STAGGERS. 



I 



STAGGERS, among Farriers, a difeafe of horfes, 

 wliich has fometimes been &n\omm\.e& apoplexy (which fee), 

 and which cor.fifts of a giddinefs in the head, and which, in 

 fome cafes, is indicated by madnefs. Of this difeafe authors 

 have defcribcd two fpecies ; -viz. the Jleepy, and the mad 

 ilaggers. In the firlt fpecies, the animal becomes inaftive, 

 and manifelh a heavinefs of the eyes, and an inclination to 

 fleep, the head refting in the manger ; accompanied with 

 coflivcnefs, and other fymptoms of fever. In the fecond 

 fort of ftagffcrs, the horfe, without indicating any previous 

 figns of difeafe, falls down apparently deprived of all vo- 

 luntary motion, with the eyes infenfible to light, the 

 breathing difficult, a great motion of the flanks, and a quick, 

 full pulfe. In the mad daggers the liorfe often rifes, plunges 

 violently in the ftable, and again falls down in an infenfible 

 ftate. 



This difeafe is frequently occafioned by turning out a 

 horfe to grafs too foon, before he is well cold : where, by 

 hanging down his head to feed, humours are generated, 

 which oppreffing the brain, are the proximate caufe of this 

 difeafe. Sometimes it comes by over-exercife in hot weather, 

 which inflames the blood, &c. fometimes by noifome fmells 

 in the liable, excefiive eating, &c. the rupture of a 

 blood-veflel, or external injuries on the head. 



The figns of it are, dimnefs of fight, reeling, and ftag- 

 gering, watery eyes, &c. At length, through extreme 

 pain, he beats his head againft the wall, thruils it into the 

 litter, rifes and lies down with fury, &c. 



The moll approved remedy for this diftemper is derived 

 from the following treatment. Begin with copious bleeding 

 from a large orifice in the neck-vein, and repeat the opera- 

 tion, if the ftrength of the horfe admit of it, and the fymp- 

 toms of the difeafe require it. After bleeding adminifter 

 a ball, prepared of two drachms of calomel, an ounce of 

 Barbadoes aloes in powder, two drachms of ginger, and a 

 fufficient quantity of honey. Apply alfo a glyfter, pre- 

 pared by mixing three quarts of oatmeal gruel, three ounces 

 of common fait, and half a pint of olive oil. If the difeafe 

 continue after this treatment, put a rowel under the jaw, 

 and another in the chelt ; applying alfo, behind the ear, 

 fome bhftering liniment : let the horfe be fupported at the 

 fame time by malhes, or if he refufe thefe, by gruel in the 

 quantity of two or three quarts, frequently given. After 

 opening the bowels fufBciently, let the following fever- 

 powder be given : viz. one drachm of pulverized camphor, 

 a fcruple of antimonial powder, and fix drachms of pow- 

 dered nitre, all well mixed. When the fymptoms arc re- 

 lieved, maflies of bran or oatmeal may be occafionally 

 given, with a fmall quantity of corn : hay fliould be 

 fparingly allowed. Omit the powders, and give the follow- 

 ing reltorative ball every morning, till the horfe recovers 

 ftrength, taking care to keep his bowels open by malhes : the 

 ball is prepared of Peruvian bark and gentian, in powder, 

 of each Vrth of an ounce ; two drachms of ginger, one 

 drachm of vitriolated iron, and a fufficient quantity of honey. 

 The rowel under the jaw (hould be continued at leall a fort- 

 night after the difeafe has been removed. Attention (hould 

 afterwards be obferved with regard to the kind or quantity 

 of food, the exercife and ftable treatment. 



Horfea are fubjeft to convulfions and ftaggers, arifing 

 from a retention of the dung and aliment ; which are indi- 

 cated by fwoln eyes, reeling and tottering motion, fhort 

 breath and cough, and irregular motion of the flanks ; 

 averfenefs from lying down, collivenefs, indifpofition to 

 ttale, and dark-coloured urine ; and fometimes jaundice. 

