108 BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



food, will be of greater benefit than most medication. The value of 

 pure air can not be overestimated, but drafts must be avoided. The 

 benefit derived from the inhalation of steam is considerable. This 

 is effected by holding the horse's head over a 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 gunn}^ 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 or twenty minutes each time. 



Particular attention 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 bj^ injections 

 (enemas) 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 com- 

 fortable 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 frorti the nostrils 

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

 This may be mixed with damp feed. Common cold should be thor- 

 oughly understood and intelligently treated in order to prevent more 

 dangerous diseases. 



CHRONIC CATARRH (OR NASAL GLEET, OR COLLECTION IN THE SINUSES). 



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

 brane affected in common cold, the disease just described. It is mani- 

 fested by a persistent discharge of a thick white or yellowish white 

 matter from one or both nostrils. The commonest cause is a neg- 

 lected 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 ])ut less frequent causes for this affection are: Fractures of 



