— 369 — 



shiver or appear chilly, not from cold, but from the sup])urative 

 inflammatory action going on. The milk will have almost en- 

 tirel}^ ceased, and the colt will have to be fed by the bottle as a 

 child, or out of a bucket like a calf, till the mare is cured and the 

 milk returns. One curious condition about pelvic abscess is, that 

 although it suppurates, the abscess does not break usually on the 

 thigh, as it would be expected to do, but within an inch or two 

 from the haunch bone. 



Treatment. The pus which has accumulated from so larg.e an 

 abscess, does not discharge itself from the place of opening, but 

 burrows awa}^ down among the muscles of the hip and thigh, 

 down to within a few inches of the hock itself. Hence, the great 

 secret in the treatment of pelvic abscess is to make tivo free open- 

 ings, one above, at the point of the soft abscess, and the other within 

 from four to six inches of the hock on the outside of the thigh. 

 Then take a smooth elastic twig or a long piece of whalebone 

 nicely smoothed with sandpaper, and introduce into the opening 

 above, and gently force it down to within an inch or so of the 

 lower opening. This being done the pus will all discharge itself 

 from the lower hole. Then inject with a small S3^ringe, once a 

 day, for a few days, about half a tablespoonful of the following 

 mixture : Oil of turpentine and olive oil, equal parts. Keep the 

 parts clean, feed the mare and colt well, and leave nature to com- 

 plete the cure. 



Penis Hanging Out. — This is a serious defect, and is the re- 

 sult of weakness and debility. The organ of generation is weak, 

 the sheath swells, clasping the penis in its grnsp until it also be- 

 comes enlarged, and in most cases will not draw into its place 

 again, so that it must either remain so or be cut off close to the 

 prepuce or sheath. This affection and the 0])posite conditions, 

 Phymosis and Paraphymosis, were very prevalent amongst the 

 horses of the army, in the late war. 



Peristaltic. — A term applied to the serpentine motion of the 

 bowels, one portion contracting and forcing its contents onward 

 into the next. 



Peritonitis. — ^Inflammation of the peritoneum, or the serous 

 membrane which lines the walls or inside of the belly, character- 

 24 



