KIDNEY AND LIVER DISEASES 229 



kept clean. It should be washed with clean, warm 

 water and Castile soap at least once in six months. 



AZOTURIA OR BLACKWATER 



This is an acute disease of the kidneys, and it is so 

 named because, when an attack comes on, the urine of 

 the horse is almost black in color, and very thick. The 

 disease is caused by suddenly stopping the work and 

 continuing the grain of highly fed horses. A thin horse 

 is very rarely attacked by it. 



When a holiday and a Sunday come together, so that 

 the city draft horse stands in for two days, cases of 

 blackwater always occur. In Chicago, under these 

 circumstances, there were once more than 150 cases in a 

 single day. But now the nature of the disease is gen- 

 erally known and horse-owners guard against it by re- 

 ducing the grain of their horses on consecutive days of 

 idleness, and sometimes also by having them led up and 

 down for exercise. 



Azoturia very seldom attacks the horse in the stable. 

 It comes on suddenly when he Is taken out, and usually 

 after he has gone only a short distance. The horse 

 suffers great pain, sweats profusely, and is very apt to 

 fall to the ground. The only thing to do Is to get him 

 Into a stable, and send for a veterinary surgeon. If 

 no "vet" is available, the treatment should be as fol- 

 lows : If a sling is at hand, put the horse In it. In order 

 to avoid injury from his throwing himself about. If a 

 sling is not available, put him In a box stall or on the 

 stable floor, with a deep bed of straw under him, and 

 his head padded. Give him a dose of physic, say a 



