THE URINARY SYSTEM 4 i 5 



— is characterized by the passing of enormous quantities of urine, 

 and in one case as much as 38 gallons is recorded to have been 

 passed in five hour c .. Horses in towns seem to suffer more from 

 this malady than those in the country. The cause in many cases is 

 due to bad food, such as mow-burnt hay, or kiln-dried oats, ship- 

 damaged or mouldy corn and beans, or to drinking an excessive 

 quantity of impure water ; it also follows debilitating diseases, such 

 as influenza, strangles, etc. Symptoms. — The animal attacked loses 

 flesh very fast, is very dull and languid, has the belly tucked up, a 

 staring coat, and shows great weakness, manifested by the plaiting 

 of the hind-legs. The patient also has an unabating thirst, and can 

 scarcely be satisfied with water — I have seen an affected horse go 

 down on to its knees and drink from a filthy gutter — while the 

 appetite is very irregular. There is, further, an almost continuous 

 flow of urine ; in some cases the penis hangs pendulous, while clear 

 urine continually dribbles from it, and if jaot speedily relieved the 

 patient dies from exhaustion or inanition. Treatment.— The animal 

 must first be taken off work. Inquire into the quality of the food, 

 and if it be found faulty, change it at once to a good sound nutritious 

 diet ; next, allay the thirst — and for this purpose nothing has such a 

 radical effect as 1 -drachm doses of iodine, given every night in a 

 ball ; while for a tonic, 25 to 30 drops of strong hydrochloric acid 

 should be given every morning, mixed with the drinking-water. 

 When an apprentice, I remember horse-keepers and farmers giving 

 clay- water to their horses to drink when suffering from this com- 

 plaint, and on inquiring why, I was told that ' the clay stopped up 

 the little holes in the kidneys, and prevented the urine filtering 

 through !' 



721. Suppression of Urine. — This takes place when, from 

 some cause or other, the urine is not secreted by the kidneys. It 

 may arise from fever, an inflammatory attack, or functional 

 derangement of the kidneys. Symptoms. — The animal is very 

 dull, and makes frequent attempts to stale, but only succeeds in 

 passing very small quantities of urine \ on examination (by the 

 rectum), the bladder is found to be empty. Before any treatment is 



