398 INTERNAL PARASITES. 



(Cagny and Guhert). They often reside in the horse without 

 giving any apparent trouble, in which case their numbers are 

 probably small. When a horse is largely infested by them, he falls 

 away in condition, and his general health becomes more or less 

 affected, which fact may be made evident by the morbid state of 

 the appetite, rough coat, pot belly, liability to colic, and slight 

 diarrhoea due to the irritating presence of these parasites. When 

 worms infest a horse, some of them will generally come away with 

 the dung from time to time. These parasites are sometimes so 

 numerous, that they will block up the small intestine and give rise 

 to colic, which may kill the horse. They occasionally cause per- 

 foration of the bowel. 



The case of a tramway horse in Kome is described which con- 

 tained in its stomach and intestines 1,142 specimens of the ascaris 

 megalocephala, over a score of which had penetrated the intestinal 

 into the peritoneal cavity, causing fatal peritonitis. 



The best treatment is removal of the cause, for which I have 

 found that the most effective plan is to give J drachm each of tar- 

 tar emetic and sulphate of iron in the food four times a day for 

 a week, and then to administer a purgative in the form of a ball 

 of aloes (p. 608) or a drench of a quart of linseed oil; keeping 

 the animal during that period rather " short " on bran (dry or in 

 mash) and hay or grass. Although this diet will weaken him for 

 the time being, it will also affect the parasites, and will induce 

 them the more readily to quit their abode. Tartar emetic, which 

 has but a slightly depressing effect on the horse, even when given 

 in very large doses, appears to have an extremely nauseating effect 

 on the worms, which readily come away when subjected to its 

 influence. Sulphate of iron, probably on account of its astringent 

 qualities, clears the intestines of an excess of mucus, which forms a 

 nest for the worms. In obstinate cases, a second course of tartar 

 emetic and sulphate of iron, followed by a purgative, may be tried' 

 after an interval of a week. After this, the animal may get in his 

 food, a drachm of sulphate of iron every day for a fortnight or 

 three weeks. 



Or we may give 3 ounces of turpentine in a quart of linseed oil. 

 Turpentine causes death to the parasites on contact, which readily 

 takes place owing to its being volatile. As turpentine has a 

 strongly stimulating effect on the kidneys, the large dose of 3 

 ounces should not be repeated, if a second one be thought necessary, 

 after a shorter interval than ten days. It should be given in oil, 

 as it has a very irritating effect on the mucous membrane, when 

 undiluted. Oil is also a worm destroyer, in that it clogs up the 

 skin through which the worm breathes. 



A suitable dose of tartar emetic for a well-bred foal nine or ten 



