220 DICTIONARY OF THE VETERINARY ART. 



Cutis. The skin, or hide, which lies under the cuticle. 

 Besides the cuticle and skin, horses and other large animals 

 have a muscular expansion, which lies immediately under the 

 latter, called the fleshy panicle, by which the skin is moved, 

 so as to shake off dust or flies, or any thing that hangs loose 

 upon the hair. 



Cutting. A horse is said to cut, when he strikes the inner 

 and lower part of the fetlock joint, in travelling. The usual 

 mode of correcting this, is to make the outer side of the shoe 

 higher than the inside. 



D 



Debility. Debility may be permanent or temporary. In 

 the first, the constitution is naturally weak, or has been ren- 

 dered so by improper treatment, or sickness ; the second 

 generally arises from over-exertion, and, if the exciting cause 

 be frequently repeated, terminates very commonly in a total 

 decay of the constitution. Rest and kind treatment are the 

 best cure for weakness induced by fatigue. The greatest 

 attention should be paid to the degree of work that a horse 

 is capable of enduring, as what may be salutary for him at 

 one period may greatly exceed his strength at another ; and 

 this generally depends on the mode of stable management. 

 The common practice of working horses too early frequently 

 results in debility. 



Decoction. The process of extracting the virtues of a 

 substance by boiling it in water. The liquid so prepared is 

 termed decoction. Almost all the medicinal properties of plants 

 may be extracted by pouring boiling water over them. In 

 boiling they lose their volatile properties. 



Deglutition. The act of swallowing. The power of 

 swallowing is often impeded in the horse by sore throat, dis- 

 temper, &c. This impediment is only of a temporary nature ; 

 but there is another, which is of a more serious kind, and 

 interferes with mastication, as well as swallowing. The 

 grinding teeth of horses often wear down in such a manner, 



