140 DR. LEGEAR'S- STOCK BOOK. 



always transmits it to their offspring. We would strongly urge 

 all breeders of fine horses never to use a mare or stallion for 

 breeding purposes that has weak eyes or blindness. Lexington, 

 one of the greatest race horses and sires America ever produced, 

 went blind from over work, and a large number of his colts be- 

 came blind from Periodic Ophthalmia. A horse may have sev- 

 eral attacks of the disease and still the eye not be much changed, 

 while again two or three severe attacks may cause total blind- 

 ness. 



Symptoms. The disease is very sudden in its attacks. Your 

 horse may be all right at night, but in the morning he may have 

 one or both eyes swollen, and sore and discharging great quanti- 

 ties of tears. As a rule, one eye is generally affected at a time, 

 and it may have half a dozen attacks or more and go blind; then 

 the other eye is liable to become affected in the same way. After 

 each attack the eyeball becomes smaller and the eyelid more 

 shrunken, and the cornea gradually becomes of a bluish white 

 color. The attacks vary greatly in severity in different cases, 

 but all cases finally terminate in cataract and blindness. 



Treatment. The treatment of the disease is not satisfactory, 

 as there is no known remedy that is a sure cure for the disease, 

 and the animal is very liable, sooner or later, to go blind. The 

 object of treatment, therefore, is to lessen the severity of the 

 attacks, and try to ward off the occurrence of the same. The 

 treatment consists of local applications to the eye and medicine 

 given internally for the blood and nerves. Give as a drench 1 

 pint of raw linseed oil, and follow up with one-half dram of 

 powdered colchieum every morning and 1 dram of iodide of potas- 

 sium every night in damp feed. Give the colchicum and iodide 

 of potassium for four or five days, and then give regular for ten 

 days one teaspoonful morning and night of Dr. IXioar's Condi- 



