298 GENERAL REMEDIAL MEASURES. 



irregular unwholesome feeding, of a sudden check to perspiration 

 from cold, or from an accumulation of filth which the horse has 

 not been able to remove for himself by rolling in earth, and 

 which a negligent attendant has not removed for him. Or it may 

 be the result of starvation which has deprived the skin of 

 its natural lubricating oil. Always remember that a horse may 

 be starved by indigestible food as completely as by too little 

 food. Beans, or any excessively forcing, dry and astringent 

 food, given to a horse that has been let to get down in low 

 condition, will sometimes produce a very troublesome irritation 

 of the skin, which is not easy to remove. Some of these 

 affections defy every effort to cure them, and we have seen them 

 continue through life, though the horse was a constant patient 

 in the hands of a veterinary surgeon. Do what you will you 

 can never make a skin that has had much wrong with it, 

 look all right, until the time comes for it to get a new covering 

 in spring or autumn. 



737. — Medicine of various kinds is largely given for these 

 disorders, and the horse is not unfrequently salivated, in Avhich 

 case the medicine is more harmful than the disease. Cleanliness 

 and comfort, regular and moderately succulent food, that will 

 keep the bowels working freely, will generally effect a cure more 

 quickly than any medicine, and will certainly restore the horse 

 and his skin to much better condition. But in old standing 

 obstinate cases, especially where a lot of medicine has been given, 

 it cannot be done quickly with any treatment. Wetting the 

 affected parts with strong vinegar will sometimes relieve itchiness, 

 if it does not, the horse may be washed all over in hot water, 

 mixed with Little's Chemical Flnid ; one part of fluid to twenty 

 of water. 



WORMS. 



738.— When a horse takes every opportunity of rubbing 

 the hair off his tail, and is after all not relieved by the operation ; 

 or when outward applications have no effect upon it, the irritation 

 probably proceeds from small worms in the rectum. Occasional 

 applications of salt, or salt and quassia, will keep these parasites 

 down. 



