REPORT ON THE DISEASES OF FARM HORSES. 283 



recovery the animal is prevented taking food and drink readily. 

 There is a consequent loss of condition and corresponding ina- 

 bility for work. 



Those who are fond of prescribing on their own experience 

 are seldom bold enough to ensure the proper administration of 

 their medicines by intrusting their hand in the animal's mouth, 

 and therefore resort to the use of a sharp-pointed stick. By 

 this the posterior portion of the mouth is seriously injured in 

 many cases ; tumefaction and pain result, the animal cannot 

 eat, fever sets in — he dies. Few cases of this kind recover ; 

 and a man who feels such confidence in his ability to state what 

 variety of medicine the horse requires should have as much 

 love for him as to afford him a more rational mode of passing it 

 over his gullet. 



The Symptoms of these several states are much alike, con- 

 sisting of dullness, loss of appetite, discharge of saliva from the 

 mouth, more or less movement of the jaws, and in the case of 

 loss of portion of the tongue the poor creature places his head, 

 almost up to the eyes, in water when he attempts to drink. 

 There are also indications of fever, which will be severe in 

 accordance with the nature of the existing disease ; the bowels 

 are costive, urine high coloured, and belly tucked up. These 

 states increase until the lungs are congested, and the animal 

 dies. 



The Treatment consists in opening the abscesses in the cheek 

 as early as possible. If allowed to proceed until a natural 

 evacuation of the contents takes place, the healing process in 

 the wound becomes tardy, or sloughing takes place from irrita- 

 tion by foreign bodies as food, &c, passing outwards during 

 mastication. While a healthy state exists, little more need be 

 done save keeping the parts clean, and applying the zinc lotion. 

 If sloughing has commenced, and the orifice increases, strong 

 spirits of camphor, diluted nitric or hydrochloric acid, may be 

 used, and in inveterate cases nitrate of silver or the hot iron, to 

 arouse the vitality of the parts and promote the healing action, 

 will be required. 



Dentition. — During the process of teething, the horse fre- 

 quently suffers from a feverish state of the system, by which the 

 usual functions are more or less interfered with, in some instances 

 to a very considerable extent. It is at this time, under an 

 imperfect acquaintance with nature's laws and her dealings with 

 the animal economy, that mistakes occur, and he is said to be 

 breeding strangles, or a host of other diseases, which, for sake of 

 convenience, are comprehended under the ambiguous term 

 " distemper." 



During the past year, upwards of fifty animals have been 



