DISEASES OF HORSES 121 



Treatment. Remedies to destroy intestinal worms are much 

 more efficient if given after a long fast, and then the worm medicine 

 must be supplemented by a physic to carry out the worms. Among 

 the best worm medicines may be mentioned turpentine, tartar 

 emetic, creolin, infusion of tobacco, and bitter tonics. To destroy 

 tapeworms, areca nut, malefern, and pumpkin seeds are the best. 

 If a horse is passing the long roundworms, the plan of treatment is 

 to give twice daily for three or four days a drench composed of 

 turpentine or creolin 1 ounce and linseed oil 2 or 3 ounces, to be 

 followed on the fourth day by a physic of Barbados aloes 1 ounce. 

 This dose should not be repeated, and should be followed in six 

 hours by 1 quart of linseed oil. If worms infesting the large bowels 

 are present, injections into the rectum of infusions of tobacco, in- 

 fusions of quassia chips, one-half pound to a gallon of water, once or 

 twice daily for a few days, and follow by a physic, are most bene- 

 ficial. It should be borne in mind that intestinal worms are mostly 

 seen in horses that are in poor condition, and an essential part of 

 treatment then is to improve the appetite and powers of digestion. 

 This is best done by giving the vegetable tonics. One-half ounce of 

 Peruvian bark, gentian, ginger, quassia, etc., is to be given twice a 

 day in the feed or as a drench. 



To improve the general condition one may give artificial Carls- 

 bad salts, 1 tablespoonful in each feed, and each dose to have added 

 to it 3 to 5 grains of arsenious acid. Bot-fly larvae do not require 

 special treatment unless they lodge in the rectum, in which case 

 they may be dislodged by injecting tobacco water. If plenty of rock 

 salt is allowed for horses to lick, they will thus be protected against 

 intestinal parasites to a slight but useful degree. 



INDIGESTION OR GASTROINTESTINAL CATARRH. There is 

 ample reason for considering these conditions together from the 

 facts that they merge insensibly into each other and usually occur 

 simultaneously. This condition may be acute that is, of sudden 

 onset or it may be chronic. The changes of structure produced by 

 this disease occur in the mucous-membrane lining of the stomach 

 and intestines. This membrane becomes red from increased blood 

 supply or from hemorrhage into it, it is swollen, and is covered by a 

 coating of slimy mucus. In some especially severe cases the mem- 

 brane is destroyed in spots, causing the appearance of ulcers or of 

 erosions. 



The causes of indigestion are numerous, but nearly all are the 

 result of errors in feeding. 



Some horses are naturaly endowed with weak digestive organs, 

 and such are predisposed to this condition. Anything that irritates 

 the stomach or intestines may cause this disease. Foods that the 

 animal is unaccustomed to, sudden changes of diet, imperfectly 

 cured, unripe, or damaged foods are all fruitful causes, and so are 

 worms. In suckling foals this condition may come from some dis- 

 ease of the dam that renders her milk indigestible or from overex- 

 ertkm or overheating of the mare. Another prolific cause is bad 

 teeth, making mastication imperfect, and thus causing the horse to 



