractures of the bones of the face, and in disease of
these bones (osteosarcoma, so-called osteoporosis, diseased teeth,
glanders of the nasal sinuses, abscess of the same cavities) .

The narrowed or obstructed ducts may be made pervious by a fine,
silver probe passed down to the lacrimal sac, and any existing inflam-
mation of the passages may be counteracted by the use of steaming
mashes of wheat bran, by fomentations or wet cloths over the face,
and even by the use of astringent eyewashes and the injection of
similar liquids into the lacrimal canal from its nasal opening. The
ordinary eyewash may be used for this purpose, or it may be injected
after dilution to half its strength. The fractures and diseases of the
bones and teeth must be treated according to their special demands
when, if the canal is still left pervious, it may be again rendered
useful.

EXTERNAL OPHTHALMIA, OR CONJUNCTIVITIS.

In inflammation of the outer parts of the eyeball the exposed vas-
cular and sensitive mucous membrane (conjunctiva) which covers the
ball, the eyelids, the haw, and the lacrimal apparatus, is usually the
most deeply involved, yet adjacent parts are more or less implicated,
and when disease is concentrated on these contiguous parts it consti-

286 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

tutes a phase of external opththalmia which demands a special notice.
These have accordingly been already treated of.

Causes. — The causes of external opththalmia are mainly those that
act locally — blows with whips, clubs, and twigs, the presence of for-
eign bodies, like hayseed, chaff, dust, lime, sand, snuff, pollen of
plants, flies attracted by the brilliancy of the eye, woimds of the
bridle, the migration of the scabies (mange) insect into the eye,
smoke, ammonia arising from the excretions, irritant emanations
from drying marshes, etc. Road dust containing infecting microbes
is a common factor. A very dry air is alleged to act injuriously by
drjdng the eye as well as by favoring the production of irritant dust ;
the undue exposure to bright sunshine through a window in front of
the stall, or to the reflection from snow or water, also is undoubtedly
injurious. The unprotected exposure of the eyes to sunshine through
the use of a very short overdraw check is to be condemned, and the
keeping of the horse in a very dark stall, from which it is habitually
led into the glare of full sunlight, intensified by reflection from snow
or white limestone, must be set down among the locally acting causes.
Exposure to cold and wet, to wet and snow storms, to cold drafts and
wet lairs must also be accepted as causes of conjunctivitis, the gen-
eral disorder which they produce affecting the eye, if that happens to
be the weakest and most susceptible organ of the body, or if it has
been subjected to any special local injury, like dust, irritant gases, or
excess of light. Again, external opththalmia is a constant concom-
itant of inflammation of the contiguous and continuous mucous mem-
branes, as those of the nose and throat — hence the red, watery eyes
that attend on nasal catarrh, sore throat, influenza, strangles, nasal
glanders, and the like. In such cases, however, the affection of the
eye is subsidiary and is manifestly overshadowed by the primary and
predominating disease.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are watering of the eye, swollen lids,
redness of the mucous membrane exposed by the separation of the
lids — it may be a mere pink blush with more or less branching red-
ness, or it may be a deep, dark red, as from effusion of blood — and a
bluish opacity of the cornea, which is normally clear and translucent.
Except when resulting from wounds and actual extravasation of
blood, however, the redness is seen to be superficial, and if the opacity
is confined to the edges, and does not involve the entire cornea, the
aqueous humor behind is seen to be still clear and limpid. The fever
is always less severe than in internal ophthalmia, and runs high only
in the worst cases. The eyelids may be kept closed, the eyeball re-
tracted, and the haw protruded over one-third or one-half of the ball,
but this is due to the pain only and not to any excessive sensibility to
light, as shown by the comparatively widely dilated pupil. In in-
ternal ophthalmia, on the contrary, the narrow, contracted pupil is

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 287

the measure of the pain caused by the falling of light on the inflamed
and sensitive optic nerve (retina) and choroid.

If the affection has resulted from a wound of the cornea, not only
is that the point of greatest opacity, forming a white speck or fleecy
cloud, but too often blood vessels begin to extend from the adjacent
vascular covering of the eye (sclera) to the white spot, and that
portion of the cornea is rendered permanently opaque. Again, if the
wound has been severe, though still short of cutting into the anterior
layers of the cornea, the injury may lead to ulceration that may pene-
trate more or less deeply and leave a breach in the tissue which, if
filled up at all, is repaired by opaque fibrous tissue in place of the
transparent cellular structure. Pus may form, and the cornea as-
sumes a yellowish tinge and bursts, giving rise to a deep sore which
is liable to extend as an ulcer, and may be in its turn followed by
bulging of the cornea at that point (staphyloma). This inflamma-
tion of the conjunctiva may be simply catarrhal, with profuse muco-
purulent discharge; it may be granular, the surface being covered
with minute reddish elevations, or it may become the seat of a false
membrane (diphtheria).

Treatment. — In treating external ophthalmia the first object is the
removal of the cause. Remove any dust, chaff, thorn, or other for-
eign body from the conjunctiva, purify the stable from all sources of
ammoniacal or other irritant gas; keep the horse from dusty roads,
and, above all, from the proximity of a leading wagon and its attend-
ant cloud of dust ; remove from pasture and feed from a rack which
is neither so high as to drop seeds, etc., into the eyes nor so low as to
favor the accumulation of blood in the head ; avoid equally excess of
light from a sunny window in front of the stall and excess of darkness
from the absence of windows; preserve from cold drafts and rains
and wet bedding, and apply curative measures for inflammation of
the adjacent mucous membranes or skin. If the irritant has been of a
caustic nature, remove any remnant of it by persistent bathing with
tepid water and a soft sponge, or with water mixed with white of egg,
or a glass filled with the liquid may be inverted over the eye so that
its contents may dilute and remove the irritant. If the suffering is
very severe, a lotion with a few grains of extract of belladonna in an
ounce of water may be applied.

In strong, vigorous patients benefit will usually be obtained from a
laxative, such as 2 tablespoonfuls of Glauber's salt daily, and if the
fever runs high from a daily dose of half an ounce of saltpeter. As
local applications, astringent solutions are usually the best, as 30
grains of borax or of sulphate of zinc in a quart of water, to be ap-
plied constantly on a cloth, as advised under " Inflammation of the

288 DISEASES OF THE HOUSE.

eyelids." In the absence of anything better, cold water may serve
every purpose. Above all, adhesive and oily agents (molasses, sugar,
fats) are to be avoided, as only adding to the irritation. By way of
suggesting agents that may be used with good effect, salt and sulphate
of soda may be named, in solutions double the strength of sulphate of
zinc, or 7 grains of nitrate of silver may be added to a quart of dis-
tilled water, and will be found especially applicable in granular con-
junctivitis, diphtheria, or commencing ulceration. A cantharides
blister (1 part of Spanish fly to 4 parts lard) may be rubbed on the
side of the face 3 inches below the eye, and washed off next morning
with soapsuds and oiled daily till the scabs are dropped.

WHITE SPECKS AND CLOUDINESS OF THE CORNEA.

As a result of external ophthalmia, opaque specks, clouds, or hazi-
ness are too often left on the cornea and require for their removal
that they be daily touched with a soft feather dipped in a solution of
3 grains nitrate of silver in 1 ounce distilled water. This should be
applied until all inflammation has subsided, and until its contact is
comparatively painless. It is rarely successful with an old, thick scar
following an ulcer, nor with an opacity having red blood vessels
running across it.

ULCERS OF THE CORNEA,

These may be treated with nitrate of silver lotion of twice the
strength used for opacities. Powdered gentian, one-half ounce, and
sulphate of iron, one-fourth ounce, daily, may improve the general
health and increase the reparatory power.

INTERNAL OPHTHALMIA (IRITIS, CHOROIDITIS, AND RETINITIS).

Although inflammations of the iris, choroid, and retina — the inner,
vascular, and nervous coats of the eye — occur to a certain extent inde-
pendently of each other, yet one usually supervenes upon the other,
and, as the symptoms are thus made to coincide, it will be best for
our present purposes to treat the three as one disease.

Causes. — The causes of internal ophthalmia are largely those of the
external form only, acting with greater intensity or on a more suscep-
tible eye. Severe blows, bruises, punctures, etc., of the eye, the
penetration of foreign bodies into the eye (thorns, splinters of iron,
etc.), sudden transition from a dark stall to bright sunshine, to the
glare of snow or water, constant glare from a sunny window, abuse
of the overdraw checkrein, vivid lightning flashes, drafts of cold,
damp air; above all, when the animal is perspiring, exposure in cold
rain or snowstorms, swinuuing cold rivers; also certain general
diseases like rheumatism, arthritis, influenza, and disorders of the

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 289

tlieestive organs, may become complicated by this affection. From
the close relation between the brran and eye — alike in the blood ves-
sels and nerves — d-sorders of the first lead to affection of the second,
and the same remark applies to the persistent irritation to which the
jaws are subjected in the course of dentition. So potent is the last
agency that we dread a recurrence of ophthalmia so long as dentition
is incomplete, and hope for immunity if the animal completes its
dentition without any permanent structural change in the eye.

Symptoms. — The symptoms will vary according to the cause. If
the attack is due to direct physical injury, the inflammation of the
eyelids and superficial structures may be quite as marked as that of
the interior of the eye. If, on the other hand, from general causes, or
as a complication of some distant disease, the affection may be largely
confined to the deeper structures, and the sw^elling, redness, and ten-
derness of the suT3erficial structures will be less markad. When the
external coats thus comparatively escape, the extreme anterior edge of
the white or sclerotic coat, where it overlaps the border of the trans-
parent cornea, is in a measure free from congestion, and, in tKe ab-
sence of the obscuring dark pigment, forms a whitish ring around the
cornea. This is partly due to the fact that a series of arteries (cili-
ary) passing to the inflamed iris penetrate the sclerotic coat a short
distance behind its anterior border, and there is therefore a marked
difference in color between the general sclera occupied between
these congested vessels and the anterior rim from which they are
absent. Unfortunately, the pigment is often so abundant in the
anterior part of the sclera as to hide this symptom. In internal
ophthalmia the opacity of the cornea may be confined to a zone
around the outer margin of the cornea, and even this may be a bluish
haze rather than a deep, fleecy white. In consequence it becomes impos-
sible to see the interior of the chamber for the aqueous humor and the
condition of the iris and pupil. The aqueous humor is usually turbid,
and has numerous yellowish-white flakes floating on its substance
or deposited in the lower part of the chamber, so as to cut oft' the
view of the lower portion of the iris. The still visible portion of
the iris has lost its natural, clear, dark luster, which is replaced by
a brownish or yellowish sere-leaf color. This is more marked in
proportion as the iris is inflamed, and less so as the inflammation is
confined to the choroid. The quantity of flocculent deposit in the
chamber of the aqueous humor is also in direct ratio to the inflamma-
tion of the iris. Perhaps the most marked feature of internal oph-
thalmia is the extreme and painful sensitiveness to light. On this
account the lids are usually closed, but when opened the pupil is
seen to be narrowly closed, even if the animal has been kept in a
darkened stall. Exceptions to this are seen when inflammatory effu-
54763°— 23 19

290 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

sion has ovei-filled the globe of the eye, and by pressure on the retina
has paralyzed it, or when the exudation into the substance of the
retina itself has similarly led to its paralysis. Then the pupil may
be dilated, and frequently its margin loses its regular, ovoid outline
and becomes uneven by reason of the adhesions which it has con-
tracted with the capsule of the lens, through its inflammatory exu-
dations. In the case of excessive effusion into the globe of the eye
that is found to have become tense and hard so that it can not be
indented with the tip of the finger, paralysis of the retina is liable to
I'esult. With such paralysis of the retina, vision is heavily clouded
or entirely Ic^t; hence, in spite of the open pupil, the finger may be
approached to the eye Avithout the animal's becoming conscious of it
until it touches the surface, and if the nose on the affected side is
gently struck and a feint made to repeat the blow the patient makes
no effort to evade it. Sometimes the edges of the contracted pupil
become adherent to each other by an intervening plastic exudation,
and the opening becomes virtually abolished. In severe inflamma-
tions pus maj'^ form in the choroid or iris, and escaping into the
cavity of the aqueous humor show as a yellowish-white stratum be-
low. In nearly all cases there is resulting exudation into the lens
or its capsule, constituting a cloudiness or opacity (cataract), which
in severe and old-standing cases appears as a white, fleecy inass be-
hind a widely dilated puf)il. In the slighter cases cataract is to be
recognized by examination of the eye in a dark chamber, Avith an ob-
lique side light, as described in the introduction to this article. Cata-
racts that appear as a simple haze or indefinite, fleecy cloud are
usually on the capsule (capsular), while those that show a radiating
arrangement are in the lens (lenticular) , the radiating fibers of which
the exudate foUoAvs. Black cataracts are formed by the adhesion of
the pigment on the back of the iris to the front of the lens, and by
the subsequent tearing loose of the iris, leaving a portion of its pig-
ment adherent to the capsule of the lens. If the pupil is so con-
tracted that it is impossible to see the lens, it may be dilated by
applying to the front of the eye with a feather some drops of a solu-
tion of 4 grains of atropin sulphate in an ounce of W' ater.

TreatTnent. — The treatment of internal ophthalmia should embrace,
first, the removal of all existing causes or sources of aggravation of
the disease, which need not be repeated here. Special care to protect
the patient against strong light, cold, wet Aveather, and actiA'e exer-
tion must, however, be insisted on. A dark stall and a cloth hung
over the eye are important. Avhile cleanliness, warmth, dryness, and
rest are equally demanded. If the patient is strong and Aigorous, a
dose of 4 drams of Barbados aloes may be giA^en, and if there is any
reason to suspect a rheumatic origin one-half a dram powdered col-
chicum and one-half ounce salicylate of soda may be given daily.

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 291

Locally the astringent lotions advised for external ophthalmia may
be resorted to, especially when the superficial inflammation is well
marked. More important, however, is to instill into the eye, a few
drops at a time, a solution of 4 grains of atropin sulphate in 1 ounce
of distilled water. This may be effected with the aid of a soft
feather, and may be repeated at intervals of 10 minutes until the
pupil is widely dilated. As the horse is to be kept in a dark stall,
the consequent admission of light will be harmless, and the dilation
of the pupil prevents adhesion between the iris and lens, relieves the
constant tension of the eye in the effort to adapt the pupil to the
light, and solicits the contraction of the blood vessels of the eye and
the lessening of congestion, exudation, and intraocular pressure.
Another local measure is a blister, which can usually be applied to
advantage on the side of the nose or beneath the ear. Spanish flies
may be used as for external ophthalmia. In very severe cases the
parts beneath the eye may be shaved and three or four leeches ap-
plied. Setons are sometimes beneficial, and even puncture of tlie
eyeball, but these should be reserved for professional hands.

The diet throughout should be easily digestible and moderate in
quantity — bran mash, middlings, grass, steamed hay, etc.

Even after the active inflammation has subsided the atropin sul-
phate lotion should be continued for several weeks to keep the eye
in a state of rest in its still weak and irritable condition, and during
this period the patient should be kept in semidarkness, or taken out
only with a dark shade over the eye. For the same reason heavy
drafts and rapid paces, which would cause congestion of the head,
should be carefully avoided.

RECURRENT OPHTHALMIA (PERIODIC OPHTHALMIA, OR MOON-
BLINDNESS).

This is an inflammatory affection of the interior of the eye, inti-
mately related to certain soils, climates, and systems, showing a strong
tendency to recur again and again, and usually ending in blindness
from cataract or other serious injury.

Causes. — Its causes may be fundamentally attributed to soil. On
damp clays and marshy grounds, on the frequently overflowed river
bottoms and deltas, on the coasts of seas and lakes alternately sub-
merged and exposed, this disease prevails extensively, and in many
instances in France (Eeynal), Belgium, Alsace (Zundel, Milten-
berger), Germany, and England it has very largely decreased under
land drainage and improved methods of culture. Other influences,
more or less associated with such soil, are potent causative factors.
Thus damp air and a cloudy, wet climate, so constantly associated

292 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

with wet lands, are universally charg-ed with, caiising the disease.
These act on the animai body to produce a lymphatic constitution
with an excess of connective tissue, bones, and muscles of coarse, open
texture, thick skins, and gTimmy legs covered with a profusion of
long hair. Hence the heavy horses of Belgium and southwestern
France have suffered severely from the affection, while high, dry
lands adjacent, like Catalonia, in Spain, and Dauphiny, Provence,
and Languedocj in France, have in the main escaped.

The rank, aqueous fodders grown on such soils are other causes, but
these again are calculated to undermine the character of the nervous
and sanguineous temperament and to superinduce the lymphatic.
Other feeds act by leading to constipation and other disorders of the
digestive organs, thus impairing the general health. Hence in any
animal predisposed to this disease, heating, starchy feeds, such as
maize, wheat, and buckwheat, are to be carefully avoided. It has
been widely charged that beans, peas, vetches, and other Leguminosie
are dangerous, but a fuller inquiry contradicts the statement. If
these feeds are well gTown, they invigorate and fortify the system,
while, like any other fodder, if grown rank^ aqueous, and deficient in
assimilable i^rinciples, they tend to lower the health and open the
Avay for the disease.

The period of dentition and training is a fertile exciting cause, for
though the malady may appear at any time from birth to old age,
yet the great majority of victhns are from 2 to 6 years old, and if a
horse escapes the affection till after 6 there is a reasonable hope that
he will continue to resist it. The irritation about the head during
the eruption of the teeth, and while fretting in the unwonted bridle
and collar, the stimulating giain diet and the close air of the stable
all combine to rouse the latent tendenc}^ to disease in the eye, while
direct injuries by bridle, whip, or hay seeds are not without their
influence. In the same Avay local irritants, like dust, severe rain and
snow storms, smoke, and acrid vapors are contributing causes.

It is evident, however, that no one of these is sufficient of itself to
produce the disease, and it has been alleged that the true cause is a
microbe, or the irritant products of a microbe, which is harbored in
the marshy soil. The prevalence of the disease on the same damp
soils which produce agiie in man and anthrax in cattle has been
quoted in support of this doctrine, as also the fact that, other things
being equal, the malady is always more prevalent in basins sur-
rounded by hills where the air is still and such products are concen-
trated, and that a forest or simple belt of trees will, as in ague, at
times limit the area of its prevalence. iVnother argument for the
same view is found in the fact that on certain farms irrigated by
town sewage this malady has become extremely prevalent, the sewage
beinff assumed to foi-m a suitable nidus for the growth of the germ.

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 293

But on these sewage farms a fresh crop may be cut every fortnight,
and the product is precisely that aqueous material which contributes
to a lymphatic structure and a low tone of health. The presence of
a definite germ in the system has not yet been proved, and in the
present state of our loiowledge we are only warranted in charging
the disease to tiie deleterious emanations from the marshy soil in
which bacterial ferments are constantly producing them.

Heredity is one of the most potent causes. The lymphatic consti-
tution is of course transmitted and with it the proclivity to recur-
ring ophthalmia. This is notorious in the case of both parents, male
and female. The tendency appears to be stronger, however, if either
parent has already suffered. Thus a mare may have borne a number
of sound foals, and then fallen a victim to the malady, and all foals
subsequently borne have likewise suffered. So it is in the case of the
stallion. Reynal even quotes the appearance of the disease in alter-
nate generations, the stallion offspring of blind parents remaining
sound through life and yet producing foals which furnish numerous
victims of recurrent ophthalmia. On the contrary, the offspring of
diseased parents removed to high, dry regions and furnished with
wholesome, nourishing rations will nearly all escape. Hence the
dealers take colts that are still sound or have had but one attack
from the affected low Pyrenees (France) to the unaft'ected Catalonia
(Sjijain), with confidence that they will escape, and from the Jura
Valley to Dauphiny with the same result.

Yet the hereditary taint is so strong and pernicious that intelligent
horsemen everywhere refuse to breed from either horse or mare that
has once suffered from recurrent ophthalmia, and the French Govern-
ment studs not only reject all unsound stallions, but refuse service to
any mare which has suffered with her eyes. It is this avoidance of
the hereditary predisposition more than anything else that has re-
duced the formerly wide prevalence of this disease in the European
countries generally. A consideration for the future of our horses
would demand the disuse of all sires that are unlicensed, and the
refusal of a license to any sire which has suffered from this or any
other communicable constitutional disease.

Other contributing causes deserve passing mention. Unwholesome
feed and a faulty method of feeding undoubtedly predisposes to the
disease, and in the same district the carefully fed will escape in far
larger proportion than the badly fed; it is so also with every other
condition which undermines the general health. The presence of
"worms in the intestines, overwork, and debilitating diseases and
causes of every kind weaken the vitality and lay the system more
open to attack. Thierry long ago showed that the improvement of
close, low, dark, damp stables, where the disease had previously pre-
Tailed, practically banished the affection. ^Yliatever contributes to

294 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

strength and vigor is protective; whatever contributes to weakness
and poor health is provocative of the disease in the predisposed
subject.

SijTivptoms. — The symptoms vary according to the severity of the
attack. In some cases there is marked fever, and in some slighter
cases it may be almost altogether wanting, but there is always a
lack of vigor and energy, bespeaking general disorder. The local
symptoms are in the main those of internal ophthalmia, in many cases
with an increased hardness of the ej'eball from effusion into its
cav'ity. The contracted pupil does not expand much in darkness, nor
even under the action of belladonna. Opacity advances from the
margin, over a part or whole of the cornea, but so long as it is trans-
I'jarent there ma}' be seen the turbid, aqueous humor with or without
flocculi, the dingy iris robbed of its clear, black aspect, the slightly
clouded lens, and a greenish-yellow reflection from the depth of the
eye. From the fifth to the seventh day the flocculi precipitate in the
lower part of the chamber, exposing more clearly the iris and lens,
and absorption commences, so that the eye may be cleared up in ten
or fifteen days.

The characteristic of the disease is, however, its recurrence again
and again in the same eye until blindness results. The attacks may
follow one another after intervals of a month, more or less, but they
show no relation to any particular phase of the moon, as might be
inferred from the familiar name, but are determined rather by the
weather, the health, the feed, or by some periodicity of the system.
From five to seven attacks usually result in blindness, and then the
second eye is liable to be attacked until it also is ruined.

In the intervals between the attacks some remaining symptoms
betray the condition, and they become more marked after each suc-
cessive access of disease. Even after the first attack there is a bluish
ring around the margin of the transparent cornea. The eye seems
smaller than the other, at first because it is retracted in its socket, and
often after several attacks because of actual shrinkage (atrophy).
The upper eyelid, in place of presenting a uniform, continuous arch,
has, about one-third from its inner angle, an abrupt bend, caused by
the contraction of the levator muscle. The front of the iris has
exchanged some of its dark, clear brilliancy for a lusterless yellow,
and the depth of the eye presents more or less of the greenish -yellow
shade. The pupil remains a little contracted, except in advanced and
aggravated cases, when, with opaque lens, it is widely dilated. If,
as is common, one eye only has suffered, the contrast in these respects
with the sound eye is all the more characteristic. Another feature is
the erect, attentive carriage of the ear, to compensate to some extent
for the waning vision.

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 295

The attacks vary greatly in seA^erity in different cases, but the
recurrence is characteristic, and all alike lead to cataract and intra-
ocular effusion, with pressure on the retina and abolition of sight.

Prevention. — The prevention of this disease is the great object to
be aimed at, and this demands the most careful breeding, feeding,
housing, and general management, as indicated under " Causes."
Much can also be done by migration to a high, dry location, but for
this and malarious affections the improvement of the land by drain-
age and good cultivation should be the final aim.

Treatment is not satisfactory, but is largely the same as for com-
mon internal ophthalmia. Some cases, like rheumatism, are benefited
by 1-scruple doses of powdered colchicum and 2-dram doses of sali-
cylate of soda twice a day. In other cases, with marked hardness of
the globe of the eye from intraocular effusion, aseptic puncture of the
eye, or even the excision of a portion of the iris, has helped. During
recovery a course of tonics (2 drams oxid of iron, 10 grains nux
vomica, and 1 ounce sulphate of soda daily) is desirable to invigorate
the system and help to ward off another attack. The vulgar resort to
knocking out the wolf teeth and cutting out the haw can only be con-
demned. The temporary recovery would take place in one or two
weeks, though no such thing had been done, and the breaking of a
small tooth, leaving its fang in the jaw, only increases the irritation.

CATARACT.

The common result of internal ophthalmia, as of the recurrent
type, may be recognized as described under the first of these dis-
eases. Its offensive appearance may be obviated by extraction or
depression of the lens, but as the rays of light would no longer be
properly refracted, perfect vision would not be restored, and the
animal would be liable to prove an inveterate shyer. If perfect
blindness continued by reason of pressure on the nerve of sight, no
shying would result.

PALSY OF THE NERVE OF SIGHT, OR AMAUROSIS.

Causes. — The causes of this affection are tumors or other disease
of the brain implicating the roots of the optic nerve, injury to the
nerve between the brain and eye, and inflammation of the optic nerve
within the eye (retina), or undue pressure on the same from drop^
sical or inflammatory effusion. It may also occur from overloaded
stomach, from a profuse bleeding, and even from the pressure of the
gravid womb in gestation.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are wide dilatation of the pupils, so
as to expose fully the interior of the globe, the expansion remaining

296 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

the same in light and darlmess. Ordinary eyes when brought to the
light have the pupils suddenly contract and then dilate and contract
alternately until they adapt themselves to the light. The horse does
not swerve when a feint to strike is made unless the hand causes a
current of air. The ears are held erect, turn quickly toward any
noise, and the horse steps high to avoid stumbling over objects which
it can not see.

Treatinent is only useful when the disease is symptomatic of some
lemovable cause, like congested brain, overloaded stomach, or gravid
Avomb. When recovery does not folloAV the termination of these
conditions, apply a blister behind the ear and give one-half dram
doses of nux vomica daily.

TUMORS OF THE EYEBALL.

A variety of tumors attack the eyeball — dermoid, papillary, fatty,
cystic, and melanotic — ^but perhaps the most frequent in the horse is
encephaloid cancer. This may grow in or on the globe, the haw, the
eyelid, or the bones of the orbit, and can be remedied, if at all, only
by early and thorough excision. It may be distinguished from the
less dangerous tumors by its softness, friability, and great vascu-
larity, bleeding on the slightest touch, as well as by its anatomical
sti-ucture.

STAPHYLOMA.

This consists in a bulging forward of the cornea at a given point
by the sacculate yielding and distention of its coats, and it may be
either transparent or opaque and vascular. In the last form the iris
has become adherent to the back of the cornea, and the whole struc-
ture is filled with blood vessels. In the first form the bulging cornea
is attenuated ; in the last it may be thickened. The best treatment is
by excision of a portion of the rise so as to relieve the intraocular
pressure.

PARASITES IN THE EYE.

Acari in the eye liave been incidentally alluded to under inflamma-
tion of the lids.

Thelasiella lacrymal/is is a white worm, one-third to 1 inch long,
which inhabits the lacrimal duct and the underside of the eyelids and
haw in the horse, i)roducing a verminous conjunctivitis, sometimes
witli corneal ulcers. The first step in treatment in such cases is to
remove tlie worm with forceps, then treat as for external inflamma-
tion. This worm occurs in Brazil, Europe, and India.

Setarla equina is a delicate, white, silvery-looking worm, wliich I
have repeatedly found 2 inches in length (a length as great as 5 inches
has been reported). It invades the aqueous humor, where its constant

DISEASES OF THE EYE. 297

active movements make it an object of great interest, and it is fre-
quently exhibited as a "snake in the eye."^ When present in tlie
eye it causes inflammation and has to be removed through an incision
made with the h^ncet in the upper border of the cornea close to the
sclera, the point of the instrument being directed slightly forward
to avoid injury to the iris. Then cold water or astringent antiseptic
lotions should be applied.

Filcvria conjunctivce, resembling Setmna equina very much in size
and general appearance, is another roundworm which has been found
in the eye of the horse in Europe.

The echinococcus, the cystic or larval stage of the echinococcus
tapeworm of the dog, has been found in the eye of the horse, and a
cysticercus is also reported.

^ This worm is normally a parasite of the peritoneal cavity, and is probably transmitted
from one horse to another by some biting insect which becomes infected by larvae in the
blood. — M. C. Hall.

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT.

By A. LiAUTARD, M. D., V. M.,
Formerly principal of the American Veterinary College, New York.

[Revised by John R. Mohler, A. M., V. M. D.]

It is as living, organized, locomotive machines that the horse,
camel, ox, and their burden-bearing companions are of practical
value to man. Hence the consideration of their usefulness and con-
sequent value to their human masters viltimately and naturally re-
solves itself into an inquiry concerning the condition of that special
portion of their organism which controls their function of locomo-
tion. This is especially true in regard to the members of the equine
family, the most numerous and valuable of all the beasts of burden,
and it naturally follows that with the horse for a subject of dis-
cussion the special topic and leading theme of inquiry, by an easy
lapse, will become an inquest into the condition and efficiency of his
power for usefulness as a carrier or traveler. There is a great deal
of abstract interest in the study of that endowment of the animal
economy which enables its possessor to change his place at will
and convey himself whithersoever his needs or his moods may in-
cline him ; how much greater, however, the interest that attaches to
the subject when it becomes a practical and economic question and
includes within its purview the various related topics which belong
to the domains of physiology, pathology, therapeutics, and the entire
round of scientific investigation into which it is finall}'^ merged as a
subject for medical and surgical consideration — in a word, of actual
disease and its treatment. It is not surprising that the intricate
and complicated apparatus of locomotion, with its symmetry and
harmon}'^ of movement and the perfection and beauty of its details
and adjuncts, by students of creative design and attentive observers
of nature and her marvelous contrivances and adaptations, should
be admiringly denomi.nated a living machine.

Of all the animal tribe the horse, in a state of domesticity, is the
largest sharer with his master in his liability to the accidents and
dangers which are among the incidents of civilized life. From his
exposure to the missiles of war on the battlefield to his chance of
picking up a nail from the city pavement there is no hour when he is

298

lameness: its causes and treatment. 299

not in danger of incurring injuries which for their repair may de-
mand the best skill of the veterinary practitioner. This is true not
alone of casualties which belong to the class of external and trau-
matic cases, but includes as well those of a kind perhaps more
numerous, which may result in lesions of internal parts, frequently
the most serious and obscure of all in their nature and effects.

The horse is too important a factor in the practical details of
human life and fills too large a place in the business and pleasure of
the world to justify any indifference to his needs and physical com-
fort or neglect in respect to the preservation of his peculiar powers
for usefulness. In entering somewhat largely, therefore, upon a
review of the subject, and treating in detail of the causes, the symp-
toms, the progress, the treatment, the results, and the consequences
of lameness in the horse, we are performing a duty which needs no
word of apology or justification. The subject explains and justifies
itself, and is its own vindication and illustration, if any are needed.

The function of locomotion is performed by the action of two prin-
cipal systems of organs, known in anatomical and physiological
terminology as passive and active, the muscles performing the active
and the bones the passive portion of the movement. The necessary
connection between the cooperating parts of the organism is effected
by means of a vital contact by which the muscle is attached to the
bone at certain determinate points on the surface of the latter.
These points of attachment appear sometimes as an eminence, some-
times as a depression, sometimes a border or an angle, or again as a
mere roughness, but each perfectly fulfilling its purpose, while the
necessary motion is provided for by the formation of the ends of the
long bones into the requisite articulations, joints, or hinges. Every
motion is the product of the contraction of one or more of the
muscles, which, as it acts upon the bony levers, gives rise to a move-
ment of extension or flexion, abduction or adduction, rotation or cir-
cumduction. The movement of abduction is that which passes from
and that of adduction that which passes toward the median line, or
the center of the hody. The movements of flexion and extension are
too well understood to need defining. It is the combination and
rapid alterations of these movements which produce the different
postures and various gaits of the animal, and it is their interruption
and derangement, from whatever causes, which constitute the patho-
logical condition known as lameness.

A concise examination of the general anatomy of these organs,
however, must precede the consideration of the pathological ques-
tions pertaining to the subject. A statement, such as we have just
given, containing only the briefest hint of matters which, though not
necessarily in their ultimate scientific minutiae, must be clearly com-
prehended in order to acquire a symmetrical and satisfactory view of

300 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

the theme as a practical colhition of facts to be remembered, analyzed,
applied, and utilized.

It was the great Bacon who wrote: ^'The human body may be
compared, from its complex and delicate organization, to a musical
instrument of the most perfect construction, but exceedingly liable
to derangement/' In its degi'ee the remark is equally applicable to
the equine body, and if we would keep it in tune and profit by its
harmonious action we must at least acquaint ourselves with the rela-
tions of its parts and the mode of their cooperation.

ANATOMY.

The bones, then, are the hard organs which in their connection and
totalit}" constitute the skeleton of an animal (see Plate XXIII).
They are of various forms, three of which — the long, the fiat, and the
small — are recognized in the extremities. These are more or less
regular in their form, but present upon their surfaces a variet}' of
aspects, exhibiting in turn, according to the requirement of each
case, a roughened or smooth surface, variously marked with gi'ooves,
crests, eminences, and depressions, for the necessary muscular attach-
ments, and, as before mentioned, are connected by articulations and
joints, of which some are immovable and others movable.

The substance of the bone is composed of a mass of combined
earthy and animal matter surrounded by a fine, fibrous enveloping
membrane (the periosteum) which is intimately adherent to the
external surface of the bone, and is, in fact, the secreting membrane
of the bony structure. The bony tissue proper is of two consisten-
cies, the external portion being hard and " compact," and called by
the latter term, Avhile the internal, known as the " spongy " or " areo-
lar tissue," corresponds to the descriptive terms. Those of the bones
that possess this latter consistency contain also, in their spongy por-
tion, the medullary substance known as marrow, which is deposited
in large quantities in the interior of the long bones, and especially
where a central cavity exists, called, for that reason, the medullary
cavity. The nourishment of the bones is effected by means of what
is known as the nutrient foramen, an opening established for the
passage of the blood vessels which convey the nourishment necessary
to the interior of the organ. Concerning the nourishment of the
skeleton, there are other minutia?, such as the venous arrangement
and the classification of their arterial vessels into several orders,
which, though of interest as an abstract study, are not of sufficient
practical value to refer to here.

The active organs of locomotion, the muscles (see Plate XXIII),
speaking generally, form the fleshy covering of the external part of
the skeleton and surround the bones of the extremities. They vary

lameness: its causes and treatment. 301

greatly in shape and size, being flat, triangular, long, short, or broad,
and are variously and capriciously named, some from their shape,
some from their situation, others from their use; and thus we have
abductors iind adductors — the pyramidal, orbicular, the digastricus,
the vastus, and so on. Those which are under the control of the will,
Imown as the voluntary muscles, appear in the form of fleshy struc-
tures, red in color, and with fibei-s of various degrees of fineness,
and are composed of fasciculi, or bundles of fibers, united by con-
nective or cellular tissue, each fasciculus being composed of smaller
ones but united in a similar manner to compose the larger forma-
tioDS, each of which is enveloped by a structure of similar nature
Jnicwn as the sarcolemma. Many of the muscles are united to the
bones by the direct contact of their fleshy fibers, but in other
instances the body of the muscle is more or less gradually trans-
formed into a cordy or membranous structure knoAvn as the tendon
or sinew, and the attachment is made by the very short fibrous
threads through the medium of a long tendinous band, which, pass-
ing from a single one to several others of the bones, effects its object
at a point far distant from its original attachmento In thus carrying
its action from one bone to another, or from one region of a limb to
another, these tendons must necessarily have smooth surfaces over
which to glide, either upon the bones themselves or formed at their
articulations, and this need is supplied by the secretion of the syno-
vial fluid, a yellowish, unctuous substance, furnished by a peculiar
tendinous synovial sac designed for the purpose.

Illustrations in point of the agency of the synovial fluid in assist-
ing the sliding movements of the tendons may b© found under their
various forms at the shoulder joint, at the upper part of the bone of
the arm, at the posterior part of the knee joint, and also at the fet-
locks, on their posterior part.

As the tendons, whether singly or in company with others, pass
over these natural pulleys they are retained in place by strong,
fibrous bands or sheaths, which are by no means exempt from danger
of injury, as will be readily inferred from a consideration of their
important special use as supports and reenforcements of the tendons
themselves, with which they must necessarily share the stress of
whatever force or strain is brought to bear upon both or either.

We have referred to that special formation of the external surface
of a bone by which it is adapted to form a joint or articulation,
either movable or fixed, and a concise examination of the formation
and structure of the movable articulations will here be in place.
These are formed generally by the extremities of the long bones, or
may exist on the surfaces of the short ones. The points or regions
where the contact occurs are denominated the articular surface,which
assumes from this circumstance a considerable variety of aspect and

302 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

form, being in one case comparatively flat and another elevated ; or
as forming a protruding head or knob, with a distinct convexity;
and again presenting a corresponding depression or cavity, accu-
rately adapted to complete, by their coaptation, the ball-and-socket
joint. The articulation of the arm and shoulder is an example of
the first kind, while that of the hip with the thigh bone is a perfect
exhibition of the latter.

The structure whose office it is to retain the articulating surfaces in
place is the ligament. This is usually a white, fibrous, inelastic
tissue: sometimes, however, it is elastic in character and yellowish.
In some instances it is funicular shaped or corded, serving to bind
more firmly together the bones to which its extremities are attached ;
in others it consists of a broad membrane, wholly or partially sur-
rounding the broad articulations, and calculated rather for the pro-
tection of the cavity from intrusion by the air than for other security.
This latter form, laiown as capsular, is usually found in connection
with joints which possess a free and extended movement. The
capsular and funicular ligaments are sometimes associated, the cap-
sular appearing as a membranous sac wholly or partially inclosing
the joint, the funicular, here known as an interarticular ligament,
occupying the interior, and thus securing the union of the several
bones more firmly and effectively than would be possible for the cap-
sular ligament unassisted.

The universal need which pertains to all mechanical contrivances
of motion has not been forgotten while providing for the perfect
working of the interesting piece of living machinery which performs
the function of locomotion, as we are contemplating it, and nature
has consequently provided for obviating the evils of attrition and
friction and insuring the easy play and smooth movement of its
parts by the establishment of the secretion of the synovia, the vital
lubricant of which we have before spoken, as a yellow, oily, or rather
glair}^ secretion, which performs the indispensable office of facili-
tating the play of the tendons over the joints and certain given
points of the bones. This fluid is deposited in a containing sac, the
lining (serous) membrane of which forms the secreting organ. This
membrane is of an excessively sensitive nature, and while it lines
the inner face of the ligaments, both capsular and fascicular, it is
attached only upon the edges of the bones, without extending upon
their length, or between the layers of cartilage which lie between
the bones and their articular surfaces.

Our object in thus partially and concisely reviewing the structure
and condition of the essential organs of locomotion has been rather
to outline a sketch which may serve as a reference chart of the gen-
eral features of the subject than to offer a minute description of the
parts referred to. Other points of interest will receive proper atten-

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 303

tion as we proceed with the illustration of our subject and examine
the matters which it most concerns us to bring under consideration.
The foundation of facts which we have thus far prepared will be
found sufficiently broad, we trust, to include whatever may be neces-
sary to insure a ready comprehension of the essential matters which
are to follow as our review is carried forward to completion. What
we have said touching these elementary truths will probably be suffi-
cient to facilitate a clear understanding of the requirements essential
to the perfection and regularity which characterize the normal per-
formance of the various movements that result in the accomplish-
ment of the action of locomotion. So long as the bones, the muscles
and their tendons, the joints with their cartilages, their ligaments,
and their synovial structure, the nerves and the controlling influ-
ences which they exercise over all, with the blood vessels which dis-
tribute to every part, however minute, the vitalizing fluid which
sustains the whole fabric in being and activity — so long as these
various constituents and adjuncts of animal life preserve their
normal exemption from disease, traumatism, and pathological change,
the function of locomotion will continue to be performed with per-
fection and efficiency.

On the other hand, let any element of disease become implanted
in one or several of the parts destined for combined action, any change
or irregularity of form, dimensions, location, or action occur in any
portion of the apparatus — any obstruction or misdirection of vital
power take place, any interference with the order of the phenomena
of normal nature, any loss of harmony and lack of balance be be-
trayed— and we have in the result the condition of lameness.

DEFINITION OF LAMENESS.

Physiology. — Comprehensively and universally considered, Ihen,
the term lameness signifies any irregularity or derangement of the
function of locomotion, irrespective of the cause which produced it or
the degree of its manifestation. However slightly or severely it may
be exhibited, it is all the same. The nicest observation may be
demanded for its detection, and it may need the most thoroughly
trained powers of discernment to identify and locate it, as in cases in
which the animal is said to be fainting, tender, or to go sore. On the
contrary, the patient maj^ be so far affected as to refuse utterly to use
an injured leg, and under compulsory motion keep it raised from the
ground, and prefer to travel on three legs rather than to bear any por-
tion of his weight upon the afflicted member. In these two extremes,
and in all the intermediate degrees, the patient is simply lame —
pathognomonic minutiae being considered and settled in a place of
their own.

304 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

This last condition of disabled function — lameness on three legs —
and many of the lower degrees of simple lameness are very easy of
detection, but the first, or mere tenderness or soreness, may be very
difficult to identify, and at times very serious results have followed
from the obscurity which has enveloped the early stages of the malady.
For it may easily occur that in the absence of tiie treatment which an
early correct diagnosis would have indicated, an insidious ailment
may so take advantage of the lapse of time as to root itself too deeply
into the economy to be subverted, and become transformed into a
disabling chronic case, or possibly one that is incurable and fatal.
Hence the impjlicy of depreciating early symptoms because they are
not accompanied with distinct and pronounced characteristics, and
from a lack of threatening appearances inferring the absence of
danger. The possibilities of an ambush can never be safely ignored.
An extra caution costs nothing, even if wasted. The fulfillment of
the first duty of a practitioner, when introduced to a case, is not
always an easy task, though it is too frequently expected that the
diifgnosis, or "what is the matter" verdict, will be reached by the
quickest and surest kind of an " instantaneous process " and a sure
prognosis, or " how will it end," guessed at instanter.

Usually the discovery that the animal is becoming lame is compar-
atively an easy matter to a careful observer. Such a person will
readily note the changes of movements which will have taken place
in the animal he has been accustomed to drive or ride, unless thev
are indeed slight and limited to the last degi'ee. But what is not
always easy is the detection, after discovering the fact of an existing
irregularity, of the locality of its point of origin, and whether its
seat be in the near or ofT leg, or in the fore or the hind part of the
body. These are questions too often wrongly answered, notwith-
standing the fact that with a little careful scrutiny the point may be
easily settled. The error, which is too often committed, of pronounc-
ing the leg upon which the animal travels soundly as the seat of the
lameness, is the result of a misinterpretation of the physiology of
locomotion in the crippled animal. Much depends upon the gait wdth
which the animal moves while under examination. The act of walk-
ing is unfavorable for accurate observation, though, if the animal
walks on three legs, the decision is easy to reach. The action of gal-
loping will often, by the rapidity of the muscular movements and
their quick succession, interfere with a nice study of their rhythm,
and it is only under some peculiar circumstances that the examina-
tion can be safely conducted Avhile the animal is moving with that
gait. It is while the animal is trotting that the investigation is made
with the best chances of an intelligent decision, and it is Avhile mov-
ing with that gait, therefore, that the points should be looked for
which must form the elements of the diagnosis.

U.S.

Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

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PLATE XXIV.

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lameness: its causes and treatment. 305

Our first consideration should be the physiology of normal or
healthy locomotion, that thence we may the more easily reach our
conclusions touching lameness, or that which is abnormal, and by
this process we ought to succeed in obtaining a clew to the solution
of the first problem, to wit, in which leg is the seat of the lameness ?

A word of definition is here necessary, in order to render that
which follows more easily intelligible. In veterinary nomenclature
each two of the legs, as referred to in pairs, is denominated a biped.
Of the four points occupied by the feet of the animal while standing
at rest, forming a square, the two fore legs are known as the anterior
biped ; the two hinder, the posterior ; the two on one side, the lateral ;
and one of either the front or hind biped with the opposite leg of
the hind or front biped will form the diagonal biped.

Considering, as it is proper to do, that in a condition of health
each separate biped and each individual leg is required to perform
an equal and uniform function and to carry an even or equal por-
tion of the weight of the body, it will be readily appreciated that
the result of this distribution will be a regidar, evenly balanced,
and smooth displacement of the body thus supported by the four
legs, and that therefore, according to the rapidity of the motion in
different gaits, each single leg will be required at certain succes-
sive moments to bear the weight which had rested upon its congener
while it was itself in the air, in the act of moving; or, again, two
different legs of a biped may be called upon to bear the weight of
the two legs of the opposite biped while also in the air in the act
of moving.

To simplify the matter by an illustration, the weight of an animal
may be placed at 1,000 pounds, of which each leg, in a normal and
healthy condition, supports while at rest 250 pounds. AMien one of
the fore legs is in action, or in the air, and carrying no weight, its
250 pounds share of the weight will be thrown upon its congener, or
partner, to sustain. If the two legs of a biped are bqth in action and
raised from the ground, their congeners, still resting in inaction, will
carry the total weight of the other two, or 500 pounds. And as the
succession of movements continues, and the change from one leg to
another or from one biped to another, as may be required by the
gait, proceeds, there will result a smooth, even, and equal balancing
of active movements, shifting the weight from one leg or one biped
to another, with symmetrical precision, and Ave shall be presented
with an interesting example of the play of vital machanics in a
healthy organization.

Much may be learned fiom the accurate study of the action of a
single leg. Xormall}', its movements will be without variation or
failure. ^T^ien at rest it will easily sustain the weight assigned to it
54763°— 23— 20

306 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

without showing hesitancy or betrayin<? pain, and when it is raised
from the ground in order to transfer the weight to its mate it will
perform the act in such manner that w'hen it is again placed upon
the ground to rest it will be with a firm tread, indicative of its ability
to receive again the burden to be throw^n back upon it. In planting
it upon the ground or raising it again for the forward movement
while in action, and again replanting it upon the earth, each move-
ment w411 be the same for each leg and for each biped, whether the
act is that of walking or trotting, or even of galloping. In short,
the regular play of every part of the apparatus will testify to the
existence of that condition of orderly soundness and efficient activits^
eloquently suggestive of the condition of vital integrity which is
simply but comprehensively expressed by the terms health and
soundness.

But let some change, though slight and obscure, occur among the
elements of the case; some invisible agency of evil intrude among
the harmonizing processes going forward ; any disorder occur in the
relations of cooperating parts; anything appear to neutralize the
efficiency of vitalizing forces; any disability of a limb to accept and
to throw back upon its mate the portion of the weight which belongs
to it to sustain — present itself, whether as the effect of accident or
otherwise; in short, let anything develop which tends to defeat the
purpose of nature in organizing the locomotive apparatus and we
are confronted at once by that which may be looked upon as a cause
of lameness.

Not the least of the facts which it is important to remember is that
it is not sufficient to look for the manifestation of an existing discord-
ance in the action of the affected limb alone, but that it is shared by
the sound one and must be searched for in tliat as well as the halting
member, if the hazard of an error is to be avoided. The mode of
action of the leg which is the seat of the lameness will vary greatly
from that which it exhibited when in a healthy condition, and the
sound leg will also offer important modifications in the same three
particulars before alluded to, to wit, that of resting on the ground,
that of its elevation and forward motion, and that of striking the
ground again when the full action of stepping is accomplished.
Inability in the lame leg to sustain weight will imply excessive exer-
tion by the sound one, and lack of facility or disposition to rest the
lame member on the ground will necessitate a longer continuance of
that action on the sound side. Changes in the act of elevating the
leg, or of carrying it forward, or in both, will present entirely oppo-
site conditions between the two. The lame member will be elevated
rapidly, moved carefully forward, and returned to the ground with
caution and hesitancy, and the contact with the earth will be effected
as lightly as possible, while the sound limb will rest longer on the

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TBEATMENT. 307

ground, move boldly and rapidly forward, and strike the ground
promptly and forcibly. All this is due to the fact that the sound
member carries more than its normal, healthy share of the weight of
the body, a share which may be in excess from 1 to 250 pounds, and
thus bring its burden to a figure varying from 251 to 500 pounds, all
depending upon the degree of the existing lameness, whether it is
simply a slight tenderness or soreness, or whether the trouble has
reached a stage which compels the patient to the awkwardness of
traveling on three legs.

That all this is not mere theory, but rests on a foundation of fact
may be established by observing the manifestations attending a single
alteration in the balancing of the body. In health the support and
equilibrium of that mass of the body which is borne by the fore legs
is equalized and passes by regular alternations from the right to the
left side and vice versa. But if the left leg, becoming disabled,
relieves itself by leaning, as it were, on the right, the latter becomes,
consequently, practically heavier and the mass of the body will
incline or settle upon that side. Lameness of the left side, therefore,
means dropping or settling on the right and vice versa. We empha-
size this statement and insist upon it, the more from the frequency
of the instances of error which have come under our notice, in which
persons have insisted upon their view that the leg which is the seat
of the lameness is that upon which he drops and which the animal is
usually supposed to favor.

HOW TO DETECT THE SEAT OF LAMENESS.

Properly appreciating the remarks which have preceded, and fully
comprehending the modus operandi and the true pathology of lame-
ness, but little remains to be done in order to reach an answer to the
question as to which side of the animal is the seat of the lameness,
except to examine the patient while in action. We have already stated
our reasons for preferring the movement of trotting for this purpose.
In conducting such an examination the animal should be unblanketed,
and held by a plain halter in the hands of a man who knows how to
manage his paces, and the trial should always be made over a firm,
hard road whenever it is available. He is to be examined from
various positions — from before, from behind, and from each side.
Watching him as he approaches, as he passes by, and as he recedes,
the observer should carefully study that important action which we
have spoken of as the dropping of the body upon one extremity or the
other, and this can readily be detected by attending closely to the
motions of the head and of the hip. The head droits on the same side
on which the mass of the body will fall, dropping toward the right
when the lameness is in the left fore leg, and the hip dropping in pos-
terior lameness, also on the sound leg, the reversal of the conditions,

308 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

of course, producing l•e^"el•sed elt'ects. In other Avords, wlien the ani-
nral in trotting exhibits signs of irregularit}^ of action, or lameness,
and this irreguhirity is accompanied with dropping or nodding the
head, or depressing the hip on the right side of the body, at the time
the feet of the right side strike the ground, the horse is hime on the
left side. If the dropping and nodding are on the near side the lame-
ness is on the oif side.

In a majority of cases, however, the answer to the first question re-
lating to the lameness of a horse is, after all, not a very difficult task.
There are two other problems in the case more difficult of solution
and which often require the exercise of a closer scrutiny, and draw
upon all the resources of the experienced practitioner to settle satis-
factorily. That a horse is lame in a given leg ma}^ be easily deter-
mined, but when it becomes necessary to pronounce upon the query as
to what part, what region, Avhat structure is affected, the easy part
of the task is over, and the more difficult and important, because more
obscure, portion of the investigation has commenced — except, of
course, in cases of which the features are too distinctly evident to the
senses to admit of error. It is true that by carefully noting the
manner in which a lame leg is performing its functions, and closely
scrutinizing the motions of the whole extremity, and especially of
the various joints which enter into its structure; by minutely ex-
amining every part of the limb; by observing the outlines; by testing
the change, if any, in temperature and the state of the sensibility —
all these investigations may guide the surgeon to a correct locali-
zation of the seat of trouble, but he must carefully refrain from the
adoption of a hasty conclusion, and, above all, assure himself that
he has not failed to make the foot, of all the organs of the horse
the most liable to injury and lesion, the subject of the most thorough
and minute examination of all the parts which compose the suffering
extremity.

The greater liability of the foot than of any other part of the
extremities to injur}^ from casualties, natural to its situation and use,
should always suggest the beginning of an inquiry, especially in an
obscure case of lameness at that point. Indeed the lameness may
have an apparent location elsewhere Avhen that is the true seat of the
trouble, and the surgeon who, while examining his lame patient,
discovers a lingbone, and convincing himself that he has encoun-
tered the cause of the disordered action suspends his investigation
without subjecting the foot to a close scrutiny, at a later day when
regrets will avail nothing, may deeply regret his neglect and inad-
vertence. As in human pathological experience, however, there are
instances when inscrutable diseases will delivei- their fatal messages,
Avhile leaving no mark and making no sign by which they might be
identified :ind classified, so it will happen that in the humbler ani-

LAMENESS : ITS CAUSES AND TEEATMENT. 309

mals the onset and progress of mysterious and unrecognizable ail-
ments will at times baffle the most sldlled veterinarian, and leave our
burden-bearing servants to succumb to the inevitable, and suffer and
perish in unrelieved distress.

DISEASES OF BONES.

PERIOSTITIS. OSTITIS. AND EXOSTOSIS.

From the closeness and intimacy of the connection existing between
the tAvo principal elements of the bony structure while in health, it
frequently becomes exceedingly difficult, when a state of disease has
supervened, to discriminate accurately as to the part primarly af-
fected and to determine positively whether the periosteum or the
body of the bone is originally implicated. Yet a knowledge of the
fact is often of the first importance, in order to obtain a favorable
result from the treatment to be instituted. It is, however, quite evi-
dent that in a majority of instances the bony growths which so fre-
quently appear on the surface of their structure, to which the general
term of exostosis is applied, have had their origin in an inflammation
of the periosteum, or enveloping membrane, and known as periostitis.
However this may be, we have as a frequent result, sometimes on the
body of the bone, sometimes at the extremities, and sometimes in-
volving the articulation itself, certain bony growths, or exostoses,
laiown otherAvise by the term of splint, ringbone, and spavin, all of
which, in an important sense, may be finally referred to the perios-
teum as their nutrient source and support, at least after their forma-
tion, if not for their incipient existence.

Cause. — It is certain that inflammation of the periosteum is fre-
quently referable to wounds and bruises caused by external agencies,
and it is also true that it may possibly result from the spreading
inflammation of surrounding diseased tissues, but in any case the
result is uniformly seen in the deposit of a bony growth, more or less
diffuse, sometimes of irregular outline, and at others projecting dis-
tinctly from the surface from Avhich it springs, as so commonly pre-
sented in the ringbone and the spavin.

Symptorrhs. — This condition of periostitis is often difficult to deter-
mine. The signs of inflammation are so obscure, the swelling of the
parts so insignificant, any increase of heat so imperceptible, and the
soreness so slight, that even the most acute observer may fail to find
the point of its existence, and it is often long after the discovery of
the disease itself that its location is positively revealed by the visible
presence of the exostosis. Yet the first question had been resolved,
in discovering the fact of the lameness, while the second and third
remained unanswered, and the identification of the affected limb
and the point of origin of the trouble remained unknown until their
palpable revelation to the senses.

310 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Treatiivent. — When, by careful scrutin3% the aihnent has been
located, a resort to treatment must be had at once, in order to pre-
vent, if possible, any further deposit of the calcareous structure and
increase of the exostotic growth. With this view the application of
water, either warm or cold, rendered astringent by the addition of
alum or sugar of lead, will be beneficial. The tendency to the forma-
tion of the bony growth, and the increase of its development after
its actual formation, may often be checked by the application of a
severe blister of Spanish fiy. The failure of these means and the
establishment of the diseased process in the form of chronic perios-
titis cause various changes in the bone covered by the disordered
membrane, and the result may be softening, degeneration, or necro-
sis, but more usually it is followed by the formation of the bony
growths referred to, on the cannon bone, tlie coronet, the hock, etc.

SPLINTS.

We first turn our attention to the splint, as certain bony enlarge-
ments that are developed on the cannon bone, between the knee or
the hock and the fetJock joint, are called. (See Plate XXV.) They
are found on the inside of the leg, from the knee, near which they are
frequently found, downward to about the lower third of the principal
cannon bone. They are of various dimensions, and are readily per-
ceptible both to the eye and to the touch. They vary considerably in
size, ranging from that of a large nut downward to very small pro-
portions. In searching for them they may be readily detected by the
hand if they have attained sufficient development in their usual situ-
ation, but must be distinguished from a small, bony enlargement that
may be felt at the lower third of the cannon bone, which is neither a
splint nor a pathological formation of any kind, but merely the but-
tonlike enlargement at the lower extremity of the small metacarpal
or splint bone.

We have said that splints are to be found on the inside of the leg.
This is true as a general statement, but it is not invariably so, for
they occasionally appear on the outside. It is also true that they
appear most commonly on the fore legs, but this is not exclusively the
case, because they may at times be found on both the inside and out-
side of the hind leg. Usually a splint forms only a true exostosis, or
a single bony growth, with a somewhat diffuse base, but neither is this
invariably the case. In some instances they assume more important
dimensions, and pass from the inside to the outside of the bone, on
its posterior face, between that and the suspensory ligament. This
form is termed the pegged splint, and constitutes a serious and per-
manent deformity, in consequence of its interference with the play
of the fibrous cord which passes behind it, becoming thus a source of
continual irritation and consequently of permanent lameness.

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 311

Symptoms. — A splint may thus frequently become a cause of lame-
ness though not necessarily in every instance, but it is a lameness
possessing features peculiar to itself. It is not always continuous,
but at times assumes an intermittent character, and is more marked
when the animal is warm than when cool. If the lameness is near
the knee joint, it is very liable to become aggravated when the animal
is put to work, and the gait acquires then a peculiar character, aris-
ing from the manner in which the limb is carried outward from the
knees downward, which is done by a kind of abduction of the lower
part of the leg. Other symptoms, however, than the lameness and
the presence of the splint, which is its cause, may be looked for in the
same connection as those which have been mentioned as pertaining to
certain evidences of periostitis, in the increase of the temperature of
the part, with swelling and probably pain on pressure. This last
symptom is of no little importance, since its presence or absence has
in many cases formed the determining point in deciding a question
of difficult diagnosis.

Cause. — A splint being one of the results of periostitis, and the
latter one of the effects of external hurts, it naturally follows that
the parts which are most exposed to blows and collisions will be
those on which the splint will most commonly be found, and it may
not be improper, therefore, to refer to hurts from without as among
the common causes of the lesion. But other causes may also be pro-
ductive of the evil, and among these may be mentioned the over-
straining of an immature organism by the imposition of excessive
labor upon a young animal at a too early period of his life. The
bones which enter into the formation of the cannon are three in
number, one large and two smaller, which, during the youth of the
animal, are more or less articulated, with a limited amount of mo-
bility, but which become in maturity firmly joined by a rigid union
and ossification of their interarticular surface. If the immature
animal is compelled, then, to perform exacting tasks beyond his
strength, the inevitable result will follow in the muscular straining,
and perhaps tearing asunder of the fibers which unite the bones at
their points of juncture, and it is difficult to understand how inflam-
mation or periostitis can fail to develop as the natural consequence
of such local irritation. If the result were deliberately and intelli-
gently designed, it could hardly be more effectually accomplished.

The splint is an object of the commonest occurrence — so common,
indeed, that in large cities a horse which can not exhibit one or more
specimens upon some portion of his extremities is one of the rarest of
spectacles. Though it is in some instances a cause of lameness, and
its discovery and cure are sometimes beyond the ability of the
shrewdest and most experienced veterinarians, yet as a source of
vital danger to the general equine organization, or even of functional

312 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

disturbance, or of practical inconvenience, aside from the rare ex-
ceptional cases which exist as mere samples of possibility, it can not
be considered to belong to the category of serious lesions. The worst
stigma that attaches to it is that in general estimation it is ranked
among eyesores and continues indefinitely to be that and nothing dif-
ferent. The inflammation in which they originated, acute at first,
either subsides or assumes the chronic form, and the bony growth
becomes a permanence — more or less established, it is true, but doing
no positive liaiin and not hindering the animal from continuing his
daily routine of labor. All this, however, requires a proviso against
the occurrence of a subsequent acute attack, when, as with other ex-
ostoses, a fresh access of acute symptoms may be followed by a new
])athological activity, which shall again develop, as a natural result,
a reappearance of the lameness.

TreatTnent. — It is, of course, the consideration of the comparative
harmlessness of splints that suggests and justifies the polic}' of non-
interference, except as they become a positive cause of lameness. And
a more positive argument for such noninterference consists in the
fact that any active and irritating treatment may so excite the parts
as to bring about a renewed pathological activit3\ which may result
in a reduplication of the phenomena, Avith a second edition, if not a
second and enlarged volume, of the whole story. For our part, our
faith is firm in the impolicy of interference, and this faith is founded
on an experience of many years, during which our practice has been
that of abstention.

Of course, there will be exceptional conditions which w^ill at times
indicate a different course. These will become evident when the occa-
sions present themselves, and extraordinary forms and effects of
inflammation and growth in the tumors offer special indications. But
our conviction remains unshaken that surgical treatment of the oper-
ative kind is usually useless, if not dancerous. We have little faith
in the method of extirpation except under very special conditions,
among which that of diminutive size has been named ; this seems in
itself to constitute a sufficient negative argument. Even in such a
case a resort to the knife or the gouge could scarcely find a justifi-
cation, since no operative procedure is ever without a degree of haz-
ard, to say nothing of the considerations which are always forcibly
negative in any (question of the infliction of pain and the unnecessary
use of the knife.

If an acute periostitis of the cannon bone has been readily discov-
ered, the treatment we have already suggested for that ailment is
at once indicated, and the astringent lotions may be relied upon to
bring about beneficial results. Sometimes, however, preference may
be given to a lotion possessing a somewhat different quality, the alter-
ative consisting of tinctui-e of iodin applied to the inflamed spot

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

Plate XXV.

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PLATE XXVI.

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PLATE XXVIII.

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lameness: its causes and teeatment. 313

several times daily. If the lameness persists under this mild course
of treatment, it must, of course, be attacked by other methods, and we
must resort to the cantharides ointment or Spanish-fly blister, as we
have before recommended. Besides this, and producing an analogous
effect, the compounds of biniodid of mercury are favored by some.
It is prepared in the form of an ointment, consisting of 1 dram of the
biniodid to 1 ounce of either lard or vaseline. It forms an excellent
blistering and alterative application, and is of special advantage in
newly formed or recently discovered exostosis.

It remains a pertinent query, however, and one which seems to be
easily answered, whether a tumor so diminutive in size that it can
be detected only by diligent search, and which is neither a disfigure-
ment nor an obstruction to the motion of the limb, need receive any
recognition Avhatever. Other modes of treatment for splints are rec-
ommended and practiced which belong strictly to the domain of oper-
ative veterinary surgery; among these are to be reckoned actual
cauterization, or the application of the fire iron and the operation of
periosteotomy. These are frequently indicated in the treatment of
splints which have resisted milder means.

The mode of the development of their growth; their intimacy,
greater or less, with both the large and the small cannon bones; the
possibility of their extending to the back of these bones under the sus-
pensory ligament; the dangerous complications which may follow
the rough handling of the parts, with also a possibility, and, indeed, a
probability, of their return after removal— these are the considera-
tions Avhich have influenced our judgment in discarding from our
practice and our approval the method of removal by the saw or the
chisel, as recommended by certain European veterinarians.

RINGBONES.

Eingbone is the designation of the exostosis which is found on
the coronet and in the digital and phalangeal regions. (See Plate
XXVI.) The name is appropriate, because the growth extends quite
around the coronet, which it encircles in the manner of a ring, or per-
haps because it often forms upon the back of that bone a regular
osseous arch, through which the back tendons obtain a passage. The
places where these growths are usually developed have caused their
subdivision and classification into three varieties, with the designa-
tions of high, middle, and low, though much can be said as to the
importance of the distinction. It is true that the ringbone or phalan-
geal exostosis may be found at various points on the foot, in one case
forming a large bunch on the upper part and quite close to the fet-
lock joint: in another aroimd the upper border of the hoof, or per-
haps on the extreme front or on the very back of the coronet. The
shape in which they commonly appear is favorable to their easj" dis-

314 DISEASES OF THE HOESE,

covery, their form when near the fetlock usually varying too much
from the natural outlines of the part when compared with those of
the opposite side to admit of error in the matter. (See also page 439.)

A ringbone, when on the front of the foot, even when not very
largely developed, assumes the form of a diffused convex swelling.
If situated on the lower part, it will form a thick ring, encircling
that portion of the foot immediately above the hoof; when found on
the posterior part, a small, sharp osseous growth somewhat project-
ing, sometimes on the inside and sometimes on the outside of the
coronet, may comprise the entire manifestation.

Cause. — As with splints, ringbones may result from severe labor in
early life, before the process of ossification has been fully perfected;
or they may be referred to bruises, blows, sprains, or other violence ;
injuries of tendons, ligaments, or joints also may be among the
accountable • causes.

It is certain that they may commonly be traced to diseases and
traumatic lesions of the foot, and their appearance may be reason-
ably expected among the sequalse of an abscess of the coronet; or
the cause may be a severe contusion resulting from calking, or a
deep-punctured wound from picking up a nail or stepping upon
any hard object of sufficiently irregular form to penetrate the sole.

Moreover, a ringbone may originate in heredity. This is a fact
of no little importance in its relation to questions connected with
the extensive interests of the stock breeder and purchaser.

That the hereditary transmission of constitutional idiosyncrasi^
is an active cause with regard to diseases in general, it would be
absurd to assert, but we do say that a predisposition to contract
ringbone through faulty conformation, such as long, thin pasterns
with narrow joints and steep fetlocks, may be inherited in many
cases, and in a smaller proportion of cases this predisposition may
act as a secondarv cause in the formation of ringbone.

The importance of this point when considered in reference to the
policy which should be observed in the selection of breeding stock
is obvious, and, as the whole matter is within the control of the
owners and breeders, it will be their own fault if the unchecked
transmission of ringbones from one equine generation to another is
allowed to continue. It is our belief that among the diseases which
are known for their tendency to perpetuate and repeat themselves
bv individual succession, those of the bonv structures stand first,
and the inference from such fact which would exclude every ani-
mal of doubtful soundness in its osseous apparatus from the stud list
and the brood farm is too plain for argument.

Symptoms. — Periostitis of the phalanges is an ailment requiring
careful exploration and minute inspection for its discovery, and is
very liable to result in a ringbone of which lameness is the result.

lameness: its causes and treatment. 315

The mode of its manifestation varies according to the state of de-
velopment of the diseased growth as affected by the circumstances
of its location and dimensions. It is commonly of the kind which,
in consequence of its intermittent character, is termed lameness when
cool, having the peculiarity of exhibiting itself when the animal
starts from the stable and of diminishing, if not entirely disappear-
ing after some distance of travel, to return to its original degree, if
not indeed a severer one, when he has again cooled off in his stable.
The size of the ringbone does not indicate the degree to which it
cripples the patient, but the position may, especially when it inter-
feres with the free movement of the tendons which pass behind and
in front of the foot. While a large ringbone will often interfere
but little with the motion of the limb, a smaller growth, if situated
under the tendon, may become the cause of considerable and con-
tinued pain.

A ringbone is doubtless a worse evil than a splint. Its growth, its
location, its tendency to increased development, its exposure to the
influence of causes of renewed danger, all tend to impart an unfavor-
able cast to the prognosis of a case and to emphasize the impor-
tance and the value of an early discovery of its presence and possible
growth. Even when the discovery has been made, it is often the
case that the truth has come to light too late for effectual treatment.
Months may have elapsed after the first manifestation of the lame-
ness before a discovery has been made of the lesion from which it
has originated, and there is no recall for the lapsed time. And by
the uncompromising seriousness of the discouraging prognosis must
the energy and severity of the treatment and the promptness of its
administration be measured. The i^eriostitis has been overlooked;
any chance that might have existed for preventing its advance to the
chronic stage has been lost ; the osseous formation is established ; the
ringbone is a fixed fact, and the indications are urgent and pressing.

Treatment. — The preventive treatment consists in keeping colts
well nourished and in trimming the hoof and shoeing to balance the
foot properly and thus prevent an abnormal strain on the ligaments.
Even after the ringbone has developed, a cure may sometimes be oc-
casioned by proper shoeing directed toward straightening the axis of
the foot as viewed from the side by making the wall of the hoof from
the coronet to the toe continuous with the line formed by the front
of the pastern. So long as inflammation of the periosteum and liga-
ments remains, a sharp blister of biniodid of mercury and canthari-
des may do good if the animal is allowed to rest for four or five
weeks. If this fails, some success may be accomplished by point
firing in two or three lines over the ringbone. It is necessary to touch
the hot iron well into the bone, as superficial firing does little good.
When all these measures have failed to remove the lameness, or when

316 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the animal is not worth a long and uncertain treatment, a competent
veterinarian should be engaged tc perform double neurectomy, high
or low, of the plantar nerves, or neurectomy of the median nerve as
indicated by the seat of the lesion.

SIDEBONES.

On each side of the bone of the hoof — the coffinbone — there are
normally two supplementary'^ organs which are called the cartilages
of the foot. They are soft, and though in a degree elastic, yet some-
what resisting, and are implanted on the lateral wings of the coffin-
bone. Evidently their office is to assist in the elastic expansion and
contraction of the posterior part of the hoof, and their healthy and
normal action doubtless contributes in ar important degi'ee to the
perfect performance of the functions of that part of the leg. These
organs are, howeA^er, liable to undergo a process of disease which re-
sults in an entire change in their properties, if not in their shape, by
which they acquire a character of hardness resulting from the de-
posit of earthy substance in the intimate structure of the cartilage,
and it is this change, when its consummation has been effected, that
brings to our cognizance the diseased growth which has received the
designation of sidebones. They are situated on one or both sides of
the leg, bulging above the superior border of the hoof in the form of
two hard bodies composed of ossified cartilage, irregularly square in
shape and unyielding under the pressure of the fingers.

Cause. — Sidebones may be the result of a low inflammatory condi-
tion or of an acute attack as well, or may be caused by sprains, bruises,
or blows ; or they may have their rise in certain diseases affecting the
foot proper, such as corns, quarter cracks, or quittor. The deposit of
calcareous matter in the cartilage is not always uniform, the base of
that organ near its line of union with the coffinbone being in some
cases its limit, while at other times it is diffused throughout its sub-
stance, the size and prominence of the growth varying much in
consequence.

Sympto'm.s. — It Avould naturally be inferred that the degree of
interference with the proper functions of the hoof which must result
from such a pathological change would be proportioned to the size of
the tumor, and that as the dimensions increase the resulting lame-
ness would be the greater in degree. This, however, is not the fact.
A small tumor while in a condition of acute infian.mation during the
formative stage may cripple a patient more severely than a much
larger one iu a later stage of the disease. In any case the lameness is
never wanting, and with its intermittent character may usually be
detected when the animal is cooled off after labor or exercise. The
class of animals in Avhich this feature of the disease is most fre-

lameness: its causes and treatment. 317

quently seen is that of the heavy draft horse and others simihirly
employed. There is a wide margin of ditference in respect to the
degrees of severity which may characterize different cases of side-
bone. While one may be so slight as to cause no inconvenience,
another may develop elements of danger which may involve the
necessity of severe surgical interference.

Treatment. — The curative treatment should be similar to the pro-
phylactic, and such means should be used as would tend to prevent
the deposit of bonj^ matters by checking the acute inflammation
Avhich causes it. The means recommended are the free use of the
cold bath ; frequent soaking of the feet, and at a later period treat-
ment with iodin, either by painting the surface with the tincture
several times daily or by applying an ointment made by mixing
i dram of the crystals with 2 ounces of vaseline, rubbed in once a
day for several days. If this proves to be ineffective, a Spanish-fly
blister to which a few grains of biniodid of mercury have been
added w^ill effect in a majority of cases the desired result and remove
the lameness. If finally this treatment is ineffectual the case must
be relegated to the surgeon for the operation of neurectomy, or the
free and deep application of the firing iron.

spavin.

(Pis. XXVII-XXIX.)

This affection, popularly termed bone spavin, is an exostosis of
the hock joint. The general impression is that in a spavined hock
the bony growth should be seated on the anterior and internal part
of the joint, and this is partially correct, as such a growth wdll con-
stitute a spavin in the most nearly correct sense of the term. But an
enlargement may appear on the upper part of the hock also, or
possibly a little below the inner side of the lower extremity of the
shank bone, forming what is known as a high spavin; or, again, the
growth may form just on the outside of the hock and become an out-
side or external spavin. And, finally, the entire under surface may
become the seat of the osseous deposit, and involve the articular face
of all the bones of the hock, which again is a bone spavin. There
would seem, then, to be but little difficulty in comprehending the
nature of a bone spavin, and there would be none but for the fact
that there are similar affections which may confuse one if the diag-
nosis is not very carefully made.

But the hock may be " spavined," while to all outward observation
it still retains its perfect foim. AVith no enlargement perceptible to
sight or touch the animal may yet be disabled by an occult spavin,
an anchylosis in fact, which has resulted from a union of several
of the bones of the joint, and it is only those who are able to realize

318 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the importance of its action to the perfect fulfillment of the function
of locomotion by the hind leg who can comprehend the gravity of the
only prognosis which can be justified by the facts of the case — a
prognosis which is essentially a sentence of serious import in respect
to the future usefulness and value of the animal. For no disease, if
we except those acute inflammatory attacks upon vital organs to
which the patient succumbs at once, is more destructive to the useful-
ness and value of a horse than a confirmed spavin. Serious in its
inception, serious in its progress, it is an ailment which, when once
established, becomes a fixed condition which there is no known
means of dislodging.

Cause. — The periostitis, of which it is nearly always a termination,
is usually the effect of a traumatic cause operating upon the compli-
cated structure of the hock, such as a sprain which has torn a liga-
mentous insertion and lacerated some of its fibers, or a violent effort
in jumping, galloping, or trotting, to which the victim has been
compelled by the torture of whip and spur while in use as a gambling
implement by a sporting owner, under the pretext of " improving his
breed"; the extra exertion of starting an inordinately heavy load,
or an effort to recover his balance from a misstep, slipping upon an
icy surface, or sliding with worn shoes upon a bad pavement, and
other kindred causes. We can repeat here what we have before
said concerning bones, in respect to heredity as a cause. From oar
own experience we know of equine families in which this condition
has been transmitted from generation to generation, and animals
otherwise of excellent conformation have been rendered valueless by
the misfortune of a congenital spavin.

SymptoTThs. — The evil is one of the most serious character for other
reasons, among which may be specified the slowness of its develop-
ment and the insidiousness of its growth. Certain indefinite phenom-
ena and alarming changes and incidents furnish usually the only
portents of approaching trouble. Among these signs may be men-
tioned a peculiar posture assumed by the patient while at rest, and
becoming at length so habitual that it can not fail to suggest the
action of some hidden disorder. The posture is due to the action of
the adductor muscles, the lower part of the leg being carried inward,
and the heel of the shoe resting on the toe of the opposite foot. Then
an unwillingness may be noticed in the animal to move from one side
of the stall to the other. When driven he will travel, but stiffly, with
a sort of sidelong gait between the shafts, and after finishing his
task and resting again in his stall will pose with the toe pointing for-
ward, the heel raised, and the hock flexed. Considerable heat and
inflammation soon appear. The slight lameness which appears when
backing out of the stall ceases to be noticeable after a short distance
of travel.

lameness: its causes and treatment. 319

A minute examination of the hock may then reveal the existence of
a bony enlargement which may be detected just at the junction of the
hock and the cannon bone, on the inside and a little in front, and
tangible both to sight and touch. This enlargement, or bone spavin,
grows rapidly and persistently and soon acquires dimensions which
renders it impossible to doubt any longer its existence or its nature.
Once established, its development continues under conditions of prog-
ress similar to those to which we have before alluded in speaking of
other like affections. The argument advanced by some that because
these bony deposits are frequently found on both hocks they are not
spavins is fallacious. If they are discovered on both hocks, it proves
merely that they are not confined to a single joint.

Tlie characteristic lameness of bone spavin, as it affects the motion
of the hock joint, presents two aspects. In one class of cases it is
most pronounced when the horse is cool, in the other when he is at
work. The first is characterized by the fact that when the animal
travels the toe first touches the ground, and the heel descends more
.slowly, the motion of flexion at the hock taldng place stiffly, and
accompanied with a dropping of the hip on the opposite side. In the
other case the peculiarity is that the lameness increases as the horse
travels ; that when he stops he seeks to favor the lame leg, and when
he resumes his work soon after he steps much on his toe, as in the
first variety.

As with sidebones, though for a somewhat different reason, the
dimensions of the spavin and the degree of the lameness do not seem
to bear any determinate relation, the most pronounced symptoms at
times accompanying a very diminutive growth. The distinction
between the two varieties of cool and warm, however, may easily be
determined by remembering the fact that in most cases the first, or
cool, is due to a simple exostosis, while the second is generally con-
nected with disease of the articulation, such as ulceration of the
articular surface — a condition which, as we proceed further, will
receive our attention when we reach the subject of stringhalt.

An excellent test for spavin lameness, which may be readily
applied, consists in lifting the affected leg from the ground for one
or two minutes and holding the foot high so as to flex all the joints.
An assistant, with the halter strap in his hand, quickly starts the
animal off in a trot, when, if the hock joint is affected, the lameness
will be so greatly intensified as to lead readily to a diagnosis.

Prognosis. — Having thus fully considered the history of bone
spavin, we are prepared to give due weight to the reasons that exist
for the adverse prognosis which we must usually feel compelled to
pronounce when encountering it in practice, as well as to realize the
importance of early discovery. It is but seldom, however, that the
necessary advantage of this early knowledge can be obtained, and

320 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

when the true nature of the troul)le has become apparent it is usually
too late to resort to the remedial measures which, if duly forewarned,
a sldllful practitioner might have employed. We are fully per-
suaded that but for the loss of the time w astecl in the treatment of
purely imaginary ailments very many cases of bone spavin might be
arrested in their incipiency and their victims preserved for yeai-s of
comfort for themselves and valuable labor to their oAvners.

Treatment. — To consider a hypothetical case: An early discovery
of lameness has been made ; that is, the existence of an acute inflam-
mation— of periostitis — has been detected. The increased tempera-
ture of the parts has been observed, with the stiffened gait and the
characteristic pose of the limb, and the question is proposed for solu-
tion, What is to be done? Even with only these comparatively
doubtful symptoms — doubtful w ith the nonexpert — we should direct
our treatment to the hock in preference to any other joint, since of
all the joints of the hind leg it is this which is most liable to be
attacked, a natural result from its peculiarities of structure and
function. And in answer to the query. What is the first treatment
indicated? We should answer rest — emphatically, and as an essen-'
tial condition, rest. Whether only threatened, suspected, or posi-
tively diseased, the animal must be wholly released from labor, and
it must be no partial or temporary quiet of a few days. In all stages
and conditions of the disease, whether the spavin is nothing more
than a simple exostosis, or whether accompanied Avith the complica-
tion of arthritis, there must be a total suspension of effort imtil the
danger is over. Less than a month's quiet ought not to be thought
of — ^the longer the better.

Good results may also be expected from local applications. The
various lotions which cool the parts, the astringents which lower the
tension of the blood vessels, the tepid fomentations which accelerate
the circidation in the engorged capillaries, the liniments of various
composition, the stimulants, the opiate anodynes, the sedative prepa-
rations of aconite, the alterative frictions of iodin — all these are
i-ecommended and prescribed by one or another. We prefer counter-
irritants, for the reason, among many others, that by the prompt-
ness of their action they tend to prevent the formation of the bony
deposits. The lameness will often yield to the blistering action
of cantharides, in the form of ointment or liniment, and to the alter-
ative preparations of iodin or mercury. If the owner of a " spav-
ined '' horse really succeeds in removing the lameness, he has ac-
complished all that he is justified in hoping for; beyond this let
him be well persuaded that a '* cure " is impossible.

For this reason, moreover, he will do well to be on his guard
figainst the patented "cures" which the traveling horse doctor may
urge upon him, and withhold his faith from the circular of the agent

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TEEATMENT. 321

who will deluge him with references and certificates. It is possible
that nostrums may in some exceptional instances prove serviceable,
but the greater number of them are capable of producing only in-
jurious effects. The removal of the bony tumor can not be accom-
plished by any such means, and if a trial of these unknown com-
pounds should be followed by complications no worse than the
establishment of one or more ugly, hairless cicatrices, it will be
well for both the horse and his owner.

Rest and counterirritation, with the proper medicaments, consti-
tute, then, the prominent points in the treatment designed for the
relief of bone spavin. Yet there are cases in which all the agencies
f.nd methods referred to seem to lack effectiveness and fail to produce
satisfactory results. Either the rest has been prematurely inter-
rupted or the blisters have failed to modify the serous infiltration,
or the case in hand has some undiscernible characteristics which
seem to have rendered the disease neutral to the agencies used against
it. An indication of more energetic means is then presented, and
free cauterization with the firing iron becomes necessary.

At this point a word of explanation in reference to this operation
of firing may be appropriate for the satisfaction of any among our
readers who may entertain an exaggerated idea of its severity and
possible cruelty.

The operation is one of simplicity, but is nevertheless one which,
in order to secure its benefits, must be reserved for times and occa-
sions of which only the best knowledge and highest discretion should
be allowed to judge. It is not the mere application of a hot iron to
a given part of the body which constitutes the operation of firing.
It is the methodical and scientific introduction of heat into the
structure with a view to a given effect upon a diseased organ or
tissue by an expert surgeon. The first is one of the degrees of mere
burning. The other is scientific cauterization, and is a surgical
manipulation which should be committed exclusively to the practiced
hand of the veterinary surgeon.

Either firing alone or stimulation wdth blisters is of great efficacy
for the relief of lameness from bone spavin. Failure to produce
relief after a few applications and after allowing a sufficient interval
of rest should be followed by a second or, if needed, a third firing.

In case of further failure there is a reserve of certain special oper-
ations which have been tried and recommended, among which those
of cunean tenotomy, periosteotomy, the division of nervous branches,
etc., may be mentioned. These, however, belong to the i^eculiar do-
main of the veterinary practitioner, and need not now engage our
attention.

54763°— 23 ^21

322 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

FRACTURES.

In technical language a fracture is a " solution of continuity in the
structure or substance of a bone." It ranks among the most serious
of the lesions to which the hoi-se — or any animal — can be subject.
It is a subject of special interest to veterinarians and horse owners
in view of the fact that it occurs in such a variety of forms and
subjects the patient to much loss of time, resulting in the suspension
of his earning capacity. Though of less serious consequence in the
horse than in man, it is always a matter of grave import. It is
always slow and tedious in healing and is frequently of doubtful
and unsatisfactory result.

This solution of continuity may take place in two principal ways.
In the most numerous instances it includes the total thickness of the
bone and is a complete fracture. In other cases it involves only a
portion of the thickness of the bone, and for that reason is described
as incomplete. If the bone is divided into two separate portions
and the soft parts have received no injury, the fracture is a simple
one, or it becomes compound if the soft parts have suffered lacera-
tion, and comminuted if the bones have been crushed or ground into
fragments, many or few. The direction of the break also determines
its further classification. Broken at a right angle, it is transverse;
at a different angle it becomes oblique, and it may be longitudinal
or lengthwise. In a complete fracture, especially of the oblique
kind, there is a condition of great importance in respect to its effect
upon the ultimate result of the treatment in the fact that from vari-
ous causes, such as muscular contractions or excessive motion, the
bony fragments do not maintain their mutual coaptation, but be-
come separated at the ends, which makes it necessary to add another
descriptive term — with displacement. These words again suggest
the negative and introduce the term without displacement, when
the facts justify that description. Furthermore, a fracture may be
intra-articular or extra-articular, as it extends into a joint or other-
wise, and, once more, intra-periosteal when the periosteum remains
intact. Finally, there is no absolute limit to the use of descriptive
terminology in the case.

The condition of displacement is largely influential in determining
the question of treatment and as affecting the final result of a case of
fracture. This, however, is dejxindent upon its location or whether
its seat is in one or more of the axes of the bone, in its length, its
breadth, its thickness, or its circmnference. An incomplete fracture
may also be either simple or comminuted. In the latter case the frag-
ments are held together by the periosteum when it is intact; in that
case the fracture belongs to the intraperiosteal class. At times, also,
there is only a simple fissure or split in the bone, making a condition
of much difficulty of diagnosis.

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 323

Causes. — Two varieties of originating cause may be recognized in
cases of fracture. They are the predisposing and the occasional.
As to the first, different species of animals differ in the degree of their
liability. That of the dog is greater than that of the horse, and in
horses the various questions of age, the mode of labor, the season of
the year, the portion of the body most exposed, and the existence of
ailments, local and general, are all to be taken into account.

Among horses, those employed in heavy draft work or that are
driven over bad roads are more exposed than light-draft or saddle
horses, and animals of different ages are not equally liable. Dogs
and young horses, with those which have become sufficiently aged for
their bones to have acquired an enhanced degree of frangibility, are
more liable than those which have not exceeded the time of their
prime. The season of the year is undoubtedly, though in an inci-
dental way, an important factor in the problem of the etiology of
these accidents, for though they may be observed at all times, it is
dui'ing the months when the slippery condition of the icy roads ren-
ders it difficult for both men and beasts to keep their feet that they
occur most frequently. The long bones, those especially which belong
to the extremities, are most frequently the seat of fractures, from the
circumstance of their superficial position, their exposure to contact
and collision, and the violent muscular efforts involved both in their
constant, rapid movement and their labor in the shafts or at the pole
of heavy and heavily laden carriages.

The relation between sundry idiosyncrasies and diathesis and a lia-
bility to fractures is too constant and well-established a pathological
fact to need more than a passing reference. The history of rachitis,
of melanosis, and of osteoporosis, as related to an abnormal frangi-
bility of the bones, is a part of our common medical laiowledge.
There are few persons who have not laiown of cases among their
friends of frequent and almost spontaneous fractures, or at least of
such as seem to be produced by the slightest and most inadequate vio-
lence, and there is no tangible reason for doubting an analogous con-
dition in dividuals of the equine race. x\mong local predisposing
causes mention must not be omitted of such bony diseases as caries,
tul)erculosis, and others of the same class.

Exciting, occasional, or "efficient" causes of fracture are in most
instances external traumatisms, as violent contacts, collisions, falls,
etc., or sudden muscular contractions. These external accidents are
various in their character, and are usually associated with quick mus-
cular exertion. A violent, ineffectual effort to move too heavy a load ;
a semispasmodic bracing of the frame to avoid a fall or resist a pres-
sure; a quick jump to escape a blow; stopping too suddenly after
speeding; struggling to liberate a foot from a rail, perhaps to be
thrown in the effort — all these are familiar and easy examples of acci-

324 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

dents happening hourly by which our equine servants become suffer-
ers. We may add to these the fracture of the bones of the vertebriB,
occurring when casting a patient for tlie purpose of undergoing a
surgical operation, quite as much as the result of muscular contrac-
tion as of a preexisting diseased condition of the bones. A fracture
occurring under these circumstances may be called with propriety
indirect, while one which has resulted from a blow or a fall differ-
ently caused is of the direct kind.

Symptoms. — We now relurn to the first items in our classification
of the varieties of fractures for the purpose of bringing them in turn
under an orderly review, and our first examination will include those
which belong to the first category, or the complete kind. Irregu-
larity in the performance of the functions of the apparatus to which
the fractured bone belongs is a necessary consequence of the existing
lesion, and this is lameness. If the broken bone belongs to one of the
extremities, the impossibility of the performance of its natural func-
tion in sustaining the weight of the body and contributing to the act
of locomotion is usually complete, though the degree of disability
will vary according to the kind of fracture and the bone which is
injured. For example, a fracture of the cannon bone without dis-
placement, or of one of the phalanges, which are surrounded and sus-
tained by a complex fibrous structure, is, in a certain degree, not
incompatible with some amoimt of resting on the foot. On the con-
trary, if the shank bone, or that of the forearm is the implicated
member, it would be very difficult for the leg to exercise any agency
whatever in the support of the body, and in a fracture of the lower
jaw it would be obviously unreasonable to expect it to contribute
materially to the mastication of feed.

It seldom happens that a fracture is not accompanied with a de-
gree of deformity, greater or less, of the region or the leg affected.
This is due to the exudation of the blood into the meshes of the
surroimding tissues and to the displacement which occurs between
the fragments of the bones, with subsequentl}^ the swelling which
follows the inflammation of the surrounding tissues. The character
of the deformity will mainly depend upon the manner in Avhich the
displacement occurs.

In a normal state of things the legs perform their movements with
the joints as their only centers or bases of action, with no participa-
tion of intermediate points, while with a fracture the flexibility and
motion which will be observed at umiatural points are among the
most strongly characteristic signs of the lesion. No one need be
told that, when the shaft of a limb is seen to bend midway between
the joints, with the lower portion swinging freely, the leg is broken.
There are still some conditions, however, in which the excessive
mobility is not easy to detect. Such are the cases in Avhich the frac-

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT, 325

ture exists in a short bone, near a movable joint, or in a bone of a
region where several short and small bones are united in a group, or
even in a long bone the situation of which is such that the muscular
covering prevents the visible manifestation of the symptom.

If the situation of a fracture precludes its discovery by means of
this abnormal flexibility, other modes of detection remain. There is
one method which is absolute and positive and which can be applied
in by far the most, though not in all cases. This is crepitation, or the
peculiar efl'ect which is produced by the friction of the fractured sur-
faces one against another. Though discerned by the organs of hear-
ing it can scarcely be called a sound, for the grating of the parts as
the rubbing takes place is more felt than heard ; however, there is no
mistaking its import in cases favorable for the application of the
test. The conditions in which it is not available are those of incom-
plete fracture, in which the mobility of the part is lacking, and those
in which the whole array of phenomena are usually obscure. To
obtain the benefit of this pathognomonic sign requires deliberate,
careful, and gentle manipulation. Sometimes the slightest of move-
ments will be sufficient for its development, after much rougher
handling has failed to discover it. Perhaps the failure in the latter
case is due to a sort of defensive spasmodic rigidity caused by the
pain resulting from the rude interference.

^lore or less reactive fever is a usual accompaniment of a fracture.
Ecchymosis in the parts is but a natural occurrence, and is more
easily discovered in animals possessing a iight-colored and delicate
skin than in those of any other character.

There are difficulties in the way of the diagnosis of an incomplete
fracture, even sometimes when there is a degree of impairment in the
function of locomotion, with evidences of pain and swelling at the
seat of lesion. There should then be a careful examination for evi-
dences of a blow or other violence sufficient to account for the frac-
ture, though very often a suspicion of its existence can be converted
into a certainty only by a minute history of the patient if it can be
obtained up to the moment of the occurrence of the injury. A diag-
nosis ought not to be hastily pronounced, and where good giound
for suspicion exists it ought not to be rejected upon any evidence
less than the best. ¥/e too often read of serious and fatal complica-
tions following careless conclusions in similar cases, among which
we may refer to one instance of a complete fracture manifesting
itself m an animal during the act of rising in his stall after a decision
had been pronounced that he had no fracture at all.

Fractures are of course liable to complications, especially those
which are of a traumatic character, such as extensive lacerations,
tearing of tissues, punctures, contusions, etc. Unless these are in com-
munication with the fracture itself the indication is to treat them

326 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

simply as independent lesions upon other parts of the body. A
traumatic emphysema at times causes trouble, and abscesses, more or
less deep and diffused, may follow. In some cases small, bony frag-
ments from a comminuted fracture, becoming loose and acting as
foreign bodies, give rise to troublesome fistulous tracts. A frequent
complication is hemorrhage, which often becomes of serious conse-
quence. A fracture in close proximity to a joint may be accompanied
with dangerous inflammations of important organs, and induce an
attack of pneumonia, pleurisy, arthritis, etc., especially if near the
chest; it may also cause luxations, or dislocations. Gangrene, as a
consequence of contusions or of hemorrhage or of an impediment to
the circulation, caused by unskillfully applied apparatus, must not
be overlooked among the occasional incidents; nor must lockjaw,
which is not an uncommon occurrence. Even founder, or laminitis,
has been met with as the result of forced and long-continued im-
mobility of the feet in the standing posture, as one of the involve-
ments of unavoidably protracted treatment.

When a simple fracture has been properly treated and the broken
ends of the bone have been securely held in coaptation, one of two
things will occur. Either — and this is the more common event —
there will be a union of the two ends by a solid cicatrix, the callus, or
the ends will continue separated or become only partially united by
an intermediate fibrous structure. In the first instance the fracture is
consolidated or united ; in the second there is a false articulation, or
pseudarthrosis.

The time required for a firm union or true consolidation of a frac-
ture varies with the character of the bone affected, the age and
constitution of the patient, and the general conditions of the case.
The union will be perfected earlier in a young than in an adult ani-
mal, and sooner in the latter than in the aged, and a general healthy
condition is, of course, in every respect, an advantage.

The mode of cicatrization, or method of repair in lesions of the
bones, has been a subject of much study among investigators in
pathology, and has elicited various expressions of opinion from those
high in authority. The weight of evidence and preponderance of
opinion are about settled in favor of the theory that the law of repa-
ration is the same for both the hard and the soft tissues. In one case
a simple exudation of material, with the proper organization of
newly formed tissue, will bring about a union by the first intention,
and in another the work will be accompanied with suppuration, or
union by the second intention, a process so familiar in the repair of
the soft structures by granulation.

Considering the process in its simplest form, in a case in which it
advances without interruption or complication to a favorable result,
it mav i)robablv be correctlv described in this wise :

lameness: its causes and treatment. 327

On the occurrence of the injury an effusion of blood takes place be-
tween the ends of the bone. The coagulation of the fluid soon fol-
lows, and this, after a few days, undergoes absorption. There is
then an excess of inflammation in the surrounding structure, which
soon spreads to the bony tissue, when a true ostitis is established,
and the compact tissue of the bone becomes the seat of a new vascular
organization, and of a certain exudation of plastic lymph, appearing
between the periosteum and the external surface of the bone, as well
as on the inner side of the medullary cavity. After a few days the
ends of the bone thus surrounded by this exudate become involved
in it, and the lymph, becoming vascular, is soon transformed into
cartilaginous, and in due time into bony, tissue.

Thus the time required for the consolidation of the fractured seg-
ments is divisible into two distinct periods. In the first they are sur-
rounded by an external bony ring, and the medullary cavity is closed
by a bony plug or stopper, constituting the period of the provisional
callus. This is followed by the period of permanent callus, during
which the process of converting the cartilaginous into the osseous
form is going forward.

The restorative process is sooner completed in the carnivorous than
in the herbivorous tribes. In the former the temporary callus may
attain sufficient fineness of consistency for the careful use of the limb
within four weeks, but with the latter a period of from six weeks to
two months is not too long to allow before removing the supporting
apparatus from the limb.

This, in general terms, represents the fact when the resources of
nature have not been thwarted by untoward accidents, such as a want
of vigor in the constitution of the patient or a lack of skill on the
part of the practitioner, and especially when, from any cause, the
bony fragments have not been kept in a state of perfect immobility
and the constant friction has prevented the osseous union of the two
portions. Failures and misfortunes are always more than possible,
and instead of a solid and practicable bony union the sequel of the
accident is sometimes a false joint, composed of mere flexible carti-
lage, a poor pseudarthrosis. The explanation of this appears to be
that, first, the sharp edges of the ends of the bone disappear by
becoming rounded at their extremities by friction and polishing
against each other. Then follows an exudation of a plastic nature
which becomes transformed into a cartilaginous layer of a rough,
articular aspect. In this bony nuclei soon appear, and the lymph
secreted between the segments thus transformed, instead of becoming
truly ossified, is changed into a sort of fibrocartilaginous pouch, or
capsular sac, in which a somewhat albuminous secretion, or pseudo-
synovia, permits the movement to take place. Most commonly, how-
ever, in our animals, the union of the bony fragments is obtained

328 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

wholly through the medium of a layer of fibrous tissue, and it is
because tlie union has been accomplished by a ligamentous formation
only that motion becomes practicable.

Prognosis. — The prognosis in a case of fracture in an animal is one
of the gravest vital import to the patient, and therefore of serious
pecuniary concern to his owner. The period has not long elapsed
when to have received such a hurt was quite equivalent to undergoing
a sentence of death for the suffering animal, and perhaps to-day a
sunilar verdict is pronounced in many cases in which the exercise
of a little mechanical ingenuity, with a due amount of careful nurs-
ing, might secure a contrary result and insure the return of the
patient to 4iis former condition of soundness and usefulness.

Treatment. — Considered per se, a fracture in an animal is in fact
no less amenable to treatment than the same description of injury
in any other living being. But the question of the propriety and
expediency of treatment is dependent upon certain specific points of
collateral consideration.

(1) The nature of the lesion is a point of paramount importance.
A simple fracture occurring in a bone where the ends can be firmly
secured in coax)tation presents the most favorable condition for suc-
cessful treatment. If it is that of a long bone, it will be the less
serious if situated at or near the middle of its length than if it were
in close proximity to a joint, from the fact that perfect immobility
can rarely, in the latter case, be secured without incurring the risk
of subsequent rigidity of the joint.

A simple is always less serious than a compoimd fracture. A com-
minuted is always more dangerous than a simple, and a transverse
break is easier to treat than one which is oblique. The most serious
are those which are situated on parts of the body in which it is diffi-
cult to obtain perfect immobility, and especially those which are ac-
companied with severe contusions and lacerations in the soft parts;
the protrusion of fragments through the skin; the division of blood
vessels by the broken ends of the bone ; the existence of an articula-
tion near the point to which inflammation is liable to extend; the
luxation of a fragment of the bone; laceration of the periosteum;
the presence of a large number of bony particles, the result of the
crushing of the bone — all these are circumstances which discourage
n favorable prognosis, and weigh against the hope of saving the
patient for future usefulness.

Fractures which may be accounted curable are those which are not
conspicuously visible, as those of the ribs, where displacements are
either very limited or do not occur, the parts being kept in situ by the
nature of their position, the shape of the bones, the articulations they
form with the vertebra, the sternum, or their cartilages of prolonga-
tion ; those of transverse processes of the lumbar vertebra ; those of

lameness: its causes and treatment. 329

the bones of the face ; those of the ilium ; and that of the coffinbones.
To continue the category, the following are evidently curable when
their position and the character of the patient contribute to aid the
treatment: Those of the cranium, in the absence of cerebral lesions;
those of the jaws; of the ribs, with displacement; of the hip; and
those of the bones of the leg in movable regions, but where their
vertical position admits of perfect coaptation.

On the contrary, a compound, complicated, or comminuted frac-
ture, in whatever region it may be situated, may be counted incurable.

In treating fractures time is an important element and " delays are
dangerous." Those of recent occurrence unite more easily and more
regularly than older ones.

(2) As a general rule, fractures are less serious in animals of the
smaller species than in those of more bulky dimensions. This in-
fluence of species will be readily appreciated when we realize that the
difficulties involved in the treatment of the latter class have hardly
any existence in connection with the former. The difference in
weight and size, and consequent facility in handling and making the
necessary applications of dressings and other appliances for the pur-
pose of securing the indispensable immobility of the parts, and
usually a less degree of uneasiness in the deportment of the patients
are considerations in this connection of gieat weight.

