190 DISEASES or THE HORSE. 



by the late Professor Coleman. It may also be produced by 

 irritating medicines, such as cantharides given in the usual way. 



The symptoms of this disease are easily recognised. There is 

 considerable fever and quickness of pulse, and a great deal of 

 pain exhibited, the animal looking round to his quarters, and 

 lying down and getting up frequently. Attention is directed to 

 the seat of disease by the unremitting attempts at staling evinced: 

 no sooner do a few drops of urine enter the bladder than it is 

 forcibly ejected with a spasmodic effort. The organs of gene- 

 ration, if a mare, are exceedingly red and inflamed. This dis- 

 ease is more dangerous than inflammation of the kidneys, and, 

 vmless relief be obtained, death supervenes in a few days. 



A post-mortem examination exhibits the mucous membrane of 

 the bladder intensely inflamed, and some portion of it frequently 

 in a state of ulceration. 



The treatment consists of copious venesection, repeated in six 

 or eight hours if required. Backraking and the frequent ad- 

 ministration of injections, and mucilaginous fluids, such as linseed 

 tea or infusion of gum arabic, should be carefully and slowly 

 injected into the bladder; and it would be serviceable if a 

 watery infusion of opium were injected at the same time. A 

 drachm of powdered opium, infused in half a pint of hot water, 

 and afterwards strained, will serve for several applications. Oily 

 laxatives should be given, so as to relax the bowels without 

 purging them ; and half a drachm of opium, with one drachm 

 of tartarized antimony, may be given three times a day. Plenty 

 of linseed tea should be given voluntarily, if possible : but if not, 

 by means of the horn. Diuretics of all sorts must be carefully 

 avoided. Warm sheep-skins should be applied to the loins. — 

 Ed.] 



\Rete7ition of Urine 



More frequently occurs as a troublesome attendant on other 

 diseases than as an independent affection. In those genei'al and 

 complicated inflammatory diseases, understood under the term 

 chill, a retention of urine is frequently present. In colic, too, 

 there is frequently an inability to stale, notwithstanding frequent 

 efforts to do so, but this is owing to sympathy with the spasm 

 of the bowels ; for, when the latter are relieved, the horse stales 

 without difficulty. From seeing these abortive attempts at 

 staling, grooms almost invariably say, in cases of colic, that 

 there is a stoppage in the water. Retention of urine is generally 

 owing to the spasmodic action of the sphincter muscle, whose 

 office it is to prevent the urine from escaping. It is generally 

 produced by driving or riding long distances without allowing 

 tlie animal to urinate. 



The symptoms are frequent, though not violent, attempts at 