 Gibfon direfts the dung to be raked out by the hand from 

 the reftuBi, which dung i» generally hard, in fmall balls of 



a blackifh colour, without moifture. After this operation, 

 adminifter plenty of emollient oily glyfters of marfhmallows, 

 or pot liquor, water gruel or water ; adding to three 

 pints or two quarts of the liquor a pint of linfeed-oil, and 

 half a pound of treacle ; which (hould be given milk-warm, 

 and repeated every day, till the dung comes away with eafe, 

 and in a foft ftate : accompanying this medical treatment 

 with diet of the bell hay, fcalded bran or chaff, or boiled 

 barley. When the dung comes away with facifity, and in 

 great abundance, the following gentle lenitive purge may be 

 given ; -viz. lenitive cleftuary and cream of tartar, of each 

 four ounces, and two ounces of common fugar, mixed in 

 a pint and half of hot ale ; to which, when the tartar is 

 diflblved, add the fugar, and laft of all the lenitive eleftuary. 

 Let this be given in the morning, upon an empty ftomach, 

 blood-warm ; and repeated three or four times, with a 

 refpite of two or three days between the draughts, keeping 

 the horfe to an opening diet, with proper exercife, till he 

 recovers his ufual vigour. 



Mr. Boyle mentions a cure of this difeafe in horfes, by 

 rubbing their gums with the coach-whip till they bleed. 

 Works, Abr. vol. i. p. 88. 



Staggers, a difeafe in (heep, in which they are moftly 

 confidcred as extremely liable .to move or turn themfelves 

 about in a quick manner. 



The remedy for this diforder was formerly to drive them 

 to a change of grounds often, to keep the grounds from 

 tainting. And it has been noticed by Lifle, that thofe 

 lambs which die of the ftaggers do not die til! they begin to 

 eat grafs, and of thofe the finelt and luftieft ; whence he 

 concludes, that it is not the cold weatlier alone that brings 

 daggers, but their feeding on cold watery grafs in the 

 months of March and April. The difeafe was much pre- 

 vented by the early folding of the lambs. See GiD. 



The difeafe moftly appears in the autumn, and is faid to 

 be produced by a variety of caufcs ; fuch as improper food, 

 the leaves of the oak-tree, on account of their aitringent 

 quality, cobwebs befprinkled with dew, and different others. 

 And it probably often proceeds from local affeftions, and 

 water in the brain. Some have likewife fuppofed that it 

 arifes from the operation of a poifonous grafs, the lollum te- 

 mulentum, which is alone met with in thofe fituations of 

 Scotland where the ftaggers in (heep prevail. But what 

 effeft fuch cafes have on the brain, to produce or caufe fuch 

 a difeafe, is not pretended to be explained. 



Where this difeafe continues for any length of time in the 

 fame fheep, it is liable to become fatal. 



The change of pafture is fuppofed to be the only effeiflual 

 remedy in fuch cafes, but the ufe of calomel and bark may 

 often be found of material advantage, as well as other 

 means which have a tendency to remove water from the 

 brain. 



Staggers is alfo a difeafe in neat cattle, which is often 

 very troublefome and unpleafant in its confequences and 

 management. The principal feats of the diforder would 

 feem to be the head and the ftomach, which naturally fym- 

 pathize with each other. It may proceed from a variety of 

 different caufes, as improper and infufiicient feeding, too 

 much expofure to cold, drinking too largely of very cold 

 water, under particular circumftances, water and local af- 

 feftions of different kinds in the brain and parts about it, 

 and many others of the fame nature. 



It is moil liable to attack fuch cattle as have been poorly 

 fed, or ftarved in the winter feafon, on their being firil 

 turned out upon good paftures in the early fpring ; but it 

 not unfrequently happens to other cattle which have been 

 regularly fed. It likewife occurs in very different itates and 

 1 2 degrees 



