fiXOSE.J 



THE HOESE, AND 



[stone. 



Horses do not appear to suffer so much 

 from calculi as might, at first, be expected; 

 and then the disease only appears like an 

 attack of gripes, caused by some obstructed 

 dung in the intestine, giving pain. When the 

 passage is rendered free, the pain immediately 

 ceases. Calculi frequently, or always, however, 

 bring on a fatal strangulation, and consequent 

 inflammation. In such cases the horse usually 

 falls a victim. 



The cure of this malady is out of our power, 

 and its prevention is little less so, unless we 

 perceive the horse addicted to eat roots or lick 

 up the earth, to which he is sometimes given. 

 The only chance of prevention, then, is to give 

 bran mashes for a day or two, until his dung 

 becomes moist. If in regular work, let him 

 resume his usual food. 



STONE IN THE KIDNEYS. 

 Stones sometimes form in the kidneys, or in 

 their C3":ities. In the horse they accumulate 

 till they iill the whole of the cavity ; and we 

 have heard of a case, in which, from the 

 inflammation produced thereby, the kidneys be- 

 came totally absorbed, and a large tumour was 

 formed in their place. This animal could with 

 difficulty walk: he was accordingly ordered to 

 be destroyed ; and on opening him, it was 

 found that the right kidney had become a 

 complete stone. 



STONE IN THE BLADDER. 



Though this disease is not so frequent in 

 the horse as in the human subject, still we 

 have no doubt of its occurring more frequently 

 than is generally supposed. This is made 

 pretty evident at the yard of the knacker, for 

 very many calculi are there found, after death, 

 in the bladder. The symptoms of its presence 

 are frequent inclination to make water, voided 

 in small quantities, and accompanied with ex- 

 cessive pain. Sometimes a sudden stoppage 

 of it takes place ; and this is very frequently 

 attended with extremely sharp spasmodic pains. 

 The horse then walks wide behind, or appears 

 loth to move along, and occasionally reels 

 about, with a staggering gait. The remedy was 

 discovered, and, we believe, first brought into 

 practice, by Mr. Sewell. The presence of stone 

 in the bladder is not very difficult to discover ; 

 for, if we examine the bladder, and introduce 

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the hand up the rectum, and feel for the bladder, 

 just beyond the bone called the pubis, there it 

 will be met with. When this is the case, try 

 whether there is any hard substance present. 

 If so, it is stone in the bladder. 



For the removal of the substance, introduce 

 a long, well oiled whalebone staff up the 

 urethra, until the end of it is felt just under 

 Vae anus ; then take a scalpel, and cut per- 

 pendicularly down upon it, and enlarge the 

 opening to about an inch and a-half. Into 

 this opening pass a long whalebone probe, or, 

 as it is called, a sound ; the end of which will 

 be felt to strike against the stone. Being 

 satisfied of this, withdraw the instrument, 

 and introduce your forceps, for the pur- 

 pose of extracting the stone. If the opening 

 should not be large enough, take a concealed 

 history, and cut up a little, as the horse is 

 supposed to be lying on his back. Then en- 

 deavour to seize the stone, and withdraw it 

 whole. Should this not be practicable, the 

 stone must be taken hold of by degrees, and 

 broken down by means of the forceps. Then 

 withdraw the pieces, and empty them. Continue 

 to do this until perfectly satisfied that the 

 whole of the stone is removed. This being 

 done, inject warm water into the bladder, 

 which will give the horse great ease. He 

 may now be allowed to get up, when, in all 

 probability, some sediment and urine may 

 escape from the wound for a day or two. 

 This need not occasion any alarm ; but con- 

 tinue to bathe the parts two or three 

 times a day with warm water. After this 

 time, the wound will close, the urine pass off 

 in its natural channel, when the wound should 

 be treated as a common one, by applying to it, 

 twice a day, compound tincture of myrrh. 

 Should the horse take on any appearance of 

 fever, give him, in his feed, with half bran and 

 oats, made slightly wet — 



Antimony 12 oz. 



Sulphur 12 do. 



Digitalis e drachms. 



Mix, and divide into twelve powders. Adminis- 

 ter one in his feed every night. 



With mares the operation is less difficult, 

 as the parts may be dilated instead of being 

 cut; but to them the use of a round-headed 

 catheter, sufficiently large in the bore to 

 allow the sound to pas? through it, is recom- 