(3) In respect to the utilization of the animal, the most obvious
point in estimating the gravity of the case in a fracture accident is
the certainty of the total loss of the services of the patient during
treatment — certainly for a considerable period of time ; perhaps per-
manently. For example, the fracture of the jaw of a steer just
fattening for the shambles will involve a heavier loss than a similar
accident to a horse. Usually the fracture of the bones of the extrem-
ities in a horse is a very serious casualty, the more so proportionately
as the higher region of the limb is affected. In working animals it
is exceedingly difficult to treat a fracture in such manner as to re-
store a limb to its original perfection of movement. A fracture of a
single bone of an extremity in a breeding stallion or mare will not
necessarily impair the value of the animal as a breeder. Other speci-
fications under this head, though pertinent and more or less interest-
ing, may be omitted.

(4) Age and temper are important factors of cure. A young,
growing, robust patient whose vis vitse is active is amenable to treat-
ment which one with a waning constitution and past mature energies
would be unable to endure, and a docile, quiet disposition will act
cooperatively with remedial measures which would be neutralized by
the fractious opposition of a peevish and intractable sufferer.

The fulfillment of three indications is indispensable in all fractures.
The first is the reduction, or the replacement, of the parts as nearly

330 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

as possible in their normal position. The second is their retention in
that position for a period sufficient for the formation of the provi-
sional callus, and the third, which, in fact, is but an incident of the
second, the careful avoidance of any accidents or causes of miscar-
riage which might disturb the curative process.

In reference to the first consideration, it must be remembered that
the accident may befall the patient at a distance from his home, and
his removal becomes the first duty to be attended to. Of course, this
must be done as carefully as possible. If he can be treated on the
spot, so much the better, though this is seldom practicable, and the
method of removal becomes the question calling for settlement. But
two ways present themselves — he must either walk or be carried. If
the first, it is needless to say that every caution must be observed in
order to obviate additional pain and to avoid any aggravation of the
injuiy. Led slowly, and with partial support, if practicable, the
journey will not always involve untoward results. If he is carried,
it must be by means of a wagon, a truck, or an ambulance; the last
being designed and adapted to the purpose, would, of course, be
the most suitable vehicle. As a precaution which should never be
overlooked, a temporary dressing should first be applied. This
may be so done as for the time to answer all the purposes of the per-
manent adjustment and bandaging. Without thus securing the
patient, a fracture of an inferior degree may be transformed to one of
the severest kind, and, indeed, a curable changed to an incurable
injury. We recall a case in which a fast-trotting horse, after run-
ning away in a fright caused by the whistle of a locomotive, was
found on the road limping with excessive lameness in the off fore
leg, and walked with comparative ease some 2 miles to a stable before
being seen by a surgeon. His immediate removal in an ambulance
was advised, but before that vehicle could be procured the horse lay
down, and upon being made to get upon his feet was found with a
well-marked comminuted fracture of the os suffraginis, with con-
siderable displacement. The patient, however, after long tre^it-
ment, made a comparatively good recover}^ and though with a large,
bony deposit, a ringbone, was able to trot in the forties.

The two obvious indications in cases of fracture are reduction, or
replacement, and retention.

In an incomplete fracture, where there is no displacement, the
necessity of reduction does not exist. With the bone kept in place
by an intact periosteum, and the fragments secured by the unin-
jured fibrous and ligamentous structure which surrounds them, there
is no dislocation to correct. Reduction is also at times rendered
impossible by the seat of the fracture itself, by its dimensions, alone,
or by the resistance arising from muscular contraction. That is
illustrated even in small animals, as in dogs, by the exceeding diffi-

LAMENESS : ITS CAUSES AXD TREATMENT. 331

culty encountered in bringing together the ends of a broken femur or
humerus, the muscular contractions being even in these animals suffi-
ciently forcible to renew the displacement.

It is generally, therefore, only fractures of the long bones, and
then at points not in close proximity to the trunk, that may be con-
sidered to be amenable to reduction. It is true that some of the
more superficial bones, as those of the head, of the pelvis, and of
the thoracic walls, may in some cases require special manipulations
and appliances for their retention in their normal positions; hence
the treatment of these and of a fractured leg can not be the same.

The methods of accomplishing reduction vary with the features of
each case, the manipulations being necessarily modified to meet dif-
ferent circumstances. If the displacement is in the thickness of the
bone, as in transverse fracture, the manipulation of reduction con-
sists in applying constant pressure upon one of the fragments, while
the other is kept steady in its place, the object of the pressure being
the reestablishment of the exact coincidence of the two bony surfaces.
If the displacement has taken place at an angle it will be sufficient in
order to effect the reduction to press upon the summit, or apex, of
the angle until its disappearance indicates that the parts have been
brought into coaptation. This method is often practiced in the treat-
ment of a fractured rib. In a longitudinal fracture, or when the
fragments are pressed together by the contraction of the muscles to
which they give insertion until they so overlap as to correspond by
certain points of their circumference, the reduction is to be accom-
plished by effecting the movements of extension, counter extension,
and coaptation. Extension is accomplished by making traction upon
the lower portion of the limb. Counter extension consists in firmly
holding or confining the upper or body portion in such manner that
it shall not be affected by the traction applied to the lower part. In
other words, the operator, grasping the limb below the fracture,
draws it down or away from the trunk, while he seeks not to draw
away, but simply to hold the upper portion still until the broken
ends of bone are brought to their natural relative positions, when
the coaptation, which is thus effected, has only to be made permanent
by the proper dressings to perfect the reduction.

In treating fractures in small animals the strength of the hand
is usually sufficient for the required manipulations. In the fracture
of the forearm of a dog, for example, while the upper segment is
firmly held by one hand the lower may be grasped by the other and
the bone itself made to serve the purpose of a lever to bring about the
desired coaptation. In such case that is sufficient to overcome the
muscular contraction and correct the overlapping or other malposi-
tion of the bones. If, however, the resistance can not be overcome
in this way, the upper segment may be committed to an assistant for

332 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the management of the counter extension, leaving to the operator the
free use of botli hands for the further manipulation of the case.

If the reduction of fractures in small animals is an easy task, how-
ever, it is far from being so when the patient is a large animal whose
muscular force is largely gi'eater than that of several men com-
bined. In such case resort must be had not only to superior numbers
for the necessary force, but in many cases to mechanical aids. A
reference to the manner of proceeding in a case of fracture with
displacement of the forearm of a horse will illustrate the matter.
The patient is first to be carefully cast, on the uninjured side, w^th
roj^es or a broad, leather strap about 18 feet long passed under
and around his body and under the axilla of the fractured limb and
secured at a point opposite to the animal and toAvard his back. This
wdll form the mechanical means of counter extension. Another rope
will then be placed around the inferior part of the leg below the
point of fracture, with which to produce extension, and this will
sometimes be furnished with a block and pulleys, in order to aug-
ment the power when necessary ; there is, in fact, always an advan-
tage in their use, on the side of steadiness and uniformity, as well
as of increased powxr. It is secured around the fetlock or tlie
coronet or, what is better, above the knee and nearer the point of
fracture, and is committed to assistants. The traction on this should
be firm, uniform, and slow, without relaxing or jerking, while the
operator carefully watches the process. If the bone is superficially
situated he is able, by the eye, to judge of any changes that may
occur in the form or length of the parts under traction, and discov-
ering, at the moment of its happening, the restoration of sj'mmetry
in the disturbed region he gently but firml}' manipulates the place
until all appearance of severed continuity has vanished. Some-
times the fact and the instant of restoration are indicated by a
peculiar sound or "click" as the ends of the bones slip into contact,
to await the next step of the restorative procedure.

The process is the same Avhen the bones are covered with thick
muscular masses except that it is attendea with greater difficulties
from the fact that the finger must be substituted for the eye and
taxis must take the place of sight.

It frequently happens that perfect coaptation is prevented by the
interposition, between the bony surfaces, of such substances as a
small fragment of detached bone or a clot of blood; sometimes the
extreme obliquity of the fracture, by permitting the bones to slip
out of place, is the opposing cause. These are difficulties which can
not always be overcome, even in small-sized animals, and still it is
only when they are mastered that a correct consolidation can be
looked for. Without it the continuity between the fragments will bf

lameness: its causes and treatment. 333

by a deformed callus, the union will leave a shortened, crooked, or
angular limb, and the animal will be disabled.

If timely assistance can be obtained, and the reduction accom-
plished immediately after the occurrence of the accident, that is the
best time for it, but if it can not be attended to until inflammation
has become established and the parts have become swollen and pain-
ful, time must be allowed for the subsidence of these symptoms
before attempting the operation. A spasmodic, muscular contraction
which sometimes interposes a difficulty may be easily overcome by
subjecting the patient to general anesthesia, and need not, therefore,
cause any loss of time. A tendency to this may also be overcome
by the use of sedatives and antiphlogistic remedies.

The reduction of the fracture havhig been accomplished, the prob-
lem which follows is that of retention. The parts which have been
restored to their natural position must be kept there, without dis-
turbance or agitation, until the perfect formation of a callus, and it
is here that ample latitude exists for the exercise of ingenuity and
sldll by the surgeon in the contrivance of the necessary apparatus.
One of the most important of the conditions which are available by
the surgeon in treating human patients is denied to the veterinarian
in the management of those which belong to the animal tribes. This
is position. The intelligence of the human patient cooperates with
the instructions of the surgeon, in the case of the animal sufferer
there is a continual antagonism between the parties, and the forced
extension and fatiguing position which must for a considerable
period be maintained as a condition of restoration require special
and effective appliances to insure successful results. To obtain
complete immobility is scarcely possible, and the surgeon must be
content to reach a point as near as possible to that which is unattain-
able. For this reason, as will subsequently be seen, the use of slings
and the restraint of patients in very narrow stalls is much to be
preferred to the practice sometimes recommended of allowing entire
freedom of motion by turning them loose in box stalls. Temporary
and movable apparatus are not usually of difficult use in veterinary
practice, but the restlessness of the patients and their unwillingness
to submit quietly to the changing of the dressings render it obliga-
tory to have recourse to permanent and immovable bandages, which
should be retained without disturbance until the process of consoli-
dation is complete.

The materials composing the retaining apparatus consist of oakum,
bandages, and splints, with an agglutinating compound which forms
a species of cement by which the different constituents are blended
into a consistent mass to be spread upon the surface covering the
locality of the fracture. Its components are black pitch, rosin, and
Venice turpentine, blended by heat. The dressing may be applied

334 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

directly to the skin, or a covering of thin linen may be interposed.
A putty made with powdered chalk and the white of egg is recom-
mended for small animals, though a mixture of sugar of lead and
burnt alum with the albumen is preferred ')y others. Another for-
mula is spirits of camphor, Goulard's extract, and albumen. An-
other recommendation is to saturate the oakum and bandages with
an adhesive solution formed Avith gum arable, dexti'in, flour paste,
or starch. This is advised particularly for small animals, as is also
the silicate of soda. Dextrin mixed while warm with burnt alum
and alcohol cools and solidifies into a stony consistency, and is pref-
erable to plaster of Paris, w^hich is less friable and has less solidity,
besides being heavier and requiring constant additions as it becomes
older. Starch and plaster of Paris form another good compound.

In applying the dressing the leg is usually padded with a cushi<m
of oakum thick and soft enough to equalize the irregularities of the
surface and to form a bedding for the protection of the skin from
chafing. Over this the splints are placed. The material for these is,
variously, pasteboard, thin wood, bark, laths, gutta-percha, strips of
thin metal, as tin or perhaps sheet iron. They should be of sufficient
length not only to cover the region of the fracture but to extend
sufficiently above and below to render the immobility more nearly
complete than in the surrounding joints. The splints, again, are
covered with cloth bandages — linen preferably — soaked in a glu-
tinous mixture. These bandages are to be carefully applied, with a
perfect condition of lightness. They are usually made to embrace
the entire length of the leg in order to avoid the possibility of inter-
ference W'ith the circulation of the extremity as well as for the pre-
vention of chafing. They should be rolled from the lower part of
the leg upward and carefully secured against loosening. In some
instances suspensory bandages are recommended, but except for
small animals our experience does not justify a concurrence in the
recommendation.

These permanent dressings always need careful watching with ref-
erence to their immediate effect ui)on the region they cover, especially
during the first da,vs succeeding that of their application. Any mani-
festation of pain, or any appearance of swelling above or below, or
any odor suggestive of suppuration should excite suspicion, and a
thorougli investigaticm should follow without delay. The removal of
the dressing should be performed with great care, and especially so
if time enough has elapsed since its application to allow of a proba-
bility of a commencement of the healing process or the existence of
any points of consolidation. With the original diessing i)ro[)erly ap-
plied in its entirety in the first instance, the entire extremity Avill
have lost all chance of mobility, and the repairing i>rocess may be
permitted to proceed without interference. There will l)e no neces-

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 335

sity and there need be no haste for removal or change except under
such special conditions as have just "been mentioned, or when there is
reason to judge that solidification has become perfect, or for the com-
for'. of the animal, or for its readaptation in consequence of the
atrophy of the limb from want of use. Owners of animals are often
tempted to remove a splint or bandage prematurely at the risk of pro-
ducing a second fracture in consequence of the failure of the callus
properly to consolidate.

"he method of applying the splints which we have described refers
to "he simple variety only. In a compound case the same rules must
be observed, with the modification of leaving openings through the
thickness of the dressing, opposite the wound, in order to permit the
escape of pus and to secure access to the points requiring the applica-
tioi of treatment.

FRACTURE OF CRANIAL BONES.

fractures of the cranial bones in large animals are comparatively
raie, though the records are not destitute of cases. AVhen they occur,
it :s as the result of external violence, the sufferers being usually run-
assays which have come in collision with a wall or a tree or other
obtruction, or it may occur in those which in pulling upon the halter
have broken it with a jerk and been thrown backward, as may occur
in rearing too violently. Under these conditions we have witnessed
fnctures of the parietal, of the frontal, and of the sphenoid bones.
Tlese fractures may be of both the complete and the incomplete
kiids, which indeed is usually the case with thase of the flat bones,
aid they are liable to be complicated with lacerations of the skin,
inconsequence of which they are easily brought under observation.
MTien the fact is otherwise and the skin is intact, however, the diag-
ncsis becomes difficult.

'Symptoms. — The incomplete variety may be unaccompanied with
any special sjniiptoms, but in the complete kind one of the bony plates
vf\iy be so far detached as to press upon the cerebral substance with
suficient rorce to produce serious nervous complications. When the
injirv occurs at the base of the cranium hemorrhage may be looked
foi, with parah^tic symptoms, and when these are present the usual
ternination is death. It may happen, however, that the symptoms of
an apparently very severe concussion may disappear, resulting in an
early and complete recovery, and the surgeon will therefore do well
to avoid undue haste in venturing upon a prognosis. In fractures of
the orbital or the zygomatic bones the danger is less pressing than
witk injuries otherwise located about the head.

Treatment . — The treatment of cranial fractures is simple, though
involving the best skill of an experienced surgeon. When incomplete
hardV any interference is needed ; even plain bandaging may usually

336 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

be dispensed with. In the complete variety the danger to be com-
bated is compression of the brain, and attention to this indication
must not be delayed. The means to be employed are the trephining
of the skull over the seat of the fracture and the elevation of the de-
pressed bone or the removal of the portion which is causing :he
trouble. Fragments of bone in comminuted cases, bony exfoliations,
collections of fluid, or even protruding portions of the brain sub-
stance must be carefully cleansed away and a simple bandage so ap-
plied as to facilitate the application of subsequent dressings.

FRACTURES OF THE BONES OF THE FACE.

In respect to their origin — usually traumatic — these injuries rank
with the preceding, and are commonly of the incomplete varie:y.
They may easily be overlooked, and may even sometimes escape rec-
ognition until the reparative process has been well established and ihe
wound is discovered owing to the prominence caused by the preseice
of the provisional callus which marks its cure. When the fracture is
complete it will be marked by local deformity, mobility of the frag-
ments, and crepitation. Nasal hemorrhage, roaring, frequent sneez-
ing, loosening or loss of teeth, difficulty of mastication, and inflamna-
tion of the cavities of the sinuses are varying complications of thtse
accidents. The object of the treatment should be the restoration of
the depressed bones as nearly as possible to their normal position aid
their retention in place by protecting splints, which should cover tie
entire facial region. Special precautions should be observed to pre-
vent the patient from disturbing the dressing by rubbing his heid
against surrounding objects, such as the stall, manger, rack, etc. Clots
of blood in the nasal passages must be washed out, collections of jus
removed from the sinuses, and, if the teeth are loosened and liable to
fall out, the}^ should be removed. If roaring is threatened, tracle-
otomy is indicated.

FRACTURES OF THE PREMAXILLARY BONE.

These are mentioned by continental authors and are usually ai-
countered in connection with fractures of the nasal bone, and nay
take place either in the width or the length of the bone.

The deformity of the upper lip, which is drawn sidewise in ihis
lesion, renders it easy of diagnosis. The abnormal mobility and the
crepitation, with the pain manifested by the patient when uncer-
going examination, are concurrent symptoms. Looseness of tlie
teeth, abundant salivation, and entire inability to grasp the iced
complete the symptomatology of these accidents. In the treatiadnt
fcplints of gutta-percha or leather are sometimes used, but thej are
of difficult application. Our own judgment and practice ar^ in
favor of the union of the bones bv means of metallic sutures.

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TEEATMENT. 337

FRACTURES OF THE LOWER JAW.

A fracture here is not an injury of infret^uent occurrence. It
involves the body of the bone, at its symphysis, or back of it, and
inchides one or both of its branches, either more or less forward,
or at the posterior part near the temporomaxillary articulation, at
tlie coronoid process.

Falls, blows, or other external violence, or powerful muscular con-
tractions during the use of the speculum, may be mentioned among
the causes of this lesion. The fracture of the neck, or that portion
formed by the juncture of the two opposite sides, and of the branches
in front of the cheeks, causes the lower jaw, the true dental arch, to
drop, without the ability to raise it again to the upper, and the
result is a peculiar and characteristic physiognomy. The prehension
and mastication of feed become impossible; there is an abundant
escape of fetid and sometimes bloody saliva, especially if the gums
have been wounded; there is excessive mobility of the lower end of
the jawbone; and there is crepitation, and frequently paralysis of
the under lip. Although an animal suffering with a complete and
often compound and comminuted fracture of the submaxilla pre-
sents at times a serious aspect, the prognosis of the case is com-
l^arativel}'' favorable, and recovery is usually only a question of time.
The severity of the lesion corresponds in degree to that of the vio-
lence to which it is due, also to the resulting complications and the
situation of the wound. It is simple when at the symphysis, but
becomes more serious when it affects one of the branches, and most
aggravated when both are involved. Fracture of the coronoid proc-
ess becomes important principally as an evidence of the existence of
a morbid diathesis, such as osteoporosis, or the like.

The particular seat of the injury, wdth its special features, will,
of course, determine the treatment. For a simple fracture, without
displacement, provided there is no laceration of the periosteum, an
ordinary supporting bandage will usually be sufficient, but when
there is displacement the reduction of the fracture must first be
accomplished, and for this special splints are necessary. In a fracture
of the symphysis or of the branches the adjustment of the fragments
by securing them with metallic sutures is the first step necessary, to
be followed by the application of supports, consisting of splints of
leather or sheets of metal, the entire front of the head being then
covered with bandages prepared with adhesive mixtures. During
the entire course of treatment a special method of feeding becomes
necessary. The inability of the patient to appreciate the situation,
of course, necessitates a resort to an artificial mode of introducing the
necessary feed into his stomach; this is accomplished by forcing
between the commissures of the lips, in a liquid form, by means of a
547G3°— 2:) 22

338 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

syringe, the milk or nutritive gruels selected for his sustenance until
the consolidation is sufficiently advanced to permit the ingestion of
feed of a more solid consistency. The callus will usually be suffi-
ciently hardened in two or three weeks to allow of a change of diet
to mashes of cut hay and scalded grain, until the removal of the
dressing restores the animal to its old habit of mastication.

FRACTURES OF VERTEBRA.

These are not very common, but when they do occur the bones most
frequently injured are those of the back and loins.

Causes. — The ordinary causes of fracture are responsible here as
elsewhere, such as heavy blows on the spinal column, severe falls
while conveying hea\y loads, and especially violent efforts in resist-
ing the process of casting. Although occurring more or less
frequently under the latter circumstances, the accident is not always
attributable to carelessness or error in the management. It may, of
course, sometimes result from such a cause as a badly prepared bed,
or the accidental presence of a hard body concealed in the straw, or
to a heavy fall when the movements of the patient have not been
sufficiently controlled by an effective apparatus and its skillful
adaptation, but it is quite as liable to be caused by the violent
resistance and the consequent powerful muscular contraction by the
frightened patient. The simple fact of the overarching of the
vertebral column, with excessive pressure against it from the in-
testinal mass, owing to the spasmodic action of the abdominal
muscles, may account for it, and so also may the struggles of the
animal to escape from the restraint of the hobbles while frantic
under the pain of an operation without anesthesia. In these cases
the fracture usually occurs in the body or the annular part, or both,
of the posterior dorsal or the anterior lumbar vertebra. When the
transverse processes of the last-named bones are injured, it is probably
in consequence of the heavy concussion incident to striking the
ground when cast. The diagnosis of a fracture of the body of a
vej'teln'a Is not always easy, especially when quite recent, and more
especially when there is no accompanying displacement.

Symptoms. — There are certain peculiar signs accompanying the
occurrence of the accident while an operation is in progress which
should at once excite the suspicion of the surgeon. In the midst of
a violent struggle the patient becomes suddenly quiet ; the movement
of a sharp instrument, which at first excited his resistance, fails to
give rise to any further evidence of sensation; perhaps a general
trembling, lasting for a few minutes, will follow, succeeded by a cold,
profuse perspiration, particularly between the hind legs, and fre-
quently there will be micturition and defecation. Careful examina-
tion of the vertebral column may then detect a slight depression or

lameness: its causes and treatment. 339

irregularity in the direction of the spine, and there may be a diminu-
tion or loss of sensation in the posterior part of the trunk, while the
anterior portion continues to be as sensitive as before. In making
an attempt to get upon his feet, however, upon the removal of the
hobbles, only the fore part of the body will respond to the effort, a
degree of paraplegia being present, and while the head, neck, and
fore part of the body wall be raised, the hind quarters and hind legs
will remain inert. The animal may perhaps succeed in rising' and
probably may be removed to his stall, but the displacement of the
bone will follow, converting the fracture into one of the complete
kind, either through the exertion of walking or by a renewed attempt
to rise after another fall before reaching his stall. By this time the
paralysis is complete, and the extension of the meningitis, which has
become established, is a consummation soon reached.

To say that the prognosis of fracture of the body of the vertebra is
always serious is to speak very mildly. It would be better, perhaps,
to say that occasionally a case may recover. Fractures of the trans-
verse processes are less serious.

Treatment. — Instead of stating the indication in this class of cases
as if assuming them to be amenable to treatment, the question natur-
ally would be: Can any treatment be recommended in a fracture of
the body of a vertebra? The only indication in such a case, in our
opinion, is to reach the true diagnosis in the shortest possible time
and to act accordingly. If there is displacement, and the existence
of serious lesions may be inferred from the nervous symptoms, the
destruction of the suffering animal appears to suggest itself as the one
conclusion in which considerations of policy, humanity, and science at
once unite.

If, however, it is fairly evident that no displacement exists; that
pressure upon the spinal cord is not yet present ; that the animal with
a little assistance is able to rise upon his feet and to walk a short dis-
tance— it may be well to experiment upon the case to the extent of
placing the patient in the most favorable circumstances for recovery
and allow nature to operate without further interference. This may
be accomplished by obtaining immobility of the whole body as much
as possible, and especiall}^ of the suspected region, by placing the
patient in slings, in a stall sufficiently narrow to preclude lateral mo-
tion, and covering the loins with a thick coat of agglutinative mixture.
Developments should be watched and awaited.

FRACTURE OF THE RIBS.

The different regions of the chest are not equally exposed to the
violence that causes fractures of the ribs, and they are therefore
either more common or more easily discovered during life at some
points than at others. The more exposed regions are the middle and

340 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the posterior, while the front is largely covered and defended by the
shoulder. A single rib may be the seat of fracture, or a number may
be involved, and there may be injuries on both sides of the chest at the
same time. It may take place lengthwise, in any part of the bone,
though the middle, being the most exposed, is the most frequently
hurt. Incomplete fractures are usually lengthwise, involving a por-
tion only of the thickness of one or other of the surfaces. The com-
plete kind may be either transverse or oblique, and are most com-
monly denticulated. The fracture may be comminuted, and a single
bone may show one of the complete and one of the incomplete kind at
different points. The extent of surface presented by the thoracic
region, with its complete exposure at all points, explains the liability
of the ribs to suffer from all the forms of external violence.

/SyTThptoms. — In many instances fractures, especially the incom-
plete variety, of these bones continue undiscovered, without displace-
ment, though the evidences of local pain, a certain amount of swell-
ing, and a degree of disturbance of the respiration, if noticed during
the examination of a patient, may suggest a suspicion of their exist-
ence. Abnormal mobility and crepitation are difficult of detection,
even when present, and they are not always present. When there is
displacement the deformity which it occasions will betray the fact,
and when such an injury exists the surgeon, in view of possible and
probable complications of thoracic trouble, of course will become
vigilant and prepare himself for an encounter with a case of trau-
matic pleuritis or pneumonia. Fatal injuries of the heart are re-
corded. Subcutaneous emphysema is a common accompaniment of
broken ribs, and I recall the death, from this cause, of a patient of
my own which liad suff'ered a fracture of two ribs in the region of the
withers, under the cartilages of the shoulder, and of which the diag-
nosis was made only after the fatal ending of the case.

These hurts are not often of a very serious character, though the
union is never so solid and complete as in other fractures, the callus
being usually imperfect and of a fibrous character, with an amphiar-
throsis formation. Still, complications occur which may impart
gravity to the prognosis.

T'7'eatnie?if. — Fractures with but a slight or no displacement need
no reduction. All that is necessary is a simple application of a blis-
tering nature as a preventive of inflammation or for its subjugation
when present, and in order to excite an exudation which will tend to
aid in the support and immobilization of the parts. At times, how-
ever, a better effect is obtained by the application of a bandage
placed firmly n round the chest, although, while this limits the mo-
tion of the ribs, it is liable to render the respiration more labored.

If thei-e is displacement, with much accompanying pain and evi-
dent irritation of the lungs, the fracture must bo reduced without

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 341

delay. The means of effecting this vary according to whether the
displacement is outward or inward. In the first case the bone may
bes straightened by pressure from without, while in the second the
end of it must be raised by a lever, for the introduction of which a
small incision through the skin and intercostal spaces will be neces-
sary. When coaptation has been effected it must be retained by the
external application of an adhesive mixture, with splints and band-
ages around the chest.

FRACTURES OF THE BONES OF THE PELVIS.

These fractures will be considered under their separate denomina-
tions, as those of the sacrum and the os innominatum, or hip, which
includes the subdivisions of the ilium, the pubes, and the ischium.

The sacrwm. — Fractures of this bone are rarely met with among
solipeds. Among cattle, however, it is of common occurrence, being
attributed not only to the usual varieties of violence, as blows and
other external hurts, but to the act of coition and violent efforts in
pai'turition. It is generally of the transverse kind and may be
recognized by the deformity which it occasions. This is due to the
dropping of the bone, with a change in its direction and a lower
attachment of the tail, which also becomes more or less paralyzed.
The natural and spontaneous relief which usually interposes in these
cases has doubtless been observed by the extensive cattle breeders of
the West, and their practice and example fully establish the inutilit}^
of interference. Still, cases mav occur in which reduction may be in-
dicated, and it then becomes a matter of no difficulty. It is effected by
the introduction of a round, smooth piece of wood into the rectum
as far as the fragment of bone and using it as a lever, resting upon
another as a fulcrum placed under it outside. The bone, having
been thus returned, may be kept in place by the ordinary external
means in use.

The OS innominatum. — Fracture of the ilium may be observed
either at the angle of the hip or at the neck of the bone ; those of the
pubes may take place at the symphysis, or in the body of the bone ;
those of the ischium on the floor of the bone, or at its posterior ex-
ternal angle. Or, again, the fracture may involve all three of these
constituent parts of the hip bone by having its situation in the articu-
lar cavitj'^ — the acetabulum by which it joins the femur or thigh bone.

Symptoms. — Some of these fractures are easily recognized, Avhile
others are difficult to identify. The ordinary deformity which char-
acterizes a fracture of the external angle of the ilium, its dropping
and the diminution of that side of the hip in width, unite in indicat-
ing the existence of the condition expressed by the term " hipped."
An incomplete fracture, however, or one that is complete Avithout dis-
placement, or even one with displacement, often demands the closest

342 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

scrutiny for its discovery. The lameness may be well marked, and an
animal may show it but little while walking, though upon being
urged into a trot will manifest it more and more, until presently it
will cease to use the crippled limb altogether, and travel entirely
on three legs. The acute character of the lameness will vary in
degree as the seat of the lesion approximates the acetabulum. In
walking, the motion at the hip is very limited, and the leg is dragged;
while at rest it is relieved from bearing its share in sustaining the
bodj'. An intelligent opinion and correct conclusion will depend
largely upon a knowledge of the history of the case, and while in
some instances that will be but a report of the common etiology of
fractures, such as blows, hurts, and other external violence, the
simple fact of a fall may furnish in a single word a satisfactory
solution of the whole matter.

With the exception of the deformity of the ilium in a fracture of
its external angle, and unless there has been a serious laceration of
tissues and infiltration of blood, or excessive displacement, there are
no very definite external symptoms in a case of a fracture of the hip
bone. There is one, however, which, in a majority of cases, will not
fail — it is crepitation. This evidence is attainable by both external
and internal examination — ^by manipulation of the gluteal surface
and by rectal taxis. Very often a lateral motion, or balancing of the
hinder parts by pressing the body from one side to the other, will be
sufficient to render the crepitation more distinct — a slight sensation of
grating, which may be perceived even through the thick coating of
muscle which covers the bone — and the sensation may not only be felt,
but to the expert may even become audible. This external manifesta-
tion is, however, not always sufficient in itself, and should invariably
be associated with the rectal taxis for corroboration. It is true that
this may fail to add to the evidence of fracture, but till then the
simple testimony afforded by the detection of crepitation from the
surface, though a strong confirmatory point, is scarcely sufficiently
absolute to establish more than a reasonable probability or strong
suspicion in the case.

In addition to the fact that the rectal examination brings the ex-
ploring hand of the surgeon into near proximity to the desired point
of search, and to an accurate knowledge of the situation of parts,
both pro and con as respects his own views, there is another advan-
tage attendant upon it which is well entitled to appreciation. This is
the facility with which he can avail himself of the help of an assist-
ant, who can aid him by manipulating the implicated limb and
placing it in various positions, so far as the patient will permit, while
the surgeon himself is making explorations and studying the effect
from within. By this method he can hardly fail to ascertain the
character of the fracture and the condition of the bony ends. By

lameness: its causes and treatment. 343

the rectal taxis, as if with eyes in the finger ends, he will " see " what
is the extent of the fracture of the ilium or of the neck of that bone ;
to what i)art of the central portion of the bone (the acetabulum) it
reaches; whether this is free from disease or not, and in what loca-
tion on the floor of the pelvis the lesion is situated. By this method
we have frequently been able to detect a fracture at the symphysis,
which, from its history and symptoms and an external examination,
could only have been guessed at. Yet, with all its advantages, the
rectal examination is not always necessary, as, for example, when the
fracture is at the posterior and external angle of the ischium, when
by friction of the bony ends the surgeon may discern the crepitation
without it.

Every variety of complication, including muscular lacerations with
the formation of deep abscesses and injuries to the organs of the
pelvic cavity, the bladder, the rectum, and the uterus, may be associ-
ated with fractures of the hip bone.

Prognosis. — The prognosis of these lesions will necessarily vary
considerably. A fracture of the most superficial part of the bone of
the ilium or of the ischium, especially if there is little displace-
ment, will unite rapidly, leaving a comparatively sound animal often
quite free from subsequent lameness. If there is much displacement,
however, onl}'^ a ligamentous union will take place, with much de-
formity and more or less irregularity in the gait. Other fractures
may be followed by complete disability of the patient, as, for ex-
ample, when the cotyloid cavity is involved, or when the reparatory
process has left bony deposits in the pelvic cavity at the seat of the
union, which may, in the case of the female, interfere with the steps
of parturition, or induce some local paralysis by pressure upon the
nerves which govern the muscles of the hind legs. This is a condi-
tion not infrequently observed when the callus has been formed on
the floor of the pelvis near the obturator foramen, pressing upon the
course or involving the obturator nerve.

Treatment. — In our estimation, the treatment of all fractures
of the hip bone should be of the simplest kind. Rendered compara-
tively immovable by the thickness of the muscles by which the region
is enveloped, one essential indication suggests itself, and that is to
place the animal in a position which, so far as possible, will be fixed
and permament. For the accomplishment of this purpose the best
measure, as we consider it, is to place the horse in a stall of just
sufficient width to admit him, and to apply a set of slings, snugly,
but comfortably. (See Plate XXXI.) This will fulfill the essential
conditions of recovery — rest and immobility. Blistering applica-
tions would be injurious, though the adhesive mixture might prove in
some degree beneficial.

344 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

The minimum period allowable for solid miion in a fractured hip
is, in our judgment, two months, and we have known cases in which
that was too short a time.

As we have said before, there may be cases in which the treatment
for fracture at the floor of the pelvis has been followed by symptoms
of partial paralysis, the animal, when lying down, being unable to
regain his feet, but moving freely when placed in an upright position.
This condition is owing to the interference of the callus with the func-
tions of the obturator nerve, which it presses upon or surrounds. By
my experience in similar cases I feel warranted in cautioning owners
of horses in this condition to exercise due patience, and to avoid a
premature sentence of condemnation against their invalid servants;
they are not all irrecoverably paralj^tic. With alternations of mod-
erate exercise, rest in the slings, and the effect of time while the
natural process of absorption is taking effect upon the callus, with
other elements of change that may be so operating, the horse in due
time mav become able once more to earn his subsistence and serve
his master.

FRACTURE OF THE SCAPULA.

This bone is seldom fractured, its comparative exemption being due
to its free mobilit}^ and the protection it receives from the superim-
posed soft tissues. Only direct and powerful causes are sufficient to
eilect the injury, and when it occurs the large rather than the smaller
animals are the subjects.

Cause. — The causes are hea^'y blows or kicks and violent collisions
with unyielding objects. Those which are occasioned by falls are
generalh^ at the neck of the bone, and of the transverse and commi-
nuted varieties.

Sym.ptoins. — The diagnosis is not always easy. The symptoms are
inability to rest the leg on the ground and to carry weights, and they
are present in various degrees from slight to severe. The leg rests
upon the toe, seems shortened, and locomotion is performed by
jiim])s. Moving the leg while examining it and raising the foot for
inspection seem to produce much pain and cause the animal to rear.
Crepitation is readily felt with the hand upon the shoulder when the
\(?g is moved. If- the fracture occure in the upj^er ])art of the bone,
o\erlapi)ing of the fragments and disi)lacement will be considerable.

The fracture of this bone is usually classed anumg the more serious
accidents, though cases may occur which are followed by recovei-y
Avithout very serious idtimate results, especially when the seat of the
injury is at some of the upper angles of the bone or about the acro-
mion crest. But if the neck and the joint are the parts involved,
complications which are likely to disable the animal for life are
liable to be present.

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 345

Treatment. — If there is no displacement, a simple adhesive dress-
ing to strengthen and immobilize the parts will be sufficient. A coat
of black pitch dissoh-ed with wax and Venice turpentine, and kept
in place over the region with oakum or linen bands, will be all the
treatment required, especially if the animal is kept quiet in the slings.

Displacement can not be remedied, and reduction is next to impos-
sible. Sometimes an iron plate is applied over the parts and retained
by bandages, as in the dressing of Bourgelat (Plate XXX) ; this may
be advantageously replaced by a pad of thick leather. In smaller
animals the parts are retained by figure-8 bandages, embracing both
the normal and the diseased shoulders, crossing each other in the
axilla and covered with a coating of adhesive mixture.

FRACTURES OF THE HUMERUS.

These are more common in small than in large animals, and are
always the result of external traumatism, such as falls, kicks, and
collisions. They are generally very oblique, are often comminuted,
and though more usually involving the shaft of the bone will in
some cases extend to the upper end and into the articular head.

Sympt(yrns. — There is ordinarily considerable displacement in con-
sequence of the overlapping of the broken ends of the bone, and this
of course causes more or less shortening of the limb. There will also
be swelling, with difficulty of locomotion, and crepitation will be
easy of detection. This fracture is always a serious damage to the
patient, leaving him with a permanently shortened limb and an
incurable, lifelong lameness.

Treatment. — If treatment is determined on, it will consist in the
reduction of the fracture by means of extension and counter exten-
sion, to accomplish which the animal must be thrown. If successful
in the reduction, then foUow^s the application and adjustment of the
apparatus of retention, which must be of the most perfect and
efficient kind. Finally, this, how^ever skillfully contrived and care-
fully adapted, will often fail to effect any good purpose whatever

FRACTURES OF THE FOREARM.

A fracture in this region may also involve the radius or the ulna,
the latter being broken at times in its upper portion above the radio-
ulnar arch at the olecranon. If the fracture o(^urs at any part of the
forearm from the radio-ulnar arch down to the knee, it may involve
either the radius alone or the radius and the cubitus, which are there
intimately united.

Cause. — Besides having the same etiology w ith most of the frac-
tures, those of the forearm are, nevertheless, more commonly due to
kicks from other animals, especially when crowded together in large

346 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

numbers in insufficient space. It is a matter of observation that
under these circumstances fractures of the incomplete kind are those
which occur on the inside of the leg, the bone being in that region
almost entirely subcutaneous, while those of the complete class are
either oblique or transverse. The least common are the longitudinal,
in the long axis of the bone.

Symptoms. — This variety of fracture is easily recognized by the
appearance of the leg and the different changes it undergoes. There
is inability to use the limb; impossibility of locomotion; mobility
below the injury; the ready detection of crepitation — in a word, the
assemblage of all the signs and symptoms which have been already
considered as associated with the history of broken bones.

The fracture of the ulna alone, principally above the radio-ulnar
arch, may be ascertained by the aggravated lameness, the excessive
soreness on pressure, and perhaps a certain increase of motion, with
a very slight crepitation if tested in the usual way. Displacement
is not likely to take place except when it is well up toward the ole-
cranon or its tuberosity, the upper segment of the bone being in that
case likely to be drawn upward. For a simple fracture of this region
there is a fair chance of recovery, but in a case of the compound
and comminuted class there is less ground for a favorable prognosis,
especially if the elbow joint has suffered injury. A fracture of the
ulna alone is not of serious im2:)ortance, except when the same con-
ditions prevail. A fracture of the olecranon is less amenable to
treatment, and promises little better than a ligamentous union.

Treatment. — Considering all the various conditions involving the
nature and extent of these lesions, the position and direction of the
bones of the forearm are such as to render the chances for recovery
from fracture as among the best. The reduction, by extension and
counterextension ; the maintenance of the coaptation of the segments ;
the adaptation of the dressing by splints, oakum, and agglutinative
mixtures; in fact, all the details of treatment may be here fulfilled
with a degree of facility and precision not attamable in any other part
of the organism. An important, if not an essential, point, however,
must be emphasized in regard to the splints. Whether they are of
metal, wood, or other material, they should reach from the elbow joint
to the ground, and should be placed on the posterior face and on both
sides of the leg. This is then to be so confined in a properly con-
structed box as to preclude all possibility of motion, while yet it must
sustain a certain portion of the weight of the body. The iron splint
(represented in Plate XXX) recommended by Bourgelat is designed
for fractures of the forearm, of the knee, and of the cannon bone, and
will prove to be an appliance of great value. For small animals the
preference is for an external covering of gutta-percha, embracing the
entire leg. A sheet of this substance of suitable thiclniess, according

lameness: its causes and treatment. 347

to the size of the animal, softened in lukewarm water, is, when sutti-
ciently pliable, molded on the outside of the leg, and when suddenly-
hardened b}'^ the application of cold w^ater forms a complete casing
sufficiently rigid to resist all motion. Patients treated in this manner
have been able to use the limb freely, without pain, immediately after
the application of the dressing. The removal of the splint is easily
effected by cutting it away, either wholly or in sections, after soften-
ing it by immersing the leg in a warm bath.

FRACTURE OF THE KNEE.

This accident, happily, is of rare occurrence, but when it takes
place is of a severe character, and alw^ays accompanied with syno-
vitis, with disease of the joint.

Caiijse. — It may be caused by falling upon a hard surface, and is
usually compound and comminuted. Healing seldom occurs, and
when it does there is usually a stiffness of the joint from arthritis.

SyTTiptoms. — As a result of this fracture there is inability to bear
weight on the foot. The leg is flexed as in complete radial paralysis,
or fracture of the ulna. There is abnormal mobility of the bones of
the knee, but crepitation is usually absent.

Prognosis. — Healing is hard to effect, as one part of the knee is
drawn upward by the two flexor muscles which separate it from the
lower part. The callus which forms is largely fibrous, and if the
animal is put to work too quickly this callus is liable to rupture. In
favorable cases healing takes place in two or three months. Many
horses during the treatment develop founder, with consequent drop
sole in the sound leg, as a result of pressure due to continuous
standing.

Treatment. — Place the animal in the slings, bring the pieces of
bone together if possible, and try to keep them in place by a tight
plaster-of-Paris dressing about the leg, extending down to the fet-
lock. Place the animal in a roomy box stall well provided with
bedding so that he can lie down, to prevent founder.

FRACTURE OF THE FEMUR.

The protection which this bone receives from the large mass of
muscles in which it is enveloped does not suffice to invest it with
immunity in regard to fractures.

Cause. — It contributes its share to the list of accidents of this
description, sometimes in consequence of external violence and some-
times as the result of muscular contraction ; sometimes its takes place
at the upper extremity of the bone; sometimes at the lower; some-
times at the head, when the condyles become implicated; but it is
principally found in the body or diaphysis. The fracture may be

348 DISEASES OF TBE HORSE.

ol anj' of the ordinary forms, simple or compound, complete or
incomplete, transverse or oblique, etc. A case of the comminuted
A'ariety is recorded in Avhich 85 fragments of bone were counted
and removed.

The thickness of the muscular covering sometimes render's the
diagnosis difficult by interfering with the manipulation, but the crepi-
tation test is readily available, even when the swelling is consider-
able, and which is liable to be the case as the result of the inter-
stitial hemorrhage Avhich naturally follows the laceration of the blood
A'essels of the region involved.

Symptoms. — If the fracture is at the neck of the bone the muscles
of that region (the gluteal) are firmly contracted, and the leg seems
to be shortened in conse(iuence. Locomotion is impossible. There
is intense pain and violent sweating at first. Crepitation may in
some cases be discerned by rectal examination, with one hand rest-
ing over the coxo- femoral (hip) articulation. Fractures of the tuber-
osities of the upper end of the bone, the great trochanter, may be
identified by the deformity, the swelling, the impossibility of rotation,
and the dragging of the leg in walking. Fracture of the body is
always accompanied with displacement, and as a consequence a short-
ening of the leg, which is carried forward. The lameness is exces-
sive, the foot being moved, both when raising it from the ground
and when setting it down, very timidly and cautiously. The ma-
nipulations for the discovery of crepitation alwaj^s cause much pain.
Lesions of the lower end of the bone are more difficult to diagnosti-
cate with certainty, though the manifestation of pain while making
heavj^ pressure upon the condyles will be so marked that only crepi-
tation will be needed to turn a suspicion into a certainty.

TreatTnent. — The question as to treatment in fractures of this
description resolves itself into the query whether any treatment can
be suggested that will avail anything practically as a curative meas-
ure; whether, upon the hypothesis of reduction as an accomplished
fact, any permanent or efficient device as a means of retention is
within the scope of human ingenuit^^ If the reduction were success-
fully performed, Avould it be possible to keep the parts in place by
any knoAvn means at our disposal? At the best the most favorable
result that could be anticipated would be a reunion of the fragments
with a considerable shortening of the bone and a helpless, limping,
crippled animal to remind us that for human achievement there is
a "thus far and no farther."

In small animals, such as dogs and cats, however, attempts at
treatment are justifiable, and we are convinced that in many cases
of difficulty in the application of splints and bandages a patient
may be placed in a condition of undisturbed (juiet and left to the
processes of nature for "treatment"' as safely and with as good an

LAMENESS : ITS CAUSES AND TBEATMENT. 349

assurance of a favoiable result as if lie had been subjected to the
most heroic secundum artem doctoring known to science. As a
case in point, mention may be made of the case of a pregnant bitch
vdiich suffered a fracture of the upper end of the femur by being
run over by a light wagon. Her " treatment " consisted in being
tied up in a large box and let alone. In due time she was delivered
of a family of puppies, and in three Aveeks she was running in the
streets, limping very slightly, and nothing the worse for her
accident.

FKACTURE OF THE PATELLA.

This, fortunately, is a rare accident, and can result only fiom
direct violence, as a kick or other blow. The lameness which follows
it is accompanied wdth enormous tumefaction of the joint, pnin,
inabiilty to bear weight upon the foot, and finally disease of the
articulation. Crepitation is absent, because the hip muscles draw
a^va}" the upper part of the bone. The prognosis is unavoidably
adverse, destruction being the only termination of this incurable
and very painful injury. Most of the reported cases of cures are
based upon a wrong diagnosis.

FRACTURES OF THE TIBIA.

Of all fractures these are probably more frequently encountered
than any others among the class of accidents we are considering. As
wath injuries of the forearm of a like character, they may be com-
plete or incomplete; the former when the bone is broken in the
middle or at the extremities, and transverse, oblique, or longitudinal.
The incomplete kind are more common in this bone than in any
other.

Symptoms. — Complete fractures are easy to recognize, either with
or without displacement. The animal is very lame, and the leg is
either dragged or held clear from the ground by flexion at the stifle,
while the lov.er part hangs down. Carrying weight or moving back-
ward is impossible. There is excessive mobilitj^ below the fracture,
and well-marked crepitation. If there is much displacement, as
in an oblique fracture, there will be considerable shortening of
the leg.

While incomi)lete fractures can not be recognized in the tibia
with any greater degree of certaint^^ than in any other bone, there are
some facts associated with them by which a diagnosis may be justi-
fied. The hypothetical history of a case may serve as an illustration :

An animal has received an injur}^ by a blow or a kick on the inside
of the bone, perhaps vvithout shoAving any mark. Becoming very
lame immediately afterwards, he is allowed a few days' rest. If
taken out again, he seems to have recoA ered his soundness, but within

350 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

a day or two he betrays a little soreness, and this increasing he be-
comes ver}'^ lame again, to be fiirloughed once more, with the result
of a temporary improvement, and again a return to labor and again
a relapse of the lameness; and this alternation seems to be the rule.
The leg being now carefully examined, a local periostitis is readily
discovered at the point of the injury, the part being warm, swollen,
and painful. What further proof is necessary"? Is it not evident
that a fracture has occurred, first superficial — a mere split in the
bony structure, which, fortunately, has been discovered before some
extra exertion or a casual misstep had developed it into one of the
complete kind, i^ossibly with complications? What other inference
can such a series of symptoms thus repeated establish ?

The prognosis of fracture of the tibia, as a rule, must be unfavor-
able.

Treatment. — The difficulty of obtaining a union without shorten-
ing, and consequently without lameness, is proof of the futility of
ordinary attempts at treatment, but though this may be true in
respect to fractures of the complete kind, it is not necessarily so with
the incomplete variety, and with this class the simple treatment of
the slings is all that is necessary to obtain consolidation. A few
weeks of this confinement will be sufficient.

With dogs and other small animals there are cases which may be
successfully treated. If the necessary dressings can be successfully
applied and retained, a cure will follow.

FRACTURES OF THE HOCK.

Injuries of the astragahis which had a fatal termination have been
recorded. Fractures of the os calcis have also been observed, but
never with a favorable prognosis, and attempts to induce recovery,
as might have been expected, have proved futile.

FRACTURES OF THE CANNON BONES.

Whether these occur in the fore or hind legs, they appear either in
the body or near their extremities. If in the body as a rule the
three metacarpal or metatarsal l)ones are affected, and the fracture
is generall}'^ transverse and oblique. On account of the absence of
soft tissue and tightness of the skin, the broken bones pierce the skin
and render the fracture a complicated one. The diagnosis is- easy
when all the bones are completely broken, but the incomplete fracture
can be only suspected.

Symptoms. — There is no displacement, but excessive mobility, crep-
itation, inability to sustain weight, and the leg is kept off the ground
by the fiexion of the upper joint.

lameness: its causes and treatment. 351

No region of the body affords better facilities for the application of
treatment, and the prognosis on this account is usually favorable.
We recall a case, however, which proved fatal, though under excep-
tional circumstances. The patient was a valuable stallion of highly
nervous organization, with a compound fracture of one of the cannon
bones, and his unconquerable resistance to treatment, excited by the
intense pain of the wound, precluded all chance of recovery, and
ultimately caused his death.

TreaPment. — The general form of treatment for these lesions will
not differ from that which has been already indicated for other frac-
tures. Reduction, sometimes necessitating the casting of the patient ;
coaptation, comparatively^ easy by reason of the subcutaneous situa-
tion of the bone; retention, by means of splints and bandages —
applied on both sides of the region, and reaching to the ground as
in fractures of the forearm — these are always indicated. We have
obtained excellent results by the use of a mold of thick gutta-percha,
composed of two sections and made to surround the entire lower part
of the leg as in an inflexible case.

FRACTURE OF THE FIRST PHALANX.

The hind extremity is more liable than the fore to this injury. It
is usually the result of a violent effort, or of a sudden misstep or
twisting of the leg, and may be transverse, or, as has usually been the
case in our experience, longitudinal, extending from the upper artic-
ular surface down to the center of the bone, and generally oblique
and often comminuted. The symptoms are the swelling and tender-
ness of the region, possibly crepitation ; a certain abnormal mobility ;
an excessive degree of lameness, and in some instances a dropping
back of the fetlock, with perhaps a straightened or upright condi-
tion of the pastern.

The difficulty of reduction and coaptation in this accident, and the
probability of bony deposits, as of ringbones, resulting in lameness,
are circumstances which tend to discourage a favorable prognosis.

The treatment is that which has been recommended for all frac-
tures, so far as it can be applied. The iron splint which has been
mentioned gives excellent results in many instances, but if the frac-
ture is incomplete and without displacement, a form of treatment less
energetic and severe should be attempted. One case is within our
knowledge in which the owner lost his horse by his refusal to subject
the animal to treatment, the post-mortem revealing only a simple
fracture with very slight displacement.

FRACTURES OF THE SECOND PHALANX (CORONET).

Though these are generally of the comminuted kind, there are
often conditions associated with them which justify the surgeon in

352 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

attempting their treatment. Though crepitation is not always etcsy
to detect, the excessive himeness, the soreness on pressure, the ina-
bility to carry weight, the difficulty experienced in raising the foot,
all these suggest, as the solution of the question of diagnosis, the
fracture of the coronet, with the accompanying realization of the
fact that there is yet, by reason of the situation of the member, im-
mobilized as it is by its structure and its surroundings, room left
for a not unfavorable prognosis. Only a slight manipulation will be
needed in the treatment of this lesion. To render the immobility
of the region more fixed, to support the bones in their position by
bandaging, and to establish forced immobility of the entire body
with the slings is usually all that is required. Eingbone, being a
common sequela of the reparative process, must receive due atten-
tion subsequently. One of the severest complications liable to be
encountered is an immobile joint (anchylosis). Neurectomy of the
median nerve may relieve lameness after a fracture of the pha-
langes.

FRACTURES OF THE THIRD PHALANX (OS PEDIS).

These lesions may result from a penetrating street nail, or follow
plantar or median neurectomy. In the latter instance it is caused by
the animal setting the foot down carelessly and too violently, and
partly due to degeneration of bone tissue which follows nerving.

Though these fractures are not of very rare occurrence, their recog-
nition is not easy, and there is more of speculation than of certainty
pertaining to their diagnosis. The animal is very lame and spares
the injured foot as much as possible, sometimes resting it upon the
toe alone and sometimes holding it from the ground. The foot is
very tender, and the exploring pinchers of the examining surgeon
cause much pain. During the first 24 hours there is no increased
pulsation in the digital and plantar arteries, but on the second day
it is apparent.

There is nothing to encourage a favorable prognosis, and a not
unusual termination is an anchylosis with either the navicular bone
or the coronet.

No method of treatment needs to be suggested here, the hoof per-
forming the office of retention unaided. Local treatment by baths
and fomentations will do the rest. It may be months before there is
any mitigation of the lameness.

An ultimate recovery depends to a great extent iipon wliether the
other foot can support the weight during the healing process without
causing a drop sole in the sup])orting foot.

FRACTURE OF THE SESAMOID BONES.

This lesion has been ccmsidered by veterinarians, erroneously, we
think, as one of rare occurrence. We believe it to be more frequent

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 353

than has been siipjoosed. ^lany observations and careful dissections
have convinced us that fractures of these little bones have been often
mistaken for specific lesions of the numerous ligaments that are
implanted upon their superior and inferior parts, and which have
be€n described as a " giving way " or '' breaking down " of these
ligaments. In. my post-mortem examinations I have always noted
the fact that when the attachments of the ligaments were torn from
their bony connections minute fragments of bony structure were also
separated, though we have failed to detect any diseased process of
the fibrous tissue composing the ligamentous substance.

CoAise. — From whatever cause this lesion mav arise, it can hardly
be considered as of a traumatic natu.re, no external violence having
any apparent agency in producing it. and it is our belief that it is
due to a peculiar degeneration or softening of the bones themselves, a
theory which acquires plausibility from the consideration of the
spongy consistency of the sesamoids. The disease is a peculiar one,
and the suddenness with wdiich different feet are successively at-
tacked, at short intervals and without any obviou.s cause, seems to
prove the existence of some latent, morbid cause wdiich has been unsus-
pectedly incubating. It is not peculiar to any particular class of
horses, nor to any special season of the year, having fallen under our
observation in each of the four seasons.

Symptoms. — The general fact is reported in the history of most
cases that it makes its appearance without premonition in animals
Avhich, after enjoying a considerable period of rest, are first exer-
cised or put to work, though in point of fact it may manifest itself
Avhile the horse is still idle in his stable. A hypothetical case, in
illustration, will explain our theory: An animal which has been at
rest in his stable is taken out to work, and it will be presently noticed
that there is something unusual in his movement. His gait is
changed, and he travels Avith short, mincing steps, without any of
his accustomed ease and freedom. This may continue until his return
to the stable, and then, after being placed in his stall, he will be
noticed shifting his weight from side to side and from one leg to
another, continuing the movement until rupture of the bony structure
takes place. But it may happen that the lameness in one or more of
the extremities, anterior or posterior, suddenly increases, and it
becomes evident that the rupture has taken place in consequence of
a misstep or a stumble while the horse is at work. Then, upon com-
ing to a standstill, he Avill be found with one or more of- his toes
turned up; he is unable to place the affected foot flat on the gi'ound.
The fetlock has dropped and the leg rests upon tliis part, the skin of
which may have remained intact or may have been more or less exten-
sively lacerated. It seldom happens that more than one toe at a
54763°— 23 23

354 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

time will turn up, yet still the lesion in one will be followed by its
occurrence in another. Commonl}'^ two feet, either the anterior or
posterior, are affected, and we recall one case in which the two fore
and one of the hind legs were included at the same time. The acci-
dent, however, is quite as liable to happen while the horse is at rest
in his stall, and he may be found in the morning standing on his
fetlocks. One of the earliest of the cases occurring in my own expe-
rience had been under care for several weeks for suspected disease
of the fetlocks, the nature of which had not been made out, when,
apparently improved by the treatment which he had undergone, the
patient was taken out of the stable to be walked a short distance into
the country, but had little more than started when he was called to
a halt by the fracture of the sesamoids of both fore legs.

While there are no positive premonitory symptoms of these frac-
tures known, we believe that there are signs and symptoms which
come but little short of being so, and the appearance of which will
always justify a strong suspicion of the truth of the case. These
have been indicated when referring to the soreness in standing, the
short, mincing gait, and the tenderness betrayed when pressure is
made over the sesamoids on the sides of the fetlock, with others less
tangible and definable.

Progno»ls. — These injuries can never be accounted less than seri-
ous, and in our judgment will never be other than fatal. If our
theory of their pathology is the correct one, and the cause of the
lesions is truly the softening of the sesamoidal bonv structure and
independent of any changes in the ligamentous fibers, the possibility
of a solid osseous union can hardly be considered admissible.

Treatment. — In respect to the treatment to be recommended and
instituted it can be employed only with any rational hope of benefit
during the incubation, and with the anticipatory purpose of preven-
tion. It must be suggested by a suspicion of the verities of the case,
and applied before any rupture has taken place. To prevent this
and to antagonize the causes which might precipitate the final catas-
trophe— ^the ele^'ation of the toes — resort must be had to the slings
and to the application of firm bandages or splints, perhaps of plaster
of Paris, with a high shoe, as about the only indications which
science and nature are able to offer. When the fracture is an
occurred event, and the toes, one or more, are turned up, any further
resort to treatment will be futile.

DISEASES OF JOINTS.

Three classes of injury will be considered under this head. These
are, affections of the synovial sacs, those of the joint structures, or of
the bones and their articular surfaces, and those fonns of solution of
continuit\^ known as dislocations or luxations.

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TKEATMENT. 355

DISEASES OF THE SYNOVIAL SACS.

Two forms of affection here present themselves, one being the
result of an abnormal secretion which induces a dropsical condition
of the sac without any acute, inflammatory action, while the other is
characterized b}^ excessive inflammatory symptoms, with their modi-
fications, constituting synovitis.

SYNOVIAL DROPSIES.

We liave already considered in a general way the presence of these
peculiar oil bags in the joints, and in some regions of the legs where
the passage of the tendons takes place, and have noticed the sim-
ilarity of structure and function of both the articular and the
tendinous bursse, as well as the etiology of their injuries and their
pathological history, and we will now treat of the affections of both.

WINDGALLS.

This name is given to the dilated bursse found at the posterior
part of the fetlock joint. They have their origin in a dropsical
condition of the bursas of the joint itself, also of the tendon which
slides behind it, and are therefore further known by the designations
of articular and tendinous windgalls, or puffs. (See also p. 401.)

Thej^ appear in the form of soft and somewhat symmetrical
tumors, of varying dimensions, and generally well defined in their
circumference. They are more or less tense, according to the quan-
tity of secretion they contain, apparently becoming softer as the foot
is raised and the fetlock flexed. Usually they are painless and only
cause lameness under certain conditions, as when they begin to de-
velop themselves under the stimulus of inflammatory action, or when
large enough to interfere with the functions of the tendons, or again
when they have undergone certain pathological changes, such as
calcification, which is among their tendencies.

Cause. — Windgalls may be attributed to external causes, such as
severe labor or strains resulting from heavy pulling, fast driving, or
jumping, or they may be among the sequelae of internal disorders,
such as strangles or the resultants of a pleuritic or pneumonic attack.

Unnecessary anxiety is sometimes experienced respecting these
growths, with much questioning touching the expediency of their
removal, all of which might be spared, for, wiiile they constitute a
blemish, their unsightliness will not hinder the usefulness of the
animal, and in any case they rarely fail to show themselves easily
amenable to treatment.

Treatment. — When in their acute stage, and when the dropsical
condition is not excessive, the inflammation may be checked during
the dav bv continuous, cold-water irris^ation bv means of a hose or

356 DISEASES OP THE HOKSE.

soaking tub and at night by applying a moderately tight-roller band-
age. Later absorption may be promoted by a Priessnitz bandage,^
pressure by roller bandages, sweating, the use of liniments, or if nec-
essary by a sharp blister of biniodid of mercury. This treatmejit
should subdue the inflammation, abate the soreness, absorb the excess
of secretion, strengthen the walls of the sac, and finally cause the
windgalls to disappear, provided the animal is not too quickly re-
turned to labor and exposed to the same factors that occasioned them
at first.

If the inflammation has become chronic, however, and the enlarge-
ment has been of considerable duration, the negative course will be
the wiser one. If any benefit i-esults from treatment it will be of
only a transient kind, the dilatation returning when the patient is
again subjected to labor, and it will be a fortunate circumstance if
inflammation has not supervened.

Notwithstanding the generally benignant nature of the swelling
there are exceptional cases, usually w^hen it is probably undergoing
certain pathological changes, which may result in lameness and dis-
able the animal, in which case surgical treatment will be indicated,
especially if reiDeated blisters have failed to improve the symptoms.
Line firing is then a preeminent suggestion, and man}^ a useful life
has received a new lease as the result of this operation timely per-
formed. Another method of filing, which consists in emptying the
sac by means of punctures through and through, made with a red-hot
needle or wire, and the subsequent injection of certain irritating and
alterative compounds into the cavity, designed to effect its closure
by exciting adhesive inflammation, such as tincture of iodin, may be
commended. But they are all too active and energetic in their effects
and retjuire too much special attention and intelligent management to
be trusted to an}^ hands other than those of an expert veterinarian.

BLOOD SPAVIN, BOG SPAVIN, AND THOROUGHPIN.

The blood spavin is situated in front and to the inside of the hock
and is merely a varicose or dilated condition of the saphena vein. It
occurs directly over the point where the bog spavin is found, and has
thus been frequently confused Avith the latter.

The complicated arrangement of the hock joint, and the powerful
tendons which pass on the posterior part, are lubricated with the
product of secretion from one tendinous synovial and several articu-
lar synovial sacs. A large articular sac contributes to the lubrica-

^This bandnso consists of a cloth dronchod in warm water or a drif^pinir bandaso laid
around the diseased part, then covered by s("veral layers ol" woolen blanket or cloth, which
is in turn covered by parchment paper, rubber cloth, or other impervious material. Heat,
moisture, and pressure are obtained by such a bandage if water is poured upon it several
times daily.

lameness: its causes and teeatment. 357

tion of the shank bone (the tibia) and one of the bones of the hock
(the astragalus). The tendinous sac lies back of the articulation
itself and extends upward and downward in the groove of that joiut
through which the flexor tendons slide. The dilatation of this articu-
lar synovial sac is what is denominated bog spavin, the term
thoroughpin being applied to the dilatation of the tendinous capsule.

The bog spavin is a round, smooth, well-defined, fluctuating tumor
situated in front and a little inward of the hock. On pressure it
disappears at this point to reappear on the outside and just behind
the hock. If pressed to the front from the outside it wnll then appear
on the inside of the hock. On its outer surface it presents a vein
Avhich is quite prominent, running from below upward, and it is to
the preternatural dilatation of this blood vessel that the term blood
spavin is applied.

The thoroughpin is found at the back and on the top of the hock
in that part known as the " hollows," immediately behind the shank
bone. It is round and smooth, but not so regidarly formed as the
bog spavin, and is most apparent when viewed from behind. The
SAvelling is usually on both sides and a little in front of the so-called
hamstring, but mav be more noticeable on the inside or on the
outside.

In their general characteristics bog spavins and thoroughpins are
similar to windgalls. and one description of the origin, symptoms,
pathological changes, and treatment will serve for all equally, except
that it is possible for a bog spavin to cause lameness, and thus to
involve a verdict of unsoundness in the patient, a circumstance which
will, of course, justify its classification by itself as a severer form of
a single type of disease.

We have already referred to the subject of treatment and the
means employed — rest, of course — with liniments, blisters, etc., and
what we esteem as the most active and beneficial of any, early, deep,
and well-performed cauterization. There are, besides, commenda-
tory reports of a form of treatment by the application of pressure
pads and peculiar bandages upon the hocks, and it is asserted that
the removal of the tumors has been effected by their use. Our
experience with this apparatus, however, has not been accompanied
with such favorable results as Avould justify our indorsement of
the flattering representations which have sometimes appeared in its
behalf.

OPEN JOINTS, BROKEN KNEES, SYNOVITIS, AND ARTHRITIS.

The close relationship which exists among these several affections,
their apparently possible connection as successive developments of a
similar, if not an essentially identical, origin, together with the
advantage gained by avoiding f^equent repetitions in the details

358 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

of symptoms, treatment, etc., are oui- reasons for treating under
a single iiead the ailments we have grouped together in the present
section.

Cause. — The great, comprehensive, common cause of, sometimes
permanent, sometimes only transient, disaoility of the horse is exter-
nal traumatism.

Blows, bruises, hurts hy nearly every known form of violence,
falls, kicks, lacerations, punctures — we may add compulsory speed
in racing and cruel overloading of draft animals — cover the entire
ground of causation of the diseases and injuries of the joints now
receiving our consideration.

In one case, a working horse making a misstep stumbles, and fall-
ing on his knees receives a hurt, variously severe, from a mere abra-
sion of the skin to a laceration, a division of the tegument, a slough,
mortification, and the escape of the synovial fluid, with or without
exposure of the bones and their articular cartilages.

In another case, an animal, from one cause or another, perhaps an
impatient temper, has formed the habit of striking or pawing his
manger with his fore feet until inflammation of the knee joint is
induced, first as a little swelling, diffused, painless; then as a perios-
titis of the bones of the knee; later as bony deposits, then lameness,
and finally the implication of the joint, with all the various sequelae
of chronic inflammation of the knee joint.

In another case, a horse has received a blow with a fork from a
careless hostler on or near a joint, or has been kicked by a stable
companion, with the result of a punctured wound, at first mild-
looking, painless, apparently without inflammation, and not yet caus-
ing lameness, but which, in a f bav hours, or it may be only after a few
days, becomes excessively painful, grows worse, the entire joint swells,
presently discharges, and at last a case of suppurative synovitis is
presented, with perhaps disease of the joint proper, and arthritis as
a climax. The symptoms of articular injuries vary not only in the
degrees of the hurt but in the nature of the lesion.

Or the condition of broken knees, resulting as we have said, may
have for its starting point a mere abrasion of the skin — a scratch,
apparentl3^ which disappears without a scar. The injury may, how-
ever, have been more severe, the blow heavier, the fall aggravated
by occurring upon an irregular surface, or sharp or rough object,
with tearing or cutting of the skin, and this laceration may remain.
A more serious case than the first is now brought to our notice.

Another time, immediately following the accident, or possibly as
a sequel of the traumatism, the tendinous sacs may be opened, with
the escape of the synovia, or, worse, the tendons which pass in front
of the knee are torn, the inflammaticm spreads, the joint and leg
are swollen, the animal is becoming \erv lame; svnoAitis has set in.

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 359

With this the danger becomes very great, for soon suppuration will be
established, then the external coat of the articulation proper becomes
ulcerated, if it is not already in that state, and we find ourselves in
the presence of an open joint with suppurative synovitis — that is, with
the worst among the conditions of diseased processes, because of the
liability of the suppuration to become infiltrated into every part of the
joint, macerating the ligaments and irritating the cartilages, soon to
be succeeded by their ulceration, with the destruction of the articular
surface — or the lesion of ulcerative arthritis, one of the gravest among
all the disorders known to the animal economy.

Ulcerative arthritis and suppurative synovitis may be developed
othenvise than in connection with open joints; the simplest and ap-
parently most harmless punctures may prove to be sufficient cause.
For example, a horse may be kicked, perhaps, on the inside of the
hock : there is a mark and a few drops of blood to indicate the spot ;
he is put to work apparently free from pain or lameness and per-
forms his task with his usual ease and facility. On the following
morning, however, the hock is found to be a little swollen and there
is some stiifness. A little later on he betrays a degree of uneasiness in
the leg, and shrinks from resting his weight upon it, moving it up
and down for relief. The swelling has increased and is increasing;
the pain is severe; and finally, at the spot where the kick inpinged,
there is an oozing of an oily liquid mixed with whitish drops of sup-
puration. The mischief is done; a simple, harmless, punctured
wound has expanded into a case of ulcerative arthritis and suppura-
tive synovitis.

Prognosis. — From ever so brief and succinct description of this
traumatism of the articulations, the serious and important character
of these lesions, irrespective of which particular joint is affected,
will be readily understood. Yet there will be modifications in the
prognosis in different cases, in accordance with the peculiarities of
structure in the joint specially involved, as, for example, it is ob-
vious that a better result may be expected from treatment when but
a single joint, with only its plain articular surfaces, is the place of
injury, than in one which is composed of several bones, united in a
complex formation, as in the knee or hock. As severe a lesion as
suppurative synovitis always is, and as frequently fatal as it proves
to be, still cases arise in which, the inflammation assuming a modified
character and at length subsiding, the lesion terminates favorably
and leaves the animal with a comparatively sound and useful joint.
There are cases, however, which terminate in no more favorable a
result than the union of the bones and occlusion of the joint, to form
an anchylosis, which is scarcely a condition to justify a high degree
of satisfaction, as it insures a permanent lameness with very little
capacity for usefulness.

360 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Appreciating now the dangers associated with all wounds of articu-
lations, however simple and apparently slight, and how serious and
troublesome are the complications which are liable to arise during
their progress and treatment, we are prepared to understand and
realize the necessity and the value of early and prompt attention
upon their discovery and diagnosis.

Treatment. — For simple bruises, like those which appear in the
form of broken knees or of carpitis, simple remedies, such as warm
fomentations or cold-water applications and compresses of astringent
mixtures, suggest themselves at once. Injuries of a more complicated
character, as lacerations of the skin or tearing of soft structures, will
also be benefited by simple dressings with antiseptic mixtures, as
those of the carbolic-acid order. The escape of synovia should sug-
gest the prompt use of collodion dressings to check the flow and pre-
vent the further escape of the fluid. But if the discharge is abundant
and heavily suppurative, little can be done more than to put in prac-
tice the "expectant" method with warm fomentations, repeatedly
applied, and soothing, mucilaginous poultices. Improvement, if any
is possible, will be but slow to manifest itself. The most difficult of
all things to do, in view of varying intei-ests and opinions — that is,
in a practical sense — is to abstain from " doing " entirely, and yet in
the cases we are considering we are firmly convinced that noninter-
ference is the best and wisest policy.

In cases which are carried to a successful result the discharge will
diminish by degrees, the extreme pain will gi-adually subside, the
convalescent will begin timidly to rest his foot upon the ground, and
presentl}'^ to bear weight upon it, and perhaps, after a long and t^di-
our process of recuperation, he may be returned to his former and
normal condition of usefulness. ^Vhen the discharge has wholly
ceased and the wounds are entirely healed, a blister covering the
whole of the joint for the purpose of stimulating the absoi-ption of
the exudation will be of great service. If, on the contrai-y, there is
no amelioration of symptoms and the progress of the disease resists
every attempt to check it; if the discharge continues to flow not only
without abatement but in an increased volume, and not alone by a
single opening l)ut by a number of fistulous tracts which have succes-
sively formed; if it seems evident that this drainage is rapidly and
painfully sa]:)ping the suffering animaFs vitality, and a deficient vh
vitoi fails to cooperate with the means of cure — all rational hope of
recovery may be finally abandoned. Any further Avaiting for chances,
or time lost in experimenting, will be mere cruelty and there need
be no hesitation concerning the next step. The poor beast is under
sentence of death, and every consideration of interest and of human-
ity demands an anticipation of nature's evident intent in the quick
and easy execution of the sentence.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of tfie Horse.

PLAXK XXX.

] lii'dff /hi- difloialion of the olbow appLied. to the hfn-sr.
In The irimr hiace seen alone 2, Brxuue foT cUsLoration
of fctZock 2a., Ttve same bi-ace applted ixj the horse.

\ 3a

3 Brace /«/■ sprairied or distncotcd shouldjer.
3a-,Th: same brarc n.ppliCfl to the shoulder.

Hrimfs.cU'l iillii'l'rui h .uul Tous-^iiiui

DISLOCATION OF SHOUL,DEB AND E"LBOW
Bourgelat's apparatus

■^^^^^^^K^^^^^^

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

PLATE XXXI.

ym^-

ll;<i ri( .v,d4'l .iiicr It rv iwlci :>

THE SLING IT<r USE

^am^s^^miFs^'^aai^

lameness: its causes and tkeatment. 361

One'of the essentials of treatment, and probably an indispensable
condition when recovery is in any wise attainable, is the suspension
of the patient in slings. He should be continued in them so long as
he can be made to submit quietly to their restraint.

DISLOCATIONS.

Dislocations and luxations are interchangeable terms, meaning the
separation and displacement of the articulating surfaces of the bones
entering into the formation of a joint. This injury is rarely en-
countered in our large animals on account of the combination of
strength and solidity in the formation of their joints. It is met with
but seldom in cattle and less so in horses, wiiile dogs and smaller
animals are more often the sufferers.

Cause. — The accident of a lu.xation is less often encountered in the
animal races than in man. This is not because the former are less
subject to occasional violence involving powerful muscular contrac-
tions, or are less often exposed to casualties similar to those which
result in luxations in the hnman skeleton, but because it requires the
cooperation of conditions — anatomical, physiological, and perhaps
mechanical — present in the human race and lacking in the others,
which, however, can not in every case be clearly defined. Perhaps
the greater i*elative length of the bony levers in the human forma-
tion may constitute a cause of the difference.

Among the predisposing causes in animals may be enumerated
caries of articular surfaces, articular abscesses, excessive dropsical
conditions, degenerative softening of the ligaments, and any exces-
sive laxity of the soft structures.

Symptoms and diagnosis, — Three signs of dislocation must usually
be taken into consideration. They are: (1) An alteration in the
shape of the joint and in tlie normal relationship of the articulating
surfaces; (2) an alteration in the length of the limb, either shorten-
ing or lengthening; (3) an alteration in the movableness of the joint,
usually an unnatural immobility. Only the first, however, can be
relied npon as essential. Luxations are not always complete: they
may be partial; that is, the articulating surfaces may be displaced
but not separated. In such cases several symptoms may not be
present. And not only may the third sign be absent, but the mobility
of the first be greatly increased when the character of the injury has
been such as to produce extensive lacerations of the articular
ligaments.

In addition to the above signs, a luxation is usually characterized
by pain, swelling, hemorrhage beneath the skin from damaged or
ruptured blood vessels, and even paralysis, when important nerves
are pressed on by the displaced bones.

362 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

Sometimes a bone is fractured in the immediate vicinity of a joint.
The knowledge of this fact requires us to be able to diagnose between
a dislocation and such a fracture. In this we generally have three
points to assist us: (1) The immobility of a dislocated joint as
against the apparently remarkable freedom of movement in frac-
ture; (2) in a dislocation there is no true crepitus — that peculiar
grating sensation heard as well as felt on rubbing together the rough
ends of fractured bones; however, it must be remembered that in a
dislocation two or three days old the inflammatory changes around
the joint ma,y give rise to a crackling sensation similar to that in
fracture; (3) as a rule, in luxations, if the ligamentous and muscular
tissues about the joint are not badly torn, the displacement, when re-
duced, does not recur.

Prognosis. — The prognosis of a luxation is comparatively less seri-
ous than that of a fracture, though at time the indications of treat-
ment may prove to be so difficult to apply that complications of a
very severe character may arise.

Treatment. — The treatment of luxations must, of course, be similar
to that of fractures. Reduction, naturally, will be the first indica-
tion in both cases, and the retention of the replaced parts must fol-
low. The reduction involves the same steps of extension and counter
extension, performed in the same manner, with the patient subdued
by anesthetics.

The difference between the reduction of a dislocation and that of a
fracture consists in the fact that in the former the object is simply to
restore the bones to their true, normal position, with each articular
surface in exact contact with its companion surface, the apparatus
necessar}!^ afterwards to keep them in situ being similar to that which
is employed in fracture cases, and which will usualh^ require to be
retained for a period of from 40 to 50 days, if not longer, before
the ruptured retaining ligaments are sufficiently firm to be trusted
to perform their office unassisted. A variety of manipulations are
to be used by the surgeon, consisting in pushing, pulling, pressing,
rotating, and, indeed, whatever movement may be necessary, until
the bones are forced into such relative positions that the muscular
contraction, operating in just the right directions, pulls the opposite
matched ends together in true coaptation — a head into a cavity, an
articular eminence into a trochlea, as the case may be. The " setting "
is accompanied with a peculiar, snapping sound, audible and signifi-
cant, as well as a visible return of the surface to its normal sym-
metry.

Special, dislocations. — While all the articulations of the body are
liable to this form of injury, there are three in the large animals
which may claim a special consideration, viz :

lameness: its causes and treatment. 363

THE SHOULDER JOINT.

We mention this displacement witliout intending to imply the
practicability of any ordinary attempt at treatment, which is usually
unsuccessful, the animal whose mishap it has been to become a victim
to it being disabled for life. The superior head of the arm bone as
it is received into the lower cavity of the shoulder blade is so situ-
ated as to be liable to be forced out of place in four directions. It
may escape from its socket, according to the manner in which the
violence affects it — outward, inw^ard, backward, or forward — and the
deformity which results and the effects which follow will correspond-
ingly differ. We have said that treatment is generally unsuccessful.
It may be added that the difficulties which interpose in the way of
reduction are nearly insurmountable, and that the application of
means for the retention of the parts after reduction would be next to
impossible. The prognosis, from any point of view, is sufficiently
grave for the luckless animal with a dislocated shoulder.

THE HIP JOINT.

This joint partakes very much of the characteristics of the humero-
scapular articulation, but is more strongly built. The head of the
thigh bone is more separated, or prominent and rounder in form, and
the cup-like cavity, or socket, into which it fits is much deeper, form-
ing together a deep, true ball-and-socket joint, which is, moreover,
reenforced by two strong cords of funicular ligaments, which unite
them. It will be easily comprehended, from this hint of the anatomy
of the region, that a luxation of the hip joint must be an accident of
comparatively rare occurrence; yet cases are recorded in which the
head of the bone has been affirmed to slip out of its cavity and assume
various positions — inward, outward, forward, or backward.

The indications of treatment are those of all cases of dislocation.
TN^ien the reduction is accomplished the surgeon will be apprised
of the fact by the peculiar, snapping sound usually heard on such
occasions.

PSEUDO-LUXATIONS OF THE PATELLA.

This is not a true dislocation. The stifle bone is so peculiarly
articulated with the thigh bone that the means of union are of suffi-
cient strength to resist the causes which usually give rise to luxations,
yet there is sometimes discovered a peculiar, pathological state in the
hind legs of animals, the effect of which is closely to simulate the
manifestation of many of the general symptoms of dislocations.
This condition originates in muscular cramps, the action of which
is seen in a certain change in the coaptation of the articidar sur-
faces of the stifle and thigh bone, resulting in the exhibition of a

364 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

sudden and alarming series of symptoms which have suggested the
phrase of " stifle out •' as a descriptive term.

/Symptoms. — The animal so alfected stands quietly and firml}^ in
his stall, or perhaps with one of his hind legs extended backward,
and resists every attempt to move him backward. If urged to move
forward he will either refuse or comply with a jump, with the toe of
the disabled leg dragging on the ground and brought forward by a
second effort. There is no flexion at the hock and no motion at the
stifle, while the circular motion of the hip is quite free. The leg
appears to be much longer than the other, owing to the straightened
position of the thigh bone, which forms almost a straight line with
the tibia from the hip joint down. The stifle joint is motionless, and
the motions of all the joints below it are more or less interfered with.
External examination of the muscles of the hip and thigh reveals a
certain degree of rigidity, with perhaps some soreness, and the stifle
bone may be seen projecting more or less on the outside and upper
part of the joint.

This state of things may continue for some time and until treat-
ment is applied, or it may spontaneously and suddenh^ terminate,
leaving ever3'^thing in its normal condition, but perhaps to retui-n
again.

Cause. — Pseudo-dislocation of the patella is liable to occur under
many of the conditions which cause actual dislocation, and yet it may
often occur in animals which have not been exposed to the ordinary
causes, but which have remained at rest in their stables. Sometimes
these cases are assignable to falls in a sli])per3' stall, or perhaps slip-
ping when endeavoring to rise; sometimes to weakness in convalesc-
ing patients; sometimes to lack of tonicity of structure and general
debility; sometimes to relaxation of tissues from want of exercise or
use. A straight leg, sloping croup, and the young are predisposed to
this dislocation.

TreatTTient. — The reduction of these displacements of the patella is
not usually attended with diificultj^ A sudden jerk or spasmodic
action will often be all that is required to spring the patella into
place, when the flexion of the leg at the hock ends the trouble for the
time. But this is not alwa3'^s sufficient, and a true reduction may
still be indicated. To effect this the leg must be drawn well forward
by a rope attached to the lower end, and the patella, grasped with
the hand, forcibly pushed forward and inward and made to slip over
the outside border of the trochlea of the femur. The bone suddenly
slips into position, the excessive rigor of the leg ceases with a spas-
modic jerk, and the animal may walk or trot away without suspicion
of lameness. Though this may end the trouble for the time, and
the restoration seem to be perfect and permanent, a repetition of the
entire transaction may subsequently take place, and perhaps from

lameness: its causes and treatment. 365

the loss of some proportion of tensile po^yer Avhich would naturally
follow the original attack in the muscles involved the lesion might
become a habitual weakness.

Warm fomentations and douches with cold water will often pro-
mote permanent recovery, and liberty in a box stall or in the field
will in many cases insure constant relief. The use of a high-heeled
shoe is recommended by European veterinarians. The use of stimu-
lating liniments, with frictions, charges, or even severe blisters, may
be resorted to in order to prevent the repetition of the difficulty by
strengthening and toning up the parts.

DISEASES OF MUSCLES AND TENDONS.
sprains.

This term expresses a more or less complete laceration or yielding
of the fibers of the muscles, tendons, or the sheaths surrounding and
supporting them. The usual cause of a sprain is external violence,
such as a fall or a powerful exertion of strength, with following
symptoms of soreness, heat, swelling, and a suspension of function.
Their termination varies from simple resolution to suppuration, and
commonly fibrinous exudation difficult to remove. None of the
muscles or tendons of the body are exempt from liability to this
lesion, though naturally from their uses and the exposure of their
situation the extremities are more liable than other regions to become
their seat. The nature of the prognosis will be determined by a con-
sideration of the seat of the injury and the complications likely to
arise.

Treatment. — The treatment will resolve itself into the routine of
local applications, including warm fomentations, stimulating lini-
ments, counterirritation by blistering, and in some cases even firing.
Rest, in the stable or in a box stall, will be of advantage by promoting
the absorption of whatever fibrinous exudation may have formed, or
absorption may be stimulated by the careful persevering application
of iodin in the form of ointments of various degrees of strength.

There are many conditions in which not only the muscular and ten-
dinous structures proper are affected by a strain, but, by contiguity of
parts, the periosteum of neighboring bones may become involved,
with a complication of periostitis and its sequelae.

lameness of the shoulder.

The frequency of the occurrence of lameness in the shoulder from
sprains entitles it to precedence of mention in the present category,
for, though so well covered with its muscular envelope, it is often
the seat of injuries which, from the complex structure of the region,
become difficult to diagnosticate with satisfactory precision and
facility. The flat bone which forms the skeleton of that region is

366 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

articulated in a comparatively loose manner with the bone of the arm,
but the joint is, notwithstanding, rather solid, and is powerfully
strengthened by tendons passing outside, inside, and in front of it.
Still, shoulder lameness or sprain may exist, originating in lacera-
tions of the muscles, the tendons or the ligaments of the joint, or
perhaps in diseases of the bones themselves. " Slip of the shoulder "
is a phrase frequently applied to such lesions.

The identification of the particular structures involved in these
lesions is of much importance, in view of its bearing upon the ques-
tion of prognosis. For example, while a simple superficial injury oi
the spinatus muscles, or the muscles by which the leg is attached to
the trunk, may not be of serious import and may readily yield to
treatment, or even recover spontaneously and without interference,
the condition is quite changed in a case of tearing of the flexor
brachii, or of its tendons as they pass in front of the articulation, or,
what is still more serious, if there is inflammation or ulceration in the
groove over which this tendon slides, or upon the articular surfaces
or their surroundings, or periostitis at any point adjacent.

Causes. — The frequency of attacks of shoulder lameness is not diffi-
cult to account for. The superficial and unprotected position of the
part and the numerous movements of which it is capable, and which,
in fact, it performs, render it both subjectively and objectively pre-
eminently liable to accident or injury. It would be difficult and
would not materially avail to enmnerate all the forms of violence by
which the shoulder may be crippled. A fall, accompanied with pow-
erful concussion ; a violent muscular contraction in starting a heavily
loaded vehicle from a standstill; a misstep following a quick muscular
efl'ort; a jump accompanied with miscalculated results in alighting; a
sli]) on a smooth, icy road ; balling the feet with snow ; colliding with
another horse or other object — indeed, the list may be indefinitely
extended, but without profit or utility.

Symptoms. — Some of the symptoms of shoulder lameness are pecu-
liar to themselves, and yet the trouble is frequently mistaken for
other affections — navicular disease more often than any other. The
fact that in both affections there are instances when the external
symptoms are but imperfectly defined, and that one of them especially
is very similar in both, is sufficient to mislead careless or inexperienced
observers and to occasion the error which is sometimes committed of
applying to one disease the name of the other, erring both ways in the
interchange. The true designation of pathological lesions is very far
at times from being of certain and easy accomplishment, and, owing
to the massive structure of the parts we are considering, this is es-
pecially true in the present connection. Still there are many cases in
which there is really no reasonable excuse for an error in diagnosis by
an average practitioner.

lameness: its causes and treatment. 367

Shoulder lameness will, of course, numifest itself by signs and ap-
pearances more or less distinct and pronounced, according to the na-
ture of the degrees and the extent of the originating cause. We sum-
marize some of these signs and appearances:

The lameness is not intermittent, but continued, the disturbance of
motion gaging the severity of the lesion and its extent. It is more
marked when the bones are diseased than when the muscles alone are
affected. When in motion the two upper bony levers — the shoulder
blade and the bone of the upper arm — are reduced to nearly complete
immobility and the walking is performed by the complete displace-
ment of the entire mass, which is dragged forward without either
flexion of extension. The action of the joint below, as a natural con-
sequence, is limited in its flexion. In many instances there is a cer-
tain degree of swelling at the point of injury — at the joint, or, more
commonly, in front of it, or on the surface of the spinatus muscle.
Again, instead of swelling there will be muscular atrophy, though,
while this condition of loss of muscular power may interfere with
perfect locomotion, it is not in itself usually a cause of shoulder lame-
ness. " Sweenied " shoulders are more often due to disease below the
fetlock than to affections above the elbow.

During rest the animal often carries his leg forward, somewhat
analogous to the " pointing" position of navicular disease, though in
some cases the painful member drops at the elbow in a semiflexed
position. The backing is sometimes typical, the animal when per-
forming it, instead of flexing his shoulder, dragging the whole leg
without motion in the upper segment of the extremity.

The peculiar manner in which the leg is brought forward in the air
for another step in the act of walking or trotting is in some instances
characteristic of injuries of the shoulder. The lameness also mani-
fests itself in bringing the leg forward with a circumflex swinging
motion and a shortening in the extension of the step. The foot is
carried close to the ground and stumbling is frequent, especially on
an uneven road.

With the utmost scrutiny and care the vagueness and uncertainty
of the symptoms will contribute to perplex and discredit the diagnosis
and embarrass the surgeon, and sometimes the expedient is tried of
aggravating the symptoms by way of intensifjdng their significance,
and thus rendering them more intelligible. This has been sought by
requiring the patient to travel on hard or very soft ground and
compelling him to turn on the sound leg as a pivot, with other
motions calculated to betray the locality of the pain.

Treatment. — It is our conviction that lameness of the shoulder will
in many cases disappear wath no other prescription than that of rest.
Provided the lesions occasioning it are not too severe, time is all that
is required. But the negation of letting alone is seldom accepted as

368 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

a means of doing good, in the place of the active and the positive
forms of treatment. This is in accorcUmce with a trait of human
nature which is universal, and is unlimited in its applications; hence
something must be done. In mild cases of shoulder lameness, then,
the indications are water, either in the cold douche or by showering,
or by warm fomentations. Warm, wet blankets are of great service;
in addition, or as alternative, anodyne liniments, camphor, bella-
donna, either in the form of tincture or the oils, are of benefit, and
at a later period stimulating friction with suitable mixtures, sweat-
ing liniments, blistering compounds, subcutaneous injections over the
region of the muscle of 1^ grains of A^eratrin (the variety insoluble
in water) mixed in 2 drams of water, etc., will find their place, and
finally, w hen necessity demands it, the firing iron and the seton.

The duration of the treatment must be determined by its effects
and the evidence that may be offered of the results following the
action of the reparative process. But the great essential condition
of cure, and the one without which the possibility of relapse will
always remain as a menace, is, as we have often reiterated in analo-
gous cases, rest^ imperatively rest, irrespective of any other prescrip-
tions with wdiich it maA' be associated.

SPRAIN OF THE ELBOW MUSCLES.

Causes. — This injury, which fortunately is not very common, is
mostly encountered in cities among heavy draft horses or rapidly
driven animals which are obliged to travel, often smooth shod, upon
slippery, icy, or greasy pavements, where they are easih^ liable to lose
their foothold. The region of the strain is the posterior part of the
shoulder, and the affected muscles are those which occupy the space
between the posterior border of the scapula and the posterior face of
the arm. It is the muscles of the olecranon which give w ay.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are easily recognized, especially when
the animal is in action. While at rest the attitude may be normal,
or by close scrutiny a peculiarity may perhaps be detected. The leg
may seem to drop ; the elbow^ may appear to be lower than its fellow,
with the knee and lower part of the leg flexed and the foot resting on
the toe, with the heel raised. Such an attitude, however, may be
occasionally assumed by an animal without having any special sig-
nificance, but when it becomes more pronounced in motion the fact
acquires a symptomatic value, and this is the case in the present
instance. A rapid gait becomes quite impossible, and the walk, as
in some few other diseases, becomes sufficiently characteristic to war-
rant a diagnosis even when observed from a distance. An entire
dropping of the anterior part of the trunk becomes manifest, and no
weight is carried on the disabled side in consequence of the loss of

lameness: its causes and treatment. 369

action in the suspensory muscles. There are often heat, pain, and
swelling in the muscular mass at the elbow, though at times a
hollow, or depression, may be observed near the posterior border of
the scapula, which is probably the seat of injury.

These hurts are of various degrees of importance, varying from
mere minor casualties of quick recovery to lesions which are of suffi-
cient severity to render an animal useless and valueless for life.

Treatment. — The prime elements of treatment, w^hich should be
strictly observed, are rest and quiet. Prescriptions of all kinds, of
course, have their advocates. Among them are ether, chloroform,
camphor, alcoholic frictions, warm fomentations, blisters, setons, etc.
Unless the conclusions of experience are to be ignored, my own
judgment is decisive in favor of rest, judiciously applied, however,
and my view of what constitutes a judicious application of rest has
been more than once presented in these pages. There are degrees of
this rest. One contemplates simple immobility in a narrow stall.
Another means the enforced mobility of the slings and a narrow stall
as well. Another a box stall, with ample latitude as to posture and
space, and option to stand or lie dov\^n. As wide as this range may
appear to be, radical recovery has occurred under all of these
modified forms of letting our fcitlents alone.

HIP LAMENESS.

The etiologj^ of injuries and diseases of the hip is one and the
same with that of the shoulder. The same causes operate and the
same results follow. The only essential change, with an important
exception, which would be necessary in passing from one region to
the other in a description of its anatomy, its physiology, and its
pathology would be a substitution of anatomical names in reference
to certain bones, articulations, muscles, ligaments, and membranes
concerned in the injuries and diseases described. It would be only
a useless repetition to cover again the ground over which we have so
recently passed in recital of the manner in which certain forms of
external violence (falls, blows, kicks, etc.) result in other certain
forms of lesion (luxation, fracture, periostitis, ostitis, etc.), and to
recapitulate the items of treatment and the names of the medica-
ments proper to use. The same rules of diagnosis and the same indi-
cations and prognosis are applicable equally to every portion of
the organism, with only such modifications in applying dressings and
apparatus as may be required by differences of conformation and
other minor circumstances, which must suggest themselves to the
judgment of every experienced observer when the occasion arrives
for its exercise.

54763°— 23 24

370 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

An exception is to be made, while considering the subject in con-
nection with the region now under advisement, in respect to the
formidable affection known as morbus coxarius, or hip- joint dis-
ease ; and leaving the detail of other lesions to take their place under
other heads, that relating to the shoulder, for instance, we turn to
the hip joint and its ailments as the chief subject of our present
consideration.

SyTnptonrhs. — ^In investigating for morbus coxarius, let the ob-
server first examine the lame animal by scanning critically the out-
lines of the joint and the region adjacent for any difference of size
or disturbance of symmetry in the parts, any prominence or ro-
tundity, and on both sides. The lame side will probably be warmer,
more developed, and fuller, both to the touch and to the eye. Let
him then grasp the lower part of the leg (as he would in examining
a case of shoulder lameness) and endeavor to produce excessive pas-
sive motion. This will probably cause pain when the leg is made to
assume a given position. Let him push the thigh forcibly against
the hip bone, and the contact will again probably cause a manifesta-
tion of pain. If the horse is trotted, the limited action of the hip
joint proper and the excessive dropping and rising of the hip of the
opposite side will be easily recognized. Usually the animal does
not extend the foot so far as customarily and picks it up much
sooner.

The abductive or circumflex motion observed in shoulder lameness
is also present in hip lameness, but under special conditions, and
the test of the difficulty, either by traveling on soft ground or in
turning the horse in a circle, may here also contribute to the diag-
nosis, as in testing for lameness in the anterior extremity.

Prognosis. — The prognosis of hip lameness is at times quite seri-
ous, not only on account of the long duration of treatment required
to effect good residts, and because of the character which may be
assumed by the disease, but of the permanence of the disability re-
sulting from it. Exostosis and ulcerative arthritis are sequela? which
often resist every form of treatment.

Treatment. — As before intimated, this is little more than a repeti-
tion of the remarks upon the lameness of the shoulder, with slight
modifications occasioned by the muscular structure of the hip, and we
are limited to the same recommendations of treatment. The ad-
vantages of rest must be reaffirmed^ W'ith local applications, of which,
however, it may be said that they are more distinctly indicated and
likely to be more effective in their results than in shoulder lameness,
and may be more freely employed, whether in the form of liniments,
blisters (singly or repeated), firing, or setoning.

lameness: its causes and treatment. 371

SPRAINS OF SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS AND OF FLEXOR TENDONS OR THEIR

SHEATHS,

The fibrous structure situated behind the cannon bones, both in the
fore and hind legs, is often the seat of lacerations or sprains resulting
from violent efforts or sudden jerks.

Cause. — The injuiy may be considered serious or trifling, according
to the circumstances of each case as judged by its own history. Among
the predisposing causes are a long, thin fetlock and a narrow knee or
hock as viewed from the side, with the flexor muscles tied in just below
the joint. The longer and more oblique the pastern the greater is the
strain on the flexor tendons and suspensory ligaments; hence a lov.
quarter, a toe calk, and no heel calks, or a thin calk placed at the tip
under the toe, and leaving the quarters long abnormally stretches the
back tendons and causes a great strain upon them just before the
weight is shifted from the foot in locomotion. In runners and hunters
the disease is liable to be periodic. In driving horses it is most com-
mon in well-bred animals of nervous temperament. Draft horses
suffer most frequently in the hind legs.

Sympto'ms. — The injury is readily recognized by the changed as-
pect of the region and the accompanying local symptoms. The parts
which in health are well defined, with the outlines of the tendons and
ligaments well marked, become the seat of a swelling, more or less
developed, from a small spot on the middle of the back of the tendon
to a tumefaction reaching from the knee down to and even involving
the fetlock itself. It is always characterized by heat, and it is vari-
ously sensitive, ranging from a mere tenderness to a degree of sore-
ness which shrinks from the lightest touch. The degree of the lame-
ness varies, and it has a corresponding range with the soreness, some-
times showing only a slight halting and at others the extreme of
lameness on three legs, with intermediate degrees.

The lameness is always worse when the weight is thrown on the
foot and is most marked toward the end of the phase of contact with
the ground. Either passive irritation of the leg or turning the ani-
mal in a circle causes pain as in diseases of the joints. Sometimes the
horse likes to get the heels on a stone or some elevation so as to relieve
the weight from the flexor tendons. Finally, in cases of long stand-
ing, a shortening of the tendons occurs, resulting in the abnormal
flexion of the foot known by horsemen as " broken down," or a more
upright position of the foot may follow, producing perhaps knuck-
ling or the so-called clubfoot.

Prognosis. — It may be safely assumed on general principles that a
leg which has received such injuries seldom returns to a perfect con-
dition of efficiency and soundness, and that as a fact a certain abso-
lute amount of thickening and deformity will remain permanent,
even when the lameness has entirely disappeared.

372 DISEASES OF THE HOUSE.

Treatment. — The inj ured member should receive the earliest atten-
tion possible, not only when the inflaunnatory condition is present,
but when it is subsiding and there is only the thickening of the liga-
ments, the tendons, or the sheath.

The most important remedy is rest, and the shoes should always be
removed. During the first three days cold in the form of immersion
or continuous irrigation is indicated. Then warm moisture and con-
tinuous pressure are advised. The latter is best applied by placing
two padded splints about the thickness of the thumb along the two
sides of the tendon and bindmg them in place with even pressure by
bandage. Frequent bathing with warm soap suds is also beneficial.
The absorption of the exudate may be promoted and the work of
lestoration effected by frictions with alcohol, tincture of soap, spirits
of camphor, mild liniments, strong, sweating liniments, and blisters.
An excellent ointment to apply with massage consists of equal parts
of blue ointment and green soap, with double the quantity of vaseline.
The action of blisters in these cases depends chiefly upon the massage
used in applying them and upon the continuous pressure of the swol-
len skin on the inflamed tendons. In old cases more beneficial results
will follow line firing. In these cases shoeing is very important.
Leave the quarters long, shorten the toe, give the shoe rolling motion,
and either put short heel calks on the branches or thicken the
branches. Although this line of treatment is efficacious in many
cases, there are others in which the thickening of the tendons refuses
to yield and the changed tissues remain firmly organized, leaving
them in the form of a thick mass resting upon the back part of the
cannon bone.

KNUCKLING OF FETLOCK.

As a consequence of the last-mentioned lesion of the tendons, a new
condition presents itself in the articular disposition, constituting the
deformity known as the knuckling fetlock. (See also p. 400.)

By this is meant a deformity of the fetlock joint by which the
natural angle is changed from that which pertains to the healthy
articulation. The first pastern, or suffraginis, loses its oblique direc-
tion and assumes another, Avhich varies from the upright to the
oblique, from before backAvard, and from above downward ; in other
words, forming an angle with its apex in front.

