DIETETIC DISEASES 



LECTUEE XLIV 

 AZOTURIA 



Prevalence. — Azoturia is a common and very serious disease 

 which usually affects horses under certain well-defined condi- 

 tions. It affects the best and most valuable horses and is fre- 

 quently fatal. Farm horses in the North do comparatively little 

 work during the winter, and are in high flesh when early spring 

 work opens. This condition, together with the fact that the 

 early spring is necessarily a season of irregular work, will ex- 

 plain why so many cases of azoturia occur during the spring 

 months. 



History. — Azoturia rarely appears among horses at pasture 

 or among those at regular work. It usually appears dur- 

 ing exercise after a period of idleness, on full feed which 

 has succeeded a previous period of work. Any severe exertion 

 after an idle period may cause it, e.g., struggling in the casting 

 harness or when halter-cast in the stall. 



This disease is frequently confounded with colic; sometimes 

 farmers call it spinal disease, and sometimes an inflammation 

 of the kidneys ; but it is easily distinguished from any of these 

 by its history — which is very uniform — by the symptoms and 

 by the condition of the urine. 



Duration. — Ordinary cases begin to either recover or fail 

 within three or four days. The more severe cases may either 

 die in a few days or develop a persistent and more or less com- 

 plete paralysis of the hind quarters and limbs lasting weeks or 

 even months. 



Causes. — The causes of azoturia are classified as predisposing 

 and precipitating. 



The predisposing causes include high flesh, diet rich in pro- 

 teid, and full feed during a period of rest following a period 

 of regular work. Most cases appear during the prime of life. 

 Mares are more frequently affected than geldings, but all horses 

 are subject to azoturia. 



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