The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-11-12

in all their varied forms. LAKE ior eAa 40.
ple the air passages. We have laryng.tis,
bronchitis, and pneumonia,-three distinct
diseases-all involving in their primary
stages only simple Inflammation, may pass
into effusion. hepatezation, ulcera ton, NC,
90 VOL in the horse as in the man. How
,,ean then, should be the powers of obser-
vation-how discriminating the Judgment
to he able to determine the seat and pro-
gress of disease.
tits only my desire to suggest to your read
era how absurd it is to suppose that the study
and experience go needful to the physician
can be dispensed with in the case OF .ne
ve,arniarv surgeon, and to expose the
cratic. absurd, and empiric acts of quacS
boree doctors and pretenders, who handle
ond administer drugs, and hack at living
aesb without compromising the parts they
ore interfering with, or having any know
ledge of the medicines they venture to ad-
minister. There is no animal men pretend
TO know more about, and know less about,
than the horse.
Virginia stood prominent as the nursery
for thoroughbred horses consequently Vlr-
pinians have inherited passion for the
noble animal which conduces so much TO
their pleasures and pastimes; yet to me
it seems remarkable and inexplicable, that
when their most useful servant 10 stricken
with disease they ut once summon TO their
aid conglomeration of imbecility. Uncle
Ned the coachman, or Uncle James the
hostler, or some stsble-keeper or sweeper,
is supposed to be the possessor of some
sweet panacea. He or they are ushered
into the presence of the sick animal, with
perhaps q host of advisers, whose opinions
vary widely both as to the nature of the
disease and remedy. After sundry elonga-
ton of faces, mods, and winks (supposed to
be indicative of wisdom), it is agreed upon
as q case of hotts.
Your renders will be surprised when l
declare land defy contradiction by compe-
tent authority that bolts, if present, in no
case ever produced death, or even inconve-
nienced the animal. Some writer's argue
that they prove Of service to the animal,
aiding the cuticular coat in the trituratlon
of the food. (But more of this anon.)
Having agreed upon the cause, the order Is
to bleed. A knife is at once stuck into the
horses mouth and some nostrum given in
tcrnally. The frat with the absurd suppo-
sition that the bolts leave the stomach to
feed upon the blood, the second to expel
the bolts. You can force poison down
horses throat, but you cannot force the
bolts to take it. Or, in other words, you
can poison the horse, but no poison will
affect the bolts. Neither do they feed upon
| the stomach, as these wiseacres suppose.
| The profession of veterinary surgeon Is
thwarted on all sides by these ignoramuses.
see evidences of most arrant quackery
every day in this city. If malpractice
we're punishable here as in England, these
| loud-mouthed braggarts would be sllenced
by the hand Of justice. -.
] an surprised that an intelligent public
are the willing dupes of such suspicious
humbug, and at the same time unloose their
nurse-strincs TO remuneratc fraud. | would
here caution the owners of animals against
entrusting valuable life to such unmiti
gated ignorance. The horse suffering from
disease is an object of commiseration at all
times more especially is he so from the
inveterate siege the doctor lays against his
life. A continuous onslaught Of balls,
drenching, purging, and bleeding is the
routine. If the animal survives, the Doc
tor congratuates himself upon wonderful
cure, and fee for his slciH. If lame, seton
is put in the chest to cure foot lameness or
to cure broken wind, ditto; ditto for pull
monary troubles; the same treatment for
laminitis and navicular thutis commonly
called founder) in goes the inevitable seton
in rheumatism or sweenie, chest-founder,
sc. If ophthalmia, the empiric looks into
the mouth for. wolf teeth as the cause.
In tetanus, where you always get protru-
sion Of the membrane Of the eye "a
premonitory symptom called, by the
ignorant, hooks), the protrusion Of the
membrane is pointed out as the seat of
disease. and cut out. Much to the chagrin
Of the operator, however, the horse does
not improve, and in the course of few
days dies. These fellows mistake symptoms
for cause, and attack them vigorously, but
fail in etfecting q cure. The all-healer
Time accom- plishes the cure; and the
quack, robbing both nature and the owner
(the former of credit, the latter of money!,
largely increases his reputation with every
horse he fails to kill. The majority of the
diseases of the horse are traceable to mans
inattention and stupidity. All intestinal
troubles are caused by mans injudicious
feeding. Too long abstinence from food,
with stables badly ventilated and worse
drained, are also sources OF much evil.
Even over-exertion and consequent ez-
haustion, without proper stable manage
ment, is sure to produce disease.
The horse is the medium of more hum
bug and fraud than any other animal, and
is surrounded by men lcho are given to sharp
practice, who palm off by misrepresenta
ton an unsound animal upon customer
and flatter themselves they are smart.
If a merchant were to pursue the same
line Of conduct, how long would he be pa
tronized Yet these men meet their VIC
Tins with unblushing etfrontery, and ask
further patronage.
These rogues often associate themselves
with low horse doctor, who, through his
supposed knowledge Of the equine race,
help to fleece the public.
The remedy for these fraudulent YAM
pyres is in all cases to protest yourself with
written warranty" or have the animal
examined by veterinary surgeon.
The dealers will not submit quadruped
of known unsoundness to such test, be-
cause in case of rejection the property is
not only deteriorated, but the owner has to
pay for the process, which casts faint
upon his stables; whereas should the ex-
animation be passed, the purchaser takes
the horse and pays for the certificate, which
assures him of its value. This precaution
being taken before the bargain is concluded,
always specify for trial, which alone can
Inform the future master Of matters most
essential to his personal pleasure, but which
no veterinary inspection could discover. 1t
is prudent to attend to these particulars,
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