372 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



LIBKARV OF LSEFLL. KXOWLEDtt:. 



ICtmtinued,] 



June 11, 1830. 



DISEASES OF HORSES. 



sloiiiacli, ami disposes it to indiycslioii, unci causes 

 alitlle error in Tceding to be dangeroii:', or produ- 

 ces n considerable llisea^■u under till' oouimon rir- 

 cunislancesol'feciling. When this is ibe cas<- •l.e 

 proprietors of horses should be i>articijlarl_\ on 



STOMACH STAUOKIIS. 



Bleed very largely ; that cannot do harm, and I I'leir guard, for in most of the horses which then 

 in mad staggers is indispensable. Give a good i 'lie, the distended stomach will be observed, and 

 dose of physic— /Ad/ also cannot do harm, al- will bo the actual cause of death. It is very 

 though in stomach sluggers it cannot do much ! possible that, al certain senscns, some imisonous 

 good, for it can acarcely find its way into the , plants may prevail, or that the hay may not be so 

 over distended stomach, and it certainly cannot nutritive or digcslihie, and thus the stomech may 

 limi Its way through it. Keeping the horse from all ^e weakened. The farmer will weigh all these 



food ^vill he a very proper proceeding whichever 

 be the disease. 



Somegood judges have affirmed that u horse 

 was never cured of stomach staggers. It was 

 formerly a very difficult thing, but the stomach 

 pumji has done wonders in cases of poisoning in 

 tlie human being, and, by means of a larger and 

 somewhat altered pump, (which everv veterinary 

 surgeon, and we think, every large proprietor of 

 horses, should have on his premises,) this enor- 

 mous mass of food, may without difficulty be 

 washed out. 



things in his mind, and act accordingly. 



MAD STAGGERS. 



Mad Staggers (inflammation of iho brain, 

 brain fever) can, as we have said, be at first with 

 difficulty distinguished from the sleepy, or .sto- 

 mach-staggers, but after a while, the horse sullen- 

 ly begins to licave at the flanks ; — his nostrils ex- 

 [)and ; — his eyes unclose ; — he has a wild and va- 

 cant stare, and delirium comes rapidly on. He 

 dashes himself furiously about ; there is no dispo- 

 sition to do mischief; but his motions are sudden 

 and violent, and accom|)aiiied by perfect unoon- 



If, however, we can say but little of the treat ' ' «"f .'"^^^"■"l'"'"^"J hy perfect unoon- 



ment of stomach staggers, we have inic to savT "'"''' ' '[' '''■ ,''^'-«"»-« =' "^^^i'v'".? ""'' ''"" 

 of its prevention. hatt;cks oM ho ses oLner ' f '■°"" "'"""'■ ^''" '^""';""? "'}'"'' """' '"^ 

 than others, and horses that have b en 11'^ ! r""';. '""■ ;"";T', "' ''^ ''^'^ '''"""y "■°"> 

 worke.l, or that have been worked for many Zrs ' tI ""' '" '^^'S'"'^^'' ^'f"-''"- , 

 without food. Let no farmer delude 1 in "Ilf wiH I h 7 "", ","'' '^^'''T^ "'"' -'"'^'' " ^«" 



the idea that it is contagious. If his oA-e la e ,':°"':""''"'; f'" ^'^"'' ^f' ""^ ''""" " '' "^'y 



occasionally .slight fits of the stable or if the f-Vf'"^'"'"'"''' '"■ '^""'^ =""' "''"^"'''- '" 

 diseasecairiesoVsevcralof.h.,,''," .:,:. „ .'r ^'''". "'« '""^ ^^^ '^"'^ '^^^^^' •^"' "«« ^vi.l 



disease carries ofT several of them, he may be as- 

 Bureil that there is something wrong in his man- 

 agement. One horse may get at the corn bin, 

 and cram himself to bursting; but if sf^vcral are 

 attacked, it is time for him to look about him. 

 The cause will generally be found to bo, too vora- 



much violence ; he sometimes plunges, but lie 

 more often rolls himself about ; he looks frequent- 

 ly at his flanks with an expression of pain, and he 

 is conscious. 



