LECTURE XXXVIII. 

 AZOTURIA. 



Prevalence. — Azoturia is a common and very serious disease 

 which affects horses under certain well defined conditions. It is 

 frequently fatal and always aft"ects the best and most valuable 

 horses and is so very easily prevented that it would seem as though 

 the farmer should be familiar with this disease, and his knowl- 

 edge should come along other lines than that of sad experience. 

 Farm horses in the Northwest do comparatively little work dur- 

 ing the winter, and are in high flesh when early spring work opens. 

 This condition, together with the fact that the early spring is 

 necessarily a season of irregular work, will explain why so many 

 cases of azoturia occur during the spring months. 



History. — Azoturia rarely appears among horses at pasture 

 or among those doing regular work ; but almost invariably during 

 exercise after a period of idleness on full feed zvhich has succeeded 

 a previous period of work. 



This disease is frequently confounded with colic; sometimes 

 farmers call it spinal disease, and sometimes it is thought to be 

 an inflammation of the kidneys ; but is easily distinguished from 

 any of these by the history, which is very uniform ; by the symp- 

 toms which appear, and by the condition of the urine. 



Parts affected. — This is not a disease of the kidneys as one 

 would naturally think from the color and condition of the urine, 

 but primarily a disease of the nniscles, then of the blood and ner- 

 vous system. The blood is dark and tarry, has a varnish like 

 gloss and does not coagulate after death. The liver and spleen 

 are engorged and may be more or less disorganized after death. 



Duration. — Mild cases may recover in three or four days. 

 The more severe cases either die in a few days or there may re- 

 main a persistent and more or less complete paralysis of the hind 

 quarters and limbs for several weeks. 



Causes. — Predisposing and precii)itating. 



