THE AiniY HORSE. 85 



ill the treatment. It is advisable to place the patient in a dark 

 stall, so situated as to be isolated and free from all noises, and 

 only one man should be in attendance, as strangers entering the 

 stall of a patient affected \vith only a mild attack ma}^ cause 

 excitement and the animal be thrown into a violent spasm and 

 die in a short time. 



Give the patient gruel, mealy drinks, liquid food, and, if he 

 can eat it, green fodder. 



Medicinal agents are of secondary importance in the treat- 

 ment of lockjaw. Large doses (2 to 8 ounces) of bromide of 

 potassium should be given in the liquid food, twice daily. The 

 administration of medicines by the mouth is not practicable; 

 not only because of the locked jaws, but because it causes excite- 

 ment. 



The infected wound requires special care. It should be well 

 opened up, disinfected, foreign bodies extracted, etc. 



Some authorities recommend the use of the suspending sling. 



In the horse the mortality from this disease is from 80 to 85 

 per cent. 



In localities where tetanus is common, a preventive serum, 

 called "'anfitetanic,''^ is injected into the blood, whenever the 

 horse receives a punctured or suspicious wound. 



DISEASES OF THE TEETH. 



On account of the character of its food the horse has been 

 supplied with molar teeth, with roughened grinding surfaces. 

 The loAver jaw is narrower than the upper jaw, and the table 

 (grinding) surfaces are sloping. The distance from the gum 

 to the grinding surface is greater on the outside surface of the 

 upper molars and the reverse in the lower molar* 



On account of this conformation a sharp ridge of points is 

 liable to develop on the outside of the upper molars and may 

 occur on the inside of the lower ones. These points are some- 

 times so sharp that they lacerate the cheeks and tongue during 

 mastication. A horse thus affected will frecpiently bolt his 

 food before thoroughly masticating it, thereby causing chronic 

 indigestion. He will also flinch when reined, causing great 

 iuiiioyance to his ridei- or dri\('r. 



Such irregularities can be easily detected 1)y an examination 

 of the animal's mouth with the hand: when found, the sharp 

 edffes must be removccl l)v the use of a float. 