Causes. — This condition, as we have seen, mav be the result of
chronic disease producing structui-al changes in the tendons, and it
may also occur as the result of other affections or some peculiarity
independent of this and situated below the fetlock, such as ringbones,
sidebones, or traumatic disease of the foot proper. Animals are
sometimes predisposed to knuckling, such, for example, as are natur-
ally straight in their pasterns, or animals which are compelled to
labor when too young. The hind legs are more predisposed than the

lameness: its causes and treatment. 373

fore to this deformity, in consequence of the greater amount of labor
they are required to perform as the i^ropelling levers of the body.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of loiuckling are easily recognized.
The changes in the direction of the bones vary more or less with the
degree of the lesion, sometimes assuming such a direction that it
almost becomes a true dislocation of the pastern.

The effect of knuckling upon the gait also varies according to the
degree of the deformity. As the different degrees of the shortening
of the leg affect the motion of the fetlock, the lameness may be very
slight or quite extreme. Another consequence of this shortening is
such a change in the position of the foot that the heels cease to come
in contact with the ground and assume a greater elevation, and the
final result of this is soon witnessed in the development of a clubfoot.

Treatment. — To whatever cause the knuckling may be ascribed, it
is always a severe infirmity, and there is but little room for hoping
to overcome it unless it be during the very first stages of the trouble,
and the hope dwindles oo still smaller dimensions when it is secondary
to other diseases below the fetlock. If it is caused by overworking
the animal, the first indication, of course, will be rest. Line tiring
has proved very efficacious in these cases. The animal must be turned
loose and left unemployed. Careful attention should be given to the
condition of his feet and to the manner of shoeing, while time is
allowed for the tendons to become restored to their normal state and
the irritation caused by excessive stretching has subsided. A shoe
with a thick heel will contribute to this. Tf no improvement can be
obtained, however, and the tendons though retracted have yet been
relieved of much of their thickening, the case is not a desperate one,
and may yet be benefited by the operation of tenotomy, single or
double — an operative expedient which must be committed to the
experienced surgeon for its performance.

SPRUNG KNEES.

Though not positively the result of diseases of the tendons acting
upon the knees, we venture to consider this deformity in connection
with that which we have just described. It consists in such an alter-
ation in the direction and articulation of the bones which form the
various carpjil joints that instead of forming a vertical line from the
lower end of the forearm to the cannon bone they are so united that
the knee is more or less bent forward, presenting a condition caused
by the retraction of two of the principal muscles by which the cannon
bone is flexed.

Cause. — This flexion of the knee may be a congenital deformity
and have continued from the foaling of the animal; or, like clubfoot,
it may be the result of heavy labor Avhich the animal has been com-

374 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

pelled to perform when too young. It may also be due to other
diseases existing in parts below the knee joint.

Symptoms. — This change of direction largely influences the move-
ment of the animal by detracting from its firmness- and practically
weakening the entire frame, even to the extent of rendering him in-
secure on his feet and liable to fall. This condition of weakness is
sometimes so pronounced that he is exposed to fall even when stand-
ing at rest and unmolested, the knees being unable even to bear their
portion of the mere weight of the frame. This results in another
trouble — that of being unable to keep permanently upright. He is
liable to fall on his knees, and by this act becomes presently a sufferer
from the lesion Imown by the term of " broken knees."

Treatment. — Whatever may be the originating cause of this imper-
fection, it detracts very largely from the usefulness and value of a
horse, disqualifying him for ordinary labor and wholly unfitting him
for service under the saddle wdthout jeopardizing the safety of his
rider. If, however, the trouble is known from the start, and is not
the result of congenital deformity or w^eakness of the knee joint, or
secondary to other diseases, rest, with fortifying frictions, may some-
times aid in strengthening the joints; and the application of blisters
on the posterior part of the knee, from a short distance above to a
point a little below the joint, may be followed by some satisfactory
results; but with this trouble, as with knuckling fetlocks, the danger
of relapse must be kept in mind as a contingency always liable to
occur.

CURB.

This lesion is the bulging backward of the posterior part of the
hock, where in the normal state there should be a straight line, extend-
ing from the upper end of the point of the hock down to the fetlock.

Cause. — The cause may be a sprain of the tendon which passes on
the posterior part of the hock, or of one of its sheaths, or of the
strong ligament situated on the posterior border of the os calcis.

Hocks of a certain conformation seems to possess a greater liability
to curb than others. They are overbent, coarse, and thick in appear-
ance, or may be too narrow from front to back across the lower por-
tion. This condition may therefore result as a sequence to congeni-
tal malformation, as in the case of horses that are " saber-legged."'
It often occurs, also, as the result of violent efforts, of heavy pulling,
of high jumping, or of slipping; in a word, it may result from any of
the causes heretofore considered as instrumental in producing lacera-
tions of muscular, tendinous, or ligamentous structure.

Symptoms. — A hock affected with curb will present at the outset
a swelling more or less diffuse on its posterior portion, with varying
degrees of heat and soreness, and these will be accompanied with

LAMENESS: ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 375

lameness of a permanent character. At a later period, however, the
swelling will become better defined, the deformit.y more characteris-
tic, the prominent, curved line readily detected, and the thickness of
the infiltrated tissue easily determined by the fingers. At this time,
also, there may be a condition of lameness, varying in degree, while
at others, again, the irregularity of action at the hock will be so slight
as to escape detection, the animal betraying no appearance of its
existence.

A curb constitutes, by a strict construction of the term, an " un-
soundness," since the hock thus affected is less able to endure severe
labor, and is more liable to gire way with the slightest effort. Yet
the prognosis of a curb can not be considered to be serious, as it
generally yields to treatment, or at least the lameness it may occasion
is generally easily relieved, though the loss of contour caused by the
bulging will always constitute a blemish.

Treatment. — On the first appearance of a curb, when it exhibits
the signs of an acute inflammation, the first indication is to subdue
it by the use of cold applications, as intermittent or constant irriga-
tion or an ice poultice; when these have exhausted their effect and
the swelling has assumed better defined boundaries, and the infil-
tration of the tendons or of the ligaments is all that remains of a
morbid state, then every effort must be directed to the object of effect-
ing its absorption and reducing its dimensions by pressure and other
methods. The medicaments most to be trusted are blisters of can-
tharides and frictions with ointments of iodin, or, preferably,
biniodid of mercury. Mercurial agents alone, by their therapeutic
properties or by means of the artificial bandages which they furnish
by their incrustations when their vesicatory effects are exhausted,
will give good results in some instances by a single application, and
often by repeated applications. The use of the firing iron must,
however, be frequently resorted to, either to remove the lameness or
to stimulate the absorption. We believe that its early application
ought to be resorted to in preference to waiting until the exudation
is firmly organized. Firing in dull points or in lines will prove as
beneficial in curb as in any other disease of a similar nature,

LACERATED TENDONS.

This form of injury, whether of a simple or of a compound char-
acter, may become a lesion of a very serious nature, and will usually
require long and careful treatment, which may yet prove unavailing
in consequence either of the intrinsically fatal character of the wound
itself or the complications which have rendered it incurable.

Cause. — Like all similar injuries, they are the result of traumatic
violence, such as contact with objects either blunt or sliarp; a curb-
stone in the city ; in the country, a tree stump or a fence, especially

376 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

one of wire. It may easily occur to a runaway horse when he is
"■ whipped " with fragments of harness or " flogged " by fragments
of splintered shafts "thrashing" his legs, or by the contact of his
legs with the wagon he has overturned and shattered with his heels
while disengaging himself from the wreck.

Symptojtis. — It is not always necessary that the skin be involved
in this form of injury. On the contrary, the tegument is fre-
quently left entirely 'ntact, especially when the injury follows
infectious diseases or occurs during light exercise after long periods
of rest in the stable. Again, the skin may be cut through and the
tendons nearly severed. A point a little above the fetlock is usually
the seat of the injury. But irrespective of this, and whether the
skin is or is not implicated, the symptoms resemble very much those
of a fracture. There is excessive mobility, at least more than in
a normal state, with more or less inability to carry weight. There
may be swelling of the parts, and on passing the hands carefully
along the tendon to the point of division the stumps of the divided
structure v^dll be felt more or less separated, perhaps wholly divided.
The position of the animal while at rest and standing is peculiar
and characteristic. While the heels are well placed on the ground,
the toe is correspondingly elevated, with a tendency to turn up —
a form of breaking down which was described when speaking of
the fracture of the sesamoids. Carrying weight is done only with
considerable difficulty, but with comparatively little pain, and the
annual will unconsciously continue to move the li^g as if in great
suffering, notwithstanding the fact that his general condition may be
very good and his appetite unimpaired.

The effeet upon the general organism of compound lacerated
wounds of tendinous structures, or those which are associated with
injuries of the skin, are different. The wound becomes in a short
time the seat of a high degree of inflammation, with abundant
suppuration filling it from the bottom; the tendon, whether as the
result of the bruise or of the laceration, or of maceration in the
accumulated pus, undergoes a process of softening, and necrosis and
sloughing ensue. This complicates the case and probably some form
of tendinous synovitis follows, running into suppurative arthritis,
to end, if close to a joint, with a fatal result.

Prognosis. — The prognosis of lacerated tendons should be A-ery
conservative. Under the most favorable circumstances a period of
from six weeks to two months will be necessary for the treatment,
before the formation of the cicati-icial callus and the establishment
of a firm union between the tendinous stumps.

Treat7)ient. — As with fractures, and even in a greater degree, the
necessity is imperative, in the treatment of lacerated tendons, to
obtain as perfect a state of inmiobility as can be obtained compatibly

lameness: its causes and tbeatment. 377

with tlie disposition of the patient; the natural opposition of the
animal, sometimes ill-tempered and fractious at best, under the
necessary restraint causing at times much embarrassment to the
practitioner in applying the necessary treatment. Without the nec-
essary immobility there can be no close connection of the ends of
the tendons. To fulfill this necessary condition the posterior part of
the foot and the fetlock must be supported and the traction per-
formed by them relieved, an object which can be obtained by the use
of the high-heeled and bar shoe, or possibly better accomplished with
a shoe of the same kind extending about 2 or 2^ inches back of the
lieels. The perfect immobility of the legs is obtained in the same
way as in the treatment of fracture, with splints, bandages, iron
apparatus, plaster of adhesive mixtures, and similar means. So
long as the dressings remain in place undisturbed and no chafing
or other evidence of pain is present, the dressing's may be continued
without changing, the patient being kept in the slings for a period
sufficient to insure the perfect union of the tendons. For a com-
pound lesion when there is laceration of the skin some special care
is necessary. The wound must be carefully watched and the dress-
ings removed at intervals of a few days or as often as may be
needful, all of which additional manipulation and extra nursing,
however indispensable, still adds to the gi'avity of the case and
renders the prognosis more and more serious. When the tendons
have sloughed in threads of various dimensions, or if in the absence
of this process of mortification healthy granulations should form
and fill up the wound, still very careful attention will be required,
the gi-anulating ends of the tendons having a tendency to bulge
between the edges of tlie skin and to assume large dimensions,
forming bulky excrescences or gi'owths of a warty or cauliflower
appearance, the removal of which becomes a troublesome matter.
The union of the tendons will at times leave a thickening of vary-
ing degree near the point of cicatrization, the absorption of which
becomes an object of difficult and doubtful accomplishment, but
which may be promoted by moderate blistering and the use of alter-
ative and absorbent mixtures or perhaps the fire iron. A shoe with
heels somewhat higher than usual will prove a comfort to the animal
and aid in moderating and relieving the tension of the tendons.

RUPTURE OF THE FLEXOR METATARSI.

This is a muscle of the anterior part of the shank. It is situated
in front of the tibia, and is of peculiar formation, being composed of
a muscular portion with a very powerful tendon, which are at first
distinct and separate, to be intimately united lower down, and termi-
nating at the lower end by a division into four tendinous bands. It
is a powerful muscle of the hinder shank bone, and also acts as a

378 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

strong means of support for the stifle joint; that is, of the articulation
of the thigh and shank bone, in front and outside of which it passes.
Its situation and its use cause it to be liable to severe stretching
and straining, and a rupture of some of its fibers is sometimes the
consequence.

Cause, — This injury may be the result of a violent effort of the
animal in leaping over a high obstacle; in missing his foothold and
suddenly slipping backward while powerfully grasping the gromid
v;ith the feet in striving to start a heavily loaded vehicle ; in making
a violent effort to prevent a probable fall ; or in attempting to lift the
feet from miry ground.

Sy7n'pto7ns. — The accident is immediately followed by disability
which will vary according to the true seat of the injury and the
period of its duration. This rupture will not prevent the horse from
standing i>erfectly and firmly on his feet when kept at rest, and
while no muscular efforts are required from him there is no appear-
ance of any lesion or unsoundness. An attempt to move him back-
ward, however, will cause him to throw all his weight upon his hind-
quarters, and he will refuse to raise his foot from the ground. If
compelled to do so, or required to move forward, the hock being no
longer capable of flexion, the muscle which effects that movement
being the injured one, the opposite muscles, the extensors, acting
freely, the entire lower part of the leg, from the hock down, will
be suddenly, wdth a jerk, extended on the tibia or shank bone, and
simultaneously with this the tendo Achillis, the cord of the hock, the
tendons of the extensors of the hock will be put in a wrinkled and
relaxed condition. The leg is behind the animal and the toe rests
on the ground. Examination of the fore part of the shank from the
stifle down to the hock may reveal soreness, and possibly some
swelling and heat at the seat of the lesion.

TreatTYient. — Our experience with injuries of this form convinces
us that, generally speaking, they are amenable to treatment. Pro-
Aaded a sufficient time has been allowed for union to take place, very
few instances in which radical recovery has not been effected have
come to our knowledge. The more flexed the leg can be kept, the
quicker will it heal.

In these cases, as in those of simple laceration of tendons, already
considered, the indications resemble those which apply in the treat-
ment of fractures, as near as coaptation of the lacerated ends is pos-
sible, with immobility, being the necessary conditions to secure. The
first is a matter of veiy difficult accomplishment, by bandaging alone,
and some have recommended instead the application of charges or
blisters in order to compel the animal to keep more quiet.

To secure the necessary immobility the animal sliould be placed in
slings snugly applied, and kept in a narrow stall. He should also be

lameness: its causes and treatment. 379

tied short, and restrained from any backward movement by ropes of
boards, and should, moreover, be kept in as quiet a temper as pos-
sible by the exclusion of all causes of irritation or excitement. Weeks
must then elapse, not less, but frequently more than six, often eight,
before he can be considered out of danger and able to return to his
labor, which should for a time be light and easy, and gradually, if
ever, increased to the measure of a thoroughly sound and strong ani-
mal. If he is used too soon the newly formed tissue between the ends
of the muscle will be liable to stretch and leave the flexor muscle too
long and permanently displaced.

SUNDRY ADDITIONAL AFFECTIONS OF THE EXTREMITIES.

Among these there are three which will principally occupy our
attention, and which may be considered as forming a single group.
In some parts of the legs may be found certain peculiar little struc-
tures of a saclike formation, containing an oily substance designed
for the lubrication of the parts upon which they are placed for the
purpose of facilitating the movements of the tendons which pass over
them. These little sacs or muco-syno^dal capsules, under peculiar
conditions of traumatism, are liable to become subject to a diseased
process, which consists principally in a hypersecretion of their con-
tents and an increase in dimensions, and they may undergo peculiar
pathological changes of such character as to disable an animal, and
in many instances to cause serious blemishes which can but depre-
ciate its value. These growths, which are known as hygromata, may
result from external violence, as blows or bruises, and may appear in
the form of small, soft tumors, painless and not inflammatory in
character, but, by a repetition of the cause or renewal of violence,
liable to acquire increased severity. Severe inflammation, with sup-
puration, may follow, which, filling up the cavity, the walls will
become thickened and hard, resulting in the formation of a tumor.

The elbow, the knee, and the hock are the parts of the body where
these lesions are ordinarily found, and on account of their peculiar
shape and the position they occupy they have received the denomina-
tion "capped." They will be considered in their peculiar aspect.

capped elbow.

Capped elbow, or "shoe boil," is a term applied to an enlargement
often foimd at the point of the elbow.

Cause. — This lesion is due to injury or pressure of the part
while it is resting on the ground. The horse, unlike the cow, does not
rest directly on the under surface of the sternum, or breastbone, on
account of its sharp, ridge-like formation. He rests more on the side
of the breastbone and chest, and consequently the leg which is flexed

380 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

under the body is subject to considerable pressure. If the leg is flexed
under the body so that the hoof or shoe is directly in contact with the
elbow, which may occur in horses having an extremely long cannon
bone or excessive length in the shoes, the greater part of the weight
of the chest is concentrated at this point and the pressure may cause a
bruise or an infiannnation.

Symptoms. — Under these conditions the point of the elbow may
become swollen and tender and exhibit heat and pain. This swelling
may not only cover the point of the elbow, but sometimes reaches the
axijla and assumes such proportions that there is great difficulty in
using the leg, the animal showing signs of lameness even to tlie extent
of the circumflex step, as in shoulder lameness. This edematous con-
dition, however, does not remain stationary. It may by degrees"
subside or perhaps disappear. In the first instance it will become
more distinctly defined, with better marked boimdaries, until it is
reduced to a soft, round, fluctuating tumor, with or without heat or
pain. There is then either a bloody or serous tum.or or a purulent
collection, and following t^ie puncture of its wails with the knife
there will be an escape of blood, serum, or pus, as the case may
be, in variable quantities. In either case, but principalh^ in that of
the cystic form, the tumor will be found to be subdivided by septa,
or bands running in various directions.

Various changes will follow the opening of the tumor and the
escape of its contents. In a majority of cases the process of cica-
trization will take place, and the cavit}^ fill up by granulation, the
discharge, at first abundant, gradually diminishing and the wound
closing, usually without leaving any mark. At times, however, and
especially if the disease has several times repeated its course, there
may remain a pendulous sac, partly obliterated, which a sufficient
amount of excitement or irritation may soon restore to its previous
dimensions and condition.

In other cases an entirely different process takes place. The walls
of the cavity, cyst, or abscess become ulcerated and thickened, the
granulations of the sac become fil)rous in their structure and fill up
the cavitv, and it assumes the character of a hard tumor on the back
of the elbow, sometimes partly and sometimes entirely covered by the
skin. It is fibrous in its nature, painless to the touch, well defined
in its contour, and may vary in size from that of a small apple to
that of a child's head.

This last form of capped elbow is the most serious of any, resisting
all known forms of mild treatment, and removable by the knife only.
The other forms, even that with the inflammatory aspect and its large
edematous swelling which interferes with the work of the animal,
may justify a much milder pi-ognosis, and, aside from their liability
to recur, may be ranked Avith the comparatively harmless affections.

lameness: its causes and teeatment. 381

Treatment. — So long as the danger of recurrence is the principal
bad feature of capped elbow the most important consideration is that
of devising a means for its prevention. To prevent the animal from
lying down is evidently the simplest method of keeping the heels and
the elbow apart; but the impracticability of this prescription is ap-
parent, since most animals are obliged to lie down when they sleep,
though it is true that a few take their sleep on their feet. The <j[ues-
tion of shoeing here enters into the discussion. The shortening of
the inside branch of the shoe, which is the one with which i\\Q pres-
sure is made, may be of advantage, and especially if the truncated end
of the shoe is smooth and filed over to remove all possibility of
pressure and contusion upon the skin. I'he protection of the skin of
the elbow by interposing soft tissues between that and the shoe, or by
bandaging the heel with bags or covering it with boots, is considered
by many the best of the preventive methods, and the advantage to be
obtained by resorting to it can not be overlooked when the number of
horses which develop shoe boil whenever the use of the boot is inter-
mitted is considered. In order to preA'ent the animal from assuming
the sternal decubitus, many give preference to the plan of fastening
a piece of wood across the stall at some distance from the front wall
or manger. It is a simple expedient, primitive, perhaps, but never-
theless practical, and followed by good results.

The therapeutic treatment is also important. The edematous
swelling, when recognized by its external appearance and the existing
inflammation, should be treated without delay. Warm fomentations,
repeated several times daily, are then indicated, the degree of warmth
being as high as can be borne comfortably. They are easily applied
and often yield decided relief in a few hours. In some cases, how-
ever, astringents, in the form of poultices or pastes, are used in
preference ; these are made to cover the entire swelling and allowed
to remain, drying after a short time, it is true, and perhaps falling
off, but are easily renewed and reapplied. An excellent astringent
for these cases is a putty made of powdered chalk and vinegar (ace-
tate of lime), and the whole swelling is then covered with a thick
coating of soft clay made into a mass with water.

These simple remedies are often all that is required. Under their
use the swelling passes off by degrees and after a short interval the
animal is fit for work again, but not uncommonl}^ instead a swelling
develops, puffy, not painful, and perhaps giving a sensation of crepi-
tation when pressure is applied with the finger. It is soft, evidently
contains a liquid, and when freely opened with a good-sized incision
discharges a certain quantity of blood, partly liquid and partly coag-
ulated, and perhaps a little hemorrhage will folloAv, The cavity
should then be well Avashed out and a plug of oakum introduced,
leaving a small portion protruding through the cut to prevent it

382 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

from closing prematurely. It may be taken off the next day, and a
daily cleansing will then be all that is necessary. In another case
the tumor becomes very soft in its whole extent, with evident fluctua-
tion and a well-defined form. The discharge of the fluid is then indi-
cated, and a free incision will be followed by the escape of a quantity
of thin yellowish liquid from a single sac. The wound should be
kept clean and dressed frequently, in order to insure prompt healing.
But if the cavity is found to be subdivided in its interior by numerous
bands and the cyst proves to be multilocular the partitions should be
torn out with the fingers and the cavity then treated in the same
manner as the unilocular sac. In still another case the swelling may
be warm and painful with indistinct fluctuation, or fluctuation only
at a certain point. This indicates an abscess, and necessitates an
incision to drain the pus, followed by the careful cleansing and
dressing of the wound.

But cases occur in which all the treatment that has been described
fails to efi^ect a full recovery, and instead a fibrous tumor begins to
develop. A change of treatment is, of course, then in order. The
inflammation being chronic will necessitate stimulating treatment of
the part in order to increase the process of absorption. We must
again draw upon the resources of experience in the form of blisters,
the fomentations, the iodin, and the mercurial ointments, as hereto-
fore mentioned. Good results may always be insured from their
judicious and timely administration. In applying the powerful min-
eral inunctions much patience and wisdom are required. It should
be done by carefully and perseveringly rubbing in small quantities
daily; it should be done softly and gently, not with force, nor with
the expectation of producing an astonishing effect by heavy dosing
and main strength in a few hours ; it should be after the maimer of
a siege rather than that of a charge. The object is to induce the
drugs to permeate the affected part until the entire mass is pene-
trated. Of course cases will be encountered which resist all forms
of medical treatment. The tumor remains as a fixed fact; it con-
tinues to grow ; it is large and j)endulous at the elbow ; its weight is
estimated in pounds; it is not an eyesore merely, but an uncomfort-
able, burdensome mass, excoriating all the surrounding parts and
being itself excoriated in turn; mild treatment has failed and is no
longer to be relied on.

Resort must now be made to surgical methods, and here again we
must choose between the ligature, the cautery, and the knife. Each
has its advocates among practitioners. In a case like the present, one
of the dilliculties arises in connection with the application and reten-
tion of bandages and other dressings after the* amputation has been
performed. It is a somewhat difficult problem, owing to the con-
formation and proportions of the body of the patient, and involves

lameness: its causes ANI> TREIATMENT. 383

the exercise of considerable practical ingenuity to adjust and retain
the appliances necessary to insure a good final result.

In the long description of the treatment of the varieties of capped
elbow I have thus far omitted any mention of one method which ia
practiced and commended by not a few. I refer to the use of setons,
introduced through the tumor. My own experience and the observa-
tion of many failures from this method led me to abandon it.

CAPPED KNEE.

The passage of the tendons of the extensor muscle of the cannon, as
it glides in front of the knee joint, is assisted by one of the little
bursse before mentioned, and when this becomes the seat of dropsical
collection a hygroma is formed and the knee is " capped." Though
in its history somewhat analogous to the capped elbow, there are
points of difference between them. Their development may prove a
source of great annoyance from the fact of the blemish which they
constitute.

Cause. — The capped knee presents itself under various conditions.
It is sometimes the result of a bruise or contusion, often repeated,
inflicted upon himself b}'- a horse addicted to the habit of pawing
while in the stable and striking the front of the stall with his knees.
Another class of patients is formed of those weak-kneed animals
which are subject to falling and bruising the front of the joint
against the ground, the results no being always of the same character.

Symiytoms. — The lesion may be a simple bruise, or it may be a
severe contusion with swelling, edema, heat, and pain. The joint
becomes so stiff and rigid that it interferes with locomotion and yet
under careful simple treatment the trouble may disappear.

Again, instead of altogether passing off, the edema may diminish
in extent, becoming more defined in form and may remain as a swell-
ing on the front part of the knee. Resulting from the crushing of
small blood vessels, this is necessarily full of blood. The swelling is
somewhat soft, diffuse, not painful, more or less fluctuating, and
after a few days becomes crepitant under the pressure of the hand.

Instead of being filled with blood the swelling may be fuU of
serum, as often occurs when violence, though perhaps slight, has been
frequently repeated. In that case the swelling is generally well de-
fined, soft, and painless, with more or less fluctuation, and it may
even become pendulous. In other cases the swelling may be of an
acute, inflammatory nature, with heat and pain, accompanied with
stiffness of the joint. This leads to the formation of an abscess.
Whatever the nature of these swellings may be, either full of blood,
serum, or pus, some blemish usually remains after treatment.

Prognosis. — Though simple bruises of the knee without extensive
lesions are usually of trifling account, a different prognosis must be

384 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

pi'onounced when the lesion assumes more important dimensions, and
though a capped knee may be comparatively of little importance we
have seen cases in which not only extensive blemishes were left to
disfigure the patient, but the animals had become worthless in con-
secpience of the extension of the diseased process to the various ele-
ments composing the joint, and giving rise to the most complicated
cases of carpitis.

Treatment. — Usually the first symptom of trouble is the edemat-
ous swelling on the front of the " knee." The prevention of the in-
flammation and consequently of the abscess, is the prime object in
view, and it may be realized by the use of warm-water fomentations
or compresses applied over the swelling, which may be used either in
a simple form or combined wdth astringents, such as Goulard's ex-
tract, alum, or sulphate of zinc. The application of warm poultices
of oil meal or ground flaxseed, enveloping the whole joint and kept
in place by bandages, is often followed by absorption of the sAvelling,
or, if the abscess is in process of formation, by the active excretion of
pus. If an abscess forms in spite of these precautions it may be
treated surgically in several ways.

In one it should be done by a careful incision, Avhich will allow the
escape of the blood or the serum, or of the pus w^hich is inclosed in
the sac ; in another it may be by means of a seton, in order that the
discharge may be maintained and allowed to escape; for another we
may adopt the more cautious manner of emptying the cavity by
means of punctures with small trocars or aspirators. The danger
attending this last method arises from the possible sloughing of large
portions of the skin, while that attending the first is the hazard of the
possibility of the extension of the infiam.mation to the capsular liga-
ment of the knee, with the possibility of an open joint in prospect.

As we have remarked, the cavity after being emptied may rapidly
close and leave in a short time but slight traces of its previous exist-
ence. But in many, if not in most cases, there will remain, after
the cicatrization is complete, a thickening or organized exudation at
one time round and w^ell defined, at another spreading by a diffused
infiltration, to which it will be necessary to give immediate atten-
tion, from the fact of its tendency to form into an organized and
l>ermanent body. To stimulate inflammation in this diseased struc-
ture, blisters are reconmiended, but chiefly for the purpose of promt)t-
ing the process of absorption.

If this treatment fails, the use of iodin and mercurial preparaticms
is recommended.

Plain mercurial or plain iodin ointment, or both in combination as
iodid of mercury, are connuonly used, and may be applied either
moderately and by gentle degrees, as we have suggested, or more
freely and vigoi'ously with a view to more immediate effects, which.

LAMENESS : ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 385

however, will also be more superficial. The use of the firing iron
applied deeply with fine points is then to be strongly reconnnended,
to be followed by blisters and various liniments. This course may
generally be relied on as quite sure to be followed by satisfactory
results.

While the treatment is in progress it will, of course, be necessary
to secure the animal in such manner that a recurrence of the injury
will be impossible from similar causes to those which were previously
responsible.

CAPPED HOCK,

A bad habit of rubbing or striking the partitions of their stalls
with their hocks prevails among some horses, with the result of an
injury which shows itself on the upper points of tliose bones, the
siimmit of tlie os calcis. From its analogy to the condition of capped
elbow the designation of capped hock has been applied to this con-
dition.

Symptoms. — A capped hock is therefore but the development of a
bruise at the point of the hock, which if many times repeated may
excite an inflammatory process, with all its usual external symptoms
of swelling, heat, soreness, and the rest of the now-familiar phenom-
ena. The swelling is at first diffused, extending more or less on the
exterior part of the hock, and in a few instances running up along
the tendons and muscles of the back of the shank. Soon, however,
unless the irritating causes are continued and repeated, the edema
diminishes, and, becoming more defined in its external outlines, leaves
the hock capped with a hygroma. The hygroma, at the very begin-
ning of the trouble, contains a bloody serosity which soon becomes
strictly serum, and this, through the influence of an acute inflamma-
tory action, is liable to undergo a change which converts it into the
usual purulent product of suppuration.

The external appearance ought to be sufficient to determine the
diagnosis, but there are a few signs which may contribute toward a
nicer identification of the lesion. The capped hock, whether under
the appearance of an acute, edematous swelling, or as a bloodj'^ serous
collection, or as a simple serous cyst, does not give rise to any remark-
able local manifestation other than such as have already passed under
our survey in considering similar cases, nor will it be liable to inter-
fere with the functions which belong to the member in question, un-
less it assumes very large dimensions and on each side of the tendons,
as well as on the summit of the bone. But if the inflammation is
quite high, if suppuration is developing, if there is a true abscess,
or — and this is a common complication — especially when the kicking
or rubbing of the animal is frequentW recurring, then, besides the

54763°— 23 25

386 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

local trouble of the cyst or of the abscess, the bones become diseased
and the periosteum inflamed; perhaps the superior ends of the bone
and its fibro-cartilage become affected, and a simple lesion or bruise,
whatever it may have been, becomes complicated with periostitis and
ostitis, and is naturally accompanied with lameness, developed in a
greater or less degi'ee, which in some cases ma.y be permanent and
in others increased by work. These complications, however, are not
common or frequent.

Treatment. — Capped hocks are in many cases amenable to treat-
ment, and yet they often become the opprobrium of the practioner
by remaining, as the}?- frequently do, an eyesore on the top of the
hock; they do not interfere, it is true, with the work of the horse,
but fixing upon him the stigma of what, in human estimation, is a
most unreliable and objectionable reputation, to wit, that of being
an habitual " kicker," and, worse than all, one that kicks when fed.

The maxim that " an ounce of prevention is w^orth a pound of
cure " fits the present case very neatly. A horse whose hocks have a
somewhat puffy look and whose skin on the front of the hock is loose
and flabby, justly subjects himself to a suspicion of addictedness to
this bad habit, but a little watching will soon establish the truth.
If, then, the verdict is one of conviction, precautions should be inmie-
diately adopted against a continuance of the evil. The padding of
the sides of the stall with straw mats or mattresses and covering the
posts with similar material, in such manner as to expose no hard
surface with which to come in contact, will reduce the evil to its
minimum. The animal may jar his frame when he kicks, but even
then there will be less force in the concussion than if it impinged
upon the solid plank, and cuts and abrasions can not be inflicted by
a properly made cushion. Hobbles are also rightly recommended
with a view to the required restraint of motion, so applied as to se-
cure the leg with which the kicking is performed, or even both hind
legs, in such manner as not to interfere with the movement of lying
down and rising again and yet preventing that of kicking backward.
Boots similar in pattern to those which are used for the prevention
of shoe boil are also prescribed. Tliese are placed above the hock
and retained l)y straps tightly fastened. We apprehend, however,
that the difficulty of retaining them in the proper place without the
danger of chafing from the tightness of the straps may form an
objection to their use. Notwithstanding all precautions, hocks will
be capped in the future as in the past, and the study of their treat-
ment will always be in order.

The mode of dealing with them will, of course, be greatly influ-
enced by the condition of the parts. When the inflammation is
excessive and the swelling large, hot, and painful to the touch, the
application of warm water will be very painful. The leg should be

lameness: its causes and treatment. 387

well fomented several times a day, for from 15 to 20 minutes each
time, a strong decoction of marsh-mallow leaves being added to the
water, and after each application swathed with flannel bandages
soaked in the same warm mixture. A few days of this treatment
will usually effect a resolution of the inflammation ; if not complete,
at least sufficiently so to disclose the correct outlines of the hygroma
and exhibit its peculiar and specific s3rmptoms. The expediency of
its removal and the method of accomplishing it are then to be con-
sidered, with the question of opening it to give exit to its contents.
If the fluid is of a purulent character, the indication is in favor of
its immediate discharge. No time should be lost, and it should be
by means of a small opening made with a narrow bistoury. If, how-
ever, the fluid is a serosity, we prefer to remove it by punctures with
a very small trocar. Our reason for special caution in these cases is
our fear of the possibility of the existence of diseased conditions of
a severe character in the pseudo joint. For the same reason we
prefer the treatment of those growths by external applications. In
the first stages of the disease a severe and stiff blister, such as the
cantharidate of collodium, entirely covering the cyst, perhaps not
yet completely formed, when the inflammation has subsided, will be
of great benefit by its stimulating effect, the absorption it may excite,
and the pressure which, when dry, it will maintain upon the tumor.
If, however, the thickening of the growth fails to diminish, it should
be treated with some of the iodin preparations in the form of oint-
'ments, pure or in combination with potassium, mercury, etc., of
various strengths and in various proportions. My opinion of setons
is not favorable, but the actual cautery, by deep and fine firing, in
points — needle cauterization — I believe to be the best mode of treat-
ment, and especially when applied early.

A very satisfactory way to treat these cases is to burst the swelling
by pressure from without. A strap or strong linen bandage is placed
about the hock, pressing on the bursa, while the affected leg is on
the ground, the other hind foot being lifted up. When the bandage
is in place the leg should be released, and the horse will violently
flex the bandaged limb and produce pressure on the bursa, with
consequent bursting and discharging of its contents.

Whatever treatment may be adopted for capped hock, patience
must be one of the ingredients. In these parts absorption is slow,
the skin is very thick, and its return to a soft, pliable, natural condi-
tion, if effected at all, will take place only after weeks added to other
weeks of medical treatment and patient waiting.

INTERFERING, AND SPEEDY CUTS.

These designations belong to certain special injuries of the ex-
tremities, produced by similar causes, giving rise to kindred patho-

388 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

logical lesions with allied phenomena, requiring about the same treat-
ment and often followed by the same results, to wit, a blemish which
may not only subject the animal to a suspicion of unsoimdness, but
in some special circumstances may interfere with his ability to labor.
It is known as " interfering " when the location of the trouble is the
inside of the fetlock of either the fore or hind leg. It is called
" speedy cut " when it occurs on the inside of the fore leg, a little
below the knee, at the point of contact of that joint with the cannon.
It is alw^ays the result of a blow, self-inflicted, of varying severity,
and givirig rise to various lesions. {See also p. 399.)

Symptoms. — At times the injury is too slight to b© seriously
noticed, the hair being scarcely cut and the skin unmarked. At other
times the skin Avill be cut through, partly or wholly, and it may for
the time cause sufficient pain to check the motion of the animal and
induce him to siispened his labor through his inability to use the
wounded limb, traveling meanwhile for a short space on three legs
only. Sometimes a single blow will suffice, or again there wall be a
repetition of lighter strokes. In the latter case the parts will become
much swollen, hot, and so painful to the touch that the motion of
the knee or the fetlock will be sufficiently disturbed to cause lame-
ness of a degree of severity corresponding to that of the lesion. Fol-
lowing the subsidence of this diffused and edematous sw^elling is
sometimes the formation of a tumor, either at the knee or the fetlock.
This may be soft at first or become so by degrees, with fluctiuition,
its contents being at first extravasted blood, and later a serosity ; or,
if there has been a sufficient degree of inflammation, it may become
suppurative. The result of the fault of interfermg may thus be
exhibited, whether at the knee or at the fetlock, as characterized by
all the pathological conditions Avhich have appeared as accompani-
ments of capped knee or capped hock. If, in consequence of the force
of the blow or blows, the inflammation has been usually severe, a
mortification of the skin may become one of the consequences, a slough
taking place, succeeded by a cutaneous ulcer on the inside of the fet-
lock or when the greater number of the orisinal wounds are inflicted.
If the interfering has been often repeated it may be followed by
another condition, which has been considered in onr remarks upon
other affections. It is a plastic exudation or thickening of the parts,
which are commonly said to have become " callous," and the effect
of it is to destroy the regularity of the outlines of the joint to an ex-
tent Avhich constitutes a serious blemish, which will l>e permanent,
and according to the degree of the aberration from the natural and
symmetrical lines will enevitably depreciate the commercial value of
the animal.

An animal in interfering may thus exhibit a range of symptoms
which from the simplest form of a mere " touching," may succes-

lameness: its causes and treatment. 389

sively assume the serious charactei-s oi" an ugly cicatrix, a hard,
phistic swelling, or perhaps, as witnessed at the knee, of periostitis
with its se(iueke.

If a single and constantly recurring cause — a IjIow — is the starting-
point in interfering, we may now consider the subject of the predis-
position which brings such serious results upon the suffering animal,
and the conditions which lead to and accompany it. These are
numerous, but the first in frequency and importance is peculiarity
of conformation in the animals addicted to it. The first class will
include horses whose chests are narrow and w^hose legs do not stand
straight and upright, 1)ut are crooked and pigeon-toed in and out.
The second class includes those whose legs are weak, either from
youth or hard labor, or from severe attacks of sickness. Another
class is made up of those having abnormally developed feet, or w'hich
liave been badly shod with imnecessarily wude or heavy shoes. An-
other class consists of those that are affected with swollen fetlocks or
chronic, edematous swelling of the leg. Another is formed of ani-
mals with a peculiar action, as those whose knee action is very high,
and it is these that furnish most of the cases of speedy cut.

Prognosis. — The prognosis of interfering is never a ^'^ery serious
one. However violent the blow may be it is rarely that subsequent
complications of a troublesome nature occur. The ])rincipal evil
attending it is a liability to be followed by a thickened or callous
deposit which is not only an eyesore and a blemish, but constitutes a
new and increased predisposition. The remark that "an animal
which has interfered once is always liable to interfere," is often con-
firmed and sanctioned by a recurrence of the trouble.

Treavme-nt. — Another point in which there is a resemblance between
this lesion and others which we have considered is in its responsive-
ness to the same treatment with them. Indeed, the prescription of
w^arm fomentations, soothing applications, and astringent and re-
solvent mixtures, in a majority of cases, is the first that occurs all
through the list. If the swelling assumes the character of a serous
collection, pressure, cold water, and bandages will contriluite to its
removal. If suppuration -seems to be established and the swelling
assumes the character of a developing abscess, hot poultices of flax-
seed cr of boiled vegetables and the embrocations of sedative oint-
ments, those of basilicon, or vaseline, impregnated with preparations
of opium or belladonna — all these recommend tliemsehes })y their
general adaptation and the beneficial results which have followed
their administration, not less in one case than in another. When an
abscess has formed and is fluctuating, it should be carefully but fully
opened to evacuate the pus. If it is a serous cyst, some care is neces-
sary in emptying it. and the possil)ility of the extension of the in-
flammation to the joint must be taken into consideration. l\Tien the

390 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

cavities have been emptied and have closed by filling up with granu-
lations, or if, not being opened, the contents have been reabsorbed,
and there remains in either case a plastic exudation and a tendency
to the callous organization that may yet exist, blisters under their
various forms, including those of cantharides, of mercury, and of
iodin, are then indicated, principally in the early stages, as it is then
that their effects will prove most satisfactory. The use of the actual
cautery, with fine points, penetrating deeply throughout the enlarge-
ment, has in our hands, when used in the very early stages of its for-
mation, nearly always brought on a radical recovery with complete
absorption of the thickening.

STRINGHALT.

This is an involuntary movement of one or both hind legs, in which
the foot is suddenly and spasmodically lifted from the ground much
higher than it is normally carried, with excessive flexion of one bone
upon the other. This peculiarity is usually prominent, although it
may disappear with work, only to reappear after a short rest. Some-
times it is most apparent at a trot, sometimes at a walk, and other
times only when turned around ; or it may not be affected by the gait
of the horse. It does not seem to be influenced by the horse's age,
young and old being alike affected. Its first manifestations are some-
times very slight. It has been noticed as occurring in an ani-mal
when backing out of his stable and ceasing immediately after. In
some animals it is best seen when the animal is turning around on
the affected leg, and it is not noticed when he moves straight for-
ward. That this peculiar action interferes with facility of locomo-
tion and detracts from a horse's claim to soundness can not for a
moment be denied.

Cause. — Veterinarians and pathologists are yet in doubt in respect
to the cause of this affection, as well as to its essential nature.
Whether it results from disease of the hock, of an ulcerative charac-
ter ; whether it springs from a malformation ; whether it is a short-
ening of the ligaments, a chronic inflammation of the sciatic nerve, or
a disease of the spinal cord ; whether it is purely a muscular or purely
a nervous lesion, or a compound of both — it still continues, if an
etiologist is bound to possess universal knowledge within the scope of
his special studies, to be his reproach and his puzzle.

Treatment. — When there is a Icnown or suspected cause the treat-
ment should be directed toward this factor. If due to local inflamma-
tion of the hock or foot, only this local lesion should be treated. If
it remains after the local lesion has healed, or if we have no assign-
able cause, the best results have followed the sectioning of the lateral
extensor of the foot. A competent veterinarian alone should under-
take this operation.

lameness: its causes and tkeatment. 391

» thrombosis.

There are certain forms of lameness which are very peculiar in
their manifestation, and which to the nonprofessional mind must
appear to belong to the domain of mystery or theory instead of oc-
cupying a well-established position among the subjects of equine
pathology. Yet they are no less susceptible of actual demonstration
and of positive comprehension than many facts which, plain and
familiar to the general imderstanding now, were once ranked among
things occult and unsearchable. A thrombus, considered as a cause of
lameness, may find a place among these understood mysteries.

Cause. — Under certain peculiar conditions of inflammation of the
blood vessels, and also in aneurisms, clots of blood are sometimes
formed in the arteries and find their way in the general circulation.
At first, while very small, or sufficiently so to pass from one vessel to
another, they move from a small vessel to a larger, and from that to
one still larger, constantly increasing in size until at some given point,
from their inability to enter smaller vessels, their movement is
finally arrested. The artery is thus effectually dammed, and the clot
in a short time cuts off completely the supply of blood from the parts
beyond. This is thrombosis, and it often gives rise to sudden and
excessive lameness of a very painful character.

Symqyfoms. — Thrombi may form in any of the arteries, and doubt-
less have been the cause of many cases of lameness which could never
be accounted for. If they exist in small arteries their diagnosis will
probably fail to be made out with certainty, but when situated in
the larger trunks a strong suspicion of their presence may be excited-
In some cases they may even be recognized with possitive accuracy,
as when the vessels which supply the posterior extremities are affected
by the blocking up of the posterior aorta or its ramifications.

The existence of thrombosis of the arteries of the hind leg may
always be suspected when the following history is known : The gen-
eral health of the animal is good, but symptoms of lameness in one of
the legs have been developed, becoming more marked as he is worked,
and especially when driven at a fast gait. But the disturbance is not
permanent, and the lameness disappears almost immediately after a
rest. There is an increase of the difficulty, however, and, though the
animal may walk normally, he will, when made to trot, very soon
begin to slacken his pace and to show signs of the trouble, and if
urged to increase his speed will become lamer and lamer ; an abundant
perspiration will break out; he will refuse to go, and if forced he
shows weakness behind, seems ready to fall, and perhaps does fall.
While on his feet the leg is kept in constant motion, up and down,
and is kept from the ground as if the contact were too painful to
bear. If undisturbed this series of symptoms will gradually subside,
sometimes very soon, and occasionallv after a few hours he will

392 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

return to an apparently perfect condition. A return to labor will
lead to a renewal of the same incidents.

A history like this suggests a strong suspicion of a thrombus in an
artery of the hind leg, and this suspicion will be confirmed b}' the
external symptoms exhibited by the animal. The total absence of
any other disease which might account for the lameness, and a mani-
fest diminution of heat over a part or the whole of the extremity,
when compared with the opposite side or with any other portion of
the body; a sensation of cold attendant on the pain, but gradually
subsiding as the pain subsides, and the circulation, quickened by the
rest, has been reestablished throughout the extremity; all these are
confirmatory circumstances. Still, it is thus far only a suspicion, and
absolute certaintj' is yet wanting. To establish the truth of the case
the rectal exploration must be resorted to. The hands then, well pre-
pared and carefully introduced into the rectum, must explore for the
truth, first feeling for the large blood vessels wdiich, divided at the
aorta, separate to supply the right and left legs. These must be com-
pared in respect to the pulsation and other particulars. The artery
which is healthy will, of course, exhibit all the proper conditions of
that s-tate. On the other hand, if the vessel appears to the feel hard,
more or less cordy, and pulseless, or giving a sensation of fluttering,
as of a small volume of blood with a trickling motion passing through
a confined space, the difference between the sides will make the case
plain. The first will be the full flow of the circulation through an
unobstructed channel, the other a forced passage of the .fluid between
the thrombus and the coats of the artery. In such case the prog-
nosis is necessariW a grave one and the disease is more liable to grow
worse than better.

Treatment. — No form of treatment can be advised ; the suffering
of a helpless and useless animal can only be terminated bj'^ that
which ends all.

Cases occur, however, where this condition of the blood vessels
exists in a much less degree, and the diseased condition is not suf-
ficiently pronounced for final condemnation. There may even be
a possibility of the absorption of the clot, or that an increase of the
collateral circulation may be sufficient to supply the parts with blood.
In such cases spontaneous recovery may follow moderate exercise in
the pasture, field, or stable, or continuous light work may be given,
but too much hope should not be placed in such treatment.

SPRAINS OF THE LOINS.

This is an affection which suggests to the mind the idea of mus-
cular injury, and is difficult to distinguish from many similar cases.
If the animal shrinks from the slightest pressure or pinching of the
spine in the region of the loins, he is by many pronounced to be

LAMENESS : ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT. 393

" lame in the loins," or " sprained in the loins," or " weak in the
kidneys." This is a grave error, as in fact this simple and gentle
yielding to such a pressure is not a pathological sign, but is normal
and significant of health. Yet there are several conditions to which
the definition of '" sprains of the loins " may apply which are not
strictly normal.

Cause. — The muscles of the back and those of the loins proper, as
the psoas, may have been injured, or again there may be trouble of a
rheumatic nature, perhaps suggestive of lumbago. Diseases of the
bones of the vertebral column, or even those of the oi-gans of circula-
tion, may give rise to an exhibition of similar symptoms.

Sym/ptoms. — The symptoms are characteristic of a loss of rigidity
or firmnes-s of the vertebral column, both when tlie animal is at rest
and in action. In the former condition, or when at rest, there is an
arched condition of the back and a constrained posture in standing,
with the hind legs separated. In the latter there is a lateral, balan-
cing movement at the loins, principally noticeable while tlie animal is
in the act of trotting — a peculiar motion, sometimes referred to as a
" crick in the back." or what the French call a '' tour de bateau." If,
while in action, the animal is suddenly made to halt, the act is accom-
panied with much pain, the back suddenly arching or bending later-
ally, and perhaps the hind legs thrown under the body, as if unable
to perform their functions in stopping, and sometimes it is only
accomplished at the cost of a sudden and severe fall. This manifes-
tation is also exhibited when the animal is called upon to back, when
a repetition of the same symptoms will also occur.

If a slight pressure on the back or the loins is followed hy a
moderate yielding of the animal, it is, as before remarked, a good
sign of health. With a sprain of the loins pressure of any kind
is painful, and will cause the animal to bend or to crouch under it
more or less, according to the weight of the pressure. Heavy loads,
and even heavy harnessing, will develop this tenderness. In lying
down he seems to suffer much discomfort, and often accompanies the
act with groaning, and when compelled to rise does so only with
great difficulty and seldom succeeds without repeated efforts.

Sprauis of muscles proper, when recent, will always be accom-
panied with this series of symptoms, and the fact of their exhibition,
with an excessive sensibility of tlie parts, and possibly with a degree
of swelling, will alv/ays justify a diagnosis of acute muscular lesion,
and especially so if accompanied with a history of violent efforts,
powerful muscular strains, falls, heavy loading, etc., connected with
the case. If the symptoms have been of slow development and
gradual increase, it becomes a more difficult task to determine whether
the diagnosis points to pathological changes in the structure of the
muscles or of the bones, the ner>ous centers, or the blood vessels of

394 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the region. And yet it is important to decide as to which par-
ticular structure is affected in reference to the question of prog-
nosis, as the degi-ee of gi-avity of the lesion will depend largely upon
whether the disabled condition of the animal is due to an acute
cr a chronic disease.

Treatment. — The prescription which will necessarily first of all
suggest itself for sprains of the loins is rest. An animal so affected
should be immediately placed in slings, and none of his efforts to
release himself should be allowed to succeed. Hot compresses, cold-
water douches, sweating applications, stimulating frictions, strength-
ening charges, blistering ointments of cantharides and the actual
cautery, all have their advocates, but in no case can the immobility
obtained by the slmgs be dispensed with. In many cases in which
the weakness of the hind quarters was caused by disease of the
nervous centers electricity has also yielded good results.

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT.

By A. A. HoLCOMBE, D. V. S.,
Veterinary Inspector, Bureau of Animal Industry.

ANATOMICAL REVIEW OF THE FOOT.

In a description o^ the foot of the horse it is customary to inchide
only the hoof and its contents, yet, from a zoological standpoint, the
foot includes all the leg from the knee and the hock down.

The foot of the horse is undoubtedly the most important part of
the animal, so far as veterinary surgery is concerned, for the reason
that it is subject to so many injuries and diseases which in part or
in whole render the patient unfit for the labor demanded of him.
The old aphorism " no foot no horse " is as true to-day as when fii-st
expressed; in fact, domestication, coupled with the multiplied uses
to which the animal is put, and the constant reproduction of heredi-
tary defects and tendencies, has largely transformed the ancient
"companion of. the wind" into a very common piece of machinery
which is often out of repair, and at best is but shortlived in its use-
fulness.

Since the value of the horse depends largely or even entirely upon
his ability to labor, it is essential that his organs of locomotion be
kept sound. To accomplish this end it is necessary not only to know
how to cure all diseases to which these organs are liable but, better
still, how to prevent them.

An important prerequisite to the detection and cure of disease is a
Imowledge of the construction and function of the parts which may
be involved in the diseased process. Hence, first of all, the anatomical
structures must be understood. (See also p. 583.)

The bones of the fetlock and foot constitute the skeleton on which
the other structures are built and comprise the lower end of the can-
non bone (the metacarpus in the fore leg, the metatarsus in the hind
leg) , the two sesamoids^, the large pastern or os suffraginis, the small
pastern or coronet, the small sesamoid or navicular bone, and the
coffin bone or os pedis. (Plate XXXIV, fig. 3.)

The cannon bone extends from the knee or hock to the fetlock, is
cylindrical in shape, and stands nearly or quite perpendicular.

The sesamoids occur in pairs, are small, shaped like a three- faced
pyramid, and are set behmd the fetlock joint, at the upper end of the
large pastern, with the base of the pyramid down.

395

396 DISEASES OF THE HOBfeE.

The large pastern is a very compact bone, set in ai^ oblique direc-
tion downward and forward, and extends from the camion bone to
tlie coi-onet.

The coronet is a short, cube-shaped bone, set between the large
pastern and coffin bone, in the same oblique direction-

The navicular bone is short, flattened above and below, and is
attached to the coffin bone behind.

The coffin bone forms the end of the foot and is shaped like the
horny box in which it is inclosed.

All these bones are covered on the surfaces which go to make up
the joints with a cartilage of incrustation, wdiile the portions be-
tween are covered with a fibrous membrane called the periosteum.

The jcints of the legs are of especial importance, since any inter-
feience with their function very largely impairs the value of the
animal for most purposes. As the jomts of the foot and ankle are
at the point of greatest concussion they are the ones most subject to
injury and disease.

There are three of these joints — the fetlock, pastern, and coffin.
They are made by the union of two or more bones, held together by
ligaments of fibrous tissue, and are lubricated b}' a thick, viscid
fluid, called synovia, Avhich is secreted by a special membrane inclos-
ing the joints.

The fetlock joint is made by the union of the lower end of the
cannon and the upper end of the large pastern bones, supplemented
by the two sesamoids, so placed behind the upper end of the pastern
that the joint is capable of a very extensive motion. These bones are
held together by ligaments, only one of which — the suspensory— de-
mands special mention.

The suspensory ligament of the fetlock starts from the knee, ex-
tends down behin<l the cannon, lying behind the two splint bones,
until near the fetlock, where it divides and sends a branch on each
side of the joint, downward and forward, to become attached on
the sides of the extensor tendon at the lower end of the pastern bone.
As it crosses the sesamoids, on the posterior borders of the fetlock, it
throws out fibers wliich hold it fast to these bones. (Plate XXXIV,

fi?:- 2.)

The pastern joint is made by the union of the two pastern b(mes.

The coffin joint is made by the union of the small pastern, coffin.
and small sesamoid, or navicular bones, the latter being set behind
and beneath the joint surface of the coffin bone in such way as to
receive largely the weight of the small pastern.

Three tendons serve to move the bones of the foot one on another.
Two of these flex, or bend, the joints, while the other extends, or
straightens, the colunni of bones. (Plate XXXIII, fig. 5.)

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK; ANKLE, AND FOOT. 397

The flexor pedis perforans, or deep flexor of the foot, passes down
behind the cannon bone, lying against the suspensory ligament in
front, crosses the fetlock joint in the groove made by the union of
the two sesamoids, and is attached to the bottom on the coffin bone,
after covering the navicular, by a wide expansion of its fibei-s. It is
the function of this tendon to flex the coffin bone and, with it, the
horny box.

The flexor pedis perforatns, or superficial flexor of the foot, follows
the course of the preceding tendon and is attached to the middle of
the ankle. The fimction of this tendon is to flex the foot at the
fetlock.

The extensor pedis runs down in front of the leg, is attached on
the most prominent point of the coffin bone, and has for function the
straightening of the bones of the ankle and foot.

The bones, ligaments, and tendons are covered by a loose connective
tissue, which gives a symmetry to the parts by filling up and round-
ing off, and all are protected by the skin and hoof.

The skin of the fetlock and ankle is generally characterized by its
thickness and the length of its hairs, especially around tlie hind parts
of the fetlock joint in certain breeds of hoi'ses. Tlie most important
part of this envelope is that known as the coronary band.

The coronary band is that portion of the skin which secretes the
torn of which the wall of the hoof is made. This horn much resem-
bles the nail which grows on the fingers and toes of man. It is com-
posed of cylindrical tubes, which are held together by a tenacious,
opaque matter. The horn extends from the coronary band to the
lower border of the hoof. (Plate XXXII. fig. 1.)

The hoof is a box of horn, consisting of a wall, sole, and frog, and
contains, besides the coffin, navicular, and part of the small pastern
bones, the sensitive laminse, plantar cushion, and the lateral cartileges.
(Plate XXXIII, fig. 4.)

The sole of the foot incloses the box on the ground surface, is shaped
like the circumference of the foot, except that a V-shaped opening is
left behind for the reception of the frog, and is concave on the lower
surface. The sole is produced by the velvety tissue, a thin membrane
covering the plantar cushion and other soft tissues beneath the coffin
bone. The horn of the sole differs from the horn of the wall in that
its tubes are not straight and from the fact that it scales off in pieces
over the whole surface.

The frog is a triangular-shaped body, divided into two equal parts
by a deep fissure, extending from its apex in front to the base. It
fills the triangular space in the sole, to which it is intimately attached
by its borders. The horn of the frog is produced in the same manner
as the sole : but it diffei's from both the wall and sole in that the horn

398 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

is soft, moist, and elastic to a remarkable degree. It is the function
of the frog to destroy shock and to prevent slipping.

The sensitive laminae are thin plates of soft tissue covering the en-
tire anterior surface of the coffin bone. They are present in great
numbers, and by fitting into corresponding grooves on the inner sur-
face of the horn of the wall the union of the soft and horny tissues is
made complete. (Plate XXXII, fig. 1.)

The plantar cushion is a thick pad of fibrous tissue placed behind
and under the navicular and coffin bones and resting on the sole and
frog, for the purpose of receivmg the downward pressure of the col-
umn of bones and to destroy shock. (Plate XXXII, fig. -i.)

The lateral cartilages are attached, one on each side, to the wings
of the coffin bone by their inferior borders. They are thin plates of
fibro-cartilage, and their function is to assist the frog and adjacent
structures to regain their proper position after having been displaced
by the weight of the body while the foot rested on the ground. (Plate
XXXII, fig. 2.)

FAULTS OF CONFORMATION.

A large percentage of horses have feet which are not perfect in
conformation, and as a consequence they are especially predisposed to
certain injuries and diseases.

Flatfoot is that condition in which the sole has little or no con-
vexity. It is a peculiarity common to some breeds, especially heavy,
lymphatic animals raised on low, marshy soils. It is confined to the
fore feet, which are generally broad, low-heeled, and with a wall less
upright than is seen in the perfect foot.

In flatfoot there can be little or no elasticity in the sole, for the
reason that it has no arch, and the weight of the animal is received on
the entire plantar surface, as it rests upon the ground instead of on
the wall. For these reasons such feet are particularly liable to bruises
of the sole, corns, pumiced sole, and excessive suppuration when the
process is once established. Horses with flatfoot should be shod with a
shoe having a wide web, pressing on the wall only, while the heels and
frog are never to be pared. Flatfoot generally has weak walls, and as
a consequence the nails of the shoe are readily loosened and the shoe
cast.

Clubfoot is a term applied to such feet as have the walls set nearly
perpendicular. When this condition is present the heels are high, the
fetlock joint is thrown forward, or knuckles, and the weight of the
animal is received on the toes. Many mules are clubfooted, especially
behind, where it seems to cause little or no inconvenience. Severe
cases of clubfoot may be cured by cutting the tendons, but as a rule
special shoeing is the only measure of relief that can be adopted. The
toe should not be pared, but the heels are to be lowered as much as

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 399

possible and a shoe put on with a long, projecting toe piece, slightly
turned up, while the heels of the shoe are to be made thin.

Crookedfoot is that condition in which one side of the wall is
higher than the other. If the inside wall is the higher, the ankle is
thrown outward, so that the fetlock joints are abnormally wide apart
and the toes close together. Animals with this deformity are
'* pigeon-toed," and are prone to interfere, the inside toe striking the
opposite fetlock. If but one foot is affected, the liability to interfere
is still greater, for the reason that the fetlock of the perfect leg is
nearer the center plane.

When the outside heel is the higher the ankle is thrown in and the
toe turns out. Horses with such feet interfere with the heel. If but
one foot is so affected, the liability to interfere is less than when both
feet are affected, for the reason that the ankle of the perfect leg is
not so near to the center plane. Such animals are especially liable to
stumbling and to lameness from injury to the ligaments of the fet-
lock joints. This deformity is to be overcome by such shoeing as will
equalize the disparity in length of walls, and by proper boots to
protect the fetlocks from interfering.

INTERFERING.

An animal is said to interfere when one foot strikes the opposite
leg, as it passes by, during locomotion. The inner surface of the
fetlock joint is the part most subject to this injury, although, under
certain conditions, it may happen to any part of the ankle. It is
seen more often in the hind than in the fore legs. Interfering
causes a bruise of the skin and deeper tissues, generally accompanied
with an abrasion of the surface. It may cause lameness, dangerous
tripping, and thickening of the injured parts. (See also p. 387.)

Causes. — Faulty conformation is the most prolific cause of inter-
fering. When the bones of the leg are so united that the toe of the
foot turns in (pigeon-toed), or when the fetlock joints are close
together and the toe turns out, when the leg is so deformed that the
whole foot and ankle turn either in or out, interfering is almost
sure to follow. It may happen, also, when the feet grow too long,
from defective shoeing, rough or slippery roads, from the exhaustion
of labor or sickness, swelling of the leg, high Iniee action, fast work,
and because the chest or hips are too narrow.

SymptOTns. — Generally, the evidences of interfering are easily
detected, for the parts are tender, swollen, and the skin broken. But
very often, especially in trotters, the flat surface of the hoof strikes
the fetlock without evident injury, and attention is directed to these
parts only by the occasional tripping and unsteady gait. In such
cases proof of the cause may be had by walking and trotting the

400 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

animal, after first painting the inside toe and quarter of the sus-
pected foot with a thin coating of chalk, charcoal, mud, or paint.

Treaiment. — When the trouble is due to defonnity or faulty con-
formation it may not be possible to overcome the defect.

In such cases, and as well in those due to exhaustion or fatigue,
the fetlock or ankle b(K»t must be used. In many instances inter-
fering may be prevented by proper shoeing. The outside heel and
quarter of the foot on the injured leg should be lowered sufficiently
to change the relative position of the fetlock joint by bringing it
fai-ther away from the center plane of the body, thereby permitting
tlie other foot to pass by without striking.

A very slight change is often sufficient to effect this result. At
the same time the offending foot should be so shod that the shoe may
set well under the hoof at the point i-esponsible for the injury. The
shoe should be reset every three or four weeks.

When the cause has been removed, cold-water bandages to the
injured parts will soon remove the soreness and swelling, especially
in recent cases. If, however, the fetlock has become calloused from
hmg-continued bruising, a Spanish-fly blister over the parts, re-
peated in two or three weeks if necessary, will aid in reducing the leg
to its natural condition.

KNUCKLING, OR COCKED ANKLES.

Knuckling is a partial dislocation of the fetlock joint, in which the
relative position of the pastern bone to the cannon and coronet bones
is changed, the pastern becoming more nearly perpendicular, with
the lower end of the cannon bone resting behind the center line of
the large pastern, while the lower end of this bone rests behind the
center line of the coronet. Wliile knuckling is not always an un-
Boundness, it nevertlieless predisposes to stumbling and to fracture
of the pastern.

Causes. — Young foals are quite subject to this condition, but in the
great majority of cases it is only temporary. It is largely due to
the fact that before birth the legs were flexed; and time is re-
quired after birtli for the ligaments, tendons, and muscles to adapt
themselves to the function of sustaining the weight of the bod3^

As they grow old, horses with erect pasterns are very prone to
knuckle, especially in the hind legs. All kinds of heavy work,
particularly in hilly districts, and fast woi'k on hard race tracks or
roads are exciting causes of knuckling. It is also conunonly seen as
an accompaniment of that faulty conformation called clubfoot, in
which the toe of the wall is perpendicular and short, and the heels
iiigh — a condition most often seen in the mule, especially in the
hind feet.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

PLATE XXXII,

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PLATE XXXIII.

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ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE FOOT.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

I 1 iinil '.',. Sdiiinl /iifit ot'twoyrjir lUl 3?IjA.'rTi; X.XX

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SOTTND ANn fONTR A(^rEI> FhlE'.T

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK^ ANKLE, AND FOOT. 401

Lastly, knuckling is produced by disease of the suspensory liga-
ment or of the flexor tendons, whereby they are shortened, and by
disease of the fetlock joints. (See p. 372.)

Treatment. — In young foals no treatment is necessary, unless there
is some deformity present, since the legs straighten up without
interference in the course of a few weeks. When knuckling has com-
menced, the indications are to relieve the tendons and ligaments by
proper sh(jeing. The foot is to be prepared for the shoe by shorten-
ing the toe as much as possible, leaving the heels high ; or if the foot
is prepared in the usual way the shoe should be thin in front, with
thick heels or high calks. For the hind feet a long-heeled shoe with
calks seems to do best. Of course, wdien possible, the causes of knuck-
ling are to be removed ; since this can not always be done, however,
the time may come when the patient can no longer perform any
service, particularly in those cases in which both fore legs are
affected, and it becomes necessary either to destroy the animal or
obtain relief by surgical interference. In such cases the tendons be-
tween the fetlock and knee may be divided for the purpose of obtain-
ing temporary relief. Firing and blistering the parts responsible for
the knuckling ma}^, in some instances, effect a cure; but a considera-
tion of these measures belongs properly to the treatment of the
disease in Avhich knuckling appears simply as a sequel.

WINDGALL.

Joints and tendons are furnished with sacs containing a lubricating
fl«iid called synovia. When these sacs are overdistended by reason
of an excessive secretion of synovia, the}' are called windgalls. They
form a soft, puffy tumor about the size of a hickory nut, and are
most often found in the fore leg, at the upper part of the fetlock
joint, between the tendon and the shin bone. When they develop in
the hind leg it is not unusual to see them reach the size of a walnut.
(Jccasionally they appear in front of the fetlock on the border of the
tendon. The majority of horses are not subject to them after colt-
hood has passed. (See also p. 355.)

• Causes. — Windgalls are often seen in young, overgrown horses,
in which the body seems to have outgrown the ability of the joints to
sustain the weight. In cart and other horses used to hard work, in
trotters with excessive knee action, in hurdle racers and hunters, and
in most cow ponies there is a predisposition to windgalls. Street-car
horses and others used to start heavy loads on slippery streets are the
ones most liable to develop windgalls in the hind legs.

Symptoms. — The tumor is more or less firm and tense when the foot
is on the ground, but is soft and compressible when the foot is off the
ground. In old horses windgalls generally develop slowly and cause
54763°— 23 26

402 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

no inconvenience. If they are caused by excessive tension of the. joint
the tumor develops rapidly, is tense, hot, and painful, and the animal
is exceedingly lame. The patient stands with the joint flexed, and
walks with shorl^ steps, the toe only being placed on the ground.
When the tumor is large and situated upon the inside of the leg it
may be injured by interfering, causing stumbling and inflammation
of the sac. Rest generally causes the tumor to diminish in size, only
to fill up again after renewed labor. In old cases the tumors are
hardened, and may become converted into bone by a deposit of the
lime salts.

Treatment. — The large, puffy joints of suckling colts, as a rule,
require no treatment, for as the animal grows older the parts clean
up and after a time the swelling entirely disappears.

When the trouble is from an injury, complete rest is to be obtained
by the use of slings and a high-heeled shoe. Cold-water douches
should be used once or twice a day, followed by cold-water bandages,
until the fever has subsided and the soreness is largely removed,
when a blister is to be applied.

In old windgalls, which cause more or less stiffness, some relief
may be had by the use of cold-compress bandages, elastic boots, or the
red iodid of mercury blisters. Opening the sacs, as recommended
by some authors, is of doubtful utility, and should be adopted only
by the surgeon capable of treating the wound he has made. Enforced
rest until complete recovery is effected should always be insisted
upon, since a too early return to work is sure to be followed by

SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK.

Sprain of the fetlock joint is most common in the fore legs, and, as
a rule, affects but one at a time. Horses doing fast w^ork, as trotters,
runners, steeplechasers, hunters, cow ponies, and those that inter-
fere, are particularly liable to this injury.

Causes. — Plorses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with dis-
eases which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular dis-
ease, contracted heels, sidebones, chronic laminitis, etc., are predis-
posed to sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a mis-
step, stumbling, or slipping, which results in the joint being extended
or flexed to excess. The same result may happen where the foot is
caught in a rut, a hole in a bridge, or in a car track, and the animal
falls or struggles violently. Direct blows and pimctured wounds
may also set up inflammation of the joint.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of sprain of the fetlock vary with the
severity of the injury. If slight, there may be no lameness, but simply
a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven ground
and the joint is twisted a little. In more severe cases the joint swells,
is hot and puffy, and the lameness may be so intense as to compel the

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 41)3

animal to hobble on three legs. While at rest the leg is flexed at the
joint affected, and the toe rests on the ground.

Treatment. — If the injury is slight, cold-water bandages and a few
days' rest are sufficient to effect recovery. Wlien there is an intense
lameness, swelling, etc., the leg should be placed mider a constant
stream of cold water, as described in the treatment for quittor.
When the inflammation has subsided, a blister to the joint should be
applied.

In some cases, especially in old horses long accustomed to fast
work, the ligaments of the joints are ruptured, in whole or in part,
and the lameness may last a long time. In these cases the joint should
be kept completely at rest; this condition is best obtained by the
application of plaster of Paris bandages, as in cases of fracture.
As a rule, patients take kindly to this bandage, and, while wearing it,
may be given the freedom of a- roomy box or yard. If they are dis-
posed to tear it off", or if suffi.cient rest can not otherwise be obtained,
the patient must be kept in slings.

In the majority of instances the plaster bandage should remain on
from two to four weeks. If the lameness returns when the bandage
is removed, a new one should be put on. The swelling, which always
remains after the other evidences of the disease have disappeared,
may be largely dissipated and the joint strengthened by the use of the
firing iron and blisters.

A joint once injured by a severe sprain never entirely regains its
origiriiil strength, and is ever after particularly liable to a repetition
of the injury.

RUPTURE OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT.

Sprain with or without rupture of the suspensory ligament may
happen in either the fore or hind legs, and is occasionally seen in
horses of all classes and at all ages. Old animals, however, and espe-
cially hunters, runners, and trotters, are the most subject to this
injury, and with them the seat of the trouble is nearly always in one
or both the fore legs. Horses used for heavy draft are more liable to
have the ligament of the hind legs affected.

When the strain upon the suspensory ligament becomes too great,
one or both cf the branches may be torn from the sesamoid bones, one
or both of the branches may be torn completely across, or the liga-
ment may rupture above the point of division.

Sym'ptoins. — The most common injury to the suspensory ligament
is sprain of the internal branch in one of the fore legs. The trouble
is indicated by lameness, heat, swellmg, and tenderness of the affected
branch, beginning just above the sesamoid bone and extending
obliquely downward and forward to the front of the ankle. If the
whole ligament is involved, the swelling comes on gradually, and is

404 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

found above the fetlock and in front of the flexor tendons. Tlie
patient stands or walks upon the toe as much -as possible, keeping the
fetlock joint Hexed so as to relieve the ligament of tension.

When both branches are torn from their attachments to the sesa-
moids, or both are torn across, the lameness comes on suddenly and
is most intense; the fetlock descends, the toe turns up, and, as the
animal attempts to walk, the leg has the appearance of being broken
off at the fetlock. These symptoms, followed by heat, pain, and
swelling of the parts at the point of injury, will enable anyone to
make a diagnosis.

Treatiiwnt. — Sprain of the suspensory ligament, no matter Iioav
mild it may be, should alw^ays be treated by enforced rest of at least a
month, and the application, of cold douches and cold-water bandages,
firmly applied until the fever has subsided, when a cantharides blister
should be put on and repeated in two or three weeks if necessary.
When rupture has taken place the patient should be put into slings
and a constant stream of cold water allowed to trickle over the seat
of injury until the fever is reduced. In the course of a week or ten
days a plaster of Paris splint, such as is used in fractures, is to be
applied- and left on for a month or six weeks. When this is taken off,
blisters may be used to remove the remaining soreness; but it is use-
less to expect a removal of all the thickening, for, in the process of
repair, new tissue has been formed which will always remain.

Tn old cases of sprain the firing iron may often be used with good
results. As a rule, severe injuries to the suspensory ligament inca-
pacitate the subject for anything but slow, light work.

OVERREACH.

When the shoe of the hind foot strikes and injures the heel or quar-
ter of the forefoot the horse is said to overreach. It rarely happens
except when the animal is going fast ; hence is most common in trot-
ting and running horses. In trotters the accident generally happens
when the animal breaks from a trot to a run. The outside heels and
quarters are most liable to the injury.

Hyinptom''<. — The coi-onet at the heel or quarter is bruised or cut.
the injury in some instances involving the horn as well. When the
hind foot strikes well back on the heel of the fore foot — an accident
known among horsemen as " grabbing " — the shoe may be torn from
the forefoot or the animal may fall to its knees. Horses accustomed
to overreaching are often " bad breakers," for the reason that the pain
of the injury so excites them that they can not readily be brought back
to the trotting gait.

Trcatvicnt. — If the injury is but a slight bruise, cold-water band-
ages a})plied for a few days will remove all the soreness. If the parts
are deeply cut, more or less suppuration will folloAv, and, as a rule, it

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 405

is well to poultice the parts for a day or tAvo, after which cold baths
may be used, or the wounds dressed with tincture of aloes, oakum,
and a roller bandage.

When an animal is known to be subject to overreaching, he should
never be driven fast without quarter boots, which are specially made
for the protection of the heels and quarters.

If there is a disposition to "grab" the forward shoes, the trouble
may be remedied by having the heels of tliese shoes made as short as
possible, while the toe of the hind foot should project well over the
shoe. When circumstances permit of their use, the fore feet may be
shod with the " tips " instead of the common shoe, as described in
treatment for contracted heels.

CALK WOUNDS.

Horses wearing shoes Avith sharp calks are liable to wounds of the
coronary region, either from trampling on themselves or on each
other. These injuries are most common in heavy draft horses, espe-
cially on rough roads and slippery streets. The fore feet are more
liable than the hind ones, and the seat of injury is commonly on
the quarters. In the hind feet the wound often results from the
animal resting with the heel of one foot set directly over the front
of the other. In these cases the injury is generally close to the horn,
and often involves the coronary band, the sensitive laminte, the
extensor tendon, and even the coffin bone.

Treatment,, — Preventive measures include the iise of boots to pi-o-
tect the coronet of the hind foot and of a blunt calk on the outside
heel of the fore shoe, since this is generally the offending instru-
ment when the fore feet are injured. If the wound is not deep
and the soreness slight, cold-water bandages and a light protective
dressing, such as carbolized cosmoline, will be all that is needed.
When the injury is deep, followed by inflammation and suppuration
of the coronary band, lateral cartilages, sensitive lamiuie, etc., active
measures must be resorted to. Cold, astringent baths, made- by
adding 2 ounces of sulphate of iron to 1 gallon of water, should be
used, followed by poultices, if it is necessary to hasten the cleansing
of the wound by stimulating the sloughing process. If the wound
is deep between the horn and the skin, especially over the anterior
tendon, the horn should be cut away so that the injured tissues may
be exposed. The subsequent treatment in these cases should follow
the directions given in the article on toe cracks.

FROSTBITES.

Excepting the ears, the feet and legs are al^out the only parts of
the horse liable to become frostbitten. The cases most commonly
seen are found in cities, especially among car horses, Avhere salt is
used for the purpose of melting the snow on curves and switches.

406 DISEASES OF THE HOUSE.

This mixture of snow and salt is splashed over the feet and legs,
rapidly lowering the temperature of the parts to the freezing point.
In mountainous districts, where the snowfall is heavy and the cold
often intense, frostbites are not uncommon, even among animals
running at large.

Sym'ptoTns. — When the frosting is slight the skin becomes pale and
bloodless, followed soon after by intense redness, heat, pain, and
swelling. In these cases the hair may fall out and the epidermis
peel off, but the inflammation soon subsides, the swelling disappears,
and only an increased sensitiveness to cold remains.

In more severe cases irregular patches of skin are destroyed and
after a few days slough away, leaving slow-healing ulcers behind. If
produced by low temperatures and deep snow, the coronary band is
the part most often affected.

In many instances there is no destruction of the skin, but simply a
temporary suspension of the horn-producing function of the coronary
band. The fore feet are more often affected than the hind ones, and
the heels and quarters are less often involved than the front part of
the foot. The coronary band becomes hot, swollen, and painful, and
after two or three days the horn separates from the band and slight
suppuration follows. For a few days the animal is lame, but as the
suppuration disappears the lameness subsides. New horn, often of an
inferior quality, is produced by the coronary band, and in time the
cleft is grown off and complete recovery is effected. The frog is
occasionally frostbitten and may slough off, exposing the soft tissues
beneath and causing severe lameness for a time.

Treatment. — Simple frostbites are best treated by cold fomenta-
tions followed by applications of a 5 per cent solution of carbolized
oil. When portions of the skin are destroyed, their early separation
should be hastened by warm fomentations and poultices. Ulcers
are to be treated by the application of stimulating dressings, such as
carbolized oil, a 1 per cent solution of nitrate of silver or of chlorid
of zinc, with pads of oalcum and flannel bandages. In many of
these cases recovery is exceedingly slow. The new tissue by which
the destroj^ed skin is replaced always shrinks in healing, and, as a
consequence, unsightly scars are unavoidable. When the coronary
l>and is involved it is generally advisable to blister the coronet over
the seat of injuryt as soon as the suppuration ceases, for the purpose
of stimulating the growth of nfew horn. Where a crevasse is formed
between the old and the new horn no serious trouble is liable to be
met with until the cleft is nearly grown out, when the soft tissues
may be exposed by a breaking off of the partly detached horn. But
even if this accident happens final recovery is effected by poulticing
the foot until a sufficient growth of horn protects the parts from
injury.

DISEASES OF THE FETLOGK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 407

QUITTOR.

Quitter is a term applied to various affections of the foot wherein
the tissues which are involved undergo a process of degeneration
that results in the formation of a slough followed by the elimination
of the diseased structures by means of a more or less extensive sup-
puration.

For convenience of consideration quittors may be divided into four
classes, as suggested by Girard: (1) Cutaneous quittor, which is
known also as sunple quittor, skin quittor, and carbuncle of the coro-
net; (2) tendinous quittor ; (3) subhorny quittor; and (4) cartilagi-
nous quittor.

CUTANEOUS QUITTOR.

Simple quittor consists in a local inflamn^tion of the skin and
subcutaneous connective tissue on some part of the coronet, followed
by a slough and the formation of an ulcer which heals by suppura-
tion.

It is an extremely painful disease, owing to the dense character of
the tissues involved; for in all dense structures tlie swelling which
accompanies inflammation always produces intense pressure. This
pressure not only adds to the patient's suffering but may at the same
time endanger the life of the affected parts by strangulating the
blood vessels. It is held by some writers that simple quittor is most
often met with in the hind feet, but in my experience more than two-
thirds of the cases have developed in the fore feet. While any part
of the coronet may become the seat of attack, the heels and quarters
are undoubtedly most liable.

Causes. — Bruises and other wounds of the coronet are often the
cause of cutaneous quittor, yet there can be no question that in the
great majority of cases the disease develops without any known
cause. For some reason not yet satisfactorily explained most cases
happen in the fall of the year. One explanation of this fact has
been attempted in the statement that tlie disease is due to the injuri-
ous action of cold and mud. This claim, however, seems to lose
force when it is remembered that in many parts of this country
the most mud, accompanied with freezing and thawing weather, is
seen in the early springtime without a corresponding increase of
quittor. Furthermore, the serious outbreaks of this disease in the
mountainous regions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana are seen
in the fall and winter seasons, when the weather is the driest. It
may be claimed, and perhaps with justice, that during these seasons,
when the water is low, animals are compelled to wade through more
mud to drink from lakes and pools than is necessary at other seasons
of the year, when these lakes and pools are full. Add to these condi-
tions the further fact that nmch of this mud is impregnated with

408 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

alkaline salts which, like the mineral substances always found in
the mud of cities, are more or less irritating, and it seems fair to
conclude that under certain circumstances mud may become an
important factor in the production of quittor.^

While this disease attacks any and all classes of horses, it is the
large, conmaon breeds, with thick skins, heavy coats, and coarse legs
that are most often affected. Horses well groomed and cared for in
stables seem to be less liable to the disease than those running at large
or than those which are kept and worked under adverse circum-
stances.

SymptO'ms. — Lameness, lasting from one to three or four days,
nearly ahvays precedes the development of the strictly local evi-
dences of quittor. The next sign is the appearance of a small, tense,
hot, and painful tumor in the skin of the coronary region. If the
skin of the affected foot is white, the inflamed portion will present a
dark-red or even a purplish appearance near the center. Within a
few hours the ankle, or even the whole leg as high as the knee or
hock, becomes much swollen. The lameness is now so great that the
patient refuses to use the foot at all, but carries it if compelled to
move. As a consequence, the opposite leg is required to do the work
of both, and if the animal persists in standing a greater part of the
tim.e it, too, becomes swollen. In many of these cases the suffering
is so intense during the first few daj^s as to cause general fever, dull-
ness, loss of appetite, and increased thirst. Generally the tumor
shows signs of suppuration within 48 to 72 hours after its first ap-
pearance; the summit softens, a fluctuating fluid is felt beneath the
skin, which soon ulcerates completely through, causing the discharge
of a thick, yellow, bloody pus, containing shreds of dead tissue which
have sloughed away. The sore is now converted into an open ulcer,
generally deep, nearly or quite circular in outline, and Avith hardened
base and edges. In exceptional cases large patches of skin, varying
from 1 to 2|- inches in diameter, slough away at once, leaving an ugly
superficial ulcer. These sores, especially when deep, suppurate freely,
and if there are no complications they tend to heal rapidly as soon
as the degenerated tissue has softened and is entirely removed. When
suppuration is fully established, the lameness and general symptoms
subside. When but a single tumor and abscess form, the disease pro-
gresses rapidly, and recovery, under proper treatment, may be ef-

1 An ontbronk of ruiittov noar Choyenno, Wyo., which farno nndor the author's ohseiTa-
tion, was caused by the mud throuRh which the horses had to wade to reach the watering
trouf^hs. These trouglis were furnished with water by wiudmills, and the mudholes were
caused by the waste water. More than 50 cases developed inside of two months, or durin;;
September and October. Tn these 50 cases all forms of the disease and all possible compli-
cations were presented. Inuring the rainy season at Leadville, Colo., outbreaks of quittor
are common, and thr disease is so virulent that it has long been known as the " Leadville
foot rot." The soil being rich in mineral matters is no doubt the cause of the outbreaks.
In the city of Montreal quiftor is said to be very common in tlie early springtime, when
the streets are muddv from the melting snow and Ice.

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 409>

f ected ill from two to three weeks ; but when two or more tumors ar©
developed at once, or if the formation of one tumor is rapidly suc-
ceeded by another for an indelinite time, the sufferings of the patient
are greatly mcreased, the case is more difficult to treat, and recoA ery
is more slow and less certain.

This form of quittor is often complicated with the tendinous and
subhorny quittors by an extension of the sloughing process.

Treatment. — The first step in the treatment of an outbreak of quit-
tor should be the removal of all exciting causes. Crowding animals
into small corrals and stables, where injuries to the coronet are likely
to happen from trampling, especially among unbroken range horses,
must be avoided as much as possible.

Watering places accessible without having to wade through mud
should be provided. In towns, where the mud or dust is largely im-
pregnated with mineral products, it is not possible to adopt com-
plete preventive measures. Much can be done, however, by careful
cleansing of the feet and legs as soon as the animal returns from
work. Warm water should be used to remove the mud and dirt,
after which the parts are to be thoroughly dried with soft cloths.

The means which are to be adopted for the cure of cutaneous quit-
tor vary with the stage of the disease at the time the case is pre-
sented for treatment. If the case is seen early — that is, before any
of the signs of suppuration have developed — ^the affected foot is to be
placed under a constant stream of cold water, with the object of
arresting a further extension of the inflammatory process. To ac-
complish this, put the patient in slings in a narrow stall having a
slat or open floor. Bandage the foot and leg to the knee or hock, as
the case may be, with flannel bandages loosely applied. Set a tub
or barrel filled with cold water above the patient, and by the use
of a small rubber hose of sufficient length make a siphon which will
carry the water from the bottom of the tub to the leg at the top
of the bandage. The stream of water should be quite small, and is
to be continued until the inflammation has entirely subsided or until
the presence of pus can be detected in the tumor. "Wlien suppuration
has commenced, the process should be aided by the use of warm
baths and poultices of lineseed meal or boiled turnips. If the tumor
is of rapid growth, accompanied with intense pain, relief is obtained
and sloughing largely limited by a free incision of the parts. The
incision should be vertical and deep into the tumor, care being taken
not to divide the coronary band entirely. If the tumor is large,
more than one incision may be necessary.

The foot should now be placed in a warm bath for half an hour or
longer and then poulticed. The hemorrhage produced by the cutting
and encouraged by the warm bath is generally very copious and soon
gives relief to the overtension of the parts

410 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

In other cases it will be found that suppuration is well under way,
so that the center of the tumor is soft when the patient is first pre-
sented for treatment. It is always good surgery to relieve the tumor
of pus whenever its presence can be detected; hence, in these cases a
free incision must be made into the softened parts, the pus evacu-
ated, and the foot poulticed.

By surgical interference the tumor is now converted into an open
sore or ulcer, which, after it has been well cleaned by warm baths
and poultices applied for two or three days, needs to be protected by
prcper dressings. The best of all protective dressings is made of
small balls, or pledgets, of oakum, carefully packed into the wound
and held in place by a roller bandage 4 yards long, from 3 to 4 inches
wide, made of common bedticking and skillfully applied.

The remedies which may be used to stimulate the healing process
are many, and, as a rule, they are applied in the form of solutions or
tinctures.

In my own practice I prefer a solution of bichlorid of mercury 1
part, water 500 parts, with a few drops of muriatic acid or a few
grains of muriate of ammonia added to dissolve the mercury. The
balls of oakum are wet with this solution before they are applied to
the wound.

Among the other remedies which may be used, and perhaps with
equally as good results, will be noted the sulphate of copper, iron, and
zinc, 5 grains of either to the ounce of water; chlorid of zinc, 5 grains
to the ounce ; carbolic acid, 20 drops dissolved in an equal quantity of
glycerin and added -to 1 ounce of water ; and nitrate of silver, 10
grains to the ounce of water.

If the wound is slow to heal, it will be found of advantage to
change the remedies every few days.

If the wound is pale in color, the granulations transparent and
glistening, the tincture of aloes, tincture of gentian, or the spirits of
camphor may do best.

Wlien the sore is red in color and healing rapidly, an ointment
made of 1 part of carbolic acid to 40 parts of cosmoline or vaseline is
all that is needed.

If the granulations continue to grow until a tumor is formed which
projects beyond the surrounding skin, it should be cut off with a
sharp, clean knife, and the foot poulticed for twenty-four hours,
after which the wound is to be well cauterized daily with lunar
caustic and the bandages applied with great firmness.

The question as to how often the dressings should be renewed must
be determined by the condition of the wound, etc. If the sore is sup-
purating freely, it will be necessary to renew the dressing every
24 or 48 hours ; if the discharge is small in quantity and the patient
comfortiible, the dressing may be left on for several days: in fact.

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, AXKLE, AND FOOT. 411

the less often the wound is disturbed, the better, so long as the healing
process is healthy. When the sore commences to " skin over," the
edges should be lightly touched with lunar caustic at each dressing.
The patient may now be given a little exercise daily, but the bandages
must be kept on until the wound is entirely healed.

TENDINOUS QUITTOR.

This form of quittor differs from the cutaneous in that it not only
affects the skin and subcutaneous tissues, but involves also the ten-
dons of the leg, the ligaments of the joints, and, in many cases, the
bones of the foot as well.

Fortunately, this form of (juittor is less common than the preced-
ing, yet any case beginning as simple cutaneous quittor may at any
time during its course become complicated by the death of some part
of the tendons, by gangrene of the ligaments, sloughing of the coro-
nary band, caries of the bones, or inflammation and suppuration of
the synovial sacs and joints, thereby converting a simple quittor into
one which will, in all probability, either destroy the patient's life or
maim him for all time.

Causes. — Tendinous quittor is caused by the same injuries and
influences that produce the simple form. Zundel believes it to be a
not infrequent accompaniment of distemper. In my own experience
I have seen nothing to verify this belief, but I am convinced that
young animals are more liable to have tendinous quittor than older
ones, and that they are much more likely to make a good recovery.

SyTnptoms. — When a case of simple quittor is transformed into the
tendinous variet}'^ the change is announced by a sudden increase in
the severity of ail the symptoms. On the other hand, if the attack
primarily is one of tendinous quittor, the earliest symptom seen is a
well-marked lameness. In those cases dfie to causes other than inju-
ries this lameness is at first very slight, and the animal limps no
more in trotting than in walking ; later on, generally during the next
48 hours, the lameness increases to such extent that the patient often
refuses to use the leg at all. An examination made during the first
two days rarely discloses any cause for this lameness ; it may not be
possible even to say with certainty that the foot is the seat of the
trouble. On the third or fourth day, sometimes as late as the fifth,
a doughy-feeling tumor will be found forming on the heel or quarter.
This tumor grows rapidly, feels hot to the touch, and is extremely
painful. As the tumor develops, all the other symptoms increase Ir
intensity; the pulse is rapid and hard; the breathing quick; the
temperature elevated 3° or 4° ; the appetite is gone; thirst increased;
and the lameness so great that the foot is carried if locomotion is
attempted. At this stage of the disease the patient generally seelcs
relief by lying upon the broad side, with outstretched legs; tlie coat

412 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

is bedewed with a clammy sweat, and cA'ery respiration is accompanied
with a moan. The leg soon swells to the fetlock; later this swelling
gradually extends to the knee or hock, and in some cases reaches the
body. As a rule, several days elapse before the disease develops a
well-defined abscess, for, owing to the dense structure of the bones,
ligaments, and tendons, the suppurative process is a slow one, and
the pus is prevented from readily collecting in a mass.

I made a post-mortem examination on a typical case of this disease,
in whicli the animal had died on the fourth dav after being foimd
on the range slightly lame. The suffering had been intense, yet
the only external evidences of the disease consisted in the shed-
ding of the hoof from the right fore foot and a limited swelling
of the leg to the knee. The sloughing of the hoof took place two
or three hours before death, and was accompanied with but little
suppuration and no hemorrhage. The skin from the knee to the
foot was thickened from watery infiltration (edema), and on the
inside quarter three holes, each about one-half inch in diameter,
were found. All had ragged edges, while but one had gone deep
enough to perforate the coronary band. The loose connective tissue
beneath the skin was distended, with a gelatinous infiltration over
the whole course of the flexor tendons and .to the fetlock joint over
the tendon in front. The soft tissues covering the coffin bone were
loosened in patches by collections of pus which had formed beneath
the sensitive laminte. The coffin and pastern joints were inflamed,
as were also the coffin, navicular, and coronet bones, Avhile the out-
side toe of the coffin bone had become softened from suppuration
imtil it readily crumbled between the fingers. The coi'onary baud
was largely destroyed and completely separated from the other
tissues of the foot. The inner lateial cartilage w'as gangi'enous,
as was also a small spot on the extensor tendon near its point of
attachment on the coffin bone. Several small collections of pus were
found deep in the connective tissue of the coronary region; along
the course of the sesamoid ligaments; in the sheath of the flexor
tendons; under the tendon just below the fetlock joint in front;
and in the coffin joint.

But all cases of tendinous quittor are by no means so complicated
as this one was. In rare instances the swelling is slight, ajid after
a few days the lameness and other symptoms subside, without any
discharge of pus from an external opening. In most cases, how-
ever, from one to half a dozen or more soft points arise on the
skin of the coronet, open, and discharge slowly a thick, yellow,
fetid, and bloody matter. In other cases the suppurative process
is largely confined to the sensitive lamina^ and plantar cushion,
when the suffering is intense until the ]')us finds an avenue of escape

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT, 413

by separating the hoof from the coronary band, at or near the heels,
without causing a Joss of the Avhole horny box. ^Yhen the flexor
tendon is involved deep in the foot, the discharge of pus usually
takes place from an opening in the follow of the heel; if the sesa-
moid ligament or the sheath of the flexors are affected, the opening
is nearer the fetlock joint, although in most of these cases the sup-
puration spreads along the course of the tendons until the navicular
joint is involved, and extensive sloughing of the deeper parts follows.

Treatmxint. — The treatment of tendinous quittor is to be directed
toward the saving of the foot. First of all an effort must be made to
prevent suppuration; if the patient is seen at the })eginning, cold
irrigation, recommended in the treatment for cutaneous (|uittor, is to
be resorted to. Later, when the tumor is forming on the coronet,
the knife must be used, and a free and deep incision made into the
swelling. Whenever openings appear, from which pus escapes, they
should be carefully probed ; in all instances these fistulous tracts lead
down to dead tissue which nature is trying to remove by the process
of slougliing. If a counter opening can be made, which will enable a
more ready escape of the pus, it should be done at once; for instance,
if the probe shows that the discharge originates from the bottom of
the foot, the sole must be pared through over the seat of trouble.
Whenever suppuration has commenced the process is to be stimulated
by the use of warm baths and poultices. The pus Avhich accumulates
.in the deeper parts, especially along the tendons, around the joints,
and in the hoof, is to be removed by pressure and injections made
with a small syringe, repeated two or three times a day. As soon as
the discharge assumes a healthy character and diminishes in quantity,
stimulating solutions are to l^e injected into the open wounds. When
the tendons, ligaments, and other deeper parts are affected, a strong
solution of carbolic acid — 1 to 1 — should be used at first; or strong
solutions of tincture of iodin, sulphate of iron, sulphate of copper,
bichlorid of mercury, etc., may be used in place of the carbolic; after
this the remedies and dressings directed for use in simple quittor
are to be used. In those cases in which the fistulous tracts refuse to
heal it is of ten necessary to burn them out with a saturated solution
of caustic soda, equal parts of muriatic acid and water, or, better
still, with a long, thin iron, heated white hot.

But no matter what treatment is adopted, a large percentage of
the cases of tendinous quittor fail to make good recoveries. If the
entire hoof sloughs away, the growth of a new, but soft and imper-
fect hoof may be obtained by carefully protecting the exposed tissues
with proper bandages. When the joints are opened by deep slough-
ing, recovery may eventually take place, but the joint remains im-
movable ever after. If caries of a small part of the coffin bone takes

414 DISEASES OP THE HOBSE.

place, it may be removed by an operation; but if much of the bone
is affected, or if the navicular and coronet bones are involved in the
curious process, the only hope for a cure is in the amputation of the
foot. This operation is advisable only when the animal is valuable
for breeding purposes. In all other cases in which there is no hope
for recovery the patient's suffering should be relieved by death. In
tendinous quitter much thickening of the coronary region, and some-
times of the ankle and fetlock, remains after suppuration has ceased
and the fistulous tracts have healed. To stimulate the reabsorption of
this new and unnecessary tissue, the parts should be fired with the
hot iron, or, in its absence, repeated blistering with the biniodid of
mercury ointment may largely accomplish the same results.

SUBHORNY QUrrTOR.

This is the most common form of the disease. It is generally seen
in but one foot at a time, and more often in the fore than in the hind
feet. It nearly always attacks the inside quarter, but may affect the
outside, the band in front, or the heel, where it is of but little con-
sequence. It consists in the inflammation of a small part of the
coronary band and adjacent skin, followed by sloughing and sup-
puration, which in most cases extends to the neighboring sensitive
laminae.

Causes. — Injuries to the coronet, such as bruises, overreaching, and
calk wounds, are considered as the common causes of this disease.
Still, cases occur in which there appears to be no existing cause, just
as in the other forms of quittor, and it seems fair to conclude that
subhorny quittor may also be produced by internal causes.

Symptoms. — At the outset the lameness is always severe, and the
patient often refuses to use the affected foot. Swelling of the coronet
close to the top of the hoof causes the quarter to protrude beyond the
wall. This tumor is extremely sensitive, and the whole foot is hot
}i.nd painful. After a few days a small spot in the skin, over the
most elevated part of the tumor, softens and opens or the hoof sepa-
rates from the coronary band at the quarter or well back toward the
heel. From this opening, wherever it may be, a thin, watery, often
dark, offensive discharge escapes, at times mixed with blood and
ill ways containing a considerable percentage of pus.

Probing will now disclose a fistulous tract leading to the bottom of
the diseased tissues. If the opening is small, there is a tendency upon
the part of the suppurative process to spread downward ; the pus
gradually se]>arates the hoof from the sensitive Inminie until the solo
is reached, and even a portion of this may be undermined.

As a rule, the slough in this form of quittor is net deep, and if the
case receives early and proper treatment complications are generally
avoided; but if the case is neglected, and, occasionally, even in spite

DISEASES OF THE EETl-OCK, AlfKLX, AND FOOT, 415

of the best treatment, the disease spreads until the tendon in front,
the lateral cartihige, or the coffin bone and joint as well are in-
volved.

In all cases of subhorny quittor much relief is experienced when
the slough comes away, and rapid recovery is made. If, however,
after the lapse of a few days, the lameness remains and the wound
continues to discharge a thin, unhealthy matter, the probabilities are
that the disease is spreading, and pus collecting in the deeper parts of
the foot. In Zundel's opinion, if the use of the probe now detects a
pus cavity below the opening, a cartilaginous quittor is in the course
of development.

Treatment. — Hot baths and poultices are to be used until the pres-
ence of pus can be determined, when the tumor is to be opened with
a knife or sharp-pointed iron heated white hot. The hot baths and
poultices are now continued for a few days or until the entire slough
has come away and the discharge is diminished, when dressings
recommended in the treatment for cutaneous quittor are to be used
until recovery is completed. In cases in wliich the discharge comes
from a cleft between the upper border of the hoof and the coronary
band, always pare away the loosened horn, so that the soft tissues
beneath are fully exposed, care being taken not to injure the healthy
parts. This operation permits of a thorough inspection of the dis-
eased parts, the easy removal of all gangrenous tissue, and a better
application of the necessary remedies and dressings. The only objec-
tion to the operation is that the patient is prevented fi'om being
early returned to work.

When the probe shows that pus has collected under the coffin bone
the sole must be pared through, and, if caries of the bone is present,
the dead parts cut away. Aftei* either of these oj^erations the wound
is to be dressed with the oakum balls, saturated in the bichlorid of
mercury solution, as prcA-iously directed, and the bandages tightly
applied. Generally the discharge for the first two or three days is
so great that the dressings need to be changed every 24 hours; but
when the discharge diminishes, the dressing may be left on from
one to two weeks. Before the patient is returned to work, a bar shoe
shoidd be applied, since the removed quarter or heel can only be made
perfect again by a new growth from the coronary band.

Tendinous or cartilaginous complications are to be treated as
dii'ected under those headings.

CARTILAGINOUS QUITTOR.

This form of quittor ma}^ commence aa a primary inflammation of
tha lateral cartilage, but in the great majority of cases it appears as
a sequel to cutaneous or subhorny quittor. It may affect either the
fore or hind feet, but is most commonly seen in the former. As a

416 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

rule, it attacks but one foot at a time, and but one of the cartilages,
generally the inner one. It is always a serious affection for the
reason that, in many cases, it can only be cured by a surgical opera-
tion, requiring a thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the parts
involved, and much surgical skill.

