92 EXAMINATION OF HORSES 



nite information upon the point As a rule, the abscess 

 is obscure in its origin^ and slow in its progress, as in its 

 repair; some patients even profess to have been quite 

 unconscious of its existence till it was about to burst. In 

 other cases they are very acute in their action, and very 

 painful." Had Mr. Bryant been writing of thrush, he 

 might have used exactly the same description, with the 

 exception of the abscess formation, which, of course, 

 depends on different anatomical relations in the two 

 cases. Like "thrush," fistula in ano is easily cured if 

 it depend on a local cause. Heat and moisture long 

 applied to the parts, either from the horse standing in 

 his litter, or having his feet stuffed, or a sudden change 

 from a low diet to a high liberal diet, perhaps consist- 

 ing of beans, are what we may term local causes. In 

 these cases, removal of the cause, physicing, dryness and 

 warmth to the feet, and the application (after cleansing 

 the cleft by see-sawing thick soft rope through it) of 

 calomel, with tow to the bottom of the cleft, will affect 

 a cure almost at once. Very different is it with thrush 

 and with fistula in ano when it depends on a constitu- 

 tional cause. If you are ever tempted to pass a horse 

 with a thrush, and give a qualified certificate or opinion, 

 see that it is not constitutional thrush. A " leggy," flat- 

 sided horse having a thrush you should never either pass 

 or recommend at any price higher than the value of the 

 horse's hide. In the very early part of my career, I 

 remember examining a "leggy," flat-sided horse, with 

 one slight thrush, at York, for a personal friend. It so 



