The illustrated horse doctor : $b being an accurate and detailed account of the various diseases to which the equine race are subjectedMayhew, Edward
Science
The illustrated horse doctor : $b being an accurate and detailed account of the various diseases to which the equine race are subjected
Mayhew, Edward
Horses -- Diseases
A horse cannot remain for days in the stable and retain its condition. The
carriage proprietor has not only to find food, but he is equally bound to
support the health of his animals, or the service for which he bargained
will be rudely terminated. Too many do not think of this. Too many take
out the carriage to-day, only because it accords with their convenience.
All, however, complain of the uncertainty which appertains to horse-flesh.
The frame of the horse is stronger than machinery; but it cannot resist
the willfulness of human misrule. Let that man, whose stable troubles
him, question his own conduct. Let him examine the house in which he has
thrust life. Let him see to the servants he has engaged, and to the food
for which he pays; and after all, let him inquire into his own behavior:
the error will be found, not in the creatures over which he exercises
dominion, but in those who are invested with authority.
If people will start carriages, the vehicle must be taken out every day,
let the weather freeze, rain, or shine. The hard earth of sunshine is
frequently more injurious to the feet than either cold or wet are to
the body. The lady, when out visiting, has more than her own pleasure
to consult; for all horses fed on the best and underworked, or retained
standing long before the street door, are exposed to chronic hepatitis.
The gentleman's delight is almost as liable as the brewer's pride. Even
moderate food and too little work will engender the disease. The author,
when he quitted the veterinary college, left in that establishment an
Arab, which, from a year's stagnation, was obviously thus disordered.
The primary symptoms are not well marked, and do not, generally, attract
attention. The animal is dull and averse to move. It appears to have
imbibed a fondness for the inactivity to which it has been accustomed. The
appetite is either nice, altogether lost, or unscrupulously ravenous; the
bowels are constipated; the dung is black, and coated with bilious-looking
mucus; it is friable, and imperfectly digested. If a white paper be
pressed upon it, a greenish-yellow stain is imparted. The urine is scanty,
and, commonly, highly colored; while the pulse has a heavy beat, as though
treacle, instead of blood, circulated within the artery.
The signs which indicate a confirmation of the disorder are: the mouth
feels cold; the nasal membranes are unnaturally pallid; the whites of the
eyes are ghastly, displaying a yellow tinge; sometimes the horse looks at
the right side; usually, it lies upon the left ribs, but never for any
long time; tenderness may be exhibited, if the right side be pressed upon.
However, the last symptom is rarely present, and lameness in either fore
leg is seldom witnessed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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