70 THE DISEASES OF HORSES, 



shoe removed, and as one by one the nails are drawn examine each for 

 any moisture and any offensive smell. The hole where the prick has 

 been caused should be pared out, and a little tow inserted, steeped in a 

 mixture of one part of pure carbolic acid and fifteen parts glycerine. If 

 there is much heat and suppuration the foot should be placed frequently 

 in a bucket of warm water, which will relieve greatly. See also Foot, 

 Prick of the. 



Profuse Staling".— See Diabetes. 



Prurigo. — This is a cutaneous affection arising from the state of the 

 blood. It often appears during the spring of the year, and is probably 

 caused by constant diet of dry provender ; and if the natural desire for 

 green food is to some extent indulged, it will often disappear without the 

 necessity of having recourse to any other means, and, as a preventive, 

 there is nothing so good as occasional feed3 of carrots during the wintar 

 months. Prurigo is altogether distinct from mange, for which it might 

 be mistaken, as both diseases cause intolerable itching ; but in prurigo 

 the skin, even where the hair has been rubbed off, does not become 

 thickened and wrinkled, nor does any discharge ooze from it. When 

 prurigo is discovered, give the horse less hay, substituting grass or clover, 

 and give a few mashes if the itching is very great ; let the groom sponge 

 the parts frequently with the following, which will allay the irritation : 



Lotion for Prurigo. — Take twelve good sized poppy heads, crush thciu, 

 and boil them slowly in three quarts of water down to two quarts, strain, 

 and add loz. of carbonate of potash, 3dr. of pure (crystalized) carbolic 

 acid, and 4oz. of methylated spirit of wine. The horse should also have, 

 in stubborn cases, ldr. of Fowler's solution of arsenic in water daily, 

 immediately after being fed, and one of the following powders nightly 

 sprinkled over his damped corn or mash : 



Tonic Powder. — Pure sulphate of iron, in powder, ldr. ; powdered gentian 

 loz., powdered liquorice 3dr. 



Pumiced Feet often follows as a result of inflammation of the laminse 

 which secrete the hoof ; the work having been interrupted, irregularity 

 of the horny secretion is shown, and between the more solid hoof and 

 the sensitive laminos an imperfect spongy mass takes the place of the 

 perfect horn, and being incapable of giving that support which is required, 

 the coffin horn presses through it and bulges it out. The horse with a 

 naturally weak hoof is most subject to pumiced feet, which may be 

 caused by working on hard stoney roads and paved streets. In pumiced 

 feet, the hoof shows irregularity of deposit, and is thin and brittle ; and 

 in such cases the beat that can be done is to adopt palliative measures, 

 and the principal of these is in the system of shoeing. "Stonehenge" 

 recommends a wide but thin web shoe, covering so much more of ths 

 foot as to guard it against stones and other convex bodies. Wet should be 

 avoided as much as possible, as it renders the hoof more brittle, and 

 the existing difficulty in shoeing is great. The regular use of the hoof 

 ointment, prescribed on page 15, will do much good, and the horse should 



