Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/259

HORSE. their ejection from the stomach. The best that can be done is to watch for their eggs on the legs and body of the horse during the late summer and autumn, and carefully scrape them off and burn them. (5) Indigestion: Indigestion is imperfectly performed digestion, which in the horse causes symptoms closely resembling those of dyspepsia in man. A great cause of indigestion with the horse is found in the food itself. (See section on Care of the Horse.) The teeth are in many instances to blame, their sharp, irregular, or decayed condition preventing any perfect mastication, and causing the animal to swallow his food before it receives the requisite admixture of saliva. The principal seat of indigestion is in the stomach or small intestine. It is characterized by an irregular appetite, refusal of food or gorging, and a disposition to eat unusual substances, as wood, salt, bedding, and frequently his own fæces. The animal loses flesh, and the skin becomes hard and dry and hide-bound. The treatment usually consists of a careful regulation of food as regards quality, quantity, and time of feeding, and an exercise of similar care as regards the water-supply. The condition of the mouth and teeth must also be attended to, and the teeth if sharp or irregular must be rasped down, or extracted if decayed. If the indigestion is caused by ravenous eating, the animal should be fed from a manger sufficiently wide to allow the spreading of the grain, which will usually compel the horse to eat slowly. Frequently a cathartic is given at the outset.

. Worms are very frequently found in young horses, as well as in those that are weak or debilitated. They almost invariably exist in horses pastured on low, wet, or marshy ground, as well as in those that drink stagnant water. The most common form of intestinal worm is the lumbricoid worm, which closely resembles the common earthworm. It is white or reddish in color, measuring from four to twelve inches in length, and varying in thickness from the size of a rye straw to that of a cigar, being thickest at the middle and tapering toward each end. At first, slight colicky pains are noticed, or a vigorous switching of the tail, and frequent passages of manure; the animal does not shed its coat, and is hide-bound and pot-bellied. He will be particularly fond of salt, and will bite at the woodwork of his stall; the bowels are irregular, either constipation or diarrhoea being present. Among the best medicines for worms are santonin, turpentine, tartar emetic, infusion of tobacco, and bitter tonics. Whatever remedy is given, it will be found much more effective if administered after a long fast, and then the worm medicine must be supplemented by physic to force out the worms. There are many varieties of worms, the treatment for which is usually along the lines above described.

is the name given to colic which is produced by contraction or spasm of a portion of the small intestines. It is usually caused by indigestible food; foreign bodies; excessive drinking of cold water when overheated; draughts of cold air, etc. To insure correct treatment, it is very necessary to keep in mind the type of horse, the force of the attack, the intervals of ease or violent pain, the temperature and pulse, and a frequent attempt to urinate, which will prevent the confounding of this with any other form of colic. The treatment

indicated is any antispasmodic medicine, of which probably there is none better than chloral hydrate given in a dose of one ounce in a half-pint of water as a drench. Flatulent colic, tympanites, wind colic, bloat, are common among animals subject to sudden changes of food, careless feeding or treatment; too much green food, or any other food that has become stale and sour.

Herniæ: There are several kinds of herniæ, not all of which, however, are to be regarded as serious or dangerous. Abdominal herniæ, or ruptures, are divided into reducible, irreducible, and strangulated, according to their condition; and into inguinal, scrotal, ventral, umbilical, and diaphragmatic, according to their situation. In many instances treatment is not necessary; or, where the hernial sac is extensive, treatment is ineffective. A good deal will depend on whether any one is present when the hernia happens, as to the possibilities of a perfect cure. Umbilical hernia, or diaphragmatic hernia, calls for the most skilled treatment, and even then little or nothing can be done.

. The causes of this disease are many and varied. Congestion occurs from retained products passed through the kidney's during recovery from inflammation of other parts, or fevers. Detained urine, and the possible production of ammonia and other irritants, are also frequent causes. The symptoms consist of fever, stiffness of the back, straddling gait, difficulty in lying down, rising, or walking in a circle. The recognized treatment is as follows: Removal of any cause that can be discovered; then, if suffering from high fever, the removal of from two to four quarts of blood, which should be followed as much as possible by throwing the work of the kidneys on the bowels and skin. Catarrh, or Cold in the Head: A fluid discharge from the mucous membrane. Inflammation, as a rule, extends to the membrane of the sinuses of the head, and of the larynx and pharynx, causing the added complication of sore throat. Frequently the eyes are also affected. At the first stage of the attack the membrane is dry and irritable, followed by a watery discharge from the nostrils. Fever, more or less, makes its appearance, which is usually detected by placing a finger in the animal's mouth. In itself the disease is not very serious, but if neglected, or treated wrongly, may become complicated and dangerous. A few days of cessation from work, together with pure air and good food, is regarded as the best treatment.  (q.v.): A chronic disease, evidenced by a loud, unnatural noise in breathing, and caused by an obstruction to the free passage of the air in some part of the respiratory tract. External causes are nasal polypi, thickening of the membrane, the pharyngeal polypi; deformed bones; paralysis of the wing of the nostril; and more than anything else, paralysis of the muscles of the larynx.

Grunting: A horse is usually first tested by veterinarians for grunting, when if the fault is discovered he will be further tested for roaring. Grunting is a sound emitted during exhalation, when the animal is suddenly moved or struck at.

High Blowing is distinctly a nasal sound, but it must not be confounded with roaring; it is a habit, and does not constitute unsoundness. In the same class should be placed whistling and thick wind. Bronchitis, or Inflammation of the Bronchial Tubes: While the causes of this disease