INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. 1 ] « 



orevious or approaching disease. They are a slight thickening of the lids, 

 or puckering towards the inner corner of the eye ; a difference in the appa" 

 rent size of the eyes ; a cloudiness, although perhaps scarcely perceptible, 

 of the surface of the cornea, or more deeply seated, or a hazy circle round 

 its edge; a gloominess of the eye generally, an^^ dullness of the iris ; or a 

 minute, faint, dusky spot in the centre, with or without little fibres or lines 

 diverging from it. 



The cause of this inflammation is undoubtedly a strong predisposition to 

 it in the eye of the horse, but assisted by the heated and poisoned air of 

 many stables. Some of our readers, whose stables are not too air-tight, see 

 frequently a great deal of this disease ; but if they knew its ravages, where 

 several horses are crowded together, and scarcely a breath of air admitted, 

 they would deem themselves comparatively fortunate. The heated air has 

 much to do with the production of the disease ; — the poisoned air a great 

 deal more ; for every one must have observed, on entering a close stable 

 early in the morning, strong fumes of hartshorn, which were painful to his 

 eyes, and caused them to water. What must be the constant action of this 

 on the eyes of the horse ? The dung of the horse, and the litter of the 

 stables, when becoming putrid, give out fumes of volatile alkali or harts- 

 horn ; but besides this, the urine of the horse, for some purpose unknown 

 to us, possibly to teach us to take better care of this useful servant, begins 

 very soon after it is voided to give out immense quantities of pungent gas. 

 If we are scarcely able to bear it when we stand in the stable for only a few 

 minutes, we need not wonder at the prevalence of inflammation in the eye 

 of the stabled horse, nor at the difficulty of abating inflammation while the 

 eye continues to be exposed to such painful excitement. Stables are now 

 much better ventilated than they used to be, and this disease is not so prev- 

 alent as it was fifty years ago. 



The farmer may not be aware of another cause of this disease, to which 

 his horse is more particularly exposed, viz: confinement in a dark stable. 

 Many stables in the country have no glazed windows, but there is a flap 

 which is opens for a few hours in the day, or while the carter is employed 

 in the stable, and when that is shut down almost total darkness prevails. 

 Let our readers consider what are his sensations when be suddenly emerges 

 from a dark room into the full glare of light ; he is dazzled and bewildered, 

 and some time passes before his vision is distinct. Let this be repeated 

 several times in the day, and what will be the consequence ? The sight 

 will be disordered, and the eye irreparably injured. Then let him think of 

 his poor horse, who often stumbles and starts through no fault of his own, 

 although he is corrected for so doing, but because his eyes are necessarily 

 weakened by these sudden transitions, and disposed to take on this sad 

 inflammation with all its fatal results. 



The propagation of various diseases, and this probably more than any 

 other, from the sire to his progeny, has not been sufficiently considered by 

 breeders. Let a stallion that is blind, or whose sight is defective, posses* 

 every other point and quality that can be wished, yet he is worse than use- 

 less ; for a very considerable portion of his offspring will most assuredly 

 Liherit his weak eyes, or become totally blind. There is no fact better 

 f^fitablished than this. 



The most frequent consequences of this disease are cloudiness of the eye 

 and cataract. The cloudiness is singular in its nature. It will change in 

 twenty-four hours from the thinnest film to the thickest opacity ; and as 

 suddenly the eye will nearly regain its perfect transparency, but only to 

 lose it, and as rapidly, a second time. The most barbarous methods have 



