It is but natural to connect melanosis with the changed aspect of the skin. A young gray horse seems to be exempt; but as the dark hairs disappear from the coat, and the animal with age turns white, a black deposit accumulates upon various parts of the body. Creatures of other colors are not liable to so terrible a scourge; and seeing that the disease is in some manner connected with a change in the skin, probably some attention to the integumental covering might be of service.
All use of the curry-comb should be forbidden. The dressing should be long continued, only with the brush; but it cannot, at the same time, be too gentle. Twice a week the body should be anointed with the following:—
| Animal glycerin | One part. |
| Rose-water | Two parts. |
| Mix. |
A brush should be moistened with the liquid, and the hair of the body should be rendered thoroughly damp, not wet, with the fluid. The after-dressing should consist in the long employment of the brush, so as to carry the glycerin from the hair and to lodge it upon the cuticle.
Glycerin has the peculiar property of destroying scurf; therefore, if glycerin be used, the curry-comb may be dispensed with. It likewise renders soft and moist the cuticle, which invariably becomes harsh and dry with age. Acting thus, it will, in the human subject, so far restore the color to the hair as to conceal the presence of the gray or white ones common to advancing years. The effect on one animal argues favorably for its action in another direction.
A dappled gray is perhaps the most beautiful covering in which bounteous nature could invest a graceful body. Creatures so clothed are usually the favorites of their owners, as well as generally the pets of the stable. Therefore the author may assert there are more than a few horse proprietors who would not bestow a thought upon any expense which could secure to them the services of their much-prized steeds.
When melanosis threatens, a tumor no larger than an egg generally appears upon some part of the body. It may show on any locality. It has no fixed abode. It is hard to the touch, and apparently devoid of sensibility. In this state the disease may remain for one, or it may continue stationary for six, years. When the next and the more active stage commences, the tumor suddenly enlarges. It becomes soft in places, and will fluctuate under the pressure of the fingers. The horse, at the same time, grows slothful. The tumor, which previously seemed in no way to affect the animal, by its enlargement marks the departure of all spirit. This sluggishness rapidly increases till the poorest owner becomes dissatisfied with the perpetual use of the goad.
The body, when opened, generally displays a condition which, from the outward signs, was far from expected. The internal organs are covered with tumors. Numberless morbid growths, of various dimensions and in every stage of development, crowd upon every part. These readily account for that disinclination to move which characterized the latter days of existence.
THE SIGN THAT TELLS OF THE
EXISTENCE OF MELANOSIS.