TtTA.M-3, OR JLOCKEU-JAIV. 



The nerves proceed from the brain and spinal 

 marrow, and convey the power of feeling nn<l 

 motion to the whole frame. This power may be 

 best conceived by considering it «s an influence 

 proceeding from the brain to every part In a 

 state of health, it is regularly and uniformlv dis- 

 tributed ; but It is much uflected by .liseas^ f, 

 may rush on violently ond without interruption 

 and we have cramp, and tetanus, or locked jaw • 

 or the stream may be rapid, but with considerable 

 suspension., ai.J wc have tits: or it fhnv l.e quite 

 suspended, and we have palsv. '" 



Teta.ms i.s one of the niosi droa.lful and fatal 

 diseases to which the horse is subject It is call 

 e<l LocKEU-jAW, becau.se the muscles of the jaw 

 are earliest and most powcrfullv aflccied Tela 

 nus IS a constant spasm of all the voluntary mus- 

 cles and particulary of the neck, the spine, and 

 the head. It is generally slow an.l very treache- 

 rous m as attack. The horse for a day or two 

 does not appear to be quite well ; he docs not 

 feed as .isual ; partly chews his food and dro,« it ■ 

 and gulps his water. The owner at length finds 

 out that the motion of the jaws is considerably 

 hmited, and some saliva is drivelling from the 

 mouth. f he try the mouth, he can open it onlv 

 a very little way, or the jaws are perfectly and 

 rigully closed; and thus the only time in which 

 the disease could have been successfully combat- 

 ed IS ost. Me have, therefore, given a cut of a 

 horse laboring under this di..ease, „hich the reader 

 wdl do well carefully to exatnine as we proceed 

 with the symj.toms, that he may be enabled to re 

 cognise It in its very earliest sJ^ge ; an.l the mo- 

 ment he does recognise it, he will ,lo well to ap- 

 ply for the verv insr n,I.:„„ i,„ .. r 



cious feeding ; too much food L'iven at once nml k. i .i • ■ ". 



perhaps without water, after Imrd wo k ,d Ion , '"'" " «''V^V« -nsciousness 



fasting. Nothing, is lost by the habitua u e // '^7-^-«"'°". ^^'f ' '''? '"orse is too fat or fill 

 of tire nose bag, and a .L 7 eual division i f ' ^-^ '^^I'-'i'^b' 'I'-ri-.g hot weather, is a 



of t;ie hours of\bor and ,1 o ^j j'^"^"" I '^^^^l'-"^ -".^,«= ''f "'fl'''nma,ion of the brain ; lut 

 mg «ome careless and thouglulelr^^i'Tut I ^a'r 7/ :ZZt:::r"''' '-"• '""^ '' ""« 



^a t::;;^:::d^h:x;::: ;::cif'^f;;;z:;; I ,. ?- t""^-' ''"^r. "^^ ^-' "-^""°-- 



.lie horses hang their heads, and drol ,, aTi 'n ^ blelm^^r he' f "':""'" " ''' '"rT f '"".''' '^ 



not work. No horse should be .J,ltT I , ' ''" '"'""' °'" ''^I'^ ' "■" '^ ''« ''e dovn, 



than four or five hou s tit ti? a tCl " ""'l' '"■ " 7"";':'^ '"'"' ""'' "•^^'^- »°"' "- 



There is one conse.iuenco < f hi ! ."^'k-vcns should he opened at once, and Uie 



.rca.ment. of whi^r X r^o ot ^ ,e '''.7b: ! -""Tr'' ""= T"'"' ""'"= ^"''^'^""^'^ "''^ ^^'"'" 

 aware, although they sufl-er severei; f o,„ i A I I T'' T, i"'"! "' ""''°''"'" "' ""' ''"=""'■>■• 



horse that has frenuent half attnnk-s f , ^^'^ '''°"''' ""=" '"^ S'veii. The purge that acts 



often goes blin. . It is mt t Icmnm If""?'"-' ""'' '''"'^"'y '^ "'« '"''' "'"' "'"' - «'■« "oton nut 

 from cataract, Intt a e I 1 „[a ' " .? ' r r''^"''^ "' "'' '''"'' "'"' S'*«" '" « '''-"'*. "' "- 



the eye. If he '. ist'^ry " 1h^^ "^ TZ::^ l'^':"-"-^"- """' "'•"^•'""' ."""' '"'''-''' ">' -'""- 



