Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-10-06
To Prevent Pinkeye.

During the past few years owners Of
horses have been large losers of horses
labor and horses lives by a disease
commonly but erroneously called pink
eye. Local horse doctors have ignorant
ly treated it as such, and the owners
have continued to use horses afflicted
with symptoms. thereby losing many
valuable animals that If properfv used
and treated would now be as valuable
as ever. My opinion is that by careful
investigation. every horse that has been
afflicted and suceumbed to it, IL the
truth were known, will be found to have
had disease nearly allied to it, if not
identical with, pneumonia Many horses
have been taken suddenly, while driv-
ing fast, on a sharp, frosty day. while
others have got a cold, seemingly slight
at first, and only showing the usual
symptoms of a simple cold, and their
owners have kept them at work, and in
a short time the horse developed what
was called pinkeye. By carefully follow
ing the disease through its entirecourse,
i think that any intelligent person will
find it almost Identical with pleuro-
pneumonia-all its general weakness,
lassitude, swelling of limbs, want of
appetite, and finally water thrown out
by the overcharged and imperfectly
working vessels OF the system-more
especially the lungs. Why horses
SHOULD be troubled in this way, as never
very generally before. is mystery for
the wise ones to attempt to solve.
The atmosphere may predispose the
horse to it, as it has seemed to cause a
large increase of late years of pneumonia
in genus homo.
The thing for horse owners to do is to
prevent and arrest the disease if possible
in its early stages. First believe
that fast driving on very cold day is
extremely dangerous to q horse, as
several horses in the very act of going
ut high rate of speed on our principal
street during the past winter have
actually given out there and then, and
these horses have not been driven far
enough to distress them in the least in
warm weather. A horse in the stable
where i had good one wintering was
taken, and they just saved him. On in
curing of the owner if he had been
driven fast, he said: mot to nv
knowledge;" but on further inquiry 1
found that his hired boy had been try
ing his speed in the farmer milk team.
/ believe that in almost every instance
similar circumstances will be found to
be the prime cause. and the horse has
been kept to his work instead of being
kept in stable away from draughts OF
air, dosed with good tonic and fed on
light food, till he shows strong symp-
toms of returning appetite. Fora tonic
shall nanre something that will sur
prise most, if not all, of YOUR readers.
II is a strong tincture of quinine. made
from alcohol, water, and quinine
powders.
Give the horse heavy doses three or
four times during the day and evening,
and keep in warm place with light
food. as / said before.
The action of the quinine is similar to
that in the human being-a preventive
of fever, gentle tonic and stimulant,
thus assisting nature to throw off the
cold in natural way.
BY taken these precautions / believe
many valuable horses would be saved,
and the so-called ''pinkeye'' would be
rarely known.-Cor. WatJdce's Monthly.