246 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



^ CHAPTER IX. 



DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



The brain and nervous system of the horse, like those of 

 the human being, are subject to a variety of disorders \ but 

 in this country much less frequently, we are led to believe, 

 than in Europe. Some of these diseases result from injuries; 

 others are due to local derangement in the cerebral region it- 

 self; and a third class proceed from a disturbed condition of 

 the nervous system generally. Injuries of the brain nearly 

 always terminate in death. 



In a large majority of cases, where the brain of the horse 

 is affected, compression is a principal cause, or, at least, the 

 very marked accompaniment, of disease. Compression of the 

 brain may be of three kinds — of the bones, of water, and of 

 blood. Bony enlargements occasionall}^ form upon the inner 

 surface of the cranial bones, and, pressing inwardly upon the 

 brain, produce spasms and death. Similar eftects are some- 

 times caused by brutal or heedless blows upon the* head, es- 

 pecially that of the colt, in whom the bones are yet soft and 

 flexible. 



WATER ON THE BRAIN. 



This constitutes the watery compression. It is the collec- 

 tion of a viscid fluid between the membranes or the ventricles 

 and passages of the brain. In the mature hprse this affec- 

 tion occurs but seldom, but it is a not uncommon ailment 

 of young colts. It nearly always produces deformity, and 

 usually considerable enlargement of the head. The colt gen- 

 erally dies at the time of foaling, or soon afterward, but iu 

 some cases lingers along for some months. 



We know of no remedy for water on the brain. Occasion- 

 ally, the forces of Nature may prove sufficient to overcome 