Causes. — Direct injuries to the coronet, such as trampling, pricks,
burns, and the blow of some heavy falling object which may punc-
ture, bruise, or ci'ush the cartilage, are the common direct causes of
cartilaginous quittor. Besides being a sequel to the other forms of
quittor, it sometimes develops as a complication in suppurative corn,
canker, grease, laminitis, and punctured wounds of the foot. Ani-
mals used for heavy draft, and those with flat feet and low heels, ai-e
more liable to the disease than others, for the reason that thev are
more exposed to injury. Rough roads also predispose to the disease
by increasing liability to injury.

Syrfhptoms.-~W\\Q\\ the disease commences as a primary inflamma-
tion of the cartilage, lameness develops with the formation of a
swelling on the side of the coronet over the quarter. The severity of
this lameness depends largely upon the part of the cartilage which
is diseased, for if the disease is situated in that part of the cartilage
nearest the heel, where the surrounding tissues are soft and spongy,
the lameness may be very slight, especially if the patient is required
to go no faster than a walk ; but when the middle and anterior parts
of the cartilage are diseased, the pain and consequent lameness are
much greater, for the tissues are less elastic and the coffin joint is
more liable to become affected.

Except in the cases to be noted hereafter, one or more fistulous
oj^enings finally appear in the tumor on the coronet. These openings
are sui'rounded by a small mass of granulations which are elevated
above the adjacent skin and bleed readily if handled. A probe shows
these fistulous tracts to be more or less sinuous, but always leading
to one point — the gangrenous cartilage. When cartilaginous quittor
hajjpens as a complication of suppurative corn, or from punctured
woimds of the foot, the fistulous tract may open alone at the point of
injui-y on the sole.

The discharge in this form of quittor is generally thin, watery, and
contains pus enough to give it a pale-yellow color; it is offensive to
the sense of smell, due to the detachment of small flakes of cartilage
which have become gangrenous and are seen in the discharge as small,
greenish-colored particles. In old cases it is not unusual to find some
of the fistulous openings heal at the surface ; this is followed by the
gradual collection of pus in the deeper parts, forming an abscess,
which in a short time opens at a new point. The wall of the hoof,
over the affected quarter and heel, in very old cases becomes rough
and wrinkled like the horn of a ram, and generally it is thicker tluin

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLEj A>;D FOOT. 417

the corresponding quarter, owing to the stimuhiting effect which the
disease has upon the coronary band.

Complications may arise by an extension of tlie disease to the hit-
eral ligament of the coflin joint, to the joint itself, to the i)lantar
cushion, and by caries of the coffin bone.

Treatment. — Before recovery can take place all the dead cartilage
must be removed. In rare instances this is effected by nature without
assistance. Usually, however, the disease does not tend to recovery,
and active curative measures must be adopted. The best and sim-
plest treatment, in a majority of cases, is the injection of strong
caustic solutions, which destro}^ the diseased cartilage and cause its
discharge, along with the other products of suppuration. In favor-
able cases these injections wall secure a healing of the wound in
from two to three weeks. While the saturated solution of sulphate
of copper, or a solution of 10 parts of bichlorid of mercury to 100
pai-ts of water, has given the best results in my hands, equally as
favorable success has been secured by others from the use of caustic
soda, nitrate of silver, sulphate of zinc, tincture of iodin, etc. No
matter which one of these remedies may be selected, however, it must
be used at least twice n day for a time. The solution is injected into
the various openings with force enough to drive it to the bottom of
the wound, after which the foot is to be dressed with a pad of oakum,
held in place by a roller bandage tightly applied. While it is not
always necessary, it is often of advantage to relieve the pressure on
the parts by rasping away the hoof over the seat of the cartilage ; the
coronary band and laminse should not be injured in the operation.

If the caustic injections prove successful, the discharge will be-
come healthy and gradually diminish, so that by the end of the
second week the fistulous tracts are closing up and the injections are
made with much difficulty.

If, on the other hand, there is but little or no improvement after
this treatment has been used for three weeks, it may reasonably be
concluded that the operation for the removal of the lateral cartilage
must be resorted to for the cure of the trouble. As this operation
can be safely undertaken only by an expert surgeon, it will not be
described in this connection.

THRUSH.

Thrush is characterized by an excessive secretion of unhealthy
matter from the cleft of the frog. While all classes of horses are
liable to this affection, it is more often seen in the common draft
horse than in any other breed, owing to the conditions of servitude
and Tioi to the fault of the breed. Country horses are much less

54763^—23 27

418 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

subject to the disease, except in wet, marshy districts, than are the
horses used in cities and towns.

Causes. — The most common cause of thrush is the filthy condition
of the stable in which the animal is kept. Mares are more liable to
contract the disease in the hind feet when filth is the cause, while
the gelding and stallion are more liable to develoj) it m the fore
feet. Hard work on rough and stony roads may also induce the
disease, as may a change from dryness to excessive moisture. The
latter cause is often seen to operate in old track horses, whose feet
are constantly soaked in the bathtub for the purpose of relieving
soreness. Muddy streets and roads, especially where mineral sub-
stances are plentiful, excite this abnormal condition of the frog.
Contracted heels, scratches, and navicular disease predispose to
thrush, while by some a constitutional tendency is believed to exist
among ("ertain animals which otherwise present a perfect frog.

/Symptoms. — At first there is simply an increased moisture in the
eleft of the frog, accompanied with an offensive smell. After a time
a considerable discharge takes place — ^thin, watery, and highly offen-
sive, changing gradually to a thicker puriform matter, which rap-
idly destroys the horn of the fi-og. Only in old and severe cases is
the patient lame and the foot feverish — cases in which the whole
frog is involved in the diseased process.

Treatment. — Thrushes are to be treated by cleanliness, the removal
of all exciting causes, and a return of the frog to its normal condi-
tion. As a rule, the diseased and ragged portions of horn are to be
pared away and the foot poulticed for a day or two with boiled tur-
nips, to which may be added a few drops of carbolic acid or a handful
of powdered charcoal to destroy the offensive smell. The cleft of
the frog and the grooves on its edges aie then to be cleaned and well
filled with drj'^ calomel and the foot dressed with oakum and a roller
bandage. If the discharge is profuse, the dressing should be changed
daily ; otherwise it may be left on two or three days. ^Vliere a con-
stitutional taint is supposed to exist, with swelling of the legs, grease,
etc., a purgative, followed by dram doses of sulphate of iron, re-
peated daily, may be prescribed. In cases where the growth of horn
seems too slow a Spanish-fly blister applied to the heels is often fol-
lowed by gotxi results. Feet in which the disease is readily induced
may be protected in the stable with a leather boot. If the thrush is
but a sequel to other disease, a permanent cure may not be possible.

CANKER.

Canker of the foot is due to the rapid reproduction of a vegetable
]>arasite. It not only destroys the sole and frog, but, by setting up a
chronic inflannnation in the deeper tissues, prevents the growth of

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK^ ANKLE, AND FOOT. 419

a healthy horn by which the injury may be repaired. Heavy cart
horses are more often affected than those of any other class.

Causes. — The essential element in the production of canker is the
parasite; consequently the disease may be called contagious. As in
all other diseases due to specific causes, however, the seeds of the dis-
order must find a suitable soil in which to grow before they are
reproduced. It may be said, then, that the conditions which favor
the preparation of the tissues for a reception of the seeds of this
disease are simply predisposing causes.

The condition most favorable to the development of canker is
dampness — in fact, dampness seems indispensable to the existence
and growth of the parasite; the disease is rarely, if ever, seen in
high, dry districts, and is much more common in rainy than in dry
seasons. Filthy stables and nuiddy roads have been classed among
the causes of canker ; but it is very doubtful whether these conditions
can do more than favor a preparation of the foot for the reception
of the disease germ.

All injuries to the feet, by exposing the soft tissues, may render the
animal susceptible to infection; but neither the injury nor the irrita-
tion and inflammation of the tissues which follow are sufficient to
induce the disease.

For some unlaiown reason horses with lymphatic temperaments —
thick skins, flat feet, fleshy frogs, heavy hair, and particularly with
white feet and legs — are especially liable to canker.

Symptoms.- — ^Usually, canker is confined to one foot; but it may
attack two, three, or all of the feet at once ; or, as is more commonly
seen, the disease attacks first one then another, until all may have
been successively affected. When the disease follows an injury which
has exposed the soft tissues of the foot, the wound shows no tendency
to heal, but instead there is secreted from the inflamed parts a pro-
fuse, thin, fetid, watery discharge, which gradually undermines and
destroys the surrounding horn, until a large part of the sole and frog
is diseased. The liAang tissues are swollen, dark colored, and covered
at certain points with particles of new, soft, yellowish, thready horn,
which are constantly undergoing maceration in the abundant liquid
secretion by which they are immersed. As this secretion escapes to
the surrounding parts, it dries and forms small, cheesy masses com-
posed of partly dried horny matter, exceedingly offensive to the sense
of smell. When the disease originates independently of an injury,
the first evidences of the trouble are the offensive odor of the foot,
the liquid secretion from the cleft and sides of the frog, and the
rotting away of the horn of the frog and sole.

In the earlier stages there is no interference with locomotion, but
later the foot becomes sensitive, particularly if the animal is used on

420 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

rough roads, and, finally, when the sole and frog are largely destroyed
the lameness is severe.

Treatment. — Since canker does not destroy the power of the tissues
to produce horn, but rather excites tliem to an excessive production
of an imperfect horn, the indications for treatment are to restore the
parts to a normal condition, wlien healthy horn may again be secreted.
In my experience, limited though it has been, the old practice of
stripping oil' the entire sole and deep cauterization, with either the
hot iron or strong acids, is not attended with uniformly good results.

I am of the opinion that recovery can generally be eifected as surely
and as speedily with measures which are less heroic and much less
painful. True, the treatment of canker is likely to exhaust the
patience, and sometimes the resources, of the attendant ; but after
all success depends more on the persistent application of simple
remedies and great cleanliness than on the special virtues of any
particular drug.

First, then, clean the foot with warm baths and apply a poultice
containing powdered charcoal or carbolic acid. A handful of the
charcoal or a tablespoonful of the acid mixed with the poultice serves
to destroy much of the offensive odor. The diseased portions of
horn are to be carefully removed with sharp instruments, until only
healthy horn borders the affected parts. The edges of the sound
horn are to be pared thin, so that the swollen soft tissues may not
overlap their borders. With sharp scissors cut off' all the prominent
points on the soft tissues, shorten the w'alls of the foot, and nail on a
broad, plain shoe. Tiie foot is now ready for the dressings, and any
of the many stimulating and drying remedies may be used; but it
will be necessary to change frequently from one to another, until
tinally all may be tried.

The list from w hich a selection may be made comprises wood tar,
gas tar, petroleum, creosote, phenic acid: sulphates of iron, copper,
and zinc; chloric! of zinc, bichlorid of mercury, calomel, caustic
soda, nitrate of silver, chlorid of lime ; carbolic, nitric, and sulphuric
acids.

In practice I prefer to give the newly shod foot a bath for an hour
or two in a solution of the sulphate of iron made by adding 2 ounces
of the powdered sulphate to a gallon of cold water. AMien the foot
is removed from the bath it is dressed Avith oakum balls dipped in a
mixture made of Barbados tar 1 part, oil of turjjentine 8 parts, to
which is slowly added 2 parts of sulphuric acid, and the mixture avcU
stirred and cooled. The diseased parts being well covered with the
balls, a pad of oakum sufficiently thick to cause considerable pressure
is placed over them, and all are held in place by pieces of heavy tin
fitted to slip under the shoe. The whole foot is now incased in a
boot or folded gunny sack and the patient turned into a loose,

DISEASES OF THE EETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 421

dry box. The dressings are to be changed daily or even twice a
day at first. When they are removed, all pieces of new horny mat-
ter which are now firmly adherent must be rubbed otf with the fin-
ger or a tent of oakum. As the secretion diminishes, dry powders,
such as calomel, sulphates of iron, copper, etc., may prove of most
advantage. The sulphates should not be used pure, but are to be
mixed with powdered animal charcoal in the proportion of one of
the former to eight or ten of the latter. When the soft tissues are
all horned over, the dressings should be continued for a time, w^eak
solutions being used to prevent a recurrence of the disease. If the
patient is run down in condition, bitter tonics, such as gentian,
may be given in 2-dram doses twice a da}' and a liberal diet of
gi-ain allowed.

CORNS.

A corn is an injury to the living horn of the foot, involving the
soft tissues beneath, whereby the capillary blood vessels are ruptured
and a small quantity of blood escapes wiiich, by permeating the horn
in the immediate neighborhood, stains it a dark color. If the injury
is continuously repeated, the horn becomes altered in character and
the soft tissues may suppurate or a horny tumor develop. Corns
always appear in the sole in the angle between the bar and the
outside wall of the hoof. In many cases the laminas of the bar, of
the wall, or of both, are involved at the same time.

Thi-ee kinds of corns are commonly recognized — the dry, the moist,
and the suppurative — a division based solely on the character of the
conditions which follow the primary injury.

The fore feet are almost exclusively the subjects of the disease, for
two reasons : First, because they support a greater part of the body ;
secondly, because the heel of the fore foot during progression is first
placed upon the ground, whereby it receives much more concussion
than the heel of the hind foot, in which the toe first strikes the
ground.

Causes. — It may be said that all feet are exposed to corns, and that
even the best feet may suffer from them when conditions necessary to
the production of the peculiar injury are present. The heavier
breeds of horses generally used for heavy work on rough roads and
streets seem to be most liable to this trouble. Mules rarely have
corns.

Among the causes and conditions which predispose to corns may
be named high heels, which change the natural relative position of
the bones of the foot and thereby increase the concussion to which
these pai'ts are subject; contracted heels, which in part destroy the
elasticity of the foot, increase the pressure upon the soft tissues of
the heel, and render lacerations more easy; long feet, which by
removing the frog and heels too far from the ground deprive them

422 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

of necessary moisture; this, in turn, reduces the elastic properties of
the horn and diminishes tlie transverse diameter of the heels; weak
feet, or those in which the horn of the wall is too thin to resist the
tendency to spread, whereby the soft tissues are easily lacerated.
Wide feet with low heels are always accompanied with a flat sole
whose posterioi- wings either rest upon the ground or the shoe, and
as a consequence are easily bruised ; at the same time the arch of the
sole is so broad and flat that it can not support the weight of the
body, and in the displacement which happens when the foot is rested
upon the ground the soft tissues are liable to become bruised or torn.

It is miiversally conceded that shoeing, either as a direct or predis-
posing cause, is most prolific in producing corns. One of the most
serious as well as the most common of the errors in shoeing is to be
found in the preparation of the foot. Instead of seeking to maintain
the integrity of the arch, the first thing done is to weaken it by freely
paring away the sole ; nor does the mutilation end here, for the frog,
which is nature's main support to the branches of the sole and the
heels, is also largely cut aw ay. This not only permits of an excessive
downward movement of the contents of the horny box, but it at the
same time removes the one great means by which concussion of the
foot is destroyed. As adjuncts to the foregoing errors must be added
the faults of construction in the shoe and in the way it is adjusted
to the foot. An excess of concavity in the shoe, extending it too far
back on the heels, high calks, thin heels which permit the shoe to
spring, short heels with a calk set under the foot, and a shoe too
ligiit for the animal wearing it or for the work required of him, are
all to be avoided as causes of corns. A shoe so set so as to press upon
the sole or one that has been on so long that the hoof has overgrown
it until the heels rest upon the sole and bars becomes a direct cause
of corns. Indirectly the shoe becomes the cause of corns when small
stones, hard, dry earth, or other objects collect between the sole and
shoe. Lastly, a rapid gait and excessive knee action, especially on
hard roads, predispose to this disease of the feet.

Symptoms. — Ordinarily a corn induces sufficient pain to cause
lameness. It may be intense, as seen in suppurative corn, or it may
be but a slight soreness, such as that which accompanies dry corn.
It is by no means unusual in chronic corns to see old horses appar-
ently so accustomed to the sliglit pain which they suft'er as not to
limp at all. But they are generally very restless. They paw their
bedding behind them at night and often refuse to lie down for a long
rest. The lameness of this disease, however, can hardly be said to be
characteristic, for the reason that it varies so greatly in intensity ; but
the position of tlie leg while the patient is at rest is generally the same
in all cases. The foot is so advanced that it is relieved of all weight,
and the fetlock is flexed until all pressure by the conti>nts of the lioof

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 423

is removed from the heels. In suppurative corn the lameness subsides
or entirely disappears as soon as the abscess opens. When the injured
tissues are much inflamed, as may happen in severe and recent cases,
the heel of the affected side, or even the whole foot, is hot and tender
to pressure. In dry corn and in most chronic cases all evidences of
local fever are often wanting. It is in these cases that the patient
goes well when newly shod, for the smith cuts away the sole over the
seat of injury until all pressure by the shoe is removed and lowers
the heels so that concussion is reduced to a minimum.

If a corn is suspected, the foot should be examined for increased
sensibility of the inside heel. Tapping the heel of the shoe with a
hammer and grasping the wall and bar between the jaws of pincers
with moderate* pressure will cause more or less flinching if the dis-
ease is present. For further evidence the shoe is removed and the
heel cut away with the drawing knife. As the horn is pared out, not
only the sole in the angle is found discolored, but in many instances
the insensible laminae of the bar and wall adjacent are also stained
with the escaped blood. In moist and suppurative corns this discolor-
ation is less marked than in dry corn and even may be entirely want-
ing. In these cases the horn is soft, often white, and stringy or mealy,
as seen in pumiced sole resulting from founder. When the whole
thickness of the sole is discolored and the horn dry and brittle it is
generally evidence that the corn is an old one and that the exciting
cause has existed continuously. A moist corn differs from the dry
one in that the injury is more severe. The parts affected are more or
less inflamed, and the horn of the sole in the angle is undermined by a
citron-colored fluid, which often permeates the injured sole and
lamina3, causing the horn to become somewhat spongy.

A suppurative corn differs from others in that the inflammation
ends in suppuration. The pus collects at the point of injury and
finally escapes by working its way between the sensitive and insensi-
ble laminte to the top of the hoof, where an opening is made between
the wall and coronary band at or near the heels. This is the most
serious form of corns, for the reason that it may induce gangrene of
the plantar cushion, cartilaginous quittor, or caries of the coffin bone.

Treatment. — Since a diversity of opinion exists as to what measures
must be adopted for the radical cure of corns, the author will advise
the use of those which have proved most efficient in his hands.

As in all other troubles, the cause must be discovered, if possible,
and removed. In the great majority of cases the shoeing is at fault.
AVliile sudden changes in the method of shoeing are not advisable,
it may be said that all errors, either in the preparation of the foot,
in the construction of the shoe, or in its application may very
properly be corrected at any time. Circumstances may at times make
it imperative that shoes be worn which are not free from objections:

424 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

as, foi' instance, the shoe with a high calk; but in such cases it is
considered that the injuries liable to result from the use of calks are
less serious than those which are sure to happen for the want of them.

For a sound foot perfectly formed, a fiat shoe, with heels less thick
than the toe, and which rests evenly on the wall proper, is the best.
In flat feet it is often necessary to concave the shoe as much as possi-
ble on the upper surface, so that the sole may not he pressed upon.
If the heels are veiy low the heels of the shoe may be made thicker.
If the foot is very broad and the wall light toward the heels, a bar
shoe resting upon the frog will aid to prevent excessive tension upon
the soft tissues when the foot receives the weight of the body. A
piece of leather placed between the foot and shoe serves largely to
destroy concussion, and its use is absolutely necessary on some ani-
mals to enable them to work.

Last among the preventive measures may be mentioned those Avhich
serve to maintain the suppleness of the hoof. The dead horn upon
the sui'face of the sole not only retains moisture for a long time, but
protects the living horn beneath from the eflects of evaporation ; for
this reason the sole should be pared as little as possible. Stuffing the
feet with flaxseed meal, wet clay, or other like substances, or damp
dirt floors or damp bedding of tanbark, greasy hoof ointments, etc.,
are all means which may be used to keep the feet from becoming too
dry and hard.

As to the curative measures which are to be adopted much will
depend upon the extent of the injury. If the case is one of chronic
dry corn, with but slight lameness, the foot should be poulticed for a
day or two and the discolored horn pared out, care being taken not to
injure the soft tissues. The heel on the affected side is to be lowered
until all pressure is removed and, if the patient's labor is required,
the foot must be shod with a bar shoe or with one having stiff heels.
Care must be taken to reset the shoe before the foot has grown too
long, else the shoe will no longer rest on the wall, but on the sole
and bar.

I believe in cutting moist corns out. If there is inflammation,
cold baths and poultices should be used ; when the horn is Avell
softened and the fever allayed, pare out the diseased horn, lightly
cauterize the soft tissues beneath, and poultice the foot for two or
tliree days. When the granulations look red, dress the wound Avith
oakum balls saturated in a weak solution of tinctu.re of aloes or spirits
of camphor and apply a roller bandage. Change the dressing every
two or tliree days until a firm, healthy layer of new horn covers the
wound, when the shoe may be put on, as in dry corn, and the patient
retui-ned to work.

In suppurative corns the loosened horn must l)e removed, so that
the pus may freely escape. If the pus has worked a passage to the

DISEASF.S OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE. AND FOOT. 425

coronary band and escapes from an opening betvveen the band and
hoof, an opening must be made on the sole, and cold baths made
astringent with a little sulphate of iron or copper are to be used for a
day or two. When the discharge becomes healthy, the fistulous tracts
mav be iniected flailv with a Aveak solution of bichlorid of mercury,
nitrate of silver, etc., and the foot dressed as after operation for moist
corns. When complications arise, the ti-eatment must be varied to
meet the indications ; if gangrene of the lateral cartilage takes place
it must be treated as directed under the head of cartilaginous quittor;
if the velvety tissue is gangrenous, it must be cut away; if the coffin
bone is necrosed, it must be scraped, and the resulting wounds treated
on general principles. After any of the operations for corns have
been performed, in which the soft tissues have been laid bare, it is
best to protect the foot by a sole of soft leather set beneath the shoe
when the animal is returned to work. Only in rare instances are the
complications of corns so serious as to destroy the life or usefulness of
the patient. It is the wide, flat foot with low heels and thin wall
which is most liable to resist all efforts toward effecting a complete
cure.

BRUISE OF THE FROG.

When the frog is severely bruised the injury is followed by suppu-
ration beneath the horn, and at times by partial gangrene of the
plantar cushion.

C auses. — ^A bruise of the frog generally happens from stepping on
a rough stone or other hard object. It is more liable to take place
when trotting, running, or jumping than when at a sloAver pace. A
stone wedged in the shoe and pressing on the frog or between the
sides of the frog and the shoe, if it remains for a time, produces the
same results. A cut through the horny frog with some sharp instru-
ment or a punctured wound by a blunt-pointed instrument may also
cause suppuration and gangi-ene of the plantar cushion. Broad, flat
feet with low heels and a fleshy frog are most liable to these in-
juries.

f^ymptoms. — Lameness, severe in proportion to the extent of the
bi'uise and the consequent suppuration, is always an early symptom.
When the animal moves, the toe only is placed to the ground or the
foot is carried and the patient hobbles along on three legs. When
he is at rest, the foot is set forward with the toe on the ground and
the leg flexed at the fetlock joint. As soon as the pus finds its way
to the surface the lameness improves. If the frog is examined early
the injured spot may usually be found; later, if no opening exists,
the pus may be discovered working its way toward the heels. The
horn is loosened from the deeper tissues, and, if pared through, a
thin, yellow, watery and offensive pus escapes. In other cases a

426 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

ragged opening is found in the frog, leading down to a mass of dead,
sloughing tissues, which are pale green in color if gangrene of the
plantcir cushion has set in. In rare cases the cofiin bone may be in-
volved in the injury and a small portion of it may become carious.

TreatTnent. — If the injiu-y is seen at once, the foot should be placed
in a bath of cold water to prevent suppuration. If suppuration nas
already set in, the horn of the frog, and of the bars and branches of
the sole, if necessary, is to be pared thin so that all possible pressm-e
may be removed, and the foot poulticed. When the pus has loosened
the horn, all the detached portions are to be cut away. If the pus is
discharging from an opening near the hair, the whole frog, or one-
half of it, will generally be found separated from the plantar cush-
ion, and is to be removed with the knife. After a few^ days the gan-
grenous portion of the cushion will slough off from the effects of
the poultice ; under rare circumstances onlj^ should the dead parts be
remoA ed by surgical interference. ^\lien the slough is all detached,
the remaining wound is to be treated with simple stimulating dress-
ings, such as tincture of aloes or turpentine, oakum balls, and band-
ages as directed in punctured wounds. When the lameness has sub-
sided, and a thin layer of new horn has covered the exposed parts, the
foot may be shod. Cover the frog with a thick pad of oakum, held
in [)lace by pieces of tin fitted to slide under the shoe, and return to
slow work. Where caries of the coffin bone, etc., follow the injury
the treatment recommended for these complications in punctured
wounds of the foot must be resorted to.

PUNCTURED WOUNDS OF THE FOOT.

Of all the injuries to which the foot of the horse is liable, none are
more common than punctured wounds, and none are more serious
thciu these may be when involving the more important organs within
the hoof. A nail is the most common instrument by which the in-
jury is inflicted, yet wounds may happen from glass, wire, knives,
sharp pieces of rock, etc.

A wound of the foot is more serious when made by a blunt-pointed
instrument than when the point is sharp, and the nearer the injury is
to the center of the foot the more liable are disastrous results to fol-
low. Wounds in the heel and in the posterior parts of the frog are
attended with but little danger, unless they are so deep as to injure
the lateral caitilages. when quittor may follow. Punctured wounds
of the anterior parts of the sole are more dangerous, for the reason
that the coffin bone may be injured, and the suppurati(m, even when
the wound is not deep, tends to spread and always gives rise to in-
tense suffering. The most serious of the punctured M'ounds are those
which happen to the center of the foot, and which, in proportion to

DISEASES OP THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 427

their depth, involve the plantar cushion, the plantar aponeurosis,
the sesamoid sheath, the navicular bone, or the coffin joint.

Punctured wounds are more liable to be deep in flat or convex feet
tlian in well-made feet, and as a rule, recovery is neither so rapid nor
so certam. These wounds are less serious in animals used for heavy
draft than in those required to do faster work ; for the former may be
useful, even if complete recovery is not effected. Lastly, pmictured
wounds of the fore feet are more serious than of the hind feet, for the
reason that in the former the instrument is liable to enter the foot in
a nearly perpendicular line, and, consequently, is more liable to
injui'e the deeper structures of the foot; in the hind foot, the injury
is generally near the heels and the wound oblique and less deep.

Syitiptvms. — A nail or other sharp instrument may penetrate the
frog and remain for several days without causing lameness; in fact,
in many cases of punctured wound of the frog the first evidence of
the injury is the finding of the nail or the appearance of an opening
where the skin and frog miite, from Avhich more or less pus escapes.
Even when the sole is perforated, if the injury is not too deep, no
lameness develops until suppuration is established. In all cases of
foot lameness, especially if the cause is obscure, the foot should b©
examined for evidence of injury.

The lameness from punctured wounds, accompanied with suppu-
ration, is generally severe, the patient often refusing to use the
affected member at all. The pain being lancinating in character,
he stands with the injured foot at rest or constantly moves it back
and forth. In other cases the patient lies down most of the time
with the feet outstretched ; the breathing is rapid, the pulse fast, the
tem]:)erature elevated, and the bod}'^ covered with patches of sweat.

When the plantar aponeurosis is injured, the pus escapes with diffi-
culty and the wound shows no signs of healing; the whole foot is
hot and very painful. If the puncture involves the sesamoid sheath,,
the synoAdal fluid escapes. At first this fluid is pure, like joint water,
but later becomes mixed with the products of suppuration and
loses its clear, amber color. Suppuration generally extends up the
course of the flexor tendon, an abscess forms in the hollow of the
heel, and Imally opens somewhere below the fetlock joint. The
whole coronet is more or less swollen, the discharge is profuse and
often mixed with blood, yet the suffering is greatly relieved from
the moment the abscess opens.

If the puncture reaches the navicular bone the lameness is intense
from the beginning; but the only certain way to determine the
existence of this complication is by the use of the probe ; and unless
there is a free escape of synovia it must be used with the greatest
of care, else the coffin joint may be opened.

428 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

If the coffin joint has been penetrated, either by the offending
instrument or by the process of suppuration, acute inflammation of
the joint follows, accompanied with high fever, loss of appetite, etc.
The ankle and coronet are now greatly swollen, and dropsy of the
leg to the knee or hock, or even to the body, often follows. If the
process of suppuration continues, small abscesses appear at intervals
on different parts of the coronet, the patient rapidly loses flesh, and
may die from intense suffering and blood poisoning. In other cases
the suppuration soon disappears, and recovery is effected by the
joint becoming stiff (anchylosis).

When the wound is forward, near the toe, and deep enough to
injure the coffin bone, caries always residts. The presence of the
dead pieces of bone can be determined by the use of the probe: the
bone feels rough and gritty. Furthermore, there is no disposition
upon the pait of the wound to heal.

Besides the complications above mentioned, others equally as seri-
ous may be met with. The tendons may soften and rupture, the hoof
may slough off', quittors develop, or sidebones and ringliones groAv.
Finally, laminatis of the opposite foot may happen if the patient
persists in standing, or lockjaw may cause early death.

Treatment. — In all cases the horn aroimd the seat of injur j'' should
be thinned down, a free opening made for the escape of the products
of suppuration, and the foot placed in a poultice. If the injury is
not serious, recoverj'^ takes place in a few days. When the Avound
is deeper it is better to put the foot into a cold bath or under a
stream of cold w^ater, as advised in the treatment for quittor.

If the bone is injured, cold baths, containing about 2 ounces each
of sulphate of copper and sulphate of iron, may be used until the
dead bone is well softened. Avhen it should be removed by an opera-
tion. The animal must be cast for this operation. The sole is pared
away until the diseased bone is exposed, when all the dead particles
are to be removed with a drawing knife, and the wound dressed with
3 per cent compound cresol solution or a 5 per cent solution of car-
bolic acid, oakum balls, and a roller bandage.

Wounds of the bone which are made by a blunt-pointed instrument,
like the square-pointed cut nail, in which a portion of the surface is
driven into the deeper parts of the bone, always progress slowly, and
should be operated upon as soon as the conditions are favorable.
Even wounds of the navicular bone, accompanied with caries, may be
operated on and the life of the patient saved; but the most skillful
surgery is required and only the experienced operator should under-
take their treatment.

If there is an escape of i>ure synovial fluid froui a wound of tlie
sole, without injury to the bone, a small pencil of corrosive sublimate

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK^ ANKLE, AND FOOT. 429

should be introduced to- the bottom of the Avouiid and the lout dressed
as directed above.

The other complications are to be treated as directed under their
proper headings.

After healing of the wounds has been efiected. lameness, with more
or less swelling of the coronary region, may remain. In such cases
the coronet should be blistered or even fired with the actual cautery,
and the patient turned to pasture. If the lameness still persists, and
is not due to a stiff joint, unnerving may be resorted to in many
cases with very good results. If the joint is anchylosed, no treatment
can relieve it, and the patient must either be put to very slow Avork or
kept for breeding i^urposes only.

''''Prick m shoeing " is an injury which should be considered rmder
the head of punctured wounds of the foot. The nails by which the
shoe is fastened to the hoof may produce an injury followed by
inflammation and suppuration in two days, by penetrating the soft
tissues directly or by being driven so deep that the inner layers of the
horn of the wall are pressed against the soft tissues with such force
as to crush them. In either case, unless the injury is at the toe, the
animal generall}' goes lame soon after shoeing, when the first evi-
dence of the trouble may be the discharge of pus at the coronet. If
lameness follows close upon the setting of the shoes, without other
appreciable cause, each nail should be lightly struck with a hammer,
when the one at fault will be detected by the flinching of the animal.

Treatment consists in drawing the nail, and if the soft tissues have
been penetrated or suppuration has commenced, the horn must be
pared away until the diseased parts are exposed. The foot is now to
be poulticed for a day or two, or until the lameness and suppuration
liaA'e ceased. If the discharge of pus from the coronet is the first
evidence of the disease, the offending nail must be fovmd and re-
moved, the horn pared out, and a weak solution of carbolic acid or
compound cresol injected at the coronet until the fistulous tract has
healed.

CONTRACTED HEELS, OR HOOFBOUND.

Contracted heels, or hoof bound, is a coimnon disease among horses
kept on hard floor in dry stables, and in such as are subject to much
saddle work. It consists in an atrophy, or shrinking, of the tissues of
the foot, whereby the lateral diameter of the heels is diminished. It
affects the fore feet principally ; but it is seen occasionally in tlie hind
feet, where it is of less importance, for the reason that the hind foot
first strikes the ground with the toe, and consequently less expansion
of the heels is necessary than in the fore feet, where the weight is
first received on the heels. Any interference with the expansibility
of this part of the foot interferes with locomotion and ultimately

430 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

gives rise to lameness. Usually h\it one foot is affected at a time, but
when both are diseased the change is gieater in one than in the other.
Occasionally but one heel, and that the inner one, is contracted ; in
these cases there is less liable to be lameness and permanent impair-
ment of the animars usefulness. According to the opinion of some
of the French veterinarians, hoofbound should be divided into twa
classes — total contraction, in which the whole foot is shrunken in
size, and contraction of the heels, when the trouble extends only from
the quarters backward. (PI. XXXV, figs. 4 and 7.)

Causes. — Animals raised in wet or marshy districts, when taken to
towns and kept on dry floors, are liable to have contracted heels, not
alone because the horn becomes dry, but because fever of the feet and
wasting away of the soft tissues result from the change. Another
common cause of contracted heels is to be found in faulty shoeing,
such as rasping the wall, cutting away the fi"og, heels, and bars; high
calks and the use of nails too near the heels. Contracted heels may
happen as one of the results of other diseases of the foot ; for instance,
it often accompanies thrush, sidebones, ringbones, canker, navicular
disease, corns, sprains of the flexor tendons, of the sesamoid and sus-
pensory ligaments, and from excessive knuckling of the fetlock joint.

Symptofns. — In contiaction of the heels the foot has lost its circu-
lar shape, and the walls from the quarters backward approach to a
straight line. The ground surface of the foot is now smaller than the
coronary circumference; the frog is pinched between the inclosing
heels, is much shrunken, and at times is affected with thrush. The
sole is more concave than natuial, the heels are higher, and the bara
are long and nearly perpendicular. The whole hoof is dry and so
hard that it can scarcely be cut; the parts toward the heels are scaly
and often ridged like the horns of a ram, while fissures, more or less
deep, may be seen at the quarters and heels following the direction
of the horn fibers. (Plate XXXYI, fig. 10.) When the disease is
well adA'anced lameness is present, while in the earlier stages there is
only an uneasiness evinced by frequent shifting of the affected foot.
Stmnbling is common, especially on haid or rough roads. In most
cases the animal comes out of the stable stiff' and inclined to walk on
the toe, but after exercise he may go free again. He wears his shoes
off at the toe in a .short time, no matter whether he works or remains
in the stable. If the shoe is removed and the foot jDared in old cases,
a diy, mealy horn will be found where the sole and wall unite, ex-
tending upward in a narrow line toward the quarters.

Treatment. — First of all, the preventive measures must be consid-
ered. The feet are to be kept moist :md the horn fiom drying out by
the use of damp sawdust or other bedding; by occasional poultices of
boiled turnips, linseed meal, etc., and greasy hoof ointments to the
sole an<l walls of the feet. The wall of the foot should be spared

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 43:1

from the abuse of the rasp; the frog, heels, and bars are not to be
miitihited with the knife, nor should calks be used on the shoe except
when absolutely necessary. The shoes should be reset at least once a
month to prevent the feet from becoming too long, and daily exercise
•must be insisted on.

As to curative measures, a diversity of opinion exists. A number
of kinds of special shoes have been invented, having for an object the
spreading of the heels, and perhaps any of these, if properly used,
would eventuall}^ effect the desired result. But a serious objection
to most of these shoes is that they are expensive and often difficult to
make and apply. The method of treatment which I have adopted is
not only attended with good results, but is inexpensive, if the loss of
the patient's services for a time is not considered a part of the ques-
tion. It consists, first, in the use of poultices or baths of cold water
mitil the horn is thoroughly softened. The foot is now prepared for
the shoe in the usual way, except that the heels are lowered a little
and the frog remains untouched, A shoe, called a " tip," is made by
cutting off both branches at the center of the foot and drawing the
ends down to an edge. The tapering of the branches should begin at
the toe, and the shoe should be of the usual width, with both the upper
and lower surfaces flat. This tip is to be fastened on with six or eight
small nails, all set well forward, two being in the toe. With a com-
mon foot rasp begin at the heels, close to the coronet, and cut away
the horn of the wall until only a thin layer covers the soft tissues
beneath. Cut forward imtil the new surface meets the old 2| or 3
inches from the heel. The same sloping shape is to be observed in
cutting downward toward the bottom of the foot, at which point the
wall is to retain its normal thickness. The foot is now blistered all
round the coronet with »Spanish-fly ointment; when this Is well set,
the patient is to be turned to pasture in a damp field or meadow. The
blister should be repeated in three or four weeks, and, as a rule, the
patient can be returned to work in two or three months.

The object of the tip is to throw the weight on the frog and heels,
which are readily spread after the horn has been cut away on the
sides of the wall. The internal structures of the foot at the heels,
being relieved of excessive jDressure, regain their nomal condition if
the disease is not of too long standing. The blister tends to relieve
any inflammation which may be present, and stimulates a rapid
growth of healthy horn, which, in most cases, ultimately forms a
wide and normal heel. In old, chronic cases, with a shrunken frog
and increased concavity of the sole, accompanied with excessive
wasting of all the internal tissues of the foot, satisfactory results can
not be expected and are rarely obtained. Still, much relief, if not
an entire cure, mav be effected by these measures.

432 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

When thrush is present as a complication, its cure inust be sought
by measures directed under that heading. If sidebones, ringbones,
navicular disease, contracted tendons, or other diseases have been the
cause of contracted heels, treatment will be useless until the cause is
removed.

SAND CRACKS.

A sand crank is a fissure in the horn of the wall of the foot. These
fissures are quite narrow, and, as a general rule, the}^ follow the di-
rection of the horny fibers. They may occur on any part of the wall,
but ordinarily are only seen directly in front, when they are called
toe cracks; or on the lateral parts of the walls, when they are known
as quarter cracks. (Plate XXXVI.)

Toe cracks are most common in the hind feet, while quarter cracks
nearly always affect the fore feet. The inside quarter is more liable
to the injury than the outside, for the reason that this quarter is not
only the thinner, but during locomotion receives a gi^eater part of the
weight of the body. A sand crack may be superficial, involving only
the outer parts of the wall, or it may be deep, involving the whole
thickness of the wall and the soft tissues beneath.

The toe crack is most likely to be complete — ^that is, extending from
the coronary band to the sole — while the quarter crack is nearly al-
ways incomplete, at least when of comparatively recent origin. Sand
cracks are most serious when they involve the coronary band in the
injury. They may be complicated at any time by hemorrhage, in-
flammation of the laminae, suppuration, gangrene of the lateral car-
tilage and of the extensor tendon, caries of the coffin bone, or the
growth of a horny tumor loiown as a keraphyllocele.

Causes. — Kelative dryness of the horn is the principal predispos-
ing cause of sand cracks. Excessive dryness is perhaps not a more
prolific cause of cracks in the horn than alternat'C changes from
damp to dry. It is even claimed that these injuries are more common
in animals working on wet roads than those working on roads that
are rough and dry; at least these injuries are not common in moun-
tainous countries. Animals used to running at pasture when trans-
ferred to stables with hard, dry floors are more liable to quarter
cracks than those accustomed to stables. Small feet, with thick, hard
hoofs, and feet which are excessively large, are more susceptible to
sand cracks than those of better proportion. A predisposition to
quarter cracks exists in contracted feet, and in those where the toe
turns out or the inside quarter turns under.

Heavy shoes, large nails, and nails set too far back toward the
heels, together with such diseases as canker, quittor, gi-ease, and sup-
purative corns, must be included as occasional predisposing causes
of sand cracks.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

jrA Top of wall.

Iron, for hurmng Kales

Actual thickness
of -wails of Two f.

Quarter 'CracK, with, cross-cutt

The clamp and, nail remedies appU^d.

9 ('

Toe cracK. WaZtremjovefi to sTumv.
absorption, of coffin, bone.

Treated by cicLmping wd/i, nails.

10

i ir^*^- -'v*--^ *'."-i||i. iiwr i-tf-n - -'

--^

Cracked walls.

One effect of quarter- OacK.

|-luincN ,Ir.-l

QUARTER- CRACK AKD REMEDIES.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the HorSS.

■—"'•cat

^.m H - --t-"

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 433

Fast work on hard roads, jumping, and blows on the coronet,
together with calk wounds of the feet, are accidental causes of quar-
ter cracks in particular. Toe cracks are more likely to be caused by
heavy pulling on slippery roads and pavements or on steep hills.

ISymptoms. — The fissure in the horn is ofttimes the only evidence
of the disease; even this maj'^ be accidentallj'^ or i^urposely hidden
from casual view by mud, ointments, tar, wax, putty, gutta-percha,
or by the long hairs of the coronet.

Sand cracks sometimes commence on the internal face of the wall,
involving its whole thickness excepting a thin layer on the outer
surface. In these cases the existence of the injury may be suspected
from a slight depression,which begins near the coronary band and
follows the direction of the horny fibers; but the trouble can only be
positively diagnosed by paring away the outside layers of horn until
the fissure is exposed. In toe cracks the walls of the fissure are in
close apposition when the foot receives the weight of the body, but
wdien the foot is raised from the gi'ound the fissure opens. In quar-
ter crack the opposition is true ; the fissure closes when the weight is
removed from the foot. As a rule, sand cracks begin at the coronary
band, and as they become older they not only extend downward, but
they also gi-ow deeper. In old cases, particularly in toe cracks, the
horn on the borders of the fissure loses its vitality and scales off,
sometimes through the greater part of its thickness, leaving behind
a rough and irregular channel extending from the coronet to the
end of the toe.

In many cases of quarter crack, and in some cases of toe crack as
well, if the edges remain close together, with but little motion, the
fissure is dry ; but in other cases a thin, offensive discharge issues from
the crack and the ulcerated soft tissues, or a funguslike growth
protrudes from the narrow opening.

When the cracks are deep and the motion of their edges consider-
able, so that the soft tissues are bruised and pinched with every
movement, a constant inflammation of the parts is maintained and
the lameness is severe.

Ordinarily the lameness of sand crack ia slight when the patient
walks, but it is greatly aggravated when he is made to trot, and the
harder the road the worse he limps. Furthermore, the lameness is
greater going downhill than up, for the reason that these conditions
are favorable to an increased motion in the edges of the fissure.
Lastly, more or less hemorrhage accompanies the inception of a sand
crack when the whole thickness of the wall is involved. Subsequent
hemorrhages may also take place from fast- ivork, jumping, or a
misstep.

54763°— 2:i 28

434 DISEASES OF THE HIORSE.

Treatment. — So far as preventive measures are concerned, but
little can be done. The suppleness of the horn is to be maintained
by the use of ointments, damp floor, bedding, etc. The shoe is to be
proportioned to the weight and work of the animal; the nails holding
it in place are to be of proper size and not driven too near the heels ;
sufficient calks and toe pieces must be added to the shoes of horses
working en slippery roads ; also, the evils of jumping, fast driving,
etc., are to be avoided.

When a fissure has made its appearance, means are to be adopted
which will prevent it from growing longer or deeper; this can only
be done by arresting all motion in the edges. The best and simplest
artificial appliance for holding the borders of a toe crack together
is the Vachette clasp. These clasps and the instruments necessary
for their application can be had of any prominent maker of veteri-
nary instruments. (PI. XXXVI.) These instruments comprise a
cautery iron, with which two notches are burned in the wall, one on
each side of the crack, and forceps with which the clasps are closed
into place in the bottom of the notches and the edges of the fissure
brought close together. The clasps, being made of stiff steel wire,
are strong enough to prevent all motion in the borders of the crack.
Before these clasps are applied the fissure should be thoroughly
cleansed and dried, and if the injury is of recent origin the crack
may be filled with a putty made of 2 parts of gutta-percha and 1 part
of gum ammoniac. The number of clasps to be used is to be deter-
mined by the length of the crack, the amount of motion to be arrested,
etc. Generally the clasps are from one-half to three-quarters of an
inch apart. The clasps answer equally as well in quarter crack if
the wall is sufficiently thick and not too dry and brittle to withstand
the strain.

In the absence of these instruments and clasps a hole may be drilled
through the horn across the fissure and the crack closed with a thin
nail made of tough iron, neatly clinched at both ends. A plate of
steel or brass is sometimes fitted to the parts and fastened on with
short screws; while this appliance may prevent much gaping of the
fissure, it does not entirely arrest motion of the edges, for the reason
that the plate and screw can not be rendered immobile.

If, for any reason, the measures above fail or can not be used,
recourse must be had to an operation. The horn is softened by the
use of warm baths and poultices, the patient cast, and the walls of the
fissure entirely removed with the knife. The horn removed is in the
shape of the letter V, w'ith the base at the coronet. Care must be
taken not to injure the coronary band and the lamina?. The wound
is to be treated with mild stimulant dressings, such as compound
cresol solution, a weak solution of carbolic acid, tincture of aloes, etc.,

DISEASES OF TTTE FETT.OCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 435

oakum balls, and a roller bandage. After a few days the wound will
be covered w4tli a new, white horn, and only the oakum and bandages
will be needed. As the new quarter grows out, the lameness dis-
appears, and the patient may be shod with a bar shoe and returned to
work.

In all cases of sand crack the growth of horn should be stimulated
by cauterizing the coronary band or by the use of blisters. In simple
I quarter crack recovery will often take place if the coronet is blistered,

the foot shod with a " tip," and the patient turned to pasture.

The shoe in toe crack should have a clip on each side of the fissure
and should be thicker at the toe than at the heels. The foot should be
lowered at the heels by paring, and spared at the toe, except directly
under the fissure, where it is to be pared away until it sets free from
the shoe.

When any of the complications referred to above arise, special
measures must be resorted to. For the proper treatment of gangrene
of the lateral cartilage and extensor tendon and caries of the coffin
bone reference may be had to the articles on quittors. If the horny
tumor, known as keraphyllocele, should develop, it is to be removed
by the use of the knife. Since this tumor develops on the inside of
the horny box and may involve other important organs of the foot in
disease, its removal should only be undertaken by a skillful surgeon.

NAVICULAR DISEASE.

Navicular disease is an inflammation of the sesamoid sheath, in-
duced by repeated bruising or laceration, and complicated in many
cases by inflammation and caries of the navicular bone. In some
instances the disease undoubtedly begins in the bone, and the ses-
amoid sheath becomes involved subsequently by an extension of the
inflammatory process. (Plate XXXIV, fig. 5.)

The Thoroughbred horse is more commonly affected than any other,
yet no class or breed of horses is entirely exempt. The mule, how-
ever, seems rarely, if ever, to suffer from it. For reasons which will
appear when considering the causes of the disease, the hind feet are
not liable to be affected. Usually but one fore foot suffers from the
disease, but if both should be attacked the trouble has become chronic
in the first before the second shows signs of the disease.

Causes. — To comprehend fully how navicular disease may be caused
by conditions and usages common to nearly all animals, it is neces-
sary to recall the peculiar anatomy of the parts involved in the process
and the functions which they perform in locomotion.

It must be remembered that the fore legs largely support the weight
of the body when the animal is at rest, and that the faster he moves

436 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the greater is the shook which the fore feet must receive as the body
is thrown forward hy the propelling force of the hind legs. This
shock could not be withstood by the tissues of the fore feet and legs
were it not that it is largely dissipated by the elastic muscles which
bind the shoulder to the body, the ease with which the arm closes on
the shoulder blade, and the spring of the fetlock joint. Even these
means, however, are not sufficient within themselves to protect the
foot from injury ; so nature has further supplemented them by plac-
ing the coffin joint on the hind part of the coffin bone instead of
directly on top of it, w^hereby a large part of the shock of locomotion
is dispersed before it can reach the vertical column represented by
the cannon, knee, and arm bones. A still further provision is made by
placing a soft, elastic pad — the frog and plantar cushion — at the
heels to receive the sesamoid expansion of the flexor tendon as it is
forced downward by the pressure of the coronet bone against the
navicular. Extraordinary as these means may appear for the destruc-
tion of shock, and ample as they are when the animal is at a slow pace
or unweighted by rider or load, they fail to relieve the parts com-
])letely from concussion and excessive pressure whenever the opposite
conditions are present. The result, then, is that the coronet bone
forces the navicular hard against the flexor tendon, which, in turn.
])resses firmly against the navicular as the force of the contracting
muscles lifts the tendon into place. It is self-evident, then, that the
more rapid the pace and the greater the load, the greater must these
contending forces be, and the greater the liability to injur3^ For
the same reason horses with excessive knee action are more liable to
suffer from this disease than others, concussion of the foot and intense
pressure on the tendon being common among such horses.

Besides the above-mentioned exciting causes must be considered
those which predispose to the disease. Most prominent among these
is heredity. It may be claimed, however, that an inherited predis-
position to navicular disease consists not so much in a special sus-
ceptibility of the tissues which are involved in the process as in a
vice of conformation which, as is well known, is liable to be trans-
mitted fi'om parent to offspring. The faults of conformation most
likely to be followed by the development of navicular disease are
an insufficient plantar cushion, a small frog, high heels, excessive
knee action, and ccmtractcd heels. Finally, the environments of
domestication and use, such as dry stables, heavy pulling, bad
shoeing, punctured wounds, etc., all have their influence in develop-
ing this disease.

^S'ytnptom^. — In the early stages of navicular disease the symptoms
are generally very obscure. When the disease begins in inflannna-
tioii of the navicular bone, the animal Avhile at rest points the

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 437

affected foot a time before any lujueness is seen. While at work he
apparently travels as well as ever, bnt Avhen placed in the stable one
foot is set out in front of the other, resting on the toe. with fetlock
and knee flexed. After a time, if the case is closely watched, the
animal takes a few lame steps while at work, bnt the lameness dis-
appears as suddenly as it came, and the driver doubts whether the
animal was really lame at all. Later the patient has a lame spell
which may last during a greater part of the day. but the next morn-
ing it is gone; he leaves the stable all right, but goes lame again
during the day. In times he has a severe attack of lameness, which
may last for a week or more, Avhen a remission takes place and it
may be weeks or months before another attack supervenes. Finally,
he becomes constantly lame, and the more he is uwed the greater
the lameness.

In the lameness from navicular disease the affected leg ahvays
takes a short step, and the toe of the foot first strikes the ground ;
so the shoe is most w^orn at this point. If the patient is made to
move backAvard, the foot is set down Avith exceeding great care, and
the Aveight rests upon the affected leg but a moment. When exer-
cised he often stumbles, and if the road is rough he may fall on his
knees. If he is lame in both feet the gait is stilty, the shoulders
seem stiff, and, if made to Avork, he sAveats profusely from intense
pain. Early in the development of the disease a careful examina-
tion w^ill reveal some increased heat in the heels and frog, particu-
larly after Avork; as the disease progresses this becomes more
marked, imtil the Avhoie foot is hot to the touch. At the same time
there is an increased sensibility of the foot, for the patient flinches
from the percussion of a hammer lightly applied to the frog and
heels or from the pressure of the smith's pincers. The frog is gen-
erally shrunken, often of a pale-red color, and at times is affected
with thrush. If the heels are pared away so that all the w^eight is
received on the frog, or if the same result is attained by the applica-
tion of a bar shoe, the annual is excessively lame. The muscles of
the leg and shoulder shrink away and often tremble as the animal
stands at rest. Aft^r months of lameness the foot is found to be
shrunken in its diameter and apparently lengthened; the horn is
dry and brittle and has lost its natural gloss, Avhile circular ridges,
developed most toAvard the heels, cover the upper part of the hoof.
When both feet are affected the animal points first one foot then
the other, and stands Avith the hind feet well forward beneath the
body, so as to relieve the fore feet as much as possible from bearing
weight. In old cases the Avasting of the muscles and the knuckling at
the fetlock become so great that the leg can not be straightened and
locomotion can scarcely be performed. The disease generally makes

488 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

a steady progress without inclining to recovery — the remission of
symptoms in the earlier stages should not be interpreted as evidence
that the process has terminated. The complications usually seen are
ringbones, sidebones, thrush, contracted heels, quartercracks, and
fractures of the navicular, coronet, and pastern bones.

Treatment. — But few cases of navicular disease recover. In the
early stages the wall of the heels should be rasped away, as directed
in the treatment for contracted heels, until the horn is quite thin;
the coronet should be well blistered with Spanish-fly ointment, and
the patient turned to grass in a damp field or meadow. After three
or four weeks the blister should be repeated. This treatment is to
be continued for two or three months. Plane shoes are to be put on
when the patient is returned to work. In chronic cases the animal
should be put to slow, easy work. To relieve the pain, neurotomy
may be performed — an operation in which the sense of feeling is
destroyed in the foot by cutting out pieces of the nerve at the fetlock.
This operation in nowise cures the disease, and, since it may be
attended with serious results, can be advised only in certain favorable
cases, to be determined by the veterinarian.

SIDEBONES.

A sidebone consists in a transformation of the lateral cartilages
found on the wings of the coffin bone into bony matter by the depo-
sition of lime salts. The disease is a common one, especially in
heavy horses used for draft, in cavalry horses, cow ponies, and other
saddle horses, and in runners and trotters.

Sidebones are peculiar to the fore feet, yet they occasionally de-
velop in the hind feet, where they are of little importance since they
cause no lameness. In many instances sidebones are of slow growth
and, being unaccompanied with acute inflammation, they cause no
lameness until such time as, by reason of their size, they interfere
with the action of the joint. (Plate XXXIV, fig. 4.)

Causes. — Sidebones often grow in heavy horses without any appar-
ent injury, and their development has been attributed to the over-
expansion of the cartilages caused by the great weight of the animal.
Blows and other injuries to the cartilages may set up an inflammatory
process which ends in the formation of these bony growths. High-
heeled shoes, high calks, and long feet are always classed among the
conditions which may excite the growth of sidebones. They are often
seen in connection with contracted heels, ringbones, navicular dis-
ease, punctured wounds of the foot, quarter cracks, and occasionally
as a sequel to founder.

/Si/?npt07ns. — In the earlier stages of the disease, if inflammation is
present, the only evidence of the trouble to be detected is a little fever
over the seat of the affected cartilage and a slight lameness. In th9

DISKASKS OF THE FETLOCK, AN"KLE, AND FOOT, 439^

lameness of sidebones the toe of the foot first strikes the ground and
the step is shorter than natural. The subject comes out of the stable
stiff and sore, but the gait is more free after exercise.

Since the deposit of bony matter often begins in that purt of the
cartilage where it is attached to the coffin bone, the diseased process
may exist for some time before the bony growth can be seen or felt.
Later, however, the cartilage can be felt to have lost its elastic
character, and by standing in front of the animal a prominence of the
coronary region at the quarters can be seen. Occasionally these
bones become so large as to bulge the hoof outward, and by pressing
on the joint they so interfere with locomotion that the animal becomes
entirely useless.

Treatment. — So soon as the disease can be diagnosed active treat-
ment should be adopted. Cold-water bandages are to be used for a
few days to relieve the fever and soreness.

The improvement consequent on the use of these simple measures
often leads to the belief that the disease has recovered ; but with a
return to work the lameness, fever, etc., reappears. For this reason
the use of blisters, or, better still, the firing iron, should follow on the
discontinuance of the cold bandages.

But in many instances no treatment will arrest the growth of these
bony tumors, and as a palliative measure neurotomy must be resorted
to. Generally this operation will so relieve the pain of locomotion
that the patient may be used for slow work ; but in animals used for
fast driving or for saddle purposes, the operation is practically use-
less. Some years ago at Fort Leavenworth I unnerved a number of
cavalry horses that were suffering from sidebones, and the records
show that in less than seven months all were more lame than ever.
Since a predisposition to develop sidebones may be inherited, ani-
mals suffering from this disease should not be used for breeding
purposes unless the trouble is known to have originated from an

accident.

RINGBONE.

A ringbone is the growth of a bony tumor on the ankle. This
tumor is, in fact, not the disease, but simply the result of an in-
flammatory action set up in the periosteum and bone tissue proper of
the pastern bones. (Plate XXXIV, fig. 1.) (See also p. 313.)

Causes. — Injuries, such as blows, sprains, overwork in young, unde-
veloped animals, fast work on hard roads, jumping, etc., are among
the principal exciting causes of ringbone. Horses most disposed to
this disease are those with short, upright pasterns, for the reason that
the shock of locomotion is but imperfectly dissipated in the fore legs
of these animals. Improper shoeing, such as the use of high calks,
a too great shortening of the toe and correspondingly high heels,
predispose to this disease by increasing the concussion to the feet.

440 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

Symptoms. — The first s5"mptom of an actively developed ringbone
is the appearance of a lameness more or less acute. If the h<my
tumor forms on the side or upper parts of the large pastern, its
growth is generally unattended with acute inflammatory action, and
consequently produces no lameness or evident fever. These are called
" false " ringbones. But when the tumors form on the whole circum-
terence of the ankle, or simply in front under the extensor tendon, or
behind under the flexor tendons, or if they involve the joints between
the two pastern bones, or between the small pastern and the coffin
bone, the lameness is always severe. These constitute the true ring-
bone. Besides lameness, the ankle of the affected limb presents more
or less heat, and in many instances a rather firm, though limited,
swelling of the deeper tissues over the seat of the inflammatory proc-
ess. The lameness of ringbone is characteristic in that the heel is
first placed on the ground Avhen the disease is in a fore leg, and the
ankle is kept as rigid as possible. In the hind leg, however, the toe
strikes the ground first, when the ringbone is high on the ankle, just
as in health, but the ankle is maintained in a rigid position. If the
bony growth, is under the front tendon of the hind leg, or if it
involves the coffin joint, the heel is brought to the ground first. In
the early stages of the disease it is not always easy to diagnose ring-
-bone, but when the deposits have reached some size they can be felt
and seen as Avell.

The importance of a ringbone depends on its seat and often on its
size. If it interferes with the joints or with the tendons it may cause
an incurable lameness, even though small. If it is on the sides of the
large pastern, the lameness generally disappears as soon as the tumor
has reached its growth and the inflammation subsides. Even when
the pastern joint is involved, if complete anchylosis results, the
patient may recover from the lameness with simply an imperfect
action of the foot remaining, due to the stiff joint.

Treatment. — Before the bony growth has commenced the inflam-
matory process may be cut short by the use of cold baths and wet
bandages, followed by one or more blisters. If the bony deposits
have begun, the firing iron should always be used. Even when the
tumors are large and the pastern joint involved, firing often hastens
the process of anchylosis and should always be tried.

When the lower joint is involved, or if the tumor interferes with
the action of the tendons, recovery is not to be expected. In many
of these latter cases, however, the animal may be made serviceable
by proper shoeing. If the patient walks with the toe on the ground,'
the foot should be shod with a high-heeled shoe and a short k»e.
On the other hand, if he walks on the heel, a thick-toed and thin-
heeled shoe must be worn.

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE^ AND FOOT. 441

Since ringbone is considered to be one of the hereditai-y diseases, no

animal suffering from this trouble siiould ever be used for breeding

purposes.

LAMINITIS, OR FOUNDER.

Laniinitis is a simple infiaunnatioii of the sensitive lamina? of the
feet, chai-acterized by the general phenomena attendmg inflamma-
tion of the skin and mucous membranes, producing no constitiitional
disturbances except those dependent upon the local disease, and hav-
ing a strong tendency, in severe cases, to destructive disorganization
of the tissues affected.

Causes. — The causes of laminitis are as wide and variable as in any
of the local inflammations, and may be divided into two classes — ^the
predisposing and the exciting.

Predisposing causes. — From personal observation I do not know
that any particular construction of foot or any special breed of horses
is predisposed to this disease, neither can I find anything to warrant
the assumption that it is in any way hereditary; so that while we
may easily cultivate a predisposition to the disease, it does not origi-
nate without an exciting cause. Like most other tissues, a predispo-
sition to inflammation may be induced in the sensitive laminae by any
cause which lessens their power of withstanding the work imposed
on them. It exists to an extent in those animals unaccustomed to
work, particularly if they are plethoric, and in all that have been
previous subjects of the disease, for the same rule holds good here
that we find in so many diseases — i. e., that one attack impairs the
functional activity of the affected tissues and renders them more easy
of a subsequent inflammation. Unusual excitement by determining
an excessive blood supply, bad shoeing, careless paring of the feet by
removing the sole support, and high calkings without corresponding
toe pieces must be included under this head.

Excitlriy causes. — The exciting causes of laminitis are many and
varied. The most common are concussion, overexertion, exhaustion,
rapid changes of temperature, ingestion of certain feeds, purgatives,
and the oft-mentioned metastasis.

(1) Concussion produces this disease by local overstimulation.
The excessive excitement is followed by an almost complete exhaus-
tion of the functional activity of the laminated tissues, the exhaustion
by congestion, and eventuallj^ by inflammation. But congestion here,
as in all other tissues, is not necessarily followed by inflammation;
for, although the principal symptoms belonging to true laminitis are
present, the congestion may be relieved before the processes of inflam-
mation are fully established. This is the condition in the many so-
called cases of laminitis which recover in from 24 to 48 hours. They
should be called congestion of the laminae.

442 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Laminitis from concussion is common in trotting horses that are
raced when not in condition, especially if they carry the obnoxious
toe weights, and in green horses put to work on city paveme^.ts to
which they are unaccustomed. Concussion from long drives on dirt
roads is at times productive of the same results, notably when the
weather is extremely warm, or at least when the relative change of
temperature is great. But the exhaustion of these circumstances
must prove an exciting cause as well as the long-continued concus-
sion. This combination of causes must also determine the disease at
times in hunters, for the weight of the rider increases the demands
made upon the function of these tissues, and their powers are the
sooner exhausted.

(2) Overexertion, as heavy pulling or rapid work, even when there
is no immoderate concussion, occasionally results in this disease.
Here also exhaustion is a conjunctive cause, for overexertion can not
be long continued without exhaustion.

(3) Exhaustion is nearly as prolific a source of laminitis as is
concussion, for when the physical strength is impaired, even though
temporarily, some part of the economy is rendered more vulnerable
to disease than ethers. To this cause we must ascribe those cases
which follow a hard day's work, in which at no time has there been
overexertion or immoderate concussion.

The tendency to laminitis in horses on sea voyages results from the
continual constrained position the animal maintains on account of
the rocking motion of the vessel.

If one foot has been blistered, or if one limb is incapacitated from
any cause, the opposite member, doing double duty, soon becomes
exhausted, and congestion, followed by inflammation, results. When
one foot only becomes laminitic, it is customary to find the corre-
sponding member participating at a later date; not always because
of sympathy, but because one foot had to do the work of two.

(4) Eapid changes of temperature act as an exciting cause of
laminitis by impairing the normal blood supply.

This change of temperature may be induced by drinking large
quantities of cold water while in an overheated condition. Here the
internal heat is rapidly reduced, the neighboring tissues and blood
vessels constrained, and the blood supply to these organs greatly
diminished, while the quantity sent to the surface is correspondingly
increased. True, in many cases there has not been sufficient labor per-
formed to impair the powers of the laminae, and laminitis is more
readily induced than congestion or inflammation of the skin or other
surface organs, because the laminae can not relieve themselves of
threatened congestion by the general safety valve of perspiration.
A cold wind or relatively cold air allowed to play upon the body
when heated and wet with sweat has virtually the same result, for it

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 443

arrests evaporation and rapidly cools the external surface, thereby
determining an excess of blood to such organs and tissues as are pro-
tected from this outside influence. In many instances this happens
to be some of the internal organs, as the lungs, if the previous work
has been rapid and their functional activity impaired ; but in numer-
ous other instances the determination is toward the feet, and that it is
so depends upon two very palpable facts : First, that these tissues liaAe
been greatly excited and are already receiving as much blood as they
can accommodate consistently with health ; second, even though these
tissues are classed with those of the surface, their protection from
atmospheric influences by means of the thick box of horn incasing
them renders them in this respect equivalent to internal organs,

A more limited local action of cold may excite this disease, by driv-
ing through water or washing the feet and legs while the animal is
warm or just in from work. Here a very marked reaction takes place
in the surface tissues of the limbs, and passive congestion of the foot
results from an interference with the return flow of blood which is
being sent to these organs in excess. These are more liable to be
simple cases of congestion, soon to recover, yet they may become true
cases of laminitis.

(5) Why it is that certain lands of grain will cause laminitis does
not seem to be clearly understood. Certainly they possess no specific
action upon the laminae, for all animals are not alike affected ; neither
do they always produce these results in the same animal. Some of
these feeds cause a strong tendency to indigestion, and the consequent
irritation of the alimentary canal may be so great as to warrant the
belief that the laminae are affected through sympathy. In other
instances there is no apparent interference with digestion nor evi-
dence of any irritation of the mucous membranes, yet the disease is in
some manner dependent upon the feed for its inception. Barley,
wheat, and sometimes corn are the grains most liable to cause this dis-
ease. With some horses there appears to be a particular suscepti-
bility to this influence of corn, and the use of this grain is followed by
inflammation of the feet, lasting from a few days to two weeks.
In these animals, to all appearances healthy, the corn neither induces
colic, indigestion, nor purging, and apparently no irritation whatever
of the alimentary canal.

(6) Fortunately purgative medicines rarely cause inflammation of
the laminae. That it is, then, the result of sympathetic action is no
doubt more than hypothetical, for when there is no derangement of
the alimentary canal a dose of cathartic medicine will at times bring
on severe laminitis.

(T) Almost all the older authorities were agreed that metastatic
laminitis is a reality. In my opinion metastatic laminitis is nothing
more nor less than concurrent laminitis, and presents little in any

444 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

way peculiar outside the imperfectly understood exciting cause. The
practitioner who allows the acute symptoms of the laminitis to mis-
lead him, simply because their severity has overshadoAved those of the
primary disease, may lose his case through unguarded subsequent
treatment. This form of laminitis is by no means commonly met
with. It may be found in conjunction with pneumonia, according to
Youatt with inflammation of the bowels and eyes, and according to
Law and Williams sometimes with bronchitis.

Syniptams. — Laminitis is characterized by a congregation of symp-
toms so well marked as scarcely to be misinterpreted by the most
casual observer. They are nearly constant in their manifestations,
modified by the number of feet affected, the cause which has induced
the disease, the previous condition of the patient, and the various
other influences which to some extent, operate in all diseases. They
may be divided into general symptoms, which are concomitants of all
cases of the disease, subject to variations in degree only, and special
symptoms, or those which serve to determine the feet affected and the
complications which may arise.

Gtneral symptoms. — L'sually, the first symptom is the interfer-
ence w^ith lomomotion. Occasionally the other symptoms are pre-
sented first. As the lameness develops the pulse becomes accelerated,
full, hard, and strikes the finger strongly ; the temperature soon rises
several degrees above the normal, reaching sometimes 106° F. ; it
generally ranges between 102.5° and 105° F. The respirations are
rapid and panting in character, the nostrils widely dilated, and the
mucous membranes highly injected. The facial expression is anxious
and indicative of the most acute suffering, while the body is more or
less bedewed with sweat. At first there may be a tendency to diar-
rhea, or it may appear later as the result of the medicines used. The
urine is high colored, scant. in quantity, and of increased specific
gravity, owing to the water being eliminated by the skin instead of
the kidneys. The appetite is impaired, sometimes entirely lost, but
thirst is greatly increased. The affected feet are hot and dry, and
as much as possible are relieved from bearing weight. Rapping them
with a hammer, or compelling the animal to stand upon one affected
member, causes intense pain. The artery at the fetlock throbs
beneath the finger.

S peeled symptoms. — Liability to affection varies in the different
feet according to the exciting cause. Any one or more of the feet
may become the subject of this disease, although it appears more
often in the fore feet than in the hind ones. This is due to the
<litference of the function, i. e., that the fore feet are the bases of
the columns of support, receiving nearly all the body w-eight during
l^rogression and consecjuently most of the concussion, while the hind

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 445

feet become simply the fulcra of the leA'ers of progi-ession, and nre
almost exempt from concussion.

On£ foot. — Injuries and excessive functional performance are the
causes of the disease in only one foot. The general symptoms, as a
rule, are not severe, there being often no loss of appetite and no un-
usual thirst, while the puise, temperature, and respiration remain
about normal. The weight of the body is early throAvn upon the op-
posite foot, and the affected one is extended, repeatedly rais-ed from
the tioor, and then carefully replaced. When made to move forward
the lame foot is either carried in the air while progression is accom-
plished by hopping Avith the healthy one, or else the heel of the first
is placed upon the ground and receives little weight Avhile the sound
limb is quickly advanced. Progi-ession in a straight line is more
easy than turning toward the lame side.

Both fore feet. — ^Mien both fore feet are affected the symptoms
are well marked. The lameness is excessive and the animal almost
immovable. When standing the head hangs low down, or rests upon
the manger as a means of support and to relieve the feet: the fore
feet are well extended so that the weight is thi'own upon the heels,
where the tissues are least sensitive, least inflamed, and most capa-
ble of relief by free effusion. The hind feet are ])i-ought forAvard
beneath the body to receive as much weight as possible, thereby re-
lieving the diseased ones. If progression is attempted, which rarely
haj^pens Aoluntarily during the first three or four days, it is accom-
plished with very great pain and lameness at the starting, Avhich
usuall}' subsides to an extent after a fcAv minutes' exercise. During
this exercise, if the animal happens to st.ep upon a small stone or
other hard substance, he stumbles painfully and is excessively lame
in the offended member for a number of steps, OAving to the acute
])ain Avhich pressure upon the sole causes in the tissues beneath. The
inanner of the progression is pathognomonic of the complaint.
Sometimes the affected feet are simultaneously raised from the
gi-ound (the hind ones sustaining the Aveight), then advanced a short
distance and carefully replaced ; at almost the same moment the hind
ones are quickly shuffled forAvard near to the center of gravitation.

In other instances one foot at a time is adA^anced and placed with
the heel upon the ground in the same careful manner, all causes of
concussion being carefully avoided. In attempting to back the ani-
mal he is found to be almost stationary, simply swaying the body
backward on the haunches and elevating the toes of the diseased feet
as they rest upon their heels. In attempting to turn either to the
right or left he allows his head to be drawn to the one side to its full
extent before moAing, then makes his hind feet the axis ai-ound
AA'hich the forward ones describe a shuffling circle.

446 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Ill most of cases of laminitis in the fore feet the animal persists
in standing until he is nearly recovered. In other cases he as per-
sistently lies, standing only when necessity seems to compel it, and
then for as short a time as possible. If the recumbent position ia
once assumed, the relief experienced tempts the patient to seek it
again ; so we often find him down a greater part of the time. But
this is not true of all cases ; sometimes he will make the experiment,
then cautiously guard against a repetition. Even in cases of enforced
recumbency, he ofttimes takes advantage of the first opportunity
and gets upon his feet, doggedly remaining there until again laid
upon his side. How to explain this diversity of action I do not
know; theoretically the recumbent position is the only appropriate
one, except when complications exist, and the one which should give
the most comfort, j^et it is rejected by very many patients and, no
doubt, for some good reason. It has been suggested as an explana-
tion that when the animal gets upon his feet after lying for a time
the suffering is so greatly augmented that the memory of this ex-
perience deters him from an attempted repetition. If this were
true, the horse with the first attack must necessarily make the ex-
periment before knowing the after effects of lying down, yet many
remain standing without even an attempt at gaining this experi-
mental knowledge.

The most-favored position of the animal when down is on the
broadside, with the feet and legs extended. While in this position
the general symptoms greatly subside; the respirations and pulse
become almost normal; the temperature falls and the perspiration
dries. It is with difficulty that he is made to rise. When he at-
tempts it he gets up rapidly and " all of a heap," as it were, shifting
quickly from one to the other foot until they become accustomed to
the weight thrown upon them. Occasionally a patient will get up
like a cow, rising upon the hind feet first. Although enforced ex-
ercise relieves the soreness to some extent, it is but temporary, for
after a few minutes' rest it returns with all its former severity.

BotK hind feet. — When only both hind feet are affected, they are,
while standing, maintained in the same position as when only the fore
ones are the subjects of the disease, but with an entirely different
object in view. Instead of being there to receive weight, they are so
advanced that the heels only may receive what little weight is neces-
sarily imposed on them ; the fore feet at the same time are placed
well back beneath the bod}^, where they become the main supports;
the animal standing, as Williams describes it, " all of a heap."

Progression is even more difficult now than when the disease is
confined to the anterior extremities. The fore feet are dubiously
advanced a short distance and the hind ones brought forward with a
sort of kangaroo hop that results in an apparent loss of equilibrium

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 447

which the animal is a few moments in regaining. The general symp-
toms, or, in other words, the degree of suffering, seem more severe
than when the disease affects the fore feet alone. The standing posi-
tion is not often maintained, the patient seeking relief in recumbency.
This fact is easily understood when we consider how cramped and
unnatural is the position he assumes while standing and, if it were
maintained for any considerable length of time, would, no doubt,
excite the disease in the fore feet, as explained by D'Arboval.

All four feet. — Laminitis of all four feet is but uncommonly met
with. The author has seen but three such cases. In all these the posi-
tion assumed was nearly normal. All the feet were slightly advanced,
and first one, then another, momentarily raised from the ground and
carefully replaced, this action being kept up almost continually dur-
ing the time the animal remained standing. The suffering is most
acute, the appetite lost, and, although the patient lies most of the
time, the temperature remains too high. The pulse and respirations
are greatly accelerated, the body covered with sweat, and bed sores
are unpleasant accompaniments.

Course. — The course which laminitis takes varies greatly in differ-
ent cases, being influenced more or less by the exciting cause, the
animal's previous condition, the acuteness of the attack, and the sub-
sequent treatment. The first symptoms rarely exhibit themselves
while the animal is at his work, although we occasionally see the gait
impaired by stumbling, the body covered with a profuse sweat, and
the respirations become blowing in character as premonitions of the
oncoming disease; but, as a rule, nothing amiss with the animal is
noted until he has stood for some time after coming in from work,
when, in attempting to move him, he is found \ ery stiff. Like all
congestions, the early symptoms usually develop rapidly ; yet this is
not always the case, for often there appears to be no well-defined
period of congestion, the disease seemingly commencing at a point
and gradually spreading until a large territory is involved in the
morbid process.

Simple congestion. — Those cases of simple congestion of the lam-
inae, which we erroneously call laminitis, are rapidly developed, the
symptoms are but moderately severe, and but one to three days are
required for recover5^ There are no structural changes and but a
moderate exudate. This is rapidly reabsorbed, leaving the parts in
the same condition as they were previous to the attack. If the
congestion has been excessive, a rupture of some of the capillaries
will be found, a condition more liable to exist if the animal is
made to continue work after a development of symptoms has begun.

True, the majority of these last-described cases prove to be the
laminitis in fact, yet the congestion may pass away and the extrava-
sated blood be absorbed without inflammation sufficient to warrant

448 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

calling it laminitis. Tlie seat of greatest congestion will always
be found in the neighborhood of the toe. because of the increased
vascularity of that part, and, although at times it is limited to the
podopiiyllous tissue alone, any or all parts of the keratogenous
membrane may be affected by the congestion and followed finally
by inflammation.

Acnde. — In the acute form of laminitis the symptoms may all de-
yeloy) rapidly, or it may commence by the appearance of a little
soreness of the feet which in 24 or 48 houi-s develops into a well-
marked case. This peculiarity of dcTelopment is due to one of two
causes. Either the congestion is general, but takes place slowly,
or it begins in one or more points and gradually, spreads through-
out the laminae These acute cases generally run their course in
from one to two weeks. Usualh^ a culmination of the symptoms
is reached, if the patient is properly treated, in from three to five
davs: then evidences of recoverv are discernible in favorable cases.
The lameness improves, the other symptoms gradually subside, and
eventually health is regained. It is in these cases that a strong
tendency to disoi'ganization of a destructive character exists ; hence it
is we see so many recover imperfectly. Avith maiiced structural
changes permanently remaining.

/Si(hacute. — Subacute laminitis is most often seen as a termination
of the acute form, although it may exist independent of or precede
an acute attack. It is characterized by the mildness of its symptoms,
slow course, and moderate tissue changes. It may be present a long
time before any pathological lesions result other than those found in
the acute form, and when these changes do take ]ilace the}' should
be viewed rather as complications.

Chronic. — Chronic laminitis is a term used by many to designate
any of the sequela? of the acute and subacute forms of this disease.
Pure, chronic inflammation of the lamintc is not very commonly met
with, but is most frequent in horses that have long done fast track
work. They have " fever in the feet '' at all times and are continually
.sore, both conditions being aggravated by Avork. Like chronic in-
flauunation of other ])arts, there is a strong tendency to the develop-
ment of new connective tissue Avhich, by its pressure upon the blood
vessels, interferes with nutrition. Wasting of the coffin bone and
inflammation of its covering with caries is not unusual. The con-
tinued fever and impaired function of secretion result in the produc-
tion of a horn deficient in elasticity, somewhat spongy in character,
and inclined to crumble. In some cases of " soreness " in horses used
to hard ()]■ fast work there is evident weakness of the coats of the
vessels, brought on by repeated functional exhaustion. Here slight
work brings on congestion, Avhich results in serous effusion and
temporary symptoms similar to those of chronic laminitis.

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 449

CoTnpUcations. — Complications concurrent Avitli or supervening
upon laminitis are frequent and varied, and are often dependent
upon causes not fully understood.

Excessive purgation is one of the simplest of these, and not usually
attended with dangerous consequences. It rarely occurs unless in-
duced by a purgative, and the excessive action of the medicine is
probably to be explained upon the theory that the mucous membrane
sympathizes with the diseased laminae, is irritable, and readily be-
comes overexcited. The discharges are thin and watery, sometimes
offensively odorous, and occasionally persist in spite of treatment.
It may prove disastrous to the welfare of the patient by the rapid
exhaustion which it causes, preventing resolution of the laminitis,
and may even cause death.

Septicemia and pyenda. — Septicemia and pyemia are unusual com-
plications and are seen only in the most severe cases in which bed
sores are present or suppuration of the laminae results. They die, as
a rule, within three days after showing signs of the complication.

Pneumonia — the so-called metastatic — needs no special considera-
tion, for in its lesions and symptoms it does not differ from ordinary
pneumonia, although it may be overlooked entirely by the practi-
tioner. Examinations of the chest should be made every day, so as
to detect the disease at its onset and render proper aid.

Sidel>07ies. — A rapid development of sidebones is one of the com-
plications, or, perhaps better, a sequel of laminitis not often met with
in practice. Here the inflammatory process extends to the lateral
cartilages, with a strong tendency to calcification. The deposition
of the lime salts is sometimes most rapid, so that the " bones " are
developed in a few weeks; in other instances they are deposited
slowly and their growth is not noted until long after the subsidence
of the laminitis, so that the exciting cause is not suspected. This
change in the cartilages may commence as early as the first of the
laminitis ; and although the trouble in the laminas is removed in the
course of a fortnight the symptoms do not entirely subside, the
animal retains the shuffling gait, the sidebones continue to grow, and
the patient usually remains quite lame. This alteration of the
cartilages generally prevents the patient from recovering his natural
gait, and the practitioner receives unjust censure for a condition of
affairs he could neither foresee nor prevent.

The laminitic process occasionally extends to the covering of the
coronet bone, or at least concurrent with and subsequent to laminitis
the development of " low ringbone " is seen, and it is apparently
dependent upon the disease of the laminae for its exciting cause. The
impairment of function and consequent symptoms are much less
marked here than in sidebones. The coronet remains hot and sensi-

54763°— 23 29

450 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

tive and somewhat thickened after the himinitis subsides, and a little
lameness is present. This lameness persists, and the deposits of new
bone may readil}^ be detected.

Suppuratimi of the sensitive membrane is a somewhat common
complication, and even when present in its most limited form is
always a seiious matter; but when it becomes extensive, and especially
when the suppurative process extends to the periosteum, the results
are liable to be fatal. When suppuration occurs the exudation does
not appear to be excessive. It is rich in leucocytes and seems to have
caused detachment of the sensitive tissues from the horn prior to the
formation of pus in some instances; in others the tissues are still
attached to the horn, and the suppuration takes place in the deeper
tissues.

Limited suppuration may take place in any part of the sensitive
tissues of the foot during laminitis, and may ultimately be reabsorbed
instead of being' discharged upon the surface, but generally the
process begins in the neighborhood of the toe and spreads bactsvard
and upward tow^ard the coronet, finally separating the horn from the
coronary band at the quarters. At the same time it spreads over the
sole and eA'entually the entire hoof is loosened and sloughs away,
leaving the tissues beneath entirely unprotected. In other instances—
and these are generally the cases not considered unusually severe — ^the
suppuration begins at the coronary band. It extends but a short dis-
tance into the tissues, yet destroys the patient by separating the hoof
from the coronary band, upon which it depends for support and
growth. This form of the suppurative process usually begins in
front. It is this part of the coronary band that is always most
actively affected with inflammation, and consequently it is here that
impairments first occur.

Suppuration of the sensitive sole is more common than of the sensi-
tive laminse and coronary band. It is present in the majority of cases
in which there is a dropping of the coffin bone, and in other instances
when the effusion at this point is so great as to arrest the production
of horn and uncover the sensitive tissues. Except when the result of
injury it begins at the toe and spreads backward, and, if not relieved
by opening the sole, escapes at the heel. Suppuration of the sole is
much less sei-ious than in other parts of the foot.

If the acute constitutional symptoms developed from sloughing of
the foot do not result in death, a new hoof of very imperfect horn
may be developed after a time; but unless the animal is to be kept for
breeding purposes alone the foot will ever be useless for work and
death should relieve the suffering. When only the sole sloughs,
recovery takes place with proper treatment.

Pedltis. — This is the term tliat Williams applies to that serious
complication of laminitis in which not only the laminie, but the peri-

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 451

osteum membrane covering the bone and coffin bone also are subjects
of the inflammatory process. Neither is this all; in some of these
cases of peditis acute inflammation of the coffin joint is present, and
occasionally suppuration of the joint. A mild form of periostitis,
in which the exudation is in the outer layer of the periosteum only,
is a more common condition than is recognized generally by practi-
tioners. Intimate contiguity of structures is the predisposing cause,
for the disease either spreads from the original seat or the complica-
tion occurs as one of the primary results of the exciting cause. In
the severer cases in which the exudate separates the periosteum from
the bone, suppuration, gangrene, and superficial caries are common
results. If infiltration of the bone tissues is rapid the blood supply
is cut off by pressure upon the vessels and death of the coffin bone
follows. Grave constitutional symptoms mark these changes, which
soon prove fatal.

In the mild cases of periostitis it is by no means easy positively to
determine its presence, for there are no special symptoms by which it
may be distinguished from pure laminitis. In a majority of acute
cases, though, which show no signs of improvement by the fifth to
seventh da}", it is safe to suspect periostitis, particularly if the coro-
nets are very hot, the pulse full and hard, and the lameness acute.
In the fortunately rare cases in which the bone is affected with in-
flanmiation and suppuration the agony of the patient is intense; he
occupies the recumbent position almost continually, never standing
for more than a few minutes at a time ; suffers from the most care-
ful handling of the affected feet; maintains a rapid pulse and respi-
ration, high temperature, loss of appetite, and great thirst. It is in
these cases that the patient continually grows worse, and the appear-
ance of suppuration at the top of the hoof in about two weeks after
the inception of the disease proves the inefficiency of any treatment
which may have been used and the hopelessness of the case. These
patients die usually between the tenth and twentieth days either from
exhaustion or pyemic infection.

Gmujreive occurs in the periosteum as the result of excessive de-
tachment from the bone and compression due to excessive exuda-
tion. Other parts of the sensitive tissues are subject occasionally to
the same fate, and at times large areas will be found dead.

PuTniced sole is that condition in w^hich the horny sole in the neigh-
borhood of the toe readily crumbles away and leaves the sensitive
tissues more or less exposed. It is not a complication of laminitis
only, for it is seen under other conditions. Williams has described
the horny tissue of pumiced sole as " weak, cheesy, or spongy, like
macerated horn, or even grumous (thick, clotted)." Crumbling horn,
when critically examined, shows almost an entire absence of the
cohesive matter w^hich unites the healthy fibers, while the fibers them-

452 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

selves are irregular and granular in appearance. Pumiced sole de-
pends upon an impairment of the horn-secreting powers of the sensi-
tive sole or upon a separation of the horny from the soft tissues
which maintain its vitality.

Punctured wounds of the foot, accompanied with any considerable
destruction of the soft tissues, present the same peculiarities of horn
in the immediate neighborhood of the injury. Bruises of the sole are
followed by this change when the exudation has been excessive and
has separated the horn, from the living tissues. True, in these cases
we rarely see the soft tissues laid bare, for the reason that new horn
is constantly secreted and i-eplaces that undergoing disintegration.

Laminitis presents three conditions under which pumiced sole may
appear: First, when free exudation separates the horn from the
other tissues, or when the process of inflammation arrests the pro-
duction of horn by impairing or destroying the horn-secreting mem-
brane; second, when depression of the coffin bone causes pressure
upon and arrests the formation of horn ; and, third, when the eleva-
tion of the sole compi'esses the soft tissues against the pedal bone
and induces the same condition.

Pumiced sole, from simple exudation and separation of tissues, is
of little importance for the reason given above in connection with
bruises; but when suppuration occurs in restricted portions of the
foot in conjunction with laminitis, it always lays bare tlie tissues
beneath and temporarily impairs the animal's value. Recovery takes
place after a few weeks by the tissues " horning over," as in injuries
attended by the same process. Depression of the coffin bone is not
sufficient within itself to cause pumiced sole; for, if the relative
change in the bone takes place slowly, or if the horn is thin, the sole
becomes convex from gradual pressure and the soft tissues adapt
themselves to the change without having their function materially
impaired. But when the dropping is sudden and the soft tissues are
destroyed, the horn rapidly crumbles away and the toe of the bone
comes through. In many of these cases the soft tissues remain
uncovered for months. When they are eventually covered it is with
a thin, slightly adherent horn that stands but little or no wear. The
sole being noAv convex, the diseased tissues bear unusual weight by
coming in contact with the ground, and hence it is that these animals
are generally incurable cripples.

In most cases in which the sole is raised to meet the pedal bone and
pumiced sole occurs it is due not to pressure of the bone from
within (for the tissues are capable of adapting themselves to the
gradual change) but to impaired vitality of the sensitive tissues from
the inflammation and to the constant concussiim and pressure applied
from without during progression. To this is to be added the paring

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 4&3

away of the horn when applying the shoe, thereby keeping the sole
at this point too thin.

Turning up of the toe. — In many cases of laminitis w^hich have
become chronic it is found that the toe of the foot turns up ; that the
heels are longer than natural ; while the hoof near the coronary band
is circled with ridges like the horn of a ram. Even in cases in which
recovery has taken place, and in other diseases than laminitis, these
ridges may be found in the wall of the foot. In such cases, how^ever,
the ridges are equally distant from one another all around the foot,
while in turning up of the toe the ridges are wide apart at the heels
and close together in front, as seen in the figure. (Plate XXXVII,
fig. 4.) These ridges are produced by periods of interference with
the growth of horn alternating with periods during which a normal
or nearly normal growth takes place. When the toe turns up it is
because the coronary band in front produces horn very slowly, while
at the heels it grows much faster,^ causing marked deformity.

Animals so affected always place the abnormally long heel first
upon the ground, not alone because the heel is too long, nor as in
acute or subacute laminitis to relieve the pain, but for the reason that
the toe is too short and lifted away from its natural position. To
bring the toe to the ground the leg knuckles at the fetlock joint.

The pain and impairment of function in these cases always result
in marked atrophy of the muscles of the forearm and shoulder, and to
some extent of the pectorals, Avhile the position of the fore legs
advances the shoulder joints so far forward as to cause a sunken
appearance of the breast, which the laity recognize as " chest
founder."

The lesions of turning up of the toe are permanent, and are the
most interesting pathologically of all the complications of laminitis.

Treatment. — The treatment of laminitis is probably more varied
than of any other disease, and yet a large number of cases recover for
even the poorest practitioner.

Prevention. — To guard against and prevent disease, or to render
an unpreventable attack less serious than it otherwise would be, is the
highest practice of the healing art. In a disease so prone to result
from the simplest causes, especially when the soundest judgment may
not be able to determine the extent of the disease-resisting powers of
the tissues which are liable to be affected, or of what shall in every
instance constitute an orerexcitement, it is not strange that horse
owners find themselves in trouble from untintentional transgression.
If the disease were dependent upon specific causes, or if the stability
of the tissues were of a fixed or more nearly determinate quality, some
measures might be instituted that w-ould prove generally preventive;
but the predisposing causes are common conditions and often can not

454 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

be remedied. That which is gentle work in one instance may incite
disease in another. That which is feed to-dav may to-morrow prove
disastrous to health. Finally, necessary medical interference, no
matter how judicious, may cause a more serious complaint than that
which was being treated. Notwithstanding these difficulties there are
some general rules to be observed that will in part serve to prevent
the development of an unusual number of cases. First of all the
predisposing causes must be removed when possible; when im-
possible, Lmusual care must be taken not to bring an exciting cause
into operation. Under no circumstances should fat animals have
hard work. If the weather is warm or the variation of temperature
great, all horses should have but slow, gentle labor imtil they become
inured to it, the tissues hardened, and their excitability reduced to
a minimum. Green horses should have moderate work, particularly
when taken from the farm and dirt roads to city pavements; for
under these circumstances increased concussion, changed hygienic
conditions, and artificial living readily become active causes of the
disease. Army horses just out of winter quarters, track horses with
insufficient preparation, and farmers' horses put to work in the spring
are among the most susceptible classes, and must be protected by work
that is easy and gradual. If long marches or drives are imperative,
the incumbrances must be as light as possible and the journey inter-
spersed with frequent rests, for this allows the laminae to regain their
impaired functional activity and to withstand much more work with-
out danger. Furthermore, it permits early detection of an attack,
and prevents working after the disease begins, which renders subse-
(juent medication more effective by cutting the process short at the
stage of congestion.

All animals when resting immediately after work should be pro-
tected from cold air or drafts. If placed in a stable that is wai*m
and without draft, no covering is necessary; under opposite condi-
tions blankets should be used until the excitement and exhaustion of
labor have entirely passed away. It is still better that all animals
coming in warm from work be " cooled out " by slow walking until
the perspiration has dried and the circulation and respiration are
again normal. Animals stopped on the road even for a few moments
should always be protected from rapid change of temperature by
appropriate clothing. If it can be avoided, horses that are working
should never be driven or ridden through water. If unavoidable,
they should be cooled off before passing through, and then kept mov-
ing mitil completely dried. The same care is to be practiced with
washing the legs in cold water when just in from work, for occa-
sionally it proves to be the cause of a most acute attack of this
disease.

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 455

Unusual changes in the manner of applying the shoes should not be
hastily made. If a plane shoe has been worn, high heels or toes must
not be substituted at once; but the change, if necessary, should
gradually be made, so that the different tissues may adapt themselves
to the altered conditions. If radical changes are imperative, as is
sometimes the case, the work must be so reduced in quantity and
quality that it can not excite the disease.

Laminitis from the effects of purgatives can scarcely be guarded
against. I can not determine from the cases in which I have seen this
result that there are any conditions present that would warn us of
danger. The trouble does not seem to depend upon the size of the
purgative, the length of time before purgation begins, or the activity
and severity with which the remedy acts. Medicines known to have
unusually irritating effects on the alimentary canal should be used
only when necessity demands it, and then in moderate doses.

Experience alone will determine what animals are liable to suffer
from this diesase through the use of feeds. When an attack can be
ascribed to any particular feed it should be withheld, unless in small
quantities. Horses that have never been fed upon Indian corn should
receive but a little of it at a time, mixed with bran, oats, or other
feed, until it has been determined that no danger exists. Corn is less
safe in warm than in cold weather, and for this reason it should
always be fed with caution during spring and summer months.

T\'Tien an animal is excessively lame in one foot the shoe of the
opposite member should be removed, and cold water frequently ap-
plied to the well foot. At the same time, if the subject remains
standing, the slings should be used. Horses should under no circum-
stances be overworked ; to guard against this, pre^dous work, nature
of roads, state of weather, and various other influences must be care-
fully considered. Watering while warm is a pernicious habit, and,
unless the animal is accustomed to it, is liable to result in some dis-
order, ofttimes in laminitis.

Curative measures.— li\ cases of simple congestion of the laminae
the body should be warmly clothed and warm drinks administered.
The feet should be placed in a warm bath to increase the return flow
of blood. In course of an hour the feet may be changed to cold
water and kept there until recovery is completed. If the constitu-
tional symptoms demand it, diuretics should be given. Half-ounce
doses of saltpeter three times a day in the water answer the purpose.
In cases of active congestion the warm footbaths should be omitted
and cold ones used from the commencement. Subacute laminitis
demands the same treatment, with laxatives if there is constipation,
and the addition of low-heeled shoes. The diuretics may need to be
continued for some time and their frequency increased. Regarding
acute laminitis, what has been caUed the "American treatment" is

456 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

simple and efficient. It consists solely in the administration of large
doses of nitrate of potash and the continued application to the feet
and ankles of cold water.

Three to four ounces of saltpeter in a pint of water, repeated every
six hours, is a proper dose. The laminitis frequently subsides within
a week. These large doses may be continued for a week without
danger. Under no circumstances have I seen the kidneys irritated
to excess or other unfavorable effects produced.

The feet should be kept in a tub of water at a temperature of
45° to 50° F., unless the animal is lying down, when swabs are to
be used and wet every half hour with the cold water. The water
keeps the horn soft and moist and acts directly upon the inflamed
tissues by reducing the temperature. Cold maintains the vitality and
disease-resisting qualities of the soft tissues, tones up the coats of
the blood vessels, diminishes the supply of blood, and limits the
exudation. Furthermore, it has an anesthetic effect upon the dis-
eased tissues and relieves the pain.

Aconite may be given in conjunction with the niter when the heart
is greatly excited and beats strongly. Ten-drop doses, repeated
every 2 hours for 24 hours, are sufficient. The use of cathartics is
dangerous, for they may excite superpurgation. Usually the niter
will relieve the constipation; yet if it should prove obstinate, laxa-
tives may be carefully given. Bleeding, both general and local,
should be guarded against. The shoes must be early removed and
the soles left unpared.

Paring of the soles presents two objections: First, while it may
temporarily relieve the pain by relieving pressure, it favors greater
exudation, which may more than counterbalance tlie good effects.
Secondly, it makes the feet tender and subject to bruises when the
animal again goes to work. The shoes should be replaced when con-
valescence sets in and the animal is ready to take exercise. Exercise
should never be enforced until the inflammation has subsided; for
although it temporarily relieves the pain and soreness it maintains
the irritation, increases the exudation, and postpones recoA^ery.

If at the end of the fifth or sixth day prominent symptoms <»f
recovery are not apparent, apply a stiff blister of cantharides around
the coronet and omit the niter for about 48 hours. When the blister
is well set, the feet may again receive wet swabs. If one blister
does not remove the soreness it may be repeated, or the actual cautery
applied. The same treatment should be adopted where sidebones
form or inflammation of the coronet bone follows. When the sole
breaks through, exposing the soft tissues, the feet must be carefully
shod with thin heels and thick toes if there is a tendency to walk
on the heels, and the sole must be well protected with appropriate
dressings and pressure over the exposed parts. When there is turn-

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT. 457

ing up of the toe, blistering of the coronet, in front onhj, sometimes
stimuhites the growth of horn, but as a rule judicious shoeing is the
only treatment that will enable the animal to do light, slow work.

When suppuration of the lamina3 is profuse, it is better to destroy
your patient at once and relieve his suffering; but if the suppuration
is limited to a small extent of tissue, especially of the sole, treatment,
as in acute cases, may induce recovery and should always be tried.
If from bed sores or other causes septicemia or pyemia is feared, the
bisulphite of soda, in half -ounce doses, may be given in conjunction
with tonics and such other treatment as is indicated in these diseases.

As to enforced recumbency I doubt the propriety of insisting on it
in the majority of cases, for I think the patient usually assumes what-
ever position gives most comfort. Xo doubt recumbency diminishes
the amount of blood sent to the feet, and may greatly relieve the pain,
so that forcing the patient to lie down may be tried, yet should not be
renewed if he thereafter persists in standing.

When the animal persistently stands, or constant lying indicates
it (to prevent extensive sores), the patient should be placed in
slings. When all four feet are affected it may be impossible to use
slings, for the reason that the patient refuses to support any of his
weight and simply hangs m them. Lastly, convalescent cases must
not be returned to work too early, else permanent recovery may never
be effected.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN.

By James Law, P. R. C. Y. S.,
Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., Cornell University.

As we find them described in systematic works, the diseases of the
skin are very numerous and complex, which may be largely accounted
for by the fact that the cutaneous covering is exposed to view at all
points, so that shades of difference in inflammatory and other diseased
processes are easily seen and distinguished from one another. In the
horse the hairy covering serves to some extent to mask the symptoms,
and hence the nonprofessional man is tempted to apply the term
" mange " to all alike, and it is only a step further to apply the same
treatment to all these widely different disorders. Yet even in the
hairy quadruped the distinction can be made in a way which can not
be done in disorders of that counterpart and prolongation of the
skin — the mucous membrane, which lines the air passages, the diges-
tive organs, the urinary and generative apparatus. Diseased proc-
esses, therefore, which in these organs it might be difficult or impos-
sible to distinguish from one another, can usually be separated and
recognized when appearing in the skin.

Nor is this differentiation unimportant. The cutaneous covering
presents such an extensive surface for the secretion of cuticular scales,
hairs, horn, sebaceous matter, sweat, and other excretory matters, that
ony extensive disorder in its functions may lead to serious internal
disease and death. Again, the intimate nervous sympathy of differ-
ent points of the skin with particular internal organs renders certain
skin disorders causative of internal disease and certain internal dis-
eases causative of affections of the skin. The mere painting of the
skin with an impermeable coating of glue is speedily fatal; a cold
draft striking on the chest causes inflammation of the lungs or pleura ;
a skin eruption speedily follows certain disorders of the stomach, the
liver, the kidneys, or even the lungs; simple burns of the skin cause
inflammations of internal organs, and inflammation of such organs
cause in their turn eruptions on the skin. The relations — nervous,
secretory, and absorptive — between the skin and internal organs
are most extensive and varied, and therefore a. visible disorder in
the skin may point at once and specifically to a particular fault in
diet, to an injudicious use of cold water when the system is heated, to
a fault in drainage, ventilation, or lighting of the stables, to indiges-
tion, to liver disease, to urinary disorder, etc.

