152 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[chap. 



592. Grease (Cracked Heels) or Scratches. — 

 On back of pasterns and bulbs of heels. Grease 

 is a term used for badly cracked heels. 



Mallenders. — Behind the knee joints. 



Sallenders. — In front of hock joints. 



All these are forms of eczema. The latter 

 two are more common in heavy draught horses. 



Cause. — Dirt, dust, grit, long exposure to 

 damp, cold and snow. Wet legs in stable with 

 draught along floor. Constitutional disturbance. 



Symptoms. — Skin red and thickened, little 

 blisters (vesicles of serum) form, burst, and 

 leave cracks. Hairs fall out ; later, discharge of 

 offensive fluid. 



Treatment. — Absolute cleanliness. Wash well 

 and dry thoroughly, without causing any irrita- 

 tion. If very bad, use carbolic poultice over- 

 night. Treat externally with saturated solution 

 of picric acid three times a day. Give internally 

 as for ordinary eczema. 



My experience has been that trimming 

 horses' heels has not made them any more sus- 

 ceptible to cracked heels, and that it is better not 

 to rub the heels when the horse returns from 

 work with wet heels, but merely to brush off all 

 the dirt, and to allow fresh air to gain access 

 to the pores. The natural heat of the body is 

 sufficient to dry that part. If the part becomes 

 used to being artificially dried, and is neglected 

 for once, trouble may result. 



Other applications are : 



Lead acetate . 



Zinc oxide 



Pot. alum 



Glycerine 



Water .... 



Shake well, and rub in after thoroughly wash- 

 ing the part and drying it well. Keep legs out 

 of dirt and away from draughts, and keep horse 

 well exercised and on laxative foods. 



A good application for bad grease, after 

 cleaning and drying the part, is zinc chloride 

 1 dr., and water 6 oz. Well rub in morning and 

 night for about two days. The following treat- 

 ment will often cure scratches when others have 

 failed. After washing and thoroughly drying, 

 apply a dressing of thermofuge, cover with 

 absorbent cotton wool and bandage. Next day, 

 wash off, dry thoroughly, and paint with lini- 

 ment iodine 1 oz., alcohol 8 oz. Paint on twice 

 a day. Feed horse on easily digested, light food, 

 and not too much. Reducine will do in the 

 place of thermofuge ; excellent results have been 

 attained from the use of reducine. 



593. Mud Fever is eczema of legs and abdo- 

 men, due to neglect or continued washing. 

 Horses should be brushed clean when they 

 return, and not washed, as is so common with 

 some grooms who are too lazy to use the brush. 

 Picric acid, or the treatments in last section, 

 must be used for this disease. 



594. Warts are abnormal growths of the 

 outer skin (epidermis), often caused by ill health 

 and neglect. They can be removed by the knife, 

 ligature, firing-iron, with use of cocaine or 

 caustics. 



The best caustics are nitric acid, silver nitrate 

 and caustic potash. Change the food. 



Parasitic Diseases of the Skin 



595. Mange. 



Cause. — A small multi-legged insect, some- 

 thing like a beetle, measuring 1-lOOth to l-50th 

 of an inch in diameter. Can be transmitted 

 between horses, dogs and human beings. 



Symptoms. — Itching. The animal shows 

 pleasure when the parts are scratched. The 

 parts later become thick, hard, wrinkled, devoid 

 of hair, and perhaps covered with sores. Crusts 

 form. The disease takes several weeks to estab- 

 lish itself properly. The only way to be quite 

 sure of the presence of the insect is to examine 

 the crusts with a very strong magnifying glass, 

 when the movements of the insects will be seen. 



Treatment. — Clip the part, burn all the hair 

 clipped off. Thoroughly wash with castile soap 

 and dry. The insects must then be destroyed. 

 In doing this it is very easy to kill the horse as 

 well, because, if the whole coat is covered with 

 a drug strong enough to kill the mange insect, 

 it will also kill the horse. Therefore, only one- 

 third of the horse should be covered at one time. 

 Care must be taken that the parts are well over- 

 lapped, as the insect moves slowly, and that the 

 horse is not allowed to lie down until the whole 

 body is treated, nor must he wear the affected 

 clothes. Clean clothes and fresh bedding must 

 be used. The horse must be isolated from other 

 horses. All tools, harness, etc., must be dis- 

 infected. The old bedding must be burnt, and 

 the old clothing either burnt or baked for several 

 hours. The stall must be washed down with 

 antiseptic solutions, such as whitewash, formal- 

 dehyde, etc. The best application for the coat is : 



Corrosive sublimate 

 Dil. prussic acid 

 Water 



20 gr. 

 2 dr. 

 1 pint 



Soak coat well, covering one-third of the coat at 

 one time. This is poison. Another good one is : 



Sulphur . 

 Oil of tar 

 Oil of linseed 



2oz. 

 2 oz, 

 1 pint 



Heat for an hour in hot water, and thoroughly 

 shake together. Rub well in. 



596. Ringworm. — Due to a fungus, or 

 vegetable micro-organism (tinea tonsurans). Is 

 contagious. Can be communicated between 

 man, horse and cattle, and very easily between 

 horses. A saddle or blanket will remain in- 

 fectious for months if not properly disinfected. 



