If corrosive sublimate is known to have caused the agony, one dozen raw eggs ought to be blended with the drench.
Use discretion in the administration; but repeat the drinks as often and as quickly as can be accomplished without adding to the distress of the horse. Regard the state of the animal, and, if weakness be present, take time when giving the drench. Should delirium be displayed, do not trust to the natural functions; employ Read's pump, with the horse catheter attached, and inject, with all dispatch, the whole quantity at once through the nostril.
HOW TO GIVE PHYSIC, WHEN THE USUAL MODE OF ITS EXHIBITION IS ATTENDED WITH DANGER.
The symptoms of poisoning are various; they are also modified by the strength upon which they act. The annexed list, however, contains the general appearances by which poisoning is announced, though the whole of the symptoms are never simultaneously exhibited: Loathing of all food; extreme thirst; redness of the nasal and conjunctival membranes; discharge of ropy saliva; frequent eructations, which smell pungently fetid; colic, rolling on the ground, pawing, striking at the abdomen, etc.; tucked-up flanks; heaving; panting; small, quick pulse; superpurgation; violent straining; passing of mucus in large quantities; protrusion and inflammation of the opening; glances at the abdomen; prostration of strength; convulsions; madness and death.
And now, whence is derived the source of this evil? It springs from the ignorance of the age. Is it not, at the present day, a common saying, that "intelligence goes begging, while handicraft finds employment?" Goodness, education, and industry cannot, at this time, insure the bread which will support existence. The cunning and the knowingness of the uninformed is much preferred. There is no mystery in the groom's office which might not be acquired in a week. The horse would fare better and be more safe in the custody of a person who possibly might sympathize with its solitude and appreciate its disposition. A higher class of servants would involve a higher rate of wages. But these might be paid, and notwithstanding, the horse proprietor be, in the long run, an evident gainer. To put the wounds inflicted on the sensibility of a feeling man out of the question, it is a heavy misfortune to look upon three or four valuable horses stretched out in death. Add to this, there are other accidents that ignorance, without malice, commits, and all of which must be paid for by the master. Then there are the petty frauds and understandings in which cunning delights, and all of which are indulged at the master's cost. On the other hand, there is the certainty, or all but certainty, that intelligence would perform its duty. The horses would thrive better and last longer when confided to proper custody. The losses, attendant upon ignorance, would be avoided,—not to mention the ease of mind secured by confidence in the probity of the person to whom authority is intrusted. What a mockery it is, to cry up education and then to shun the educated! A stimulus would be given to the ignorant, when it is recognized that the informed will be alone engaged to fill offices of trust.
CHRONIC GASTRITIS.
This affection is more general than is commonly understood. The horse being unable to vomit, of course the first positive proof of disordered stomach cannot be exhibited. Thus, little attention is generally paid to its digestion, when primarily diseased.
Chronic gastritis is usually said to be provoked by rearing upon sour or soft land; but well-bred animals are very often subject to the malady. The ailment is frequently first displayed at the period when the services are esteemed most valuable, or between the fifth and sixth years, long after the mode of rearing must have ceased to operate. The symptoms are various, and hardly ever alike. The stomach may affect the nervous symptom; then, its complications become difficult to disentangle. The affection is mostly declared by an irregularity of bowels and a capriciousness of appetite. The animal starts off violently purging. The looseness stops as suddenly as it commenced. Obstinate costiveness then sets in, and each state can be traced to no obvious reason. The straw or litter may be eaten ravenously, but all the wholesome provender obstinately refused. The dung shows the condition of the appropriating functions; it crumbles upon the slightest force being imposed; it appears to consist of fibers not agglutinated together. Sometimes it is coated with mucus, and always smells abhorrently. A dry cough may be present; the visible membranes are pallid; the mouth feels cool; the breath is tainted; the eyes are sunken; the respiration is catching; the belly is pendulous; the anus is lax and prominent; the coat dry and ragged; while the body quickly becomes emaciated.