458

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

FTjATS^EI XXXA'III.

D.
8

8

^•lUcal scciioTi thmuiih skiiv.

^.F.f)itiei-mix Yi.Beriiia. J Horiri /uytfr'i/ ilifvii/ermis.

Z.Sfnttuin rniiaisiim. .3 Papillary l/iyei>offh''iifrma.

A.Erireti/nrtmiofa.siidoripnnnisiilanii.

5, <ihiiiwiuU:i)jasi!(ii/i i/ji/nms i-jlnnii. G HmrjhIHHe.

l.>^ehafvous ijli.ind^ ft. hdijrnnls}i<'ijth oflhc'hiiirfiillaie.

'J. Bulb ij^'thf linif. [nMiiss of "f!l/joxf fhyiie.

4-

6

HiLif difea.'^ed by
TrUhophylon Tonsura.iix

Hfin- fii.S(uis/'d by
. Uhoritm Sfhon Irin L

■^ v]^-^ "''

Mirio.vpoi-oii Afloki.iriii from,
PtiixJsUio Pityriasis in the horse

TIIK SKIN AND ITS r)ISIi:ASES.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN". 459

STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN.

The skin consists primarily of two parts: (1) The superficial non-
vascular (without blood vessels) layer, the cuticle, or epidermis; and
(2) the deep vascular (with blood vessels) layer, the corium, dermis,
or true skin. (See PL XXXVIII, fig. 1.)

The cuticle is made up of cells placed side by side and more or less
modified in shape by their mutual compression and by surface evapo-
ration and drying. The superficial stratum consists of the cells dried
in the form of scales, which fall off continually and form dandruff.
The deep stratum (the mucous layer) is formed of somewhat rounded
cells with large central nuclei, and in colored skin containing numer-
ous pigment granules. These cells have prolongations, or branches,
by which they communicate with one another and with the superficial
layer of cells in the true skin beneath. Through these prolongations
they receive nutrient liquids for their growth and increase, and pass
on liquids absorbed by the skin into the vessels of the true skin
beneath. The living matter in the cells exercises an equally selective
power on what they shall take up for their own nourishment and on
what they shall admit into the circulation from without. Thus, cer-
tain agents, like iodin and belladonna, are readily admitted, whereas
others, like arsenic, are excluded by the sound, unbroken epidermis.
Between the deep and superficial layers of the epidermis there is a
thin, translucent layer (septum lucidum) consisting of a. double
stratum of cells, and forming a medium of transition from the deep
spheroidal to the superficial scaly cuticle.

The true skin, or dermis, has a framework of interlacing bundles
of white and yellow fibers, large and coarse in the deeper layers, and
fine in the superficial, where they approach the cuticle. Between the
fibrous bundles are left interspaces which, like the bundles, become
finer as they approach the surface, and inclose cells, vessels, nerves,
glands, gland ducts, hairs, and in the deeper layers fat.

The superficial layer of the dermis io formed into a series of
minute, conical elevations, or papillae, projecting into the deep por-
tion of the cuticle, froan which they are separated by a very fine
transparent membrane. This papillary layer is very richly supplied
with capillary blood vessels and nerves, and is at once the seat of
acute sensation and the point from which the nutrient liquid is
supplied to the cells of the cuticle above. It is also at this point that
the active changes of inflammation are especially concentrated ; it is
the immediately superposed cell layers (mucous) that become mor-
bidly increased in the earlier stages of inflammation; it is on the
surface of the papillary layer that the liquid is thrown out which
raises the cuticle in the form of a blister, and it is at this point
mainly that pus forms in the ordinary pustule.

460 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

The fibrous bundles of the true skin contain plain, muscular fibers,
which are not controlled by the will, but contract under the influence
of cold and under certain nervous influences, as in some skin dis-
eases and in the chill of a fever, and lead to contraction, tightening,
or corrugation of the skin, contributing to produce the " hidebound "
of the horseman. Other minute, muscular filaments are extended
from the surface of the dermis to the hair follicle on the side to which
the hair is inclined, and under the same stimulating influences pro-
duce that erection of the hair which is f amiliarl}'^ known as " staring
coat." Besides these, the horse's skin is furnished with an expansion
of red, voluntary muscle, firmly attached to the fibrous bundles, and
by which the animal can not only dislodge insects and other irritants,
but even shake off the harness. This fleshy envelope covers the sides
of the trunk and the lower portions of the neck and head, the parts
unprotected by the mane and tail, and serves to throw the skin of
these parts into puckers, or ridges, in certain irritating skin diseases.

The hairs are cuticular products growing from an enlarged papilla
lodged in the depth of a follicle or sac, hollowed out in the skin and
extending to its deepest layers. The hair follicle is lined by cells of
epidermis, which at the bottom are reflected on the papilla and be-
come the root of the hair. The hair itself is formed of the same kind
of cells firmly adherent to one another by a tough, intercellular sub-
stance, and overlapping each other, like slates on a roof, in a direc-
tion toward the free end.

The sebaceous glands 'are branching tubes ending in follicles or
sacs and opening into the hair follicles, lined by a very vascular
fibrous network representing the dermis, and an internal layer of
cells representing the mucous layer of the cuticle. The oily secretion
gives gloss to the hair and prevents its becoming dry and brittle, and
keeps the skin soft and supple, protecting it at once against undue
exhalation of water and undue absorption when immersed in that
medium. Besides those connected with the hair follicles there are
numerous, isolated, sebaceous glands, opening directly on the sur-
face of the skin, producing a somew^hat thicker and more odorous
secretion. They are found in large numbers in the folds of the skin,
where chafing would be liable if the surface were dr3^ as on the
sheath, scrotum, mammary glands, and inner side of tlie thigh, around
the anus and vulva, in the hollow of the heel, beneath the fine horn
of the frog, on the inner side of the elbow, on the lips, nostrils, and
eyelids. When closed by dried secretion or otherwise these glands
may become distended so as to form various-sized swellings on the
skin, and when inflamed they may throw out offensive, liquid dis-
charges, as in " grease," or produce red, tender, fungous growths
(" grapes.")

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 461

The sweat glands of the horse, like those of man, are composed of
simple tubes, which extend down through the cuticle and dermis in a
spiral manner, and are coiled into balls in the deeper layer of the
true skin. In addition to their importance in throwing offensive
waste products out of the system, these glands tend to cool the skin
and the entire economy of the animal through the evaporation; of
their watery secretion. Their activity is therefore a matter of no
small moment, as besides regulating the animal heat and excreting
impurities, they influence largely the internal organs through the
intimate sympathy maintained between them and the skin.

Diseases of the skin may be conveniently divided, according to
their most marked features, into —

(1) Those in which congestion and inflammation are the most
marked features, varying according to the grade or form into (a)
congestion with simple redness, dryness, and heat, but no eruption
(erythema) ; (h) inflammation with red-pointed elevations, but no
blisters (papules) ; (c) inflammation with fine, conical elevations,
each surmounted by a minute blister (vesicle) ; {d) inflammation
with a similar eruption but with larger blisters, like half a pea and
upwards (bulla?) ; (e') inflammation with a similar eruption, but
with a small sac of white, creamj^ pus on the summit of each eleva-
tion (pustules) ; (/) the formation of pustules implicating the super-
ficial layer of the true skin, a small portion of which dies and is
throAvn off as a slough, or "core" (boils); ('(/) the formation of
round, nodular, transient swellings in the true skin (tubercles) ; and
(A) the excessive production of scales, or dandruff (scaly or squa-
mous affections).

' (2) Diseases in which there are only deranged sensations of itch-
ing, heat, tenderness, etc. (neurosis).

(3) Diseased growths, such as warts, callosities, horny growths,
cancer, etc.

(4) Diseases from parasites, animal and vegetable.

(5) Diseases connected with a specific poison, such as horsepox,
erysipelas, anthrax, farc}^, or cutaneous glanders, etc.

(6) Physical injuries, like wounds, burns, scalds, etc.

CONGESTION (RED EFFLORESCENCE, OR ERYTHEMA).

This is a congested or slightly inflamed condition of the skin, unat-
tended with any eruption. The part is slightly swollen, hot, tender,
or itchy, and dry, and if the skin is white there is redness. The red-
ness is effaced by pressure, but reappears instantly when it is re-
moved. Except in transient cases the hairs are liable to be shed.
It may be looked on as the first stage of inflammation, and therefore
when it becomes aggravated it may merge in part or in whole into a
papular, vesicular, or pustular eruption.

462 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Erythema may arise from a variety of causes, and is often named
in accordance with its most prominent cause. Thus the chilling, or
partial freezing, of a part will gi\e rise to a severe reaction and con-
gestion. When snow^y or icy streets have been salted this may extend
to severe inflammation, with vesicles, pustules, or even sloughs of
circumscribed portions of the skin of the pastern (chilblain, frost-
bite). Heat and burning have a similar effect, and this often comes
from exposure to the direct rays of the sun. The skin that does not
perspire is the most subject, and hence the white face or white limb
of a horse becoming dried by the intensit}^ of the sun's rays often
suffers to the exclusion of the rest of the body (white face and foot
disease). The febrile state of the general system is also a potent
cause; hence the white-skinned horse is rendered the more liable if
kept on a heating ration of buckwheat, or even of wheat or maize.
Contact of the skin with oil of turpentine or other essential oils, with
irritant liquids, vegetable or mineral, with rancid fats, with the acrid
secretions of certain animals, like the irritating toad, with pus, sweat,
tears, urine, or liquid feces, will produce congestion or even inflam-
mation. Chafing is a common cause, and is especially liable to affect
the fat horse between the thighs, by the side of the sheath or scrotum,
on the inner side of the elbow, or where the harness chafes on the
poll, shoulder, back, breastbone, and under the tail. The accumula-
tion of sweat and dust between the folds of the skin and on the sur-
face of the harness, and the specially acrid character of the sweat in
certain horses, contribute to chafing or " intertrigo." The heels often
become congested owing to the irritation caused by the short, bristly
hairs in clipped heels. Again, congestion may occur from friction by
halter, harness, or other foreign body under the pastern,' or inside the
thigh or arm, or by reason of blows from another foot (cutting, inter-
fering, overreach). Finally, erythema is especially liable to occur in
spring, when the coat is being shed, and the hair follicles and general
surface are exposed and irritable in connection with the dropping of
the hairs.

If due only to a local irritant, congestion will usually disappear
when the cause has been removed, but when the feeding or system
is at fault these conditions must be first corrected. While the coat is
being shed the susceptibility will continue, and the aim should be to
prevent the disease from developing and advancing so as to weaken
the skin, render the susceptibility permanent, and lay the foundation
of persistent or frequently recurring skin disease. Therefore at such
times the diet should be nonstimulating, any excess of grain, and
above all of buckwheat, Indian corn, or wheat, being avoided. A
large grain ration should not be given at once on return from hard
work, when the general svstem and stomach are unable to cope with

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 463

it ; the animal should not be given more than a swallow or two of cold
water when perspiring and fatigued, nor should he be allowed a full
supply of water just after his grain ration; he should not be over-
heated or exhausted by work, nor should dried sweat and dust be
allowed to accumulate on the skin or on the harness pressing on it.
The exposure of the affected heels to damp, mud, and snow, and,
above all, to melting snow, should be guarded against ; light, smooth,
well-fitting harness must be obtained, and where the saddle or collar
irritates an incision should be made in them above and below the
part that chafes, and, the padding between having been removed, the
lining should be beaten so as to make a hollow. A zinc shield in the
upper angle of the collar will often prevent chafing in front of the
withers.

Treatment. — Wash the chafed skin and apply salt water (one-half
oimce to the quart), extract of witch-hazel, a weak solution of oak
bark, or camphorated spirit. If the surface is raw use bland powders,
such as oxid of zinc, lycopodium, starch, or smear the surface with
vaseline, or with 1 ounce of vaseline intimately mixed with one-half
dram each of opium and sugar of lead. In cases of chafing rest must
be strictly enjoined. If there is constitutional disorder or acrid
sweat, 1 ounce cream of tartar or a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda
may be given twice daily.

CONGESTION, WITH SMALL PIMPLES, OR PAPULES.

In this affection there is the general blush, heat, etc., of erythema,
together with a crop of elevations from the size of a poppy seed to a
coffee bean, visible when the hair is reversed or to be felt with the
fijiger where the hair is scanty. In white sldns they vary from the
palest to the darkest red. All do not retain the papular type, but
some go on to form blisters (eczema, bullae) or pustules, or dry up
into scales, or break out into open sores, or extend into larger swell-
ings (tubercles). The majority, however, remaining as pimples,
characterize the disease. When very itchy the rubbing breaks them
open, and the resulting sores and scales hide the true nature of the
eruption.

The general and local causes may be the same as for erythema, and
in the same subject one portion of the skin may have simple conges-
tion and another adjacent papules. As the inflammatory action is
more pronounced, so the irritation and itching are usually greater,
the animal rubbing and biting himself severely. This itching is espe-
cially severe in the forms which attack the roots of the mane and tail,
and there the disease is often so persistent and troublesome that the
horse is rendered virtuallv useless.

464 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

The bites of insects often produce ii papular eruption, but in many
such cases the swelling extends wider into a buttonlike elevation,
one-half to an inch in diameter. The same remarks apply to the
effects of the poison iA^y and poison sumac.

Treatment. — In papular eruption first remove the cause, then apply
the same general remedies as for simple congestion. In the more
inveterate cases use a lotion of one-half ounce sulphid of potassium
in 2 quarts of water, to which a little Castile soap has been added, or
use a wash with one-half ounce oil of tar, 2 ounces Castile soap, and
20 ounces water.

INFLAMMATION WITH BLISTERS, OR ECZEMA.

In this the skin is congested, thickened, warm (white skins are red-
dened), and shows a thick crop of little blisters formed by effusions
of a straw-colored fluid between the true skin and the cuticle. The
blisters may be of any size from a millet seed to a pea, and often
crack open and allow the escape of the fluid, which concretes as a
slightly yellowish scab or crust around the roots of the hairs. This
exudation and the incrustation are especially common where the hairs
are long, thick, and numerous, as in the region of the pastern of
heavy draft horses. The term eczema is now applied very generally
to eruptions of all kinds that depend on internal disorders or consti-
tutional conditions and that tend to recurrences and inveteracy.
Eczema may appear on any part of the body, but in horses it is espe-
cially common on the heels and the lower parts of the limbs, and
less frequently on the neck, shoulder, and abdomen. The limbs ap-
pear to be especially liable because of their dependent position, all
blood having to return from them against the action of gravity and
congestions and sw-ellings being common, because of the abundance
of blood vessels in this part of the skin and because of the frequent
contact W' ith the irritant dung and urine and their ammoniacal emana-
tions. The legs further suffer from contact with wet and mud when
at work, from snow and ice, from drafts of cold air on the wet limbs,
from washing with caustic soaps, or from the relaxing effects of a
too deep and abundant litter. Among other causes may be named
indigestion and the presence of irritant matters in the blood and
sweat, the result of patent medicated feeds and condition powders
(aromatics. stimulants), green food, new hay, new oats, buckwheat,
wheat, maize, diseased potatoes, smut, or ergot in grains, decompos-
ing green feed, brewers' grains, or kitchen garbage. The excite-
ment in the skin, caused by shedding the coat, lack of grooming, hot
weather, hot, boiled, or steamed feed conduces to the eruption.
Lastly, any sudden change of feed may induce it.

The blisters may in part go on to suppuration so that vesicles and
pustules often appear on the same patch, and, when raw from rub-

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 465

bing, the true nature of the eruption may be completely masked. In
■well-fed horses, kept in close stables with little work, eczsma of the
limbs may last for months and years. It is a very troublesome affec-
tion in draft stallions.

Treatment. — This disease is so often the result of indigestion that a
laxative of 1 pound Glauber's salt in 3 or 4 quarts water or 1^ pints
olive oil is often demanded to clear away irritants from the alimen-
tary canal. Following this, in recent and acute cases, give 2 drams
of acetate or bicarbonate of potash twice a day in the drinking water.
If the bowels still become costive, give daily 1 ounce sulphate of soda
and 20 grains of pow'dered nux vomica. In debilitated horses com-
bine the nux vomica with one-half ounce powdered gentian root. Aj^
a wash for the skin use 1 dram bicarbonate of soda and 1 dram car-
bolic acid in a quart of water, after having cleansed the surface with
tepid water. Employ the same precautions as regards feeding,
stabling, and care of harness as in simple congestion of the skin.

In the more inveterate forms of eczema more active treatment is
required. Soak the scabs in fresh sweet oil, and in a few hours
remove these with tepid water and Castile soap ; then apply an oint-
ment of sulphur or iodid of sulphur day by day. If this seems to
be losing its effect after a week, change for mercurial ointment or a
solution of sulphid of potassium, or of hyposulphite of soda, 3 drams
to the quart of water. In these cases the animal may take a course
of sulphur (1 ounce daily), bisulphite of soda (one-half ounce daily),
or of arsenic (5 grains daily) mixed with 1 dram bicarbonate of
soda.

INFLAMMATION WITH PUSTULES.

In this affection the individual elevations on the inflamed skin
show in the center a small sac of white, creamy pus, in place of the
clear liquid of a blister. They vary in size from a millet seed to a
hazelnut. The pustules of glanders (farcy buds) are to be distin-
guished by the watery contents and the cordlike swelling, extending
from the pustules along the line of the veins, and those of boils by the
inflammation and sloughing out of a core of the true skin. The hair
on the pustule stands erect, and is often shed with the scab which
results. When itching is severe the parts become excoriated by
rubbing, and, as in the other forms of skin disease, the character of
the erui^tion may become indistinct. Old horses suffer mainly at the
root of the mane and tail and about the heels, and suckling foals
around the mouth, on the face, inside the thighs, and under the tail.

Pustules, like eczema, are especially liable to result from unwhole-
some feed and indigestion, from a sudden change of feed — above all,
from dry to green. In foals it may result from overheating of the

54763°— 23 30

466 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

mare and allowing the first milk after slie returns, or by milk ren-
dered unwholesome 'by faulty feeding of the dam. If a foal is
brought up by hand the souring and other decompositions in the milk
derange the digestion and cause such eruption. Vetches and other
plants affected with honeydew and buckwheat have been the cause of
these eruptions on white portions of the skin. Disorders of the
kidneys or liver are common causes of this affection.

Treatment. — Apply soothing ointments, such as benzoinated oxid
of zinc, or vaseline with 1 dram oxid of zinc in each ounce. Or a
wash of 1 dram sugar of lead or 2 drams hyposulphite of soda in a
quart of water may be freely applied. If the skin is already abraded
and scabby, smear thickly with vaseline for some hours, then wash
with soapsuds and apply the above dressings, ^lien the excoriations
are indolent they may be painted with a solution of lunar caustic 2
grains to 1 ounce of distilled water. Internall}^ counteract costive-
ness and remove intestinal irritants by the same means as in eczema,
and follow this with one-half ounce doses daily of h}^osulphite of
soda, and one-lialf ounce doses of gentian. Inveterate cases may
often be benefited by a course of sulphur, bisulphite of soda, or
arsenic. In all, the greatest care must be taken with regard to feed,
feeding, watering, cleanliness, and work. In wet and cold seasons
predisposed animals should, so far as possible, be protected from
wet, mud, snow, and melted snow — above all, from that which has
been melted by salt.

BOILS, OR FURUNCLES.

These may appear on any part of the skin, but are especially com-
mon on the lower parts of the limbs, and on the shoulders and back
where the skin is irritated by accumulated secretion and chafing with
the harness. In other cases the cause is constitutional, or attended
with unwholesome diet and overwork with loss of general health and
condition. They also follow on weakening diseases, notably strangles,
in which irritants are retained in tlie system from overproduction of
poisons and effete matter during fever, and imperfect elimination.
There is also the presence of a pyogenic bacterium, by which the
disease may be maintained and x^ropagated.

While boils are pus producing, they differ from simple pustule in
affecting the deepest layers of the true skin, and even the superficial
layers of the connective tissues beneath, and in the death and slough-
ing out of the central part of the inflamed mass (core). The depth,
of the hard, indurated, painful swelling, and tlie formation of this
central mass or core, which is bathed in pus and slowly separated
from surrounding parts, serve to distinguish the boil alike from the
pustule, from the farc}'^ bud, and from a superficial abscess.

Treatment. — ^To treat very painful boils a free incision witli a
lancet in two directions, followed by a dressing with one-half an

DISEASES OF THE SKII<r. 467

ounce carbolic acid in a pint of water, bound on with cotton wool or
lint, may cut them short. The more common course is to apply a
warm poultice of linseed meal or wheat bran, and renew daily until
the center of the boil softens, when it should be lanced and the core
pressed out.

If the boil is smeared with a blistering ointment of Spanish flies
and a poultice put over it, the formation of matter and separation of
the core is often hastened. A mixture of sugar and soap laid on the
boil is equally good. Cleanliness of the skin and the avoidance of
all causes of irritation are important items, and a teaspoonful of
bicarbonate of soda once or twice a day will sometimes assist in
warding off a new crop.

NETTLERASH (SURFEIT, OR URTICARIA).

This is an eruption in the form of cutaneous nodules, in size from
a hazelnut to a hickory nut, transient, with little disposition to the
formation of either blister or pustule, and usually connected with
shedding of the coat, sudden changes of weather, and unwholesome-
ness or sudden change in the feed. It is most frequent in the spring
and in young and vigorous animals (good feeders). The swelling
embraces the entire thickness of the skin and terminates by an abrupt
margin in place of shading off into surrounding parts. When the
individual swellings run together there are formed extensive patches
of thickened integument. These may appear on any part of the
body, and may be general; the eyelids may be closed, the lips ren-
dered immovable, or the nostrils so thickened that breathing becomes
difficult and snuffling. It may be attended with constipation or
diarrhea or by coliclcy pains. The eruption is sudden, the whole
skin being sometimes covered in a few hours, and it may disappear
with equal rapidity or persist for six or eight days.

Treatment. — This consists in clearing out the bowels by 5 drams
Barbados aloes, or 1 pound Glauber's salt, and follow the operation
of these by daily doses of one-half ounce powdered gentian and
1 ounce Glauber's salt. A weak solution of alum may be applied to
the swellings.

PITYRIASIS, OR SCALY SKIN DISEASE.

This affection is characterized by an excessive production and
detachment of dry scales from the surface of the skin (dandruff).
It is usually dependent on some fault in digestion and an imperfect
secretion from the sebaceous glands and is most common in old horses
with spare habit of body. Williams attributes it to feed rich in sac-
charine matter (carrots, turnips) and to the excretion of oxalic acid
by the skin. He has found it in horses irregularly worked and well

468 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

fed and advises the administration of pitch for a length of time
and the avoidance of saccharine feed. Otherwise the horse may take
a laxative followed by dram doses of carbonate of potash, and the
affected parts may be bathed with soft, tepid water and smeared with
an ointment made with vaseline and sulphur. In obstinate cases
sulphur may be given daily in the feed.

PRURITUS, OR NERVOUS IRRITATION OF THE SKIN.

This is seen in horses fed to excess on grain and hay, kept in close
stables, and worked iri-egularly. Though most common in summer,
it is often severe in hot, close stables in winter. Pimples, vesicles,
and abrasions may result, but as the itching is quite as severe on other
parts of the skin, these may be the result of scratching merely. It
is especially common and inveterate about the roots of tlie mane and
tail.

Treatment consists in a purgative (Glauber's salt, 1 pound), re-
stricted, laxative diet, and a wash of water slightly soured with oil
of vitriol and rendered sweet by carbolic acid. If obstinate, give
daily 1 ounce of sulphur and 20 grains nux vomica. If the acid
lotion fails, 2 drams carbonate of potash and 2 grains of cyanid of
potassium in a quart of water will sometimes benefit. If from pin-
worms in the rectum, the itching of the tail may be remedied by an
occasional injection of a quart of water in Avhich chips of quassia
wood have been steeped for 12 hours.

HERPES.

This name has been applied to a disease in which there is an erup-
tion of minute vesicles in circular groups or clusters, with little
tendency to burst, but rather to dry up into fine scabs. If the vesicles
break, they exude a slight, gummy discharge which concretes into a
small, hard scab. It is apparently noncontagious and not appreci-
ably connected with any disorder of internal organs. It sometimes
accompanies or follows specific fevers, and is, on the whole, most fre-
quent at the seasons of changing the coat — spring and autumn. It
is seen on the lips and pastern, but may appear on any part of the
body. The duration of the eruption is two weelcs or even more, the
tendency being to spontaneous recovery. The affected part is very
irritable, causing a sensitiveness and a disposition to rub out of
pi'oportion to the extent of the eruption.

Treatment. — It may be treated by oxid of zinc ointment, and to
relieve the irritation a solution of opium or belladonna in water, or
of sugar of lead or oil of peppermint. A course of bitters (one-half
an ounce of Peruvian bark daily for a week) may be serviceable in
bracing the system and producing an indispositi<m to the eruption.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 469

BLEEDING SKIN ERUPTIONS, OR DERMATORRHAGIA PARASITICA.

In Cliina, Hungary, Spain, and other countries, horses frequently
suffer from the presence of a threadworm {Setaria JueTiioyThagica
{Rii\\\iQi)^=FUaria niultipa'piUosa Condamine and Drouilly) in the
subcutaneous, intermuscular, and interfascicular connective tissues,
causing effusions of blood under the scurf skin and incrustations of
dried blood on the surface. The eruptions, which appear mainly on
the sides of the trunk, but may cover am^ part of the body, are
rounded elevations about the size of a small pea, or larger, containing
blood which bursts through tlie scurf skin and dries like a reddish
scab around the erect, rigid hairs. These swellings appear in groups,
which remain out for several days, gradually diminishing in size;
new groups appear after an interval of three or four weeks, the mani-
festation being confined to three or four months of spring and dis-
appearing in winter. A horse will suffer for several yeai^ in succes-
sion and then permanently recover, although fatal cases sometimes
occur. It is reported that when cases of the disease are imported into
France the disease appears in attenuated form the second year and
then disappears without treatment. To find the worm the hair is
shaved from the part where the elevations are felt, and as soon as a
bleeding point is shown the superficial layer is laid open with the
knife, when the parasite will be seen drawing itself back into the
parts beneath. The worm is about 1 inch to almost 3 inches long
and like a stout thread, thicker toward the head than toward the
tail, and with numerous little papilliform elevations around the head.
The adult female worm produces numerous eggs which contain em-
bryos when deposited. Apparently the eggs hatch in the blood. In
all probability the worm has an intermediate host, perhaps an insect,
which transmits it from one horse to another.

Treatment is not satisfactory, but the affected surface should be
kept clean by sponging, and the pressure of harness on any affected
part must be avoided. The part may be frequently washed with a
strong solution of potassium sulphid. Eest may be essential to re-
cover\\

SUMMER SORES.

The summer sores of horses (dermatitis granulosa, boils) have been
traced to the presence in the skin of a roundworm 3 millimeters in
length and very slender. These worms were long known as FUaria
ir-ritans^ but have been found to be the larvae of the stomach worms,
Hdbronema- spp., of the horse. The sores may be as small as a
millet seed, but more frequently the size of a pea, and may become
an inch in diameter. Thej^ may appear on any point, but are espe-
cially obnoxious where the harness presses, or on the lower parts of
the limbs. They cause intense and insupportable itching, and the
victim rubs and bites the part until extensive raw surfaces are pro-
duced. Aside from the effects of such friction, the sore is covered by

470 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

a brownish-red, soft, pulpy material with cracks or furrows filled
with serous pus. In the midst of the softened mass are small, firm,
rounded granulations, fibrinous, and even caseated, and when the soft,
pultaccous material has been scraped off, the surface bears a resem-
blance to the fine, yellow points of miliary tuberculosis in the lung.
The worm or its debris is found in the center of such masses. These
sores are very obstinate, resisting treatment for months in summer,
and even after apparent recovery during the cold season they may ap-
pear anew the following summer. In bad cases the rubbing and bit-
ing may cause exposure of synovial sacs and tendons, and cause ir-
remediable injury. Even in winter, however, when the diseased
process seems arrested, there remain the hard, firm, resistant patches
of the skin with points in which the diseased product has become
softened like cheese.

The apparent subsidence of the disease in winter is attributed to
the coldness and comparative bloodlessness of the skin, whereas in
summer, with high temperature, active circulation, and rapid cell
growth, inflammation is increased, itching follows, and from the
animal rubbing the part the irritation is persistently increased. The
hotter the climate the more troublesome the disease.^

Treatment consists, first, in placing the animal in a cool place and
showering the surface with cold water. The parasite may be de-
stroyed by rubbing the surface of the wound with iodoform and
covering it with a layer of collodion, and repeating the applications
every 24 hours for 15 days, or until the sores heal up. Ether or
chloroform, poured on cotton wool and applied to the sore for two
minutes before painting it with collodion, may be used in place of
iodoform.^

CRACKED HEELS (SCRATCHES, OR CHAPS ON KNEE AND HOCK).

This usually sets in with swelling, heat, and tenderness of the hol-
low of the heel, with erections of the hairs and redness (in white

1 Descazeaux and others have shown that the worms found in these summer sores aro
larval forms of the stomach worms of the horse, especially Haironema megastoma
and H. muscw. Ransom and others have shown that the lan'a' of these worms develop
in the common house fly and other flies, the fly l)€coming infested as a maggot in horse
manure. M. microstoma, however, usually develops in stable flies and rarely in house
flies. Infestiition with the adult worms in the stomach of the horse (PI. V, fig. 4) may
take place through the ingestion of such infested flies, or by the escape of larvae from the
proboscis of the fly as it feeds on the moist lips of the horse. In view of this it may be
surmised tliat summer sores may arise as the result of flies so infested feeding on the
moisture on the skin of the horse, and this theory has tlie supijort of some experimental
and clinical evidence.

Preventive measures consist in the removal of the adult worms from the stomach of
th(> horse by the use of anthelmintics, the destruction of the embryos in the manure,
fly-control measures, and tlie use of clean bedding. The protection of all wounds and
skin abrasions from flies by means of bandages, fly reprflents, etc., is also of importance
in regions where summei- sores occur. Such anthelmintics as carbon bisulphid and
carbon tcti'achlorid will probably kill the stomach worms of horses wlienever the worms
are exposed to Uic action of the drugs, but the worms which are embedded in the mucosa
or in nodules are probably not accessible to any drugs used at present. — M. C. Hall.

= Descazeaux recommends the application and injection of 2 to 3 per cent trypan blue,
though he states that the only truly efficacious treatment is the early and complete abla-
tion of the invaded tissue. — M. C. Hall.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 471

skins), with stiffness and lameness, which may be extreme in irritable
horses. Soon slight cracks appear transversely, and may gain in
depth and width, and may even suppurate. More frequently they
become covered at the edges or throughout by firm incrustations re-
sulting from the drying of the liquids thrown out, and the skin be-
comes increasingly thick and rigid. A similar condition occurs
behind the knee and in front of the hock (malanders and salanders),
and may extend from these points to the hoof, virtually incasing that
side of the limb in a permanent incrusting sheath.

Causes. — Besides a heavy lymphatic constitution, Avhich predisposes
to this affection, the causes are overfeeding on grain, unwholesome
fodder, close, hot, dirty stables, constant contact with dung and urine
and their emanations, working in deep, irritant mud; above all, in
limestone districts, irritation by dry limestones or sandy dust in dry
weather on dirt roads; also cold drafts, snow, and freezing mud,
washing the legs with caustic soap, wrapping the wet legs in thick
woolen bandages which soak the skin and render it sensitive when
exposed next day, clipping the heels, weak heart and circulation,
natural or supervening on overwork, imperfect nourishment, impure
air, lack of sunshine, chronic exhausting, or debilitating diseases,
or functional or structural diseases of the heart, liver, or kidneys.
These last induce dropsical swelling of the limbs (stocking), weaken
the parts, and induce cracking. Finally the cicatrix of a preexist-
ing crack, weak, rigid, and unyielding, is liable to reojDen under any
severe exertion ; hence rapid paces and heavy draft are active causes.

Treatment. — In treatment the first step is to ascertain and remove
the cause whenever possible. If there is much local heat and inflam-
mation, a laxative (5 drams aloes or 1 pomid Glauber's salt) may be
given, and for the pampered animal the grain should be reduced or
replaced altogether by bran mashes, flaxseed, and other laxative, non-
stimulating feed. In the debilitated, on the other hand, nutritious
food and bitter tonics may be given, and even a course of arsenic
(5 grains arsenic with 1 dram bicarbonate of soda daily). When the
legs sweU, exercise on dry roads, hand rubbing, and evenly applied
bandages are good, and mild astringents, lil^e extract of witch-hazel,
may be applied and the part subsequently rubbed divy and bandaged.
If there is much heat but unbroken skin, a lotion of 2 drams sugar
of lead to 1 quart of water may be applied on a thin bandage, cov-
ered in cold weather with a dry one. The same may be used after
the cracks appear, or a solution of sulphurous acid 1 part, glycerin
1 part, and water 1 part, applied on cotton and well covered by a
bandnge. In case these should prove unsuitable to the particular
case, the part may be smeared with vaseline 1 ounce, sugar of lead 1
dram, and carbolic acid 10 drops.

472 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

INFLAMMATION OF THE HEELS WITH SEBACEOUS SECRETION

(GREASE, OR CANKER).

This is a specific affection of the heels of horses usually associated
with the growth of a parasitic fungus, an offensive discharge from
the numerous sebaceous glands, and, in bad cases, the formation of
red, raw excrescences (gi'apes) from the surface. It is to be distin-
guished (1) from simple inflammation in which the special fetid
discharge and the tendency to the formation of " grapes " are absent ;
(2) from horsepox, in which the abundant exudate forms a firm,
yellow incrustation around the roots of the hair, and is embedded
at intervals in the pits formed by the individuivl pocks, and in which
there is no vascular excrescence; (3) from foot scabies (mange),
in which the presence of an acarus is distinctive; (4) from lymphan-
gitis, in which the swelling appears suddenly, extending around the
entire limb as high as the hock, and on the inner side of the thigh
along the line of the vein to the groin, and in which there is active
fever, and (5) from erysipelas, in w^hich there is active fever (want-
ing in grease), the implication of the deeper layers of the skin and
of the parts beneath giving a boggy feeling to the parts, the absence
of the fetid, greasy discharge, and finally a tendency to form pus
loosel}^ in the tissues without any limitirig membrane, as in abscess.
Another distinctive feature of grease is its tendency to implicate the
skin wdiich secretes the bulbs or heels of the horny frog and in the
cleft of the frog, constituting the disease known as canker.

Causes. — The predisposing causes of grease are essentially the s<ime
as those of simple inflammation of the heel, so that the reader may
consult the preceding section. Though a specific fungus and bac-
teria of different kinds are present, they tend mainly to aggravation
of the disease, and are not proved to be essential factors in causation.

t^ym/ptoms. — The symptoms vary according to Avhether the disease
comes on suddenly or more tardily. In the first case there is a
sudden swelling of the skin in the heel, with heat, tenderness, itching,
and stiffness, wdiich is lessened during exercise. In the sloAver forms
there is seen only a slight swelling after rest, and with little heat or
inflammation for a week or more. Even at this early stage, a slight,
serous oozing may be detected. As the swelling increases, extending
up toward the hock or knees, the hairs stand erect, and are bedewed
by moisture no longer clear and odorless, but grayisli, milky, and
fetid. The fetor of the discharge draws attention to the part when-
ever one enters the stable, and the swollen pastern and wet, matted
hairs on the heel draw attention to the seat of the malady. If ac-
tively treated, the disease may not advance further, but if neglected
the tense, tender skin cracks open, leaving open sores from wdiich
vascular bleeding growths grow up, constituting the " grapes." The

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 473

hair is shed, and the heel inay appear but as one mass of rounded,
red, angry excrescences which bleed on handling and are covered
Avith the now repulsively fetid, decomposing discharge. During this
time there is little or no fever, the animal feeds well, and but for
its local trouble it might continue at work. When the malady ex-
tends to the frog, there is a fetid discharge from its cleft or from the
depressions at its sides, and this gradually extends to its whole sur-
face and upon the adjacent parts of the sole. The horn meanwhile
becomes soft, whitish, and fleshy in aspect, its constituent tubes being
greatly enlarged and losing their natural cohesion ; it grows rapidly
above the level of the surrounding horn, and when pared is found to
be penetrated to an unusual depth by the secreting papillse, and that
at intervals these have bulged out into a vascular fungous mass com-
parable to the " grapes."

Treatment. — In treatment hygienic measures occupy a front rank,
but are in themselves insufficient to establish a cure. All local and
general conditions which favor the production and persistence of the
disease must be guarded against. Above all, cleanliness and purity
of the stable and air must be obtained ; also nourishing diet, regular
exercise, and the avoidance of local irritants — septic, muddy, chill-
ing, etc. At the outset benzoated oxid of zinc ointment may be used
with advantage. A still better dressing is made with 1 ounce vase-
line, 2 drams oxid of zinc, and 20 drops iodized phenol. If the sur-
face is much swollen and tender, a flaxseed poultice may be applied,
over the surface of which has been poured some of the following
lotion: Sugar of lead, one-half ounce; carbolic acid, 1 dram; water, 1
quart. All the astringents of the pharmacopoeia have been em-
ployed with more or less advantage, and some particular one seems
to suit particular cases or patients. To destroy the grapes, they
may be rubbed daily with strong caustics (copperas, bluestone, lunar
caustic), or each may, be tied round its neck with a stout, waxed
thread, or, finally and more speedily, they may be cut off by a black-
smith's shovel heated to redness and applied with its sharp edge
toward the neck of the excrescence, over a cold shovel held between
it and the skin to protect the skin from the heat. The cold shovel
must be kept cool by frequent dipping in water. After the removal
of the grapes the astringent dressing must be persistently applied
to the surface. AVhen the frog is affected, it must be pared to the
quick and dressed with dry caustic powders (quicklime, copperas,
bluestone) or carbolic acid and subjected to pressure, the dressing
being renewed every day at least.

474 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

ERYSIPELAS.

This is a specific contagious disease, characterized by spreading,
dropsical inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, attended
with general fever. It diifers from most specific diseases in the ab-
sence of a definite period of incubation, a regular course and duration,
and a conferring of immunity on the subject after recovery. On the
contrary, one attack of erysipelas predisposes to another, partly,
doubtless, by the loss of tone and vitality in the affected tissues, but
also, perhaps, because of the survival of the infecting germ.

Cause. — It is no longer to be doubted that the microbes found in the
inflammatory product are the true cause of erysipelas, as by their
means the disease can be successfully transferred from man to animals
and from one animal to another. This transition may be direct or
through the medium of infected buildings or other articles. Yet from
the varying severity of erysipelas in different outbreaks and localities
it has been surmised that various different microbes are operative in
this disease, and a perfect knovv'ledge of them might perhaps enable
us to divide erysipelas into two or more distinct affections. At pres-
ent we must recognize it as a specific inflammation due to a bacterial
poison and closely allied to septicemia. Erysipelas was formerly
known as surgical when it spread from a wound (through which the
germ had gained access) and medical, or idiopathic, when it started
independently of any recognizable lesion. Depending as it does,
however, upon a germ distinct from the body, the disease must be
looked upon as such, no matter by what channel the germ found an
entrance. Erysipelas which follows a wound is usually much more
violent than the other form, the difference being doubtless partly due
to the lowered vitality of the wounded tissues and to the oxidation
and septic changes which are invited on the raw, exposed surface.
As apparently idiopathic cases may be due to infection through bites
of insects, the small amount of poison inserted may serve to moderate
the violence.

This affection may attack a wound on any part of the horse's body,
while, apart from wounds, it is most frequent about the head and the
hind limbs. It is to be distinguished from ordinary inflammations
by its gradual extension from the point first attacked, by the abun-
dant liquid exudation into the affected part, by the tension of the skin
over the affected part, by its soft, boggy feeling, allowing it to be
deeply indented by the finger^ by the abrupt line of limitation be-
tween the diseased and the healthy skin, the former descending sud-
denly to the healthy level instead of shading off slowly toward it, by
iX^^ tendency of the inflanmiation to extend deeply into the subjacent
tissues and into the muscles and other structures, by the great ten-
dency to death and sloughing of portions of skin and of the struc-

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 475

tures beneath, by the formation of pus at various different points
throughout the diseased parts without any surrounding sac to protect
the surrounding structures from its destructive action, and without
the usual disposition of pus to advance harmlessly toward the surface
and escape; and, finally, by a low, prostrating type of fever, with
elevated temperature of the body, coated tongue, excited breathing,
and loss of appetite. The pus when escaping through a lancet wound
is grayish, brownish, or reddish, with a heavy or fetid odor, and inter-
mixed with shreds of broken-down tissues. The most destructive
form, however, is that in which pus is deficient and gangrene and
sloughing more speedy and extensive.

Treatment resolves itself mainly into the elimination from the
system of the poisonous products of the bacteria by laxatives and
diuretics, the sustaining of the failing vitality by tonics and stimu-
lants, above all those of the nature of antifemients, and the local
application of astringent and antiseptic agents. Internal treatment
may consist in 4 drams tincture of muriate of iron and one-half dram
muriate of ammonia or chlorate of potash, given in a pint of water
every two hours. Locally a strong solution of iron, alum, or of
sulphate of iron and laudanum may be used ; or the affected part may
be painted with tincture of muriate of iron or with iodized phenol.
In mild cases a lotion of 4 drams sugar of lead and 2 ounces lauda-
num in a quart of water may be applied. It is desirable to avoid the
formation of wounds and the consequent septic action, yet when pus
has formed and is felt by fluctuation under the fijiger to be approach-
ing tlie surface it should be freely opened wath a clean, sharp lancet,
and the wound thereafter disinfected daily with carbolic acid 1 part
to water 10 parts, with a saturated solution of hyposulphite of soda,
or with powders of iodoform or salol.

HORSEPOX, ANTHRAX, AND CUTANEOUS GLANDEKS (FARCY).

These subjects are discussed under the head of contagious diseases.

CALLOSITIES.

These are simple thickening and induration of the cuticle by reason
of continued pressure, notably in lying down on a hard surface. Be-
ing devoid of hair, they cause blemishes; hence, smooth floors and
good bedding should be provided as preventives.

HORNY SLOUGHS (SITFASTS), OR SLOUGHING CALLOSITIES.

These are circumscribed sloughs of limited portions of the skin, the
result of pressure by badly fitting harness or by irritating masses of
dirt, sweat, and hairs under the harness. They are most common
imder the saddle, but may be found under collar or breeching as well.

476 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

The sitfast is a piece of dead tissue which would be thrown off but
that it has formed firm connections with the fibrous skin beneath, or
even deeper wdth the fibrous layers (fascia) of the muscles, or with
the bones, and is thus bound in its place as a persistent source of irri-
tation. The hornlike slough may thus involve the superficial part of
the skin only, or the wdiole thickness of the skin, and even of some of
the structures beneath. The first object is to remove the dead irri-
tant by dissecting it off wdth a sharp knife, after which the sore may
be treated with simple wet cloths or a weak carbolic-acid lotion, like a
common wound. If the outline of the dead mass is too indefinite, a
linseed-meal poultice will make its outline more evident to the opera-
tor. If the fascia or bone has become gangrenous, the dead portion
must be removed with the hornlike skin. During and after treat-
ment the horse must be kept at rest or the harness must be so adjusted
that no pressure can come near the affected parts. (See also page
496.)

WARTS.

These are essentially a morbid overgrowth of the superficial papil-
lary laver of the skin and of the investing cuticular laver. Thev are
mostly seen in young horses, about the lips, eyelids, cheeks, ears,
beneath the belly, and on the sheath, but may develop anywhere.
The smaller ones may be clipped off with scissors and the raw surface
cauterized with bluestone. The larger ma}'^ be sliced off' with a sharp
knife, or if with a narrow neck they may be twisted off and then cau-
terized. If very vascular they may be strangled by a wax thread or
cord tied around their necks, at least three turns being made around
and the ends being fixed by passing them beneath the last preceding
turn of the cord, so that they can be tightened day by day as they
slacken by shrinkage of the tissues. If the neck is too broad it may
be transfixed several times with a double-threaded needle and then be
tied in sections. Very broad warts that can not be treated in this
way may be burned down w^ith a soldering bolt at a red heat to
beneath the surface of the skin, and any subsequent tendency to over-
growtli kept down by bluestone.

BLACK PIGMENT TUMORS, OR MELANOSIS.

These are common in gray and in white horses on the naturallv
black parts of the skin at the roots of the tail, around the anus, vulva,
udder, sheath, eyelids, and lips. They are readily recognized by their
inky-black color, which extends throughout the whole mass. They
may appear as simple, pealike masses, or as multiple tumors aggre-
gating many pounds, especially around the tail. In the horse these
are usually simple tumors, and may be removed with the knife. In
exceptional cases they prove cancerous, as they usually are in man.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 477

EPITHELIAL CANCER, OR EPITHELIOMA.

This sometimes occurs on the lips at the angle of the mouth and
elsewhere in the horse. It begins as a small, wartlike tumor, which
grows slowly at first, but finally bursts open, ulcerates, and extends
laterally and deeply in the skin and other tissues, destroying them as
it advances (rodent ulcer). It is made up of a fibrous framework and
numerous round, ovoid, or cylindrical cavities, lined with masses of
epithelial cells, which may be squeezed out as a fetid, caseous mate-
1 ial. Early and thorougli removal with the knife is the most suc-
cessful treatment.

VEGETABLE PARASITES OF THE SKIN.

(PI. XXXVIII, flgs. 2, 3, 4.)

Parasite: Tridiophytajv tonsurans. Malady: Tinea tonsurans, or
eircinate ringworm. — This is especiallj' common in young horses
coming into training and work, in low-conditioned colts in winter
and spring after confinement indoors, during molting, in lymphatic
lather than nervous subjects, and at the same time in several animals
that have herded together. The disease is common to man, and
among the domestic animals to horse, ox, goat, dog, cat, and in rare
instances to sheep and swine. Hence it is common to find animals of
different species and their attendants suffering at once, the diseases
having been propagated from one to the other.

Symptoms. — In the horse the symptoms are the formation of a cir-
cular, scurfy patch wdiere the fungus has established itself, the hairs
of the affected spot being erect, bristly, twisted, broken, or split up
and dropping off'. Later the spot first affected has become entirely
bald, and a circular row of hairs around this are er«ct, bristly, broken^
and split. These in turn are shed and a new row outside passes
through the same process, so that the extension is made in more or
less circular outline. The central bald spot, covered with a grayish
scurf and surrounded by a circle of br(;ken and split hairs, is char-
acteristic. If the scurf and diseased hairs are treated with caustic-
potash solution and put under the microscope, the natural cells of the
cuticle and hair will be seen to have become transparent, while the
groups of spherical cells and branching filaments of the fungus stand
out prominently in the substance of both, dark and unchanged. The
eruption usually appears on the back, loins, croup, chest, and head.
It tends to spontaneous recovery in a month or two, leaving for a time
a dappled coat from the spots of short, light-colored hair of the new
growth.

The most effective way of reaching the parasite in the hair follicles
is to extract the hairs individually, but in the horse the mere shaving
of the affected part is usually enough. It may then be painted with

478 MSEASES OF THE HORSE.

tincture of iodin twice a daj'^ for two weeks. Germs about the stable
may be covered up or destroyed by a whitewash of freshly burned
quicklime, the harness, brushes, etc., may be washed with caustic
soda, and then smeared with a solution of corrosive sublimate one-
half dram and water 1 pint. The clothing may be boiled and dried.

Parasite: Achorion schonleinL Malady: Favus, or honeycomb
ringworTn,. — ^Megnin and Goyau, who describe this in the horse, say
that it loses its characteristic honeycomb or cup-shaped appearance,
and forms only a series of closely aggregated, dry, yellowish crusts
the size of hemp seed on the trunk, shoulders, flanks, or thighs.
They are accompanied by severe itching, especially at night. The
cryptogam, formed of spherical cells with a few filaments only,
grows in the hair follicles and on the cuticle, and thus a crust often
forms around the root of a hair. Like the other cryptogams, their
color, as seen under the microscope, is unaffected by acetic acid,
alcohol, ether, or oil of turpentine, while the cells are turned bluish
by iodin. For treatment, remove the hair and apply tincture of
iodin or corrosive sublimate lotion, as advised under the last para-
graph.

Parasite: Microsporon furfur. IVIalady: Parasitio pityriasis. —
This attacks the horse's head where the harness presses, and leads to
dropping of the hair, leaving bald patches covered with a branlike
scurf, without any eruption, heat, tenderness, swelling, or rigidity of
the skin. A lotion of carbolic acid 1 dram and water 2^ ounces is
usually applied to effect a cure.

ANIMAL PARASITES OF THE SKINr
ACARIASIS, OR MANGE.

This affection is due to the irritation of the skin caused by the
presence of nearly microscopic acari, or mites. The disease varies,
however, according to the species of mite which infests the skin, so
that we must treat of several different kinds of mange.

Parasite : Sar copies scabiei equL IVIalady : Sar Coptic acariasis. —
This is the speciaL Sarcoptes of the horse, but under favorable condi-
tions it can be transmitted to ass and mule, and even to man, and may
live for some time on the human skin. The mite (PL XXXIX, fig. 1)
is nearly microscopical, but may be detected with a magnifying lens
among moving scurf taken from the infected skm. Like all Sar-
coptes^ it burrows little galleries in and beneath the scurf skin, where
it hides and lays its eggs and where its young are hatched. It is
therefore often difficult to find the parasite on the surface, unless the
skin has been heated by a temporary exposure to the sun or in a
warm room. The mite may be detected more readily by placing
scrapings on black cardboai-d and warming, or better by macerating

1 Revised by M. C. Hall.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 479

scabs or scrapings in a solution of caustic soda or potash and then
examining them microscopically. Like other mites, this mite is won-
derfully prolific, a new generation of fifteen individuals being possi-
'ble every fifteen days, so that in three months the offspring of a
single pair may produce generations aggregating 1,500,000 young.
The Sarcoptes have less vitality than the nonburrowing mites, as
they die in an hour when kept apart from the skin in dry air at a
heat of 145° F. They live 12 to 14 days apart from the skin in the
damp air of a stable. On a piece of damp hide they lived till the
twenty-fourth day, when they began to die, and all were dead on the
twenty-eighth in an experimental test.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are an incessant, intolerable, and in-
creasing itching of some part of the skin (head, mane, tail, back,
etc.), the horse inclining himself toward the hand that scratches
him, and moving his lips as if liimself scratching. The hairs may be
broken and rubbed off, but the part is never entirely bald, as in ring-
worm, and there may be papules or any kind of eruption or open
sores from the energy of the scratching. Scabs of varying thickness
may form, but the special features are the intense itching and the
presence of the mite.

Treatme.nt consists in the removal of the scabs by soapsuds, and, if
necessary, a brush and the thorough application of tobacco 1^ ounces
and water 2 pints, prepared by boiling. This may be applied more
than once, and should always be repeated in 10 to 14 days, to destroy
the new brood that may have been hatched in the interval. All har-
ness and stable utensils should be similarly treated; blankets and
rubbers may be boiled, and the stalls should be covered with a white-
wash of quicklime, containing one- fourth pound of chlorid of lime
to the gallon.

Wlien there are too many animals to treat by means of hand dress-
ings, the lime- and- sulphur dip or the tobacco dip may be used and
are very effective, though the cresol dips are fairly effective. These
dips may be puchased and made up in the dilution called for on the
container. The affected animals may be dipped when the number
warrants it and facilities are available ; otherwise tlie dips may be
applied with a swab or a spray pump. Directions for constructing
a dipping vat may be obtained from the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture on application. Any treatment used should
be repeated in the course of 10 to 14 days. If the stables are not
disinfected, animals should be removed after treatment and put in
clean stables or on clean pasture for at least a month to allow the
mites in the infested stables to die. Otherwise the disease nxac^ recur.

Parasite: Psoroptes equi {DermatoGoptes equi, Dermatodectes
equi). Malady,: Psoroptic acariasls. — Psoroptic mange is less com-
mon than sarcoptic mange in horses, and as the parasite (PL XXXIX,
fig. 3) only bites the surface and lives among the crusts under the

480 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

shelter of the hair, it is very easily discovered. It reproduces
rapidly and causes symptoms similar to those produced by the
Harcoptes. The same treatment will suffice and is more promptly
effectual. The disinfection of the stable must be thorough, as the
Psoroptes will survive twenty to thirty days in the moist atmospliere
of a stable, and maj' even revive after six or eight weeks when sub-
jected to moist warmth. Infested pastures will therefore prove dan-
gerous to horses for that length of time, and such pastures, with
infected rubbing posts, etc., should not be used for over two months.

Parasite: CKorioptes equ'i {Symblotes equ'i^ Dermatophagus cqui,
Chorloptes spatMferus). Malady: Foot mange. — The mite (PL
XXXIX, fig. 2) attacks the heels and lower parts of the legs, espe-
cially the hind ones, and may be present for years without extending
upon the bod}'. Like the Psoroptes^ it lives on the surface, on the
hairs, and among the scabs. It gives rise to great itching, stamping,
I'ubbing of the one leg with the other, and the formation of papules,
wounds, ulcerous sores, and scabs. The intense itching will always
suggest this parasite, and the discovery of the mite will identify
the disease. The treatment is the same as for the Sarcoptes, but may
be confined to the legs and the parts with which they come in contact.

Parasite : DerTmmyssus gallvme^ or chicken cicain. Malady : Poul-
try acariofiis. — This is a large-sized mite, though usually miscalled
"hen louse," and the disease "poultry lousiness." The mite (PI.
XXXIX, fig. 4) lives in droppings and in crevices of chicken houses,
but temporarily passes on to the skin of man and of the horse and
other quadrupeds, when occasion serves. It causes much irritation,
with the eruption of papules or vesicles and the formation of sores
and scabs. The examination of the skin is usually fruitless, as the
attaclis are mostly made at night and the effects only may be seen
during the day. The proximity of hen manure swarming with the
mites explains the trouble, and the removal of this and a white-
washing with quicklime, with or without chlorid of lime, will prevent
future attacks. The skin may still require bland ointments or
lotions, as for congestion.

Parasite: Larva of a Trombicula., Leptus amei'-lccnnus., or har-
vest mite, cominoiily called chigger. Malc^dy: Autumn mange. —
This parasite is a brick-red acarus, visible to the naked eye on a dark
ground, and living on green vegetation in many localities. It attacks
man, and the horse, ox, dog, etc., attaching to the skin and giving
rise to small papules and intolerable irritation. This continues for
two or three days only from a single invasion, but will last until cold
weather sets in if there is a fresh invasion daily. Horses at pasture
suffer mainly on the lower part of the face. If they are kept indoors
the disease will disappear, or if left at pasture a weak tar water or
solution of tobacco may be apjdied to the face. The application of
sulphur ointment is very beneficial, and of flowers of sulphur is
protective.

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

'^

i^

-A

/

PI^^VTE' XXXIX.

lith

^ 1 \ \^J

Sai'copieti ^icfthieL , \vu: Eqiu.

Chunoptfl^ spaJhit'ervLS

f

"T\

^' V

/'■\<'.'y./j'f'S l^rjui.

Derrrvanyssus yaHincLe.

Mri-i!:s 'ruAi- inkmst rim iionsE.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 481

TICKS.

The wood ticks are familiar to inhabitants of uncultivated lands
and prove troublesome parasites to man and beast alike. The tick
lives on bushes, and attaches itself to the mammal to feed. When it
is gorged it drops off to molt, and finally the female drops to lay
eggs on the soil. The tick produces great irritation by boring into
the skin with its armed proboscis. If pulled out, the head and
thorax are often left in the skin. The ticks may be covered with oil
to shut out the air from their breathing j^ores, or by touching them
with a hot penknife they will be impelled to let go their hold. The
application of crude oil or the arsenical dips used for cattle is fatal to
ticks on horses.

GRUBS IN SKIN.

Parasite: riypodernia llneatum. Malady: Larvm {grubs) under
the skin. — The larvae of a fly (usually Hypoderma lineatum),
commonly in the skin of cattle and laiown as " warbles," are
occasionally found in little sacs beneath the skin of horses. The
mature larva escapes in early summer and develops into a fly. In
districts where thej- exist the grubs should be pressed out of the skin
in the course of the winter and destroyed.

LARV^ (GRUBS) ON THE SKIN, OR FLYBLOW,

The following flies, among others, deposit their eggs on open sores
or on wet, filthy parts of the skin, where their larvae or grubs give
rise to serious trouble: Lucilia ccesar (bluebottle), Chrysomyia macel-
Inria (screw-worm fly), Musca vomitoria (meat fly), and Sarcophuga
carnaria- (flesh fly). To prevent their attacks, wet, filthy hair should
be removed and wounds kept clean and rendered antiseptic by a
lotion of carbolic acid 1 part, water 50 parts, or by a mixture of 1
ounce oil of tar in 20 ounces sweet oil, or by some other antiseptic.
If the grubs are already present they should be picked off and one
of these dressings freely applied. For deep wounds a mixture of
chloroform, 1 part, and a bland oil, 7 parts, is recommended.

FLIES.

A number of flies attack horses and suck their blood, producing
great annoyance and in some instances death. These insects not only
suck the blood, but also often instill an acid poison into the skin, and
in exceptional cases transfer infectious diseases from animal to
animal by inoculation.

Various devices are resorted to to prevent the attacks, as to sponge
the skin with a decoction of walnut or elder leaves, of tobacco, to dust
with Persian insect powder, to keep a light blanket or fly net on the
horse, to close doors and windows with fine screens and destroy by
pyrethrum any flies that have gained admission, to remove all manure
heaps that would prove breeding places for flies, to keep the stalls
clean, deodorize by gypsum, and to spread in them trays of dry chlo-
54763°— 23 -31

482 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE,

rid of lime. For the poisoned bites apply ammonia, or a solution of
1 part of carbolic acid in 20 parts of sweet oil or glycerin, or one-
fourth ounce bicarbonate of soda and 1 dram of carbolic acid in a
quart of water may be used.

A large number of fly repellents have been recommended, but most
of them must be applied daily in order to maintain the protective
eifect. Among the things used are carbolic solutions, pine tar, oil
of tar, fish oil, laurel oil, oil of citronella, oil of sassafras, oil of cam-
phor, and cod-liver oil. Some of these things must be used judiciously
or they will result in poisoning or removal of the hair from the ani-
mal in some instances. Ten per cent oil of tar in Beaumont oil or in
cottonseed oil was found to be safe and efficacious by Graybill.

The use of the fly-maggot trap noted under stomach worms of
the horse, and of the various forms of the Hodge flj^trap, is recom-
mended.

FLEAS.

The flea of man and those of poultry, when numerous, will bite
the horse and give rise to rounded swellings on the skin. To dispose
of them it is needful to clear the surroundings of the grublike larvae
as well as to treat the victim. The soil may be sprinkled with quick-
lime, carbolic acid, coal tar, or petroleum; the stalls may be deluged
with boiling water and afterwards painted with oil of turpentine
and littered with fresh pine sawdust, and all blankets should be
boiled. The skin may be sponged with a solution of 1 part carbolic
acid in 50 parts of water. Other animals should be kept free from
fleas or kept away from the vicinity of the stable.

The chigoe {Pulex penetrmis) of the Gulf coast is still more in-
ju.rious, because it burrows under the surface and develops to the
size of a small pea. The tumor formed by it should be laid open
and the parasite extracted. This can be done more easily a day or
two after its entrance into the skin than on the first day. It is best
enucleated by means of a blunt pin or some similar instrument.

LICE, OR PEDICULI.

Two kinds of lice attack the horse, one of them having a narrow
head and a proboscis for perforating the skin and sucking the blood,
and the other — the broad-headed kind — having strong mandibles
with which it bites the skin. Poor condition, itching, and loss of
hair should lead to the suspicion that lice are present, and a close ex-
amination will usually disclose the lice. They may be destroj^ed by
rubbing the horses skin with sulphur ointment, or with sulphuret of
potassium, 4 ounces in water, 1 gallon, or with coal-tar-creosote prep-
arations, or the skin may be sponged with benzine. The application
should be repeated 10 to 12 days later to destroy all lice hatched from
the nits in the interval. AVliere only biting lice are present, one
treatment with a mixture of commercial sodium fluorid, 1 part, and
flour, 5 parts, thoroughly dusted into the skin, will destroy all the

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 483

biting lice present. The sodium fluorid may be used without the
flour, or may be used in solution, as a spray, at the rate of 1 ounce to

1 gallon of water. Sodium fluorid should not be applied to, or in the
vicinity of, the mucous surfaces, such as the mouth, vulva, anus, etc.,
as it may cause considerable irritation. Properly used, it is a val-
uable substance for controlling biting lice in winter, the time when
they are most prevalent and annoying. It is advisable to dip twice
for lice in the fall, in order to avoid having to apply treatments under
the unfavorable conditions prevailing in winter.

STINGS OF BEES, WASPS, AND HORNETS.

These are much more irritating than the bites of flies, partly
because the barbed sting is left in the wound and partly because
of the quantity and quality of the venom. When a swarm attacks
an animal the result may prove fatal.

Treatnnent consists in the application of wet clay, or of a lotion of
soda or ammonia, or of carbolic acid, or permanganate of potash,

2 grains to the ounce ; or of sugar of lead 2 drams, laudanum 1 ounce,
and water 1 pint. The embedded stings should be extracted with
fine forceps or even with the finger nails.

TARANTULA AND SCORPION.

The bite of the first and the sting of the second are poisonous, and
may be treated like other insect venom, by carbolated glycerin, or a
strong solution of ammonia, or permanganate of potash.

SNAKE BITES.

These are marked by the double incision caused by the two fangs,
by the excessive doughy (dark red) swelling around the wounds, and
in bad cases by the general symptoms of giddiness, weakness, and
prostration. They are best treated by aqua ammonia very largely
diluted in water, the object being to sustain life until the poison shall
have spent its power. As local treatment, if the wound is in a limb,
the latter may have a handkerchief or cord tied around it above the
injury and drawn tight by a stick twisted into it. In tliis way
absorption may be checked until the poison can be destro^^ed by the
application of a hot iron or a piece of nitrate of silver or other caus-
tic. A poultice of tobacco leaves is a favorite remedy, and may be
used to soothe the sore after cauterization.

A treatment which has been highly recommended consists in
prompt and vigorous scarification at the site of puncture and rubbing
crystals of potassium permanganate into the wound.

BURNS AND SCALDS.

These subjects are discussed in the following chapter.

WOUNDS OF THE SKIN.

Wounds of the skin are fully discussed in the next chapter.

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT.

By Ch. B. Michexer, V. S.

[Revised by John R. Mohler, V. M. D., A. M.]

DESCRIPTION OF WOUNDS.

A wound is an injury to any part of the body involving a solution
of continuity or disruption of the affected parts and is caused by
violence, with or without laceration of the skin. In accordance with
this definition we have the following varieties of wounds: Incised,
punctured, contused, lacerated, grmshot, and poisoned. They may
further be classified as superficial, deep, or penetrating, and also as
unclean, if hair, dirt, or splinters of wood are present; as infected
when contaminated with germs, and as aseptic if the wound does not
contain germs.

An incised wound is a simple cut made with a sharp body, like a
knife, producing merely a division of the tissues. The duller the
body the more force is required, the more tissues destroyed, and a
greater time will be required for healing. In a cut wound the edges
are even and definite, while those of a lacerated wound are irregular
and torn. Three conditions are present as a result of an incised
wound: (1) Pain, (2) hemorrhage, (3) gaping of the wound. The
first pain is due to the crushing and tearing of the nerve fibers. In
using a sharp knife and b}^ cutting quickly, the animal suffers less
pain and healing occurs more rapidly. The secondary pain is usually
due to the action of the air and inflammatory processes. ^Mien air
is kept from the wound pain ceases soon after the lesion is produced.
Hemorrhage is absent only in wounds of nonvascular tissues, as the
cornea of the eye, the cartilage of joints, and other similar struc-
tures. Bleeding may be from the arteries, veins, or capillaries. In
the last form of bleeding the blood oozes from the part in drops.
Hemorrhage from the veins is dark red and issues in a steady stream
without spurting. In arterial bleeding the blood is bright red and
spurts with each heart beat. This latter variety of hemorrhage is
the most dangerous, and should be stopped at once before attempting
any further treatment. Bleeding from small veins and capillaries
ceases in a short time s]:>ontaneously, while larger vessels, especially
arteries, require some form of treatment to cause complete stoppage
of the hemorrhage.
484

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 485

HEMOSTASIA.

By this term is meant the checking of the flow of blood. It may be
accomplished by several methods, such as compress bandages, torsion,
hot iron, and ligatures. The heat from a hot iron will cause the im-
mediate clotting of the blood in the vessels, and this clot is further
supported by the production of a scab, or crust, over the portion
seared. The iron should be at a red heat. If at a white heat, the
tissue is charred, which makes it brittle and the bleeding is liable to
be renewed. If the iron is at a black heat, the tissue will stick to the
iron and will pull away from the surface of the wound. Cold water
and ice bags quickly stop capillary bleeding, while hot water is pref-
erable in more excessive hemorrhages. Some drugs, called styptics,
possess the power of contracting the walls of blood vessels and also
of clotting the blood. A solution of the chlorid of iron placed on a
wound alone or by means of cotton drenched in the liquid produces a
rapid and hard clot. Tannic acid, alum, acetic acid, alcohol, and oil
of turj^entine are all more or less active in this respect. To check
bleeding from large vessels compression ma}^ be adopted. Wlien it is
rapid and dangerous and from an artery, the fingers may be used for
pressing between the wound and the heart (digital compression), but
if from a vein, the pressure should be exerted on the other side of the
wound. Tourniquet may also be used by passing a strap around the
part and tightening after placing a pad over the hemorrhage. The
rubber ligature has now replaced the tourniquet and is bound tightly
around the limb to arrest the bleeding. Tampons, such as cotton, tow,
or oakum, may be packed tightly in the wound and then sewed up.
After remaining there for twenty-four or forty-eight hours they are
removed. Bleeding may sometimes be easily checked by passing a
pin under the vessel and by taking a horsehair and forming a figure
8 by running it above and below the pin, thus causing pressure on the
vessel. Torsion is the tAvisting of the blood vessel until the walls
come together and form a barrier to the flow of blood. It may be ac-
complished by the fingers, forceps, or by running a pin through the
vessel, turning it several times, and then running the point into the
tissue to keep it in a fixed position.

Ligation is the third method for stopping a hemorrhage. The
blood vessel should be seized with the artery forceps, a clean thread
of silk passed around it, and tied about one-half inch from its end.
The silk should be sterilized by placing it in an antiseptic solution so
as not to impede the healing process or cause blood poisoning or
lockjaw, which often follows the ligation of a vein with unsterilized
material. Sometimes it will be impossible to reach the bleeding
vessel, so it is necessary to pass the ligature around a mass of tissue
which includes the blood vessel. Ligation is the most useful method

486 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

of arresting hemorrhage, since it disturbs healing least and gives the
greatest security against secondary hemorrhage.

SUTURES.

After the bleeding has been controlled and all foreign bodies
removed from the wound, the gaping of the woimd is noticeable. It
is caused by the contraction of the muscles and elastic fibers, and its
degree depends on the extent, direction, and nature of the cut. This
gaping will hinder the healing process so that it must be overcome by
bringing the edges together by some sort of sutures or pins or by a
bandage applied from below upward. As suture material, ordinary
cotton thread is good, if well sterilized, as are also horsehair, catgut,
silk, and various kinds of wire. If the suture is made too tight the
subsequent swelling may cause the stitch to tear out. In order to
make a firm suture the depth of the stitch should be the same as
the distance the stitch is from the edge of the wound. The deeper
the suture the more tissue is embraced and the fewer the number of
stitches required. In tying a suture the square or reef knot should
be used. Closure of wounds by means of adhesive plaster, collodion,
and metal clamps is not practiced to any great extent in veterinary
practice.

PROCESS OF HEALING.

In those cases where perfect stoppage of bleeding, perfect coapta-
tion of the edges of the wound, and perfect cleanliness are obtained,
healing occurs within three days, without the formation of graula-
tions, pus, or proud flesh, by what is termed first intention. If
wounds do not heal in this manner they will gap somewhat and
become warm and painful. Healing then occurs by granulation or
suppuration, which is termed healing by second intention. The
sides of the wound become covered Avith granulation tissue which
may fill the wound and sometimes overlap the lips, forming a fungoid
gi'owth called proud flesh. Under favorable conditions the edges of
the wound appear to grow together by the end of the first week, and
the w^hole surface gradually becomes dry, and finally covered with
pigmented skin, when the wound is healed. The cause of pus forma-
tion in wounds is usually the presence of germs. For this reason the
utmost care should be adopted to keep clean wounds aseptic, or free
from germs, and to make unclean wounds antiseptic by using anti-
septic fluids to kill the microbes present in the wound. The less the
injurious action of this fluid on the wound and the greater its power
to kill germs, the more valuable it becomes. All antiseptics are not
equally destructive, and some germs are more susceptible to one
antiseptic than to another. The most important are (1) bichlorid
of mercury, which is to be preferred on horses. It becomes weakened

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 487

in its action if placed in a wooden pail or on an oily or greasy sur-
face. It is used in the strength of 1 part of bichlorid to 1,000 to
5,000 parts of water, according to the delicacy of the tissue to which
it is applied. (2) Carbolic acid in from 2 to 5 per cent solution is
used on infected wounds and for cleaning instruments, dressings, and
sponges. It unites well with oil and is preferred to the bichlorid
on a greasy surface. A 5 per cent solution in oil is often used under
the name of carbolized oil. (3) Aluminum acetate is an efficient and
cheap antiseptic, and is composed of 1 part alum and 5 parts acetate
of lead, mixed in 20 parts of water. (4) Boric acid is good, in a 2 to
4 per cent solution, to cleanse womids and wash ej^es. Compound
cresol may be used in a 1 to 3 per cent solution in water. Iodoform
is one of the most used of the antiseptics, and it also acts as an ano-
dyne, stimulates granulation, and checks wound secretion. A very
efficacious and inexpensive powder is made by taking 5 parts of
iodoform and 95 parts of sugar, making what is called iodoform
sugar. Tannic acid is a useful drug in the treatment of wounds, as
it arrests hemorrhage, checks secretion, and favors the formation of
a scab. A mixture of 1 part tannic acid and 3 parts iodoform is good
in suppurating wounds. lodol, white sugar, gi-ound and roasted
coffee, and powdered charcoal are all used as protectives and absorb-
ents on suppurating surfaces. More depends on the care and the
method of application of the drug than on the drug itself. On
aseptic wounds use only those antiseptics that do not irritate the
tissue. If care is used in the application of the antiseptic, corrosive
sublimate or carbolic acid is to be recommended. In order to keep
air from the wound and to absorb all wound secretions rapidly, a
dressing should be applied. If the wound is aseptic, the dressing
should be likewise, such as cotton gauze, sterile cotton, oakum, or tow.
This dressing should be applied with uniform pressure at all times
and secured by a bandage. Allow it to remain for a week or ten
dnjs if the wound is aseptic or if the dressing does not become loose
or misplaced or become drenched with secretions from the wound, or
if pain, fever, or loss of appetitie does not develop. The dressing
should then be removed, the wound treated antiseptically. and a
sterilized dressing applied.

HEALING UNDER A SCAB.

This often occurs in small superficial wounds that have been kept
aseptic. In order that a scab may form, the wound must not gap,
secrete freely, or become infected with germs. The formation of
scab is favored by astringents and styptics, such as tannic acid, iodo-
form, and 5 per cent solution of zinc chlorid. In case of fistulous
withers, open joints, or other large, hollow wounds that can not be
dressed, antisepsis may be obtained by warm-water irrigation with

488 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

or without an antiseptic fluid. It should continue day and night,
and never be interrupted for more than eight hours, for germs will
then have gained headway and will be difficult to remove. Four or
five days of irrigation will be sufficient, for granulations will then
have formed and pus wdll remain on the outside if it forms. For
permanent irrigation the stream should be very small, or drop by
drop, but should play over the entire surface of the wound. It is
always better to heal an infected wound under a scab, or treat it as
an open wound, than it is to suture it, thus favoring the growth of
the inclosed germs and retarding ultimate healing. In the latter
case pus may develop in the wound, form pockets by sinking into
the tissues, and cause various complications. The pockets should be
well drained, either through incisions at the bottom or by drainage
tubes or setons. They should then be frequently S5^ringed out or
continuously irrigated. In case proud flesh appears it should be
kept down either by pressure or by caustics, as powdered bluestone,
silver nitrate, chlorid of antimony, or by astringents, such as burnt
alum. If they prove resistant to this treatment they may be removed
by scissors, the knife, or by searing with the hot iron. The follow ing
rules for the treatment of wounds should be followed : ( 1 ) See that
the wound is clean, removing all foreign bodies. (2) For this pur-
pose use a clean finger rather than a probe. (3) All hemorrhage
should be arrested before closing the wound. (4) Antiseptics should
only be used if you suspect the wound to be infected. (5) When
pus is present treat without closing the wound. (6) This may be
accomplished by drainage tubes, absorbent dressings, setons, or con-
tinuous irrigations. (7) Protect the wound against infection while
healing.

LACERATED AND CONTUSED WOUNDS.

Lacerated and contused wounds may be described together al-
though there is, of course, this difference, that in contused wounds
there is no break or laceration of the skin. Lacerated Avounds, how-
ever, are, as a rule, also contused — the surrounding tissues are bruised
to a greater or lesser extent. "While at first sight such wounds may
not appear to be as serious as incised wounds, they are commonly
very much more so. Lacerations and contusions, when extensive, are
always to be regarded as dangerous. Manv horses die from septic
infection or mortification as a result of these injuries. We find in
severe contusions an infiltration of blood into the surrounding tissues;
disorganization and mortification follow, and involve often the deeper
seated structures. Abscesses, single or multiple, may also result and
call for special treatment.

In wounds that are lacerated the amount of hemorrhage is mostly
inconsiderable; even very large blood vessels may be torn apart with-

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 489

out inducing a fatal result. The edges of the wound are ragged and
uneven. These wounds are produced by barbed wire or some blunt
object, as when a horse runs against fences, board piles, the corners
of buildings, or when he is struck by the pole or shafts of another
team, falling on rough, irregular stones, etc.

Contused wounds are caused by blunt instruments moving with
sufficient velocity to bruise and crush the tissues, as kicks, running
against objects, or falling on large, hard masses.

Treatment. — In lacerated wounds great care must at first be exer-
cised in examining or i^robing to the very bottom of the rent or tear,
to see whether any foreign body is present. Very often splinters of
wood or bits of stone or dirt are thus lodged, and unless removed pre-
vent the wound from healing; or if it should heal, the wound soon
opens again, discharging a thin, gluey matter that is characteristic
of the presence of some object in the part. After a thorough explora-
tion these wounds are to be carefully and patiently fomented with
warm water, to w^hich has been added carbolic acid in the proportion
of 1 part to 100 of water. Rarely, if ever, are stitches to be inserted
in lacerated wounds. The surrounding tissues and skin are so weak-
ened in vitality and structure by the contusions that stitches will not
hold ; they only irritate the parts. It is better to endeavor to obtain
coaptation by means of bandages, plasters, or collodion. One essen-
tial in the treatment of lacerated wounds is to provide a free exit for
the pus. If the orifice of the wound is too high, or if pus is found to
be burrowing in the tissues beneath the opening, we must then make
a counter opening as low as possible. This will admit of the wound
being thoroughly washed out, at first with warm water, and after-
w^ards injected with some mild astringent and antiseptic wash, as
chlorid of zinc, 1 dram to a pint of water. A dependent opening
must be maintained until the wound ceases to discharge. Eepeated
hot fomentations over the region of lacerated wounds afford much
relief and should be persisted in.

BRUISES.

Bruises are nothing but contused wounds where the skin has not
been ruptured. There is often considerable solution of continuity
of the parts under the skin, subcutaneous hemorrhage, etc., which
may result in local death (mortification) and slough of the bruised
parts. If the bruise or contusion is not so severe, manj^ cases are
quickly cured by constant fomentation with hot water for from two
to four hours. The water should be allowed about this time to become
cool gradually and then cold. Cold fomentation must then be kept
up for another hour or two. The parts should be thoroughly and
quickly dried and bathed freely with camphor 1 ounce, sweet oil
8 ounces, or with equal parts of lead water and laudanum. A dry.

490 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

light bandage should then be applied, the horse allowed to rest, and
if necessary the treatment may be repeated each day for two or three
days. If, however, the wound is so severe that sloughing must ensue,
we should encourage it by poultices made of linseed meal, wheat
bran, turnips, onions, bread and milk, or hops. Charcoal is to be
sprinkled over the surface of the poultice when the wound is bad
smelling. After the slough has fallen off the wound is to be dressed
with warm washes of carbolic acid, chlorid of zinc, permanganate of
potash, or other antiseptic. If granulating (filling up) too fast, use
burnt alum or air-slaked lime. Besides this local treatment, we find
that the constitutional symptoms of fever and inflammation call for
measures to prevent or control them. This is best done by placing
the injured animal on soft or green feed. A physic of Barbados
aloes, 1 ounce, should be given as soon as possible after the accident.
Sedatives, such as tincture of aconite root, 15 drops, three times a
day, or ounce doses of saltpeter every four hours, may also be admin-
istered. "WTien the symptoms of fever are abated, and if the dis-
charges from the wound are abundant, the strength of the patient
must be supported by good feed and tonics. One of the best tonics
is as follows: Powdered sulphate of iron, powdered gentian, and
powdered ginger, of each 4 ounces. Mix thoroughly and give a
heaping tablespoonful twice a day, on the feed or as a drench.

PUNCTURED WOUNDS.

Punctured wounds are produced by the penetration of a sharp or
blunt-pointed substance, such as a thorn, fork, nail, etc., and the
orifice of these wounds is always small in proportion to their depth.
In veterinary practice punctured wounds are much more common
than the others. They involve the feet most frequently,' next the
legs, and often the head and face from nails protruding through the
stalls and trough. They are not only the most frequent, but they are
also the most serious, owing to the difficulty of obtaining thorough
disinfection. Another circumstance rendering them so is the lack of
attention that they at first receive. The external wound is so small
that but little or no importance is attached to it, yet in a short time
swelling, pain, and acute inflammation, often of a serious character,
are manifested.

Considering the most common of the punctured woilnds, we must
give precedence to those of the feet. Horses worked in cities, about
iron works, around building places, etc., are most likely to receive
" nails in the feet." The animal treads upon nails, pieces of iron
or screws, forcing them into the soles of the feet. If the nail, or
whatever it is that has punctured the foot, is fast in some large or
heavy body, and is withdrawn as the horee lifts his foot, himeness
may last for only a few steps; but unless properly attended to at

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 491

once he will be found in a day or two to be very lame in the injured
member. If the foreign body remains in the foot, he gradually grows
worse from the time of puncture until the cause is discovered and
removed. If, when shoeing, a nail is driven into the " quick " (sensi-
tive lamina^) and allowed to remain, the horse gradually evinces more
pain from day to day; but if the nail has at once been removed by the
smith, lameness does not, as a rule, show itself for some days; or, if
the nail is simply driven " too close," not actually pricking the horse,
he may not show any lameness for a week or even much longer. At
this point it is due to the blacksmith to say that, considering how thin
the walls of some feet are, the uneasiness of many horses while shoe-
ing, the ease with which a nail is diverted from its course by striking
an old piece of nail left in the wall, or from the nail itself splitting,
the wonder is not that so many horses are pricked or nails driven
" too close," but rather that many more are not so injured. It is not,
by any means, always carelessness or ignorance on the part of the
smith that is to account for this accident. Bad and careless shoers
we do meet with, but let us be honest and say that the rarity of these
accidents points rather to the general care and attention given by
these much-abused mechanics.

From the construction of the horse's foot (being incased in an im-
permeable, horny box), and from the elasticity of the horn closing
the orifice, punctured wounds of the feet are almost always produc-
tive of lameness. Inflammation results, and as there is no relief
afforded by swelling and no escape for the product of inflammation,
this matter must and does burrow between the sole or wall and the
sensitive parts within it until it generally opens " between hair and
hoofc" We can thus see why pain is so much more severe, why
tetanus (lockjaw) more frequently follows woimds of the feet, and
why, from the extensive, or at times complete, separation and " cast-
ing " of the hoof, these wounds must always be regarded with grave
apprehension.

Symptoras and tit^atTnervb. — A practice which, if never deviated
from — that of picking up each foot, cleaning the sole, and thoroughly
examining the foot each and every time the horse comes into the
stable — will enable us to reduce to the minimum the serious conse-
quences of punctured wounds of the feet. If the wound has resulted
from pricking, lameness follows soon after shoeing; if from the nails
being driven too close, it usually appears from four to five days or a
week afterwards. We should always inquire as to the time of shoe- ,
ing, examine the shoe carefully, and see whether it has been partially
pulled and the horse has stepped back upon some of the nails or the
clip. The pain from these wounds is lancinating ; the horse is seen to
raise and lower the limb or hold it from the ground altogether ; often
he points the foot, flexes the leg, and knuckles at the fetlock. Swelling

492 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

of the fetlock and back tendons is also frequently seen and is liable
to mislead us. The foot must be carefully examined, and this can
not be properly done without removing the shoe. The nails should
be drawn separately and carefully examined. If there is no escape
of pus from the nail holes, or if the nails themselves are not moist,
we must continue our examination of the foot by carefully pinching
or tapping it at all parts. With a little practice we can detect the
spot where pain is the greatest or discover the delicate line or scar
left at the point of entrance of the foreign body. The entire sole is
then to be thinned, after w'hicli we are carefully to cut dow^n upon
the point where pain is greatest upon pressure, and, finally, through
the sole at this spot. When the matter has escaped, the sole, so far
as it was undermined by pus, is to to be removed. The foot must now
be poulticed for one or two days and afterwards dressed with a com-
press of oakum saturated with carbolic-acid solution or other anti-
septic dressing.

If we discover a nail or other object in the foot, the principal direc-
tion, after having removed the offending body, is to cut aw ay the
sole, in a funnel shape, down to the sensitive parts beneath. This is
imperative, and if a good free opening has been made and is main-
tained for a few days, and hot fomentations and antiseptic dressings
applied, the cure is mostly easy, simple, c|uiel>, and permanent. The
horse should be shod with a leather sole under the shoe, first of all
applying tar and oakum to prevent any dirt from entering the wound.
In some instances nails may puncture the flexor tendons, the coffin
bone, or enter the coffin joint. Such injuries are always serious, their
recovery slow" and tedious, and the treatment so varied and difficult
that the services of a veterinarian will be necessary.

PUNCTURED WOUNDS OF JOINTS, OR OPEN JOINTS.

These ■wounds are more or less frequent. They are always serious,
and often result in anchylosis (stiffening) of the joint or the death of
the animal. The joints mostly punctured are the hock, fetlock, or
knee, though other joints may, of course, suffer this injur3^ As the
symptoms and treatment are much the same for all, only the accident
as it occurs in the hock joint will be described. Probably the most
common mode of injury is from the stab of a fork, but it may result
from the kick of another horse that is newl}^ shod, or in many other
ways. At first the horse evinces but slight pain or lameness. The
owner discovers a small wound scarcely larger than a pea, and pays
but little attention to it. In a few days, however, the pain and lame-
ness become excessive; the horse can no longer bear any weight
upon the injured leg; the joint is very much swollen and painful
upon pressure; there are well-marked symptoms of constitutional
disturbance — quick pulse, hurried breathing, high temperature, 103°

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 493

to 106° F., the appetite is lost, thirst is present, the horse reeks with
sweat, and his anxious countenance shows the pain he suffers. He
may lie clov,"n, though mostly he persists in standing, and the oppo-
site limb becomes greatly swollen from bearing the entire weight
and strain for so long a time. The wound, which at first appeared so
insignificant, is now constantly discharging a thin, whitish or 3^el-
lowish fluid — joint oil or water, which becomes coagulated about the
mouth of the wound and adheres to the part in clots like jelly, or
resembling somewhat the white of an egg. Not infrequently the
joint opens at different places, discharging at first a thin, bloody fluid
that soon assumes the character above described.

Treatment of these wounds is most difficult and unsatisfactory.
We can do much to prevent this array of symptoms if the case is
seen early — within the first 24 or 48 hours after the injury; but
when inflammation of the joint is once fairly established the case
becomes one of gi'ave tendencies. Whenever a punctured wound of
a joint is noticed, even though apparently of but small moment, we
should apply without the least delay a strong cantharides blister over
the entire joint, being even careful to fill the orifice of the wound
with the blistering ointment. This treatment is almost always effec-
tual. It operates to perform a cure in two ways — first, the swelling
of the skin and tissues underneath it completely closes the wound
and prevents the ingress of air; second, by the superficial inflamma-
tion established it acts to check and abate all deep-seated inflamma-
tion. In the great majority of instances, if pursued soon after the
accident, this treatment performs a cure in about one week; but
should the changes described as occurring later in the joint have
already taken place, we must then treat hj cooling lotions and the
application to the wound of chlorid of zinc, 10 grains to the ounce
of water, or a paste made of flour and alum. A bandage is to hold
these applications in place, which is only to be removed when sw^ell-
ing of the leg or increasing febrile symptoms demand it. In the
treatment of open joints our chief aim must be to close the orifice as
soon as possible. For this reason repeated probing or even injec-
tions are contraindicated. The only probing of an open joint that
is to be sanctioned is on our first visit, when we should carefully
examine the wound for foreign bodies or dirt, and after removing
them the probe must not again be used. The medicines used to
coagulate the synovial discharge are best simply applied to the sur-
face of the wound, on pledgets of tow, and held in place by band-
ages. Internal treatment is also indicated in those cases of open
joints in which the suffering is great. At first we should administer
a light physic and follow this up with sedatives and anodynes, as
directed for contused wounds. Later, however, we should give qui-
nin or salicylic acid in 1-dram doses two or three times a day.

494 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

WOUNDS OF THE TENDON SHEATHS.

Wounds of tendon sheaths are similar to open joints in that there
is an escape of synovial fluid, "sinew water." Where the tendons
are simply punctured by a thorn, nail, or fork, we must, after a
thorough exploration of the wound for any remaining foreign sub-
stance, treat with the flour-and-alum paste, bandages, etc., as for open
joint. Should the skin and tendons be divided the case is even more
serious and is often incurable. There is alwaj^s a large bed of granu-
lations (proud flesh) at the seat of injury, and a thickening more
or less pronounced remains. When the back tendons of the leg are
severed we should apply at once a high-heel shoe (which is to be
gradually lowered as healing advances) and bandage firmly with
a compress moistened with a 10-grain chlorid of zinc solution. When
proud flesh appears it is best kept under control by repeated appli-
cations of a red-hot iron. Mares that are valuable as brood animals
and stock horses should always be treated for this injury, as, even
though blemished, their value is not seriously impaired. If the
subject is old and comparatively valueless, the length of time required
and the expense of treatment will cause us to hesitate in attempting
a cure.

GUNSHOT WOUNDS.

These wounds vary in size and character, depending on the size
and quality of the projectile and also the tissue injured. They are
so seldom met with in our animals that an extended reference to
them seems unnecessary. If a wound has been made by a bullet a
careful examination should be made to ascertain whether the ball
has passed through or out of the body. If it has not we must then
probe for it, and if it can be located it is to be cut out when prac-
ticable to do so. Oftentimes a ball may be so lodged that it can not
be removed, and it then may become encysted and remain for years
without giving rise to any inconvenience. It is often difficult to
locate a bullet, as it is very readily deflected by resistances met with
after entering the bod3\

The entering wound is the size of the projectile, the edges are
inverted and often scorched. The wound produced in case of the
bullet's exit is lai'ger than the projectile, the edges are turned out
and ragged. A bullet heated by the friction of the barrel or air
often softens and becomes flattened on striking a bone or other tissue.
Modern bullets that have an outer steel laj'^er may pass through bone
without splintering it. Lead bullets may split, producing two exit
wounds. Spent bullets may only produce a bruise. Should bones
be struck by a ball they are sometimes shattered and splintered to
such an extent as to warrant us in having the animal destroyed.
A gimshot Avound, when irreparable injury has not been done, is to

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 495

be treated the same as punctured wounds, i. e., stop the hemorrhage,
remove the foreign bod}^ if possible, and apply hot fomentations or
poultices to the wound until suppuration is fairly established. Anti-
septic and disinfectant injections may then be used. Should pus
accumulate in the tissues, openings must be made at the most depend-
ing parts for its escape. Wounds from shotguns fired close to the
animals are serious. They are vfrtually lacerated and contused
wounds. Eemove all the shot possible from the wound and treat
as directed for contusions. T\nien small shot strike the horse from a
distance they stick in the skin or only go through it. The shot grains
must be picked out, but as a rule this " peppering " of the skin
amounts to but little.

POISONED WOUNDS.

These injuries are the result of bites of snakes, rabid dogs, stings of
bees, wasps, etc. A single sting is not dangerous, but an animal is
often stung by a swarm of insects, when the chief danger occurs from
the swelling produced. If stung about the head, the nostrils may be
closed as a result of the swelling, causing labored breathing and pos-
sibly asphyxiation. Intoxication may be produced by the absorption
of this poison and is manifested by staggering gait, spreading of
the legs, paralysis of the muscles, difficult respiration, and a rise of
temperature. Death may follow in five to ten hours.

Treatment. — Douse animal with cold water and apply any alkaline
liquid, such as soapsuds, bicarbonate of soda, or weak solution of
ammonia. Internally give alcohol, ether, or camphor to strengthen
the heart. In case of bites by rattlesnakes, moccasin, or other poi-
sonous snakes, a painful swelling occurs about the bitten part, which
is followed by labored breathing, weakness, retching, fever, and
death from collapse. The animal usually recovers if it can be kept
alive over the third day. In treating the animal, a tight ligature
should be passed about the part above the wound to keep the poison
from entering the general circulation. Wash out the wound thor-
oughly with antiseptics and then apply a caustic, such as silver
nitrate, or burn with a hot instrument. A subcutaneous injection of
one- fourth dram of 1 per cent solution of chromic acid above the
wound is also beneficial. Cold water may be applied to the wound
to combat the inflammation. Bites of rabid dogs produce an infected
wound, and the virus of rabies introduced in this manner should be
removed or destroyed in the wound. Therefore produce considerable
bleeding by incising the wound, wash out thoroughlj'- with 10 per
cent solution of zinc chlorid, and then apply caustics or the actual
cauterv.

496 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

HARNESS GALLS (SITFASTS).

Wounds or abrasions of the skin are frequently caused by ill-fitting
harness or saddles. When a horse has been resting from steady work
for some time, particularly after being idle in a stable on a scanty
allowance of grain, as in winter, he is soft and tender and sweats
easily when put to work again. In this condition he is liable to
sweat and chafe under the harness, especially if it is hard and poorly
fitted. This chafing is likely to cause abrasions of the skin, and
thus pave the way for an abscess or for a chronic blemish, unless
attended to very promptly. Besides causing the animal considerable
pain, chafing, if long continued, leads to the formation of a callosity.
This may be superficial, involving only the skin, or it may be deep-
seated, involving the subcutaneous fibrous tissue and sometimes the
muscle and even the bone. This causes a dry slough to form, which
is both inconvenient and unsightly. Sloughs of this kind are com-
monly called " sitfasts " and, while they occur in other places, are
most frequently found under the saddle. (See also p. 475.)

Treatment. — Abrasions are best prevented by bringing the animal
gradually into working shape after it has had a prolonged rest, in
order that the muscles may be hard and the skin tough. The harness
should be well fitted, neither too large nor too small, and it should be
cleaned and oiled to remove all dirt and to make it soft and pliable.
Saddles should be properly fitted so as to prevent direct pressure on
the spine, and the saddle blankets should be clean and dry. Parts
of the horse where chafing is likely to occur, as on the back under the
saddle, should be cleaned and brushed free of dirt.

The remedies for simple harness galls are numerous. Among them
may be mentioned alcohol, 1 pint, in which are well shaken the whites
of two eggs; a solution of nitrate of silver, 10 grains to the ounce of
water; sugar of lead or sulphate of zinc, 20 grains to an ounce of
water; carbolic acid, 1 part in 15 parts of glycerin, and so on almost
without end. Any simple astringent wash or powder will effect a
cure, provided the sores are not irritated by friction.

If a sitfast has developed, the dead hornlike slough must be care-
fully dissected out and the wound treated carefully with antiseptics.
During treatment it is always best to allow the animal to rest, but if
this is inconvenient care should be taken to prevent injury to the
abraded or wounded surface by padding the harness so that chafing

can not occur.

BURNS AND SCALDS.

These wounds of domestic animals are fortunately of rare occur-
rence; however, when they do occur, if at all extensive, they prove to
be quite troublesome and in many cases are fatal. According to the
severity of the burn we distinguish three degi-ees: First degree,

WOUJiTDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 497

where there is a simple reddening of the skin ; second degree, where
there is a formation of A'esicles, or blisters; third degree, where there
is a complete destruction of vitality of the tissues, such as would
occur is charring from direct contact with flames or from escaping
steam. Besides the burns caused by flames and steam, there are other
causative agents, such as chemicals (caustic alkalies and acids), light-
ning stroke, and occasionally the broken trolley wires of electric rail-
ways. When a large surface of the skin is burned or scalded, the ani-
mal (if it does not die at once from shock) will soon show signs of
fever — shivering, coldness of the extremities, weakness, restlessness,
quick and feeble pulse, and labored breathing. No matter which
agent is a factor in the production of burns, the lesions are practi-
cally of the same nature. The extent and site of the burn should lead
one in the determination and course of treatment. Burns of the
shoulder and those about the region of the elbow or other parts
where there is much movement of the tissues are grave, and, if at all
extensive, treatment should not be attempted, but the immediate
destruction of the animal is advised. A burn of the third degree,
where there is a destruction of the vitality of large areas of tissue,
even on parts not subject to much motion, is extremely tedious to
treat; in fact, it is questionable whether the treatment and keep of
the animal will ever be compensated for, even though recovery does
take place ; this, in any event, wall require at least six or eight weeks.
Burns caused by lightning stroke and trolley wires are liable to occur
in irregular lines, and, unless death occurs at once, they generally
are not serious.

Treatment. — Treatment should be prompt and elective. If the
burns are extensive, the constitutional symptoms should be combated
with ammonia carbonate, strychnin, cafi*ein, or other stimulant to
prevent shock. In the local treatment, to alleviate the pain, the
application of cold water in some form and the hypodermic injec-
tion of morphin are to be recommended. In burns of the first
degree, where there is only a superficial inflammation, lead carbonate
(white lead) ointment is very good. Carron oil (lime water and
linseed oil, equal parts) is a standard remedy, but a modification
of it known as StaliFs liniment is perhaps better. This is comj^osed
of linseed oil and limew^ater each 2'00 parts, bicarbonate of soda
100 parts, and thymol 1 part. The scorched surface should be
covered with this liniment and then with a layer of borated gauze
or absorbent cotton, to protect from the air. The application
should be frequently renewed. Carbolated vaseline may be used
in place of the above. In case the burn is more extensive, the fol-
lowing solution may be used: Picric acid 2 parts, alcohol 40 parts,
water 400 parts. The lesion should be thoroughly cleansed with this
54763°— 23 32

498 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

solution used on absorbent cotton. The vesicles, if any appear,
should be opened with a clean needle, allowing the skin to remain.
Strips of gauze or absorbent cotton saturated with the solution should
now be applied and renewed only occasionally. In burns of the sec-
ond and third degrees more satisfactory results may be obtained with
nonpoisonous, dry dressing powder, such as is used in ordinary open
wounds, as tannic acid 8 parts and iodoform 1 part, or a salve made
of this powder and a sufficient quantity of vaseline. "When slough-
ing of the tissues takes pkce the wovmds should be cleansed with a
warm 3 per cent solution of carbolic acid, all loose fragments of tissue
removed, and either a dry, antiseptic dressing powder or carbolated
vaseline ointment applied to exclude the air. Granulation tissue
(proud flesh) should be controlled by the application of silver nitrate
in the form of a caustic pencil.

Burns due to mineral acids may be first treated by flushing the
parts with a copious quantity of cold water or by the application of
whiting or chalk. Either use a large quantity of water at the start or
use the chalk first, then wash with water. If the irritant has been a
caustic alkali, such as potash, lye,' ammonia, or soda, then vinegar
should be the first application. Stahl's liniment is probably the best
general application for all burns for the first week ; then this should
be followed by the ordinary antiseptic wound dressings.

GANGRENE.

Gangrene, or mortification, denotes the death of the affected part,
and is mostly found attacking soft tissue near the surface of the
body. Gangrenous areas may occur as a result of shutting olf their
blood supply. Constitutional diseases, such as ergotism, anthrax, and
septicemia, predispose to gangrene. As external causes we have acids
and alkalies, freezing and burning, contusions and continuous pres-
sure that interrupt the circulation. There are two forms of gan-
grene— dry and moist. Dry gangrene is most often seen in horses
from continuous lying down (decubitus) or from uneven pressure of
some portion of the harness,

SyTnj^toms. — There is a lack of sensation due to the death of nerves.
In dry gangrene the skin is leathery and harsh, while in moist gan-
grene the tissues are soft, wrinkled, and friable; the hair is dis-
turbed, and the skin is usually moist and soapy and sometimes cov-
ered with blebs. The tissue surrounding the moist gangrenous patch
is usually inflamed, swollen, and hot, but tliis is less noticeable in the
case of dry gangrene. Moist gangrene often spreads and involves
deeper tissue, sheaths of tendons and joints producing septic syno-
vitis or septic arthritis leading to pyemia and death. Dry gangrene
is seldom dangerous, but the rapidity of its spread will indicate its
virulence.

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 499

Treatment. — The preventive treatment consists in avoiding all the
influences that tend to disturb the nutrition of the tissues, such as
excessive cold or heat or continuous pressure. Gangrene following
decubitus may be prevented by using soft bedding and frequently
turning the animal from one side to the other. In dry gangrene
moist heat in the form of poultices or anointing the tissue with oils
and fats will be found beneficial in hastening the dead tissue to
slough off. When the outer skin begins to suppurate, it should be
removed with a pair of pincers, and the patch treated as an open
wound. In moist gangrene the tissue should be thoroughly disin-
fected with a 3 per cent solution of compound cresol, or particularly
an alcoholic tincture of camphor. Continuous irritation with anti-
septic fluids prevents the accumulation and absorption of poisonous
liquids. Incisions into the dead tissue may be made, and when
sloughing commences the tissue should be removed with forceps and
the resulting wound treated as in dry gangrene.

