PREVENTIVE MEDICINE 363 



If there is only one horse affected among a stud, the owner would 

 be well advised to have it removed to a veterinary establishment 

 where it will be out of harm and probably be more speedily cured. 

 Sanction for removal must, of course, be obtained from the veteri- 

 nary inspector of the local authority. If it is not the ordinary 

 stable practice to provide each horseman with his own set of groom- 

 ing tools this should be done immediately the disease is suspected, 

 and all such kit must be kept clean and frequently washed in an 

 alkali solution to remove the grease and dirt. 



In some stables it is the practice to spread the least soiled bed- 

 ding out in the open in the morning and then to re-apportion it 

 among the stalls when dry. If mange is present this must on no 

 account be allowed, even among the clean horses. The harness of 

 all the animals, whether diseased, incontacts or clean, should be 

 periodically cleaned, dried in the air and dressed with some harness 

 composition. The use of rugs, bandages and other clothing should 

 be restricted as far as possible and, of course, under no circum- 

 stance should any harness be transferred from one animal to 

 another. Fillers draws attention to an important and often over- 

 looked fact, namely, that on the death of a horse the parasites 

 leave it as soon as the body begins to cool and set out on a search for 

 another host. 



In conclusion it is well to remember that it is quite impossible 

 to say with certainty whether an animal is free from mange mites. 

 It is therefore well to extend the period of after-treatment isolation 

 as long as can conveniently be done. 



S arc optic Mange of the Coiv is introduced into a byre by the 

 purchase of an infected animal. It spreads with rapidity from one 

 cow to another, being carried on grooming tools, udder cloths, 

 the hands, caps and clothes of milkers and, in paired stalls, from the 

 contact of one cow with her neighbour. The parasites and their 

 eggs drop or are brushed off the hindquarters, fall into the bedding, 

 and thus get passed up and down the byre. Attendants frequently 

 put their hands on the part of the cow most commonly affected, 

 the posterior lumbar region and base of the tail, and so carry the 

 parasites from one animal to another. Sufficient evidence that the 

 disease is spread by the attendants is found on their arms, few 

 milkers escaping from " dairyman's itch " when the cows are mangy. 



It is by no means easy for the dairyman to prevent the entrance 

 of a mangy cow into his byre as it may, at the time of purchase ; 

 be so slightly affected as to escape notice and, unfortunately, the 

 disease is not scheduled which undoubtedly it should be so that 

 the buyer in the open market has no redress or protection. When 



