44 BL^REAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



is to be discovered in the horse by the pain expressed h\ him while 

 feeding or drinking cold water. I have seen horses affected with 

 toothache that would suddenly stop chewing, throw the head to one 

 side, and slightly open the mouth. They behave as though some 

 sharp body had punctured the mouth. If upon examination there is 

 no foreign bod}' found we must then carefull}^ examine each tooth. 

 If this can not be done with the hand in the mouth we can, in most 

 instances, discover the aching tooth by pressing each tooth from 

 without. By tapping the teeth in succession with a hard object, such 

 as a small hammer, the dne that is tender ma}' bo located. The horse 

 •will llinch when the sore tooth is pressed or tapped upon. In most 

 cases there is nothing to T)e done but extract the decayed tooth, and 

 this, of course, is onl}- to be attempted b}' the veterinarian. 



There is a deformity^ known as parrot-mouth, that interferes with 

 prehension, mastication, and indirectly, with digestion. The upper 

 incisors project in front of and beyond the lower ones. The teeth of 

 both jaws become unusually long, as they are not worn down by fric- 

 tion. Such horses experience much difficulty in grazing. Little can 

 be done except to occasionally examine the teeth, and if those of the 

 lower jaw become so long that the}- bruise the "bars'' of the upper 

 jaw, they must be shortened by the rasp or saw. Horses with this 

 deformity should never be left entirel}^ at pasture. 



DISEASES OF THE MOUTH. 



Lampas. — Larapas is the name given to a swelling of the mucous 

 membrane covering the hard palate and projecting in a more or less 

 prominent ridge immediately behind the upper incisors. The hard 

 palate is composed of spongy tissue that fills with blood when the 

 horse is feeding and this causes the ridges to become prominent, and 

 they then help to keep food from dropping from the mouth. This 

 swelling is entireh' natural and occurs in every healthy horse. Where 

 there is some irritation in the mouth, as in stomatitis or during teeth- 

 ing, the prominence of the hard palate may persist, due to the increased 

 blood supply. In such cases the cause of the irritation should be 

 sought for and removed. B\' way of direct treatment, slight scarifica- 

 tion is the most that Avill be required. Burning the lampas is bar- 

 barous and injurious, and it should never be tolerated. 



It is quite a common opinion among owners of horses and stablemen 

 that lampas is a disease that ver}' frequently exists. In fact whenever 

 a horse fails to eat, and if he does not exhibit very marked symptoms 

 of a severe illness, they say at once " he has the lampas." It is almost 

 impossible to convince them to the contrary, yet it is not the case. It 

 ma}' be put down, then, as an affliction of the stableman's imagination 

 rather, than of the horse's mouth. 



Stomatitis. — This is an inflammation of the nuicous membrane lin- 



