THE DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



509 



that may exist should first be subdued ; and 

 then opium, catecliu, and the uva ursi adminis- 

 tered. Inflnmmalion of (he bladdrr will be best 

 alleviated by mucilaginous drinks of almost auj' 

 kind. Iiijiam m at ion of the neck of the Itliidder, 

 evinced by the frequent and painful discharge of 

 small quantities of urine, \vill yield only to the 

 abstraction of blood and the exhibition of oi)iuni. 

 A cathi^ter may be easily passed into the blad- 

 der of the mare, and the urine evacuated, but it 

 will require a skillful veterinary surgeon to ef- 

 fect this in the horse. A stone in the bladder is 

 readily detected by the practitioner, and maybe 

 extracted with comparative ease. The sheath 

 of the penis is often diseased from the presence 

 of corrosive mucous matter. This may easily 

 be removed with warm .soap and water. 



To the mucous membranes belong the con- 

 junctival tunic of the eye, and the diseases of the 

 eye generally may be here considered. A 

 scabby itchiness on the edge of the eyelid may 

 be cured by a diluted nitrated ointment of mer- 

 cury. Waits should be cut ofFwiih the scissors, 

 and the roots touched with lunar cau.stic. Jn- 

 flammation of the haw should be abated by the 

 emploj'ment of cooling lotions, but that useful 

 defence of the eye should never, if possible, be 

 removed. Common ophthalmia 'w}\l yield as 

 readily to cooling applications as inflammation 

 of the same organ in any other animal ; but there 

 is another species of inflammation, commencing 

 in the same way as the first, anit for a while 

 apparently yielding to treatment, but which 

 changes from eye to eye, and returns again and 

 again, until hliudness is produced in one or both 

 organs of vision. The most frequent cause is 

 hereditary predisposition. The reader cannot 

 be too often reminded that the qualities of the 

 sire, good or bad, descend, and scarcely changed, 

 to his offspring. How moon-blindness was first 

 produced no one knows ; but its continuance in 

 our stables is to be traced to this cause princi- 

 pally, or almost alone, asd it pursues its course 

 until cataract is produced, for which there is no 

 remedy. Gvita sercna (palsy of the optic 

 nerve) is sometimes observed, and many have 

 been deceived, for the eye retains its perfect 

 transparency. Here, also, medical treatment is 

 of no avail. 



The serous membranes are of great import- 

 ance. The brain and spinal marrow, with the 

 origins of the nerves, are surrounded by them ; 

 so are the heart, the lung.s, the intestinal canal, 

 and the organs whose office it is to prepare the 

 generative fluid. 



Inflammation of the brain. — Mad staggers 

 fall under this division. It is inflammation of 

 tlie meninges, or envelops of the brain, pro- 

 duced by over-exertion, or by any of the causes 

 of areneral fever, and it is characterized by the 

 wildest delirium. Nothing but the most profuse 

 blood lotting, active purgation, and blistering the 

 head, will afford the slightest hope of success. 

 Tetanus or locked jaw is a constant spasm of 

 all the voluntary muscles, and particularly those 

 of the neck, the spine, and the head, arising 

 from the injury of some nervous fibril — tliat in- 

 jury spreading to the oritrin of the nerve — the 

 brain becoming affected, and universal and 

 unbroken spasmodic action being the result. 

 Bleeding, physicing, blistering the cour.se of the 

 spine, and the administration of opium in enor- 

 mous doses, will alone give any chance of cure. 

 Epilepsy is not a frequent dLseasc in the Hor.se. 

 but it seldom admits of cure. It is also very 

 apt to return at the most distant and uncertain 

 (1033) 



intervals. Palsy is the suspension of nervous 

 power. It is usually confined to the hinder 

 limbs, and sometimes to one limb only Bleed- 

 ing, physicing, antimonial medicines, and blis- 

 tering of tlie spine, are most likely to produce 

 a cure, but they too often utterly fail of suc- 

 cess. Rabies, or madness, is evidently a dis- 

 ea.«e of the nervous sy.stem, and, once being 

 developed, is altogether without remedy. The 

 utter destruction of the bittt'n part with the lu- 

 nar caustic, soon after the infliction of the 

 wound, will, however, in a great majority of 

 cases, prevent that develojmient. 



Pleurisy, or inflammation of the serous cov- 

 ering of the lungs and tlie lining of the cavity 

 of the chest, is generally connected with in- 

 flammation of the substance of the lungs ; but 

 it occasionally exi.sts independent of anj' state 

 of those organs. The pulse is in this case 

 hard and full, instead of being oppres.sed : the 

 extremities are not so intensely cold as in pneu- 

 monia ; the membrane of the nose is little red- 

 dened, and the sides are tender. It is of im- 

 portance to distinguish accurately bet^veen the 

 two, because in pleurisy more active purga- 

 tion may be pursued, and the effect of counter 

 irritants will be greater from their proximity to 

 the seat of disease. Copious bleedings and 

 sedatives here also should be had recourse to. 

 It is in connection with pleurisy that a serous 

 fluid is effused in the chest, the existence and 

 extent of which may be ascertained by the prac- 

 ticed ear, and which in many cases may be safe- 

 ly evacuated. 



The heart is surrounded by a serous mem- 

 brane, the pericardium, that secretes a fluid, the 

 interposition of which prevents any injurious 

 friction or concussion in the constant action of 

 this organ. If this fluid increases to a great de- 

 gree, it constitutes dropsy of the heart, and 

 the action of the heart may be impeded or de- 

 stroyed. In an early .-stage it is diflicult to de- 

 tect, and in every stage difficult to cure. 



The heart it.self is often diseased ; it sjTiipa- 

 thizes with the inflammatory affection of every 

 organ, and, therefore, is itself occasionally in- 

 flamed. Carditis, or inflamm ation of the heart, 

 is characterized by the strength of its pul.sa- 

 tious, the tremor of which can be seen, and the 

 sound can be heard at a distance of several 

 yards. Speedy and copious blood letting will 

 affiird the only hope of cure in such a case. 



The outer coat of the stomach and intestines 

 is composed of a serous membrane, the perito- 

 neum, which adds strength and firmness to their 

 textures, attaches and supports and confines 

 them in their respective places, and secretes a 

 fluid that prevents all injurious friction between 

 them. This coat is exceedingly subject to in- 

 fiammation, which is somewhat gradual in its 

 approach. The pulse is quickened, but small ; 

 the legs cold ; the belly tender ; there is con- 

 stant pain, and every motion increases it ; there 

 is also rapid and great prostration of strength. 

 These symptoms will sufficiently cliaracterize 

 peritoneal inflammation. Bleeding, aperient 

 injections, and extensive coauter irritation will 

 afford the only hope of cure. 



The time for castration varies according to 

 the breed and destiny of the Horse. On the 

 farmer's colt it may be effected when the ani- 

 mal is not more than four or five months old, and 

 it is comparatively seldom that a fatal ca.se then 

 occurs. For other hordes, much depends on 

 their growth, and particularly on the develop- 

 ment of their fore quarters. Little improvement 



