212 THEORY AND PRACTICE 



cold water injection and run the hose in three or four feet. If a 

 calculus is found in the bladder it must be removed. If the 

 hemorrhage continues and no calculus in the bladder has been 

 found nor any bruise, the cause may be a renal calculus. Hy- 

 drochloric acid internally will reduce the alkalinity of the urine. 

 In case of parasites nothing can be done. 



DIABETES INSIPIDUS. 



Diabetes insipidus or polyuria is profuse micturition and as- 

 sociated with it is great thirst. The urine is clear as water and 

 horse passes it every fifteen to thirty minutes. Stable men call 

 the condition flooding. The specific gravity of the urine is about 

 the same as water — 1.002 or 1.003. In horses clear urine is fre- 

 quently a sign of blood poisoning, as in glanders. 



Etiology. — The chief cause is indigestion, or mal-assimilation 

 of the food. Improper food, such as musty oats or hay or kiln- 

 dried oats, or too free use of diuretics may be the cause of the 

 trouble. 



The horse will run down in flesh, he develops a long staring 

 coat, gets wabbly behind and finally dies from collapse. The ap- 

 petite usually remains good. 



Horses generally recover but mules do not. Post mortem 

 shows a general pallor of all the parts ; the kidney, especially the 

 cortical portion, is soft. 



Treatment. — Iodine is the best remedy and should be given 

 in large doses. To a 1,200 pound horse give a dram of the iodine 

 crystals in a linseed bolus. This quenches the thirst and inci- 

 dentally reduces the flow of urine. In the horse one dose is 

 usually sufficient ; if not, repeat in three or four days. Follow- 

 ing the dose of iodine, treat the indigestion. Give bicarbonate 

 of sodium, — a dram three times a day for a week and then 

 change to hydrochloric acid for a week. Then go back to soda. 

 Give vegetable bitters and feed on grass or bran. Do not let the 

 horse bolt his food. 



A mild form of polyuria is seen in horses fed continuously 

 on hay and oats without any change. The common remedy is a 

 tablespoonful of starch in the food three times a day, for a day 



