74 



or in the mare the vulva is frequently opened and closed, as after uri- 

 nation. The animal winces when the abdomen is pressed in the region 

 of the sheath or udder, and the bladder is found to be sensitive and 

 tender when pressed with the oiled hand introduced through the rectum 

 or vagina. In the mare the thickening of the walls of the bladder may- 

 be felt by introducing one finger through the urethra. The discharged 

 urine, which may be turbid or even oily, contains an excess of mucus, 

 with flat shreds of membrane, with scaly epithelial cells, and pus cor- 

 puscles, each showing two or more nuclei when treated with acetic acid, 

 but there are no microscopic tubular casts, as in nephritis. If due to 

 stone in the bladder, that will be found on examination through rectum 

 or vagina. 



Treatment implies, first, the removal of the cause, whether poisons in 

 food or as medicine, the removal of Spanish flies or other blistering 

 agents from the skin, or the extraction of stone or gravel. If the urine 

 has been retained and decomposi'd it must be completely evacuated 

 through a clean catheter, and the bladder thoroughly washed out with 

 a solution of 1 dram of borax in a quart of water. This must be re- 

 peated twice daily until the urine no longer decomposes, because as 

 long as ammonia is developed in the bladder the protecting layer of 

 epithelial cells will be dissolved and the surface kept raw and irrita- 

 ble. The diet must be light (bran mashes, roots, fresh grass), and the 

 drink impregnated with linseed tea, or solution of slippery-elm or 

 marsh-mallow. The same agents may be used to inject into the rectum, 

 or they may even be used atong with borax and opium to inject into 

 bladder (gum arable, 1 dram; opium, 1 dram; tepid water, 1 pint). 

 Fomentations over the loins are often of great advantage, and these 

 may be followed or alternated with the application of mustard, as in 

 paralysis. Or the mnstard may be applied on the back part of the ab- 

 domen below, or between the thighs from the anus downward. Finally, 

 when the acute symptoms have subsided, a daily dose of buchu 1 

 dram, and nux vomica one-half dram, will serve to restore lost tone. 



IRRITABLE BLADDER. 



Some horses, and especially mares, show an irritability of the blad- 

 der and nerve centers presiding over it by frequent urination in small 

 quantities, though the urine is not manifestly changed in character 

 and no more than the natural amount is passed in the twenty-four 

 hours. The disorder appears to have its source quite as frequently in 

 the generative or nervous system as in the urinary. A troublesome 

 and dangerous form is seen in mares, which dash off and refuse all con- 

 trol by the rein if driven with a full bladder, but usually prove docile 

 if the bladder has been emptied before hitching. In other cases the 

 excitement connected with getting the tail over the reins is a powerful 

 determining cause. The condition is marked in many mares during 

 the period of heat. 



