I 



ANASARCA, SWELLED LEGS, ETC. 237 



tion the serum so fast as it is deposited. It may arise from the 

 weak state of the lymphatics, from cold applied to the legs, from 

 the plethoric state of the system, or from the redundancy of 

 serum in the blood. It exists in various degrees : sometimes 

 the legs are merely filled, as it is termed, producing no lame- 

 ness, and but little apparent inconvenience ; at other times the 

 limbs are immensely gorged, and attended with considerable 

 pain and stiffness. Between these two extremes the disease may 

 exist in every intermediate degree. It may thus appear either 

 in an acute or subacute form, and may be produced either sud- 

 denly or gradually ; when, however, it exists in a severe form, it 

 usually appears suddenly. The horse perhaps is well over night, 

 but the next morning one of his legs is amazingly swelled, and 

 on handling it the horse often catches it up suddenly, and so 

 violently that he nearly falls. If the disease be not very soon 

 relieved, large abscesses either form in different parts of the 

 limb, or the skin gives way ; the heels are affected with grease, 

 or the vessels become enlarged and the swelling organised, and 

 the horse has for life a hig leg. We often see an animal with 

 one of the hind legs twice as large as it ought to be ; the poor 

 brute, in addition to his accustomed labour, condemned to drag 

 for life this wearisome load, which, in nine cases out often, is to 

 be ascribed either to the negligence or ignorance of his owner. 

 These big-legged horses usually belong either to poor men or to 

 farmers ; the former neglecting them from poverty, and the latter 

 because many of them prefer treading in the footsteps of their 

 forefathers, and employing ignorant empirics in preference to 

 skilful practitioners. 



The Treatment of a very slight case may consist either in the 

 administration of a dose of physic or a few diuretics ; but a severe 

 case demands very prompt and energetic treatment, if we would 

 avoid the troublesome consequence to which I have just alluded. 

 It must, however, be materially regulated by the state and con- 

 dition of the horse, and the most predominating cause of the 

 disease. If the horse be in full condition, we should bleed, and 

 that very freely, particularly if we find, as we usually shall find, 

 that the upper surface of the blood is colourless ; when this is the 

 case during the bleeding, there is usually a thick coat of buff 

 afterwards. If, however, the horse is in a state of much debility, 

 bleeding is not appropriate; and if the disease is brought on, as 

 it sometimes is, by the redundancy of moisture in his food (the 

 horse being at grass), we must bleed with caution and modera- 

 tion, and sometimes not at all. 



Should the horse be prepared for physic, we may at once ad- 

 minister an active dose ; but if not so prepared, in order to lose 

 no time we should give him a diuretic ball, and the physic the 

 following day after he has had some mashes. If the swelling ex- 



