CHAPTER. Vii. 
POISONING. 
Arsenic. Aconite. Ergot ( Claviceps Purpurea); Grass Staggers. Lead. 
Hellebore (Veratrum Album). Antimony; Opium. Savin. Bryony. 
Cantharides or Spanish Fly. Euphorbium or Spurge. Yew Tree. 
Water Drop Wort. Meadow Saffron (Colchicum Autumnatle). 
Remarks on the Condition of Horses. 
ALTHOUGH it may be fairly stated that poisoning in horses is not so 
frequently met with as it once was, it is still common, and is, therefore, of 
very great practical importance. 
In almost all cases of poisoning, it is noteworthy that the drug has been 
administered by the attendant with the intention of preventing or curing 
~ some real or imaginary disease, which the horse is supposed to be suffering 
from, or of promoting his well-being by increasing his appetite, or in other 
ways; and it may be pointed out that whereas formerly mineral agents, such 
as arsenic and antimony, were largely given for these purposes, we now find. 
_ that vegetable poisons, such as hellebore and overdoses of aconite, are 
frequently substituted. It is well known that many vegetable poisons are 
quite as powerful ds the mineral ones, and we should, therefore, be especially 
suspicious of nostrums advertised to contain no mineral poison, for these 
but too frequently contain vegetable poisons still more dangerous. A large. 
number of old formule in the hands of those employed in the stable, and on 
the- farm, contain overdoses of arsenic, hellebore, aconite, antimony, and 
other preparations, which are seldom employed by the veterinarian except in 
severe cases, and some of them are scarcely ever given by him internally. 
Sometimes, however, more especially in the case of lead, poison is taken 
accidentally. At other times, though very rarely, it is given with criminal 
intent. 
We will first consider the baneful effects produced by acute and chronic 
arsenical poisoning, and will then treat of the others in the order of their. 
importance, at the same time mentioning shortly the treatment to be 
adopted in these cases. 
