54 THE DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



The disease is either acute or chronic. The acute form, 

 which usually results from wounds, is rapid in its course 

 and very dangerous. It is perhaps sometimes spontaneous 

 and epizootic. It attacks young as well as old, and lasts 

 from one to three or four weeks. When curable, the 

 turn comes in about ten days. 



The disease has many causes. A nail in the foot, a 

 mere tread, punctures, amputation of the tail, docking, 

 saddle galls, castration, especially where caustic clamps 

 are used; intestinal irritation, either from foreign bodies 

 or parasites ; sudden changes of temperature, especially 

 after clipping ; strychnine internally or injected ; in fact, 

 any violence. It may occur even after a wound has healed. 

 Dun says the " involuntary tonic (rigid) muscular spasms " 

 of tetanus are probably caused by a microbe. The mites 

 would cause irritation of course. 



Fig. 9. Feeding a horse suffering with chronic Tetanus. A catheter passed 

 through the nostril to the stomach ; gruel pumped in. 



Symptoms. — First stage: Neck, back, and loins stiff ; 

 appetite lost; swallowing difficult; lips about natural; 

 discharge of saliva; jaws refuse to separate naturally; 

 grinding of teeth ; nose elevated and slightly protruded ; 

 facial muscles twitch ; excitable, irritable ; throws head 



