92 EXAMINATION OF HORSES 
nite information upon the point. Asa rule, the abscess 
is obscure in its origin, and slow in its progress, as in its 
repair; some patients even profess to have been quite 
unconscious of its existence tillit was about to burst. In 
other cases they are very acute in their action, and very 
painful.” Had Mr. Bryant been writing of ¢hvush, he 
might have used exactly the same description, with the 
exception of the abscess formation, which, of course, 
depends on different anatomical relations in the two 
cases. Like “thrush,” fistula in ano is easily cured if 
it depend on a local cause. Heat and moisture long 
applied to the parts, either from the horse standing in 
his litter, or having his feet stuffed, or a sudden change 
from a low diet to a high liberal diet, perbaps consist- 
ing of beans, are what we may term local causes. In 
these cases, removal of the cause, physicing, dryness and 
warmth to the feet, and the application (after cleansing 
the cleft by see-sawing thick soft rope through it) of 
calomel, with tow to the bottom of the cleft, will affect «°° 
acure almost at once. Very different is it with thrush 
and with fistula in ano when it depends on a constitu- 
tional cause. If you are ever tempted to pass a horse 
with a thrush, and give a qualified certificate or opinion, 
see that it is not constitutional thrush. A “leggy,” flat- 
sided horse having a thrush you should never either pass 
or recommend at any price higher than the value of the 
horse’s hide. In the very early part of my career, I 
remember examining a ‘“‘leggy,”’ flat-sided horse, with 
one slight thrush, at York, for a personal friend. It so 
