116 WOUNDS AND BRUISES. 



Stroke of Lightning. 



Horses which are out in the field are sometimes struck with 

 lightning. There have been a few cases of horses being more or 

 less injured by discharges from electric wires. The shock may 

 cause instantaneous death ; or more or less unconsciousness, and 

 paralysis. Besides the nervous effect, the electricity may burn the 

 hair, skin, and underlying structures ; may tear the soft partfe ; 

 and even break bones. The burns on the hair and skin not infre- 

 quently take the form of tracings of the branches of trees. 



To relieve the unconsciousness, cause the patient to smell 

 ammonia, and give him strong tea or coffee to drink. Combat the 

 paralysis by rubbing into the part some stimulating liniment, 

 such as compound camphor liniment ; a mixture of one part of 

 either turpentine or kerosene (paraffin) oil to two parts of any 

 ordinary oil ; or mustard oil. To stimulate the paralysed muscles, 

 inject subcutaneously in their neighbourhood, from time to time, 

 two grains of the hydrochlorate of strychnine dissolved in a tea- 

 spoonful of water. Or give a drachm of nux vomica in the food. 



Frost Bite. 



The effects of frost-bite, in the horse are usually confined to the 

 frog of the foot (giving rise to thrush) and the skin of the pastern. 

 The practice of using salt to melt snow is liable to cause frost-bite 

 in the feet of horses which travel on roads thus treated. 



In Russia I have seen several cases of the tips of horses' ears 

 having been removed by frost-bite. 



The symptoms of frost-bite are due to the fact that if the blood 

 is driven out of any part, and that part is kept bloodless for a 

 period which need not exceed two or three minutes, inflammation 

 will be set up if the blood be allowed to again enter the vessels, 

 especially in large quantities. If the blood-vessels continue to be 

 deprived of blood for a comparatively long period, they will become 

 incapable of receiving the blood, and the part will consequently 

 remain bloodless and dead. In this case, suppuration will be set 

 up in the neighbouring healthy tissue, and the dead part become 

 separated. In cases which admit of recovery, the inflammation 

 caused by the re-entrance of the blood will not be sufiiciently 

 intense to cause destruction of the part. To obtain this desirable 

 result, the re-admission of the blood should be very carefully regu- 

 lated ; for the larger the amount, the greater will be the irritation 



