408 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



alkaline salts which, like the mineral substances always found in 

 the mud of cities, are more or less irritating, and it seems fail' to 

 conclude that imder certain circumstances mud may become an 

 important factor in the production of quittor.^ 



AVliile this disease attacks any and all classes of horses, it is the 

 large, conunon breeds, with thick skins, heavy coats, and coarse legs 

 that are most often affected. Horses well groomed and cared for in 

 stables seem to Ije less liable to the disease than those rmming at large 

 or than those which are kept and worked under adverse circum- 

 stances. 



iiynvptoms. — Lameness, lasting from one to three or four days, 

 nearly always precedes the development of the strictly local evi- 

 dences of quittor. The next sign is the appearance of a small, tense, 

 hot, and painful tumor in the sldn of the coronary region. If the 

 skin of the affected foot is white, the inflamed portion will present a 

 dark-red or even a purplish appearance near the center. Within a 

 few hours the ankle, or even the whole leg as high as the Icnee or 

 hock, becomes much swollen. The lameness is now so great that the 

 patient refuses to use the foot at all, but carries it if compelled to 

 move. As a consequence, the opposite leg is required to do the work 

 of both, and if the animal persists in standing a greater part of the 

 time it, too, becomes swollen. In many of these cases the suffering 

 is so intense during the fii'st feAv days as to cause general fever, dull- 

 ness, loss of appetite, and increased thirst. Generally the tumor 

 shows signs of suppuration within 48 to 72 hours after its fii*st ap- 

 pearance: the summit softens, a fluctuating fluid is felt beneath the 

 skin, which soon ulcerates complete!}' through, causing the discharge 

 of a thick, yellow, bloody pus, containing shreds of dead tissue which 

 have sloughed away. The sore is now converted into an open ulcer, 

 generally deep, nearly or quite circular in outline, and with hardened 

 base and edges. In exceptional cases large patches of skin, varying 

 from 1 to 2^ inches in diameter, slough away at once, leaving an ugly 

 superficial ulcer. These sore.s, especially when deep, suppurate fi-eely, 

 and if there are no complications they tend to heal rapidly as soon 

 as the degenerated tissue has softened and is entirely removed. When 

 suppuration is fully established, the lameness tmd general symptoms 

 subside. ^Hien but a single tumor and abscess form, the disease pro- 

 gresses rapidly, and recovery, under proper treatment, may be ef- 



1 An outbroak of qnittor noar Chcyc-nne, Wyo., which cnmo nndor the axithor's ohsf^i-v.-i- 

 tion, was caused by the mud through which the hors-es liad to wade to reach the watering 

 troughs. These troughs were furnished with water by windmills, and the mudholes were 

 caus-ed by the waste water. More than 50 cases developed inside of two months, or durin..,' 

 Septembpr and Ocfobor. In these 50 cases all forms of the disease and all possible compli- 

 cations were presented. During the rainy season at Leadvllle, Colo., outbreaks of quittor 

 are common, and the disease is so virulont that it has long been known as the " lyeadville 

 foot rot." The soil being rich in mineral matters is no doubt the cause of the outbreaks. 

 In the city of Montreal quittor is said to bo very common in the early springtime, when 

 the streets are muddy from the melting snow and ice. 



