242 Common Diseases of the Horse 



recommended. Constipation may be overcome by a tablespoonful 

 or two of castor oil, and the strength must be maintained in every 

 way possible. The mother's milk should be drawn and administered 

 in small and frequent doses, and, in addition, an egg beaten up with 

 a tablespoonful each of brandy and port wine may be given every 

 three hours. It must not be overlooked that the udder of the mare 

 will also require attention, or it will become overstocked. In the 

 hope of recovery for the foal it should be partially stripped hourly. 



White Scour 



This is an infectious diarrhoea, due to the presence of a microbe 

 in the digestive tract. 



Symptoms. — The purging sets in from two or three days to a 

 week after birth ; the faeces, which are expelled with great force, are 

 of a dirty-white or yellowish-grey colour, with a very foetid odour, 

 arud of a sticky nature, so that the tail and hind parts generally 

 become soiled and coated with them. The disease is also accom- 

 panied by violent straining, signs of abdominal pain, and rapid 

 emaciation; the eyes become dull and sunken, and great weakness 

 ensues. 



Treatment. — As the disease is undoubtedly of an infectious 

 nature, strict cleanliness and general hygiene for the young animal 

 are to be observed as the best preventive. If the diarrhoea occurs 

 in the foaling shed, one cannot insist too strongly upon disinfection. 

 The floors and walls must be scraped and thoroughly disinfected 

 with strong carbolic or chloride of lime. All litter should be 

 burnt, or the disease will be communicable to any other foal coming 

 in contact with the infected material. The mare also requires to 

 be washed and disinfected. The curative treatment consists in 

 removing the cause and allaying the irritation in the bowel. For 

 this purpose a tablespoonful of castor oil may be given. Other 

 remedies are an egg beaten up with the shell, and repeated at two 

 or three hours interval ; or two ounces of whisky or a large table- 

 spoonful of best brandy and port wine, with a small teaspoonful 

 of ginger, given every four hours in a little starch or flour gruel. 

 This treatment, although apparently simple, has as quick and 

 good an effect as giving a variety of drugs. The foal must be kept 

 quiet and comfortable, and any soiled parts of the body cleansed, 

 and the surroundings made sanitary. 



