158 HEALTH AND DISEASE 



former position it is termed " mallenders ", in the latter " sallanders ". 

 (Figs. 270, 271.) With rare exceptions this form of the disease is confined 

 to the heavy breeds of horses, and especially to those with fleshy legs, a 

 thick skin, and a profusion of coarse hair. It is essentially hereditary in 

 its nature, and appears to be brought into existence by the excessive use 

 of highly nitrogenous diet, particularly the indiscriminate use of beans. 

 Not unfrequently it is preceded by swelling of the legs following upon 

 a brief respite from work. 



Sallanders sometimes ensues upon an attack of acute lymphangitis or 

 mud fever, and is frequently found to be associated with chronic enlarge- 

 ment of the limbs. 



HAEMOPHILIA, HEMORRHAGIC DIATHESIS, BLEEDERS 



By these terms is understood a disposition to bleed on the slightest 

 provocation. In animals so constituted very slight injuries, which in 

 others would prove perfectly harmless, are attended with profuse hemor- 

 rhage, and in some instances which have come under the notice of the 

 writer, blood has dripped from the skin at numerous points without any 

 obvious cause. In such subjects bleeding from wounds, whether the result 

 of accident or surgical operation, becomes difficult to arrest, and may even 

 proceed to exhaustion or fatal syncope. 



In the human subject it is recognized as a congenital disease, and in 

 some cases the predisposition to this form of hemorrhage has been known 

 to be transmitted from parent to progeny, and this hereditary influence 

 is recognized as the chief factor in the origin of the affection. Men are 

 said to suffer from the disease much more than women, the estimated 

 proportion being eleven of the former to one of the latter. 



Its prevalence in the horse is not considerable, but the tendency to 

 spontaneous bleeding from the nostrils is well known to exist in certain 

 families of race-horses, and from time to time this weakness has been 

 the cause of bitter disappointment to trainers and owners of thoroughbred 

 stock. In one celebrated family, well known to all who are interested in 

 the turf, it has exhibited a decided hereditary character, and proved a 

 serious drawback to certain of its members. 



Symptoms. — Animals which suffer from haemophilia do not exhibit 

 any obvious signs of constitutional disease. They invariably carry abun- 

 dance of flesh, are sleek in their coats, and present all the indications of 

 good general health. The most common form which the ailment presents in 

 horses is bleeding from the nose, the mucous membrane of which becomes 

 studded with blood-spots more or less numerous, and so closely packed 



