DR. LEGEAR'S STOCK BOOK. 197 



(Denises. Mstulous withers are seen mostly in those horses that 

 have thick necks and in those that are high in the withers; or 

 among saddle horses that are very low on the withers, the sad- 

 dle moving forward and bruising the parts. It is often 

 caused by badly fitted collars or saddles, by direct injury from 

 blows, and the horse rolling upon rough or sharp stones. At 

 first there may be only a simple abscess, or an ulcer of the skin, 

 which if not properly treated may become fistula. In such cases 

 the pus burrows and finds lodgment deep down among the mus- 

 cles, which makes it very difficult for the matter to escape. 



Symptoms. About the first thing noticed is a swelling on one 

 or both sides of the withers, which is hot and painful and rapidly 

 enlarging. If the matter which has formed in this cavity does 

 not get out by natural or other means, it dries up and becomes 

 hard and forms a kind of tumor which gradually develops into 

 a fibrous nature. 



Treatment. This is a very common disease of the horse in 

 Texas, and is in most cases very hard to cure. If taken when 

 first coming on it may be driven away by applying some good 

 penetrating blister, as Dr. LeGear's Spavin Cure (see Appendix) 

 well rubbed in. After some standing the only treatment to pur- 

 sue successfully is to thoroughly open up the enlargement and 

 cut out what diseased tiesh you can, and give free drainage to the 

 pus by opening the sore low down. If the bone is diseased it 

 should be scraped and all diseased portions removed. The cavi- 

 ties should be injected with turpentine every three or four days 

 to destroy any unhealthy tissue that is left.' Grease the horse's 

 shoulders under the sore well with lard just before putting in 

 the turpentine, so as to keep the turpentine from burning him. 

 If the holes you have made have a tendency to close, you can 

 keep them open by inserting a seton of domestic or linen cloth. 

 The wound should be washed well every morning with soap and 



