MANGE. 389 



(lung and urine ; but, in defiance of common prejudice, there is no authentic instance 

 of mange being the result. It may, however, proceed from poverty. When the ani- 

 mal is half starved, and the functions of digestion and the power of the constitution 

 are weakened, the skin soon sympathises, and mange is occusionnlly produced instead 

 of surfeit and hide-bound. Every farmer has proof enough of this being the case. 

 If a horse is turned on a common where there is scarcely sufficient herbage to satisfy 

 his appetite, or if he is placed in one of those straw-yards that are under the manage- 

 ment of mercenary and unfeeling men, and are the very abodes of ndsery, the ani- 

 mal comes up a skeleton, and he comes up mangy too. Poverty and starvation are 

 fruitful sources of mange, but it does not appear that filth has nmch to do with it, 

 although poverty and filth generally go hand in hand. 



The propriety of bleeding in cases of mange depends on the condition of the pa- 

 tient. If mange is the result of poverty, and the animal is much debilitated, bleed- 

 ing will increase the evil, and will probably deprive the constitution of the power of 

 rallying. Physic, however, is indispensable in every case. It is the first step in the 

 progress towards cure. A mercurial ball will be preferable to a common aloetic one, 

 as more certain and eifectual in its operation, and the mercury probably having some 

 influence in mitigating the disease. In this, however, mange in the horse resembles 

 itch in the human being — medicine alone will never effect a cure. There must be 

 some local application. There is this additional similarity — that which is most effec- 

 tual in curing the itch in the human being must form the basis of every local appli- 

 cation for the cure of mange in the horse. Sulphur is indispensable in every 

 unguent for mange. It is the sheet-anchor of the veterinary surgeon. In an early and 

 not very acute state of mange, equal portions of sulphur, turpentine, and train-oil, 

 gently but well rubbed on the part, will be applied with advantage. Farriers are fond 

 of the black sulphur, but that which consists of earthy matter, with the mere dregs 

 of various substances, cannot be so effectual as the pure sublimed sulphur. A toler- 

 ably stout brush, or even a currycomb, lightly applied, should be used, in order to 

 remove the dandriff or scurf, wherever there is any appearance of mange. After that, 

 the horse should be washed with strong soap and water as far as the disease has ex- 

 tended; and, when he has been thoroughly dried, the ointment should be well rubbed 

 in with the naked hand, or with a piece of flannel. More good will be done by a 

 little of the ointment being well rubbed in, than by a great deal being merely smeared 

 over the part. The rubbing should be daily repeated. 



The sulphur seems to have a direct influence on the disease — the turpentine has an 

 indirect one, by exciting some irritation on the skin of a different nature from that 

 produced by the mange, and under the influence of which the irritation of mange will 

 be diminished, and the disease more easily combated. During the application of the 

 ointment, and as soon as the physic has set, an alterative ball or powder, similar to 

 those recommended for the other affections of the skin, should be daily given. If, 

 after some days have passed, no progress should appear to have been made, half a 

 pound of sulphur should be well mixed with a pint of oil of tar, or, if that is not to 

 be obtained, a pint of Barbadoes tar, and the affected parts rubbed, as before. On 

 every fifth or sixth day the ointment should be washed off with warm soap and wa- 

 ter. The progress towards cure will thus be ascertained, and the skin will be cleans- 

 ed, and its pores opened for the more effectual application of the ointment. 



The horse should be well supplied with nourishing, but not stimulating food. As 

 much green meat as he will eat should be given to him, or, what is far better, he 

 should be turned out, if the weather is not too cold. It may be useful to add, that, 

 after the horse has been once well dressed with either of these liniments, the danger 

 of contagion ceases. It is necessary, however, to be assured that every mangy place 

 has been anointed. It will be prudent to give two or three dressings after the horse 

 has been apparently cured, and to continue the alteratives for ten days or a fortnight. 



The cure being completed, the clothing of the horse should be well soaked in wa- 

 ter, to which a fortieth part of the saturated solution of the chloride of lime has been 

 added; after which it should be washed with soap and water, and again washed and 

 soaked in a solution of the chloride of lime. Every part of the harness should un- 

 dergo a similar purification. The currycomb may be scoured, but the brush should 

 be burned. The rack, and manger, and partitions, and every part of the stable which 

 the horse could possibly have touched, should be well washed with a hair-broom — a 

 pint of the "hloride of lime being added to three o-allons of water. All the wood- 

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