DISEASES OF HORSES 139 



bucketful of boiling water, so that the animal will be compelled to 

 inhale steam with every inhalation of air. Stirring the hot water 

 with a wisp of hay causes the steam to arise in greater abundance. 

 One may cause the horse to put his nose in a bag containing cut 

 hay upon which hot water has been poured, the bottom of the bag 

 being stood in a bucket, but the bag must be of loose texture, as 

 gunny sack, or, if of canvas, holes must be cut in the side to admit 

 fresh air. 



The horse may be made to inhale steam four or five times a 

 day, about fifteen to twenty minutes each time. Particular atten- 

 tion should be paid to the diet. Give bran mashes, scalded oats, 

 linseed gruel, and grass, if in season. If the horse evinces no desire 

 for this soft diet, it is better to allow any kind of food he will eat, 

 such as hay, oats, corn, etc., than to keep him on short rations. If 

 the animal is constipated, relieve this symptom by injections of 

 warm water into the rectum three or four times a day, but do not 

 administer purgative medicines, excepting of a mild character. 



For simple cases the foregoing is all that is required, but if 

 the appetite is lost and the animal appears debilitated and dull, give 

 3 ounces of the solution of acetate of ammonia and 2 drams of 

 powdered chlorate of potassium diluted with a pint of water three 

 times a day as a drench. Be careful when giving the drench; do 

 not pound the horse on the gullet to make him swallow ; be patient, 

 and take time, and do it right. If the weather be cold, blanket the 

 animal and keep him in a comfortable stall. If the throat is sore, 

 treat as advised for that ailment, to be described hereafter. If, 

 after ten days or two weeks, the discharge from the nostrils con- 

 tinues, give one-half dram of reduced iron three times a day. This 

 may be mixed with damp feed. Common cold should be thoroughly 

 understood and intelligently treated in order to prevent more dan- 

 gerous diseases. 



CHRONIC CATARRH (OR NASAL GLEET). 



This is a subacute or chronic inflammation of some part of the 

 membrane affected in common cold, the disease just described. It 

 is manifested by a persistent discharge of a thick white or yellowish 

 white matter from one or both nostrils. The commonest cause is 

 a neglected or badly treated cold, and it usually follows those cases 

 where the horse has suffered exposure, been overworked, or has not 

 received proper food, and, as a consequence, has become debilitated. 



Other but less frequent causes for this affection are: Fractures 

 of the bones that involve the membrane of the sinuses, and even 

 blows on the head over the sinuses. Diseased teeth often involve a 

 sinus and cause a fetid discharge from the nostril. Violent cough- 

 ing is said to have forced particles of food into the sinus, which 

 acted as a cause of the disease. Tumors growing in the sinuses are 

 known to have caused it. It is also attributed to disease of the tur- 

 binated bones. Absorption of the bones forming the walls of the 

 sinuses has been caused by the pressure of pus collecting in them 

 and by tumors filling up the cavity. 



