PECULIAIt TO HOESES. 47 



A sliort time a!:;o, I visited, in company with a practicint^ veteri- 

 narian, vi'hosc attention had never been called to this affection, three 

 horses, the subjects of lameness, which was said to be occasioned by 

 eating Hungarian grass: to the astonishment of the parties con- 

 cerned,! demonstrated that they were all the subjects of enlargements 

 of the lower jaws, and from the history of the cases and the charac- 

 ter of the lameness, it was very evident, that it was of an articular 

 character, and this is a peculiar feature of this affection. Then again 

 the reader must bear in mind, that the jaws of animals do not dilate 

 nor enlarge suddenly, nor make appearance all at once, like a meteor 

 in regions of space; the affection is insidious, progresses in an almost 

 imperceptible manner, and usually escapes the notice of those who 

 daily have charge of and handle the animal, as the following case, 

 which is selected from among many others, will serve to illustrate : 



About eighteen months ago a gentleman purchased what then ap- 

 peared as a line family horse, a sorrel gelding, aged five years. About 

 the beginning of March, one year after the purchase, in attempting 

 to walk the animal from one stable to another, but a short distance 

 off, he became suddenly lame in one of the hind limbs — low down 

 towards the foot — and it was found almost impossible to urge him 

 forward; finally assistance was procured, and the animal had, literal- 

 ly, to be carried into a stable. My services having been secured, I 

 visited the sufferer, and found him standing on three legs, the near 

 bind one being placed resting on the toe ; the parts around the coro- 

 net were hot, and the patient was very unwilling to have the part 

 handled; he seemed to suffer mu(;h pain, was breathing hnriiedly, 

 and the pulsations were quick and wiry ; the near approach of any 

 person seemed to terrify the animal, and he actually trembled from 

 fear and pain, when ordered to move. On making an examination of 

 the jaws, I found that both angles of the lower jaw were enlarged 

 to about two inches in thickness ; this explained the nature of the 

 sudden, and otherwise mysterious lameness; the articulating sur- 

 faces of various bones, and the bones themselves, had become dis- 

 eased, as is often the case in big-jaw. The owner assured, me that 

 the horse had never before been lame, and he was very much sur- 

 prised to find the lower jaw enlarged. Hero the reader will perceive 

 that the animal had been in Mr. VV^.'s possession one year, had per- 

 formed ordinary labor, yet was the subject of a gradual enlargement 

 of the jaw, and a constitutional disease, which probably existed, yet 

 in a slight degree, at the time of ])urchase; hence I contend that the 

 disease in its early stages is of a hidden or insidious character, and 

 requires some tact and knowledge of the subject iu order to de- 

 tect it. 



Nature of the Disease. — Big-head and big-jaw, are but one 

 form of disease, only located in different parts. When the upper 

 one becomes the seat of affection, an enlargement of the facial bones 

 will be observed, and the examiner's attention will be attracted by 

 the unnatural appearance of the face; as the disease progresses, the 

 face looks more like that of an elephant than of a horse, and now 

 the disease being incurable, the subject should mercifully be put out 

 of liis misery. The enlai'gement of the lower jaw is discovered by 

 manipulation. 



