CHAPTER XIV 
DISEASES AFFECTING THE SKIN AND EYE 
Diseases of the skin of animals can usually be 
traced to one of the following causes: parasites, 
either animal or vegetable; uneleanliness, which inter- 
feres with the functions of the glands of the skin; 
improper food or feeding; «a disease of the nerves 
which is shown hy an intense itching of the skin. 
Some of the commoner skin manifestations are brought 
together in this chapter for the convenience of the 
reader, even though they may not he closely related 
as to cause. 
““HIDEBOUND ”’ 
This is not a disease, but only a symptom; although 
the term is commonly used by horsemen as if it meant 
a disease. In “hidebound” horses, the skin appears 
dry and shrunken on the bones. Such animals are 
out of condition, usually from being poorly nourished, 
either from a lack of sufficient food of good quality, 
or from inability to assimilate the food. In most cases, 
the remedy is abundance of nourishing and easily di- 
gested food; when this has been supplied without relief, 
other causes, such as diseased teeth, derangement of 
the digestive tract, or some chronie disease, as tuber- 
culosis, must be looked for. : 
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