DR. LEGEAR'S STOCK BOOK. 139 



dust, etc., remove it and bathe with hot water. If due to inflam- 

 mation, bathe with hot water and apply morning and night some 

 of Dr. Le Gear's Eye Water (see Appendix), which will cure it 

 in a few days. The cruel practice of cutting out the "hooks,'' 

 as a supposed cure by some men, is brutal in the least, and should 

 not be tolerated. What they cut out is the haw, or part of it, 

 and when removed the eye's greatest protection is gone, therefore 

 the value of the horse is depreciated to a considerable extent. 

 Only in very rare and extreme cases is it ever necessary to re- 

 move the haw or a portion of it, and that is when it is greatly 

 ulcerated or diseased by a tumor. If removed at all, it should be 

 done by a qualified veterinary surgeon. We would advise all 

 horse owners to use no other treatment than warm water and Dr. 

 LeGear's Eye Water, as that will cure nine out of every ten 

 cases of the would-be disease "hooks." 



PERIODIC OPHTHALMIA. 



This disease causes more blind horses in Texas than any other 

 disease, and is characterized by the suddenness of the attack and 

 the reappearing of the disease in a few weeks, a few months, or 

 perhaps not before several years. By some it is called "moon- 

 blidness," or "moon eyes," as the changes of the moon was form- 

 erly thought to be the cause of the recurring attacks. 



Causes. The causes of this disease are sometimes pretty hard 

 to account for. There exists within the system, a predisposition 

 to the disease; in other words, the disease must exist within the 

 system in a latent form, which must take some exciting cause to 

 bring it out, as overheating by driving or working, extremes of 

 heat and cold, improperly ventilated and badly lighted stables, 

 poor food, debilitating diseases, etc. This is one of the heredi- 

 tary diseases, as a sire or dam affected with the disease nearly 

 10 



