^403 — 



Treatment To remove the pain, give twenty drops of the tine- 

 ture of aconite root every three hours, together with plenty of 

 cold water to drink ; also flaxseed tea, to horn, or drench down 

 the throat of the horse, and sheath the parts from irritating sub- 

 stances. Take equal parts of good mustard and flour, mix with 

 warm water, make into a soft paste, and lay over the region of the 

 kidneys, or small of the back, occasionally moistening it with 

 warm water and covering it with a dry cotton or linen cloth. 



Strangulation. — This is a term applied to a part which is 

 tightened, contracted or closed. Strangulation and stricture are 

 terms implying different degrees of the same phenomena. Thus 

 we speak of strangulation of the bowels from rupture, and of the 

 glottis or head of the wind-pipe, when, from some cause or other, 

 it is closed. Death of the horse is the result, if no opening be 

 made lower down in the wind-pipe, to admit atmospheric air. 

 Stricture is that condition of the wind-pipe or glottis which when 

 contracted or pressed upon by enlargement of the glands of the 

 neck, or thickening of its own membrane, diminishes the space 

 or width of its calibre, giving rise to thick wind and increased 

 breathing and cough. 



Stringhalt. — This is an affection of the hind leg, and it ia 

 known from the peculiar way in which tlie hind leg or legs are 

 raised from the ground — a quick, spasmodic jerk. 



Causes. These are twofold. First. The loss of nervous influ* 

 ence, whereby the extensor pedis muscle — and possibly some others 

 — is deprived of its proper power. Second. The peculiar anatomi- 

 cal articulation and general structure of the hock-joint of the horse 

 are such that when the leg of a dead horse is stripped of its mus- 

 cles the ligaments are not disturbed at all ; and if the legs above 

 and below the hock be caught hold of by the hands, and the leg 

 straightened out, the moment the hands are taken from it, it will 

 spring into a bent position, thereby imitating stringhalt, as near 

 as can be. Thus the balance of power is not equal ; the articu- 

 lary ligaments of the hock are stronger than the muscles of the 

 thigh. Hence, the moment the horse lifts his foot from the 

 ground, the leg is snatched up by the power of the articulating 

 ligaments. 



Treatment, Restore the lost nervous influence ; thereby the 