ULCERATION.

An ulcer is a circumscribed area of necrosis occurring on the skin
or mucous membrance and covered with granulation tissue. It is a
process of destruction, and when this process is going on faster than
regeneration can take place, we have a gnawing, or eating, ulcer.
When such an ulcer increases rapidly in size it is termed a phagedenic
ulcer. A fungoid ulcer is one in which the bottom of the ulcer pro-
jects beyond the edge of the skin. These ulcers secrete milky or
bloody-white liquid called ichor. ^Vlien the ulcer is of an ashen or
leaden color, with the bottom and sides formed of dense, hard con-
nective tissue, which gives but little discharge and is not sensitive, it
is termed callous, torpid, or indolent ulcer.

Causes. — As in the case of gangrene, disturbances of circulation are
among the most frequent causes. A wound to a tissue with slight
recuperative power may be followed by ulceration, as in tumors.
Certain germs may produce ulcers, as the glanders bacilli, which
cause the ulcerations on the nasal septum in glanders.

Treatment. — This consists in removing- the excitinsf cause at once.
The secretions of the ulcer should be washed off with antiseptic solu-
tions and the formation of granulation tissues stimulated by antisep-
tic salves, such as carbolated vaseline, lead ointment, or by dressings
of camphor. Air should be kept from the ulcer by occlusive dress-
ings. '\^'liere the ulcers are inflamed, warm lead water or lead water
and laudanum will be found efficacious. Callous ulcers are best re-
moved by a curette, knife, or hot iron and then treated like a common
wound. Mechanical irritation should be avoided.

600 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

ABSCESSES.

These consist of accumulations of pus within circumscribed walls,
at different parts of the body, and may be classed as acute and cold
or chronic abscesses.

When an abscess occurs about a hair follicle it is called a boil or
furuncle ; when several hair follicles are involved, resulting in the
formation of more than one exit for the inflammatory products, it is
called a carbuncle.

ACUTE ABSCESSES.

Acute abscesses f oIIoav as the result of local inflammation in glands,
muscular tissue, or even bones. They are very conniion in the two
former. The abscesses most commonly met with in the horse (and
the ones which will be here described) are those of the salivary
glands, occurring during the existence of " strangles," or " colt dis-
temper." The glands behind or under the jaw are seen to increase
slowly in size, becoming firm, hard, hot, and painful. At first the
swelling is uniformly hard and resisting over its entire surface, but
in a little while becomes soft (fluctuating) at some portion, mostly
in the center. From this time on the abscess is said to be " pointing,"
or " coming to a head," which is shown by a small elevated or pro-
jecting prominence, which at first is dry, but soon becomes moist with
transuded serum. The hairs over this part loosen and fall off, and in
a short time the abscess opens, the contents escape, and the cavity
gradually fills up — heals by granulations.

Abscesses in muscular tissue are usually the result of bruises or in-
juries. In all cases in which abscesses are forming we should hurry
the ripening process by frequent hot fomentations and poultices.
When they are very tardy in their development a blister over their
surface is advisable. It is a common rule with surgeons to open an
abscess as soon as pus can be plainly felt, but this practice can
scarcely be recommended indiscriminately to owners of stock, since
this little operation frequently requires an exact knowledge of anat-
omy. It will usually be found the better i^lan to encourage the full
ripening of an abscess and allow it to open of itself. This is impera-
tive if the abscess is in the region of joints, etc. When open, Ave
must not squeeze the walls of the abscess to any extent. They may
be very genth' pressed with the fingers at first to remove the clots —
inspissated pus — but after this the orifice is simply to be kept open
by the introduction of a clean probe, should it be disposed to heal too
soon. If the opening is at too high a level another should be made
into the lowest portion of the abscess so as to permit the most com-
plete drainage. Hot fomentations or poultices are sometimes re-
quired for a day or two after an abscess has opened, and are particu-
larly indicated when the base of the abscess is hard and indurated.

WOUNDS AND THEIE TREATMENT. 501

The cavity should be thoroughly washed with stimulating anti-
septic solutions, such as 3 per cent solution of carbolic acid, 3 per cent
solution of compound cresol, 1 to 1,000 bichlorid of mercury, or 1 per
cent permanganate of potash solution. If the abscesses are foul
Jind bad smelling, their cavities should first be syringed with 1 part
of hydrogen peroxid to 2 parts of water and then followed by the
injection of any of the above-mentioned antiseptics.

COLD ABSCESSES.

Cold abscess is the term applied to those large, indolent swellings
tliat are the result of a low or chronic form of inflammation, in the
center of which there is a small collection of pus. They are often
seen near the point of the shoulder, forming the so-called breast boil.
The swelling is diffuse and of enormous extent, but slightly hotter
than surrounding parts, and not very painful upon pressurCo A
pronounced stiffness, rather than pain, is evinced upon moving the
animal. Such abscesses have the appearance of a hard tumor, sur-
rounded by a softer edematous swelling, involving the tissues to the
extent of a foot or more in all directions from the tumor. This dif-
fused swelling gradually subsides and leaves the large, hardened
mass somewhat well defined. One of the characteristics of cold ab-
scesses is their tendency to remain in the same condition for a great
length of time. There is neither heat nor soreness; no increase nor
lessening in the size of the tumor ; it remains in statu quo. If, how-
ever, the animal should be put to work for a short time the irrita-
tion of the collar causes the surrounding tissues to assume again an
edematous condition, which after a few days' rest disappears, leaving
the tumor as before or but slightly larger. Upon careful manipula-
tion we may discover what appears to be a fluid deep seated in the
center of the mass. The quantity of matter so contained is very
small — often not more than a tablespoonful — and for this reason it
can not, in all cases, be detected.

Cold abscesses are mostly, if not always, caused by the long-
continued irritation of a loose and badly fitting collar. There is a
slow inflammatory action going on, which results in the formation of
a small quantity of matter inclosed in very thick and but partially
organized walls that are not so well defined as is the circumference
of fibrous tumors, which they most resemble.

Treatment. — The means recommended to bring the acute abscess
" to a head " are but rarely effectual with this variety ; or, if success-
ful, too much time has been occupied in the cure. We must look for
other and more rapid methods of treatment. These consist, first of
all, in carefully exploring the tumor for the presence of pus. The
inci'^ions must be made over the softest part and carried deep into the
tumor — to its very bottom, if necessary — and the matter allowed to

502 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

escape. After this, and whether we have found matter or not, we
must induce an active inflammation of the tumor, in order to pro-
mote solution of the thick walls of the abscess. This may be done by
inserting well into the incision a piece of oakum or cotton saturated
with turpentine, carbolic acid, tincture of iodin, etc., or we may pack
the incision with powdered sulphate of zinc and keep the orifice
plugged for 24 hours. These agents set up a destructive inflamma-
tion of the walls. Suppuration follows, and this should now be en-
couraged by hot fomentations and poultices. The orifice must be
kept open, and should it be disposed to heal we must again introduce
some of the agents above described. A favored treatment with many,
and it is probably the best, is to plunge a red-hot iron to the bottom
of the incision and thoroughly sear all parts of the walls of the ab-
scess. This is to be repeated after the first slough has taken place if
the walls remain thickened and indurated.

It is useless to waste time with fomentations, poultices, or blisters
in the treatment of cold abscesses, since though apparently removed
by such methods, they almost invariably return when the horse is
put to work. Extirpation by the knife is not practicable, as the
walls of the tumor are not sufficiently defined. If treated as above
directed, and properly fitted with a good collar after healing, there
will not remain any track or trace of the large, unsightly mass.

FISTULAS.

Defrdtion. — The word fistula is applied to any ulcerous lesion
upon the external surface of the body which is connected by ducts,
or passages, with some internal cavity. Because of this particular
formation the term fistulous tract is often used synonymously with
the word fistula. Fistulas may exist in any part of the body, but the
name has come to be commonly accepted as applicable only to such
lesions when found upon the withers. Poll evil is a fistula upon the
poll, and in no sense differs from fistulous withers except in location.
The description of fistula will apply, then, in the main, to poll evi]
equally well. Quittor presents the characteristic tubular passages of
a fistula and may, therefore, be considered and treated as fistula of
the foot. Fistulous passages may also be developed upon the sides
of the face, through which saliva is discharged instead of flowing
into the mouth, and are called salivary fistulas. A dental fistula may
arise from the necrosis of the root of a tooth. Again, a fistula is
sometimes noted at the umbilicus associated with hernia, and recto-
vaginal fistulas have been developed in mares, following difficult
parturition. Fistulas may arise from wounds of glandular organs
or their ducts, and thus we have the so-called mammary or lacrimal
fistulas.

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 503

Fistulous tracts are lined with a false, or adventitious, membrane
and show no disposition to heal. They constantly afford means of
exit to the pus or ichorous material discharged by the unhealthy
parts below. They are particularly liable to develop at the withers
or poll because of the exposed positions which these parts occupy,
and, having once become located there, they usually assert a tendency
to further extension, because the vertical and laminated formation
of the muscles and tendons of these parts allows the forces of gravi-
tation to assist the pus in gaining the deeper-lying structures and
also favors its retention among them.

Causes. — Fistulas follow as a result of abscesses, bruises, wounds,
or long-continued irritation by the harness. Among the more com-
mon causes of fistula of the poll (poll evil) are chafing bj^ the halter
or heavy bridle; blows from the butt end of the whip; the horse
striking his head against the hayrack, beams of the ceiling, low doors,
etc. Fistulous withers are seen mostly in those horses that have thick
necks as well as those that are very high in the withers; or, among
saddle horses, those that are very low in the withers, the saddle here
riding forward and bruising the parts. In either of these locations
ulcers of the skin, or simple abscesses, if not properly and punctually
treated, may become fistulas. They are often caused by bad-fitting
collars or saddles, by direct injuries from blows, and from the horse
rolling upon rough or sharp stones. The pus burrows and finds lodg-
ment deep down between the muscles, and escapes only when the sinus
becomes surcharged or when, during motion of the parts, the matter
is forced to the surface.

Sym,pto77is. — These, of course, will vary according to the progress
made by the fistula. Following an injury we may often notice sore-
ness or stiffness of the front legs, and upon careful examination of
the withers we see small tortuous lines running from the point of
irritation downward and backward over the region of the shoulder.
These are superficial lympthatics, and are swollen and painful to the
touch. In a day or two a swelling is noticed on one or both sides of
the dorsal vertebrae, which is hot, painful, and rapidly enlarging.
The stiffness of the limbs may disappear at this time, and the heat
and soreness of the parts may become less noticeable, but the swelling
remains and continues to enlarge.

A fistulous ulcer of the poll may be first indicated by the opposition
which the animal offers to the application of stable brush or bridle.
At this time the parts are so sore and sensitive that there is some
danger that unless handled with the greatest care the patient will
acquire disagreeable stable habits. The disease in its early stages
may be recognized as a soft, fluctuating tumor surrounded by inflam-
matory swelling, with the presence of enlarged lymphatic vessels and
stiffness of the neck. Later the inflammation of the surrounding tis-

504 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

sues may disappear, leaving a prominent tumor. The swelling,
whether situated upon the head or the withers, may open and form a
running ulcer, or its contents may dry up and leave a tumor wiiich
gradually develops the common characteristics of a fibrous tumor.
When the enlargement has opened we should carefully examine its
cavity, as upon its condition will wholly depend our treatment.

Treatment. — In the earliest stage, when there is soreness, enlarged
lymphatics, but no well-marked swelling, the trouble ma}'^ frequently
be aborted. To do this requires both general and local treatment.
A physic should be given, and the horse receive 1 ounce of powdered
saltpeter three times a day in his water or feed. If the fever runs
high, 20-drop doses of tincture of aconite root every two hours may
be administered. The local application of cold water to the inflamed
spot for an hour at a time three or four times a day has often proved
A^ery beneficial, and has afforded great relief.

Cooling lotions, muriate of ammonia, or saltpeter and water ; seda-
tive washes, such as tincture of opium and aconite, chloroform lini-
ment, or camphorated oil, are also to be frequently applied. Should
this treatment fail to check the progress of the trouble, the formation
of pus should be hastened as rapidly as possible. Hot fomentations
and poultices are to be constantly used, and as soon as the presence of
pus can be detected, the abscess wall is to be opened at its lowest point.
In this procedure lies our hope of a speedy cure. As with any simple
abscess, if drainage can be so provided that the pus will run off as
fast as formed without remaining within the interstices of the tissues,
the healing will be rapid and satisfactory.

Attention is again called to the directions given above as to the
necessity of probing the cavity when opened. If upon a careful ex-
amination with the probe we find that there are no pockets, no si-
nuses, but a simple, regular abscess wall, the indication for treatment
is to make an opening from below so that all the matter must escape.
Rarely is anything more needed than to keep the orifice open and to
bathe or inject the parts with some simple antiseptic wash that is not
irritant or caustic. A low opening and cleanliness constitute the
essential and rational treatment.

If the abscess has already opened, giving vent to a quantity of
purulent matter, and the pipes and tubes leading from the opening
are found to be extensive and surrounded with thick fungoid mem-
branes, there is considerable danger that the internal ligaments or
even some of the bones have become affected, in which case the con-
dition has assumed a serious aspect. Or, on the other hand, if the
abscess has existed for some time without a rupture, its contents will
frequently be found to consist of dried purulent matter, firm and
dense, and the walls surrounding the mass will be found greatly
thickened. In such a case Ave must ffcnerally have recourse to the

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 505

application of caustics which Avill cause a sloughing of all of the
unhealthy tissue, and will also stimulate a rapid increase of healthy
organized material to replace that destroyed in the course of the
development and treatment of the disease. Threads or cords soaked
in gum-arabic solution and rolled in powdered corrosive sublimate
may be introduced into the canal and allowed to remain. The skin
on all parts of the shoulder and leg beneath the fistula should be
carefully greased with lard or oil, as this will prevent the discharge
that comes from the opening after the caustic is introduced from
irritating or blistering the skin over which it flows. In obstinate
cases a piece of caustic potash (fused) 1 to 2 inches in length may
be introduced into the opening and should be covered, with oakum or
cotton. The horse should then be secured so that he can not reach
the part with his teeth. After the caustic plug has been in place for
24 hours, it may be removed and hot fomentations applied. As soon
as the discharge has become again established the abscess should be
opened from its lowest extremity, and the passage thus formed may
be kept open by the introduction of a seton. If the pipes become
established in the deep tissues beneath the shoulder blade or among
the spines of the vertebral column, it will often be found impossible
to provide proper drainage for the abscess from below, and treat-
ment must consist of caustic solutions carefully injected into all parts
of the suppurating sinuses. A very effective remedy for this pur-
pose consists of 1 ounce of chlorid of zinc in half a pint of water,
injected three times during a week, after which a weak solution of
the same may be occasionally injected. Injections of Yillate's solu-
tion or alcoholic solution of corrosive sublimate, strong carbolic acid,
or possibly oil of turpentine will also prove beneficial. Pressure
should be applied from below, and endeavors made to heal the vari-
ous pipes from the bottom.

Should the swelling become general, without forming a well-defined
tumor, the placing of 20 to 30 grains of arsenious acid, wrapped in a
single layer of tissue paper, in a shallow incision beneath the skin, will
often produce a sloughing of the affected parts in a week or 10 days,
after which the formation of healthy tissue follows. The surround-
ing parts of the skin should be protected from any damage from
escaping caustics by the application of lard or oil, as previously
suggested.

Although the successful treatment of fistulas requires time and
patience, the majority of cases are curable. The sinuses must be
opened at their lowest extremity and kept open. Caustic applications
must be thoroughly used once or twice, after which mild astringent
antiseptic washes should be persistently used until a cure is reached.

It sometimes happens that the erosions have burrowed so deeply or
in such a direction that the opening of a drainage passage becomes

506 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

impracticable. In other case.s the bones may be attacked in some inac-
cessible location, or the joints may be ali'ected, and in these cases it is
often best to destroy the horse at once.

The reappearance of the fistula after it has apparently healed is not
uncommon. The secondary attack in these cases is seldom serious.
The lesion should be carefully cleaned and afterwards injected with
a solution of zinc sulphate, 20 grains to the ounce of water, every sec-
ond or third day until a cure is effected.

In fistula of the foot we see the same tendency toward the burrow-
ing of pus downward to lower structures, or in some cases upward
toward the coronet. Prior to the development of a quittor there is
always swelling at the coronet, accompanied with heat and pain.
Every effort should now be made to prevent the formation of an
abscess at the point of injury. Wounds caused by nails, gravel, or
any other foreign body which may have lodged in the sole of the
foot should be opened at once from below, so as to allow free exit
to all purulent discharges. Should the injury have occurred directly
to the coronet the application of cold fomentations may prove efficient
in preventing the formation of an abscess.

When a quittor becomes fully established it should be treated pre-
cisely as a fistula situated in an}^ other part of the body ; that is, the
sinuses should all be opened from their lowest extremities, so as to
afford constant drainage. All fragments of diseased tissue should be
trimmed away, antiseptic solutions injected, and, after covering the
wound with a pad of oakum saturated with some good antiseptic
wash, the whole foot may be carefully covered with clean bandages,
which will afford valuable assistance to the healing process by exclud-
ing all dirt from the affected part.

Another form of treatment for this class of infections consists in
the use of bacterial vaccines. Such treatment appears to be well
adapted for the purpose, and according to current veterinary litera-
ture has met with success. These vaccines are composed of several
strains of the organisms usually found in these pustular infections
of the horse. Two kinds of vaccines are used : First, autogenic vac-
cines, which consist of heated (killed) cultures of the organism or
organisms which are causing the trouble and which have been iso-
lated from the lesions; second, stock vaccines, consisting of dead
organisms of certain species generally found in these lesions and
which are used in diseased conditions caused by one or the other of
these germs. The vaccine is administered subcutaneously by means
of a syringe, but the quantity of the vaccine to be injected and the
number of dosses to be used sliould be left to the judgment of a
competent veterinarian.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

By Rush Shippen Huidekopek, M. D., Vet.

[Revised by A. Eiehhorn, D. V. S.]
GENERAL DISCUSSION.

An infectious disease may be defined as any malady caused by the
introduction into the body of minute organisms of the vegetable or
animal kingdom which have the power to multiply indefinitely and
set free certain peculiar poisons which are chiefly responsible for mor-
bid changes. Nearly all diseases of animals for which a definite
cause may be attributed are caused by bacteria ; such are tuberculosis,
anthrax, blackleg, lockjaw, and others. There are some diseases, as,
for instance, Texas fever and rabies, w^hich are caused by a minute
animal parasite known as protozoa, while others again, like lumpy
jaw and aspergillosis, are caused by fungi. Besides there are infec-
tious diseases in which the causative agents have never been success-
fully isolated, as they are so small that they can not be detected by the
aid of the most powerful microscope, and accordingly they are termed
as ultravisible viruses. Hog cholera, foot-and-mouth disease, small-
pox, and others belong to this group.

Bacteria may be defined as very minute unicellular organisms of
plantlike character. Tliey multiply either by simple division or by
spore formation, the latter usually taking place when the conditions
pertaining to the growth of the bacteria become unfavorable. The
spores are much more resistant to destruction than the bacteria which
produce them.

Another group of parasites producing disease is known as protozoa.
These are more complex than bacteria, and their artificial cultivation
is also much more difficult than is the case with the bacterial parasites.
Of the representatives o^f this group, causing disease in animals, are
the trypanosomes, which are the causative factors of dourine and
surra, and the piroplasma, which induce Texas fever in cattle and
malaria or biliary fever of horses. There are also disease-producing
fimgi which are responsible for certain affections in horses; among
these the most important are mycotic lymphangitis, or sporotrichosis,
and streptotrichosis.

The introduction of the infection may take place in various ways.
The most frequent method is by ingestion. Further, the entrance of

507

508 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

the germs may occur by inhalation, skin abrasions, wounds of any
kind, through the genital organs, and at times also through the milk
ducts of the teats. As a general rule infectious diseases have a period
of incubation which comprises the time elapsing between the expos-
ure to the infection and the actual appearance of the disease. This
period varies in the different diseases.

The treatment of infectious diseases is, as a rule, unsatisfactory.
When the sj^mptoms have once appeared a disease is liable to run its
course in spite of treatment, and if it is one from which animals
usually recover, all that can be done is to put them into the most
favorable surroundings. Many infectious diseases lead sooner or
later to death ; treatment is useless so far as the sick animals are con-
cerned, and it may be worse than useless for those not yet affected.
All animals suffering with infectious diseases are more or less directly
a menace to all others. They represent for the time being manufac-
tories of disease germs, and they are giving them off more or less
abundantly during the period of disease. Thej^ may infect others
directly or they may scatter the virus about and the surroundings
ma}' become the future source of infection.

Therefore, in the control of infectious diseases prevention is the
most important procedure. The isolation or segregation of healthy
animals from infected ones should be primarily considered, and if at
any time an animal manifests the symptoms of an infectious disease
it is essential to protect the others from such a source of danger. In
some of the infectious diseases it may become advisable to kill the
infected animals in order to avoid the spread of the disease. This is
especially important in diseases which are slow in their course, such
as tuberculosis. At times when diseases appear in a country where
they have not been prevalent it becomes advisable and necessary to
protect the healthy herds by the slaughter of all the infected animals.
Pursuance of this policy has resulted in control of the foot-and-
mouth disease, and has proved to be a very satisfactory method of
eradication.

DISINFECTION.

Disinfection is a very important phase in the control of infectious
disease. This consists in the use of certain substanceg which possess
the power to destroy bacteria or their spores, or both. The cheapest
and most available for animal diseases are ordinary freshly slaked
lime, or unslaked lime in powder form, chlorid of lime, crude car-
bolic acid, corrosive sublimate, formalin, formaldehyde gas, cresol,
etc.

In the disinfection of stables and premises it is essential tt) execute
the work in a most thorough manner. This ma}- be satisfactorily
accomplished by carrying out the following directions:

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 509

1. Sweep ceilings, side walls, stall partitions, floors, and other
surfaces until free from cobwebs and dust.

2. Scrape away all accunuilation of filth, and if woodwork lias be-
come decayed, porous, or absorbent, it should be removed, burned,
and replaced with new material.

3. If floor is of earth, remove 4 inches from the surface, and in
places stained with urine a sufficient depth should be replaced to ex-
pose fresh earth. All earth removed should be replaced w^ith earth
from an uncontaminated source ; it would be better still to lay a new
floor of concrete, which is very durable and easily cleaned.

4. All refuse and material from stable and barnyard should be
removed to a place not accessible to cattle or hogs. The manure
should be spread on fields and turned under, while the wood should
be burned.

5. The entire interior of the stable, especially the feeding troughs
and drains, should be saturated with a disinfectant, as liquor cresolis
compositus (U. S. P.), or carbolic acid, 6 ounces to ever}- gallon of
water, to which 4 ounces of chlorid of lime should be added. The
best method of applying the disinfectant and the lime wash is by
means of a strong spray pump, such as those used by orchardists.
This method is efficient in disinfection against most of the contagious
and infectious diseases of animals, and should be applied imme-
diately following any outbreak, and, as a matter of precaution, it
may be used once or twice yearly.

6. It is important that arrangements be made to admit a plen-
tiful supply of sunlight and fresh air by providing an ample number
of windows, thereby eliminating dampness, bad odor, and other in-
sanitary conditions. Good drainage is also A^ery necessary.

If the use of liquor cresolis compositus, carbolic acid, or other
coal-tar products is inadmissible because of the readiness Avith which
their odor is imparted to milk and other dairy products, bichlorid
of mercury may be used in proportion of 1 to 800, or 1 pound of
bichlorid to 100 gallons of water. All portions of the stable soiled
with manure, however, should first be thoroughly scraped and
cleaned, as the albumin contained in manure would otherwise greatly
diminish the disinfecting power of the bichlorid. Disinfection with
this material should be supervised by a veterinarian or other person
trained in the handling of poisonous drugs and chemicals, as the
bichlorid is a powerful, corrosive poison. The mangers and the
feed boxes, after drying, following spraying with this material,
should be washed out with hot water, as cattle are especially sus-
ceptible to mercurial poisoning. The bichlorid solution should be
applied by means of a spray pump, as recommended for the liquor
cresolis compositus.

510 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

VACCINATION.

In recent years vaccination for the prevention of certain infectious
diseases has been successfully developed, and without a doubt the
future has a great deal in store for this phase of prevention. At the
present time vaccination has been found effective against blackleg,
hog cholera, anthrax, lockjaw, strangles, rabies, white scours, etc.
It is always essential, of course, that the products used for the vacci-
nation be pure and potent ; also they should be employed only with
the advice of competent authorities and with proper care. The bio-
logical products prepared for the cure and prevention of infections
are prepared by manufacturers who, in order to conduct an interstate
business, are required to obtain a license from the United States De-
partment of Agi'iculture for the manufacture of such preparations.

Since July 1, 1913, the Department of Agriculture, by an act of
Congress of March 4, 1913, has had control of the manufacture of
biological products for the treatment of domestic animals. The
numerous complaints which were received from time to time rela-
tive to the impotency of some of the preparations, and also the fact
that in some instances the use of the products were directly respon-
sible in causing outbreaks of disease, made the necessity for such
control obvious. This supervision is no doubt of far-reaching im-
portance, as it assures the users that the preparations are reliable.

INFLUENZA.

Syiwnyms. — Piukeye, typhoid fever, epizooty, epihippic fever, hepatic fever,
bilious fever, etc.; fi&vre typhoide, grippe (French) ; Pferdestaupe (German) ;
gastro-enteritis of Vatel and d'Arboval ; febris erysipelatodes, Zundel ; typhus
of Delafond.

De-finition. — The term influenza is applied to a febrile, contagious,
infectious disease of horses, which is characterized by a blood infec-
tion, with inflammation of the mucous membranes, which frequently
involves the lungs. Inflammatory complications also occur in the
form of swellings of the subcutis, tendons, and tendinous sheaths
and laminae of the feet. One attack usually protects the animal from
future ones of the same disease, but not always. An aj^parently com-
plete recovery is sometimes followed by serious sequelae of the nerv-
ous and blood-vessel systems. Under certain conditions of the at-
mosphere or from unknown causes, the disease is very liable to as-
sume an epizootic form, with tendency to complications of especial
organs, as, at one period, the lungs, at another the intestines, etc.

The first description of influenza is given by Laurentius Eusius
in 1301, when it spread over a considerable portion of Italy, causing

I

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 511

great loss among the war horses of Kome and the surrounding dis-
trict. Later, in 1G48, an epizootic of this disease visited Germany
and spread to other parts of Europe. In 1711, under the name of
" epidemica equorum," it followed the tracks of the great armies
all over Europe, causing immense losses among the horses, while
rinderpest was scourging the cattle of the same regions. The two
diseases were confounded with each other, and were, by the scien-
tists of the day, supposed to be allied to the typhus, which was a
plague to the human race at the same time. We find the first advent
of this disease to the British Islands in an epizootic among the
horses of London and the southern counties of England in 1732,
which is described by Gibson. In 1758 Robert Whytt recounts the
devastation of the horses of the north of Scotland from the same
trouble. Throughout the eighteenth century a number of epizo-
otics occurred in Hanover and other portions of Germany and in
France, which were renewed early in the present century, with
complications of the intestinal tract, which obtained for it its name
of gastroenteritis. In 1766 it first attacked the horses in North
America, but is not described as again occurring in a severe form
until 1870-1872, when it spread over the entire country, from Canada
south to Ohio, and then eastward to the Atlantic and westward to
California. It is now a permanent disease in our large cities, select-
ing for the continuance of its virulence j^oung or especially sus-
ceptible horses which pass through the large and ill-ventilated and
uncleaned stables of dealers, and assumes from time to time an en-
zootic form, when from some reason its virulence increases. It as-
sumes this form also when, from reasons of rural economy and com-
merce, large numbers of young and more susceptible animals are ex-
posed to its contagion.

Etiology. — The experiments of Dieckerhoff many years ago proved
that the disease may be transmitted to healthy animals by intravenous
injection of warm blood from affected horses.

Further investigations revealed the fact that blood from affected
horses, even when passed through porcelain filters, maj'^ transmit
the disease, thereby proving that the causative agent belongs to the
so-called filterable viruses. This has been further substantiated by
Gaffky, who showed in his recent experiments that the disease may be
transmitted with defibrinated as well as with filtered blood, in which
cases the typical form of influenza developed in inoculated animals
in from five to six days. These findings were also substantiated by
Basset. Further observations have also proved that apparently re-
covered animals may harbor the infection for a long time and still be
capable of transmitting the disease. Such virus carriers are no doubt
responsible for numerous outbreaks of this disease when, in a locality

512 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

free from the disease, it cei-tainly appears after the introduction of
an apparently healthy animal.

As one attack is usually self-protective, numbers of old horses,
having had an earlier attack, are not capable of contracting it again;
but, aside from this, young horses, especially those about four or five
years of age, are much more predisposed to be attacked, while the
older ones, even if they have not had the disease, are less liable to it.
Again, the former age is that in which the horse is brought from the
farm, where it has been free from the risk of exposure, and is sold to
pass through the stables of the country taverns, the dirty, infected
railway cars, and the foul stockyards and damp stables of dealers in
our large cities. Overfed, fat, young horses which have just come
through the sales stables are much more susceptible to contagion than
the same horses are after a few months of steady work.

Pilger, in 1805, was the first to recognize infection as the direct
cause of the disease. Roll and others studied the contagiousness of
influenza, and. finding it so much more virulent and permanent in
old stables than elsewhere, classed it as a " stall miasm." The con-
tagion will remain in the straw bedding and droppings of the animal
and in the feed in an infected stable for a considerable time and if
these are removed to other localities it may be carried in them. It
may be carried in the clothing of those who have been in attendance
on horses suffering from the disease. The drinking water in troughs
and even running water may hold the virus and be a means of its
communication to other animals, even at a distance.

The studies of Dieckerhoff, in 1881, in regard to the contagion of
influenza were especially interesting. He found that during a local
enzootic, produced by the introduction of infected horses into an
extensive stable otherwise perfectly healthy, the infection took place
in what at first seemed to be a most irregular manner, but which was
shown later to be dependent on the ventilation and currents of air
through the various buildings. His experiments showed that the
virus of influenza is excessively diffusible, and that it will spread
rapidly to the roof of a building and pass b}!' the apertures of ventila-
tion to others in the neighborhood. The writer has seen cases that
have appeared to spread through a brick wall and attack animals
on the opposite side before others even in tlie same stable were
affected. Brick walls, old Avoodwork, and the dirt which is too fre-
quently left about the feed boxes of a horse stall will hold the con-
tagion for several days, if not weeks, and communicate it to sus-
ceptible animals when placed in the same locality. On two succes-
sive mornings a 4-year-old colt belonging to the writer stood for
about 10 minutes at the open door, fully 40 feet from the stalls, of a

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 513

stable in Avhich two cases of influenza had broken out the day before;
in six days the colt developed the disease. On the morning when the
trouble in the colt was recognized it stood in an infirmary with a
dozen horses that were being treated for various diseases, but was
immediately isolated ; within one week two-thirds of the other horses
had contracted the disease.

Syinpto-ms. — After the exposure of a susceptible horse to infection
a period of incubation of from four to seven days elapses, during
which the animal seems in perfect health, before any symptom is
visible. When the symptoms of influenza develop they may be in-
tense, or so moderate as to occasion but little alarm, but the latter
condition frequently exposes the animal to use and to the danger of
the exciting causes of complications which would not have happened
had it been left quietly in its stall in place of being worked or driven
out to show to prospective purchasers. The disease may run a
simple course as a specific fever, with alterations only of the blood,
or at any period it may become complicated by local inflammatory
troubles, the gravity of which is augmented by developing in an
animal with an impoverished blood, an already irritated, rapid cir-
culation, and defective nutritive and reparative functions.

The first symptoms are those of a rapidly developing fever, which
becomes intense within a very short period. The animal becomes
dejected and inattentive to surrounding objects; stands with its head
dow^n, and not back on the halter as in serious lung diseases. In
the flanks, the muscles of the croup and of the shoulders, or of
the entire body it has chills lasting from 15 to 30 minutes, and
frequently a grinding of the teeth wdiich warns one that a severe
attack may be expected. The hairs become dry and rough and stand
on end. The body temperature increases to 104°, 104.5°, and 105° F.,
or even in severe cases to 107° F., within the first twelve or eighteen
hours. The horse becomes stupid, stands immobile with its head
hanging, the ears listless, and it pays but little attention to the sur-
rounding attendants or the crack of a whip. The stupor becomes
rapidly more marked, the eyes become puffy and swollen with ex-
cessive lacrimation, so that the tears run from the internal canthus
of the eye over the cheeks and may blister the skin in their course.
The respiration becomes accelerated to 25 or 30 in a minute, and the
pulse is quickened to 70, 80, or even 100^ moderate in volume and in
force. There is great depression of muscular force ; the animal stands
limp, as if excessively fatigued. There is diminution, or in some
cases total loss, of sensibility of the skin, so that it may be pricked
or handled without attracting the attention of the animal. On move-
ment, the horse staggers and shows a Avant of coordination of all the
muscles of its limbs. The senses of hearing, sight, and taste are
64763°— 2^? 33

614 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

diminisliecl, if not entirely destroyed. The visible mucous membraues
(as the conjunctiva), from which it received the name pinkeye, and
the mouth, and the natural openings become of a deep saffron, ocher,
or violet-red color. This latter is especially noticeable on the rim
. of the gums and is a condition not found in any other disease, so that
it is an almost diagnostic symptom. In some outbreaks there is much
more swelling of the lids and weeping from the eyes than in others.
If the animal is bled at this period the blood is found more coagulable
than normal, but at a later period it becomes of a dark color and less
coagulable. There is great diminution or total loss of appetite, with
an excessive thirst, but in many cases cold-blooded horses may retain
a certain amount of appetite, eating slowly at hay, oats, or other
I feed. There is some irritation of the mucous membrane of the
respiratory tract, as shown by discharge of mucus from the nose, and
by cough. Pregnant mares are liable to abort.

We have, following the fever, a tumefaction, or edema, of the sub-
cutaneous tissues at the fetlocks, of the under surface of the belly,
and of the sheath of the penis, which may be excessive. The infiltra-
tion is noninflammatory in character and produces an insensibility
of the skin like the excessive stocking which we see in debilitated
animals after exposure to cold. In ordinary cases the temperature
■ has reached its maximum of 105° or 106° F. in from 24 to 48 hours
from the origin of the fever. It remains stationary for a period of
from 3 to 4 days without so much variation between morning and
eA'ening temperature as we have in pneumonia or other serious
diseases of the lungs. At the termination of the specific course of
the disease, which is generally from 0 to 10 days, the fever abates,
ithe swelling of the legs and under surface of belly diminishes, the ap-
petite returns, the strength is rapidly regained, the mucous mem-
branes lose their yellowish color, which they attain so rapidly at the
commencement of the disease, and the animal convalesces piomptly
to its ordinary good condition and health, and rapidly regains the
large amount of weight which it lost in the early part of the disease,
a loss which frequently reaches 30, 50, or even 75 jiounds each 24
hours. For the first three days of the high temperature there is
a great tendency to constipation, which should be avoided if possible
by the use of the means recommended below, for, if it has been
marked, it may be followed by a troublesome diarrhea.

TermmatioTWi. — The terminations of simple influenza may be death
by extreme fever, with failure of the heart's action; from excessive
coma, due generally to a rapid congestion of the brain: to the poison-
ous effects of the debris of the disintegrated blood corpuscles and the
toxin of the disease; to an asphyxia, following congestion of the
lungs; or the disease terminates by subsidence of the fe^er. return of
the appetite and nutritive functions of the organs, and rapid con-

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 515

valescence ; or, in an unfortunately large number of cases, the course
of the disease is complicated by local inflammatory troubles, whose
gravity is greater in influenza than it is when they occur as sporadic
diseases.

Complications. — The complications are congestions, followed by
inflammatory phenomena in the \ arious organs of the body, but they
are most commonly located in the intestines, lungs, brain, or vascular
laminae of the feet. Atmospheric influence or other surrounding
influences of unknown quality seem to be an important factor in the
determination of the local lesions. At certain seasons of the year,
and in certain epizootics, we find 40 and 50 per cent or even a greater
percentage of the cases rendered more serious by complication of the
intestines; at other seasons of the year, or in other epizootics, we find
the same percentage of cases complicated by inflammation of the
lungs, while at the same time a small percentage of them are com-
plicated by troubles of the other organs; inflammatory changes of
the brain, of the laminae, more rarely commence in epizootic form,
but are to be found in a certain small percentage of cases in all
epizootics.

Exciting causes are important factors in complicating individual
cases of influenza, or in localizing special lesions, during either enzo-
otics or epizootics. These exciting or determining causes act much
as they would in sporadic inflammatory diseases, but in this case we
find the animal much more susceptible and predisposed to be acted
upon than ordinary healthy animals. With a temperature already
elevated, with the heart's action driving the blood in increased
quantity into the distended blood vessels, which become dilated and
lose their contractility, with a congestion of all the vascular organs
already established, it takes but little additional irritation to carry
the congestion one step further and produce inflammation.

C OTnplication of the intestines. — When any cause acts as an irri-
tant to the intestinal tract during the course of this specific fever it
may produce inflammation of the organs belonging to it. This cause
may be constipation, which can find relief only in a congestion which
offers to increase the function of the glands and relieve the inertia
caused by a temporary cessation of activity; or irritant medicines,
especially any increased use of antimony, turpentine, or the more
active remedies; the taking of indigestible feed, or of feed in too
great quantities, or that has been altered in any way by fungus or
other injurious alterations; the swallowing of too cold water; or any
other irritant may cause congestion. This complication is ushered
in by colics. The animal paws with the fore feet and evinces a great
sensibility of the belly ; it looks with the head from side to side, and
may lie down and get up, not with violence, but with care for itself,
perfectly protecting the surface of the belly from any violence. At

516 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

first we find a decided constipation; the droppings if passed are
small and hard, coated with a viscous varnish or even with false
membranes. In from 36 to 40 hours the constipation is followed
by diarrhea. The alimentary discharge becomes mixed with a sero-
miicous exudation, which is followed by a certain amount of sup-
purative matter. The animal becomes rapidly exhausted and un-
stable, staggers on movement, losing the little appetite which may
have remained, and has exacerbations of fever. The pulse becomes
softer and weaker, the respiration becomes gradually more rapid,
the temperature is about 1° to 1.5° F. higher. If a fatal result is
not produced by the extensive diarrhea the discharge is arrested in
from 5 to 10 days and a rapid recovery takes place.

Complication of the lungs. — If at any time during the course of the
fever the animal is exposed to cold or drafts of air, or in any other
way to the causes of repercussion, the lungs may become affected. In
the majority of cases, however, after three, four, or five days of the
fever, congestion of the lungs commences without any exposure or
apparent exciting cause. Unless this congestion of the lungs is
soon relieved it is followed by an inflammation constituting pneumo-
nia. This pneumonia, while it is in its essence the same, differs from
an ordinary pneumonia at the commencement by an insidious course.
The animal commences to breathe heavily, which is distinctly visible
in the heaving of the flanks, the dilatation of the nostrils, and fre-
quently in the swaying movement of the unsteady body. The res-
pirations increase in number, what little appetite remained is lost,
the temperature increases from 1° to 2°, the pulse becomes more
rapid, and at times, for a short period, more tense and full, but the
previous poisoning of the specific disease has so weakened the tissues
that it never becomes the characteristic full, tense pulse of a simple
pneumonia.

On percussion of the chest dullness is found over the inflamed
areas; on auscultation at the base of the neck over the trachea a tubu-
lar murmur is heard. The crepitant rales and tubular murmurs of
pneumonia are heard on the sides of the chest if the pneumonia is
peripheral, but in pneumonia complicating influenza the inflamed
portions are frequently disseminated in islands of variable size and
are sometimes deep-seated, in which case the characteristic auscultory
symptoms are sometimes wanting. From this time on the symptoms
of the animal are those of an ordinary grave pneumonia, rendered
more severe by occurring in a debilitated animal. The cough is at
first hacky and aborted; later, more full and moist. There is dis-
charge from the nostrils, which may be mucopurulent, purulent, or
hemorrhagic. As in simple pneumonia, in the outset this discharge
may be "rusty," owing to capillaiy hemorrhages. We find that the

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 517

blood is thoroughly mixed with the matter, staining it evenly, instead
of being mixed with it in the form of clots. At the commencement of
the complication the animal may be subject to chills, which may
again occur in the course of the disease, in which case, if severe, an
unfavorable termination by gangrene may be looked for. If gan-
grene occurs it is shoAvn by preliminary chills, a rapid elevation of
temperature, a tumultuous heart, a flaky discharge from the nostrils,
and a fetid breath; the symptoms are identical with those which
occur in gangrene complicating other diseases.

C ornplication of the hram. — At any time during tlie course of the
disease congestion of the brain may occur; at an early period if the
fever has been intense from the outset, but in ordinary cases more
frequently after three or four days. The animal, which has been
stupid and immobile, becomes suddenly restless, walks forward in
the stall until it fastens its head in the corner. If in a box stall and
it becomes displaced from its position, it follows the wall with the
nose and eyes, rubbing it along until it reaches the corner and again
fastens itself. It may become more violent and rear and plunge. If
disturbed by the entrance of the attendant or any loud noise or
bright light, it will stamp with its fore feet and strike with its hind
feet, but is not definite in fixing the object wdiich it is resisting,
which is a diagnostic point between meningitis and rabies and which
renders the animal with the former disease less dangerous to bundle.
If fastened by a rope to a stake or post, the animal will wander in a
circle at the end of the rope. It wanders almost invariably in one
direction. The pupils may be dilated or contracted, or we may find
one condition in one eye and the opposite in the other.

The period of excitement is followed by one of profound coma, in
which the animal is immobile, the head hanging and placed against
the corner of the stall, the body limp, and the motion, if demanded of
the animal, unsteady. Little or no attention is paid to the sur-
rounding noises, the crack of a whip, or even a blow on the surface
of the body. The respiration becomes slower, the pulsations are
diminished, the coma lasts for variable time, to be followed by
excesses of violence, after which the two alternate, but if severe the
period of coma becomes longer and longer until the animal dies of
spasms of the lungs or of heart failure. It may die from injuries
which occur in the ungovernable attacks of violence.

C orrhjylication of the feet. — The feet are the organs which are next
in frequency predisposed to congestion. This congestion takes place
in the laminse (podophyllous structures) of the feet. The stupefied
animal is roused from its condition by excessive pain in the feet and
assumes the position of a foundered horse; that is. if the fore feet
alone are affected, they are carried forward until they rest on the

518 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

heels; and if the hind feet are affected, all the feet are carried for-
ward, resting on their heels, the hind ones as near the center of
gravity as possible. In some cases the stupor of the animal is so
great that the pain is not felt, and little or no change of the position
of the animal is noticeable. The foot is found hot to the touch, and
after a gi\en time the depressed convex sole of typical founder is
recognized.

Pleurisy. — This is a rare complication, but when it does occur it is
ushered in by the usual symptoms of depression, rapid pulse, small
respiration, elexation of the temperature, subcutaneous edema of the
legs and under surface of the belly, and we find a line of dullness on
either side of the chest and an absence of respiratory murmur at the
lower part. If it is severe, there may be an effusion filling one-
fourth to one-third of the thoracic cavity in from 36 to 48 hours.

Pericardltu is an occasional complication of influenza. It is ush-
ered in by chills, elevation of the temperature; the pulse becomes
rapid, thready, and imperceptible. The heart murmurs become in-
distinct or can not be heard. A venous pulse is seen on the line of
the jugular veins along the neck. Respiration becomes more difficult
and rapid. If the animal is moved the symptoms become more
marked or it may drop dead from heart failure.

Peritonitis^ or inflammation of the membranes lining the belly
and covering the organs contained in it, sometimes takes place. The
general symptoms are similar to those of a commencing pericarditis.
The local symptoms are those of pain, especially to pressure on side
of the flanks and belly, distention of the latter, and sometimes the
formation of flatus, or gas, and constipation.

Other occasional complications are nephritis, hepatitis, inflamma-
tion of the flexor tendons and rupture of them, and abscesses.

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of influenza is based upon continued
fever, with great depression and symptoms of stupor and coma : the
rapidly developing, dark-saffron, ocher, yellowish discoloration of
the mucous membranes, swelling of the legs and soft tissues of the
genitals. When these symptoms have become manifested the diag-
nosis of a local complication is based upon the same symptoms that
are produced in the local diseases from other causes, but in influenza
the local symptoms are frequently masked or even entirely hidden
by the intense stupor of the animal, which renders it insensible to
pain. The evidence of colic and congestion, which is followed by
diarrhea, indicates enteritis. The rapid breathing or difficulty of
respiration points to a complication of the lungs, but, as we have
seen in the study of the symptoms, the local evidences of lung lesions
are frequently hidden. xVgain. we have seen that inflamuiation of
the feet, or founder, complicating influenza is freiiuently not shown
on account of the insensibility to pain on the part of the animal,

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 519

which indicates the importance of running the hand daily over
the hoofs to detect any sudden elevation of temperature on their
surface.

The diagnosis of brain trouble is based upon the excessive violence
which occurs in the course of the disease, for during the intervening
period or coma there is no means of determining that it is due to this
complication. Severe cases of influenza may simulate anthrax in the
iiorse. In both we have stupor, the intense coloration of the mucous
membranes of the eyes, and a certain amount of swelling of the legs
and under surface of the belly. The diagnosis here can be made
only by microscopic examination of the blood. In strangles, equine
variola, and scalma we have an intensely red, rosy coloration of the
mucous membranes, full, tense pulse, and although in these diseases
we may have depression, we do not have the stupor and coma ex-
cept in severe cases which have lasted for several days. In influenza
we have no evidence of the formation of pus on the mucous mem-
branes as in the other diseases, except sometimes in the conjunctiva?.

In severe pneumonia (lung fever) we may find profound coma,
dark-yellowish coloration of the mucous membranes, and swelling of
the under surface of the belly and legs ; but in pneumonia we have the
history of the difficulty of breathing and an acute fever of a strong
type from the outset, and the other symptoms do not occur for sev-
eral days, while in influenza we have the history of characteristic
symptoms for several days before the rapid breathing and difficulty
of respiration indicate the appearance of the complication. Without
the history it is frequently difficult to diagnose a case of influenza of
several days' standing, complicated by pneumonia, from a case of
severe pneumonia of five or six days' standing, but fi-om a prognostic
point of view it is immaterial, as the treatment of both are identical.
The fact that other horses in the same stable or neighborhood have
influenza may aid in the diagnosis.

Prognosis. — Influenza is a serious disease chiefly on account of its
nmnerous complications. Uncomplicated influenza is a compara-
tively simple malady, and is fatal in but 1 to 5 per cent of all cases.
In some outbreaks, however, complications of one kind or another
preponderate; in such instances the rate of mortality is much in-
creased.

Alterations. — The chief alteration of influenza occurs in the diaes-
tive tract, and consists of hyperemia, infiltration, and swelling of the
mucous membrane, and especially of the Peyer's patches near the
ileocecal valve. The tissues throughout the body are found stained,
and of a more or less yellowish hue. There is always found a con-
gested condition of all the organs, muscles, and interstitial tissues of
the body. The coverings of the brain and spinal cord partake in
the congested and discolored condition of the rest of the tissues.

520 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Other alterations are dependent entirely upon the complicationSc
If the lungs have been affected, Ave find effusions identical in their
intimate nature with those of simple pneumonia, but they differ
somewhat in their general appearance in not being so circumscribed
in their area of invasion. The alterations of meningitis and lami-
nitis are identical w'ith those of sporadic cases of founder and inflam-
mation of the brain.

Treatment. — While the appetite remains the patient should have a
moderate quantity of sound hay, good oats, and bran ; or even a little
fresh clover, if obtainable, can be given in small quantities. It is
not so important that a special diet shall be observed as that the
horse shall eat a moderate quantity of nourishing feed, and he may
be tempted with any feed of good quality that he relishes. He
should be placed in a well-ventilated box stall away from other
horses. Grass, roots, apples, and milk may be offered and, if relished,
allowed freely. To reduce the temperature the safest simple plan
is to inject large quantities of cold water into the rectum. Antipy-
rene may be used with strychnia. Derivatives in the form of essen-
tial oils and mustard poultices, baths of turpentine and hot water,
after which the animal must be innnediately dried and blanketed,
serve to waken the animal from the stupor and relieve the congestion
of the internal organs. This treatment is especially indicated when
complication by congestion of the lungs, intestines, or of the brain
is threatened. Quinin and salicylic acid in 1-dram doses will lower
the temperature, but too continuous use of the former in some cases
increases the depression. lodid of potash reduces the excessive
nutrition of the congested organs and thereby reduces the tempera-
ture; again, this drug in moderate quantities is a stimulant to the
digestive tract and acts as a diuretic, causing the elimination of
waste matter by the kidneys. Small doses of Glauber's salt and
bicarbonate of soda, used from the outset, stimulate the digestive
tract and prevent constipation and its evil results.

In cases of severe depression and weakness of the heart digitalis
can be used with advantage.

In complications of the intestines camphor and asafetida are most
frequently used to relieve the pain causing the colics; diarrhea is
also relieved by the use of bicarbonate of soda, nitrate of potash,
and drinks made from boiled rice or starch, to which ma}' be added
small doses of laudanum.

In complication of the lungs iodid of potash and digitalis are
most frequently indicated, in addition to the remedies used for the
disease itself.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 521

Foimcler occurring as a complication of influenza is difficult to treat.
It is, unfortunatel3^ frequently not recognized until intlammatory
changes have gone on for several days. If recognized at once, local
bleeding and the use of hot or cold water, as the condition of the ani-
mal may permit, are most useful, but in the majority of cases the
stupefied animal is unable to be moved satisfactorily or to have one
foot lifted for local treatment; the only treatment consists in local
bleeding above the coronary bands and the application of poultices.

During convalescence small doses of alkalines may be kept up for a
short time, but the greatest care must be used, while furnishing the
animal with plenty of nutritious, easily digestible feed, not to over-
load the intestinal tract, causing constipation and consequent diar-
rhea. Special care must be taken for several weeks not to expose the
animal to cold.

Prevention. — In order to prevent the introduction of the disease it
is advisable to isolate newly purchased animals for at least a week.
Further, the stabling of healthy horses in sales and feed stables
should also be guarded against. At the beginning of an outbreak the
disease may be checked by immediate isolation of the affected horses,
by taking the temperatures of the healthy animals, and by the segre-
gation of those showing a marked elevation.

Bacterial vaccines are now being prepared for the prevention of this
disease and also for its cure, but to date the results are not convincing
as to the beneficial action of these products. Since the cause of the
disease has not yet been satisfactorily determined it is difficult to
conceive how immunity could be produced with the aid of the germs
which enter into the preparation of these products. The reports
would indicate, however, that vaccines exert a favorable influence
upon the course of the disease, probably preventing severe complica-
tions which under ordinary conditions are the principal factors in
determining the severity of the outbreak.

CONTAGIOUS PNEUMONIA.

Eynonyms. — Edematous pneumonia ; stable pneumonia ; equine pleuropneu-
monia ; infliienza pectoralis equorum ; pleuropneumonia ; influenzal pneumonia ;
Brustseuche ( German ) .

Contagious pleuropnuemonia is an acute contagious disease of
horses manifesting itself either as a croupous pneumonia or a pleuro-
jineumonia with complications in the form of serous infiltrations of
the subcutaneous tissues and tendons.

Etiology. — Investigators of this disease incriminated various kinds
of microorganisms as the cause of this affection. Transmission ex-
periments were usually negative with these organisms. This was also
the case in attempts to transmit the disease by feeding with affected
parts of the lungs, intestinal contents, and nasal discharge ; like-

522 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

wise by intravenous or subcutaneous injections of blood and of
emulsions made from nasal discharge, urine, the lung, and other
organs.

The most recent experimental results of Gaffky and Liiher proved
that at least at the beginning of the disease the broncliial secretion
contains the infection. Upon killing horses affected with the typical
forms of the disease on the third or fourth da\' of the affection the
air passages are usuallj' found to be filled with a yellowish, tena-
cious, germ-free secretion with which they succeeded in infecting
healthy colts The virus has not been isolated. The possibility of
its being a protozoan is suggested by the above-named investigators
through their observations of round or rod-shaped bodies in the
round cells of the secretions.

Two organisms were formerh' especially considered to play an im-
portant part in the cause of the disease, the Streptococcus pyogenes
equi, which has been isolated from most cases of the disease, and the
Bacillus equlsepticus, which by some investigators was considered to
be the cause of contagious pleuropenumonia. Although there is
no doubt as to the presence of these microorganisms in most of the
cases, their association with the cause of this disease, however, is
now doubted, especially since attempts to transmit the disease with
pure cultures of these germs failed to reproduce the typical form
of the disease. They, however, are of great significance in connection
with tlie pathological changes occurring in connection witli the infec-
tion and probably are the determining factor in the course of the
disease. They exert their action after the animal has alread}' been
attacked by the true virus, and then produce the inflammatory
changes attributed to these secondary invaders.

This disease is the adynamic pneumonia of the older veterinarians,
who did not recognize any essential difference in its nature from
an ordinary inflammation of the lungs, except in the profound seda-
tion of the force of the animal affected with it, which is a promi-
nent symptom from the outset of the disease. Again, this same
prostration of the vital force of the animal, combined with the
staggering movement and want of coordination of the muscles,
caused it for a long time to be confounded with influenza, w4th which
at certain periods it certainly has a strong analog^' of symptoms,
but from which, as from sporadic pneumonia, it can be separated
very readily if the case can be followed throughout its whole course.

Infectious pneumonia is a specific inflammation of the lungs, ac-
companied with interstitial edema and inflammation of the tissues of
these organs and a constitutional disturbance and fever. It causes
a profound sedation of the nervous system, which may be so great as
to cause death. It is sometimes attended with pleurisy, inflamma-
tion of the heart or septic complications, which also prove fatal.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 523

Old, cold, damp, foul, unclean, and badly drained and ventilated
stables allow rapid dissemination of the disease to other horses in the
same stable and act as rich reservoirs for preserving the contagion,
which may be retained for over a year.

The virus is but moderately volatile, and in a stable seems rather
to follow the lines of the walls and irregular courses than the direct
currents of air and the tracts of ventilation. Prof. Dieckerhoff
found that the contagion of influenza was readily diffusible through-
out an entire stable and through any opening to other buildings, but
he also found that the contagion of infectious pneumonia is not trans-
missible at any great distance, nor is it very diffusible in the atmos-
phere. A brick wall 8 feet in height served, in one instance, to pre-
vent the infection of other animals placed on the opposite side from
a horse ill with the disease, while others placed on the same side
and separated from the focus of contagion only by open bars in the
stall were infected and developed the disease in its typical form.

Sym/ptoms. — The symptoms differ slightly from those of a frank,
fibrinous pneumonia, but not so much by the introduction of new
symptoms as by the want of or absence of the distinct evidences of
local lesions which are found in the latter disease. All the pneu-
monias throughout the whole course of the trouble are less marked
and less clearly defined.

The symptoms may develop slowly or rapidly. If slowly, there is
fever and the animal gives a rare cough which resembles that of a
heavy horse affected with a slight chronic bronchitis; it becomes
somewhat dejected and dull, at times somnolent, and has a dimin-
ished appetite. This condition lasts for several days, or the disease
may begin with high fever, and the symptoms described below are
severe and delevop in rapid sequence. The respiration increases to
24, 30, or 36 to the minute, and a small, running, soft pulse attains a
rhythm of 50, 70, or even more beats in the sixty secounds. The heart,
however, contrary to the debilitated condition of the pulse, is found
beating violently and tumultuously, as it does in anthrax and septic
intoxication. The mucous membranes of the eyes and mouth and of
the genital organs are found somewhat edematous, and they rapidly
assume a dirty, saffron color, at times approaching an ocher, but dis-
tinguishable from the similar coloration in influenza by the want of '
the luster belonging to the latter and by the muddy, dull tint, which
is characteristic throughout the disease.

Suddenly, without the preliminary rales which precede grave
lesions of the lungs in other diseases, the blowing murmur of pneu-
monia is heard over a variable area of the chest, usually, however,
much more distinctly over the trachea at the base of the neck and
directly behind the shoulder on each side of the chest. In some cases
the evidence of lung lesion can be detected only over the trachea.

524 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

The lesions of the hings may be scattered throughout both lungs,
invoh'ing numerous small areas, or they may be confined to and more
or less fully occupy one or two lobes. Occasional!}^ there is a general
involvement of both lungs. The body temperature has now reached
104° or 105° F., or in extreme cases even a degree higher. The de-
bility of the animal is great w^ithout the stupefaction or evidence of
cerebral trouble, which is constant with such grave constitutional
phenomena in influenza or severe pneumonia. The animal is sub-
ject to occasional chills, and staggers in its gait. The yellow colora-
tion of the visible mucous membrane is rendered pale by infiltra-
tion of the liquid of the blood into the tissues ; the pulse may become
so soft as to be almost imperceptible, the heart movement and sounds
being at the same time exaggerated. The animal loses flesh rapidly,
and dropsies of the extremities, of the under surface of the belly, or
of the internal organs may show themselves.

Termimitions. — These symptoms may gradually subside after five
to eight days, with an improved appetite the inanition may cease and
the animal commence to nourish its impoverished blood and tissues;
the pulse becomes stronger and the heart more regular and less
tumultuous; the mucous membranes assume a brighter and more
distinct color: the difficulty of respiration is removed, and the ani-
mal may make a recovery. When death occurs it is usually directly
due to heart failure; in some cases it is caused by asphyxia, owing to
the great amount of exudation into the lung tissue, rendering its
further function impossible.

f'omplwations. — The pulmonary complications of infectious pneu-
monia are secondary inflammator}^ or necrotic changes in the lungs
themselves. Suppuration at times takes place in the bronchi and
may extend to the lung tissue. In this case mucous rales develop
Avhich are most distinctly heard over the trachea and on the sides of
the chest directly behind the shoulders. With the development of
the mucous rales, to be heard on auscultation, we have a more puru-
lent discharge from the nostrils, similar to that of a chronic or sub-
acute bronchitis. If the inflammation has been of some standing,
cavernous rales ma}" be heard, indicating the destruction of a con-
siderable portion of lung tissue and the formation of a cavity. The
effects of this more acute inflammatory process are not appreciable in
the general condition of the animal, except to weaken it still further
and add to its debilitated and emaciated cachexia. Gangrene some-
times occurs. A sudden rise of the body temperature of 1° or 2°,
Avith a more enfeebled ])ulse and a still more tumultous heart, develop
simultaneously with the appearance of a discharge from the nostrils.
This discharge is gray in color, serous or watery in consistency,
mixed with the detritus of broken-down lung tissue, and sometimes
contains clots of blood, or in more serious cases may be marked by

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 525

a quantity of fluid blood from a hemorrhage, AAdiich proves fatal.
The discharge is fetid to the smell. The animal emaciates rapidly.
On examination of the lungs mucous rtiles are heard in the larger
bronchi, cavities may be found at any part of these organs, and
points of lobular pneumonia may be detected.

A very serious complication is an inflammation of the heart muscle.
This is shown by a very weak and rapid pulse, great prostration,
some filling of the lungs. This complication nearly always termi-
nates in death. Other complications which may be mentioned are
inflammation of the kidneys, blood poisoning, congestion of the brain,
and inflammation of the tendinous sheaths and the tendons of the
legs.

Diagnosis. — As fever is the first symptom of infectious pneumonia,
it is useful during an outbreak of this disease to make daily temper-
atui-e measurements of the exposed horses, so that the first indication
of disease may be discovered and the horse removed from contact
with those that are sound.

Prognosis. — The mortality in this disease may be as high as 25
per cent, but it is usually not more than 10 per cent. If there is
a special tendency to complications of some sort, the mortality is
increased.

AUe rations. — At the time of death from infectious pneumonia we
frequently find septic changes and the evidences of putrefaction. The
solidification of the lung tissue is found irregular in shape and high
around the root of the lungs and the large bronchi, and is generally
covered by sound lung tissue. The anterior lobes of the lungs are
usually entirely affected. The diseased portion appears of a gray-
yellowash color, somewhat watery, and tears readily. Matter is found
in the air tubes which form guttere through the jellylike mass of the
diseased lung. Abscesses from the size of a nut to larger masses may
be found throughout the lungs. The blood is dark in color, fluid, or
only clotted into soft, jellylike masses. Masses of gangrenous or
dead-black tissue may be present.

Treatment. — Bleeding is not to be used, because it would only still
further weaken an already enfeebled animal ; antimony or the alter-
ants would increase the depression of a too-depraved constitution.
There is in this disease no acute congestion of a particular organ to
draw off by depletive measures, nor any violent blood current to be
retarded, for fear of hypernutrition of any special part.

Revulsives do good, as they excite the nervous system and awaken
the torpor of the weakened blood vessels, which aid in the reestab-
lishment of the functions. As in other diseases, mustard poultices
may be applied over the belly and sides of the chest, but caution must
be used in the employment of blisters, as ugly ulcers may result from
their action on a tissue of Aveakened vitality. Setons are dangerous

526 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

from the great tendency in this disease to septic complications. Re-
peated friction of the legs by hand-rubbing and warmth by bandag-
ing and by rubbing the surface of the body with turpentine and
alcohol, which is immediately to be dried by rough towels, will excite
the circulation and stimulate the emunctories of the skin.

Stimulants are given internally from the outset of the disease.
Turpentine in 1-dram doses regulates the heart and excites the kid-
nej^s to carry off waste matter, but if repeated too frequentW may
disturb the already delicate digestive system. The aromatics and
bitter tonics are useful; gentian and tea in warm decoction form a
useful menstruum for other remedies. Digitalis is a useful remedy.
Strychnin and quinin may be given throughout almost the whole
course of the disease. The various preparations of iron are astrin-
gents and excitants to the digestive system. Creosote is an anti-
putrid which is of marked benefit in edematous pneumonia : it may
be given in doses of 15 to 30 minims in a pint of milk.

Salicylic acid may be given in 1 or 2 dram doses every few hours.
It is much used for troubles of the serous membranes, lowers the tem-
perature, and is of value in this disease in preventing the exudation
into the tissue of the lungs. The alkalines, as the sulphate and bicar-
bonate of soda, the nitrate of potash, and very small doses of the
iodid of potash, should be employed to regulate the digestive tract,
the kidneys, and the other excreting glands, and to stimulate absorp-
tion of the waste matter.

The biological products enmnerated under the treatment of the
catarrhal form of influenza are also recommended for this disease.
The bacterial vaccines in particular are being employed to a great
extent, but the results are not uniformly satisfactory, especially
with regard to prevention. They might, however, exert a beneficial
influence against an attack of the secondary invaders and compli-
cations. A serum is also being prepared especially for the treatment
of this disease, and since this is obtained from animals which have
been liighly immunized against the various organisms found in
association with influenza it no doubt is beneficial, especially when
the life of the animal is threatened. Such serum, however, should
be used in sufficiently large doses, as repeated experience has proved
that small doses have no beneficial action on the disease.

More recently salvai-san is being highly recommended for the
treatment of the pneumonic form of influenza, and by many inves-
tigators it is considered as a specific for this affection. A single
injection of this preparation is supposed to result in a rapid clear-

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 527

ing of the lungs and the recovery of the animal is hastened. The
cost of this product, however, at the present time, is exorbitant, and
it should be considered only in the treatment of very valuable ani-
mals.

The same procedure as given for influenza should be carried out in
the prevention of this affection.

The diet demands the strictest attention from the outset. In
mapy of the fevers the feed has to be diminished in quantity and
regulated in the quality of its heat-producing components during
the acute part of the disease, so as to lessen the material for com-
bustion in the inflamed organs. In edematous pneumonia, on the
contrary, all the feed that can possibly be digested and assimilated
must be given. Choice must be made of the richest material which
can be handled by the weakened stomach and intestines without
fatiguing them. Good, sound hay should be chopped short and
dampened or partly boiled; in the latter case the hay tea can be
reserved to use as a drink. Oats may be preferred dry or in other
cases are taken better scalded; in most cases, however, it is better
to give slops of oatmeal, to which may be added a little bran,
barley flour, or boiled milk and wheat flour. Pure cow's milk, not
too rich in fatty matter, may be given alone or with beaten eggs;
frequently the horse has to be coaxed with the milk diluted with
several parts of water at first, but will soon learn to drink the pure
milk. Apples and carrots cut up raw or boiled are useful, and fresh
clover in small quantities will frequently stimulate the appetite. In
other words, various feeds and combinations should be given to the
horse. Throughout the course of the disease and during convales-
cence the greatest attention must be taken to cleaning the coat thor-
oughly so as to keep the glands of the skin in working order, and
light, warm covering must be used to protect the animal from cold
or drafts of air.

STRANGLES.

Synonyms. — Distemper ; colt-ill ; catarrlial fever ; one form of shipping fever ;
febris pyogenica.

Definition. — Strangles is an infectious disease of the horse, mule,
and ass, seen most frequently in J'oung animals, and usually leaving
them immune from future trouble of the same kind.

It appears as a fever lasting for a few days, and is usually associ-
ated with an abscess formation of lymph glands, especially those
under the jaw, which have a tendency to break on the outside. It
usually leaves the animal after convalescence perfectly healthy and
as good as it was before, but sometimes leaves it a roarer or is fol-
lowed by the development of deep-seated abscesses which may prove
fatal.

628 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

Causes. — The cause of strangles is infection by direct contact with
an animal suti'ering from the disease, or indirectly through contact
with the discharges from an infected animal, or by means of the
atmosphere in which an infected animal has been. There are many
predisposing causes Avhich render some animals much more subject to
contract the disease than others. Early age, which has given it the
popular name of colt-ill, offers many more subjects than the later
periods of life do, for the animal can contract the disease but once,
and the large majority of adult and old animals have derived an
immunity from previous attacks. At 3, -i, or 5 years of age the colt,
which has been at home, safe on a meadow or in a cozy barnyard, far
from all intercourse with other animals or sources of contagion, is
tii'st put to work and driven to the market town or county fairs to be
exposed to an atmosphere or to stables contaminated by other horses
suffering from disease and serving as infecting agents. If it fails to
contract it there, it is sold and shipped in foul, undisinfected railway
cars to dealers' stables, equally unclean, where it meets many oppor-
tunities of infection. If it escapes so far, it readies the time for
heavier work and daily contact on the streets of towns or large cities,
with numerous other horses and mules, some of which are sure to be
the bearers of the germs of this or some other infectious disease, and
51 1 last it succumbs.

The period of the eruption of the last permanent teeth, or the end
of the period of development from the colt to an adult horse, at
which time the animals usually have a tendency to fatten and be ex-
cessively full-blooded, also seems to be a predisposing period for the
contraction of this as well as of the other infectious diseases.
Thoroughbred colts are very susceptible, and frequently contract
strangles at a somewhat earlier age than those of more humble origin.
Mules and asses are much less susceptible and are but rarely affected.
Other animals are not subject to this disease, but there is a certain
iinalogy between it and distemper in dogs. After exposure to infec-
tion there is a period of incubation of the disease, lasting from two
to four days, during which the animal enjoys its ordinary health.

SyTnptoms. — The horse at first is a little sluggish if used, or when
placed in its stable is somewhat dejected, paying but moderate atten-
tion to the various disturbing surroundings. Its appetite is somewhat
diminished in many cases, while in some cases the animal eats well
throughout. Thirst is increased, but not a great deal of water is
taken at one time. If a bucket of water is placed in the manger the
patient w'ill dip its nose into it and swallow a few mouthfuls, allow-
ing some of it to drip back and then stop, to i-eturn to it in a short
time. The coat becomes dry and the hairs stand on end. At times
the horse will have chills of one or the other leg, the fore quarters,

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 529

or hind quarters, or in sevei-e cases of the whole body, with trembling
of the muscles and dryness of the skin.

If the eyes and mouth ai"e examined the membi-anes are found red-
dened to a bright rosy color. The pulse is quickened and the breath-
ing may be slightly accelerated. At the end of two days a cough
is heard and a discharge begins to come from the nostrils. This dis-
charge is at first watery; it then becomes thicker, somewhat bluish in
color, and sticky, and finally it assumes the yellowish color of matter
and increases greatly in quantity.

At the outset the colt may sneeze occasionally and a cough is heard.
The cough is at first repeated and harsh, but soon becomes softer and
moist as the discharge increases. Again, the cough varies according
to the source of the discharge, for in light cases this may be only a
catarrh of the nasal canals, or it may be from the throat, the wind-
pipe, or the air tubes of the lungs, or even from the lungs themselves.
According to the organ affected the symptoms and character of cough
are similar to those of a laryngitis, bronchitis, or lung iexev caused
by ordinary cold.

Shortly after the discharge is seen a swelling takes place under the
jaw, or in the intermaxillary space. This is at first puffy, somewhat
hot and tender, and finally becomes distinctly so, and an abscess is
felt, or having broken itself the discharge is seen drip])ing from a
small opening. When the discharge from the nostrils has fully de-
veloped the fever usually disappears and the animal regains its ap-
petite, unless the swelling is sufficient to interfere with the function
of the thi'oat, causing pain on any attempt to swallow. At the end
of four or six days the discharge lessens, the soreness aroimd the
throat diminishes, the horse regains its appetite, and in two weeks has
regained its usual- condition. Old and strong horses may have the
disease in so light a form that the fever is not noticeable ; they may
continue to eat and perfomi their ordinary work as usual and no
symptom may- be seen beyond a slight discharge from the nose and a
rare cough, which is not sufficient to worry any but the most particu-
lar oAvner. But, on the other hand, the disease mav assume a malisf-
nant form or become complicated so as to become a most serious
disease, and even prove fatal in many cases. Inflammation of the
larynx and bronchi, if excessive, produce violent, harsh coughing,
which may almost asphyxiate the animal. The large amoimt of dis-
charge may be mixed with air by the difficult breatliing, and the
nostrils, the front of the animal, manger, and surrounding objects
become covered with a white foam. The inflammation may be in the
lung itself (lobular pneumonia) and cause the animal to breathe
heavily, heave at the flanks, and show great distress. In this condi-
tion marked symptoms of fever are seen, the appetite is lost, the coat
54763"— 2ii—=^:

530 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE,

is dry, the horse stands back in its stall at the end of the halter strap
with its neck extended and its legs propped apart to favor breathing.
This condition may end by resolution, leaving the horse for some
time with a severe cough, or the animal may die from choking up of
the lungs (asphyxia).

The swelling under the jaw may be excessive, and if the abscess is
not opened it burrows toward the throat or to the side and causes
inflammation of the parotid glands and breaks in annoying fistulas at
the sides of the throat and even up as high as the ears. Roaring may
occur either during a moderately severe attack from inflammation of
the throat (larynx), or at a later period as the result of continued
lung trouble. Abscesses may develop in other parts of the body, in
the poll, in the withers, or in the spaces of loose tissue under the arms,
in the fold of the thigh, and, in entire horses, in the testicles.

During the course of the disease, or later, when the animal seems to
be on the road to perfect recovery, abscesses may form in the internal
organs and produce symptoms characteristic of disease of those parts.

Roaring, plunging, wandering in a circle, or standing with the head
wedged in a corner of the stall indicate the collection of matter in the
brain. Sudden and severe lung symptoms, without previous dis-
charge, point to an abscess between the lungs, in the mediastinum;
colic, which is often continuous for days, is the result of the forma-
tion of an abscess in some part of the abdominal cavity, usually in
the mesentery.

Pathology. — The lesions of strangles are found on the surface of
the mucous membra^nes, essentially of the respiratory system, and in
the loose connective tissue fibers of the internal organs and glands,
and consist of acute inflammatory changes, tending to the formation
of matter. The blood is unaltered, though it is rich in fibrin, and if
the animal has died of asphyxia it is found dark colored and uncoagu-
lated when the body is first opened. If the animal has died while
suffering from high fever the ordinary alterations throughout the
body, which are produced by any fever not attended by alteration of
blood, are found.

Prevention. — Healthy horses should be separated from the infected
animals, and the stables in which the disease has occurred should be
thoroughly disinfected. Since the disease frequently occurs annually
on infected premises, systematic disinfection should be practiced after
an outbreak. The stables, as well as all utensils which might have
come in contact with the infection, should be thoroughly disinfected.
By such practices racurrences of the disease may be prevented.

Treatment. — Ordinary light cases require but little treatment be-
yond diet, warm washes, moistened hay, warm coverings, and pro-
tection from exposure to cold. The latter is urgently called for, as
lung complications, severe bronchitis, and laryngitis are often the

IlJfFECTIOUS DISEASES; 531

results of neglect of this precaution. If the fever is excessive, the
horse may receive small quantities of Glauber's salt (handful three
times a day) as a laxative, bicarbonate of soda or niter in one-dram
doses every few hours, and small doses of antimony, iodid of potash,
aconite, or quinin. Steaming the head with the vapor of warm
water poured over a bucket of bran and hay, in which belladonna
leaves or tar have been placed, will allay the inflammation of the
mucous membranes and greatly ease the cough.

The swelling of the glands should be promptly treated by flaxseed
poultices and bathing with warm water, and as soon as there is any
evidence of the formation of matter it should be opened. Prompt
action in this will often save serious complications. Blisters and irri-
tating liniments should not be applied to the throat. When lung
complications show themselves the horse should have mustard ap-
plied to the belly and to the sides of the chest. When convalescence
begins great care must be taken not to expose the animal to cold,
which may bring on relapses, and while exercise is of great advan-
tage it must not be turned into work until the animal has entirely
regained its strength.

Bacterial vaccines are now being extensively used for the preven-
tion and treatment of this disease. They are prepared from the
specific germ of the disease and frequently exert a very beneficial in-
fluence. A serum is also being prepared from horses, which is in-
jected with gi-adually increasing doses of this germ. This serum pos-
sesses considerable curative value and may prove especially valuable
in cases in which the animals have failed to respond to other forms
of treatment, or when valuable animals are a fleeted with the disease.

PURPURA HEMORRHAGICA.

SynonifiTis. — Anasarca ; petechial fever ; morbus inaculosus.

Definition. — This disease is a septic bacterial intoxication, acute
and infectiwis in character, and is manifested by edematous swell-
ings of the subcutaneous connective tissue, and hemorrhages on the
mucous membrane and in the internal organs.

A previous attack of influenza is a common predisposing cause of
this disease, which appears most frequently a few weeks after con-
valescence is established. It occurs more frequently in those animals
which have made a rapid convalescence and are apparently per-
fectly well than it does in those which have made a slower recovery.

Anasarca commences by symptoms which are excessively variable.
The local lesions may be confined to a small portion of the animal's
body and the constitutional phenomena be nil. The appearance and
gravity of the local lesions may be so unlike, from difference of loca-
tion, that they seem to belong to a separate disease, and complica-
tions may completely mask the original trouble.

532 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

In the simplest form the first symptom noticed is a swelling, or
several swellings, occurring on the surface of the body — on the fore-
arm, the leg, the under surface of the belly, or the side of the head.
The tumefaction is at first the size of a hen's egg ; not hot, little sen-
sitive, and distinctly circumscribed by a marked line from the sur-
rounding healthy tissue. These tumors gradually extend until they
coalesce, and in a few hours we have swelling of the legs, legs and
belly, or the head, to an enormous size; they have always the char-
acteristic constricted border, which looks as if it had been tied with a
cord. In the nostrils are found suial] reddish spots, or petechias,
which gradually assume a brownish and freqently a black color.
Examination of the mtnith will frequentlj^ reveal similar lesions on
the surface of the tongue, along the lingiuil gutter, and on the
frajnum. If the external swelling has been on the head, the pete-
chias of the mucous membranes are liable to be more numerous and to
coalesce into patches of larger size than when the dropsy is confined
to the legs. The animal may be rendered stiff by the swelling of the
legs, or be annoyed by an awkward swollen head, which at times ma}''
be so enormous as to resemble that of a hippoi)otamus rather ihan
that of a horse. During this period the temperatare remains nor-
mal ; the pulse, if altered at all, is only a little weaker ; the respira-
tion is only hurried if the swelling of the head infringes on the
caliber of the nostrils. The apf>etite remains normal. The animal
is attentive to all that is going on, and, except for the swelling,
apparently in perfect health.

In from two to four days, in severe cases, the tissues can no longer
resist the pressure of the exuded fluid. Over the surface of the skin
which covers the dropsy we find a slight serous sweating, which
loosens the epidermis and dries so as to simulate the eruption of some
cutaneous disease. If this is excessive we may see irritated spots
which are suppurating. In the nasal fossa3 the hemorrhagic spots
have acted as irrit^mts, and, inviting an increased amount of blood
to the Schneiderian membrane, produce a coryza or even a catarrh.
We may now find some enlargement and peripheral edema of the
lymphatic glands, which are fed from the affected part. The ther-
mometer indicates a slight rise in the body temperature, while the
pulse and respiration are somewhat accelerated. The appetite usu-
ally remains good. In the course of a few days the temperature may
have reached 102% 103°, or 104° F.

Fever is established, not an essential or speci:^c fever in any vzay,
but a simple secondary fever produced by the d^iid material from the
surface or superficial suppuration, and by the oxidization and absor])-
tion of the colloid mass contained in the tissues. The skin may sup-
purate or slough more or less over the areas of greatest tension or
where it is irritated by blows or pressure. The great swelling about

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 583

tlie head may by closure of the nostrils interfere se!"iously with
breathing. Internal edema may occnr in the throat, lungs, or in-
testmes. Septicemia, or blood ])oisoning, may result from anasarca.

T ermhuitions. — The simple form of the disease most frequently
terminates favorably on the eighth or tenth day by resolution or ab-
sorption of the effusion, with usuallj^ a profuse diuresis, and with
or without diarrhea. The appetite remains good or is at times
capricious, '^

Death may occur from mechanical asphyxia, produced by closure of -
the nostrils or closure of the glottis. Metastasis to the lungs is
almost invariably fatal j causing death by asphyxia. Metastasis tO'
the intestines may cause death from pain, enteritis, or hemorrhage.

Excessive suppuration, Ij^mphangitis, and gangrene are causes of
a fatal termination by exhaustion. Mortal exhaustion is again pro-'
duced l)y inalnlity to swallow in cases of excessive swelling of the'
head.

Peritonitis may arise secondary to the enteric edema, or by per-
foration of tlie stomach or intestines by a gangrenous spot. Septi-
cemia terminates fatally with its usual train of symptoms.

Alterations, — The essential alterations of anasarca are exceedingly
simple; the capillaries are dilated, the lymphatic spaces between the
fibers of the connective tissue are filled with serum, and the coagulable
portion of the blood presents a yellovv^ish or citrine mass, jellylilve in
consistency, which has stretched out the tissue lilce the meshes of a
sj^onge. Where the effusion has occurred between the muscles, as in
the head, these are found dissected and separated from each other
like those of a hog's head by the masses of fat. The surface of the
skin is desquamnted and frequently denuded of the hair. Frequently
there are traces of supjjuration and of ulceration- The mucous mem-
brane of the nose is found studded with small, hemorrhagic spots,
sometimes red, more frequently brown or black, often coalesced with
each other in irregular-sized patches and surrounded l)y a reddish
7,one, the product of irritation. If edema of the intestines has oc-
curred, the membrane is found four or five times its normal thick-
ness, reddish in color, with hemorrhages on the free surface Edema
of the lungs leaves these organs distended. The secondary alterations
vary according to the complications. There are frequently the lesions
of asphyxia; externally we find ulcers, abscesses, and gangrenous
spots and the deep ulcers resulting from the latter. The lymphatic
cords and glands are found with all the lesions of lymphangitis.
Again are found the traces of excessive emaciation, or the lesions of
septicemia. Except from the complications the blood is not altered
in anasarca.

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of anasarca must principally be made
from farcy or glanders. In anasarca the swelling is nonsensitive.

534 DISEASES or tpie hokse.

while sensitive in the acute swelling of farcy. The nodes of farcy
are distinct and hard and never circumscribed, as in the other dis-
ease. The eruption of glanders on the mucous membranes is nodu-
lar, hard, and pelietlike. The redness disappears on pressure. In
case of excessive swelling of the head in anasarca, there may occur
an extensive serofibrinous exudation from the mucous membranes of
the nose, poured out as a semifluid mass or as a cast of the nasal
fosste, never having the appearance or typical oily character which
it has in glanders. The inflammation of the lymphatic cords and
glands in anasarca does not produce the indurated character which is
found in farcy.

Prognosis. — While anasarca is not an excessively fatal disease, the
prognosis must always be guarded. The majority of cases run a
simple course and terminate favorably at the end of 8 or 10 days,
or possibly, after one to two relapses, requiring several weeks for
complete recovery. Efl'usion into the head renders the prognosis
much more grave from the possible danger of mechanical asphyxia.
Threatened mechanical asphyxia is especially dangerous on account
of the risk of blood poisoning after an operation of tracheotomy.
Edema of the viscera is a most serious complication. The prognosis
is based on the complications, their extent, and their individual grav-
ity, existing, as they do here, in an already debilitated subject.

Treatment. — The treatment of anasarca may be as variable as are
the lesions. The indications are at once shown by the alterations and
mechanism of the disease, which we have just studied.

Hygiene comes into play as the most important factor. Oats, oat-
and-hay tea, milk, eggs — anything which the stomach or rectum can
be coaxed to take care of — must be employed to give the nutriment,
which is the only thing that will permanently strengthen the tissues ;
they must be strengthened in order to keep the capillaries at their
proper caliber.

Laxatives, diaphoretics, and diuretics must be used to stimulate
the emimctories so that they may carry otf the large amount of the
products of decomposition which result from the stagnated effusions
of anasarca. Of these the sulphate of soda in small, repeated doses,
the nitrate of potash and bicarbonate of soda in small quantity, or
the chlorate of potash in single large doses will be found useful.
Williams cites the chlorate of potash as an antiputrid. Stimulants
and astringents are directly 'ndicated. Spirits of turpentine h:erves
the double purpose of a cardiac stimulant and a powerful, warm diu-
retic, for the kidneys in this disease will stand a Avonderful amount
of work. Camphor can be used with advantage. Colfee and tea are
two of the diffusible stimulants which are too much neglected in
veterinary medicine; both are valuable adjuncts in treatment of
anasarca, as they are during convalescence at the end of any grave

IFFECTIOUS DISEASES. 535

disease which has tended to render the patient anemic. Dihite sul-
phuric and hydrochloric acids are, perhaps, the best examples of a
combination of stimulant, astringent, and tonic which can be em-
ployed. The simple astringents of mineral origin, sulphates of iron,
copper, etc., are useful as digestive tonics ; I doubt whether they have
any constitutional effect. The vegetable astringents, tannic acid,
etc., have not proved efficacious in my hands. lodid of potash in
small doses serves the triple purpose of digestive tonic, denutritive
for inflammantion, and diuretic. Among the newer forms of treat-
ment are diluted Lugol's solution injected into the trachea, anti-
streptococcus serum and colloidal silver solution injected into the
circulation. No one but a qualified veterinarian would be comoetent
to apply these remedies.

Externally. — Sponging thet swollen parts, especially the head,
when the swelling occurs there, is most useful. The bath should be
at an extreme of temperature — either ice cold to (Constrict the tissues
or hot water to act as an emolient and to favor circulation. Vinegar
may be added as an astringent. When we have excessively denuded
surfaces, suppuration, or open wounds, disinfectants should be added
to the wash.

In cases of excessive swelling, especially of the head, mechanical
relief may be required. Even in country practice, punctures of the
part should be made with the hot iron, as no other disease so predis-
poses to septic contamination. When mechanical asphyxia is threat-
ened tracheotomy may be demanded. With the first evidence of
dyspnea, not due to closing of the nostrils or glottis, or with the first
pawuig which gives rise to a suspicion of colic, a mustard plaster
should be apj)lied over the whole belly and chest. The sinapism will
draw the current of the circulation to the exterior, the metastasis to
the lungs or intestines is prevented, and the enfeebled nervous system
is stimulated to renewed vigor by the peripheral irritation. The
organs are encouraged by it to renewed functional activity ; the local
inflammation produced by it favors absorption of the exudation. The
objection to the use of blisters is their more severe action and the
danger of mortification. Septicemia, when occurring as a complica-
tion, requires the ordinary treatment for the putrid diseases, with
little hope of a good result.

After recovery the animal regains its ordinary health, and there is
no predisposition to a return of the disease.

HOESEPOX, OR EQUINE VARIOLA.

Synonyms. — Variola equina ; pustular grease ; phlyctenoid herpes.

Definition. — Horsepox is a specific, infectious fever of the horse,
attended by an eruption of pustules, or pocks, over any part of the
skin or on the mucous membranes lining the various cavities in the

536 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

body, but chiefly, and often exclusively, upon the pasterns and fet-
locks. The eruption may coiunieuce u[)oii the lips, or about the nos-
trils or eyes.

This disease was described by the early Kunian agi-icultural writers
and by the veterinarians of the eighteenth century. It received its
first important n(;tice from the great Jenner, who confounded it with
grease in horses, since animals with this disease are very liable to have
the eruption of variola appear on the fetlocks. He saw these cases
transmit tlie disease to cattle in the byres and to the stablemen and
milkmaids who attended theui, and furnish the latter with imnuniity
from smallpox, which led to the discovery of vaccination, llorsepox
is also fre<j,uently mistalcen for the exanthemata attending some
forms of venereal disease in horses.

;¥ariola in the horse, while it is identical in principle, general
course, complications, and lesions with variola in otiier animals, is a
disease of the hor^^e itself, and is not transmissiljle in the form of
variola to any other animal; nor is the variola of any other animal
transmissible to the horse. Cattle an<l men, if inoculated from a case
of horsepox, develop vaccinia, but vaccinia from the latter animals
is not so readily reinoculated into the horse with success. If it does
tlevelop, it produces tiie original disease.

Causes. — The direct cause of horsepox is infection. A large num-
ber of predisposing causes favor the development of the disease, as
in the case of strangles, and this trouble, like almost all contagious
diseases, renders the animal which has had one attack immune. The
chief predisposing cause is youthfulness. Old horses which have not
been affected are less liable to become infected when exposed than
younger ones. The exposure incident to shipment, through puljlic
.stables, cars, etc.. acts as a predisposing cause, as in the other infec-
tious diseases. The period of final dentition is a time Avhich rendei-s
it pecidiarly susceptible.

Dupaul states that the infection is transmissible through the at-
mospheie for several hundred yards. The more common means of
contagion is by direct contact or by means of fomites. P'eed boxes
and bridles previously used by horses affected with variola are prob-
ably the most f recjuent carriers of the virus, and we find the lesions in
the majority of cases developed in the neighbo]-ho.,d of the lips and
nostrils. Coiticm is a frequent cause. A stallion suffering from this
disease may be the cause of a considerable ej^izootic, as he transmits
it to a numoer of brood mares and they in turn return to the farms
where they are surrounded by young animals to which they convey
the contagion. The saddle and croup straps are frequent agents of
infection. The presence of a wound greatly favors the inoculation of
the disease, which is also sometimes carried by surgical instruments
or sponges. Trasbot recites a case in which a sot of hobbles, which

INFECTIOUB DISEASES. 537

had been used on an animal suffering from variola, were used on a
horse for a <][uittor operation and transmitted the disesKse, which
developed on the edges of the wound.

jSyiwpfom6\—ThGVG is a peiiod of incubation, after an animal has
been exposed, of from five to eight days, during which there is no
appreciable alteration in the health. This period is shorter in sum-
mer than in winter. At the end of this time small nodes develop at
the point of inoculation and the animal becomes feverish. The horse
is dull and dejected, loses its appetite, and has a rough, dry coat with
the hairs on end. There is moderate thirst. The respirations are
somewhat quickened and the pulse becomes ra]iid and full. The
body temperature is elevated, frequently reaching 104' or 105*^ F.
within 36 or 48 hours from the appearance of the fii'st symptoms. '

The visible mucous membranes, especially the ccmjunctivte, are of
a bright rosy red. In the lymphatic, cold-blooded, and more com-
mon horses these symptoms of fever are less marked; even with a
comparatively high temperature the animal may retain itw appetite
and work compiu'atively well, but these cases, if worked nnd over-
heated, are liable to develop serious complications.

At the end of from three and a half to four days the eruption
breaks out, the fever abiites, and the general symptoms impr-ove.
The eruption in severe cases may be generalized ; it may be confined
to the softer sldn of the nose and lips, the genital organs, and the
inside of the tliighs, or it may be localized in the neighborhood of a
wound or in the irritated skin of a pair of gTeasy heels. It consists
of a varying number of little nodes which, on a mucous membrane,
as in the nostrils or vagina, or on soft, unpigmented skin, appear red
and feel at first lU^e shot under the epidermis. These nodes soften
and show a yellowish spot in the center when they become pustules.
The epidermis is dissolved and the matter escapes as a viscid fluid
at first citrine and later cloudy and purulent, which dries rapidly,
forming scabs ; if these fall off or are removed they leave a little shal-
low, concave ulcer which heals in the course of five or six da vs. In
the softer skin if pigmented the cicatrices are white and frequently
remain so for about a year, when the pigment returns. The lips or
genital organs of a colored horse, if covered with a number of small
white spots about the size of a pea, will usually indicate that the
animal has been affected with the horsepox.

At times the pustules may become confluent and produce large,
superficial, serpentine ulcers on the membrane of the nostrils, around
the lips or eyelids, or on the borders of woimds and in greasy heels ;
in this case the part becomes swollen, hot, painful, and is covered
with a profuse discharge of matter. In this form there is frequently
a secondary fever lasting for a day or two.

538 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

In severe cases there may be a suppurative adenitis, or inflamma-
tion of the lymphatic glands which are fed from the affected part.
If the eruption is around the nostrils and lips, the glands between
the jaws (submaxillary) form abscesses as in a case of strangles; if
the eruption is in a pair of greasy heels abscesses may form in the
fold of the groin (inguinal). There may be so much tumefaction of
the nostrils as-to produce difficulty in breathing.

Complications. — A case of horsepox may be attended with various
complications of varying degrees of importance. Adenitis, or sup-
puration of the glands, has just been mentioned. Confluent erup-
tions irritate the part and induce the animal to rub the inflamed part
against the manger or scratch it in other ways and thus produce
troublesome ulcers, which may leave ugly scars. Irritation of the
mucous membrame of the nose causes severe coryza with purulent
discharge.

The eruption may occur in the throat or in the air tubes to the
lungs, developing an acute laryngitis or bronchitis. If the animal is
exposed to cold, or worl^ed so as to engorge the lungs with blood at
the termination of the specific fever, just when the eruption is about
to localize, it may be determined to the lungs. In tliis case we have
a short, dry cough, labored breathing, the development of a secondary
fever of some gravity, and all the external symptoms of a pneu-
monia. This pneumonia differs, however, from an ordinary pneu-
monia in the symptoms furnished by the examination of the lungs
themselves. In place of a large mass of the lung tissue being affected
the inflammation is disseminated in smaller spots over the entire
iung.

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of horsepox is to be based on the pres-
ence of a continuous fever, with rosy mucous membranes, for several
days and the appearance of the characteristic eruption. If the
eruption is in the nasal cavities, marked by a considerable discharge
and attended with submaxillary abscesses, it may be confounded with
strangles. If the throat is affected, it may be confounded with an
angina (laryngitis or pharyngitis), but in the latter the local trouble
precedes or is concomitant with the fever, while in the former the
fever precedes the local trouble by several days. Variola may be
confounded with bronchitis or pnemnonia if complicated with these"
troubles and the eruption is absent from the exterior, but it is of little
moment, as the treatment for both is much the same. TVIien the
eruption is in the neighborhood of the genital organs the disease has
been mistaken for dourine. In variola the eruption is a tempo-
rary one; the nodes and pustules are followed by shallow ulcers
and rapid cicatrization unless continued in tlie vagina or on the penis
by the rubbing of the walls and filth which accumulates; there are
apt to be pustules at other parts of the body. In the venereal dis-

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 539

ease the local trouble commences as a papule and breaks into an
ulcer without having formed a pustule. The ulcer has not the con-
vex rosy appearance of that of the less serious discharge ; the symp-
toms last for a longer period, by which time others aid in dif-
ferentiating the two. In glanders the tubercle is hard and, after
breaking into an ulcer, the indurated bottom remains, grayish or
dirty white in color, ragged, and exuding a viscous, oily discharge.
There is no disposition to suppuration of the neighboring glands.
In variola the rosy shallow ulcer and healthy pus, with the acutely
tumefied glands, should not be mistaken, at least after a day. I have
seen in mules acute glanders which required a day's delay to differ-
entiate from strangles ; at that time the farcy buds appeared.

Prognosis. — The average case of horsepox runs a course of dejec-
tion, loss of appetite, and more or less fever for about four days,
followed by a rapid convalescence, and leaves the animal as well and
as sound as before. If the eruption has been excessive or confluent,
the ulcerations may act as irritants and render the animal unfit for
use for several weeks. LarjTigitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, and pneu-
monia in this disease are not of greater gravity than they are when
occurring from other causes. The spots denuded of pigment left
by the pustules on the lips and genitals may temporarily depreciate
the value of the animal to a slight degree.

Treatment. — As this is a disease unattended by alterations of the
blood itself, although a specific fever, and is of a sthenic type, active
remedies are admissible and indicated. The horse should be placed
on a low diet (little or no oats) — ^bran mashes, a moderate quantity
of good, sound hay, a few carrots or apples, which will act as laxa-
tives; also slop feed. Barley flour is more cooling for mashes than
bran or oatmeal. Water may be given as the animal desires it, but
it should not be cold; if a half bucketful of water is kept in the
manger, the horse will take but a few swallows at a time. One-dram
doses of nitrate of potash or 1-ounce doses of sweet spirits of niter
are' useful in the drinking water. If the fever is high, the •anti-
pyretics are indicated: Sulphate of quinin in 1-dram doses; iodid
of potash in 1-dram doses; infusion of pine tops, of juniper leaves,
of the aromatic herbs, or of English breakfast tea are useful in the
later stages. If complications of the air passages or lungs are
threatened, a large mustard poultice should be applied to the belly
and sides of the chest. Oxid of zinc ointment should be used on
confluent eruptions, and if the ulceration is excessive it may have to
be touched with caustic.

Great care must be taken to keep the animal protected from cold
drafts of air or other exposure. Blankets or sheets should be used
on the body and bandages on the legs. After convalescence is estab-
lished, nutritious feed of easy digestion and walking exercise are all

540 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

that is needed, except jjerlicijjs n little (Uaiiber's salt to j^revent
I'onstipation.

Prophylactic treatment. — When horsepox breaks out among a large
number of horses, es})ecially on a farm where there are a number of
coJts, it may be assumed that the greater majority will contract the
disease, and it is more economical that they should have it and be
through with it at once. If the weather is moderate, all the animals
which have not been affected can be inoculated, which will produce
the disease in a mild form, with the eruption at a point of election,
and render the danger of complication a minimum one. For inocula-
tion the discharge from the pustules of a mild case should be selected
and inoculated by scarification on the belly or the under surface of
the neck.

ANTHRAX.

Hynonyms: Carbuncle, splenic fever, splenic apoplexy, etc.; trlisirbon, saufj de
rate (French) ; Miltzbrunil (German).

Deftnitloii. — Anthrax is a severe and usually fatal contagious dis-
ease, characterized by chills, gi'eat depression and stupor of the aiii-
mal, and a profound alteration of the blood. It is caused by the
entrance into the animal's body of a bacterium, known as the Btwillus
anthrcic-ls, or its sjiores.

Practically all animals are susceptible to axithrax. The herbivora
are especially susceptible, in tlie following order: The sheep, the ox,
and the horse. The guinea pig^ the hog, the rabbit, mice, and other
animals die quickly from its effects. 3tlan, the dog, and other onmiv-
ora and carnivoi-a may be attacked by it in a. constitutional form as
fatal as in the herbi\oi-a, but fortunately in many cases develop
from it only local trouble, followed by recovery.

Anthrax has been a scourge of the animals of tlie civilized Avorld
since the first written history we have of any of their <liseases. In
1709-1712 extensive outbreaks of anthrax occurred in Germany,
Hungary, and Poland. In the first half of the nineteenth centui'y it
had become an extensively spread disease in Russia, Holland, and
England, and for the last centui-y has been gradually spreading in
the Americas, more so in South America than liere. In 18()4. in the
five governments of Petersbuig, Novgorod, Olonetz, TAver, and Jaros-
law, in Ilu.ssia, more than ?iO,000 horses and nearly 1,000 persons per-
ished from the disease.

Causes. — The causes of anthrax were for a long time attriljuted
entirely to climatic influence, soil, and atmospheric temperature, and
they are still recogiiized as predisposing factors in the development of
the disease, for it is usually found, especially when outbreaks in a
great number of animals occur, in low, damp, nuirshy countries dur-
ing th(» w arm seasons. It is more frequent in districts where mai'shy

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 541

lands dry out during tlie heat of summer and are then covered with
light rains. Decaying vegetable matter seems most favorable for
nourishing and preserving the virus.

The direct cause of anthrax is always infection of a previously
sound animal, either directly from a diseased animal or through
various media which contain excretions or the debris from the body
of one previously infected.

The specific virus of anthrax was first discovered by Davaine in.
1851. He recognized micrcsc<>pic bodies in the form of little rods in
tlie blood of animals suffering from anthrax. It was not, how^ever,
till a quarter of a century later tliat Pasteur defined the exact nature
of the bacillus, the mode of its propagation, and its exact relationship
to anthrax as the sole cause of tlie disease. In tlie animal body the
bacilli have a tendency to accumulate in the spleen, liver, and else-
where, so that these organs are much more virulent than the muscles
cr less vascular tissues. When eliminated from the animal in the
excretions, or when exposed to outside influences by the death of the
animal and the disintegration of the tissues, the body of the rod is
destroyed and the spores cnly remain. These spores, which may be
called the seeds of the bacilli, retain their vitality for a long period;
they resist ordinary putrefaction; they are unchanged by moisture;
and they are not affected by moderate heat. If scattered with the
debris of a dead animal on the surface of the ground, they may re-
main around the roots of the gi-ass in a pasture or may be washed to
the nearest low-lying giound or marsh. If buried in the body of an
animal dead fr<im anthrax, they may be washed deep into the ground,
and in later years (in one proved case 17 years) be brought to the
surface and infect other animals. They are frequently brought to
the surface of the earth, having been swallowed by earthworms, in
the bodies of which th«y have been found.

Tliis accounts for the outbreaks at the time of the first rains after a
dry season. During the latter the earthworm goes deep in the ground
in search of moisture; it finds the spore which has been washed there
in past years, swallows it, and afterwards brings it to the surface.
The virus is earned with the wool from infected sheep and remains in
it through the process of manufacture into cloth. The spores -remain
in the hides of animals which have died of anthrax and retain their
vitality throughout months of soaking in the tanners' pits, the work-
ing of the harnesvs maker cr the cobbler, and after the oiling of the
completed lealiher. The dried spores in the dust from any of these
products may be carried by the atmosphere.

