f ' ' 



DISEASES AND INJURIES. IQI 



fully fed and exercised until they have become seasoned 

 somewhat. And when put to work, this should be light and 

 only for a short time at first. 



Catarrh. 



Catarrh, or what is termed a " cold in the head," may 

 attack old and young horses alike, and at any season of the 

 year ; though it is most frequent in cold or changeable 

 weather. One of the great predisposing causes is a hot and 

 badly-ventilated stable. 



Symptoms. There is more or less fever at first, with sneez- 

 ing, perhaps shivering, cold legs and listlessness, and slight 

 loss of appetite. Soon there is a discharge of watery fluid 

 from the nostrils, sometimes also from the eyes ; this quickly 

 becomes yellow and purulent, and not unfrequently cough 

 ensues, with sore throat and more or less difficulty in swallow- 

 ing. Very often, too, these symptoms are accompanied by 

 more fever, loss of appetite, and swollen glands about the 

 upper part of the throat. 



Treatment. The treatment chiefly lies in nursing, making 

 the horse comfortable by body clothing and leg bandages, 

 keeping the stable at a moderate temperature and well venti- 

 lated, and giving mashes of bran and linseed, with small 

 quantities of nitrate of potass in the drinking water. The 

 head may be held over a bucket of boiling water in which 

 there is some hay and a little oil of turpentine or carbolic 

 acid, so that the steam may pass up into the nostrils. If the 

 cough is troublesome, the upper part of the throat may be 

 well rubbed with soap liniment, or a liniment composed of 

 equal parts of olive oil, oil of turpentine and spirit of hartshorn. 

 Should the cough be very severe, a little tincture of opium or 

 chloroform may be dropped in the bucket of hot water, and 

 a sack or blanket thrown over it and the horse's head in order 

 to keep in the vapour. 



Should the horse be debilitated after the more severe 

 symptoms have disappeared, a drachm of powdered sulphate 

 of iron may be mixed in the mash once a day. 



