The rope should be stout which has to sustain the huge weight of the horse; in proportion to that weight, of course, must be the pressure upon the seat of poll evil. Pressure, as a natural consequence, stops circulation. Upon circulation being freely performed, health, secretion, and even life itself is dependent. The flow of blood to any part of the body cannot be long prevented without unpleasant sensations being engendered. Numbness and itching are the first results. The horse tries to master these by rubbing its head violently against the trevise or division of the stall. Friction, when applied to an irritable place, is never a soothing process; when instituted by the huge strength of a horse, its probable ill effects may be easily surmised. It is, therefore, no legitimate cause for wonder if some of the fleshy substances, compressed between the external wood and the internal bones of the neck, become bruised, and deep-seated abscess is thus provoked.
This, however, is not the sole cause; there are others equally potent and generally springing from the same source—namely, from human folly. How much of animal agony might be spared if man, in the pride of superiority, would deign to waste an occasional thought upon the poor creatures which are born and live in this country only by his permission and to labor in his service! Stable doors are commonly made as though none but human beings had to pass through them. The tallest of mankind, probably, might enter a stable without stooping; but does it therefore follow that a horse can pass under the beam without assuming a crouching position? Many horses learn to fear the doorway. They shy, rear, or prance, whenever led toward it. Man, however, refuses to be instructed by the action of his mute servant; those symptoms of fear, which are the bitter fruits of experience, are attributed to the patient and enduring quadruped as exhibitions of the rankest vice.
Low doors, such as usually belong to stables, are among the most frequent causes of poll evil. The horse, when passing through them, is either surprised by something it beholds outside the building, or checked by the voice of the groom. The sudden elevation of the head is, in the animal, expressive of every unexpected emotion. Up goes the crest and crash comes the poll against the beam of the doorway. A violent bruise is thereby provoked, and a deep-seated abscess is the sad result.
The horse likewise suffers from the representatives in brutality of him for whose benefit it wears out its existence. Carters display their ignorance by getting into violent passions with their teams. "Whooay" and "kum hup" are shouted out; the huge whip is slashed and snaffle jagged, till mute intelligence is fairly puzzled. Were mortals in the like position, subject to the same terrible chastisement, and, at the same time, forbid to inquire the wishes of their commander, they would be in no better condition. The panting, sweating, and starting of the poor, confused quadrupeds announce their terror. The driver, too enraged to understand himself, and too impatient to delay punishment upon the objects of his wrath, resorts to the butt-end of his heavy whip. Some wretched animal is struck upon the poll, for the head is always aimed at when stupidity quarrels with its own ignorance, and a dreadful disorder is established.
All the causes of poll evil may, however, be reduced to one—namely, to external injury. The first result of such a cause is pain whenever the head is moved. Motion enforces the contraction of the bruised muscles; and the agony growing more and more acute, the sufferer acquires a habit of protruding the nose in a very characteristic manner long before the slightest symptom of the malady can be perceived. When forced to bend the head toward the manger, it generally hangs back to the length of the halter; for although so doing occasions pain, the position renders the necessary angle of the head upon the neck as little acute as possible. The anguish attendant upon the earlier stages of the disease is exemplified by the length of time occupied in emptying the manger. At this stage nothing is apparent; at this period also great cruelty is too often exercised when the collar is forced over the head regardless of the struggles of the acutely-diseased animal.
Should the seat of poll evil at this stage of the disease be particularly examined, the most lengthened inspection, when prompted by expectation, may fail to detect even an indication of probable enlargement. Pressure, or enforced motion of the head, excites resistance. A few weeks in some cases, and the swelling becomes marked or prominent. In others, the enlargement is never well developed: instances of this last kind invariably are the most difficult to treat, for in them the seat of the disorder is always most deeply seated. The size of the tumor is therefore always to be hailed as a promise that the injury is tolerably near the surface, and, consequently, more under the influence of remedial measures.
After pressure has been made, the agony occasioned causes the animal to be difficult of approach. The common method of examination is, however, very wrong. No good is done by inflicting torture. Something, on the contrary, is concealed. Place the fingers lightly on the part, and allow them to remain there till the fear, excited by a touch upon a tender place, has subsided. Then, and not till then, gradually introduce pressure. The more superficial the injury, the more speedy will be the response. The longer the time and greater the force requisite to induce signs of uneasiness, the deeper, as a general rule, will be the center of the disease.
In either case there is little good accomplished by those applications which are recognized as mild measures. Fomentations and poultices commonly waste valuable time, and, at last, prove of no avail. Therefore, blister over the place. Obviously, the employment of more active treatment is at present forbidden. Do not, however, give the carter so much liquid blister, to be rubbed in by his heavy and coarse hand; but lightly paint over the seat of the supposed hurt with spirituous or acetous tincture of cantharides. Do this daily till copious irritation is produced, and, before that dies away, repeat the dressing. Keep up the soreness, but do no more. Never apply the tincture upon active vesication, otherwise a foul sore, ending in a lasting blemish, may be the result. Make the poll merely painful. An additional motive will thereby be instituted to keep the head perfectly quiet, for constant motion provokes the worst consequences of poll evil, causing the confined pus to burrow, or to form sinuses.
The foregoing treatment has been proposed because the tincture, when applied by means of a brush, penetrates the hair more quickly, acts quite as energetically, and is less likely to run down upon other parts than the oil of cantharides, which the heat of the body always renders more liquid. It is advised to be used, because it establishes an external inflammation. Inflammations in living bodies, like fires preying upon inanimate substances, have an attraction for each other. All injuries which lead to suppuration likewise have a tendency to move toward the surface; and these two laws, acting together, very probably may tend to the speedier development of poll evil, thereby shortening the sufferings of the animal. Should they not have that effect, the vesicatory is beneficial. About the head of the horse are numerous layers of thin tendon, which are termed fascia. Through this substance matter absorbs its way with difficulty. It is, therefore, almost imprisoned, and motion always disposes the pus to seek new outlets. Thus pipes or sinuses are formed; these constitute one of the worst symptoms attendant upon poll evil.
