XI] ORGANIC, FUNCTIONAL AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES 151 



joint. Generally chronic, but may go quite 

 suddenly. 



Treatment.— Good stabling and laxative food, 

 no draughts. Give soda salicylate in large, re- 

 peated doses, up to 5 oz. a day. Give nitre and 

 antifebrin in small doses. Local, hot fomenta- 

 tions and antiphlogistine or reducine. Massage 

 and electricity. In all cases it may be advisable 

 to blister the joint. 



Diseases of Eye 



586. Ophthalmia. 



Cause. — Hay seeds, chaff and other foreign 

 substances ; injuries. 



Symptoms. — Eye partially closed, swelling, 

 flow of tears, eye retracted. Conjunctiva red- 

 dened. Cornea opaque ; white, if severe. If 

 due to injuries, opacity commences at seat of 

 injury. May be red spots on conjunctiva. 



Treatm,ent. — Examine eye very carefully with 

 magnifying glass for foreign body. Use cocaine, 

 and remove any body. Bathe eye with warm 

 water and milk, if much inflammation, or with 

 warm solution of boracic acid, 10 per cent. If 

 ulcer is present, touch with silver nitrate solu- 

 tion, 1 per cent., in distilled water. Give mild 

 purgative. If fever, give aconite. 



White or blue spots (called albugo and 

 nebula respectively) are sometimes present on 

 the cornea of an eye. They are not an unsound- 

 ness unless they affect the sight. Treatment is 

 good food and hygiene. Touch with silver 

 nitrate. 



587. Periodic Ophthalmia. 



Cause. — Constitutional disturbance. Injuries. 

 Bad stable management. Hereditary. Eating 

 rank grass in marshy pastures. Exposure to 

 snowstorms or to sun's rays. More common 

 during period of dentition (two to five years). 



Symptoms. — Attack comes on suddenly, 

 generally during night. Eye retracted a little ; 

 is very sensitive to light. Pupil contracted. 

 Cornea opaque at first round outer edge. Whole 

 eye becomes inflamed, iris becomes yellowish. 

 Eyes may be affected alternately. After each 

 attack, sight gets worse and pupil more con- 

 tracted. Eye sensitive to touch. Horse may 

 become blind after repeated attacks. 



Treatment. — Good food and hygiene, change 

 of climate. Purgative during acute attack. 

 Foment as for acute ophthalmia. Put a little 

 belladonna in eye ; after attack, give iron sul- 

 phate, nux vomica and a little nitre. 



588. Amaurosis, or Glass Eye. 



Cause. — Paralysis of optic nerve (second 

 cranial nerve). May follow periodic ophthal- 

 mia. 



Sj^mp/oms.— Complete loss of vision, large 

 pupil, round and motionless. Eyelids generally 

 open. Eye is glassy in appearance. 



Test.—Pni horse in the dark, and bring a 



light close to eye ; there will be no contraction 

 of pupil. 



Treatment. — Keep horse in the dark, and give 

 strychnine and electrical treatments. Piecovery 

 doubtful. 



Diseases of Skin 



589. Hidebound is the term given to a horse's 

 coat when it is firm and immovable, as though 

 gummed on to his body instead of being loose. 

 It shows bad health, and is generally the result 

 of bad stable management, bad feeding and lack 

 of exercise. The cure is good stable management, 

 grooming, feeding and exercise. 



590. Non-Parasitic Diseases of Skin. — If the 

 outer skin (epidermis) is alone affected, the 

 disease is called erythema ; but as the causes, 

 symptoms and treatment are so similar, ery- 

 thema and eczema (which is a disease of the 

 underskin) will be treated together. 



Eczema is inflammation of the true skin, 

 underskin or dermis. 



Cause. — Pressure, chafing, etc., from saddle 

 or harness. More general in the young and fine- 

 skinned horses, especially at change of coat in 

 spring and autumn. Irritant ointments and lini- 

 ments. Extremes of heat and cold. Exposure to 

 wet. Bad cases due to dirt, bad feeding, bad 

 constitution and certain fungi. Dirty woollen 

 clothing, want of grooming, constitutional dis- 

 turbance, causing a check in the perspiratory 

 glands. 



Symptoms. — Number of small nodules size of 

 small pea. The hairs on these become erect and, 

 later, knotted. Scabs form, which drop off and 

 leave bare spots. Itching; scratching makes it 

 worse. 



Treatment. — Soften the scabs with glycerine. 

 Then wash thoroughly with tepid water, a little 

 creolin and caslile soap (not soft soap). Dry 

 thoroughly, and bathe with Dick's white lotion. 

 If change seems slow, bathe with oil of tar or 

 5 per cent, solution of dilute hydrocyanic acid. 

 Change food, and shelter from heat, cold or sun. 

 Give ball, and then soda hyposulphite. If very 

 bad, give Fowler's solution of arsenic and sul- 

 phur. Groom well, and take great care of horse. 



591. Mane and Tail Eczema. 



Cause. — Dirt, continuous washing with cheap 

 irritating soap. Long exposure to rain or cold. 

 Often a sign of neglect when horse first shows 

 signs. 



Symptoms.— Ruhhing of mane or tail, hairs 

 become matted, and later drop off. Skin is 

 thick, hard and inflamed. 



Treatment.— K?, for eczema. Do not allow 

 horses to rub, as rubbing causes most of the 

 trouble. If above, external applications are no 

 good ; use 6 per cent, solution of silver nitrate. 

 Never necessary to clip the hair off unless it has 

 been neglected for weeks. 



