32 PURE BRED DRAFT HORSES 
periods, etc., Barton suggests using the sponge to remove the mud. The 
mud or dirt on the legs, however, may be allowed to dry to be brushed 
off the next morning. Horses that have been worked, according to the 
same author, may on arrival to the barn be lightly sponged on such parts 
which are sweating. These include the parts beneath the saddle, collar, 
inside the thighs, forearms, etc. This is deemed a good practice, more 
so if the parts sponged are to be thoroughly dried up afterwards. 
12. Common and Infectious Diseases, and Other Ailments* 
(Only such extracts of the following treatises on the common diseases 
and other troubles of the stallion, as well as those of the foal, weanlings, 
and mare, treated elsewhere, are presented as would interest the animal 
husbandry student, while those that properly belong to the veterinarian’s 
field have been excluded.) 
Influenza of Horses—Influenza equorum 
“Influenza is an acute febrile, contagious, infectious disease of horses, 
which occurs frequently in stables in enzootic form. It is characterized 
either by acute catarrh of the mucous membranes or by severe inflam¬ 
mation of the lung sand pleura. Accordingly two forms of the disease 
may be distinguished, namely: the catarrhal influenza and the pectoral 
influenza. 
“ Occurrence . The disease occurs everywhere either periodically or in 
a pronounced enzootic form, and in the latter case it spreads rapidly 
among the horses of large territories. With the great varying character 
of the disease, it sometimes causes only slight losses while at other 
times a considerable percentage of the affected animals succumb to the 
disease, principally as a result of the pleuro-pneumonia which develops 
in its course. Owing to the latter condition the disease is of great 
economic importance, but the owner also sustains considerable loss in 
a milder outbreak as a result of incapacity of the horses for work. 
“ Prevention. Healthy horses should be separated from affected ani¬ 
mals, as well as from attendants and utensils that come in contact with 
diseased animals or with their secretions. It is advisable to place a 
newly acquired horse for two weeks for observation, and it should be 
placed among the other horses only after that period. This applies 
particularly to regions in which the disease is prevalent. 
“If the disease has already appeared the affected animals should first 
of all be separated, and their stalls, as well as the neighboring stalls, 
should be thoroughly disinfected. As in the first place the immediate 
neighboring animals are under suspicion of becoming affected, they, as 
well as all animals showing an elevated temperature or catarrhal symp¬ 
toms, should be segregated in different isolated places. At the same time 
the healthy animals which have no fever should be kept out of doors, as 
far as place and weather conditions permit, or in places which are free 
from infection. They should be divided in groups, and only animals 
which are entirely free from fever should be used for work. The infected 
stable should ibe thoroughly disinfected, and scrupulous cleanliness, as 
well as free ventilation of the stable, should be carried out. 
“As the development of the disease is favored by influences which 
have a. weakening effect on the animals, the protection of the horses 
from such influences, and especially from taking colds, should be given 
due consideration. 
“Animals which have passed through the disease may, in the majority 
* Dr. H. D. Bergman of the Veterinary Division of the Iowa State College is authority 
for suggesting all the common and communicable diseases, and other troubles treated in 
this paper. 
