DISEASES OF HORSES 81 



livid redness of the external organs of generation, sometimes fol- 

 lowed by the eruption of small blisters one-fifth of an inch across 

 on the penis, the vulva, clitoris, and the vagina, and the consequent 

 rupture of these vesicles and the formation of ulcers or small open 

 sores. Vesicles have not been noticed in this disease in the dry cli- 

 mate of Illinois. In the mare there is frequent contraction of the 

 vulva, urination, and the discharge of a watery and later a thick 

 viscid liquid of a whitish, yellowish, or reddish color, which collects 

 on and soils the tail. The swelling of the vulva increases and de- 

 creases alternately, affecting one part more than another and giving 

 a distorted appearance to the opening. The affection of the skin 

 leads to the appearance of circular white spots, which may remain 

 distinct or coalesce into extensive patches which persist for months. 

 This, with the soiled tail, red, swollen, puckered, and distorted vulva, 

 and an increasing weakness and paralysis of the hind limbs, serves 

 to characterize the affection. The mare rarely breeds, but will take 

 the male, and thus propagate the disease. The disease winds up 

 with great emaciation and stupidity and death in four months to 

 two years. In horses which serve few mares there may be only swell- 

 ing of the sheath for a year, but with frequent copulation the prog- 

 ress is more rapid. The penis may be enlarged, shrunken, or dis- 

 torted; the testicles are usually pendent and may be enlarged or 

 wasted and flabby ; the skin, as in the mare, shows white spots and 

 patches. Later the penis becomes partially paralyzed and hangs out 

 of the sheath; swelling of the adjacent lymphatic glands (in the 

 groin,), and even of distant ones, and of the skin appears, and the 

 hind limbs become weak and unsteady. In some instances the 

 glands under the jaw swell, and a discharge flows from the nose, as 

 in glanders. In other cases the itching of the skin leads to gnaw- 

 ing and extensive sores. Weakness, emaciation, and stupidity in- 

 crease until death, in fatal cases, yet the sexual desire does not seemi 

 to fail. A stallion without sense to eat, except when food was put 

 in his mouth, would still neigh and seek to follow mares. In mild 

 cases an apparent recovery may ensue, and through such animals 

 the disease is propagated to new localities to be roused into activity 

 and extension under the stimulus of service. The diseased nerve 

 centers are the seat of cryptogamic growths. 



Course of the Disease. This is extremely variable, and may 

 cover a period ranging from nine months to two years. At the 

 commencement of the attack the genital symptoms alone are observ- 

 able. These, however, sooner or later become complicated by the 

 appearance of the systemic or nervous disturbances, including loss 

 of flesh, staggering gait, and paralysis of the posterior extremities. 

 These symptoms gradually become intensified until the animal, 

 reduced to skin and bone, is unable to rise, and death at last results 

 from exhaustion, lack of nutrition, or from septic infection. This 

 course is markedly influenced by the condition and environment to 

 which the animal has been subjected. Bad weather, exposure, in- 

 sufficient food, and complicating diseases like influenza, distemper, 

 or in fact any condition which tends to lower the vitality of the 



