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
The symptoms of rupture of the liver will depend upon the extent of the
laceration. If slight, there will be simply the symptoms of abdominal
pain, looking back to the sides, lying down, etc.; if extensive, the
horse is dull and dejected, has no appetite, breathing becomes short and
catching, he sighs or sobs, visible mucous membranes are pale,
extremities cold, pulse fast, small, and weak or running down.
Countenance now shows much distress, he sweats profusely, totters in his
gait, props his legs wide apart, reels, staggers, and falls. He may get
up again, but soon falls dead. The rapid running-down pulse, paleness of
the eyes, nose, and mouth, sighing, stertorous breathing, tottering
gait, etc., are symptoms by which we know that the animal is dying from
internal hemorrhage.
_Treatment._--But little can be done in the way of treatment. Opium in
powder, in doses of 2 drams every two or three hours, may be given, with
the idea of preventing as much as possible all movements of internal
organs. If there is reason to suspect internal bleeding, we should give
large and frequent doses of white-oak bark tea, dram doses of tannic or
gallic acid, or the same quantity of sugar of lead, every half hour or
hour. Fluid extract of ergot or tincture of the chlorid of iron, in
ounce doses, may be selected. Cold water dashed upon the right side or
injected into the rectum is highly spoken of as a means of checking the
hemorrhage.
BILIARY CALCULI, OR GALLSTONES.
These are rarely found in the horse, but may occupy the hepatic ducts,
giving rise to jaundice and to colicky pains. There are no absolutely
diagnostic symptoms, but should one find a horse that suffers from
repeated attacks of colic, accompanied with symptoms of violent pain,
and that during or following these attacks the animal is jaundiced, it
is possible that gallstones are present. There is little or nothing to
be done except to give medicines to overcome pain, trusting that these
concretions may pass on to the bowels, where, from their small size,
they will not occasion any inconvenience.
DISEASES OF THE PANCREAS AND SPLEEN.
Diseases of the pancreas and spleen are so rare, or their symptoms so
little understood, that it is impossible to write anything concerning
either of these organs and their simple diseases that will convey to the
reader information of practical value.
GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES.
[By Maurice C. Hall, Ph. D., D. V. M.]
Horses are subject to infestation by a number of species of worms, these
worms being especially numerous at certain points in the alimentary
canal.
The tapeworms of the horse are relatively unimportant and not very
common. There are three species, the smallest about two inches long and
the largest about eight inches long. These two occur in the small
intestine; a form intermediate in size may also be found in the cecum
and colon. These are flat, segmented worms with the head at the smaller
end.
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