58 Treatment of Forage Poisoning 



tliey can not be led. The pupils of the horses eyes are dilated, that is 

 they are spread out or enlarged. 



In the depressed form of tlie disease the appetite is not entirely lost, 

 but the horse presists in eating unwholesome food such as bedding dung 

 etc. in preference to pure food. The horse may go into a stupor* of a few 

 hours duration at first and from which he can be aroused but the stupor 

 each succeeding time gets longer and more intense. The pupils become 

 enlarged and a staring look is expressed from the eyes. The horse is 

 restless between stupors or even frantic. The gait is staggering and it 

 may be necessary for the horse to run to catch himself from falling. 

 They lean against fences, walls, sides of buildings, etc. The sleepy stu- 

 por is not a natural sleep but portions of the eyes are usually exposed. 

 In the acute form often the horse dies in less than 36 hours. While in 

 the depressed form the horse may recover or live several weeks. It is 

 not uncommon to find varying degrees of these symptoms mixed from 

 slight to extreme symptoms. The mortality is about 80 per cent. 



TREATMENT 



When the disease is prevalent in the community do not feed the 

 grain of forage causing it. If the horse will eat, feed him bran, (n\ 

 meal or green un stunted fodders. 



If the horse is able to swallow, a good physic is usually given first. 



In this disease the bowels are hard to move. Give 



Barbadoes aloin 6 drams (6 teaspoonsful) 



Calomel 1 dram (1 teaspoonful) 



Give the above in a capsule or molasses bran ball, repeat in 3 days 



From 6 to 8 hours after giving the physic inject with a hollow needle 

 syringe one of the following under the skin of the shoulder in 1 to 2 

 teaspoonsful of water. 



Arecoline 1 (one) grain or Eserine % to 1 grain or 



Pilocarpine 2 to 3 grains. 



The above drugs gave the best results out in Kansas when forage 

 poisoning was so prevalent. Do not repeat any under 24 hours and then 

 only when the animal is not improved. In fact a few cases taken in 

 time recovered. 



Puncture of the spinal card between the 3rd and 4th vertebra or 

 back of the 5th with a long hollow sterilized trocar has proven beneficial 

 in human medicine and deserves attention in inflamation with horses. 



