124 



HORSE— DISEASES AND REMEDIED 



sorted to on every appearance of the 

 slightest inflammation, and often without 

 the slightest necessity. Many horses were 

 regularly bled " every spring and fall," to 

 prevent mischief, as was supposed ; but at 

 last it always happened to every horse 

 which lived long enough, that the more fre- 

 quently blood was taken, the more the oper- 

 ation was required, and when it was ab- 

 solutely wanted to lower the heart's action, 

 such a quantity of blood must be taken 

 that the system was reduced to a danger- 

 ous degree. Stallions were constantly 

 submitted to this treatment, and mares as 

 long they were worked, so that in course 

 of time it has happened to the horse, as it 

 has also to man himself, that the horrid 

 abuse of the lancet for two or three con- 

 secutive generations has completely chang- 

 ed the type of the diseases to which they 

 are both subject. Inflammation does not 

 now follow the same course that it used to 

 do, but is of a much milder type, and the 

 attendant fever is inclined to assume the 

 typhoid character, if lowering measures 

 are pushed to any great extent. An at- 

 tempt has been made to account for this 

 change in human diseases by the altera- 

 tion in the habits of the present genera- 

 tion, which are certainly more temperate 

 than those of the previous one ; but in the 

 case of the horse the reverse holds good, 

 for he is now stimulated by more corn 

 than ever. The only point, as far as we 

 can make out, in which the horse and his 

 master have been similarly maltreated, is 

 in the abuse of the lancet, which undoubt- 

 edly may account for the change in the 

 type of their diseases to which we have 

 alluded, and it is, therefore, reasonable to 

 refer it to this cause. But though this pow- 

 erful agent has been thus abused, we must 

 not be deterred from having recourse to 

 it when severe inflammation occurs in the 

 horse. Sometimes there is no time to 

 wait for the effects of a slower remedy, 

 even if there is one which will be suffi- 

 ciently powerful to control the heart's 

 action. The only sensible plan in such 

 case is to choose the lesser of the two 

 evils, and to save life, or the integrity of 

 the organ attacked, as the case may be, 

 by abstracting blood, always remember- 

 ing that this is to be avoided as long as it 

 is safe to do so, but that when it is decid- 

 ed on, a sufficient quantity must be taken 

 to produce a sensible effect, without which 



there is no attendant good to counterbal- 

 ance the evil. ' 



Bleeding is either performed in the jug- 

 ular vein, when the whole system is to be 

 affected; or when a part of the body 

 only is inflamed, it may be desirable to 

 abstract blood locally, as for instance 

 from the toe or from the plate vein, in in- 

 flammation of the foot, and in ophthal- 

 mia from the vein which lies on the face 

 just below the eye. 



The instruments used are either the 

 lancet or the fleam, the former being the 

 safer of the two, but requiring some prac- 

 tice to manage it properly. In bleeding 

 from the jugular vein, a string is some- 

 times tied round the neck below the part 

 to be opened, which is four or five inches 

 below the fork in the vein in the upper 

 part of the neck. The skilled operator, 

 however, makes pressure with his left 

 hand answer the purpose of causing the 

 vein to rise, and during this state either 

 uses the lancet with his right or the fleam 

 with the aid afforded by the blow of a 

 short stick, callen a "blood stick." 

 When the blood begins to flow, the edge 

 of the bucket which catches it is pressed 

 against the same part, and as long as this 

 is continued a full stream will run until 

 faintness occurs. After sufficient blood has 

 been been taken, the two lips of the wound 

 are raised between the fingers, and a small 

 common pin passed through both, when 

 the point is cut off and some tow is twist- 

 ed round, by which the edges are kept to- 

 gether and the pin is retained in position. 

 In a couple of days the pin may be with- 

 drawn without disturbing the tow, and 

 the wound will heal with little or no de- 

 formity. Sometimes the blood continues 

 to flow beneath the skin after it is pinned, 

 and a swelling takes place in consequence, 

 which is called ecchymosis. "When this 

 happens, cold water should be freely ap- 

 plied and the head kept up by racking to 

 the manger. 



The quantity of blood necessary to be 

 taken will vary according to circumstances, 

 and can scarcely be fixed from the ap- 

 pearance of the blood drawn, but a repe- 

 tition of the operation may be decided on 

 if the clot of the blood, after standing, 

 is very concave at the top (cupped), or if 

 it is very yellow (buffed), and especially 

 if both these signs are present. In in- 

 flammation of a severe character less 