Infection of an animal takes place through inoculation or contact
of the bacillus or its spores with an abraded surface or mucous mem-
brane, on a sound animal. In an infected district horses may eat with
impmiity the rich pasturage of spring and early summer, but when

542 DISEASES OP THE HOBSB.

grass gets low they crop it close to the ground, pull up the roots
around which the virus may be lodged, and under these conditions
the animals are more apt to have abrasions of the lips or tongue by
contact with dried stubble and the dirt on the roots; this favors the
introduction of the germs into the system. The virus may be intro-
duced with feed and enter the blood-vessel system from the stomach
and intestines. If in the dust, dried hay, or on the parched pasture
of late summer, the virus may be inhaled and be absorbed from the
lining of the lungs. If in harness leather, it needs but an abrasion
of the sliin, as the harness rubs it, to transfer the spore from the
leather to the circulation of the animal.

The writer saw a case of anthrax occur in a groom from the use of
a new horse brush. The strap which passes over the back of the ha id
inoculated an abrasion on the knuckle of the first finger, and in
12 hours a " pustule" had formed and the arm had become infected.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of anthrax usually develop with ex-
treme rapidity. The horse is dejected and falls into a state of pio-
found stupor, attended with great muscular weakness. The feeble,
indolent animal, if forced to move, drags its legs. There are severe
chills, agitation of the muscles, symptoms of vertigo, and at times
colicky pains. The mucous membranes turn a deep ocher or bluish-
red color. The body temperature is rapidly elevated to 104° or
105° F. The breathing is increased to 30 or 40 respirations in the
minute and the pulse is greatly accelerated, but while the arteries
are soft and almost imperceptible, the heart beats can be felt and
heard, violent and tumultuous. In some cases, when inoculation is
through, the skin, large subcutaneous swellings appear; these may
involve a leg, a shoulder, one side of the body, or the neck or head.
The swelling is at first hot and painful, but afterwards it becomes
necrotic and sensation is lost. The symptoms last but two, three, or
four days at most, when the case usually terminates fatally. An
examination of the blood shows a dark fluid which will not clot, and
which remains black after exposure to the air. After death the
bodies putrefy rapidly and bloat up; the tissues are filled with gases,
and a laloody foam exudes from the mouth, nostrils, and anus, and
frequently the mucous membrane of the rectum protrudes from the
latter. The hairs detach from the skin. Congestion of all the organs
and tissues is found, with interstitial hemorrhages. The muscles are
friable and are covered with ecchymotic spots. This is especially
marked in the heart.

The black, uncoagulated, and incoagulable blood shows an iri-
descent scum on its surface, which is due to the fat of the animal dis-
solved by the ammonia produced by the decomposed tissues. The
serum oozes out of every tissue and contains broken-down blood,
which, when examined microscopically, is found to have the red

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 543

globules crenated and the leucocytes granular. A high power of the
microscope also reveals the bacteria in the shape of little rodlike
bodies of homogeneous texture with their brilliant spores.

The lymphatic ganglia are increased four, five, six, or ten times
their natural size, enlarged hj the engorgement of blood. The spleen
shows nodulated black spots containing a muddy blood, which is
found teeming with the virus. This organ is much enlarged and is
quite friable. The mucous membranes of the intestines are congested
and reddish brown; the surface of the intestines is in many places
denuded of its lining membrane, showing fissures and hemorrhagic
spots. The liver has a cooked appearance; the kidneys are congested
and friable ; the urine is red ; the pleura, lungs, and the meninges are
congested, and the bronchi of the lungs contain a bloody foam.

Treatment. — Treatment cf anthrax in animals by medicinal means
has not proved satisfactory. In cases of local anthrax an incision
of the swelling followed by the application of disinfectants some-
times causes good results. In such cases, however, the danger of dis-
seminating the infection from the wounds tends to make this pro-
cedure inadvisable unless great care is taken.

Good results are obtained from the use of serum in the treatment
of the disease. For this purpose 30 to 100 cubic centimeters should
be administered subcutaneously or intravenously. If no improve-
ment is noticed within 24 hours the injection should be repeated. In
a number cf instances afforded to test the curative value of the serum
in cases of anthrax in man and animals splendid results were ob-
tained.

The prophylactic treatment formerly consisted in the avoidance of
certain fields and marshes which were recognized as contaminated.
It underwent, however, a revolution after the discovery by Pasteur of
the possibility of a prophylactic inoculation or vaccination which
granted immunity from future attacks of the disease similar to that
granted by the recovery of an animal from an ordinary attack of the
disease.

This treatment consists in the use of a vaccine which is made by the
artificial cultivation of the virus of antlirax in broth and its con-
tinued exposure to a high temperature for a certain time, which
weakens the virus to such extent that it is capable of producing only a
very mild and not dangerous attack of anthrax in the animal in which
it is inoculated, and thus protects the animal from inoculation of a
stronger \arus. The production of this virus, which is carried on in
some countries at the expense of the governments and is furnished at
a small cost to the farmers in regions where the disease prevails, in
this country is made in private laboratories only.

544 DISEASES Off THE HORSE.

At the present time \ei;y gdod results are being dbtained with vao
cination consisting of an injection of highly potent anthrax serum on
one side of the animal and a vaccine on the other side. This method
of treatment recjuires only a single handling of the animals and
furthei- possesses advantages <n'er the Pasteur treatment in that it im-
m<'diateW makes animals inmume. In the numerous applications of
this form of treatment very good results have been obtained and the
inim unity produced thereby usually lasts at least one year. The vac-
cina ted animals should be kept for a period of ten days to two weeks
from exp(jsure, since during that period they are at times even more
Kuscejitible to the disease, and therefore care should be taken not to
reduce their vitality.

Prevention. — In attempts to control the disease it is essential, aside
from j)rotective vaccination, to prevent the reinfection of localities.
For this purpose it is essential, if possible, to drain thoroughly and
keep under cultivation the infected areas before animals are per-
mitted to pastui'e on them. The complete destruction of all anthrax
carcasses is also very import^mt. This is best accomplished by burn-
ing, but as this method of disposal is impracticable in many locali-
ties, deep burial may be found to be better. Covering the carcasses
within their gi'aves with quicklime adds another valuable precaution
against further dissemination of the infection. No animal dying
from anthrax should ever be skinned or cut open, as the blood from
these sources is one of the most dangerous means of spreading the
infection, being charged, while in the animal, with great numbers of
bacilli, which quickly turn into spores as soon as spread about upon
the face of the ground. All discharges from the body openings
should also be burned or buried deeplj^, as they are frequently of a
virulent character.

GLANDERS AND FARCY.

(Pis. XIv-XLH.)

Defnitimi. — Let it be understood at the outset that glanders and
farcy are one and the same disease, differing only in that the first
term is applied to the disease when the local lesions predominate in
the internal organs, especially in the nostrils, lungs, and air tubes,
and that the second term is applied to it when the principal mani-
festation is an outbreak of the lesions on the exterior or skin of the
animal. The term glanders applies to the disease in both forms,
while thQ term farcy is limited to the visible appearance of external
trouble only; but in the latter case internal lesion;.- always exist,
although they may not be evident.

Glanders is a contagious constitutional disease of the genus Equus
(the horse, ass, and mule), readily communicable to man. the dog,
the cat, the rabbit, and the guinea pig. It is transmitted with diffi-

U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Diseases of the Horse.

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INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 545

cnlty to sheep and goats, and cattle seem to be entirely ininiiine. It
runs a variable course and usually produces the death of the animal
affected with it. It is characterized by the formation of neoplasms,
or nodules, of connective tissue, which degenerate into ulcers, from
which exude a peculiar discharge. It is accompanied with a variable
degree of fever, according to the rapidity of its course. It is sub-
ject to various complications of the lymphatic glands, of the lungs,
of the testicles, of the internal organs, and of the subcutaneous con-
nective tissue.

History. — Glanders is one of the oldest diseases of which we have
definite knowledge in the history of medicine. Absyrtus, the Greek
veterinarian in the army of Constantine the Great, described it with
considerable accuracy and recognized the contagiousness of its char-
acter.. Another Greek veterinarian, Vegetius Renatus, who lived in
the time of Theodosius (381 A. D.), described, under the name of
'' malleus humidus," a disease of the horse characterized by a nasal
discharge and accompanied by superficial ulcers. He recognized
the contagious properties of the discharge of the external ulcers, and
recommended that all animals sick with the disease be separated at
once with the greatest care from the others and should be pastured
in separate fields, for fear the other animals should become affected.

In 1682 Sollysel, the stable master of Louis XIV, published an
account of glanders and farcy, which he considered closely related to
each other, although he did not recognize them as identical. He
admitted the existence of a virus which, communicated the disease
from an infected animal to a sound one. He called special attention
to the feed troughs and water buckets as being the media of conta-
gion. H© divided glanders into two forms — one malignant and con-
tagious and the other benign — and he stated that there was always
danger of infection.

Garsault in 1746 said that " as this disease is communicated very
easily and can infect in a very short time a prodigious number of
horses by means of the discharges which may be licked up, animals
infected with glanders should be destroyed."

Bourgelat, the founder of veterinary schools, in his " Elements of
Hippiatry," published in 1755, establishes glanders as a virulent
disease.

Extensive outbreaks of glanders are described as prevailing in the
gi'eat armies of continental Europe and England from time to time
during the periods of all the wars of the last few centuries.

Glanders was imported into America at the close of the eighteenth

centuiy, and before the end of the first half of the last century had

spread to a considerable degree among the horses of the Middle and

immediately adjoining Southern States. This disease was unknown

54768°— 23 35

546 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

in Mexico until carried there during the Mexican War by the badly
diseased horses of the United States Army. During the first half of
the last century a large body of veterinarians and medical men
protested against the contagious character of the disease, and by
their opinion prevailed to such an extent against the common opinion
that several of the Governments of Europe imdertook a series of
experiments to determine the right between the contesting parties.

At the veterinary school at Alfort and at the farm of Lamirault
in Fi'ance several hundred horses which had passed examination as
sound had placed among them glandered horses under various condi-
tions. The results of these experiments proved conclusively the con-
tagious character of the disease.

In 1881 Bouchard, of the faculty of medicine in Paris, assisted
by Capitan and Charrin, undertook a series of experiments with
matter taken from the farcy ulcer of a human being. They after-
wards continued their experiments with matter taken from horses,
and in 1883 succeeded in showing that glanders is caused by a
bacterium which is capable of propagation and reproduction of
otliers of its own kind if placed in the proper media. In 1882 the
specific germ of glanders was fii'st discovered and described by
Loeffler and Schuetz in Germany,

When we come to study the etiology of glanders, the difference of
susceptibility on the part of different species of animals, or even on
the part of individuals of the same species, and when we come to find
proof of the slow incubation and latent character of the disease as
it exists in certain individvials, we understand how in a section of
country containing a number of glandered animals otliers can seem, to
contract and develop the disease without having apparently been
exposed to contagion.

Causes. — The contagious nature of glanders, in no matter what
form it appears, being to-day definitely demonstrated, we can recog-
nize but one cause for all cases, and that is contagion by means of
the specific virus of the disease. The causative organism is known as
the Bacillus mallei.

In studying the writings of the older uuthoi's on glanders, and the
works of those authors who contested the contagious nature of the
disease, w^e find a large number of predisposing causes assigned as
factors in the deAelopment of the malady.

While a virus from a case of glanders if inoculated into an animal
of tlie genus EquMs will inevitably produce the disease, we find a vast
difference in the contagious activity of different cases of glanders.
We find a great variation in the manner and rapidity of the tlevelop-
nient of the disease in different individuals and tliat the contagion is
much more liable to be carried to sound animals under certain circum-
stances than it is under others. Only certain spe^cies of animals are

I

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 547

susceptible of contracting the disease, and while some of these con-
tract it as a general constitutional malady, in otliers it develops as
only a local sore.

In acute glandei-s the contagion is found in its most virulent form,
as is shown by the inevitable infection of susceptible animals inocu-
lated with the disease, while the discharge from chronic semilatent
glanders and farcy may at times be inoculated with a negative result ;
again, in acute glanders, as we have a free discharge, a much greater
quantity of virus-containing matter is scattered in the neighborhood
of an infected horse to serve as a contagion to others than is found
in the small amount of discharge of the chronic cases.

The chances of contagion, are much greater when sound horses,
asses, or mules are placed in the immediate neighborhood of glan-
dered horses, drink from the same bucket, stand in the next stall, or
work in the same wagon, or are fed from feed boxes or mangers
which have been impregnated by the saliva and soiled by the dis-
charge of sick animals. Transmission occurs by direct contact of
the discharges of a glandered animal with the tissues of a sound one,
either on the exterior, when swallowed mixed with feed into the
digestive tract, or when dried and inhaled as dust.

The stable attendants ser^e as one of the most common carriers of
the A'irus. Dried or fresh discharges are collected from the infected
animals in cleaning, harnessing, feeding, and by means of the hands,
clothing, the teeth of the currycomb, the sponge, the bridle, and the
halter, and are thus carried to other animals.

An animal affected with chronic glanders in a latent form is moved
from one part of the stable to another, or works hitched with one
horse and then with another, and may be an active agent in the
spreading of the disease without the cause being recognized.

Glanders is found frequently in the most insidious forms, and we
recognize that it can exist without being apparent; that is, it may
affect a horse for a long period without showing any symptoms that
will allow even the most experienced veterinarian to make a diag-
nosis. An old gray mare belonging to a tavern keeper was reserved
for family use with good care and light work for a period of eiglit
years, during which time other horses in the tavern stable were from
time to time affected with glanders without an apparent cause. The
mare, whose only trouble was an apparent attack of heaves, was sold
to a huckster who placed her at hard work. Want of feed and over-
work and exposure rapidly developed a case of acute glanders, from
which the animal died, and at the autopsy were found the lesions of
an acute pneumonia of glanders grafted on chronic lesions, consisting
of old nodules which had undoubtedly existed for years.

In a case that once came under the care of the writer, a coach horse
was examined for soundness and passed as sound by a prominent

548 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

veterinarian, who a few months afterwards treated the horse for a
skin eruption from which it recovered. Twelve months afterwards
it came into the hands of the writer, hidebound, with a slight cough
and a slight eruption of the skin, which was attributed to clipping
and the rubbing of the harness, but which had nothing suspicious in
its character. The horse was placed on tonics and put to regular
light driving. In six weeks it developed a bronchitis Avithout having
been specially exposed, and in two days this trouble was followed by
a lobular pneumonia and the breaking of an abscess in the right lung.
Farcy buds developed on the surface of the body and the animal died.
The autopsy showed the existence of a number of old glanderous
nodules in the lungs which must have existed previous to purchase,
more than a year before.

Public watering troughs and the feed boxes of boarding stables and
the tavern stables of market towns are among the most common
recipients for the virus of glanders, which is most dangerous in its
fi-esh state, but cases have been known to be caused by feeding ani-
mals in the box or stall in which glandered animals had stood several
montlis before. While the discharge from a case of chronic glanders
is much less liable to contain many active bacilli than that from a
case of acute glanders, the former, if it infects an animal, will pro-
duce the same disease as the latter. It may assume from the outset
an acute or chronic form, according to the susceptibility of the ani-
mal infected, and this does not depend upon the character of the
disease from which the virus was derived.

The animals of the genus Equus — the horse, the ass, and the mule —
are those which are the most susceptible to contract glanders, but in
these we find a much greater receptivity in the ass and mule than we
do in the horse. In the ass and mule in almost all cases the period
of incubation is short and the disease develops in an acute form. AVe
find that the kind of horse infected has an influence on the character
of the disease ; in full-blooded, fat horses of a sanguinary tempera-
ment, the disease usually develops in an acute form, while in the
lymphatic, cold-blooded, more common race of horses the disease
usually assumes a chronic form. If the disease develops first in the
chronic form in a horse in fair condition, starvation and overwork
are liable to bring on an acute attack, but Avhen the disease is inocu-
lated into a debiliated and impoverished animal it is apt to start
in the latent form. Inoculation on the lips or the exterior of the
animal is frequently followed by an acute attack, while infection by
ingestion of the virus and inoculation by means of the digestive tract
is ^)ften followed by the trouble in the chronic latent form.

In the dog the inoculation of glanders may develop a constitu-
tional disease with all the symptoms which are found in the horse,
but more frequently the virus pullulates only at the point of inocula-

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 549

tion, remaining for some time as a local sore, which may then heal,
leaving a perfectly sound animal; but while the local sore is con-
tinuing to ulcerate, and specific virus exists in it, it may be the car-
rier of contagion to other animals. In man we find a greater recep-
tivity to glanders than in the dog, and in many unfortunate cases
the virus spreads from the point of inoculation to the entire system
and destroys the wretched mortal by extensive ulcers of the face and
hemorrhage or by destruction of the lung tissue ; in other cases,
however, glanders may develop, as in the dog, in local form only,
not infecting the constitution and terminating in recovery, while the
specific ulcer by proper treatment is turned into a simple one. In
the feline species glanders is more destructive than in the dog. The
point of inoculation ulcerates rapidly and the entire system becomes
infected.

While a student the writer saw a lion in the service of Prof.
Trasbot, at Alfort, which had contracted the disease by eating glan-
derecl meat and died with the lung riddled with nodules. A litter of
kittens lapped the blood from the lungs of a glandered horse on which
an autopsy was being made, and in four days almost their entire
faces, including the nasal bones, were eaten away by rapid ulcera-
tion. Nodules were found in the lungs. A pack of wolves in the
Philadelphia Zoological Garden died in 10 days after being fed with
the meat of a glandered horse. The rabbit, guinea pig, and mice
are especially susceptible to the inoculation of glanders, and these
animals are convenient witnesses and proofs of the existence of sus-
pected cases of the glanders in other animals by the results of suc-
cessful inoculations.

The primary lesion in any form is a local point in which occurs
a rapid proliferation of the cell elements which make up the animal
tissue with formation of new connective tissue, with a crowding to-
gether of the elements until their own pressure on one another cuts off
the circulation and nutrition, and death takes place in them in the
form of ulceration or grangrene. Following this primary lesion we
have an extension of infection by means of the spread of the bacilli
into those tissues immediately surrounding the first infected spot,
which are most suitable for the development of simple inflammatory
phenomena or the specific virus. The primary symptoms are the re-
sult of specific reaction at the point of inoculation, but at a later time
the virus is carried by means of the blood vessels and lymphatic ves-
sels to other parts of the body and becomes lodged at different places
and develops in them; again, when the disease has existed in the
latent form in the lungs of the animal and the virus is wakened into
action from any cause, we have it carried to various parts of the body
and developing in the most susceptible regions or organs. The points
of development are most frequently determined by the activity of the

550 DISEASES OP THE HORSE.

circulation and the effects of exterior irritants. For example, if a
horse which has been so slightly affected with the virus of glanders
that no symptoms are visible is exposed to cold, rain, or sleet, or by
the nibbing of the harness on the body and the irritation of mud on
the legs, the disease is liable to develop on the exterior in the form of
farcy, while a full-blooded horse which is employed at speed and has
its lungs and respiratory tract gorged with blood from the extreme
use of these organs will develop glanders as the local manifestation
of the disease in the respiratory tract.

The previous reference to the existence of glanders under the two
forms more commonly differentiated as glanders and as farcy, and
our reference to the various conditions in which it may exist as acute,
chronic, and latent, show that the disease may assume several differ-
ent phases. Without for a moment losing sight of the fact that all
these varied conditions are identical in their origin and in their es-
sence, for convenience of study we may divide glanders into three
classes — chronic fare}', chronic glanders, and acute glanders with or
without farcy.

CHRONIC FARCY.

Symqytoms. — In farcy the symptoms commence by formation of
little nodes on the under surface of the skin, which rapidly infringe
on the tissues of the skin itself. These nodes, which are known as
farcy " buds " and farcy " buttons," are from the size of a bullet to
the size of a walnut. They are hot, sensitive to the touch, at fii-st
elastic and afterwards become soft; the tissue is destroyed, and in-
fringing on the substance of the skin the disease produces an ulcer,
which is known as a chancre. This ulcer is irregular in shape, with
ragged edges which overhang the sore ; it has a gi'ay, dirty bottom and
the discharge is sometimes thin and sometimes puinilent: in either
case it is mixed with a viscous, sticky, yellowish material like the
white of an Qg.g in consistency and like olive oil in appearance. The
dischai-ge is almost diagnostic; it resembles somewhat the discharge
which we have in greasy heels and in certain attacks of lymphangitis,
but to the expert the specific discharge is characteristic. The dis-
charge accumulates on the hair surrounding the ulcer and over its
surface and dries, forming scabs which become thicker by successive
deposits on the under surface until they fall oft*, to be replaced by
others of the same kind; and the excess of discharge may drop on
the hairs below and form similar brownish yellow crusts. The farcy
ulcers may retain their specific form for a considerable time — days
or even weeks — but eventually the discharge becomes purulent in
character and assumes the appearance of healthy matter. The sur-
face of the gangi'enous bottom of the ulcer is replaced by rosy granu-

I

INFECTIOUS 1>TSEASES. 551

lations, the ragged edges are beveled otf, and the chancre is turned
into a simple ulcer which rapidly heals.

The farcy buttons occur most frequently on the sides of the lips,
the sides of the neck, the lower part of the shoulders, the inside of
the thighs, or the outside of the legs, but may occur on any part of
the body.

We have next an irritation of the lymphatic vessels in the neigh-
borhood of the chancres. Those become swollen and then indurated
and appear like great ridges underneath the sldn; they are hot to
the touch and sensitive. The cords may remain for a considerable
time and then gradually disappear, or they may ulcerate like a farcy
bud itself, forming elongated, irregular, serpentine ulcers with a
characteristic, dirty, gray bottom and ragged edges, and pour out
a viscous, oily discharge like the chancres themselves.

The essential symptoms of farcy are, as above described, the button,
the chancre, the cord, and the discharge. We have in addition to
these symptoms a certain number of accessory symptoms, which,
while not diagnostic in themselves, are of great service in aiding the
diagnosis in cases where the eruption takes place in small quantities,
and when the ulcers are not characteristic.

Epistaxis, or bleeding from the nose without previous work or
other apparent cause, is one of the frequent concomitant symptoms
in glanders, and such hemorrhage from the nostrils should always
be regarded with suspicion. The animal with farcy frequently de-
velops a cough, resembling much that which we find in heaves — a
short, dry, aborted, hacking cough, with little or no discharge from
the nostrils. With this we find an irregular movement of the flanks,
and on auscultation of the lungs we find sibilant or at times a few
mucous rales. Another common symptom is a sudden swelling of
one of the hind legs ; it is found suddenly swollen in the region of the
cannon, the enlargement extending below to the pastern and above
as high as the stifle. This swelling is hot and painful to the touch,
and renders the animal stiff and lame. On pressure with the finger
th« swelling can be indented, but the pits so formed soon fill again on
removal of the pressure. In severe cases we may have ulceration of
the skin, and serum pours out from the surface, resembling the ooz-
ing which we have after a blister or in a case of grease. This swell-
ing is not to be confounded with the stocking in lymphatic horses
or the edema which we have in chronic heart or in kidney trouble,
as in the last the swelling is cool, not painful, and the pitting on
pressure remains for some time after the latter is withdrawn. It
is not to be confounded with greasy heels. In these the disease com-
mences in the neighborhood of the pastern and gradually extends
up the leg, rarely passing beyond the neighborhood of the hock. The

552 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

swollen leg in glanders almost invariabl}^ swells for the entire
length in a single night or within a? very short period. When greasy
heels are complicated by lymphangitis we have a condition very
mnch resembling that of farcy. The swelled leg in farcy is fre-
quently followed by an outbreak of farcy buttons and ulcers over its
surface. In the entire horse the testicles are frequently SAvoUen and
hot and sensitive to the touch, but they have no tendency to suppura-
tion. The acute inflammation is rapidly followed by the specific in-
dui ation, which corresponds to the local lesions in other parts of the
body.

Chronic farcy in the ass and mule is an excessively rare condition,
Vjut sometimes occurs.

CHRON/C GLANDERS.

Sympto7ns. — In chronic glanders we find the same train of inflam-
matory phenomena, varying in appearance from those of chronic
farcy only by the difference of the tissues in which they are situ-
ated. In chronic glanders there is first the nodule, from the size of
a* shot to that of a small pea, which forms in the mucous membranes
of the respiratory tract. This may be just inside the wings of the
nostrils or on the septum which divides the one nasal cavity from
the other, and may be easily detected, or it may be higher in the
nasal cavities on the turbinated bones, or it may form in the larnyx
itself or on the surface of the trachea or deep in the lungs.

The nodules, which are first red and hard and consist of new con-
nective tissue, soon soften and become yellow ; the yelloAv spots break
and w'e have a small ulcer the size of the preceding nodule, which has
a gi'ay, dirty bottom and ragged edges and is known as a chancre.
This ulcer pours from its surface a viscous, oily discharge similar
to that which we have seen in the farcy ulcer. The irritation of the
discharge ma}'^ ulcerate the lining mucous membrane of the nose,
causing serpentine gutters with bottoms resembling those of the
chancres themselves. If the nodules have formed in large numbers,
we may have them causing an acute inflammation of the Schneiderian
membrane, with a catarrhal discharge which may mark the specific
discharge, or that Avhich comes from the ulcers and resembles the
discharge of strangles or simple inflammatory diseases.

The eruption of the ulcers and discharge soon cause an irritation
of the neighboring lymphatics; and in the intermaxillaiy space, deep
inside of the jaws, we find an enlargement of the glands, which for
the first few days may seem soft and edematous, but which rapidly
becomes confined to the glands, these being from the size of an
almond to that of a small bunch of berries, exceedingly hard and
nodulated. This enlargement of the glands is found high on the
inside of the jaws, firmly adherent to the base of the tongue. It is
not to be confounded with the puffy, edematous swelling, which is

INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 553

not separated from the skin and subcutaneous connective tissues
found in strangles, in laryngitis, and in other simple inflammatory
troubles.

These glands bear a great resemblance to the indurated glands
Avhich we find in connection with the collection of pus in the sinuses ;
but in the latter disease the glands have not the extreme nodulated
feel which they have in glanders. With the glands we find indurated
cords, feeling like balls of tangled wire or twine, fastening the glands
together.

The essential symptoms of glanders are the nodule, the chancre,
the glands, and the discharge. With the development of the nodules
in the respiratory tract, according to their number and the amount
of eruption which they cause, we may find a cough which resembles
that of a coryza, a laryngitis, a bronchitis, or a broncho-pneumonia,
according to the location of the lesions. In chronic glanders we find
the same accessory symptoms that occur in chronic farcy, the hemor-
rhage of the nose, the swelling of the legs, the chronic cough, and, in
the entire horse, the swelling of the testicles.

On healing, the chancres on the mucous membranes leave small,
whitish, star-shaped scars, hard and indurated to the touch, and
which remain for almost an indefinite time. The chancres heal and
the other local symptoms disappear, with the exception of the en-
largement of the glands, and we find these so diminished in size that
they are scarcely perceptible on examination. During the subacute
attacks, with a minimum quantity of local troubles, in chronic glan-
ders and in chronic farcy the animal rarely shows any degree of fever,
but does have a generally depraved appearance ; it loses flesh and be-
comes hidebound ; the skin becomes dry and the hairs stand on end.
There is a cachexia, however, which resembles greatly that of any
chronic, organic trouble, but is not diagnostic, although it has in it
certain appearances and conditions whicli often render the animal
suspicious to the eye of the expert veterinarian, while without the
presence of local lesions he would be unable to state on what he has
based his opinion.

ACUTE GLANDERS.

Symptoms. — In the acute form of glanders we find the symptoms
which we have just studied in "chronic farcy and in chronic glan-
ders in a more acute and aggravated form. There is a rapid outbreak
of nodules in the respiratory tract which rapidly degenerate into
chancres and pour out a considerable discharge from the nostrils.
There is a cough of more or less severity according to the amount and
site of the local eruption. Over the surface of the body swellings
(iccur which are rapidly followed by farcy buttons, which break into
ulcers; we find the indurated cords and enlargement of the lym-
phatics.

654 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Bleeding from the nose, sudden swelling oi one of the hind legs,
and the swelling of the testicles are liable to precede an acute eruption
of glanders. As the symptoms become more marked the animal has
difficulty of respiration, the flanks heave, the respiration becomes
rapid, the pulse becomes quickened, and the temperature becomes
elevated to 103% 104°, or 105° F.

With the other symptoms of an acute fever the general appearance
and stati(m of the animal is that of one suffering from an acute pneu-
monia, but upon examination, while we may find sibilant and mucous
rales over the side of the chest, and may possibly hear tubular mur-
murs at the base of the neck over the trachea, we fail to find the tubu-
lar murmur or the large area of dullness on percussion over the sides
of the chest which belongs to simple pneumonia.

Diagnosis. — When there is doubt as to the diagnosis, the mallein
test, the inoculation test, or the complement-fixation test may be em-
ployed. The mallein test is made by injecting mallein (a sterilized
extract from a culture of glanders bacilli) beneath the skin. If the
horse has glanders there results a febrile reaction and a swelling at
the point of injection. If the horse does not have glanders the mal-
lein has no effect or, at most, it produces a slight swelling only at the
point of injection. The inoculation test consists in the inoculation of
a susceptible animal (usually a guinea pig) wath some of the sus-
pected discharge from the nose or a fare}' ulcer. If the material is
properly used, and if it contains bacilli of glanders, the experimental
animal will develop the disease.

The eye teist is now universally accepted as a very satisfactory
means of diagnosing glanders. This consists in dropping into an eye
of a suspected animal a specially prepared solution of mallein, as a
lesult of which in an infected animal the inflammation develops in
the eye, resulting in a discharge which varies in intensity from a
mucopurulent character to a thick, sticlry' pus. The ej'elids may also
swell and many times become glued together. The reaction usually
appears in from 8 to 20 hours after the introduction of the mallein.

Neither of these tests should be put into use except by a competent
A'eterinarian. The complement-fixation test is a highly specialized
laboratory' test and can be carried out only by one versed in labora-
tory technique. (See Bureau of Animal Industry Bulletin 136.)

The post-mortem examination of the lungs shows that the pneu-
monia of glanders is a lobular, V-shaped pnemnonia scattered
throughout the lungs and caused by the specific inflammatory process
taking place at the divergence of the smaller air tubes of the lungs.
In some cases of acute glandeis the formation of nodules may so irri-
tate the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract and cause such a
profuse discharge of mucopurulent or purulent matter that the spe-
cific character of the original discharge is entirely masked. In this

INFECTIOITS DISEASES. 555

case, too, for a few dsLVs the submaxillary space may so swell as to
resemble the edematous, inflamed glands of strangles, equine variola,
or laryngitis. This condition is especially liable to be marked in an
acute outbreak of glanders in a drove of mules.

Cases of chronic farcv and glanders, if not destroved, mav li^■e in
a depraved condition until the animal dies from general emaciation
and anemia, but in the majority of cases, from some sudden exposure
to cold, it develops an acute pneumonia or other simple inflammatory
trouble which starts the latent disease and the animal has acute
glanders.

In the ass, mule, and plethoric horses acute glanders usually termi-
nates by lobular pneumonia. In other cases the general symptoms
may subside. The symptoms of pneumonia gradually disappear, tha
temperature lowers, the pulse becomes slower, the ulcers heal, leaving
small, indurated cicatrices, and the animal may return to apparent
health, or may at least be able to do a small amount of work with but
a few symptoms of the disease remaining in a chronic form. During
the attack of acute glanders the inflammation of the nasal cavities
frequently spreads into the sinuses or air cells, which are found in the
forehead and in front of the eyes on either side of the face, and causes
abscesses of these cavities, which may remain as the only visible symp-
tom of the disease. An animal which has recovered from a case of
acute glanders, like the animals which are affected by chronic gland-
ers and chronic farcy, is liable to be affected with emphysema of the
lungs (heaves), and to have a chronic cough. In this condition it
may continue for a long period, serving as a dangerous source of con-
tagion, the more so because the slight quantity of discharge does not
serve as a warning to the owner or driver as profuse discharge does
in the more acute cases.

At the post-mortem examination of an animal which has been de-
stroyed or has died of glanders we find evidences of the various
lesions which we have studied in the symptoms. In addition to this,
we find nodules similar to those which we have seen on the exterior
throughout the v^arious organs of the body. Nodules may be found
in the liver, in the spleen, and in the kidneys. AYe may find inflam-
mation of the periosteum of the bones, and we have excessive altera-
tions in the marrow in the interior of the bones themselves. Both
these conditions during the life of the animal may have been the
cause of the lamenesses which were difficult to diagnose.

In one case which came under the observation of the writer, a lame
horse was destroyed and found to have a large abscess of the bone of
the arm, with old nodules of the lungs. When an animal has died
immediately after an attack of a primary, acute case of glanders, we
find small V-shaped spots of acute pneumonia in the lungs. If the
animal has made an apparent recovery from acute glanders, and in

556

DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

cases of chronic farcy and chronic glanders, no matter how few the
external and visible symptoms may have been, there is a deposit of
nodules — small, hard, indurated nodes — of new connective tissue to be
found in the lungs. ^Vhen these have existed for some time we may
find a deposit of lime salts in them. These indurated nodules retain
the virus and their power to give out contagion for almost an indefi-
nite time, and predispose to the causes which we have studied as the
common factors in aeveloping a chronic case into an acute case ; that
is, an inflammatory process wakens their vitality and produces a
reinfection of the entire animal. The blood of an animal suffering
from chronic glanders and farcy is not virulent and is unaltered, but
during the attack of acute glanders, while the animal has fever, the
blood becomes virulent and remains so for a few days.

Treatment.— AXvaost the entire list of drugs in the pharmacopoeia
has been tested in the treatment of glanders. Good hygienic ~ur-
roundings, good feed, with alteratives and tonics, frequently amelio-
rate the symptoms, and often do so to such an extent that the animal
Avould pass the examination of any expert as a perfectly sound ani-
mal. "\Miile in this case the number of nodules of the lungs, which
are invariably there, may be so few as not to cause sufficient disturb-
ance in the respiration as to attract the attention of the examiner, yet
they exist, and will remain there almost indefinitely, with the constant
possibility of a return of acute symptoms.

It is probable that some horses may recover from glanders if tlie
infection is slight, but it will not do to depend upon this except
under the most stringent veterinary supervision. With good care,
good feed, good surroundings and little work, an animal affected
with glanders may live for months or even years in a state of ap-
parently perfect health, but with the first deprivation of feed, with
a few days of severe hard work, with exposure to cold or with the
attack of a simple fever or inflammatory trouble from other causes,
the latent seeds of the disease break out and develop the trouble
again in an acute form.

In several celebrated cases horses which have been affected with
glanders have been known to work for years and die from other
causes without ever having had the return of symptoms; but allow-
ing that these cases may occur, they are so few and far between, and
the danger of infection of glanders to other horses and to the stable
attendants is so great, that no animal which has once been affected
with the disease should be allowed to live unless repeated mallein
tests have shown him to have become free from taint of glanders.

In all civilized countries, with the exception of some of the States
in the United States, the laws are most stringent regarding the
prompt declaration on the part of the owner and attending veteri-
narian at the first suspicion of a case of glanders, and they allow

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 557

indemnity for the animal. AVhen this is done, in all cases the animal
is destroyed and the articles with which it has been in contact are
thoroughly disinfected. When the attendants have attempted to
hide the presence of the disease in a commmiity, punishment is meted
out to the owner, attending veterinarian, or other responsible parties.
Several States have passed^excellent laws in regard to glanders, but
these laws are not alwaj^s carried out with the rigidity with which
they should be.

SPOROTRICHOSIS (MYCOTIC LYMPHANGITIS).

By John R. Mohi.er, V. M. D., Chief. Buicau of Animal Industry.

This disease has previously been known in this country as epizootic
lymphangitis, or pseudo-farcy. It is a chronic, contagious disease,
particularly of equines, caused by a specific organism, the Sporotri-
chmn scJienckii^ and characterized by a suppurative inflammation of
the subcutaneous lymph vessels and the neighboring lymph glands.
Owing to the fact that this affection does not spread as an epizootic
and that its causal factor is a fungus, the name sporotrichosis has
been suggested.

The disease in man was first described by Schenck and by Beur-
mann and Gougerot. Carougeau observed its occurrence among
horses and mules in Madagascar, while in the United States it was
first observed by Pearson in Pennsylvania in 1907, although it is
probable that it had existed for many years in various parts of this
country. Page and Frothingham were first to recognize its mycotic
nature in the United States. More recently Meyer has also made
valuable contributions with regard to the existence of this affection.
Its presence has been definitely established in Ohio, Iowa, California,
and Xorth Dakota, and there is a probability of its existence in
Indiana and several AVestern States.

BacteHology. — The sporotrichum is 2 microns thick, cylindrical
and segmented, having more or less branching threads, which bear
spores at the end. In the pus they occur as slightly ovoid bodies 3 to
5 microns long, which are somewhat pointed toward the poles, have a
sharp double contour, and only on artificial cultivation at a tempera-
ture of over 18° do they develop into the characteristic spore-carrying
threads.

The period of incubation varies greatly, extending from three
days to four months, or even longer. In artificial inoculations with
pus through wounds in the skin, inflammation and swelling of the
lymph vessels may be noticed in ten to sixty days ; these vessels show
in their course a development of hard nodules, from which abscesses
form.

The natural infection without doubt is caused through superficial
wounds, such as galls, barbed-wire cuts, or through various stable

558

DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

utensils, liarness, bandages, insects, etc. Solipeds are mostly sus-
ceptible, but cattle may also be infected.

Symptoms. — The inflammation of the lymph vessels is usually first
observed on the extremities, especially on one or both hind legs; it
may also appear on the forelegs, shoulder, or neck, and more rarely
on the rump, udder, and scrotum. The lesions, as a rule, develop in
the tissue adjacent to the place of inoculation. In the early stages of
the disease the lymph vessels appear very hard and thickened, and
along their course hard nodules develop, ranging in size from a pea
to a hen's egg. Later these nodules soften, burst spontaneously, and
discharge a thick, yellowish pus. The surface of the resulting ulcers
or abscess cavities soon fills up with exuberant granulations, which
proti'ude beyond the surface of the skin, giving it a fungoid appear-
ance. The affected extremities are considerably enlarged, similar
to cases of sim}>le lymphangitis. In rare cases the mucous membrane
of the nostrils may also become affected, showing yellowish flat ele-
vations and ulcerations, and these may extend by metastasis to inter-
nal organs. In cases in which the mucous membrane is affected, the
submaxillary lymph gland may also become enlarged and suppurate.

The constitutional s3'mptoms accompanying this disease are not
very marked and may be altogether absent. There is usually only a
very slight fever, which seldom runs over 102° F. The appetite is
not impaired except in the advanced cases.

Lesions. — The anatomical changes are most marked in the skin and
the subcutaneous tissues. They may become 2 to 3 inches thick and
indui-ated as the result of fibrous-tissue formation, owing to the in-
flammation present. On the baconlike cut surface suppurative areas
and granulating sores may be noticed of various sizes, also enlarged
lymph vessels filled with clotted lymph mixed with pus. The neigh-
boring lymph glands are usually enlarged and frequently contain
sujjpurating foci, llarely the internal organs may show metastatic
abscesses.

Diagnosh. — The diagnosis is based on the characteristic appear-
ance of the ulcerations, which show exuberant granulation of a bright
red color, inverted edges, and a thick, creamy, glutinous discharge.
These manifestations differentiate the disease from glanders, in which
the ulcers are craterlike, do contain exuberant granulations, and the
discharge is of a viscous, oily character. The submaxillai-y and
other nodes as well as the corded lymphatics in glanders are more
firmly attached to the adjacent tissues, and are therefore less mov-
able. In some chronic cases of sporotrichosis, however, the lesions
may closely resemble those of farcy, and in these cases the micro-
scopical examination of the pus will disclose the nature of the affec-
tion. In the pus the causative organism can be easily seen in the un-
stained specimen, and is recognized by its size, shape, and highly re-

USTFECTIOUS DISEASES. 559

fractcuy double outline. Furthermore, the injection of mallein in
cases of sporotrichosis will be attended with negative results.

Treatnierd. — At the onset of the disease treatment consists in entire
extirpation of the nodules, in case the lesions are localized. In
cases in which the nodules have formed abscesses, their opening is
recommended, followed by the application of the actual cautery or a
1 to 250 solution of bichlorid of mercury. It must be borne in mind
that the organism is quite resistant to antiseptics, and the best results
will be obtained from the application of a solution of a strong anti-
septic following the opening of the lesions. Internally, potassium
iodid is recommended in 2 -dram doses, dissolved in drinking water,
twice a day.

In the most favorable cases recovery results in from five to seven
weeks; as a rule, however, it requires several months.

In order to prevent the spreading of the disease the affected ani-
mals should be isolated, the products of the disease should be de-
stroyed, and the stable should be disinfected with very strong liquid
disinfectants in consideration of the resistance of the causative or-
ganism.

RABIES, HYDROPHOBIA, OR MADNESS.

Rabies is a contagious disease, which is usually transmitted by a
bite and by the introduction of a virus contained in the saliva of an
affected animal. It may, however, be transmitted in other ways. It
is characterized by symptoms of aberration of the nervous system
and invariably terminates fatally. It is accompanied with lesions,
inflammation, and degeneration in the central nervous system. It is
a disease that is most common in the dog, but is transmitted to the
hoi-se, either from dogs or from any other animal affected with it.
(See also remarks on page 244.) As a disease of the horse it is
invariably the result of the bite of a rabid animal, usually a dog.

Perhaps no disease in medicine has been the object of more con-
troversy than rabies. Certain medical men of prominence have
even doubted its existence, and many others have claimed for it a
spontaneous origin. The experience of ages, how^ever, has shown
that contagion can be proved in the great majority of cases, and,
by analogy with other contagious diseases, we may ofily believe that
the development of one case requires the preexistence of a case from
wdiich the virus has been transmitted. Pasteur has further added
to our knowledge of the disease by showing that a virus capable of
cultivation exists in the nervous system, especially in the lower
part of the brain (medulla oblongata) and in the anterior part of
the spinal column. He has further shown that that portion of the
nervous system which contains the virus, the exact nature of which
has not yet been demonstrated, will retain it for a very long time

660 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

if kept at a very low temperature or if left surroimded by carbolic
acid; but if the nerve matter, which is virulent at first, is exposed
to the air and is kept from putrefaction by substances wiiich will
absorb the surrounding moisture, it will gradually lose its virulence
and become inoffensive in about fifteen days. He has also further
shown that the action of a weak virus on an animal will prevent the
development of a stronger virus, and from this he has formulated his
method of propiiylactic treatment. This treatment consists in the
successive inoculation of portions of the nerve matter containing
the virus from a rabid animal which has been exposed to the atmos-
phere for thirteen days, ten days, seven days, and four days, until
the virulent matter which will produce rabies in any unprotected
animal can be inoculated with impunity. A curious result of the
experiments of Pasteur is that an animal Avhich has first been inocu-
lated with a virus of full strength can be protected by subsequent
inoculations of attenuated virus repeated in doses of increasing
strength.

Innumerable attempts have been made to discover the causative
agent, and investigators have announced the finding of many of the
lower forms of animal and vegetable life as the pathogenic factor.
Among the recently described causes, certain protozoanlike bodies
found in the ganglionic cells in 1903 by Negri, and termed Negri
bodies, are of a very suggestive natui-e. Negri claims that these
bodies are not only specific for rabies, but that they are protozoa and
the cause of the disease. His work has been corroborated by investi-
gators in all parts of the scientific world. An examination of the
vitality of these bodies will show a striking resemblance to the
vitality of an emulsion of the virulent tissue. Thus, they have been
found to be quite resistant to external agencies, such as putrefaction,
drying, etc., and are about the last portion of the nerve cell to sur-
vive the advance of decomposition. They are also found in more
than 96 per cent of the cases of rabies examined, but have not been
proved to exist in other diseases.

Valenti states, as his strongest evidence of the protozoan nature of
the bodies, that the virus of rabies is neutralized in test tubes by
quinin. while no other alkaloid has this property. As a result of the
work performdfl in the New York City Board of Health laboratory,
Park claims that Negi'i bodies are found in animals before the begin-
ning of visible symptoms, and evidence is given that they may be
found early enough to account for the infectiousness of the central
nervous system. These bodies are now almost universally considered
as diagnostic of rabies, and in the patliological laboratory of the
Bureau of Animal Industry their detection in the nerve cells of the
brain suffices for a diagnosis of rabies Avithout animal inoculations.
In case these granular bodies are not found in a suspected animal,

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 5G1

the plexiform ganglion is next examined, and should negative results
still be obtained, the inoculation of rabbits is then made as a last
resort. It is indeed rare that positive results are obtained from the
latter method after the first two methods have been negative, but it
has occurred occasionally in cases in which the animal had been
killed in the early stages of the disease.

Syniptonis. — From the moment of inoculation by the bite of a
labid dog or other rabid animal or by other means, a variable time
elapses before the development of any symptoms. This time may be
eight days or it may be several months; it is usually about four
weeks. The first symptom is an irritation of the original wound.
This wound, which may have healed completely, commences to itch
until the horse rubs or bites it into a new sore. The horse then be-
comes irritable and vicious, and it is especially susceptible to moving
objects, excessive light, noises, the entrance of an attendant, or any
other disturbance will cause the patient to be on the defensive. It
apparently sees imaginary objects; the slightest noise is exaggerated
into threatening violence; the approach of an attendant or another
animal, especially a dog, is interpreted as an assault and the horse
Avill strike and bite. The violence on the part of the rabid horse
is not for a moment to be confounded with the fury of the same
animal suffering from meningitis or any other trouble of the brain.
But in rabies there is a volition, a premeditated method, in the at-
tacks which the animal will make, which is not found in the other
diseases. Between the attacks of fury the animal may become calm
for a variable period. The writer attended a case in which, after a
violent attack of an hour, the horse was sufficiently calm to be walked
10 miles and only developed violence again an hour after being
placed in the new stable. In the period of fury the horse will bite
at the reopened original wound; it will rear and attempt to break
its halter and fastenings; it will bite at the woodwork and sur-
rounding objects in the stable. If the animal lives long enough it
shows paralytic symptoms and falls to the gi'ound, unable to use
two or more of its extremities, but in the majorit^^ of cases in its
excesses of violence it does physical injury to itself. It breaks its
jaws in biting at the manger or fractures other bones in throwing
itself on the ground and dies of hemorrhage or internal injuries.
At times thi'oughout the course of the disease there is an excessive
sensibility of the skin which, if irritated by the touch, will bring
on attacks of violence. Throughout the course of the disease the
animal may have appetite and desire water, but on attempting to
swallow has a spasm of the throat which renders the act impossible.
This latter condition, which is common in all rabid animals, has
given the disease the name of hydrophobia (fear of water).
54763 °~23 36

562

DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

In a case under the care of the writer a horse, four weeks after
being bitten on the forearm by a rabid dog, developed local irrita-
tion in the healed wound and tore it with its teeth into a large ulcer.
This Avas healed by local treatment in 10 days, and the horse was kept
under surveillance for more than a month. On the ad a ice of an-
other practitioner the horse was taken home and put to work ; within
3 days it developed violent symptoms and had to be destroyed.

T>iagnosi8. — The diagnosis of rabies in the horse is to be made from
the various brain troubles to which the animal is subject : first by the
history of a previous bite of a rabid animal or inoculation by other
means ; second, by the evident volition and consciousness on the part
of the animal in its attacks, offensive and defensive, on persons,
animals, or other disturbing surroundings. The irritation and re-
opening of the original wound or point of inoculation is a valuable
factor in diagnosis. Diagnosis after death may be made b}'^ micro-
scopic examination for Negri bodies or by the inoculation of rabbits,
as already mentioned.

Recovery from rabies may be considered as a question of the cor-
rectness of the original diagnosis. Rabies is always fatal.

TreatTnent. — Xo remedial treatment has ever been successful. All
the anodynes and anesthetics, opium, belladonna, bromid of potash,
ether, chloroform, etc., have been used without avail. The pro-
phylactic treatment of successiA^e inoculations is being used on
human beings, and has experimentally proA^ed efficacious in dogs, but
would be impracticable in the horse unless the conditions Avere quite
exceptional.

DOURINE.

By John R. Mohler, V. M. D., Chief, Bureau of Animal Industry.

Dourine (also known as maladie du coit, etjuine syphilis, covering
disease, breeding paralysis) is a specific infectious disease affecting
under normal conditions only the horse and ass, transmitted from
animal to animal by the act of copulation, and due to an animal
parasite, the Trypanosotim equi perdurn.

Hhtory. — It is described as having existed as early as 1796 in the
Eastern Hemisphere, and Avas more or less prevalent in several of
the Euroi>ean countries, including France, Germany, xVustria, and
Switzerland, durino; the first half of the nineteenth centurv. Its
presence Avas recognized foj" the first time in the United States in
1886, Avhen an outbreak occurred in Illinois. Since then the existence
of the disease has been obserA'ed at irregular intervals in niuiierous
other States, including Nebraska, Iowa, Montana^ Wyoming, XeAV
Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Sijnrptofns. — There are many variations in the symptoms of dourine,
and this is particularly true of the disease as it occurs in this coun-

INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 5(k5

try. Two distinct stages may be noted wliich vary somewhat from
those described in textboolvs, but probably no more than could be
expected when differences of climatic conditions and methods of
handling are taken into consideration.

The first stage chiefly concerns the sexual organs and therefore
differs somewhat in the male and female. In the second stage the
symptoms indicating an affection of the nervous system are more
prominent and are not dependent upon the sex of the animal.

Following a variable period of incubation of from 8 days to 2
months, there is seen in the stallion an irritation and swelling about
the penis and sheath. In a few days small vesicles or blisters may
appear on the penis, which later break, discharging a yellowish,
serous fluid and having irregular, raw ulcers. The ulcers show a
tendency to heal rapidly, leaving scars which are permanent. There
may be more or less continuous dripping from the uretha of a yel-
lowish, serouslike fluid. Stallions may show great excitement when
brought in the vicinity of mares, but service is often impossible be-
cause of the fact that a complete erection of the penis does not occur.

In the mare the first symptoms may be so slight as to be overlooked.
The disease, being the result of copulation, usually begins with in-
flammation of the vulva and vagina. There may be a muco-purulent
discharge, which may be slight or profuse in quantity, agglutinating
the hairs of the tail. The mare may appear uneasy and urinate
frequently. Vesicles may appear on the external vulva and mucous
membrane of the vulva and vagina which later rupture and form
ulcers. On the dark skin of the external vulva the scars resulting
from healing of the ulcers are white, more or less circular in outline,
from one-eighth to half an inch in diameter, and pitlike. This depig-
mentation of the skin about the external genitals is permanent.

Urticarial eruptions or plaques which break out over various parts
of the body are a frequent symptom seen in animals of either sex.
These are sharply defined and edematous swellings of the sldn about
the size of a half dollar or may be even larger. The usual locations of
these plaques are the croup, belly, and neck.

The intensity of the symptoms mentioned which are significant
of the early stage of the disease may vary to a wide extent and in
many instances be so mild as to escape the attention of any but the
most careful observer. They commonly disappear after a brief
period. The apparent recovery, however, is not permanent, for such
animals after a period of variable length manifest constitutional or
nervous symptoms. These may not appear for several months or
even years. They consist of a general nervous disorder with stagger-
ing, swaying gait, especially in the hind limbs. The animal generally
becomes emaciated, the abdomen assuming a tucked-up appearance.
The first indication of paralysis will be noted in traveling, when the

564 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

animal fails to pick up one of the hind feet as freely as the other,
or both may become affected at the same time, at which time knuck-
ling is a common symptom. Labored breathing is occasionally noted.
When the paralysis of the hind limbs starts to appear the disease
usually progresses rapidly. The horse goes down, is unable to rise,
and dies in a short time from nervous exhaustion. The appetite
usually remains good up to the last.

Although a case of dourine may now and then recover, as a rule
the disease is present in the latent stage. Bad weather, exposure,
insufficient feed, and complicating diseases like influenza, distemper,
or in fact any condition which tends to lower the vitality of the ani-
mal, may hasten the termination of the disease.

Diagnosis. — Th© complement-fixation test furnishes by far the
most reliable means of diagnosis and is especially valuable in a
chronic affection of this character, when the symptoms manifested
are variable and frequently so obscure as to escape observation. This
is a laboratory test requiring special facilities and the services of a
trained bacteriologist.

TreatTnent. — Little benefit can be obtained from medicinal treat-
ment, nor is such treatment desirable in this country, where the
disease has existed onh^ in restricted areas, and where sanitary con-
siderations demand its prompt eradication.

INFECTIOUS ABORTION IN MARES.

Infectious abortion (also known as contagious abortion, epizootic
abortion, enzootic abortion, slinking of colts) is a disease of mares
Avhich from a specific cause results in the premature expulsion of
the fetus and its membranes from the uterus. It is characterized by
an inflammatory condition of the female reproductive organs.

The contagious nature of the disease had not been recognized
until recently, the disease being principally attributed to various
conditions, such as traumatic influences, various infectious diseases,
spoiled feed, drugs, and other factors. Ostertag was the first to
study premature births in mares, attributing as the cause of the same
a streptococcus, which he was supposed to have been able to use
successfully in artificially producing abortion, either by inoculations
or feeding. His findings could not be substantiated by other inves-
tigators.

The earliest appearance of the disease in this country was in 1886,
at which time it caused considerable damage to the horse-breeding
industry in the Mississippi Valley. Smith and Kilboui-ne investi-
gated an outbreak in Pennsylvania in 1893, at which time they
incriminated anothei* germ belonging to the paratyphus B group
as the causative factor of the disease. These findings have been sub-

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 565

sequently substantiated by many investigators abroad, as well as in
this country, notably so by De Jong, Dassonville, and Riviere, and by
Good and Meyer. More recently very valuable information was
contributed to our knowledge on this disease by Schofield, of Canada,
especially with regard to the biological tests for diagnosis. Good
suggested "'Bacillus abortivus equinus'''' as the name for the specific
organism.

The causative agent of this disease is not identical Avith the germ
causing abortion in cattle. It exerts its action, however, in a similar
manner, and appears to have, under certain conditions, a predilec-
tion for the genital organs of the mare, where it induces certain
morbid changes whereby a premature expulsion of the fetus is the
result. The germ is usually present in the fetal membranes and also
in the aborted fetus. Mares may harbor the infection without dis-
closing any apparent ill effects. It appears to exert its influence
mainly upon the female genital organs, where it may induce an in-
flammatory condition of the uterus.

The infected animals may carry the fetus through the normal
period of pregnancy, giving birth to either a normal or a weak colt,
or again abortion may take place at any time during pregnancy,
mostly, however, from the sixth to the ninth month.

SyTnpto'rns. — The symptoms suggestive of abortion are frequently
entirely absent. At times the abortion may be ushered in by symp-
toms of colicky pains, restlessness, and periodical straining; these,
however, are by no means constant, especially if the abortion takes
place in the early months of pregnancy. The genital organs are
usually swollen, showing a mucous discharge. Immediately before
abortion the symptoms are more aggravated. Following abortion the
discharge is more characteristic, being of a dark-brown color, some-
times even bloody, and contains streaky or flaky pus. The fetal mem-
branes in all cases are not expelled with the aborted fetus, but there
is a tendency toward retention of these membranes, Avhich frequently
has serious consequences upon the health of the animal. At times
it becomes necessary to resort to manual removal of the afterbirth,
and the inflammation of the uterus and a chronic discharge usually
follow such conditions. The expelled fetuses, as a rule, die soon
after the abortion, and if the expulsion has taken place at a time close
to its full term the fetuses are usually poorly developed and subject
to various kinds of digestive and septic disorders. The fetuses do not
disclose any particular abnormal appearance on external examin-
ation ; in many cases, however, the post-mortem examination reveals
inflammatory changes of various organs.

The method of infection has not yet been satisfactorily established ;
nevertheless it is essential that we consider as the principal mode of
infection the ways which have been proved for the contagious abor-

566

DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

tion in cattle. These are especially by ingestion ; that is, by taking up
the germs with the feed, water, or other means, which have become
contaminated with the germs. The infection through the genital
organs is probably not so frequent, but in this regard the stallion no
doubt plays an important role in the spreading of the disease. Scho-
field considers this method of infection as the principal source of
spreading the disease.

It must be considered that in infected stables the germs may be
present throughout the premises, and by keeping animals which have
aborted in such stables a contamination of feed and utensils may con-
tinually take place, since the aborted mares usually discharge a con-
siderable quantity of material which is often heavily charged with the
germs. The germ is taken up by the body with the feed or water,
passing from the intestines into the blood, and from there is carried
to the genital organs, where it finds suitable conditions for its de-
velopment. Milk from an infected mare may also contain the germ,
and colts may become infected by sucking the milk of infected
mothers. In such instances the infection may remain dormant until
the colt develops and becomes pregnant, when the organism, finding
a condition suitable for its development, produces the disease.

On the other hand, stallions used in covering infected mares ma}'
be carriers of the germs, and when used for the breeding of healthy
animals mav in this manner readily transmit the disease to them.

Diagnosis. — Contagious abortion may be diagnosed b}^ the changes
which occur in the fetal membranes, and also in the expelled fetus.
In order, however, to substantiate a diagnosis with certainty, demon-
stration of the germ by miscroscopical examination is necessary.
The occurrence of frequent abortions among the mares in a stable is
also an additional evidence of the contagious character of the mal-
ady. It must be considered that at times infected mares may carry
the fetus to full maturit3\ in which case the diagnosis is possible only
by blood examinations in a laboratory.

Infected animals usually abort only once; however, in a certain
proportion of cases thej'^ may abort even two, three, or four times in
succession.

Animals which establish a tolerance for the infection, and carry
the fetus to full maturity, may nevertheless remain a source of dan-
ger for spreading the disease.

The tests used in laboratories for the diagnosis are the agglutina-
tion and complement-fixation tests, by which the disease may be diag-
nosed from a sample of blood from a suspected animal. Such tests,
however, have to be confined to the laboratories, which are equipped
for such work.

Treatment ayid prevention. — Medicinal treatment is usually of no
avail, and all efforts should be directed toward the prevention of the

INFECTTOITS DISEASES. 567

disease. Various medicinal agents have been recommended and are
being exploited for the treatment, but to the present time no satis-
factory evidence has been established as to their merits. Bacterial
vaccines prepared from the specific organism have been given limited
trials, but to date they can not be considered as entirely satisfactory,
since it will require considerable experience with them before their
usefulness can be definitely established.

The prevention should consist largely in sanitary measures di-
rected toward the disinfection of premises and animals. (For a
method for disinfection of premises see article under that heading.)

The following procedure is advised for the disinfection of ani-
mals : To prevent a stallion from carrying the infection from a dis-
eased mare to a healthy one the sheath and the penis should be dis-
infected with a solution of ^ per cent of compound cresol solu-
tion, lysol, or trikresol, or a 1 per cent carbolic acid or 1 to
1,000 i)otassium permanganate solution in warm water. For this
purpose it is advisable to use a soft-rubber tube with a large funnel
attached to one end. or an ordinary syringe and tube would serve the
purpose. The tube should be inserted into the sheath, and the fore-
skin held with the hand to prevent the immediate escape of the fluid.
In addition to this the hair of the belly and inner side of the thighs
should be sponged with an antiseptic. This disinfection should in-
variably precede and follow every service.

^Vith regard to the mares, a period of three months should elapse
between abortion and a subsequent breeding, and especially if there
is any evidence of a discharge the breeding of the animal should not
be undertaken. The mare showing signs of abortion should be imme-
diately isolated and the fetus and membranes should be burned.
The fetus should never be dragged across a barnyard or stable, but
should be removed by other means by which the contamination of
the premises ma}^ be prevented. The stall in which the animal
aborted should be thoroughly disinfected and the genital organs of
the mare washed daily with a disinfectant. The antiseptic washing
recommended for the treatment of the stallions prior to and after
breeding should be also used for the irrigation of the uterus of mares
which have aborted. This treatment should be continued daily until
all evidence of discharge has ceased. The isolation of the animal
should be carried out for at least one month after the evidence of a
discharge has ceased.

By carefully and persistently carrying out the sanitary measures
it may be possible to control and finally eradicate the disease.

NAVEL ILL OP COLTS.

Navel ill of colts is also known as joint ill, omphalophlebitis,
septic arthritis of sucklings, and pyosepticemia of the newly born.

568 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

The iinffnorable outlook after the appearance of the disease, to-
gether with the fact that the disease when present requires the atten-
tion of a veterinarian, demands that the breeder concern himself
with its prevention.

The disease is caused by a microorganism and several bacteria have
been suspected of being responsible. Every one of the suspected
organisms is found abundantly in manure and objects contaminated
with manure. The infective material gains entrance into the colt
through the open umbilical cord as a result of its coming into contact
with litter, floors, or discharges from its dam contaminated by one
of the organisms which cause the trouble. There are cases on record
in which the infection has taken place before birth, and while some
investigators assert that this method is the principal mode of infec-
tion still, in a large number of cases, the prophylactic measures
adopted to guard against the infection through the navel coid have
given good results. Since infection before birth can not be controlled
satisfactorily, Ave are justified, for all practical purposes, in pre-
venting navel ill by guarding against the infection through the cord
at birth or soon afterwards.

Cleanliness of stables where pregnant mares are kept must be in-
sisted upon. This is especially necessary where outbreaks of navel
ill have been known to exist. Mares in the last stages of gestation
should be placed in a box stall which has previously been cleaned
and disinfected. The bedding should be frequently renewed and the
external genitals and neighboring tissues should be kept clean and
disinfected with a 1 per cent solution of carbolic acid or 1 per cent
liquor cresolis compositus, or any other reliable disinfecting agent.
Operations for opening abscesses and removal of afterbirths' from
cows should not be executed in the immediate vicinity of mares in an
advanced stage of pregnancy.

The foal when dropped should be placed on clean bedding. In
any event the cord of the foal should be Avashed in a disinfect-
ant solution and tied at about 11 inches from the navel with
a band or string which has previously been soaked in a disinfectant
solution. With a sharp pair of scissors the navel cord is then sev-
ered about one-half inch beloAv the band and again disinfected.
The ligature should not be tightened, however, until pulsation of
the vessels in the cord has ceased. The stump of the cord is then
jjainted with strong carbolic-acid solution, tincture of iodin, or a
mixture of equal i)arts of tincture of iodin and glycerin. The
stump should be washed daily with a disinfectant and either painted
with iodin mixture or carbolic acid or dusted with some reliable
antiseptic healing powder. After five days the parchmentlike dried
stump may be cut otf and the navel wound washed with a disin-
fectant solution and dusted with powder until healed.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 569

The cases of navel ill resulting from infection before birth can not
well be guarded against. By keeping mares, advanced in pregnancy,
in good physical condition, the fetus will be expelled immediately
upon the opening of the uterine cavity.

Once the infection of the navel cord has set in, the cord should not
be liffated but should be washed in a disinfectant solution and a
veterinarian called for the subsequent treatment.

INFECTIOUS ANEMIA OR SWAMP FEVER.

By John R. Mohlek, V. M. D., Chief, Bureau of Aniiital Indnsinj.

Infectious anemia of horses*, known also by a number of other
names, as swamp fever, American surra, malarial fever, typhoid
fever of horses, the unknown disease, no-name disease, plains paraly-
sis, and pernicious anemia, has recently been the subject of much in-
vestigation. The cause of the disease has now been definitely deter-
mined as an invisible virus, which is capable of passing through the
pores of the finest porcelain filters, like the infection of foot-and-
mouth disease, rinderpest, hog cholera, and similar diseases. The
disease is most prevalent in low-lying and badly drained sections
of the country, although it has been found on marshy pastures dur-
ing wet seasons in altitudes as high as 7,500 feet. Therefore proper
drainage of infected pastures is indicated as a preventive. It is
also more prevalent during wet years than in dry seasons. It usually
makes its appearance in June and increases in frequency until Oc-
tober, although the chronic cases may be seen in the winter, having
been contracted during the warm season.

Cause. — It has been conclusively proved that infectious anemia is
produced by an invisible filterable organism which is transmissible
to horses, mules, and asses by subcutaneous inoculation of blood se-
rum. The virus which is present in the blood may be transmitted to
a number of equines in a series of inoculations by injecting either the
whole blood, the defibrinated blood, or the blood serum which has
been passed through a fine Pasteur filter, thus eliminating all the
visible forms of organismal life, including bacteria, trypanosoma,
piroplasma, etc. This virus has also been found to be active in the
carcass of an aifected animal 24 hours after death.

Following the injection of the infectious principle there is a period
of incubation which may extend from ten days to one and one-half
months, at the end of which time the onset of the disease is mani-
fested by a rise of temperature. If uncomplicated, the infection runs
a chronic course, terminating in death in from two months to one
and one-half years, or even longer. The probability of the virus
being spread by an intermediate host, such as flies, mosquitoes, inter-
nal parasites, etc., is novv' receiving careful investigation.

670 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

From experiments already conducted it appears that this disease,
formerly supposed to be confined to Manitoba and Minnesota, is
more or less prevalent in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming",
Montana, Xortli Dakota, Virginia, Texas, and New York. It also
occurs in Europe, having been reported in Germany under the name
of infectious anemia and in France as infectious typho-anemia.

Symjytoms. — The disease is characterized by a progressive perni-
cious anemia, remittent fever, polyuria, and gradual emaciation in
spite of a voracious appetite. It begins to manifest itself by a dull,
listless appearance and by general weakness, the animal tiring very
easil3^ This stage is followed closely by a staggering, swajang, un-
certain gait, the hind legs being mostly affected. There is also noted
a weakness and tenderness in the region of the loins, and at the same
time the pulse, though weak, stringy, and intermittent, increases in
rapidity and may run as high as 70. The temperature may rise to
103° F. or higher, remaining high for several days, and then drop-
ping to rise again irregularl3\ Toward the end of the disease the
temperature occasionalh^ remains persistently high. The horse may
improve for a time, but usuall}' this improvement is followed by a
more severe attack than the first. Venous regurgitation is sometimes
noticed in the jugular before death. The quantity of urine passed is
enormous in some cases. Death finally occurs from exhaustion or
syncope.

The blood shows a slight decrease in the number of white blood
cells, while there is a gradual but marked diminution of red cor-
puscles, the count running as low as 2,000,000 per cubic millimeter,
the normal count being 7,000,000. If the blood is drawn from such
an animal, the resulting red clot will be about one-fifth of the amount
drawn. Occasionally a slow dripping of blood-tinged serum from
the nostrils is observed as a result of this very thin blood oozing
from the mucuous membranes. Petechia, or small hemorrhagic
points, are sometimes noticed on the nictitating membrane and con-
junctiva, while paleness of the visible mucous membranes of the
nose and mouth is usually in evidence, although they ma}'' have a
yellow or mahoganj^ tinge. Often a fluctuating, pendulous swelling
may appear on the loAver lip, point of elbow, sheath, legs, under the
belly, or on some other pendent portion, especially late in the disease,
which is indicative of poor circulation, thinning of the blood, and
consequent loss of capillary action.

Lesions. — After death the carcass is found to be \qxy much ema-
ciated and anemic, the visible mucosa being very pale. This marked
absence of adipose tissue makes the skinning of the animal a difficult
task. Subcutaneous and intermuscular edema and hemorrhages are
frequently observed, although in many cases it is remarkable to see
how few macroscopic lesions may be present. The predominating

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 571

and most constant lesion is probably the petechia?, so often observed
in the muscle or on the serous membranes of the heart. The heart
is srenerallv enlaro^ed and may be the only organ to show evidence of
disease. In other cases the lungs may be studded with petechise, with
a serous exudate present in the thoracic cavity. In addition to the
petechias already noted, the pericardial sac generally contains an
increased quantity of fluid. The abdominal cavity may show peri-
tonitis and a hemorrhagic condition of the intestines, which probably
result from overfeeding in consequence of the ravenous appetite.
The liver, although usually normal, sometimes presents a few areas
of degeneration. The spleen is at times found to be enlarged and
covered with petechias. The kidneys may appear normal or anemic
and tiaccid, but microscopically they usually show a chronic paren-
chymatous degeneration. The lymph glands may be enlarged and
hemorrhagic.

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of the disease is not difficult, especially
in advanced stages. The insidious onset, remittent fever, progressive
emaciation and anemia, unimpaired or ravenous appetite, staggering
gait and polyuria are a train of symptoms which make the disease
sufficiently characteristic to differentiate it from other diseases af-
fecting horses in this country. The peculiar relapsing type of fever,
the great reduction in the number of red blood cells, and the absence
of eosinophila are sufficient to differentiate it from the anemias pro-
duced by internal parasites, while it may be readily distinguished
from surra by the nonsusceptibility of cattle and by the great ease
with which the trypanosoma may be found in the latter affection.

Prognosis. — The prognosis of the disease is very unfavorable.
Veterinarians in different sections of the country where it is preva-
lent report a mortality of 75 per cent or even higher. Eecovery
takes place only when treatment is begun early or when the animal
has a long convalescent period.

Treatment. — The treatment of the disease has so far been far from
satisfactory. The iodid, permanganate, and carbonate of potash
have been used. Arsenic, axj^tol, quinin, and silver preparations
have been suggested, but all have been uniformly without success.
Intestinal antiseptics have been resorted to, and the results are
encouraging but not altogether satisfactory. Symptomatic treat-
ment seems to be the most dependable. For instance, Davison, of
this bureau, was able to reduce greatly the mortality from this
affection by giving an antipyretic of 40 grains of quinin, 2 drams
of acetanilid. and 30 grains of powdered nux vomica four times
daily. In the late stages, with weak heart action, alcohol should
be substituted for acetanilid. Cold-water sponge baths may be gi\en,
and in addition frequent copious injections of cold water per rectum,
which has a beneficial effect in reducing the temperature and in

572 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

stimnlating peristalsis of the bowels, which, as a result of the disease,
show a tendency to become torpid during the fever. Purgatives,
on account of their debilitating effect, should not be given unless
absolutely necessary, but laxatives and easily digested feeds should
be given instead. Not infrequently a dirty yellowish tinge of the
visible mucous membranes has been observed, in which cases 20
grains of calomel in from 2 to 4 drams of aloes in a ball, or 2-dram
doses of fluid extract of podophyllin, may be given. Following the
subsidence of the fever, a tonic should be administered, composed of
the following drugs in combination :

Arsenious acid grams 2

Powdered mix vomica ^_do 28

Powdered cincliona barli do 85

Powdered gentian root do 110

These should be well mixed and one-half teaspoonful given to the
affected animal at each feed.

As in the case of all other infectious diseases, the healthy should
be separated from the sick horses and thorough disinfection of the
infected stables, stalls, litter, and stable utensils shovdd be carried out
in order to prevent the recurrence of the disease. As a disinfectant
the compound solution of cresol, carbolic acid, or chlorid of lime
may be used, by mixing 6 ounces of any one of these chemicals with
1 gallon of water. One of the approved coal-tar sheep dips may also
be used to advantage in a 5 per cent solution (6 ounces of dip to 1
gallon of water). The disinfectant solution should be applied lib-
erally to all parts of the stable, and sufficient lime may be added to
the solution to make the disinfected area conspicious.

Investigations are now in progress with a view of producing a
vaccine or serum that Avill protect horses that have been exposed
to the disease.

SURRA.

By Ch. Wardell Stiles, Ph. D.
Professor of Zoology, United States Public Health Scrmce.

Surra is not known to occur in the United States, but it is more or
less common in the Philippine Islands and India. It is caused by
a microscopic, flagellate animal parasite, known as Trxji>anosoma
erari.s/\ 20 to 34 fx. long by 1 to 2 /a broad, which lives in the blood
and destroys the red blood corpuscles. In general the disease is very
similar to and belongs in the same general class Avith tsetse-fly dis-
ease, or nagana, of Africa and mal de caderas, of South America.

Surra is a wet-weather disease, occurring chiefly during or imme-
diately after heavy rainfalls, floods, or inundations.

Surra attacks especially horses, asses, and mules, but it may occur
in carabao, camels, elephants, cats, and dogs, and has been trans-

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 573

mitted to cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats,
and monkeys. No birds, reptiles, amphibia (frogs, etc.), or fish are
known to suffer from it. It attacks both male and female animals,
young and old. Australian breeds of horses and white and gray
mules are said to be more susceptible than animals of other breeds
and color.

Surra in equines and camels is said to be an invariably fatal dis-
ease, but cattle occasionally recover from it. There is no history of
a definite onset of the disease, and the condition is progressive,
usually with a number of relapses. The period of incubation may
vary somewhat; in experimental cases it is from 2 to 75 (usually
6 to 8) days, according to conditions. The duration varies wnth
the species of animal attacked, their age, and general condition. The
average duration in the horse is reported at less than two months,
though some cases may terminate fatally in less than one to two
weeks.

Method of infection. — All evidence now available seems to indi-
cate that surra is strictly a wound disease, namely, that the parasite
may enter the body only through a wound of some kind. Appar-
ently by far the most common method is through wounds produced
by biting flies whose mouth parts are moist with the infected blood
of some animal bitten by the same flies immediately before biting
the healthy animal. Crows may also transmit the infection by peck-
ing at sores on a diseased animal, soiling their beaks with blood,
and transferring this infected blood to a healthy animal. Likewise,
if a scratch is made on a horse and then infected blood is rubbed
on the scratch, the horse Avill become diseased. If, in experiment,
infected blood is fed to a healthy animal, the latter may contract
surra in case it has an abraded or wounded spot in the mouth ; but
if no part of the lining of the alimentary canal is w^ounded, infec-
tion does not take place. Thiis dogs and cats may contract the dis-
ease by wounding the lining of the mouth (as with splinters of bone)
while feeding on the carcasses of surra subjects. All available
evidence indicates that under normal conditions of pregnancy the
disease is not transmitted from mother to fetus.

There is a popular view that surra may be contracted by drinking
stagnant water and by eating grass and other vegetation growm upon
land subject to inundation, but there is no good experimental evi-
dence to support this view. Probably the correct interpretation of
the facts cited in support of this theory is that biting flies are numer-
ous around stagnant water and in inundated pastures; hence, that
a great number of possible transmitters of the disease are pi'esent
in these places.

574 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Symptofns.^ — The invasion of this disease when contracted natu-
rally is usually marked b}'^ symptoms of a trivial character; the skin
feels hot, and there may be more or less fever; there is also slight
loss of appetite, and the animal appears dull and stumbles during
action; early a symptom sometimes appears which may be the first
intimation of the animal's indisposition^ and which, as a guide to
diagnosis, is of great importance; it is the presence of a general or
localized urticarial eruption. If the blood is examined microscop-
ically, it may be found to j^resent a normal appearance; but in the
majority of cases a few small, rapidly moving organisms will be
observed, giving to the blood, as it passes among the corpuscles, a
peculiar, vibrating movement, which if once observed will not easily
be forgotten. If the parasite has not been discovered in the blood
for several days, the symptoms mentioned above may be the only
ones noticed, and, as a rule, when treated with febrifuges, the horse
quickly improves in health and the appetite returns. This condition
does not last for more than a few days, when the animal is again
observed to present a dull and dejected appearance, and on exami-
nation well-marked symptoms are found; the skin is hot, the tem-
perature more or less elevated — 101.7° to 104° F. ; the pulse full and
frequent — 56 to 64 beats a minute; the visible mucous membranes
may appear clean, but the conjunctival membranes, especially those
covering the membrana nictitans, are usually the seat of dark-red
patches of ecchjaiiosis, varjdng in size in different animals. There
is more or less thirst and slight loss of appetite ; the animal eats its
grain and green grass, but leaves all or a portion of the hay with
which it has been supplied. At the same time there are slight
catarrhal symptoms present, including lacrimation and a little
mucous discharge from the nostrils. Occasionally at this period of
the disease the submaxillary glands may be fomid enlarged and per-
haps somewhat tender on manipulation. One symptom is markedly
absent, namely, the presence of rigors or the objective sign of chilli-
ness. In addition, it will be noted that there is some swelling and
edema of the legs, generally between the fetlock and the hock, which
pits but is not painful on pressure, and in case of horses there may
be also some swelling of the sheath at this stage of the disease.
AVhen the fever and concomitant symptoms have declared themselves
for a short period, one thing becomes especially noticeable in every
animal attacked, namely, the rapidity with which it loses flesh. If
the blood has been examined microscopically during the second
period of fever, at first a few parasites will have been observed in
it, which day by day increase in number and reach a maximum,
where they remain for a varying period, or at onee suddenly or

* This summary of symptoms is based upon work by Liugard.

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 575

gradually disappear during the period of apyrexia. After the fever
and the accompanying symptoms have for the second time been
present for a few days — the period varying from one to six — the
animal is found to have lost the dull, dejected appearance and to
look bright. The temperature has fallen and, in some cases, has
attained normal or even subnormal limits. The visible mucous mem-
branes are clean, and the conjunctival petechise begin to fade; the
pulse, howe\er, will be found to be weak and thready in character,
but the appetite excellent, and, in fact, if it were not for the loss of
flesli and slight edema of the legs, there would be little to show that
the animal was sick. Unfortunately, however, this condition does
not continue for any gi-eat length of time, for again the temperature
is elevated; in the course of a few hours the thermometer registers
a still higher degree, the animal is dull and dejected, and by the
following day the visible mucous membranes present a yellow tinge ;
large ecchymoses, dark in color, appear on the conjunctival mem-
branes, the action of the heart is irritable, the pulse full and quick,
or at times intermittent, and regurgitation may be observed in the
jugulars, the breathing is quickened, and the individual respirations
are shallow. On watching an animal in this condition it may be
noticed that it takes seven or eight very short inspirations, followed
by a much more prolonged and sonorous one; at the same time the
breathing is more abdominal than thoracic in character. On exami-
nation of the legs it will be found that the swelling and edema have
increased considerablv, and that on the under surface of the abdo-
men, where previously it was confined to the sheath, it has now com-
menced to spread forward along the subcutaneous tissue between the
skin and the muscles. During the whole of this time the appetite
will have varied little, and the evacuations will be only slightly, if
at all, altered in character. In the blood a repetition of the previous
events takes place, the parasites make their appearance and increase
to a maximum and again suddenly or gradually disappear, according
to the length of the fever period. These periods, alternating with
and without fever, may go on for a considerable time. The pro-
gress of the disease is variable and greatly depends upon the con-
dition of the animal attacked, the weak one succumbing very rapidly,
but each return of the fever brings with it, as a rule, an increase in
the severity of the symptoms. There is increased yellowness of the
membranes, fresh crops of petechise on the conjunctiva, a collection
of gelatinous material at the inner angle, which at times becomes red
in color from an admixture of blood, and which on microscopic ex-
amination is found to contain a varying number of the surra para-
sites; increased swelling and edema of the extremities and abdomen,
whicli now extends between the fore limbs and up the chest. Duriojg

576 DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

this time the wasting has been steadily progressive, especially of the
muscles of the back and those surrounding the hip joint and the
glutei.

Toward the termination of the disease it will be noticed that an
animal is disinclined to move, and when made to do so there is
manifest loss of power over the hind quarters, somewhat simulating
a slight partial paralysis, and the hind quarters of the animal reel
from "side to side. In connection with this it may be noted that
frequently there is paralysis of the sphincter ani and a dilated
condition of the anus. These symptoms taken together point to some
interference with the normal functions of the spinal cord in the lower
dorsal and lumbar regions, and are probably owing to pressure
caused by an exudation within the spinal membranes. In many
cases shortly before death the heart's action becomes exceedingly
violent, shaking the whole frame at each beat, so that the sound can
be heard at some distance from the animal. In some of these cases
the animal may suddenly drop dead; in others the emaciation and
weakness become so pronounced that it falls to the gi'ound, and,
after a short struggle, succumbs to the disease. In other cases,
again, the animal falls to the ground and appears to be suffering
from acute pain, struggles violently, sweat covers the body, and res-
piration is very hurried. The struggles soon exhaust the patient's
strength, and for a time it lies quiet; soon, however, the struggles
commence again, continuing until death occurs. In some cases the
appetite is voracious.

The symptoms of the disease as observed in experimentally inocu-
lated animals are as follows: Twenty-four hours after the subcutane-
ous injection of a small quantity of surra blood, in the great majority
of caseS; a small circumscribed and somewhat raised swelling is
noticed at the seat of the inoculation. After forty-eight hours the
tumor has increased in size and is accompanied with some edema ; it
presents a certain amount of tension of the parts involved, and is
generally tender on manipulation. These conditions continue to in-
crease, until by the fourth day the tumor may measure 3 or 4 inches
in one direction by 2 or 3 in the other, and raised to the extent of an
inch or an inch and a half above the surrounding tissues, or in some
cases the tumor presents an almost circular form throughout. It w^ill
be also found that, if the tumor is firmly grasped, it is not fixed, but
can be lifted up from the subcutaneous tissue. According to the
nature and quantity of the inoculated blood, these symptoms rapidly
present themselves, and either attain a maxinnim or are retarded
until, varying from the fourth to the thirteenth day, the tumor at
the seat of inoculation will be found to have lost a certain amount
of its tension and tenderness. From this date the sw^elling and
edema gradually begin to grow less, until finally, after a period of

I

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 577

10 to 14 days, the only sign left of the former swelling is a slight
thickening of the skin over the point of the injection; but at the
moment when the tension and tenderness of the parts at the seat
of inoculation become suddenly decreased a symptom of the utmost
clinical importance takes place, namely, at that moment the parasite
of surra enters the blood of the general circulation.

The temperature on the day of inoculation, and, in fact, for several
days afterwards, may remain normal in character, there being only
a few degrees difference between the morning and evening observa-
tions. In other cases there may be a slight rise from the first even-
ing, and a gradual progTessive rise until the swelling at the seat of
inoculation shows signs of reduction in size, when the temperature
generally takes a decided rise again, and may attain 104° or 105.8° F.
This elevation will last a varying period of from two to six days,
and on the day following its onset the ordinary symptoms of fever
will be noticed, and in addition there will be petechias on the con-
junctival membranes, lacrimation, a slight mucous discharge from
the nose, and in severe cases some edema of the lower portion of the
legs, and perhaps of the sheath in horses. At the termination of the
period of fever the temperature will be found to have fallen to nor-
mal or nearly so; the animal will present a brighter aspect, and
there is every appearance of its return to health; in a few days,
however, the animal again appears dull and half asleep; the tem-
perature is elevated, a relapse takes place, and a repetition of all the
symptoms in the primary paroxysm, including the reappearance of
the parasite, is observed.

Diagnosis. — A diagnosis may also be established by the comple-
ment-fixation or agglutination tests with the sera from suspected
animals. This, however, can be carried out only in laboratories and
requires special facilities for its execution.

Treatment. — No satisfactory treatment is known. Intravenous in-
jections of Fowler's solution of arsenic give temporary relief, but re-
lapses occur. In view of the great economic importance of this
disease, it would not be advisable to attempt to treat any sporadic
cases should they occur in this country. On the contrary, the animals
should be slaughtered immediately and their carcasses promptly
burned.

54763°— 23 37

578

DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

OSTEOPOROSIS OR BIGHEAD.

liy John IJ. Mohler, V. M. D., Chief, Bureau of Animal Industry.

Osteoporosis is a general disease of the bones Tvhicli develops slowly
and i^rogressively and is characterized by the absorption of the cal-
careous or compact bony substance and the formation of enlarged,
softened, and porous bone. It is particularly manifest in the bones
of the head, causing enlargement and bulging of the face and jaws,
thereby giving rise to the terms " bighead " and " swelled head,"
which are applied to it. The disease affects horses, mules, and asses
of all ages, classes, and breeds, and of both sexes, and is found under
all soil, dietetic, and climatic conditions. It may occur in sporadic
form, but in certain regions, such as South Africa, Australia, Mada-
gascar, India, Hawaii, and in this country it seems to be enzootic,
several cases usually appearing in the same stable or on the same
farm, and numerous animals being affected in the same district. In
the United States the disease has been found in all the States border-
ing the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay, in some of the New
England States, and in many of the Southern States, especially in
low regions along the coast. In Europe the disease appears to be
quite rare, and is usually described as a form of osteomalacia, a dis-
ease which is not uncommon among cattle of that continent. The
opinion that bighead is only a form of osteomalacia, however, can not
be accepted, nor can the infrequency of the former among European
horses and the frequency of the latter among other live stock be con-
ceded on the argument which has been presented, namely, that the bet-
ter care which horses receive prevents them from becoming affected.
In the Southwest, wdiere osteomalacia, or creeps, has not infrequently
been observed among range cattle by the writer, no case of osteo-
porosis of the horses using the same range has been noted, although
the latter animals are given no more attention than the cattle.

The appropriate treatment of osteomalacia in cattle is so efi'ective
that if osteoporosis were a similar manifestation of disease a similar
line of treatment should prove equally efficacious. HoweA'er, this is
not the fact. On the other hand, the occurrence of osteomalacia on
old, worn-out soil, or on land deficient in lime salts, or from eating
feed lacking in these bone-forming substances, or drinking water
with a lime deficiency, is in perfect accord with our knowledge of the
disease. But osteoporosis may occur on rich, fertile soil, in the most
li.yg"ienic stables, and in animals receiving the best of care and of
bone-forming feeds with a proper amount of mineral salts in the
drinking water. ^

Cause. — The cause of this disease still remains obscure, although
various theories have been advanced, some entirely erroneous, others

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 579

more or less plausible ; but none of them has been established. Thus
the idea that feeding fodder and cereals poor in mineral salts and
grazing in pastures where the soil is poor in lime and phosphates will
cause the disease has been entirely disproved in many instances.
Others have considered that the disease starts as a muscular rheuma-
tism which is followed by an inflammatory condition of the bones,
terminating in osteoporosis. The idea that the disease is contagious
has been advanced by many writers, although no causative agent has
been isolated. Numerous experiments have been made by inoculating
the blood of an aifected horse into normal horses without results. A
piece of bone taken by Pearson from the diseased lower jaw of a colt
was transplantetd into a cavity made for it in the jaw of a normal
horse, but without reproducing the disease. Petrone believes that the
Micrococcus nitnfcans causes osteomalacia in man as a result of its
producing nitrous acid, which dissolves the calcareous tissues, and
when injected into dogs in pure culture a similar disease is produced.
It is probable that if this work is confirmed a somewhat similar causa-
tive factor will be discovered for osteoporosis.

Elliott considers the latter disease to be of microbic origin, the
result of climatic conditions, and divides the island of Hawaii into
two districts, in one of which the rainfall is 150 inches annually,
where bighead is very prevalent, and the second of which is dry and
rarely visited by rain, where the disease is unknown. Removal of
animals from the wet to the dry district is followed by immediate
improvement and frequently by recovery. In the wet district horses
in both good and bad stables take the disease, but in the dry districts
no unfavorable or unhygienic surroundings produce the affection. As
both native and imported horses are equally susceptible, there is no
indication of an acquired immunity to be observed.

Theiler has recently stated that his experiments in transfusing
blood from diseased to normal horses were negative, and has sug-
gested that the causative agent may be transmitted by an interme-
diate host only, as in the case of Texas fever. He draws attention to
this method of spreading East African coast fever, although blood
inoculations, as in osteoporosis, are always without result. We know
that coast fever is infectious, and that it can not be transmitted by
blood inoculations, but is conveyed with remarkable ease by ticks
from diseased cattle. That the cause has not been observed may be
accounted for by its being invisible even to the high magnification of
the microscope.

On some farms and in some stables bighead is quite prevalent, a
number of cases following one after another. On one farm of Thor-
oughbreds in Pennsylvania all the yearling colts and some of the
aged horses were affected during. one year, and on a similar farm
in Virginia a large proportion of the horses for several years were

580 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

diseased, altliough the cows and sheep of this farm remained im-
affected.

Symjitoms. — The commencement of the disease is usually unob-
served by the owner, and those symptoms w^hich do develop are gen-
erally not well marked or are misleading unless other cases have been
noted in the vicinity. Until the bones become enlarged the symp-
toms remain so vague as not to be diagnosed readily. The disease
may be present itself under a variety of symptoms. If the bones of
the hock become affected, the animal will first show a hock lameness.
If the long bones are involved, symptoms of rheumatism will be the
first observed, while if the dorsal or lumbar vertebraj are affected
indications of a strain of the lumbar region are in evidence. Prob-
ably the first symptom to be noticed is a loss of vitality combined
with an irregular appetite or other digestive disturbance and with
a tendency to stumble while in action. These earlier symptoms, how-
ever, may pass unobserved, and the appearance of an intermittent
or migratory lameness without any visible cause may be the first sign
to attract attention. This shifting and indefinite lameness, involv-
ing first one leg and then the other, is very suggestive, and is even
more important when it is associated with a tendency to lie down
frequently in the stall and the absence of a desire to get up, or the
presence of evident pain and difficult}^ in arising.

About this time, or probably before, swelling of the bones of the
face and jaw, w^hich is almost constantly present in this disease, will
be observed. The bones of the lower jaw are the most frequently
involved, and this condition is readily detected with the fingers by
the bulging ridge of the bone outside and along the lower edge of the
molar teeth. A thickening of the lower jawbone may likewise be
identified by feeling on both sides of each branch at the same time
and comparing it with the thinness of this bone in a normal horse.
As a result mastication becomes difficult or impossible and the teeth
become loose and painful. The imperfect chewing which follows
causes balls of feed to form which drop out of the mouth into the
manger. Similar enlargements of the bones of the upper jaw may be
seen, causing a widening of the face and a bulging of the bones about
midway between the eyes and the nostrils. In some cases the nasal
bones also become swollen and deformed, which, together with the
bulging of the bones under the eyes, gives a good illustration of the
reason for the application of the term bighead.

Other bones of the body will undergo similar changes, but these
alterations are not so readily noted except by the symptoms they
occasion. The alterations of the bones of the spinal column and the
limbs, while difficult of observation, are nevertheless indicated by
the reluctance of the animal to get up and the desire to remain
lying for long periods of time. The animal easily tires, moves less

INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 581

rapidly, and if urged to go faster may sustain a fracture or have a
ligament torn from its bony attachments, especially in the lower
bones of the leg. An affected horse weighing 1,000 pomids was seen
by the Avriter to fracture the large pastern bone from rearing during
halter exercise.

The animal becomes poor in flesh, the coat is rough and lusterless,
and the skin tight and harsh, producing a condition termed "hide-
bound," with considerable " tucking up " of the abdomen. The horse
shows a short, stilted, choppy gait, which later becomes stiffer and
more restricted, while on standing a position simulating that in
founder is assumed, with a noticeable drop to the croup. The animal
at this stage usually lies dow^n and remains recumbent for several
days at a time. Bed sores frequently arise and fractures are not
uncommon in consequence of attempts to arise, which complications,
in addition to emaciation, result in death.

The disease may exist in this manner for variable periods extend-
ing from two or three months to two years. The termination of the
disease is uncertain at best, but is likely to be favorable if treatment
and a change of feed, water, and location is adopted in the early
stages of the malady.

Lesions. — As has been stated, the bones are the principal tissues
involved. The nutrition of the bone is disturbed, as is indicated by
the diminished density or rarefaction of the bony substances, the
increase in the size or widening of the Haversian canal and the
medullary cavity, and the enlargement of the network of spaces in
the spongy tissue, the absorptive changes following the course of the
Hav^reian system. In this process of absorption there are formed
within the substance of the bone areas of erosion, indentations, or
hollow spaces of irregular shape. These spaces increase in size and
become confluent, causing an appearance resembling some varieties
of coral. The affected bone may be readily incised with a knife, the
cut surface appearing finely porous. This porous area is soft, pli-
able, and yields easily to the pressure of the finger. It has been
shown by chemical analysis that the bone of an osteoporotic horse,
when compared with that of a normal horse, shows a reduction in
the amount of fat, phosphoric acid, lime, and soda, but a slight in-
crease in organic matter and silicic acid. The bones lose their yel-
lowish-white appearance, becoming gray and brittle. The affected
bones may be those of any region or portion of the body. Besides
the change already noted in the bones of the face, the ends of the
long bones, such as the ribs, are involved, and may be sectioned,
though not so readily as the facial bones. The bones of the vertebrae
are also frequently involved, necessitating great care in casting a
horse, as the writer has seen several cases of broken backs in casting
such animals for other operations. The marrow and cancellated

582 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

tissue of the long bones may contain hemorrhages and soft gelatinous
material or coagulated fibrin. The internal organs are usually nor-
mal, but a catarrhal condition of the gastrointestinal tract may be
noted as the result of the improper mastication, resulting from the
enlargement of the jaws and soreness of the teeth.

Treatment. — The affected animal should be immediately placed
under new conditions, both as to feed and surroundings. If the
horse has been stable fed, it is advisable to turn it out on grass for
two or three months, preferably in a higher altitude. If the disease
has been contracted while running on pasture, place the animal in
the stable or corral. In the early stages of the disease beneficial
results have followed the supplemental use of lime given in the
drinking water. One peck of lime slaked in a cask of water and
additional water added from time to time is satisfactory and can be
provided at slight expense. This treatment may be supplemented by
giving a tablespoonful of powdered bone meal in each feed, with free
access to a large piece of rock salt, or the bone meal may be given
with four tablespoonfuls of molasses mixed with the feed. Feeds
containing mineral salts, such as beans, cowpeas, oats, and cotton-
seed meal, may prove beneficial in replenishing the bony substance
that is being absorbed. Cottonseed meal is one of the best feeds for
this purpose, but it should be fed carefully. The animal should not
be allowed to work at all during the active stage of the disease, nor
should it be used for breeding purposes.

HORSESHOEING.

By John W. Adams, A. B., Y. M. D.,

Professor of Surgery and Lechirer on Shoeing, Veterinary Department,

University of PennsijJvmiia.

Bad and indifferent shoeing so frequently leads to diseases of the
feet and in irregularities of gait, which may render a horse unservice-
able, that it has been thought appropriate to conclude this book with
a brief chapter on the principles involved in shoeing healthy hoofs.

In unfolding this subject in the limited space at my disposal, I can
only hope to give the intelligent horse owner a sufficient number of
facts, based on experience and upon the anatomy and x^hysiologj^ of
the foot and leg, to enable him to avoid the more serious conse-
quences of improper shoeing.

Let us first examine this vital mechanism, the foot, and learn some-
thing of its structure and of the natural movements of its component
parts, that we may be prepared to recognize deviations from the
normal and to apply the proper corrective.

GROSS ANATOMY OF THE FOOT.

(Pis. XXXII-XXXIV.)

The bones of the foot are four in number, three of which — the
long pastern, short pastern, and coffin bone, placed end to end — form
a continuous straight column passing downward and forward from
the fetlock joint to the ground. A small accessory bone, the navic-
ular, or " shuttle," bone, lies crosswise in the foot between the wings
of the coffin bone and forms a part of the joint surface of the latter.
The short pastern projects about 1^ inches above the hoof and ex-
tends about an equal distance into it. (See also page 395.)

The pastern and the coffin bone are held together by strong fibrous
cords passing between each two bones" and placed at the sides so as
not to interfere with the forward and backward movement of the
bones. The joints are therefore hinge joints, though imperfect,
because, while the chief movements are those of extension and flexion
in a single plane, some slight rotation and lateral movements are
possible.

583

584 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

The bones are still further bound together and supported by three
long fibrous cords, or tendons. One, the extensor tendon of the toe,
passes down the front of the pasterns and attaches to the coffin bone
just below the edge of the hair ; when pulled upon by its muscle this
tendon draws the toe forward and enables the horse to place the hoof
flat upon the ground. The other two tendons are placed behind the
pasterns and are called flexors, because they flex, or bend, the pas-
terns and coffin bone backward. One of the tendons is attached to
the upper end of the short pastern, while the other passes down
between the heels, glides over the imder surface of the navicular
bone, and attaches itself to the under surface of the coffin bone.
These two tendons not only flex, or fold up, the foot as the latter
leaves the ground during motion, but at rest assist the suspensory
ligament in supporting the fetlock joint.

The foot-axis is an imaginary line passing from the fetlock joint
through the long axes of the two pasterns and coffin bone. This
imaginary line, which shows the direction of the pasterns and coffin
bone, should always be straight — that is, never broken, either forward
or backward when viewed from the side, or inward or outward when
observed from in front. Viewed from one side, the long axis of the
long pastern, when prolonged to the ground, should be parallel to
the line of the toe. Viewed from in front, the long axis of the long
pastern, when prolonged to the ground, should cut the hoof exactly at
the middle of the toe.

Raising the heel or shortening tli.e toe not only tilts the coffin bone
forward and makes the hoof stand steeper at the toe, but slackens the
tendon that attaches to the under surface of the coffin bone (perforans
tendon), and therefore allows the fetlock joint to sink downward and
backward and the long pastern to assume a more nearly horizontal
position. The foot-axis, viewed from one side, is now broken for-
ward ; that is, the long pastern is less steep than the toe, and the heels
are either too long or the toe is too short. On the other hand, raising
the toe or lowering the heels of a foot with a straight foot-axis not
only tilts the coffin bone backward and renders the toe more nearly
horizontal, but tenses the perforans tendon, which then forces the fet-
lock joint forward, causing the long pastern to stand steeper. The
foot-axis, seen from one side, is now^ broken backward — an indication
that the toe is relatively too long or that the heels are relatively too
low\

The elastic tissues of the foot are preeminently the lateral cartilages
and the plantar cushion. The lateral cartilages are two irregularly
four-sided p>lates of gristle, one on either side of the foot, extending
from the wings of the coffin bone backward to the heels and upward to
a distance of an inch or more above the edge of the hair, where they
may be felt by the fingers. "When sound, these plates are elastic and

HORSESHOEING. 585

yield readily to moderate finger pressure, but from various causes
may undergo ossification, in which condition they are hard and un-
yielding. The plantar cushion is a wedge-shaped mass of tough,
elastic, fibro-fatty tissue filling all the space between the lateral car-
tilages, forming the fleshy heels and the fleshy frog, and serving as a
buffer to disperse shock when the foot is set to the ground. It ex-
tends forward underneath the navicular bone and perforans tendon,
and protects these structures from injurious pressure from below.
Instantaneous photographs show that at speed the horse sets the
heels to the ground before other parts of the foot — conclusive proof
that the function of this tough, elastic structure is to dissipate and
render harmless violent impact of the foot with the ground.

