354 



THE HORSE. 



fested directly after the horse is first turned out, when he gorges 

 himself with the much-coveted food, which has long been withheld, 

 and his brain is affected in a manner similar to that which follows a 

 long fast from every kind of food. In a short time, if the affection 

 of the brain is not relieved, that organ becomes still more severely 

 implicated, and convulsions or paralysis put an end to the attack. 

 During the course of the disease, the breathing is affected, and 

 there is generally an almost total cessation of the secretions of bile 

 and urine, which may either be the cause or the effect of the con- 

 dition of the brain. With this state of uncertainty as to the 

 esseuee of the disease, it is somewhat empirical to lay down any 

 rules for its treatment; and, as I before remarked, it is now so ' 

 rare, that they are scarcely necessary. If care be taken to feed 

 the horse properly, he will never suffer from stomach staggers in 

 the stable; aud at grass, the attack is seldom observed until he 

 is beyond the reach of any remedies. Still, it may be as well to 

 observe, that the usual plan of proceeding has been to take away 

 blood, so as to relieve the brain, and to stimulate the stomach 

 to get rid of its load, by the use of warm aperients, such as the 

 following : — 



Take of Barbadoes Aloes 4 to 6 drachms. 



Tincture of Ginger 3 drachms. 



Dissolve the aloes in a pint of hot water, then add the tincture, and when 

 nearly cool give as a drench.* 



DYSPEPSIA. 



Every DOMESTIC animal suffers in health if he is constantly 

 fed on the same articles, and man himself, perhaps, more than 

 they do. Partridges are relished by him early in September, but 

 toujours perdrix would disgust the most inveterate lover of that 

 article of food. Dogs are too often made to suffer from being led 

 on the same meal, flavored with similar flesh or broth, from one 

 month to another. It is well known that cattle aud sheep must 

 change their pasture, or they soon lose condition ; and yet horses 

 are expected to go on eating oats and hay for years together with- 

 out injury to health; and at the same time they are often exposed 

 to the close air of a confined stable, and to an irregular amount, of 

 exercise. We cannot, therefore, wonder that the master is often 

 told that some one or other of his horses is " a little off his feed ;" 

 nor should we bo surprised that the constant repetition of the 

 panacea for this, " a dose of physic," should at length permanently 

 establish the condition which at first it would always alleviate. 

 It is a source of wonder that the appetite continues so good as it 



*In addition to the treatment, I would recommend that from 15 to 20 drops 

 of the tincture of aconite root be given to control the heart's action, and 

 thereby the circulation of the blood. — Editor. 



