68 TREATMENT OF DISEASES 



DISEASE OF THE SKIN — MANGE — LOUSINESS — 

 REMEDY FOR THE SAME. 



A great many of the horses lately disposed of by the Government, 

 as " condemned," " contraband," &c., were, and still are, subjects 

 of various forms of sA'in disease — mange, lousiness, &c., and it is 

 probable that when such animals are introduced into decent " horse 

 society," they will be the means of spreading the itch, mange, lousi- 

 ness, &c. ; hence, I propose to give the readers of this work some 

 advice on the subject. 



In the first place, almost all the skin diseases prevalent among 

 army , Worses owe their origin to neglect and filth. Hence cleanliness 

 — brush and curry-comb — are the best means of prevention, and are 

 also valuable as curative agents. 



The best local application for diseases of the above character, is 

 as follows : 



Linseed Oil, 



Tincture of Lobelia, -r^ , , 



Pyroligneous Acid, ^ Equal parts. 



Spirits of Turpentine, ^ 

 Mix.* 



Apply, by means of a sponge, a portion of the above mixture to 

 all parts of the body ; and the patient should have an occasional dose 

 of sulphur in a " bran mash :" four drachms of sulphur constitute a 

 dose. 



The next best advice I have to offer is, Government horses labor- 

 ing under any of the notorious prevalent affections, are very dear at 

 any price ; hence, touch not, purchase not / for good money and bad 

 horses soon part company ; and as the old saying is, " that is the 

 way the money goes." 



A great many of the horses lately disposed of by the Government 

 are the subjects of a skin disease known to medical men as mange ; 

 it makes its appearance as a pustular eruption, commencing about 

 the regions of the roots of the hair of the ma^ie and tail/ where, 

 soon, a scurfy state of the skin appears. The disease soon extends, 

 and makes itself visible by spots denuded of hair ; these spots are 

 the seat of a coating of mealy powder, which can be rubbed off. 

 Throughout the whole course of the disease the animal is tormented 

 with an incessant itching sensation, and is continually rubbing and 

 biting himself. It should be generally understood that this malady 

 is highly cofitagious, and, therefore, can readily be communicated 

 from one horse to another; hence, the affected animal should not be 

 allowed to come in contact with others not so affected. 



Mange, or itch, sometimes assumes a highly inflammatory type ; 

 this depends somewhat on the vascularity of the surface of the body, 

 and the specific irritability of the skin which is peculiar to some 

 animals of the sanguine and nervous temperaments. 



In some stages of this skin affection, a close examination will 

 detect, under the scarf-skin, little watery eminences, known as vesi- 

 cles / and at the base of the same can be seen little red patches ; this 



* See Magnetic Lotion. 