The horn-producing membrane, or " quick," as it is commonly
termed, is merely a downward prolongation of the " derm," or true
skin, and may be conveniently called the pododerm (foot skin). The
pododerm closely invests the coffin bone, lateral cartilages, and
plantar cushion, much as a sock covers the human foot, and is itself
covered by the horny capsule, or hoof. It differs from the external
skin, or hair skin, in having no sweat or oil glands, but, like it, is
richly supplied with blood vessels and sensitive nerves. And, just
as the derm of the hair skin produces upon its outer surface layer
upon layer of horny cells (epiderm), which protect the sensitive and
vascular derm, so, likewise, in the foot the pododerm produces over
its entire surface soft cells, which, pushed away by more recent cells
forming beneath, lose moisture by evaporation and are rapidly trans-
formed into the corneous material which we call the hoof. It is
proper to regard the hoof as a greatly thickened epiderm having
many of the qualities possessed by such epidermal siructures as hair,
feathers, nails, claws, etc.

The functions of the pododerm are to produce the hoof and to unite
it firmly to the foot.

There are five parts of the pododern, easily distinguishable when
the hoof has been removed, namely: (1) The perioplic band, a nar-
row ridge from one-sixteenth to one-eighth of an inch wide, running
along the edge of the hair from one heel around the toe to the other.
This band produces the perioplic horn, the thin varnishlike layer of
glistening horn, which forms the surface of the wall or " crust," and
whose purpose seems to be to retard evaporation of moisture from
the wall. (2) The coronary band, a prominent fleshy cornice encir-
cling the foot just below and parallel to the perioplic band. At the
heels it is reflected forward along the sides of the fleshy frog, to be-
come lost near the apex of this latter structure. The coronet pro-
duces the middle layer of the wall, and the reflexed portions produce
the " bars," which are, therefore, to be regarded merely as a turning
forward of the wall. (3) The fleshy leaves, 500 to 600 in number,

58G

DISEASES OF THE HOBSE.

parallel to one another, running downward and forward from the
lower edge of the coronary band to the margin of the fleshy sole.
They produce the soft, light-colored horny leaves which form the
deepest layer of tlie wall, and serve as a strong bond of union between
the middle layer of the wall and the fleshy leaves with which they
dovetail. (4) The fleshy sole, Avhich covers the entire under surface
of the foot, excepting the fleshy frog and bars. The horny sole is
produced by the fleshy sole. (5) The fleshy frog^ which covers the
under surface of the plantar cushion and produces the horny frog.

The horny box or hoof consists of wall and bars, sole and frog.
The wall is all that part of the hoof which is visible when the foot is
on the ground (see fig. 8). As already stated, it consists of three lay-
ers— the periople, the middle layer, and the leafy layer.

The bars (see fig. Ic) are forward prolongations of the wall, and
are gradually lost near the point of the frog. The angle between the
wall and a bar is called the " buttress." Each bar lies against the
horny frog on one side and incloses a wing of the sole on the other,
so that the least expansion or contraction of the horny frog separates
or approximates the bars, and through them the lateral cartilages and
the walls of the quarters. The lower border of the wall is called the
" bearing edge," and is the surface against which the shoe bears. By
dividing the entire lower circumference of the wall into five equal
part, a toe, two side walls, and two quarters will be exhibited. The
" heels," strictly speaking, are the two rounded soft prominences of
the plantar cushion, lying one above each quarter. The outer wall is
usually more slanting than the inner, and the more slanting half of a
hoof is always the thicker. In front hoofs the wall is thickest at the
toe and gradually thins out toward the quarters, where in some horses
it may not exceed one-fourth of an inch. In hind hoofs there is much
less difference in thickness between the toe, side walls, and quarters.
The horny sole, from which the flakes of old horn have been removed,
is concave and about as thick as the wall at the toe. It is rough, un-
even and often covered b}^ flakes of dead horn in process of being
loosened and cast oft'. Behind the sole i^resents an opening into which
are received the bars and horny frog. This opening divides the sole
into a body and two wings.

The periphery of the sole unites with the loAver border of the wall
and bars through the medimn of the white line, which is the cross
section of the leafy horn layer of the wall and of short plugs of horn
which grow down from the lower ends of the fleshy leaves. This
white line is of much importance to the shoer, since its distance from
the outer border of the hoof is the thickness of the Avall, and in the
Avhite line all nails should be driven.

The frog, secreted by the pododerm covering the plantar cushion
or fatty frog, and presenting almost the same form as the latter, lies

HORSESHOEING. 587

as a soft and very elastic wedge between the bars and between the
edges of the sole just in front of the bars. A broad and shallow de-
pression in its center divides it into two branches, which diverge as
they pass backward into the horny bulbs of the heel. In front of the
middle cleft the two branches unite to form the body of the frog,
which ends in the point of the frog. The bar of a bar shoe should
rest on the branches of the frog. In imshod hoofs the bearing edge
of the wall, the sole, frog, and bars are all on a level; that is, the
under surface of the hoof is perfectly flat, and each of these structures
assists in bearing the body weight.

With respect to solidity, the different parts of the hoof vary
widely. The middle layer of the wall is harder and more tenacious
than the sole, for the latter crumbles away or passes off in larger or
smaller flakes on its under surface, while no such spontaneous short-
ening of the wall occurs. The white line and the frog are soft-horn
structures, and differ from hard horn in that their horn cells do not
under natural conditions become hard and hornlike. They are very
elastic, absorb moisture rapidly, and as readily dry out and become
hard, brittle, and easily fissured. Horn of good quality is fine^
grained and tough, while bad horn is coarse grained and either
mellow and friable or hard and brittle. All horn is a poor con-
ductor of heat, and the harder (drier) the horn the more slowly
does it transmit extremes of temperature.

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL MOVEMENTS OF THE HOOF.

A hoof while supporting the body weight has a different form, and
the structures inclosed within the hoof have a different position than
when not bearing weight. Since the amount of weight borne by a
foot is continually changing, and the relations of internal pressure
are continuously varying, a foot is, from a physiological viewpoint,
never at rest. The most marked changes of form of the hoof occur
when the foot bears the greatest weight, namely, at the time of the
greatest descent of the fetlock. Briefly, these changes of form are :
(1) An expansion or widening of the whole back half of the foot
from the coronet to the lower edge of the quarters. This expansion
varies between one-fiftieth and one-twelfth of an inch. (2) A nar-
rowing of the front half of the foot, measured at the coronet. (3) A
sinking of the heels and a flattening of the wings of the sole. These
changes are more marked in the half of the foot that bears the
greater weight.

The changes of form occur in the following order . When the foot
is set to the ground the body weight is transmitted through the bones
and sensitive and horny leaves to the wall. The coffin bone and
navicular bone sink a little and rotate backward. At the same time

588 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

the short pastern sinks backward and downward between the lateral
cartilages and presses the perforans tendon upon the plantar cushion.
This cushion being compressed from above and being unable to
expand downward by reason of the resistance of the ground acting
against the horny frog, aets like any other elastic mass and expands
toward the sides, pushing before it the yielding lateral cartilages and
the wall of the quarters. This expansion of the heels is assisted and
increased by the simultaneous flattening and lateral expansion of the
resilient horny frog, wdiich crowds the bars apart. Of course, when
the lateral cartilages are ossified, not only is no expansion of the
quarters possible, but frog pressure often leads to painful compres-
sion of the plantar cushion and to increase of lameness. Frog pres-
sure is therefore contraindicated in lameness due to sidebones (ossi-
fied cartilages). Under the descent of the coffin bone the horny sole
sinks a little; that is, the arch of the sole around the point of the
frog and the wings of the sole become somewhat flattened. All these
changes of form are most marked in sound unshod hoofs, because
in them ground pressure on the frog and sole is pronounced; they
are more marked in fore hoofs than in hind hoofs.

The movement of the different structures within the foot and the
changes of form that occur at every step are indispensable to the
health of the hoof, so that these elastic tissues must be kept active by
regular exercise, with protection against drying out of the hoof.
Long-continued rest in the stable, drying out of the hoof, and shoeing
decrease or alter the ph3^siological movements of the hoof and some-
times lead to foot diseases. Since these movements are complete and
spontaneous only in unshod feet, shoeing must be regarded as an evil,
albeit a necessary one, and indispensable if we wish to keep hoi'ses
continuously serviceable on hard, artificial roads. However, if in
shoeing we bear in mind the structure and functions of the hoof and
apply a shoe whose branches have a wide and level bearing surface,
so as to interfere as little as may be with the expansion and contrac-
tion of the quarters, in so far as this is not hindered by the nails, we
need not be apprehensive of trouble, provided the horse has reason-
able work and his hoofs proper care.

GROWTH OF THE HOOF.

All parts of the hoof giow downward and forward with equal
rapidity, the rate of growth being largely dependent upon the
amount of blood supplied to the pododerm, or " quick." Abundant
and regular exercise, good gi'ooming, moistness and suppleness of the
hoof, going barefoot, plenty of good feed, and at proper intervals
removing the overgrowth of hoof and regulating the bearing surf ace^
by increasing the volume and improving the quality of the blood

HORSESHOEING. 589

flowing into the pododerm, favor the rapid gi-owth of horn of good
quality; while lack of exercise, dryness of the horn, and excessive
length of the hoof hinder growth.

The average rate of growth is about one- third of an inch a month.
Hind hoofs grow faster than fore hoofs and unshod ones faster than
shod ones. The time required for the horn to grow from the coronet
to the gi'ound, though influenced to a slight degi'ee by the precited
conditions, varies in proportion to the distance of the coronet from
the ground. At the toe, depending on its height, the horn gTows
down in 11 to 13 months, at the side wall in 6 to 8 months, and at the
heels in 3 to 5 months. We can thus estimate with tolerable accu-
racy the time required for the disappearance of such defects in the
hoof as cracks, clefts, etc.

Irregular growth is not infrequent. The almost invariable cause
of this is an improper distribution of the body weight over the
hoof — ^that is, an unbalanced foot. Colts running in soft pasture or
confined for long periods in the stable are frequently allowed to grow
hoofs of excessive length. The long toe becomes " dished " — that is,
concave from the coronet to the ground — the long quarters curl for-
ward and inward and often completely cover the frog and lead to
contraction of the heels, or the whole hoof bends outward or inward,
and a crooked foot, or, even worse, a crooked leg, is the result if the
long hoof be allowed to exert its powerful and abnormally directed
leverage for but a few months upon young plastic bones and tender
and lax articular ligaments. All colts are not foaled with straight
legs, but failure to regulate the length and bearing of the hoof may
make a straight leg crooked and a crooked leg worse, just as intelli-
gent care during the growing period can greatly improve a con-
genitally crooked limb. If breeders were more generally cognizant
of the power of overgrown and unbalanced hoofs to divert the lower
bones of young legs from their proper direction, and, therefore, to
cause them to be moved improperly, with loss of speed and often with
injury to the limbs, we might hope to see fewer knock-kneed, bow-
legged, '' splay-footed," " pigeon-toed," cow-hocked, interfering, and
paddling horses.

If in shortening the hoof one side wall is, from ignorance, left too
long or cut down too low with relation to the other, the foot will be
imbalanced, and in traveling the long section will touch the ground
iirst and will continue to do so till it has been reduced to its proper
level (length) by the increased wear which will take place at this
point. While this occurs rapidly in unshod hoofs, the shoe prevents
wear of the hoof, though it is itself more rapidly worn away beneath
the high (long) side than elsewhere, so that by the time the shoe is
worn out the tread of the shoe may be flat. If this mistake be re-
peated from month to month, the part of the wall left too high will

590

DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

grow more rapidly than the low side whose pododerm is relatively
anemic as a result of the greater weight falling into this half of the
hoof, and the ultimate result Avill be a " wr}^," or crooked foot.

THE CARE OF UNSHOD HOOFS.

The colt should have abundant exercise on dry ground. The hoofs
Avill then wear gradually, and it will only be necessary from time to
time to regulate any uneven wear with the rasp and to round off the
sharp edge about the toe in order to prevent breaking away of the
w^all.

Colts in the stable can not wear down their hoofs, so that every
four to six weeks the}' should be rasped down and the lower edge of

the wall Avell rounded to pre-
vent chipping. The soles and
clefts of the frog should be
picked out every few days
and the entire hoof washed
clean. Plenty of clean straw
litter should be provided.
Hoofs that are becoming
" awry " should have the wall
shortened in such a manner
as to straighten the foot-
axis. Tliis will ultimatelj''
produce a good hoof and wdll
improve the position of the
limb.

Fig. 1. — Ground surface of a right fore hoof of
the regular form : a, a, wall ; a-a, the toe ;
0-6, the side walls ; h-d, the quarters ; c, c,
the bars ; d, d, the buttress ; e, lateral cleft of
the frog ; f, body of the sole ; g, g', g", leafy
layer (white line) of the toe and bars; h,
body of the frog ; i, i, branches of the frog ;
k, k, horny bulbs of the heels ; l^ middle cleft
of the frog.

moderate compression with pincers.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A
HEALTHY HOOF.

A healthy hoof (figs. 1 and
8) is equally warm at all
parts, and is not tender under
pressure with the hands or
The coronet is soft -and elastic
at all points and does not project beyond the surface of the wall.
The wall (fig. 8) is straight from coronet to ground, so that a
straightedge laid against the wall from coronet to ground pai'allel
to the direction of the horn tubes will touch at every point. The
Avail should be covered with the outer varnishlike layer (periople)
and should show no cracks or clefts. Every hoof shows " ring for-
mation," but the rings should not be strongly marked and should
always run parallel to the coronary band. Strongly marked ring-
formation over the entire v^'all is an evidence of a Aveak hoof, but

HORSESHOEING.

591

"wlieii limited to a part of the Avail is evidence of previous local
inflammation. The bulbs of the heels should be full, rounded, and
of equal height. The sole (fig. 1) should be well hollowed out, the
white line solid, the frog well developed, the middle cleft of the
frog broad and shallow, the spaces between the bars and the frog Avide
and shallow, the bars straight
from the buttress toward the
point of the frog, and the
buttiesses themselves so far
apart as not to press against
the branches of the frog. A
hoof can not be considered
health}" if it presents reddish
discolored horn, cracks in the
wall, white line, bars, or frog,
thrush of the frog, contrac-
tion or displacement of the heels. The lateral cartilages should yield
readily to finger pressure.

VARIOUS FORMS OF HOOFS.

Fig.

-Pair of fore feet of regular form in
regular standing position.

As among a thousand human faces no two are alike, so among an
equal number of horses no two have hoofs exactly alike. A little
study of different forms soon shows us, however, that the form of
BA'ery hoof is dependent in great measure on the direction of the two

pastern bones as viewed from
in front or behind, or from
one side; and that all hoofs
fall into three classes when
we view them from in front
and three classes when we ob-
serve them in profile. Inas-
much as the form of every
foot determines the peculi-
arities of the shoe that is best
adapted to it, no one Avho is
ignorant of, or who disre-
gards the natural form of, a hoof can hope to understand physio-

FiG. 3. — Pair of fore feet of base-wide form in
toe-wide standing position.

logica

1 shoeing.

FORMS OF FEET VIEWED FROM IN FRONT AND IN PROFILE.

Whether a horse's feet be observed from in front or from behind,
their form corresponds to, or at least resembles, either that of the
regular position (fig. 2), the base- wide or toe- wide position (fig. 3),
or the base-narrow position (fig. 4).

592

DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

By the direction of the imaginary line passing through the long
axes of the two pasterns (figs. 2, 4, 5) we determine whether or not
the hoof and pasterns stand in proper mutual relation.

In the regular standing position (fig. 2) the foot-axis runs straight
downAvard and forward; in the base-wide position (fig. 3) it runs
obliquely downw^ard and outward, and in the base-narrow position
(fig. 4) it runs obliquely downward and inward.

Viewing the foot in profile, we distinguish the regular position
(fig. 5h) and designate all forw^ard deviations as acute-angled (long
toe and low heel, fig. 6a) , and all deviations backward from the regu-
lar (steep toe and high heel, fig. 5c) as steep-toed, or stumpy. When

the body weight is evenly
distributed over all four
limbs, the foot-axis should
be straight; the long pas-
tern, short pastern, and
wall at the toe should have
the same slant.

A front hoof of the reg-
ular standing iposition. —
The outer w^all is a little
more slanting and some-
what thicker than the inner. The lower border of the outer quarter
describes the arc of a smaller circle — that is, is more sharply bent
than the inner quarter. The w^eight falls near the center of the foot
and is evenly distributed over the whole bottom of the hoof. The
toe forms an angle with the ground of 45° to 50° and is parallel to

Fig. 4.

-Pair of fore feet of base-narrow form in toe-narrow
standing position.

Fio. T). — a. Side view of an aeutf-angled fore foot (shod) ; 6, side view of a regular fore foot,
showing the most desirable degree of obliquity (34°) ; c. side view of a stumpy, or " up-
right," fore foot ; obliquity above 50°, In a, b, c, note particularly the relation between
the length of the shoe and the overhanging of the heels. Note also the toe roll of the
shoes.

the direction of the long pastern. The toe points straight ahead, and
when the horse is moving forward in a straight line the hoofs are
picked up and carried forward in a line parallel to the middle line
of the body, and are set down flat. Coming straight toward the
observer the hoofs seem to rise -and fall perpendicularly.

HORSESHOEING. 593

A hoof of the base-wide posltian is always awry. The outer wall
is more slanting, longer, and thicker than the inner, the outer
quarter more curved than the inner, and the oviter half of the sole
wider than the inner. The weight falls largely into the inner half
of the hoof. In motion the hoof is moved in a circle. From its
position on the ground it breaks over the inner toe, is carried for-
ward and inward close to the supporting leg, thence forward and
outward to the ground, which the hoof meets first with the outeV
toe. Horses that are toe-wide (" splay-footed " — toes turned out-
ward) show all these peculiarities of hoof-form and hoof-flight to
a still more marked degree and are therefore more prone to " inter-
fere " when in motion.

A hoof of the hase-narrow position is awry, but not to so marked a
degree as the base-wide hoof. The inner wall is usually a little more
slanting than the outer, the inner half of the sole W'ider than the
outer, and the inner quarter more curved than the outer. The outer
quarter is often flattened and drawn in at the bottom. The weight
falls largely into the outer half of the hoof. In motion the hoof
breaks over the outer toe, is carried forward and outward at some
distance from the supporting leg, thence forward and inward to the
ground, which it generally meets with the outer toe. The foot thus
moves in a circle, w^hose convexity is outward, a manner of flight
called " paddling." A base-narrow horse, whose toes point straight
ahead, frequently "interferes," while a toe-narrow (pigeon-toed)
animal seldom does.

A regular hoof (fig. 56), viewed from one side, has a straight foot-
axis inclined to the horizon at an angle of 45° to 50°. The w^eight
falls near the center of the foot and there is moderate expansion of
the quarters.

An acute-angled hoof (fig. 5«) has a straight foot-axis inclined at
an angle less than 45° to the horizon. The weight falls more largely
in the back half of the hoof and there is greater length of hoof in
contact wdth the ground and greater expansion of the heels than in
the regular hoof.

Upright or stumpy hoof. — In the upright or stumpy hoof (fig. 5(?)
the foot-axis is straight and more than 55° steep. The hoof is rela-
tively short from toe to heel, the weight falls farther forward, and
there is less expansion of the heels than in the regular hoof.

Wide and narrow hoofs. — Finally, there are wide hoofs and nar-
row hoofs, dependent solely upon race and breeding. The wide hoof
is almost circular on the ground surface, the sole but little concave,
the frog large, and the quality of the horn coarse. The narrow hoof
has a strongly " cupped " sole, a small frog, nearly perpendicular
side walls, and fine-grained, tough horn.

54763°— 23 38

594 DISEASES OF THE HOESE,

Hind hoofs are influenced in shape by different directions of their

pasterns much as front feet are. A hind hoof is not round at the

toe as a front hoof is, but is more pointed. Its greatest width is

two-thirds of the way back from toe to heel, the sole is more concave,

the heels relatively wider, and the toe about 10° steeper than in front

hoofs.

EXAMINATION PRELIMINARY TO SHOEING.

The object of the examination is to ascertain the direction and
position of the limbs, the shape, character, and quality of the hoofs,
the form, length, position, and wear of the shoe, the number, dis-
tribution, and direction of the nails, the manner in which the hoof
leaves the ground, its line of flight, the manner in which it is set to
the ground, and all other peculiarities, that at the next and subse-
quent shoeings proper allowances may be made and observed faults
corrected. The animal must, therefore, be observed both at rest and
in motion.

At rest, the observer should stand in front and note the slant of the
long pasterns. Do they drop perpendicularly, or slant downward
and outward (base- wide foot), or downward and inward (base-nar-
row foot) ? AVliatever be the direction to the long pastern, an im-
aginary line passing through its long axis, when prolonged to the
ground, should apparently pass through the middle of the toe. But
if such line cuts through the inner toe the foot-axis is not straight, as
it should be, but is broken inward at the coronet, an indic^^tion that
either the outer wall of the hoof is too long (high) or that the inner
wall is too short (low) . On the contrary, if the center line of the long
pastern falls through the outer toe the foot-axis is broken outward at
the coronet, an indication that either the inner wall is too long or the
outer wall too short.

The observer should now place himself at one side, two or three
paces distant, in order to view the limb and hoof in profile. Note the
size of the hoof in relation to the height and weight of the animal,
and the ol)liquity of the hoof. Is the foot-axis straight — that is, does
the long pastern have the same slant as the toe, or does the toe of the
hoof stand steeper than the long pastern (fig. ^c) ? In which case
the foot-axis is broken forward at the coronet, an indication, usually,
that the quarters are either too high or that the toe is too short.

If the long pastern stands steeper than the toe (fig. 6a) the foot-
axis is broken backward, in which case the toe is too long or the quar-
ters are too low (short). In figures 6a and 6(? the dotted lines passing
from toe to quarters indicate the amount of horn which must bo
removed in order to straighten the foot-axis, as shown in figure 6&.
Note also the length of the shoe.

Next, the feet should be raised and the examiner should note the
outline of the foot, the conformation of the sole, form and quality

HORSESHOEING.

595

of tlie frog, form of the shoe, wear of the shoe, and the number and
distribution of the nails. Does the shoe fully coA^er the entire lower
border of the wall ? or is it too narrow, or fitted so full on the inside
that it has given rise to interfering? or has the shoe been nailed on
crooked ? or has it become loose and shifted ? is it too short, or so wide
at the ends of the branches as not to support the buttresses of the
hoof? Does the shoe correspond with the form of the hoof? Are
the nails distributed so as to interfere as little as possible with the
expansion of the quarters? are there too many? are they too large?
driven too "fine" or too high? These are questions which the
observer should put to himself.

Note carefully the wear of the old shoe. It is the unimpeachable
evidence of the manner in which the hoof has been set to the ground
since the shoe was nailed to it, and gives valuable " pointers " in lev-
eling the hoof. Wear is the effect of friction between the shoe and the

Fig. G. — a. Side vie?? of foot with tlie foot-axis broken backward as a result of too long a
toe. The amount of horn to be removed from the toe in order to straighten the foot-
axis is denoted by a dotted line ; 6, side view of a properly balanced foot, with a
straight foot-axis of desirable slant ; c, side view of stumpy foot with foot-axis broken
forward, as a i-esult of overgrowth of the quarters. The amount of horn to be removed
in order to straighten the foot-axis is shown by a dotted line.

ground at the moment of contact. Since the properly leveled hoof
is set flat to the ground, the " grounding wear " of a shoe should be
uniform at every point, though the toe will always show wear due to
scouring at the moment of " breaking over." Everything which
tends to lengthen the stride tends also to make the " grounding
wear" more pronounced in the heels of the shoe, while all causes
which shorten the stride — as stiffening of the limbs through age,
overwork, or disease — bring the grounding wear nearer the toe.

An exception should be noted, however, in founder, in which the
grounding wear is most pronounced at the heels.

If one branch of the shoe is found to be worn much thinner than
the other, the thinner branch has either been set too near the middle
line of the foot (fitted too close), where it has been bearing greater
weight while rubbing against the gi'ound, or, what is much more
often the case, the section of wall above the thinner branch has been

596 DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

too long (too high), or the opposite section of wall has been too short
(too low), " One-sided wear, uneven setting down of the feet, and an
unnatural course of the wall are often found together." How much
an old shoe can tell us, if we take time and pains to decipher its scars !

The horse shoidd next be obserA-ed at a walk and at a trot or pace,
from in front, from behind, and from the side, and the "breaking
over."' the carriage of the feet, and the manner of setting them to the
ground carefully noted and remembered. A horse does not always
move jiist as his standing position would seem to imply. Often there
is so great a difference in the form and slant of two fore hoofs or two
hind hoofs that we are in doubt as to their normal shape, when a few
steps at a trot will usually solve the problem instantly by showing us
the line of flight of the hoofs and referring them to the regular, base-
wide, or base-narrow form.

No man is competent either to shoe a horse or to direct the work
till he has made the precited observations.

PREPARATION OF THE HOOF FOR THE SHOE.

After raising the clinches of the nails with a rather dull clinch
cutter ("buffer") and drawing the nails one at a time, the old shoe
is critically examined and laid aside. Remaining stubs of nails are
then drawn or punched out and the hoof freed of dirt and partially
detached horn. The farrier has now to " dress •' the overgrown hoof
to receive the new shoe : in other words, he has to form a base of sup-
port so inclined to the direction of the pasterns that in motion this
surface shall be set flat upon the ground. He must not rob the hoof
nor leave too much horn; either mistake may lead to injury. If lie
lias made a careful preliminary examination he knows what part of
the wall requires removal and what part must be left, for he already
knows the direction of the foot axis and the wear of the old shoe
and has made up his mind just where and how much horn must be
removed to leave the hoof of proper length and the foot axis straight,

A greatly overgroAvn hoof may be quickly shortened with sharp
nippers and the sole freed of semidetached flakes of horn. The con-
cave sole of a thick-walled, strong hoof may be pared out around the
point of the frog, but not so much as to remove all evidences of ex-
foliation. The wall should be leveled with the rasp till its full
thickness, the white line, and an eighth of an inch of the margin of
the sole are in one horizontal plane, called the " bearing surface of
the hoof." The bars, if long, may be shortened, but never pared on
the side. The branches of the sole in the angle between the bars and
the wall of the quarters should be left a little lower than the wall, so
n s not to be pressed upon by the inner web of the shoe. " Corns," or
bruises of the pododerm, are usually a result of leaving a thick mass
of dry. unyielding horn at this point. The frog should not be

HORSESHOEING. 597

touched further than to remove tags or layers that are so loose as to

form no protection. A soft frog will shorten itself spontaneously

by the exfoliation of superficial layers of horn, while if the frog is

dry, hard, and too prominent it is better to soften it by applying

moisture in some form, and to allow it to wear away naturally than

to pare it down. It is of advantage to have the frog project below

the level of the wall an amount equal to the thickness of a plain

shoe, though we rarely see frogs of such size except in draft horses.

The sharp lower border of the wall should be rounded w ith the rasp

to prevent its being bent outward and broken aM'ay. Finally, the

foot is set to the ground and again observed from all sides to make

sure that the lines bounding the hoof correspond with the direction

of the long pastern.

THE SHOE.

The shoe is an artificial base of support, by no means ideal, because
it interferes to a greater or less degree with the physiology of the
foot, but indispensable except for horses at slow work on soft
ground. Since a proper surface of support is of the greatest im-
portance in preserving the health of the feet and legs, it is necessary
to consider the various forms of shoes best adapted to the different
forms of hoofs. Certain properties are common to all shoes and may
be considered first. They are form, width, thickness, length, sur-
faces, borders, " fullering," nail holes, and clips.

ForTTh. — Every shoe should haA^e the form of the hoof for which it
is intended, provided the hoof retains its proper shape ; but for every
hoof that has undergone change of form we must endeavor to give the
shoe that form which the hoof originally possessed. Front shoes and
hind shoes, rights and lefts, should be distinctly different and easily
disting'iushable.

'Width. — All shoes should be wider at the toe than at the ends of
the branches. The average width should be about double the thick-
ness of the wall at the toe.

Thicl'ness. — The thickness should be sufficient to make the shoe last
about four weeks and should be uniform except in special cases.

Length. — This will depend upon the obliquity of the hoof viewed in
profile. The acute-angled hoof (fig. 5a.) has long overhanging heels,
and a considerable proportion of the weight borne by the leg falls in
the posterior half of the hoof. For such a hoof the branches of the
shoe should extend back of the buttresses to a distance nearly double
the thickness of the shoe. For a hoof of the regular form (figs. 56
and 8) the branches should project an amount equal to the thickness
of the shoe. In a stumpy hoof (fig. 5(?) the shoe need not project
more than one-eighth of an inch. In all cases the shoe should cover
the entire "bearing surface" of the wall.

598 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

Surfaces. — The surface that is turned toward the hoof is known as
the " upper," or " hoof surface," of the shoe. That part of the hoof
surface which is in actual contact with the horn is called the " bearing
surface " of the shoe. The " bearing surface " should be perfectly
horizontal from side to side, and wide enough to support the full
thickness of the wall, the white line, and about an eighth of an inch
of the margin of the sole. The bearing surface should also be per-
fectly flat, except that it may be turned up at the toe ("rolling-
motion " shoe, fig. 5 a., Z>, c.) The surface between the bearing surface
and the inner edge of the shoe is often beaten dowm or concaved to
prevent pressure too far inward upon the sole. This " concaving," or
" seating," should be deeper or shallower as the horny sole is less or
more concave. As a rule, strongly " cupped " soles require no con-
caving (hind hoofs, narrow fore hoofs).

Borders. — The entire outer border should be beveled under the foot.
Such a shoe is not so readily loosened, nor is it so apt to lead to
interfering.

FulleH7ig. — This is a groove in the ground surface of the shoe. It
should pass through two-thirds of the thickness of the shoe, be clean,
and of uniform w^idth. It is of advantage in that it makes the shoe
lighter in proportion to its width and, by making the ground surface
somewhat rough, tends to prevent slipping.

Nail holes. — The shoe must be so " punched " that the nail holes
will fall directly on the white line. They should be confined to the
fore half of front shoes, but may occupy the anterior two-thirds of
hind shoes. For a medium-weight shoe three nail holes in each
branch are sufficient, but for heavier shoes, especially those provided
with long calks, eight holes are about right, though three on the in-
side and four on the outside may do.

Clips. — These are half-circular ears drawn up from the outer edge
of the shoe either at the toe or opposite the side w^all. The height of
a clip should equal the thickness of the shoe, though they should be
even higher on hind shoes and when a leather sole is interposed be-
tw^een the shoe and hoof. Clips secure the shoe against shifting. A
side clip should always be drawn up on that branch of the shoe that
first meets the ground in locomotion.

SPECIAL FEATURES AND FITTING THE SHOES.

A shoe for a regular hoof (figs. 7 and 8) fits when its outer border
follows the wall closely in the region of the nail holes and from the
last nail to the end of the branch gradually projects beyond the sur-
face of the wall to an eighth of an inch and extends back of the but-
tresses an amount equal to the thickness of the shoe. The shoe must
be straiglit, firm, air-tight, its nail holes directly over the white line,

HORSESHOEING.

599

and its branches far enough from the branches of the frog to permit
the passage of a foot pick. Branches of the shoe must be of equal
length.

In fitting a shoe to a hoof of regular form we follow the form of
the hoof, but in base-wide and
base-narrow hoofs, which are
of irregular form, we must pay
attention not only to the form
of the hoof but also to the di-
rection of the pasterns and
the consequent distribution of
weight in the hoof, because
where the most weight falls the
surface of support of the foot
must be widened, and v\diere the
least weight falls (opposite
side of the hoof) the surface of
supi^ort should be narrowed.
In this wa}^ the imj)roper dis-
tribution of weight within the
hoof is evenly distributed over
the surface of support.

A shoe for a base-toide hoof
should be fitted full on the in-
ner side of the foot and fitted
close on the outer side, because
the inner side bears the most
weight. The nails in the outer branch are placed well back, but in
the inner branch are crowded forward toward the toe.

Fig. 7. — Left fore hoof of regular form,
shod with a plain " fullered " shoe. Note
the distribution of the nails, length of
the fuller (crease), and the closeness of
the ends of the shoe to the branches of
the frog.

yiG. 8. — Side view of hoof and shoe shown in fig. 7. Note the straight toe, weak ring
formation running parallel to the coronet, clinches low down and on a level, length of
the shoe, and the under-bevel at the toe and heel.

A shoe for a base-narrow hoof should be just the reverse of the
preceding. The outer branch should be somewhat longer than the
inner.

600 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

A shoe for an acute-angled hoof should be long in the branches,
because most of the weight falls in the posterior half of the foot.
The support in front should be diminished either by turning the shoe
up at the toe or by beveling it under the toe (fig. 5a).

A shoe for a stumpy hoof should be short in the branches, and
for pronounced cases should increase the support of the toe, where
the most of the weight falls, by being beveled downw'ard and forward.

In many cases, especially in draft horses, Avhere the hoofs stand
very close together, the coronet of the outer quarter is found to stand
out beyond the lower border of the quarter. In such cases the outer
branch of the shoe from the last nail back must be fitted so full that
an imaginary perpendicular dropped from the coronet will just meet
the outer border of the shoe. The inner branch, on the other hand,
must be fitted as " close '' as possible. The principal thought should
be to set the new shoe farther toward the more stronglj'^ v\'orn side.
Such a practice will render unnecessary the widespread and popular
fad of giving the outer quarter and heel calk of hind shoes an extreme
outward bend. Care should be taken, however, that in fitting the
shoe " full '' at the quarter the bearing surface of the hoof at the
quarter be not left unsupported or incompletely covered, to be
pinched and squeezed inward against the frog. This will be obviated
by making the outer branch of the shoe sufficiently Avide and punch-
ing it so coarse that the nails will fall upon the white line.

Hot fitting. — Few farriers have either the time or the skill neces-
sary to adjust a cold shoe to the hoof so that it will fit, as we say,
" air-tight." Though the opponents of hot fitting draw a lurid pic-
ture of the direful consequences of applying a hot shoe to the hoof, it
is only the abuse of the practice that is to be condemned. If a heavy
shoe at a yellow heat be held tightly pressed against a hoof Avhich
has been pared too thin, till it embeds itself, serious damage may be
done. But a shoe at a dark heat may be pressed against a properly
dressed hoof long enough to scorch, and thus indicate to the farrier
the portions of horn that should be lowered without appreciable in-
jury to the hoof and to the ultimate benefit of the animal.

Nailing. — The horse owner should insist on the nails being driven
low. They should pierce the wall not above an inch and five-eighths
above the shoe. A nail penetrating the white line and emerging low
on the wall destroys the least possible amount of horn, has a wide
and strong clinch, rather than a narrow one, which woidd be formed
near the point of the nail, and, furthermore, has the strongest pos-
sible hold on the w^all, because its clinch is pulling more nearly at a
right angle to the grain (horn tubes) of the wall than if driven
high. Finally, do not allow the rasp to touch the wall above the
clinches.

HORSESHOEING.

601

THE BAR SHOE.

The bar shoe (fig. 9) has a variety of uses. It enables us to give
the frog pressure, to restore it to its original state of activity and
development when, by reason of disuse, it has become atrophied. It
gives the hoof an increased surface of support and enables us to re-
lieve one or both quarters of undue pressure that may have induced
inflammation and soreness. The bar of the shoe should equal the
average width of the remainder of the shoe and should press but
lightly on the branches of the frog. The addition of a leather sole

Fig. 9. — An acute-angled left fore hoof shod with a
bar shoe. Note the width and position of the bar
and the fact that the nails are placed well toward
the toe, so as not to interfere with the expansion
of the quarters.

Fig. 10. — A fairly formed right
fore ice shoe for a roadster.
The toe and outer-heel calks cut
at right angles, and the inner-
heel calk is slender and blunt.
The back surface of the toe calk
should be perpendicular.

■with tar and oakum sole-packing allows us to distribute the weight
of the bod}^ over the entire ground surface of the hoof.

THE RUBBER PAD.

Various forms of rubber pads, rubber shoes, rope shoes, fiber shoes,
and other contrivances to diminish shock and prevent slipping on the
hard and slippery pavements of our large cities are in use in differ-
ent parts of the Avorld. In Germany the rope shoe (a malleable-iron
shoe with a groove in its ground surface in which lies a piece of tarred
rope) is extensively used with most gratifying results. It is cheap,
durable, easily applied, and effective.

602

DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

In the large cities of England and the United States rubber pads
are extensively used. They are rather expensive, but are quite effi-
cient in preventing slipping on polished and gummy pavements,
though not so effective on ice.
Figure 11 is an illustration of one
of the best of many rubber pads.
The rubber is stitched and ce-
mented to a leather sole and is
secured by the nails of a three-
quarter shoe. Such a pad will
usually last as long as two shoes.
They may be used continuously,

Fig. 11. — Left fore hoof of regular form shod
with a rubber i^ad and " three-quarter "
shoe. (Ground surface. )•"

Fig. 1?. — A narrow right fore hoof of the
base-wide (toe-wide) standing position,
shod with a plain " dropped-crease "
shoe to prevent the toe cutting (interfer-
ing). The dotted line at the inner toe
indicates the edge of the wall which
was rasped away in order to narrow the
hoof along the striking section. Note
the inward bevel of the shoe at this
point, the dropped crease, the distribu-
tion of the nails, the long " full " inner
branch, and the short " close " outer
branch.

not only without injury to the hoof, but to its great benefit. The
belief, unsupported by evidence, that rubber pads " draw the feet "
keeps many from using them. A human foot encased in a rubber
boot may eventually be blistered by the sweat poured upon the sur-
face of the skin and held there by the impervious rubber till decom-
position takes i)lace with the formation of irritating fatty acids;
but there is no basis for an analogj'^ in the hoof of a horse.

OTHER SPECIAL FORMS.

Some drawings, designed to illustrate shoeing in connection with
"interfering" and "forging," and other special conditions, ar«

shown in figures 13 to 18.

HORSESHOEING.

603

Fig. 13. — Hoof surface of a right hind shoe to prevent interfering. The inner branch has
no nail holes and is ^tted and beveled under the hoof. Note the number and position
of the nail holes, the clip on the outer side wall, and the narrowness and bend of the
inner branch.

Fig. 14. — Ground surface of .shoe shown in the previous figure. The inner, nailless branch
has the thickness of the outer branch plus its calk, so that the inner and outer quarters
of the hoof are equidistant from the ground.

604

DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Fig. 15. — Side view of a fore hoof shod so as to quicken the "breaking over" (quicken
the action) in a " forger." Note the short shoe, heel calks inclined forward, and the
rolled toe.

Fig. IP). — Side view of a short-tood hind hoof of a forger, shod to slow the action and to
prevent injury to the fore heels by the toe of the hind shoe. Note the elevation of the
short toe by means of a toe calk and the projection of the toe beyond the shoe. When
such a hoof has grown more toe, the toe calk can be dispensed with and fhe shoe set
farther forward.

HOESESHOEING.

605

Fig. 17. — A toe-weight shoe to increase the length of stride of fore feet. The nails are
placed too far back, and the shoe has no characteristic form but the weight is properlj
placed.

Fig. 18. — Most common form of punched heel-weight shoe to induce high action in fore
feet. The profile of the shoe shows a " roll " at the toe and " swelled " heels. The
weight is well placed, but " rolling " the toe and raising the heels lower action. The
shoe would be much more effective if of uniform thickness and with no roll at the toe.

INDEX.

Abdomen — Page.

dropsy, in foal, or ascites, description and {reatment. ........... ...... 193

dropsy, or ascites, description, symptoms, and treatment 86

limbs, and perineum, dropsy affecting, description and treatment. .,..,.. 180

sheath, and penis, swelUng, cause and treatment 171

Abnormal presentations at birth 197-202

Abortion, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment 182

Abscess — ■

and inflammation of lymphatic glands, descriptions, symptoms, treatment. 272

in lung and suppuration, symptoms 127

Abscesses —

acute, description and treatment 500

cold, description and treatment 501

description 500

in throat, treatment 62

Acari, parasites of eye 296

Acariasis, or mange, note 478

Achorion sdionleini, vegetable parasite of skin, description 478

Adams, John W., chapter on "Horseshoeing" 583-605

Air embolism, or air in veins, note 270

Albuminoid poisoning, hemoglobinuria, azoturia, azotemia, symptoms, preven-
tion, and treatment 141

Aloes, use against bots in horses 93

Amaurosis, or palsy of nerve of sight, causes, symptoms, and treatment - . . 231, 295

Amnion, dropsy, description and treatment 180

Anasai-ca, or purpura hemorrhagica, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc 531, 533

Anatomy and physiology of brain and nervous system 210

Anemia — •

of brain, causes, symptoms, patholog>% and treatment 223

spinal, symptoms and treatment 234

Aneurism — •

description, symptoms, pathology, and treatment 265

one form caused by Sirongylus vulgaris 265

Anidian monsters, or moles, description 179

Animal parasites, description of kinds 478

Ankle —

and fetlock, skin, note 397

fetlock, and foot, diseases, chapter by A. A. Holcombe 395^57

Ankles, cocked, or knuckling, description, causes, and treatment 400

Anthrax —

definition, causes, symptoms, and treatment 540-544

prevention by destruction of bacteria 544

vaccination as preventive 544

Apoplexv, or cerebral hemorrhage, causes, symptoms, pathology, and treat-
ment 220

Arteries — ■

description 249

diseases, or arteritis, and endarteritis, description, symptoms, pathology,

and treatment 263

Artery — •

constriction, description 265

rupture, description, symptoms, and treatment 266

. Arthritis, open joints, broken knees, and synovitis, cause and treatment 357

Ascaris equonim, intestinal worm, note 90

Ascites, or dropsy of abdomen, description, symptoms, and treatment 86, 193

Asthma, heaves, or broken wind, definition, symptoms, and treatment 128

Atheroma of veins and arteries, description 264

Autogenic vaccines, description 506

607

608 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Page.

Autumn mange, description and treatment 480

Azotemia, hemoglobinuria, azoturia, poisoning by albuminoids, symptoms,

prevention, and treatment 141

Azoturia, hemoglobinuria, azotemia, poisoning by albuminoids, symptoms,

prevention, and treatment 141

Bacillus equisepticiiH, cause of pneumonia 522

Bacteria, kinds responsible for pneumonia in horses 522

Bacteria vaccines, kinds and uses 506, 531

Balls, or pills, description and manner of administering 44

Bar shoe, uses fiOl

Bees, wasps, and hornets, stings, treatment 485

Beets as feed 56

Bichlorid, use in disinfection 509

Bighead (osteoporosis) —

chapter by John R. Mohler 578-582

symptoms, lesions, and treatment 580

Biliary calculi, or gallstones, symptoms and treatment - 90

Bilocular cavity, or calculus in sheath, or preputial calculus, description and

treatment 163

Birth, abnormal presentations at 197-202

Black pigment tumors, or melanosis, description and treatment 476

Bladder-
calculus, or stone, and tumor affecting 190

diseases growths, symptoms and treatment 151

eversion, description and treatment 152

inflammation, cystitis, or urocystitis, symptoms and treatment 149

irritable, cause and treatment 150

neck, spasms affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment 146, 225

paralysis, descrip tion and cause 230

paralysis, symptoms and treatment 148

stone, vesical calculus, or cystic calculus, description, sjTnptoms, and

treatment 159

worm of kidney 146

Bleeding-
after castration, treatment 1 70

from lungs, or hemoptysis, causes, description, and treatment 127

from nose, causes and treatment 103

or flooding from womb, treatment 205

skin eruptions, or Dennatorrhagia parasitica, description and treatment 469

Blisters, inflammation, or eczema, description and treatment 464

Bloat colic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

Blood-
circulation of heart, description 248

clots in walls of vagina 207

medicine administered into veins 48

medium of disease transmission 511

of penis, extravasation, cause and treatment 167

spavin, bog spavin, and thoroughpin, description and treatment 356

Blood vessels —

and heart, diseases, remarks 250

heart, and lymphatics, diseases, chapter by M. R. Triunbower 247-273

physiology and anatomy 247

Bloody urine, or hematuria, cause and treatment 141

Blowing, high, description 1 10

Bluebottle (Lucilia caesar), note 481

Bog spavin, blood spavin, and thoroughpin, description and treatment 356

Boil of eyelid, description and treatment 282

Boils—

or Dermatitis granulosa 469

or furuncles, description and treatment 466

Bone —

hip, fracture, or on innominatum, description, symptoms, prognosis, and

treatment 341

premaxillary, fractures, description and treatment 336

spavin. See Spavin.

INDEX. 609

Bones — Page.

cannon, fractirres, description, symptoms, and treatment 350. 395

cranial, fractures, causes, symptoms, and treatment 335

diseases, description 309

dislocations and luxations, cause, symptoms, and treatment 361

of face, fractures, description, and treatment 366

of fetlock and foot, description 395

of hip, fractures, causes 188

one system of locomotion 299, 301

sesamoid, fractures, cause, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 352

Botfly, habits and treatment 93

Bots, injury to horses, symptoms, and treatment 93-94

Bowels, twisting, volvulus, or gut- tie, cause, symptoms, and treatment 72

Brain^ —

and membranes, inflammation, description 212, 213

and nervous system, anatomy, and physiology 210

anemia, causes, symptoms, pathology, and treatment 223

compression, causes, symptoms, and treatment 221

concussion, causes, symptoms, treatment, and prevention 222

congestion, or megrims, description, causes, symptoms, treatment, and pre-
vention 217

description 211

dropsy, or hydrocephalus, causes, symptoms, and treatment 223

Bran, value as feed 55

Broken knee, open joints, synovitis, and arthritis, cause, prognosis, and treat-
ment 357

Broken wind, heaves, or asthma, definition, symptoms, and treatment 128

Broncliitis—

and broncho-pneumonia, description, symptoms, and treatment 120

chronic, description and treatment 110

Broncho-pleuro-pneumonia, description 126

Broncho-pneumonia and bronchitis, description, symptoms, and treatment. . . 120

Bruise of frog, causes, symptoms, and treatment 425

Burns and scalds, treatment 483, 496

Calculi^

biliary, or gallstones, symptoms and treatment 90

or stones, in intestines, description, symptoms, and treatment 71

or stones, in stomach, symptoms and treatment 70

renal, description, symptoms, and treatment 158

ureteric, description and treatment 158-159

urinary, classification 157

urinary, stone, or gravel 154, 156

Calculus —

in sheath, or bilocular cavity, or preputial calculus, description, and treat-
ment 163

or stone, and tumor in bladder 190

urethral, or stone in uretlu-a, description; symptoms, and treatment 162

vesical, stone in bladder, or cystic calculus, description, symptoms, and

treatment 159

Calk wounds, description and treatment 405

Callosities — •

description 475

sloughing, horny sloughs, or sitfasts, description and treatment 475, 496

Cancer, epithelial, or epithelioma, description and treatment 477

Canker —

of foot, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 418

or grease (inflammation of heels with sebaceous secretion), description,

causes, symptoms, and treatment 472

Cannon bone —

description 395

fractures, description, symptoms, and treatment 350

Capped elbow, cause, symptoms, and treatment 379

Capped hock, cause, symptoms, and treatment 385

Capped knee, description, cause, treatment, etc 383

Carbolic acid, use in disinfection 509

54763°— 23 39

610 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Page.

Carbon disulphid, use against worms in horses 93, 94

Cardiac enlargement, or hj-pertrophy of heart, description, symptoms, and

treatment 260

Caries of cartilage, or tumor of haw, description and treatment 284

Carrots, value as feed 56

Cartilaginous quitter, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 415

Cartilage nictitans, or winking cartilage (the haw), description 276

Castration —

bleeding after operation, treatment 170

by covered operation, method 172

of cryptorchids, or ridglings, method 169

of mare, method 172

of stallions, method 168

pain after operation, treatment 170

successful method 169

Cataract, remarks 295

Catarrh —

chronic, nasal gleet or collection in sinuses, causes, sjanptoms, and treat-
ment 99

gastro-intestinal, or indigestion, cause, sjanptoms, and treatment 76

nasal, or cold in head, symptoms, and treatment 98

Cerebral hemorrhage, or apoplexy, causes, symptoms, and treatment 220

Cerebritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 212

Cerebrospinal meningitis, so called, or forage poisoning, causes, symptoms, and

treatment 237

Cervical choke, description 63, 64

Chaff for feeding 54

Chaps on knee and hock, scratches, or cracked heels, description, causes, and

treatment 470

Chest walls, wounds penetrating, description and treatment 131

Chicken acari, or Dermanyssus galUnse, animal parasite of skin 480

Chigoe, or jigger —

larvffi of Trombidiuin, Leptus avieiicanus, animal parasite of skin 480

Pulex penetrans, bite, treatment 482

Choke-
cervical, description 63, 64

pharyngeal, cervical, and thoracic, symptoms and treatment 63

Chorea, or St. Vitus dance, description and treatment 227

Chorioptes —

bovis (Symbiotes equi, Dermaiophagus equi), animal parasite of skin 480

spathiferus, animal parasite of skin 480

Choroiditis, cause, symptoms, and treatment 288

Chronic bronchitis, description and treatment 110

Circinate ringworm, or Tinea tonsurans, description, symptoms, treatment 477

Circulation organs, methods of examination 13

Clubfoot, description 398

Clysters, or enemas, description and manner of administering 48

Cocked ankles, or knuckling, description, causes, and treatment 400

CofRn joint, description 396

Coflinbone, description 396

Cold in head, or nasal catarrh, symptoms and treatment 98

Colic-
bloat, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

cramp, or spasmodic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 74

flatulent, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

obstruction, ca\ised by impaction of large intestine, symptoms, and treat-
ment 68

specific forms 66

wind, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

worms, description, symptoms, and treatment 90-94

tympanitic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

Colt. See Fola.

Compression of brain, causes, symptoms, and treatment 221

Concussion —

of brain, causes, symptoms, and treatment 222

spinal, causes and treatment 235

INDEX. 611

Conformation — Page.

of foot, faults 398

of horse 10

Congenital scrotal hernia, description and treatment 82

Congestion — ■

active, causes 30

and inflammation of skin, description of kinds 461

and inflammation of testicles, or orchitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment . 164

description 30

of brain, or megi-ims, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc 217

of heart, description and symptoms 263

of lungs, description and treatment Ill

of skin, red efflorescence, or erythema, description and treatment 461

of skin, with small pimples, or pauples, description and treatment 463

of spine, cause, symptoms, and treatment 233

passive, causes 31

Conjunctives, or external ophthalmia, description, causes, symptoms, and

treatment 285

Constipation, or costiveness, cause and treatment 70, 181

Constitution of horse 10

Consumption, or tuberculosis, note 128

Contagious pneumonia, discussion 521-527

Convulsions, description and treatment 226

Cord-
spermatic, strangulated, cause and treatment 170

spermatic, tumors, causes and treatment 171

spinal, description 212

Corn, or maize, how to feed 55

Cornea —

ulcers, treatment 288

white specks and cloudiness, cause and treatment 288

Corns, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 421

Coronarj' band, description 397

Coronet —

description 396

fractures, symptoms and treatment 351

Costiveness, or constipation, cau.se and treatment 70, 181

Cough, chronic, description 131

Cracked heels, or scratches, causes and treatment 470

Cramp^ —

of hind limb, or spasm of thigh, description and treatment 226

or spasmodic, or coLic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 74

Cramps —

of hind limbs, cause and treatment 181

or spasms, causes and treatment 226

Cranial bones, fractures, causes, symptoms, and treatment 335

Cranium, tumor within, description of kinds 224

Cresol, use in disinfection .- 579

Crookedioot, description 399

Croup and diphtheria, mistakes in diagnosis 108

Cryptorchids, or ridgUngs, castration, method 169

Curb of hock, cause, symptoms, and treatment 374

Currying, value as preventive of bots 94

Cutaneous quittor, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 407

Cuticle, description 459

Cyanosis of newborn foals, description 263

Cylicostomum spp, parasite, danger and remedies 92-93

Cystic calculus, or stone in bladder, description, symptoms, and treatment 159

Cystic disease of wall of womb, or vesticular mole, description and treatment. . 179

Cysticercus, parasite of eye 297

Cystitis, inflammation of bladder, or urocystitis, symptoms and treatment. . . . 149

Dermanyssus gallinx, or chicken acari, animal parasite of skin 480

Dermatitis granulosa, or boils 469

Dermatocoptes equi, animal parasite of skin 480

Dermatodectes equi, animal parasite of skin 480

Dermatophagus equi, animal parasite of skin 480

612 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Page.
Dermatorrhagia parasitica, or bleeding skin eruptions, description and treat-
ment 469

Dermis, or true sldn, description 459

Descazeaux, study of summer sores, note 470

Diabetes —

insipidous, diuresis, polyuria, or excessive secretion of urine, causes, symp-
toms, and treatment 138

melUtus, saccharine diabetes, glycosuria, or inosuria, causes, symptoms,

and treatment 139

Diaphragm —

rupture, cause and symptoms 133

spasm, or thiunps, description and treatment 132, 225

Diaphragmatic hernia, description 85

Diarrhea, causes, symptoms, and treatment 77

Dieckerhoff, experiments in disease transmission, note 511

Digestive organs, diseases, chapter by Ch. B. Michener 49-94

Digestive tract, examination 20

Dilatation —

of heart, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 261

of veins, varicose, or varix, causes and treatment 269

Dioctophyme renale, roundworm of kidney 146

Diphtheria and croup, mistakes in diagnosis 108

Dips, use against mange in horses 479

Diseases, fundameutalprinciples of, chapter by Bush Shippen Huidekoper. . . 27-43

Disinfection, directions and materials 508-509

Dislocations and luxations of bones, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc 361

Distemper, cause, symptoms, and treatment 527-531

Diuresis, polyuria, diabetes insipidus, or excessive secretion of urine, causes,

symptoms, and treatment 138

Douche, nasal, in administering medicines 47

Dourine, or maladie du co'it —

article by John R. Mohler 562-564

description and treatment 562

symptoms and treatment 562-564

Drench, methods 45

Dropsies, synovial, remarks 355

Dropsy —

general, of fetus, description and treatment 193

of abdomen in foal, or ascites, description and treatment 193

of abdomen, or ascites, description, symptonxs, and treatment 86

of amnion, description and treatment 180

of brain, or hydrocephalus, causes, symptoms, and treatment 223

of limbs, perineum, and abdomen, description and treatment 180

of scrotum, or hydrocele, symptoms and treatment 166

of womb, cause, symptoms, and treatment 179

Dysentery, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 79

Echinococcus —

parasite of eye 296

parasite of kidney - 146

Ectropion and entropion, or eversion and inversion of eyelid, causes and treat-
ment 283

Eczema, or inflammation with blisters, description and treatment 464

Edematous pneumonia, definition, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc 521-527

Elbow-
capped, cause, symptoms, and treatment 379

muscles, sprains, causes, symptoms, and treatment 368

Electric shock, causes, description, and treatment . . 246

Electuries, or pastes, description, and manner of administering 45

Embolism —

air, or air in veins, note 270

and thrombus, description, symptoms, and treatment 267

Embryotomy of parts at abnormal births 202

Emphysema, or swelling of fetus with gas, description and treatment 194

Encephalitis, cause, symptoms, amd treatment 212

Endarteritis, and arteritis, description, symptoms, and treatment 263

Endocarditis, or inflammation of lining membrane of heart, cause, symptoms,

and treatment 252

INDEX. 613

Page.

Enemas, or clysters, description, and manner of administering 48

Engorgement colic, description, symptoms, and treatment 66

Enteritis, definition 66

Entropion and ectropion, or inversion and eversion of eyelid, causes and treat-
ment 283

Epilepsy, or falling fits, symptoms and treatment 227

Epithelial cancer, or epithelioma, description and treatment 477

Epithelioma —

degeneration of penis, or papillioma 167

or epithelial cancer, description and treatment 477

Equine variola, or horsepox, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc 535-540

Eruptions, bleeding skin, or Dermatorrhagia parasitica, description and treat-
ment 469

Erysipelas, description, cause, and treatment 474

Erythema, congestion of skin, or red effloresence, description and treatment. . . 461
Esophagus —

dilatation, causes, symptoms, and treatment 65

or gullet, treatment for foreign bodies 62

stricture, description and treatment 65

Eversion —

and inversion of eyelid, or ectropion and entropion, causes and treatment.. 283

of bladder, description and treatment 152

or womb after difficult parturition, treatment 205

Exostosis, cause, description, and treatment 309

Extravasation of blood of penis, causes and treatment 167

Eye^-^

diseases, chapter by James Law 274-297

examination 277

haw, or winking cartilage, description 276

lachrymal apparatus 277

muscles, description 276

palsy of nerve of sight, or amaurosis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 295

parasites, affecting, description of different kinds 296

watering, or obstruction of lachrymal apparatus, description and remedies. . 285
Eyeball-
description 274

tumors affecting 296

Eyelid-
diseases, description of different kinds 279

inflammation, causes and treatment 280

inversion and eversion, or entropion and ectropion, causes and treatment. 283

sty, or furuncle (boil), affecting, description and treatment 282

torn, or wounds affecting, description and treatment 284

warts and tumors affecting, description and treatment 283

Face bones, fractures, description and treatment , 336

Facial paralysis, cause and symptoms 230

Fainting, or syncope, symptoms and treatment 259

Farcy-

and glanders, definition, causes, etc 544r-557

chronic, symptoms 550

Fatty degeneration of heart, causes, symptoms, and treatment 261

Favus, or honeycomb ringworm, description and treatment 478

Feces, impaction of rectum 191

Feed-
kinds to give 51

musty and moldy, effect on digestive organs ._. 53

preparation 57

Feeding, corn 55

Feet, interfering, causes, symptoms, and treatment 399

Femur, fracture, cause, symptoms, and treatment 347

Fetlock—

and ankle skin, note 397

and foot bones, description 395

ankle, and foot, diseases, chapter by A. A. Holcombe 395-457

joint, description 396

knuckling, causes, symptoms, and treatment 372

sprain, causes, symptoms, and treatment 402

614 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Fetus— Page.

adherent to walls of womb, description, cause, and treatment 192

excessive size 192

general dropsy, description and treatment 193

or foal, prolonged retention, cause and treatment 181

swelling with gas, or emphysema, description and treatment 194

tumors, or inclosed ovum, description and treatment 194

Fever, description, causes, and treatment 38-43

Fibrous bands constricting and crossing neck of womb, description and treat-
ment 191

Fibrous constriction of vagina or vulva, cause and treatment 191

Filaria —

conjunctivae, parasite of eye 297

equina, parasite of eye 297

haemorrhagica, threadworm causing skin disease 469

irritans, parasite causing summer sores, description and treatment 409

multipapillosa, threadworm causing bleeding skin eruptions 469

palpebralis , parasite of eye 296

Fistulas, causes, symptoms, and treatment 502-506

Fits, falling, or epilepsy, symptoms and treatment 227

Flatfoot, description 398

Flatulent colic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

Flea, or pulex, prevention and treatment of bite 482

Flesh fly {Sarcophaga carnaria), note 481

Flexor —

metatarsis, rupture, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment 377

pedis perforans, description 397

pedis perforatiis, description 397

tendons or their sheath, and suspensory ligaments, sprains, cause, symp-
toms, and treatment 371

Flies, method of attacking horses, prevention and treatment for bite 481

Flooding, or bleeding from womb, treatment 205

Flukes, occurrence in horses, note 90

Flyblow, or grubs in skin, description and treatment 481

Foal-
contractions of muscles, description and treatment 194

monstrosities, description of kinds, causes, and treatment 194

natural presentation 185

prolonged retention, cause and treatment 181

water in head, or hydrocephalus, description and treatment 192

Foals, newborn, cyanosis affecting, description 263

Foot-
anatomical review 395, 583

and fetlock bones, description 395

canker, causes, symptoms, and treatment .'. .• 418

conformation, faults 398

fetlock, and ankle, diseases, chapter by A. A. Holcombe 395-457

mange, description and treatment 480

punctured wounds, description, symptoms, and treatment 426

sand-cracks, causes, symptoms, and treatment 432

sole description 397

Ssee also Hoof.

Forage poisoning, or cerebro-spinal meningitis, symptoms and treatment 237

Forearm, fracture, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment 345

Founder, or laminitis —

acute, subacute, and chronic, description 447-449

complications 449

curative measures 455

description and causes 441

follo\\dnfT parturition, cause 207

sequel of supcrpiu'gation 79

symptoms 444

treatment and prevention 453

Fractures —

causes and symptoms , 322

description of different kinds 322

of different bones, description 335

prognosis and treatment 328

INDEX. 615

Frog — Page.

bruises, causes, symptoms, and treatment 425

description 397

Frostbites, description, symptoms, and treatment 405

Furuncle —

or boil, description and treatment 466

or sty (boil), of eyelid, description and treatment 282

Gaffky, investigation of pneumonia. infection, note 522

Galls, harness, or sitfasts, description and treatment 475, 496

Gallstones, or biliary calculi, symptoms, and treatment 90

Gangrene —

or mortification, causes 127

or mortification, description, symptoms, and treatment 498

Gas, swelling of fetus, or emphysema, description and treatment 194

Grastritis, definition 66

Gastro-enteritis, description, symptoms, and treatment 80

Gastro-intestinal catarrh, or indigestion, description, cause, symptoms, and

treatment 76

Gastro-intestinal parasites, description and treatment, discussion by Maurice C.

Hall 90-94

Gastrophilus, spp., injury to horses, symptoms and treatment 93-94

Generative organs, diseases affecting, chapter by James Law 164-209

Genito-urinary passages, method of medication 48

Gentian, use against pin worms in horses 91

Gestation, extra-uterine, description, symptoms, and treatment 178

Glanders —

acute, sjTuptoms 553

and farcy, definition, causes, etc 544-557

chronic, symptoms 552

treatment 556

Glands —

lymphatic, description, symptoms, and treatment 271

sebaceous, description 460

sweat, description 461

Gleet-
inflammation of luethra, or lu-ethritis, symptoms and treatment 153

nasal, clu"onic catarrh, or collection in sinuses, causes, symptoms, and

treatment .' 99-101

Glossitis, description and treatment 60-61

Glottis, spasm, description 225

Glycosiu'ia, saccharine diabetes mellitus, or inosuria, causes, symptoms, and

treatment 139

Grains for feeding 54

Grasses, important feed 56

Gravel, lu'inary calculi, or stone, description, and causes 154, 156

Grease or canker, causes, symptoms, and treatment 472

Grubs —

or flyblow, description and treatment 481

under the skin, description and treatment 481

Grunting, testing 109

Gullet, or esophagus, treatment for foreign bodies 62

Gunshot wounds, desci'iption and treatment 494

Gut-tie, volvulus, or twisting of bowels, cause, symptoms, and treatment 72

Guttural pouches, description and treatment 119

Habronema, spp., cause of summer sores, etc., note 470

Hairs on skin, description 460

Harbaugh, W. H. , chapter on "Diseases of respiratory organs " 95-133

Harness galls, or sitfasts, description and treatment 475, 496

Harvest bug, larvae of Tromhidium, Leptus americanus, jigger (chigoe), animal

parasite of skin 480

Haw^

or winking cartilage of the eye, description 276

tumor, or caries of cartilage of the eye, description and treatment 284

Hay, kinds for feeding 53

616 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Heart — Page

adventitious growths, description, sj-mptoms,- and treatment 258

anatomy and physiology 247

and blood vessels, diseases, remarks 250

blood vessels, and lymphatics, diseases, chapter by M. R. Tnimbower.. 247-273

circulation of blood, description 218

congestion, description, and symptoms 263

dilatation, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 261

fatty degeneration, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 261

hypertrophy, or cardiac enlargement, description, symptoms, and treat-

'ment ' .' 260

inflammation of lining membrane, or endocarditis, cause, description,'

symptoms, and treatment 251

inflammation of muscular structure, or myocarditis, symptoms, alterations,

and treatment 251

inflammation of sac inclosing, or pericarditis, causes, symptoms, and treat-
ment " 255

inflammatory diseases, description and treatment 251

palpitation, description, symptoms, and treatment 259

rupture, description and cause 262

vaKoilar disease, description, symptoms, and treatment 257

weakness, causes, symptoms, and treatment 262

Heat exhaustion, sunstroke, or heat stroke, symptoms, pathology, treatment,

and prevention 219

Heaves, broken wind, or asthma, definition, symptoms, and treatment 128

Heels —

contracted, or hoof-bound, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment. . 429
cracked, scratches, or chaps on knee and hock, description, causes, and

treatment 470

inflammation, with sebaceous secretion, grease, or canker, description,

causes, symptoms, and treatment 472

Hematuria, or bloody urine, cause and treatment 141

Hemiplegia, or paralysis of on side, or half the body, description and s^ymptoms. 228
Hemoglobinuria, azoturia, azotemia, poisoning by albuminoids, symptoms,

prevention, and treatment 141

Hemoptysis, or bleeding from lungs, causes, description, and treatment 127

Hemorrhage —

process of heaHng and method of treatment 486

spinal, symptoms and treatment 225

Hemorrhoids, or piles, description and treatment 81

Hemostasia, description and treatment 485

Hepatitis, or inflammation of Liver, symptoms, causes, and treatment 87

Hernia —

congenital scrotal, description and treatment 82

diaphragmatic, description 85

inguinal, description, symptoms, and treatment 83

of womb, description and treatment 189

or rupture, description of different kinds 82

scrotal, cause 82

umbilical, description and treatment 84

ventral, description and treatment 83

Herpes, description and treatment 468

High blowing, description 110

Hip- . .

bone, or os innominatum, description, symptoms, and treatment 341

bones, fractured, causes 188

joint, luxation, description and treatment 363

lameness, description, symptoms, and treatment 369

Hock—

and knee, chaps or scratches, description, causes, and treatment 470

capped, cause, symptoms, and treatment 385

curb, cause, symptoms, and treatment 374

fractures, note 350

Holcombe, A. A., chapteron" Diseases of ankle, fetlock, and foot" 395-457

Honeycomb ringworm, or favus, description and treatment 478

INDEX. 617

Hoof— Page.

bound, or contracted heels, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment. 429

description 397

growth 588

healthy, characteristics i,^ ., . 590

physiological movements 587

preparation for the shoe 596

See also Foot.

Hoofs —

unshod, care 590

' various forms 591

Hornets, bees, and wasps, treatment for stings 483

Horny sloughs (sitfasts), or sloughing callosities, description and treatment. . 475, 496

Horse, sick —

attitude and general condition indicative of disease 8

conformation and constitution 10

danger from silage as feed 56-57

examination, chapter by Leonard Pearson 7-26

■ history of diseases necessary in examination 8

parasites, intestinal, and injuries from them 90-94

Horsepox, or equine variola, causes, symptoms, and treatment 535-540

Horses —

anatomy, description 300

danger from silage as feed 56-57

Horseshoes. See Shoe.

Huidekoper, Rush Shippen, chapter on " Infectious diseases " 507-582

Humerus, fractures, symptoms and treatment. 345

Hydrocele, or dropsy of scrotum, symptons and treatment 166

Hydrocephalus —

or dropsy of brain, causes, symptoms, and treatment 223

or water in head, of foal, description and treatment 192

Hydrophobia. See Rabies.

Hydrothorax, treatment 126

Hypertrophy of heart, or cardiac enlargement, description, symptoms, and

treatment 260

Hypoderma-lineata, note 1 481

Icterus, jaundice, or yellows, description and treatment 88

Impaction —

of lai'ge intestine, cause of obstruction coUc, symptoms and treatment 68

of rectum with feces 191

Indigestion, or gastro-intestinal catarrh, description, causes, symptoms, and

treatment 76

Infectious anemia —

chapter by John R. Mohler 569-572

cause and localities infected 569

diagnosis and treatment 571

symptoms and lesions 570

Infectious diseases —

chapter by Rush Shippen Huidekoper 507-582

general discussion 507-508

Inflammation —

acute, of kidneys, or acute nephritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment. . . 143

and abscess of lymphatic glands, description, symptoms, and treatment. . 272

and congestion of skin, description of kinds 461

and congestion of teats and udder, symptoms and treatment 208

and congestion of testicles, or orchitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment.. 164

chronic, of kidneys, causes, symptoms, and treatment 145

description, symptoms, termination, and treatment 32-38

local, and abscess of lymphatic glands, description, symptoms, and treat-
ment 272

of bladder, cystitis, or urocystitis, symptoms and treatment 149

of brain and its membranes, description 193, 212, 213

of eyelids, causes and treatment 280

of heels, with sebaceous secretion, grease, or canker, description, causes,

symptoms, and treatment 472

618 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Inflammation — Continued.

of lining membrane of heart, or endocarditis, cause, description, symptoms, Page.

and treatment 251

of liver, or hepatitis, symptoms, causes, and treatment 87

of membranes, a complication of influenza 518

of membranes of spinal cord, causes, symptoms, and treatment 232

of muscular structure of heart, or myocarditis, symptoms, alterations, and

treatment 251

of nerve, or neuritis, cause, symptoms, and treatment 236

of pharynx, description 103

of sac inclosing heart, or pericarditis, causes^ symptoms, pathology, and

treatment 1 255

of substance of spinal cord, or myelitis, causes, symptoms, pathology, and

treatment 233

of urethra, uretln^itis, or gleet, symptoms and treatment 153

of womb and peritoneum, symptoms and treatment 207

with blisters, or eczema, description and treatment 464

with pustules, description and treatment 465

Inflammatory diseases of the heart, description and treatment 251

Influenza, definition, symptoms, termination, complications, and treatment. 510-521

Inguinal hernia, description, symptoms, and treatment 83

Iimalation, manner of administering medicines 47

Injections, methods of administering medicines 47

Inosuria, saccharine diabetes, diabetes mellitus, or glycosuria, causes, sjonp-

toms, and treatment 139

Insufflation, description 46

Interfering —

and speedy cuts, description, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 387

of feet, causes, symptoms, and treatment 399

Intestinal —

paralysis, cause 230

worm, or Ascaris equorum, note 90

Intestines —

and stomach, diseases, remarks 65

calculi, or stones, description, symptoms, and treatment 71

large, impaction, cause of obstruction colic, symptoms and treatment 68

paralysis, description and treatment 72

spasms 225

Intussusception, or invagination, description, symptoms, and treatment 71

Invagination, or intussusception, description, symptoms, and treatment 71

Iritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 288

IiTitation, nervous, of skin, or pruritus, description and treatment 468

Jaundice, icterus, or yellows, description and treatment 88

Jaw, lower, fracture, description, causes, and treatment 337

Jigger, or chigoe, Leptus americanus, animal parasite of skin 480

Joint —

hip, luxation, description and treatment 361

shoulder, displacement, description and treatment 363

Joints —

diseases, note 354

open, cause, prognosis, and treatment 357

Kidneys — •

acute inflammation, or acute nephritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment.. 143

chronic inflammation, causes, symptoms, and treatment 145

bladder worm and roundworm affecting 146

tumors, note 146

Knee —

broken, cause, prognosis, and treatment 357

capped, description, cause, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 383

fracture, cause, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 347

or hock, chaps, scratches, or cracked heels, description, causes, and treat-
ment 470

Knees, .sprung, cause, symptoms, and treatment 373

Knuckling —

of fetlock, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 372

or cocked ankles, description, causes, and treatment 400

iNDt:x. 619

Page.

Labor pains, premature, cause, and treatment 186

Lachrymal apparatus of eye —

description 277

obstruction, or watering eye, description and remedy 285

Lameness —

definition, physiology and description 303

how to detect the seat 307

• how to discover 304

its causes and treatment, chapter by A. A. Liautard 298-394

of hip, description, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 369

of shoulder, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 365

Laminae, sensitive, description 398

Laminitis. See Founder.

Lampas, description and treatment 60

Laryngismus paralyticus, or roaring, description and treatment 108, 230

Laryngitis, or sore throat, description, symptoms and treatment 103

Larynx, spasms, description and treatment 107

Law, James —

chapter on "Diseases of the eye " 274-297

chapter on '" Diseases of the generative organs " 164-209

chapter on "Diseases of the sldn " 458, 483

chapter on " Diseases of the urinary organs " 134-163

Lead poisoning, or plumbism, causes, symptoms, and treatment 245

Leptus americanus. or harvest bug, animal parasite of skin 480

Leucorrhea, description and treatment 208

Liautard, A., chapter on "Lameness: Its causes and treatment " 298-394

Lice, or pediculi, description and treatment for bite 482

Ligament—

suspenson,', description 396

suspensory, rupture, description, symptoms, and treatment 403

Ligaments —

description and functions 302

suspensory, sprains, causes, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 371

Limbs —

hind, cramp, cause and treatment 181

perineum, and abdomen, dropsy, description and treatment 180

Lime- and- sulphur dip, use against mange in horse 479

Linseed, ground, value as laxative 55

Liver — ■

diseases, remarks 87

inflammation, or hepatitis, symptoms, causes, and treatment 87

rupture, cavises, symptoms, and treatment 88

Lockjaw, or tetanus, causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment 241

Locomotor ataxia, or incoordination of movement, description 230

Loins, sprains, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment 392

Liiber, investigation of pneumonia infection 522

Lucilia caesar, or bluebottle, and L. hominivorax, or screwworm fly, note 481

Lung —

abscess, and suppuration, symptoms 127

fever, or pneumonia, description, symptoms, and treatment 113

Lungs-
bleeding, or hemoptysis, causes, description, and treatment 127

congestion, description and treatment Ill

description Ill

Luxations and dislocations of bones, cause, symptoms, and treatment 361

Lymphangitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 272

Lymphatic —

glands, local inflammation, and abscess affecting, description, symptoms,

and treatment 272

system, diseases, description 271

Lymphatics, heart, and blood vessels, diseases, chapter by M. R. Trumbower. 247-273

Madness, rabies, or hydrophobia, cause, symptoms, treatment, and prevention. 244, 559

Maize, or corn, how to feed 55

Maladie de edit, or dourine, description and treatment 562

620 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

Mange— ^^®-

autumn, and mange of ioot, description and treatment 480

horse, treatment 479

or acariasis, note 478

Mare —

castration, method 172

pregnant, hygiene 177

sterility, causes and treatment 172

Masturbation, or self-abuse, remedy 1*58

Meat fly, or Musca vomitoria, note - 481

Medicines, methods of administering, chapter by Ch . B. Michener 44-48

Megrims, or congestion of brain, description, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc. 217

Melanosis, or black pigment tumor, description and treatment 476

Membrane —

lining, of heart, inflammation, or endocarditis, cause, description, symp-
toms, and treatment 252

of nose, thickening, symptoms and treatment 101

Membranes —

inflammation, a complication of influenza 518

mucous, visible, and skin may indicate disease 11

of brain, inflammation, description 212, 213

of spinal cord, inflammation, causes, symptoms, and treatment 232

Meningitis —

causes, symptoms, and treatment 212

spinal, causes, symptoms, pathology, and treatment 232

Metatarsi, flexor, rupture, description, cause, s>Tnptoms, and treatment 377

Michener, Ch. B. —

chapter on " Diseases of the digestive organs '_'---- 49-94

chapter on " Methods of administering medicines '' 44-48

chapter on " Wounds and their treatment " 484-506

Mia-osporon furfur, vegetable parasite of skin 478

Mohler, John R. —

chapter on " Dourine " 562-564

chapter on " Infectious anemia" 569-572

chapter on " Mycotic lymphangitis " 557-559

chapter on " Osteoporosis, or bighead " 578-582

Mold, silage, danger to horses 56-57

Mole, vesicular, or cystic disease of walls of womb, description and treatment. . 179

Moles, or anidian monsters, description 179

Monstrosities in foal, description of kinds, causes, and treatment 194

Moonblindness, or periodic ophthalmia, causes, symptoms, treatment 291

Mortification, or gangrene. See Gangrene.

Mouth, diseases, remarks 60

Mucous membranes, visible, and skin may indicate disease 11

Mules, danger from silage as feed 56-57

Musca vomitoria, or meat fly, note 481

Muscles —

and tendons, diseases 365

contraction in foal, description and treatment 194

of elbow, sprain, causes, symptoms, and treatment 368

of eye, description 276

one system of locomotion 299, 300

Mycotic lymphangitis —

and glanders, differentiation 557

chapter by John R. Mohler 557-559

diagnosis and treatment 558

symptoms and lesions 558

Myelitis, or inflammation of substance of spinal cord, causey, symptoms, and

treatment -33

Myocarditis, or inflammation of muscular structure of heart, symptoms, altera-
tions, and treatment 251

Nasal —

catarrh, or cold in head, sjnnptoms and treatment 98

douche, used in administering medicines 47

gleet, chronic catarrh, or collection in sinuses, causes, symptoms, and

treatment ^^

polypus, description and treatment 102

INDEX. -;-'!L:^i^.-- 621

Navel — * Page.

discharge of urine, or persistent urachus, description and treatment 151

string, constriction of a member, description 192

Navicular — ■

bone, description 396

disease, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 435

Neck of womb, twisting, description and treatment 189

Nephritis, acute, or acute inflammation of kidneys, causes, symptoms, and

treatment 143

Nerve —

inflammation, or neuritis, cause, symptoms, and treatment 236

tumor, or neruroma, cause, symptoms, and treatment 236

Nerves —

injuries, description and treatment 237

spinal, designations 212

Nervous system —

and brain, anatomy and physiology 210

diseases affecting, chapter by M. R. Trumbower 210-246

examination 23

Nettlerash, surfeit, or urticaria, description and treatment 467

Neuritis, or inflammation of a nerve, cause, symptoms, and treatment 236

Neuroma, or tiunor of a nerve, cause, symptoms, and treatment 236

Nose —

bleeding , causes and treatment 103

membrane, thickening, symptoms and treatment 101

Nostrils, tiunors and wounds, treatment 97

Obstruction colic, cause 68

Open joints. See Joints.
Ophthalmia —

external, or conjunctivitis, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment.. 285

internal, causes, symptoms, and treatment 288

periodic, or moonblindness, causes, symptoms, and treatment 291

Optic nerve, paralysis, or amaurosis, cause 231

Orchitis, or congestion and inflammation of testicles, causes, symptoms, and

treatment 164

Os innominatum, or hip-bone fracture, description, symptoms, and treatment. . 341

Os pedis, or third phalanx, fractures, cause and treatment 352

Osteoporosis, or bighead, chapter by John R. Mohler 578-582

Ostitis, cause, symptoms, and treatment 309

Overreach, description, symptoms, and treatment 404

Ovum, inclosed, or tumors of fetus, description and treatment 194

Oxyurus equorum, parasite, symptoms and treatment for 91

Palpitation of heart, description, symptoms, and treatment 259

Palsy — •

of nerve of sight, or amaurosis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 295

or paralysis, description and causes 228

Pancreas and spleen, diseases, remarks 90

Papilloma, epithelioma, or degeneration of penis 167

Papules, or congestion of skin with small pimples, description and treatment.. 463
Paralysis —

facial, sjTnptoms and cause 230

general, cause 228

of bladder, description and cause 140, 230

of hind legs, cause and treatment 181

of intestines, cause 72, 230

of one side or half the body or hemiplegia, description and symptoms 228

of optic nerve, or amam'osis, cause 231

of penis, cause and treatment 167

of pharynx, description and treatment 61

of rectum and tail, cause 230

or palsy, description and causes 228

transverse, of hind extremities, or paraplegia, description and symptoms. . 229

treatment 231

Paraph ymosis and phymosis, description and treatment 171

Paraplegia, or transverse paralysis of hind extremities, ca\ise and treatment. . . 229

622 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

Parasites — Page,

animal, of skin, description of kinds 478

causing worm colic 91, 92, 93

gastrointestinal 90-94

in eye, description of kinds 296

specific kinds affecting urinary organs 146

vegetable, of skin, description of kinds, symptoms, and treatment 477

Parasitic pityriasis, description and treatment 478

Parturition-
different presentations 197

difficult, from narrow pelvis, cause and treatment 186, 188

symptoms 185

Pastern joint, description 396

Pastes, or electuaries, description and manner of administering 45

Pasture, relation to worms in horses 93

Patella —

fracture, description 349

pseudoluxations, descriptions, symptoms, cause, and treatment 363

Pearson, Leonard, chapter on " Examination of a sick horse " 7-26

PedicuU, or lice, description and treatment for bite 482

Pelvis —

and vagnia, tumors affecting, description and treatment 188

bones, fracture, different kinds 341

narrow, cause of difficult parturition, cause and treatment 188

Penis —

degeneration, papilloma, or epithelioma 167

extravasation of blood and paralysis, cause and treatment 167

sheath, and abdomen, swelling, cause and treatment 171

warts, treatment 167

Pericarditis —

a complication of influenza 518

or inflamation of sac inclosing the heart, causes, symptoms, and treatment. . 255

Perineum, limbs, and abdomen, dropsy, description and treatment 180

Periostitis, cause, symptoms, and treatment 309

Peritoneum and womb, inflammation, symptoms and treatment 207

Peritonitis —

a complication of influenza 518

description, symptoms, and treatment 85

Phalanx, first, second, and third, fracture, cause, symptoms and treatment.- 351, 352

Pharyngeal polypus, description and treatment 102

Pharyngitis, description and treatment 61

Pharynx —

inflammation, description 103

paralysis, description and treatment 61

Phlebitis, or diseases of veins, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment. . 268

Phyrno&is and paraphymosis, description and treatment 171

Physiology and anatomy of brain and nervous system 210

Piles, or hemorrhoids, description and treatment 81

Pills, or balls, description and manner of administering 44

Pimples, small, or congestion of skin, description and treatment 463

Pinworm, description and treatment 91

Pityriasis, or scaly skin disease, description and treatment 467

Plantar cushion, description 398

Pleurisy —

a complication of influenza 518

description, symptoms, and treatment 122

Pleurodynia, symptoms and treatment 131

Pleuropneumonia, description and treatment 126

Plumbism, or lead poisoning, causes, symptoms, and treatment 245

Pneumonia —

contagions, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc 521-527

infection, transmission 521-522

or lung fever, description, symptoms, and treatment 113

Poisoning —

albuminoid, or azotemia, symptoms, ])revention, and treatment 141

forage, or cerebrosjiinal meningitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 237

lead, or plumbism, causes, symptoms, and treatment 245

Poll evil, description, causes, symptoms, treatmeht 502-506

INDEX. 623

Polypus — Page.

nasal, description and treatment 102

pharyngeal, description and treatment 102

Polyuria, diuresis, diabetes insipidus, causes, symptoms, and treatment 138

Pouches, guttural, description and treatment 119

Poultry, acariasis, description and treatment 480

Powders, manner of administering 44

Pregnancy —

duration 177

mare, hygiene 177

medication 175

Premaxillary bone, fracture, description and treatment 336

Preputial calculus, calculus in sheath, description and treatment 163

Presentations at biith, abnormal 197-200

Pruritis, or nervous irritation of skin, description and treatment 468

Pseudoluxations of patella, description, symptoms, cause, and treatment 363

Psoroptes equi,- animal parasite of skin 480

Psoroptic acariasis, description and treatment 480

Ptyalism, or salivation, description and treatment 61

Pulex—

or flea, prevention and treatment for bite 482

penetrans, or chigoe, bite, treatment 482

Pulse, how to count 13

Purpiu'a hemorrhagica —

description, sj'mptoms, and treatment 270

or anascarca, causes, symptoms, and treatment 531

Pustules, inflamation, description and treatment 465

Quitter, description of different kinds 407

Rabies —

description, symptoms, and treatment 244-245, 559-562

fatality of 562

Ransom, study of flies and worms 470

Rectum —

and tail, paralysis, cause 230

impaction with feces 191

methods of administering medicines 47

Red efflorescence, or. erythema, description and treatment 1 461

Renal calculi, description, symptoms, and treatment 158

Respii'atory organs —

description 95

diseases, chapter by W. H. Harbaugh 95-133

methods of examination 16

Retinitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 288

Ribs, fractures, description, symptoms, and treatment 339

Ridglings, or cryptorchids, castration method 169

Ringbone, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 313, 439

Ringworm —

circinate, or Tinea tonsurans, description, symptoms, and treatment 477

honeycomb, or favus, description and treatment 478

Roaring and tliick wind, description and treatment 108, 230

Roundworm of kidney '. 146

Roundworms, horse, dangers and treatment 90-91

Rubber pads in shoes, uses 601

Rupture —

of an artery, description, symptoms, and treatment 266

of diai^hragm, causes and symptoms 133

of flexor metatarsi, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment 377

of heart, description and cause 262

of liver, cause, symptoms, and treatment 89

of stomach, result of engorgement, colic, symptoms, and treatment 66, 67

of suspensory ligament, description, symptoms, and treatment 403

of vagina, description and treatment 207

or hernia, description of different kinds 82

or laceration of womb, causes and treatment 206

624 DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

Page.
Saccharine diabetes, diabetes mellitus, glycosura, or inosuria, causes, sjinp-

toms, and treatment 139

Sacrum, fractures, description and treatment 341

St. Vitus dance, or chorea, description and treatment 227

Salivation, or plyalism, description and treatment 61

Sand-cracks of foot, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 432

Sarcocele, description and treatment 165

Sarcophaga carnaria, or flesh fly, note 481

Sarcoptes, scabiei equi, animal parasite of skin 478

Sarcoptic acariasis, description, symptoms, and treatment 478

Scalds and burns, treatment 483, 496

Scaly skin disease, or pityriasis, description and treatment 467

Scapula, fracture, cause, symptoms, and treatment 344

Scorpion and tarantula, treatment for sting or bite 483

Scratches, or chaps on knee and hock, or cracked heels, causes and treatment. 467

Screw-worm fly, or Lucilia hominivorax, note 481

Scrotal or congenital hernia, cause, description, and treatment 82

Scrotum, dropsy, or hydrocele, symptoms and treatment 166

Sebaceous glands, description 460

Self-abuse, or masturbation, remedy 168

Serum, use against strangles and anthj-ax 531, 544

Sesamoid bones, fracture, cause, sjonptoms, treatment, etc ._ 352

Sesamoid sheath, inflammation, or navicular disease, description, symptoms,

and treatment 435

Sesamoids, description 395

Sexual and urinary organs, examination 24

Sheath-
calculus, or bilocular cavity, or preputial calciilus, description and treat-
ment 163

of flexor tendons, sprains, cause, symptoms, and treatment 371

penis, and abdomen, swelling, cause and treatment 171

Shock, electric, description and treatment 246

Shoe-
bar, uses 601

detailed description 597

hot fitting 600

Shoeing —

chapter by John W. Adams 583-605

preliminary examination 594

preparation of the hoof 596

rubber pads 601

Shoes, special peculiarities of chief classes 598

Shoulder —

joint, displacement, description and treatment 363

lameness, description, causes, sjTnptoms, and treatment 365

Sick horse. See Horse, sick.

Sidebones, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment 316, 438

Silage, use and danger as horse feed 56-57

Sinuses, collection in, chronic catarrh, or nasal gleet, causes, symptoms, and

treatment 99

Sitfasts —

horny sloughs, or sloughing callosities, description and treatment " 475

or harness galls, description and treatment 496

Skin—

and visible mucous membranes, may indicate disease 11

animal parasites affecting, description of kinds 478

bleeding eruptions, description and treatment 469

congestion, red efflorescence, or erythema, description and treatment 461

dist^ase, scaly, or pit>Tiasis, description and treatment 467

diseases, chapter by James Law 458-483

grubs under, description and treatment 481

hairs, de.scription 460

inflammation and congestion, description of kinds 461

nervous irritation, or pruritis, description and treatment 468

of fetlock and ankle, note _ 397

parasites 477-483

INDEX. 625

Skin — Continued. Page.

etructure, divisions 459

true, or dermis, description 459

vegetable parasites, description of kinds, symptoms and treatment 477

wounds, description of different kinds and treatment 4G3-470

Sloughs, horny, eitfasts, or sloughing callosities, description and treatment 475, 496

Snake bites, treatment 483

Sole of foot, description 397

Sore throat, or laryngitis, description, symptoms, and treatment 103

Sores, summer, caused by Filaria irritans, treatment 469, 470

Spasm—

of diaphragm, or thumps, description and treatment 132, 225

of glottis or intestines, description and treatment 225

of larynx, description and treatment 107

of neck of bladder, causes, symptoms, and treatment 146, 225

of neck of womb, description and treatment 191

of thigh, or cramp of hind limb, description and treatment ' 226

Spasmodic or cramp colic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 74

Spasms, or cramps, causes and treatment 226

Spavin —

blood, bog spavin, and thorough pin, description and treatment 356

description, cause, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 317

Speedy cuts and interfering, description, symptoms, treatment, etc 387

Spermatic cord —

strangulated, cause and treatment 170

tumors, causes and treatment 171

Spinal — ■

anemia, symptoms and treatment 234

compression and concussion, cause, description, and treatment 234

concussion, causes, and treatment 235

congestion, cause, symptoms, and treatment 233

cord, description 212

cord, inflammation of membranes, causes, symptoms, treatment, etc 232

cord, inflammation of substance, or myelitis, causes, symptoms, treatment . . 233

hemorrhage, symptom and ti'eatment 235

meningitis, causes, symptoms, pathology, and treatment 232

nerves, designation 212

tumors, symptoms and treatment 236

Spleen and pancreas, diseases, remarks 90

Splint, description, symptoms, cause, and treatment 310

Sprain —

of elbow muscles, causes, symptoms, and treatment 368

of fetlock, causes, symptoms, and treatment 402

Sprains — •

description and treatment 365-374, 392-394

of loins, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment 392

of suspensory ligaments and of flexor tendons or their sheath, cause,

symptoms, and treatment 371-372

Sprung knees, cause, symptoms, and treatment 373

Staphyloma, or bulging cornea, description and treatment 296

Stallion —

castration, methods 168

sterility, cause and treatment 172

Sterility in mare and stallion, cause and treatment 172

Stiles, Ch. Warden, chapter on "Surra " 572-577

Stock vaccines, administration 506

Stomach —

and intestines, diseases, remarks 65

calculi, or stones, symptoms and treatment 70

rupture, result of engorgement colic, symptoms and treatment 68

worms, description, etc 91-92

Stomatitis, description and treatment , 60

Stone —

in bladder, vesical calculus, or cystic calculus, description, symptoms, and

treatment 160

in urethra, or urethi'al calculus, description, symptoms, and treatment . . . 162

54763°— 16- 40

626 DISEASES OF THE HOKSE.

Stone — Continued. Pago.

or calculus, and tumor in bladder 190

urinary calculi, or gravel, description 154, 157

Stones —

or calculi, in intestines, description, symptoms, and treatment 71

or calculi, in stomach, symptoms and treatment 70

Strangles, defmition, causes, symptoms, and treatment 527-531

Strangulated spermatic cord . cause and treatment 170

Streptococcus pyogenes equi, cause of pneumonia 522

Stricture — •

of esophagus, description and treatment 65

of urethra, description and treatment 153

Stringhalt, description, cause and treatment 227, 390

Strongyles, injuries to horses, symptoms and treatment 92-93

Strongylus —

equinum, parasite of kidney 146

spp. injm-ies by and treatment 92-93

-vulgaris, worm causing one form of aneurism 265

Sty, furuncle, or boil of eyelid, description and treatment 282

Suffraginis, description 395

Summer sores, caused by Filaria irritans, description and treatment 469, 470

Sunstroke, heat stroke, or heat exhaustion, symptoms, treatment, etc 219

Superpurgation, description and treatment 78

Suppositories, description and uses 48

Suppuration and abscess in lung, symptoms 127

Surfeit, nettlerash, or urticaria, description and treatment 467

Surra —

chapter by Ch. Wardell Stiles 572-577

climatic conditions, animals affected, and lethality 572

diagnosis and treatment 577

method of infection, symptoms 573

Suspensory ligament —

and flexor tendons, or their sheaths, sprains, cause, symptoms, treatment . . 371-372

description ■ 395

rupture, description, symptoms, and treatment 403

Sutures, description and uses 486

Swamp fever. See Infectious anemia.

Sweat glands, description 461

Symhiotes equi, Dermatojjhagus equi, or Chorioptes spathiferus, animal parasite

of skin ." 480

Syncope, or fainting, symptoms and treatment 259

Syno\dal—

dropsies, remarks 355

sacs, diseases, description 355

Synovitis, cause, prognosis, and treatment 357

Tail and rectum, paralysis, cause 230

Tapeworms, horse, kind and injuries 90

Tarantula and scorpion, treatment for bite and sting 483

Teats, sore, scabs, cracks, warts, cause, and treatment 209

Teeth-
diseases ; period of dentition 58

irregularities, remedies 58

Temperament of horse 10

Temperature, method of determining 15

Tendon sheaths, wounds, description and treatment 494

Tendons—

and muscles, diseases 365

flexor, or their sheath, sprains, cause, symptoms, and treatment 371

functions 301

lacerated, cause, symptoms, prognosis, and treatment 376

of foot, function 396

Testicles —

abnormal number, causes of degeneration 166

or orchitis, congestion and inflammation, causes, symptoms, treatment 164

Tetanus, or lockjaw, causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment 241

INDEX. 627

Page.

Thick wind and roaring, description and treatment 108

Thigh, spasm, or cramp of liind limb, description and treatment 226

Thoracic choke, description and treatment 63, 64

Thoroughpin, blood spa\dn. and bog spavin, description and treatment 356

Threadworms, cause of bleeding skin eruptions 469

Throat-
abscesses affecting, treatment 62

sore, or laryngitis, description, symptoms, and treatment 103

Thrombosis, description, cause, symptoms, and treatment '391

Thrombus and embolism, description, symptoms, and treatment 267

Thrush, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 417

Thumps, or spasm of diaphragm, description and treatment 132, 225

Tibia, fractures, symptoms and treatment 349

Ticks, description and treatment 481

Timothy, best hay for feeding 53

Tinea tonsurans, or circinate ringworm, description and treatment 477

Tissues, description 27

Tobacco dip, use against mange in horses 479

Toothache, how to determine and treat 59

Trichiasis, or turned eyelashes, description and treatment 283

Trichophyton tonsurans, vegetable parasite of skin 477

Trumbower, M. R. —

chapter on "Diseases of heart, blood vessels, and lymphatics' ' 247-273

chapter on "Diseases of nervous system" 210-246

Trypanosoma equiperdum, cause of dourine, note 562

Tuberculosis, or consumption, note 128

Tumor—

and calculus, or stone in bladder 190

of haw, or caries of cartilage, description and treatment 284

of nerve, or neuroma, cause, symptoms, and treatment 236

on spermatic cord, causes and treatment 171

Tumors—

and warts of eyelids, description and treatment 283

black pigment, or melanosis, description and treatment 476

in nostrils, treatment 97

in vagina and pelvis, description and treatment 188

of eyeball, remarks 296

of fetus, or inclosed ovum, description and treatment 194

of kidneys, note 146

of spine, symptoms and treatment 236

of udder, cause and treatment 209

or abnormal growths, cause of colic 73

within cranium, description of kinds 224

Twins, remarks ]96

Tympanitic colic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

Udder-
congestion and inflammation, symptoms and treatment 208

tumors, cause and treatment 209

Ulceration, description, causes, and treatment 499

Ulcers on cornea, treatment 288

Umbilical hernia, description and treatment 84

Urachus, persistent, or discharge of urine by navel, description and treatment. . 151

Uremia, description, symptoms, and treatment 245

Urethra —

inflammation, urethritis, or gleet, symptoms and treatment 153

stone, or urethral calculus, description, symptoms, and treatment 162

stricture, description and treatment 153

Urethral calcuU, description and treatment 159

Urethral calculus, or stone in urethra, description, symptoms, and treatment. . 162

Urethritis, inflammation of urethra, or gleet, symptoms, and treatment 153

Urinary —

and sexual organs, examination 24

calcuU, classification 157

calculi, stone, or gravel, description and causes 154, 157

628 DISEASES OF THE HOESE.

Urinary — Continued. ^^8®-

disorders, causes 134

organs, diseases, chapter by James Law 131-163

organs, parasites affecting 116

organs, symptoms of disease 136

organs, uses 134

Urine-
analysis 154

bloody, or hematuria, cause and treatment 141

discharge by navel, or persistent urachus, description and treatment 151

excessive secretion, diuresis, polyuria, diabetes insipidus, causes, symp-
toms, and treatment 138

how to examine 136

of healthy horse, description 25

Urocystitis, inflammation of bladder, or cystitis, symptoms and treatment 149

Urticaria, nettlerash, or surfeit, description and treatment 467

Vaccination —

use against diseases and manufacture of material 510

use against strangles and anthrax 531, 544

Vaccines, kinds and use 506, 531

Vagina —

and pelvis, tumors affecting, description and treatment 188

rupture, description and treatment 207

Vaginal walls, effusion of blood 190

Valvular disease of heart, symptoms and treatment 257

Varicocele, descrij^tion and treatment 166

Varicose veins, varix, or dilatation of veins, causes and treatment 269

Variola, equine, or horsepox, causes, symptoms, and treatment 535-540

Veins —

description 250

dilatation, varicose veins, or varix, causes and treatment 269

diseases, or phlebitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 268

Ventral hernia, description and treatment 83

Vertebra, fractures, causes, symptoms, and treatment _. - ._ 338

Vesical calculus, stone in bladder, or cystic calculus, description, symptoms,

and treatment 1 59

Vesicular mole, or cystic disease of walls of womb, description and treatment. . 179

Volvulus, gut-tie, or twisting of bowels, cause, symptoms, and treatment 72

Vulva, or vagina, fibrous constriction, cause and treatment 191

Warts —

and tumors of eyelids, description and treatment 283

description and treatment 476

on penis, treatment 167

Wasps, bees, and hornets, stings, treatment 483

Water — •

impure, cause of disease, time to give 49

in head, or hydrocephalus of foal, description and treatment 192

Watering eye, or obstruction of lachrymal apparatus description and remedy.. 285

Whistling, description 110

Wind-
broken, heaves, or asthma, definition, symptoms, and treatment 128

colic, cause, symptoms, and treatment 73

Windgalls, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 355, 401

Windpipe, description - - - 119

Winking cartilage, or cartilage nic titans, description 27b

Womb —

and peritoneum, inflammation, symptoms, and treatment 206

bleeding, or flooding, treatment 205

dropsy, cause, symptoms, and treatment 179

eversion, description and method of treatment 205

hernia, description and treatment 189

laceration, or nipture, causes and treatment 206

neck, twisting, desc^ription and treatment 1^9

Worm colic, notes 93

INDEX. 629

Worms — Page.

bladder, affecting kidneys 146

injuries by, and treatment 90-94

strongyle, danger and treatment 92-93

treatment with dips 479

Wounds —

and their treatment, chapter by Oh. B. Michener 484-506

gunshot, description and treatment 494

healing under a scab, treatment 487

in nostrils, cause and treatment 97

lacerated and contused, description and treatment 488

penetrating walls of chest, description and treatment 131

poisoned, description and treatment 495

punctured, description, symptoms, and treatment 426, 490

Yellows, jaundice, or icterus, description and treatment 88

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