September, 1910.] 



227 



Live Stock. 



out to grass. I know very well the 

 stiffness occasionally met with in horses 

 fed exclusively on oats, and in which I 

 invariably find a very acid reaction in 

 the urine. Change of diet and a little 

 saline medicine soon puts matters right. 

 The condition is not osteoporosis, but 

 it may be akin to it. As accessory 

 causes dirty unwholesome stables, care- 

 less management, overwork and exposure 

 to wet and cold in early life predisposes 

 to the disease, and most cases occur 

 under seven years, but old horses are 

 sometimes affected. 



SHETLAND PONIES HAVE A BAD NAME, 



and the worst cases I have ever seen 

 in Ceylon were a pair of Shetland ponies 

 which were only in the Island a few 

 months. The symptoms vary a deal. 

 The common statement of an owner is 

 that the horse has rheumatism. The 

 usual symptoms are stiffness, lameness, 

 in one or more limbs often fugitive, 

 shortness of action, stumbling and 

 general slackness. The appetite is often 

 indiffei'ent with sometimes a dislike of 

 corn and a relish for grass or green 

 food of any kind. The abdomen becomes 

 tucked up giving a pinched appearance 

 to the loins which are often very weak. 

 As time goes on the enlargement of the 

 face is noticed— in the superior and in- 

 ferior maxillary bones. The enlarge- 

 ment of the superior maxilla appears 

 as a swelling on either side of the nose 

 below the eyes, which become in my 

 experience more almond shaped. The 

 lower jaw may be enormously enlarged, 

 so much so that it may hardly be pos- 

 sible to get the fingers into the cleft 

 between the right and left bones. The 

 emaciation, stiffness and exhaustion ad- 

 vance until the horse may absolutely 

 collapse, and fracture one or more limbs 

 or the spine. In some instances with- 

 out any very marked symptoms a leg 

 may suddenly fracture when the animal 

 is exercised or worked. I have seen 

 both hind legs of a coach horse frac- 

 tured when starting to pull the coach, 

 and sudden accidents on the racecourse 

 are not rare. A horse suffering from 

 the disease may be in the very best of 

 condition. In some cases the disease 

 seems to be arrested at a certain stage, 

 and the horse may work for years show- 

 ing only more or less stiffness. Pro- 

 fessor Law states , that excess of phos- 

 phates in the urine indicates an active 

 disease process, and decrease of phos- 

 phates cessation of the process giving 

 some hope of recovery. The course of 

 the disease may be very rapid and end 

 fatally in two or three months ; in other 

 cases it is slower, six months or a year, 

 even two years, and as mentioned be- 



fore, a horse may remain useful for 

 several years. As regards treatment, 

 when the disease is well advanced, 



TREATMENT IS, IN MY OPINION, WASTE 

 OP MONEY. 



In cases where it is .suspected to be deve- 

 loping, my usual plan is to change the 

 feeding, administer salines and lime 

 water in the drinking water, and im- 

 prove the hygienic conditions generally. 

 I am informed that in Australia it often 

 attacks young racehorses when first put 

 into training ; as soon as it is suspected, 

 they are at once turned out to grass and 

 recover. 



What concerns us more is prevention, 

 and here the best management and care 

 will be attended with the best results. 

 The stable should be bright, airy, and 

 dry and clean, with good drainage ; if 

 dark, half-a-dozen glass tiles on the 

 roof will improve matters wonderfully. 

 Avoid over fatigue and exposure to wet, 

 and if the horse gets wet have him well 

 dried as soon as possible and not left in 

 the stable to dry. Avoid the frequent 

 washing common in this country. I 

 have had the best results from the 

 regular administration of lime water in 

 the drinking water, which is very soft 

 in many parts of Ceylon. It must, how- 

 ever, be a regular practice and not given 

 for a week and forgotten. It is easily 

 and cheaply made by adding a handful 

 of unslaked lime to a bucket full of 

 water — stir up — allow it to settle, then- 

 pour off the clear water for use and 

 bottle it, and as a general practice I give 

 half a pint in each bucket of drinking 

 water. Carbonate of lime or sterilised 

 bone meal may be given in the food in 

 small quantities. If Mr. Ingle's theory 

 is correct, and I am inclined to think 

 there is much in it worthy of further 

 experiments, it will be advantageous to 

 import into Ceylon English lucerne, 

 clover and meadow hay, and use it with 

 the usual Ceylon ration and get a 

 chemist to draw up the correct propor- 

 tions of a mixture to give a properly 

 balanced ration, I have no doubt the 

 importers of horse foods will do it if 

 there is any demand, and the cost will 

 not be very different from that of the 

 foods now used, 



SOME LEGISLATION 



directed against the disease has been 

 urged upon me by horse owners in this 

 country for some time, In the absence 

 of definite knowledge of the cause it is 

 difficult to know what measures will be 

 of service. In deference to the wishes 

 of many owners the disease has been 

 included in the New Diseases of Animals 

 Ordinance for the first time in any 



