Special Report on Diseases of the HorseUnited States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Science
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Horses -- Diseases
_Symptoms._--The symptoms differ somewhat with the cause and depend
also, to some extent, upon the chief location of the inflammation. In
general the animal stops eating or eats but little; it shows colicky
pain; fever develops; the pulse and respiration become rapid; the mucous
membrane becomes red; the mouth is hot and dry. Pressure upon the
abdomen may cause pain. Intestinal sounds can not be heard at the flank.
There is constipation in the earlier stages that is, followed later by
diarrhea. The extremities become cold. Sometimes the feces are coated
with or contain shreds of fibrin, looking like scraps of dead membrane,
and they have an evil, putrid odor. If the disease is caused by moldy or
damaged feed there may be great muscular weakness, with partial
paralysis of the throat, as shown by inability to swallow. If chemical
poisons are the cause, this fact may be shown by the sudden onset of the
disease, the history of the administration of a poison or the entire
absence of known cause, the rapid development of threatening symptoms,
the involvement of a series of animals in the absence of a contagious
disease, and the special symptoms and alterations known to be produced
by certain poisons. To make this chain of evidence complete, the poison
may be discovered in the organs of the horse by chemical analysis. In
nearly all cases of gastro-enteritis there is nervous depression.
The poisons that are most irritant to the digestive tract are arsenic,
corrosive sublimate, sugar of lead, sulphate of copper, sulphate or
chlorid of zinc, lye, or other strong alkalies, mineral acids, and,
among the vegetable poisons, tobacco, lobelia, and water hemlock.
_Treatment._--The treatment will depend upon the cause, but if this can
not be detected, certain general indications may be observed. In all
cases feed should be given in small amounts and should be of the most
soothing description, as oatmeal gruel, flaxseed tea, hay tea, fresh
grass, or rice water. The skin should be well rubbed with alcohol and
wisps of straw, to equalize the distribution of the blood; the legs,
after being rubbed until warm, should be bandaged in raw cotton or with
woolen bandages. The horse should be warmly blanketed. It is well to
apply to the abdomen blankets wrung out of hot water and frequently
changed; or mustard paste may be rubbed on the skin of the belly.
Internally, opium is of service to allay pain, check secretion, and
soothe the inflamed membrane. The dose is from 1 to 2 drams, given every
three of four hours. If there is constipation, the opium should be mixed
with 30 grains of calomel. Subnitrate of bismuth may be given with the
opium or separately in 2-dram doses. Stimulants, such as alcohol,
aromatic spirits of ammonia, or camphor may be given in 2-ounce doses,
mixed with warm water to make a drench.
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