THE HORSE IN SICKNESS AND DISEASE 289 



cause is not apparent, and remove anything which may 

 have intruded itself. Wash the eye with tincture of opium 

 and a pint of cold water, laying a wetted cloth also over the 

 eye. If the inflammation is considerable, lance the eye- 

 branch of the angular vein, and give the horse some food of 

 which he is fond upon the ground. This will encourage the 

 bleeding. If blood does not come freely, bleed also from the 

 neck, and give a dose of physic. If the case is obstinate, 

 and a film appears upon the cornea, take two grains of 

 lunar caustic (nitrate of silver), mix in two ounces of water 

 and touch the eye over with a camel-hair brush. The next 

 article will contain the treatment of the disorder in its 

 constitutional form. 



SPECIFIC OR PERIODICAL OPHTHALMIA. 



This destructive disease of the eyes, by which a valuable 

 animal is often reduced in piice from a hundred guineas to 

 a tenth of the amount, is, as already remarked, distinguished 

 from the simple disorder by the constitutional disturbance 

 which accompanies it, and its attacking the internal 

 structure of the eye, the outer covering being merely 

 involved by sympathy. Among farriers this disease used 

 to be termed moon-blindness, from a superstition that the 

 periodical attacks were influenced in their monthly return 

 by the moon. The period of a monthly recurrence is, 

 however, merely imaginary. 



Syraptoms. — These generally appear suddenly. In the 

 evening, perhaps, there may have been nothing amiss, but 

 on the following morning sometimes both eyes, but usually 

 one eye only, is found nearly closed and suffused with 

 tears ; there is great impatience of light. Indeed, it is 

 somewhat difiicult to induce the animal to open the lids 

 suflSciently for examination, and when he does so, the pupil 

 is found exceedingly small, so as to keep out the light as 

 much as possible. The cornea is not so opaque as when the 

 inflammation is brought on by an extenial injury ; but on 

 looking into the interior of the eye we observe that it has 

 lost its brightness. The attendants of the horse usually 

 report that some hay seeds must have got into the eye, or 

 that he must have injured it in some way ; but a proper 

 examination will detect the difference, and this will be 



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