DISEASES OF THE HOBSE 181 



and chaff can be removed by wiping the surface of the eyeball 

 with a piece of soft silk. To do this it is often necessary to put 

 a twitch on the animal. If any substance should stick into the 

 eye, it is best removed with the forceps. After the cause is 

 removed, bathe the eye with cold water and apply cold cloths 

 to reduce the inflammation. If this does not reduce the in- 

 flammation, bathe three times daily with hot instead of cold 

 water. Follow this by applying a few drops of a solution of 

 boric acid, a teaspoonful to a cup of water. This may be ap- 

 plied with a medicine-dropper. 



In some parts of the country, moon-blindness is a very 

 common disease of the eye among horses. Its causes are not 

 known, though the disease tends to be hereditary. The eye 

 behaves much as in simple inflammation. The eye becomes 

 red and inflamed, the tears are profuse, the lids swollen and 

 kept partly closed to shield the eye. In a week or two the in- 

 flammation goes down, the eye clears up, save there remains 

 around the iris a yellow band. In a few weeks the attack 

 comes on again. These attacks continue until the animal 

 becomes permanently blind. The sight can, however, be pro- 

 longed by careful treatment. When the attack comes on, 

 keep the animal in a moderately dark stall and treat as in simple 

 inflammation. Bathe with hot water and apply boric acid solu- 

 tion. In addition give internally as a drench one teaspoonful 

 of iodide of potassium. Continue for five days, then withhold 

 five days, and repeat. 



Pink-eye, as we have seen (p. 178), is a sort of influenza. 

 The disease affects the entire system and is contagious. The 

 treatment is to isolate the horse and disinfect his stall. Bathe 

 with hot water and apply boric acid solution as in simple in- 

 flammation. In addition give internally as a drench a heaping 

 teaspoonful of nitrate of potassium, twice daily, as this stimu- 

 lates the kidneys and reduces the fever. 



