W0BM8.] 



MODEHN VETERTNATIY PRACTICE. 



[WOBMI. 



mended. Wlion tliis is introduced, and the 

 urine dnwii otV, piisa the sound down tlie 

 catlioter into llu' bhuKler. Ihivin-: iiccoin- 



Bntisfii'd yourHi'lf of tlio onlculi bi-ing there, 

 proceed iih before directed for u horse. 



This operation does not geuerully luil if con- 



pliahed this, wilhdraw the catheter, and liaving ducted with euflicient caro. 



CHAPTER XX. 



-WOUMS TN general; jaundice, or yellows; DIARRUCF a, looseness, or SCOtJRINO; 



CRIB-BITING. 



WORMS IN GENERAL. 

 "Wn"EN worms have secured a settlement in 

 either the stomach or intestines of the horse, he 

 becomes a prey to perpetual annoyance, till 

 efiectual methods are taken for their total ex- 

 tirpation. 



Tliere are three kinds of worms to which the 

 horse is liable ; first, the long white worm, very 

 much resembling the common large earth-worm, 

 but much longer and harder. At its middle it 

 is about the size of a large swan-quill, and 

 regularly tapers off to the ends. Tlie length 

 of these worms varies from six inches to 

 twelve, and they generally occupy the small 

 intestines, and are at times exceedingly trouble- 

 some, frequently occasioning gripes, and not 

 unfrequeutly inflammation, by their excessive 

 irritation. 



Another kind of worm is the small thread or 

 needle-worm, which is frequently found in all 

 the intestines, but more particularly in 

 the large. It has also been found in some of 

 the blood-vessels, in the windpipe, and in the 

 lungs. This worm occasions great disturbance 

 in the system when it becomes numerous, but 

 not to the same extent as the last named. 



There is a third kind of worm, called bots, 

 which comprises two species. For almost all 

 we know of this worm, we are indebted to Mr. 

 Bracey Clark. Its history is simply this : — 

 A species of gad-fly, " the sestrus eqtti, is, in 

 the latter part of the summer, exceedingly 

 busy about the horse. It is observed to be 

 darting, with great rapidity, towards the knees 

 and sides of the animal. The females are de- 

 positing their eggs on the hair, and which ad- 



here to it by means of a glutinous fluid, with 

 which they are surrounded. In a few days 

 the eggs are ready to be hatched, and the 

 slightest application of warmth and moisture 

 will liberate the little animals they contain. 

 The horse, in licking himself, touches the egg; 

 it bursts, and a small worm escapes, which ad- 

 heres to the tongue, and is conveyed with the 

 food into the stomach. There it clings to the 

 cuticular portion of the stomach, by means of 

 a hook on eitiier side of its mouth ; and its 

 hold is so firm and so obstinate, that it must 

 be broken before it can be detached. It re- 

 mains there, feeding on the mucus of the 

 stomach during the whole of the winter, and 

 until the end of the ensuing spring; when, 

 having attained a considerable size, and being 

 destined to undergo a certain transformation, 

 it disengages itself from the cuticular coat, is 

 carried into the villous portion of the stomach 

 with the food, passes out of it with the chyme, 

 and is evacuated with the dung. Tiie larva, or 

 maggot, seeks shelter in the ground, and buries 

 itself there; it contracts in size, and becomes 

 a chrysalis, or grub, in which state it lies in- 

 active for a few weeks ; and then, burst- 

 ing from its confinement, assumes the form 

 of a fly. Tlio female becoming impreg- 

 nated, quickly deposits her eggs on those 

 parts of tlie horse which he is most accus 

 tomed to lick, and thus the species is per- 

 petuated." 



A horse affected with worms will be known 

 by a dry yellowish matter adhering to the 

 fundament, and running two or three inches 

 down below. This is merely the soft part of 



229 



