THE HORGE IN SICKNESS AND DISEASE 371 



CHAPTER XXIV 



THE HORSE /iY SICKNESS AND DISEASE 



DISEASES AND INJURIES OP THE SKIN. 



MANGE, ITCH — RINGWORM — SURFEIT — HIDEBOUND — LICE — 

 LARV^ IN THE SKIN — MALLENDERS AND SALLENDERS — 

 WARBLES — SITFASTS — G ALLS — WARTS — WATER FARCY — 

 ABSCESSES (various) — ULCERS. 



Under this head we propose to consider the diseases and 

 injuries of the integument and the cellular membrane. 



mange — ITCH. 



Mange, the form in which, in hairy animals, the itch 

 makes its appearance, is the most contagious of a loathsome 

 class of diseases. 



The irritation has been shown by microscopic observation 

 to depend upon the presence of minute insects called acari. 

 The mange insect of the horse is of a different species to 

 that of the human itch-insect, yet it is abundantly proved 

 that itch may be caught by man from a mangy horse, dog, 

 or other hair-coated animal. Though mange is, in the vast 

 majority of instances, the result of contagion, yet poor 

 living, neglect of cleanliness, and a lowering of the vital 

 system generally, will produce it spontaneously, and it will 

 then spread ruinously, even to better-conditioned animals. 



The most remarkable characters of mange are, the annoy- 

 ing itch it creates, and the bare, scabby places it occasions 

 on the skin. A mangy horse will rub himself against any 

 part of the stable or yard where he may happen to be. He 

 will even rub himself against his companions, should he be 

 at grass or strawy ard with others ; and by frequent and 

 violent rubbing will irritate and excoriate the diseased 

 places, and thus considerably aggravate the malady. 

 Though no part of the skin can be said to be exempt from 

 mange, the places it commonly occupies are the neck, 

 shoulders, withers, sides, thighs, and head. On removing 

 with a brush the incrustations, or rather the kind of scaly 

 dust produced by the dried pustules, and examining it 