I I ^ , ° • ! •"■ ""> "" wen to ap- 



In madness there may be more or less violence : 'J,'^ IT^!.,;!...^'"-^ fV- '"^*'<^.'5 ^^ c«n get. .Most of 

 there is sometimes a determination to do mischie''; 



, , , , . , •' ""^ lyiiiMi nurses 



could be toM, It would be found that they had 

 been subject to fits of drooping and .lulness, and 

 these produced by absur.l management res,,oct- 

 ing labor ami food. 



Staggers have been known to occur when the 

 animal IS at grass ; but this usually happens in 

 poor, hard worked, half starved animals, and soon 

 after they had been tiirne.l out, either in a rich 

 pastille, or m a salt marsh, and in hot weather. 

 I here are, however, few diseases of the horse 

 that are not occasionally epi.lemic, or i.ro.lucod 

 hy sotne influence of lUr. atnionphere, of the na- 

 ture of which we are ign-.rai.t ; an,l ..tomach 

 -taggers sometimes prevail in particular districts, 

 where there is nothing remnrkablv wrong in the 

 treatment ofthohor.se. There is „, ,hat time 

 something m the atmosphere which weakens the 



doses of ten grains each, every six hoiirs, with 

 [dcnty of injections of warm soap and water, un- 

 til the bowels are well opened. If the crotnn is 

 not at hand, aloes may be given, but dissolved in 

 hot water— an ounce ■)f aloes at the first dose, and, 

 afterwards, a quarter of an ounce every four hours 

 until purging is pro.luced. This being cfTected' 

 those medicines should bo given which have a ten- 

 dency to lessen the force of the circulation, and. 

 coiKsequently, the .letcrmination of blood to the 

 lioad. The most powerful of these are the fo.v- ! f" 



glove, an.l tartar emetic, in doses of a drachm i ",'"" "''"'" " '""■""" "^ ''• '"'"^ ""'"■'' " "■ 

 each, three or f.)ur times in the day Hellebore ' ''""'''''' ''"-" '''"' ^^''^'^^' "'"' '''^ oounlenQnce ain- 

 shouhl not bo given on account of the i.reviouslv ' '"" 'T!'"". .'""■'' ."'"' '"'"^ '"•" '=""• "'"' '^ '"-' is 

 too groat determination of bl.,.).l t.> the brain ""' '" "'" ' ''"-' "'''"''^' ''"''> ""■"=* "' '""'" 

 The hea.l slmuld be blistered, but rowels and se '"" "" ""'"^"'''"- P''"'''" "^ ""'"'■ The muscles 

 torn give useless pain, for tlio liorso is either : "' '''* ^'''"^' "'''' "'■"" '"'"'■<■"''' ''> ■•'l">s'>'. n'l'l ho is 



the peculiarities delineated in the cut willbe suf 

 ficiently appare.it before the jaws are locke.I, and 

 Nvh.le medicine can be administered with tole able 



The jaws are unnaturally fixed, and then he 

 ol serves that there is a stiffness of the neck ; n 

 diiliculty in bringing the head round, and a pro- 

 nrnence, and hardness, and unyieldingness of alt 

 the muscles of the neck: with an unusual protru- 

 sion of the head. It next occurs that tht* poor 

 nniraal cannot ben.l his head. The retractor mus- 

 cle Ki affected by spasm, and the eye is drawn into 

 the socket — squinting outward — and the haw pro- 



loni give useless pain, for tlio liorso is either "' '''* ^'''"^' "'''' "'■"' '"''■•■""' ^> "f"'""'- " 

 curod or deail belbre they perceptibly begin to act '"■*"^ "/> ''"■' ^"'"y '■••nlrnct,.d ami draw 



" ■ o strjuge degree. T he tail is erect, and c 



■Ic.l niitl dra\Mi up) to 

 oiislaiit- 



