CHAPTER VII 



POISONING. 



Arsenic . Aco7ntc. Ergot (Claviccps Purpurea) ; Grass Staggers. Lead, 

 Hellebore (Ve7'atruni Album). Antimony; Opium. Savin. Bryony. 

 Cantlujrides or Span is /l Fly. EupJwrbium or Spinge. Yew Tree, 

 Water Drop JVort. Meadow Saffron (ColcJiicum Autumnal e), 

 Remarfcs on the Condition of Horses. 



Although it may be fairly stated that poisoning in horses is not sa 

 frequently met with as it once was, it is still common, and is, therefore, of 

 very great practical importance. 



In almost all cases of poisoning, it is noteworthy that the drug has been 

 administered by the attendant with the intention of preventing or curing 

 some real or imaginary disease, which the horse is supposed to be suffering 

 from, or of promoting his well-being by increasing his appetite, or in other 

 ways ; and it may be pointed out that whereas formerly mineral agents, such 

 as arsenic and antimony, were largely given for these purposes, we now find 

 that vegetable poisons, such as hellebore and overdoses of aconite, are 

 frequently substituted. It is well known that many vegetable poisons are 

 quite as powerful as the mineral ones, and we should, therefore, be especially 

 suspicious of nostrums advertised to contain no mineral poison, for these 

 but too frequently contain vegetable poisons still more dangerous. A large 

 number of old formulas in the hands of those employed in the stable, and on 

 the farm, contain overdoses of arsenic, hellebore, aconite, antimony, and 

 other preparations, which are seldom employed by the veterinarian except in 

 severe cases, and some of them are scarcely ever given by him internally. 

 Sometimes, however, more especially in the case of lead, poison is taken 

 accidentally. At other times, though v.ery rarely, it is given with criminal 

 intent. 



We will first consider the baneful effects produced by acute and chronic 

 arsenical poisoning, and will then treat of the others in the order of their 

 importance, at the same time mentioning shortly the treatment to be 

 adopted in these cases. 



