88 THE VETERINARY DOCTOR. 
APHTHA OR THRUSH IN THE MOUTH. 
This is less frequent in the horse than in other animals. It is an in- 
flammation of the tongue or mucous membrane of the mouth, consisting 
of a pimply eruption which terminates in white scabs or dead skin. 
Though usually constitutional, it may result from a chemical process, or 
from a mechanical one, such as pressure. 
Symptoms.—Clusters of white vesicles on the tongue, especially the 
sides and tip, and on the inside of the cheeks and lips; increased flow of 
saliva; difficult feeding; vesicles burst; small ulcers take 
place; the scaly covering of the tongue peels off, leav- 
ing a raw surface, which prevents eating; sometimes 
strangles occur with this disease. 
TREATMENT.—Give mercurius three times a day, 
dry on the tongue. Should the mercurius not remove 
the disorder in two* days, or if unmistakable signs of 
derangement of the stomach be preser.t, give nux 
vomica three or four times a day. Arsenicum and sui- 
phur are useful for ulcerations of the lips and nose. As 
Arutmous MoutH. 4 local remedy, one dessert-spoonful of Condy’s Fluid in 
eight ounces of water will cleanse the mouth. A solution of bi-sulphite 
of soda, or of borax, will also be a good wash. 
CARIES OR ULCERATION OF THE JAW. 
The use of the high bit and tight nose-band causes laceration of the 
palate, followed by unhealthy sores which extend to the bone and end in 
ulceration. Between the tushes and molars of the lower jaw a like injury 
may also be produced by a long check-bit and tight curb. 
Symptoms.—Slobbering, often offensive and bloody; inability to eat 
hard food, which is thrown from the mouth during mastication ; ragged 
wound in the mouth, with granulations at the bottom or on the sides; the 
probe easily finds the bone; sometimes mortification. 
TREATMENT.—For a sloughing wound, with dingy-colored base and 
unhealthy granulations, touch the bottom of the wound and the granula- 
tions once a day with some mild caustic, as nitrate of silver, until the 
wound becomes of a healthy appearance, when treatment should cease. 
Give green food, if possible, not using a bit until the wound is healed. The 
reckless use of severe curbs and check-bits deserves the highest censure. 
The substitution of more grateful ones, and the proper change in the nose- 
band will prevent many cases. 
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