Leg— Loco ' 407 



be given, to open th^ bowels freely ; the kidneys may 

 be stimulated by giving an ounce of saltpeter once 

 daily for three days. The leg should be bathed with 

 hot water for twenty minutes at a time three times 

 a day, and thoroughly rubbed until dry ; then an oint- 

 ment, — two ounces of gum camphor dissolved in eight 

 ounces of fresh -melted lard, — should be well rubbed in. 

 Iodide of potash, in dram doses, given once daily for 

 three days is excellent. Horses subject to this disease 

 are said to have "humors in their blood." The disease 

 often resembles farcy. 



LOCO DISEASE 



Loco is a disease attacking horses, cattle and sheep 

 in the great plains region, due to the eating of two 

 plants, commonly called "loco weeds," Astragalus mol- 

 lissimus and Oxyfropis Lamhertii, both belonging to 

 the natural family Leguminosae. These plants, charac- 

 teristic of the great plains, attain a height of six 

 to twelve inches ; the leaves are compound; and the 

 leaflets and stems are covered with a fine pubescence, 

 which gives the plant a gray or silvery appearance. 

 Of the two plants, the astragalus is the more common 

 in the southern part of the great plains, while the 

 oxytropis predominates in the northern region. Other 

 closely related plants are perhaps also called loco plants. 



The name "/oco" is from the Spanish, and signifies 

 crazy. It takes its name from the fact that animals 

 that acquire the habit of eating the plant act as if 

 insane or foolish, and they are said to be "locoed." 



