9 8 



HORSE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



ment must consist in the use of calomel 

 and opium, with mild purging, thus : 

 Take of Calomel, 



Powdered Opium, of each one drachm. 

 Linseed Meal and boiling water enough 

 to make into a ball, which should be 

 given night and morning. Every other 

 day a pint of linseed oil should be ad- 

 ministered. 



The diet should if possible be confined 

 to green food, which will do more good 

 than medicine; indeed, in fine weather, a 

 run at grass during the day should be pre- 

 ferred to all other remedies, taking care to 

 shelter the horse at night in an airy, loose 

 box. 



HORSE, Kidneys, Diseases of the.— 

 These organs are particularly prone to 

 disease, and are subject to inflammation; 

 to diabetes, or profuse staling ; to hema- 

 turia, or a discharge of blood, and to tor- 

 . pidity, or inaction. 



Inflammation of the kidneys {nephritis) 

 is generally produced by an exposure of 

 the loins to wet and cold, as in carriage- 

 horses standing about in the rain during 

 the winter season. Sometimes it follows 

 violent muscular exertion, and is then said 

 to be caused by a strain in the back, but 

 in these cases there is probably an expo- 

 sure to cold in a state of exhaustion, or 

 by the rupture of a branch of the renal 

 .artery or vein, as the inflammation of one 

 organ can scarcely be produced by the 

 strain of another. The symptoms are a 

 constant desire to void the urine, which is 

 ■ of a very dark color— often almost black. 

 Great pain, as evidenced by the expres- 

 sion of countenance and by groans, as 

 well as by frequent wistful looks at the 

 loins. On pressing these parts there is 

 some tenderness, but not excessive, as in 

 rheumatism. The pulse is quick, hard 

 and full. The attitude of the 

 hind quarters is peculiar, the horse 

 standing in a straddling position with his 

 back arched, and refusing to move with- 

 out absolute compulsion. It is sometimes 

 difficult to distinguish nephritis from in- 

 flammation of the neck of the bladder, 

 but by attending to the state of the urine, 

 '-which is dark brown or black in the former 

 •case, and nearly of a natural color in the 

 latter, the one may be diagnosed from 

 the other. To make matters still more 

 clear, the oiled hand may be passed into 

 the rectum, when in nephritis the bladder 

 will be found contracted and* empty (the 



urine being so pungent as to irritate that 

 organ), while in inflammation or spasm 

 of its neck, it will be distended, often to 

 a large size. The treatment to be adopt- 

 ed must be active, as the disease runs a 

 very rapid course, and speedily ends in 

 death if neglected. A.large quantity of 

 blood must at once be taken. The skin 

 must be acted on energetically, so as to 

 draw the blood to its surface. The ap- 

 plication of hot water, as recommended in 

 Pneumonia (See Horse, Pneumonia), 

 may be tried, and in many cases it has 

 acted like a charm. Failing the means 

 for carrying out either of these remedies, 

 the loins should be rubbed with an em- 

 brocation consisting of olive oil, liquor 

 ammonia and laudanum in equal parts, 

 but cantharides and turpentine must be 

 carefully avoided, as likely to be absorbed, 

 when they would add fuel to the fire. A 

 fresh sheepskin should be warmed with 

 hot (not boiling) water, and applied over 

 the back, and the liniment should be 

 rubbed in profusely every hour, restoring 

 the skin to its place immediately after- 

 wards. Mustard is sometimes used in- 

 stead of ammonia, and as it is always at 

 hand, it may form a good substitute, but 

 it is not nearly so powerful an irritant to 

 the skin as the latter, especially when 

 evaporation is prevented by the sheepskin, 

 or by a piece of any waterproof article. 

 A mild aperient may be given, linseed oil 

 being the best form, but if the bowels 

 continue obstinate, and it is necessary to 

 repeat it, eight or ten drops of croton oil 

 may be added to a pint of the oil, great 

 care being taken to assist its action by 

 raking and injection, the latter being also 

 useful as a fomentation to the kidneys. 

 The diet should consist of scalded linseed 

 and bran mashes, no water being allowed 

 without containing sufficient linseed tea 

 to make it slightly glutinous, but not so 

 much so as to nauseate the patient. If 

 the symptoms are not greatly abated in 

 six or eight hours, the bleeding must be 

 repeated, for upon this remedy the chief 

 dependence must be placed. A mild and 

 soothing drench, composed of half an 

 ounce of carbonate of soda, dissolved in 

 six ounces of linseed tea, may be given 

 every six hours, but little reliance can be 

 placed upon it. The inflammation either 

 abates after the bleeding, or the horse 

 dies in a few hours. 



