920 VETBEINAEY HYGIENE 



expect the losses to fall to that of cattle. At present 

 two to three per cent, of loss appears inevitable among 

 horses at sea. 



Treatment before Embarking. — Before horses are placed 

 on board a ship, they should if in hard work be reduced 

 both in work and diet for a few days prior to embarkation, 

 and their bowels rendered laxative. 



On the day of embarkation they should be watered before 

 going on board as it saves trouble, and after being placed in 

 their stalls they may be fed with hay, in order to settle 

 them to their new surroundings. 



They should embark as far as possible newly shod with 

 both fore and hind shoes on. Shoes should never be 

 removed for a voyage. 



Good health prior to embarkation should be insisted 

 upon ; the weak or feverish will probably succumb. 

 Freedom from infectious and contagious disease is a 

 veterinary duty of the utmost importance ; it is far better 

 to leave a doubtful case behind than to run any risk by 

 taking him. No more favourable conditions are conceivable 

 for the spread of disease than life on board a ship, for the 

 animals are packed closely together, frequently with their 

 muzzles touching, and there is the utter impossibility of 

 keeping the feeding troughs separate, and in addition the 

 animals are breathing a vitiated air which lowers their 

 powers of resistance. Glanders, strangles, pneumonia, 

 and mange, are diseases among horses which soon get a 

 foothold, and find most congenial conditions existing for 

 their spread at sea. The most rigorous inspection before 

 embarkation is necessary to avoid their introduction, while 

 all animals should have been previously malleined ; if such 

 a disease as a case of mange got on board, it would be 

 sound economy to at once destroy it in order to stay its 

 spread, as it is almost impossible to treat mange effectively 

 at sea, while it spreads in the most extraordinary manner 

 on board. 



A febrile condition is very common at sea ; it may be due 

 to heat in the tropics, but is more commonly caused by air 



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