Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-11-12
BLINDNESS Az 0Ne HoesEs.
Its Causes and Some hing About PreveI
tiou and Prop Treatment

Its Causes and Some hing About Preven-
tiou and Prop Treatment.
& has been state that blindness is
me re prevalent amor 2 horses in America
tn. among those of other countries. If
tn is the case the causes of the evil
sh, uld be investiga I'd and removed if
po sible without de- Y. 1t is the fact
tn; blindness is mo- prevalent among
no ses in Ohio than those of any other
ser tion of the couI ~. The cases of
blindness are attributed in great meas
u-e to overfeeding, the Ohio horses be-
ing notoriously fat. 1t is g common
practice to force the fat upon horses in
tended for sale by stuffing them princi-
pally with Indian corn, and keeping them
wi hout service in w.rm, close stables.
his method of fee ling soon fattens a
no Sc, but at the san time its digestive
fu ctions are injuret by the treatment.
1t now believed t at blindness can be
tn ced to sympathe ic relation between
dis order of the diges I've organs and the
br in, and that thr, ugh the latter the
op ic nerve becomes diseased and ends
in destroying the vision. Blindness is
ais frequently trans nitted to offspring,
an thus an evil, frs originating in dis
ca e, almost becomes a natural defect by
he editary descent. Errors in feeding
no ses, as is well iown, also produce
bli I'D staggers and O. ganic disease of the
br in, therefore the ;reatest care should
be exercised in feedi 3 them.
IN order to proven the spread of horse
bli 1dness it is recon nended that when
ev the animal sh ws the least symp-
tol Is of the disease i; should be kept on
a light diet of hay and oats. A horse
mi be maintained in good condition on
tw live pounds Of ha. and five pounds of
oa for daily feed. In breeding horses
it also recommend ID that all animals
shr wing the least symptoms of organic
dis ease be rejected.
One of the first symptoms incident to
blindness, which any person may readily
no ice, is the dispos ton of the animal
to -aise his forelegs unnecessarily high,
while, at the same time, the ears are
drawn back and fortn in quick success
sion, and thus giving sure evidence that
the sagacious animal is sounding the
ground over which he travels. These
are the principal ideas advanced by most |
veterinarians respecting the cause of prev
alent horse blindness in our country and |
a mode of arresting the spread of the
evil There are some other causes of
this disease which appear more evident. |
any of which are perfectly capable of
removal Blind horses are more COM
mon in cities than in the rural districts |
This is principally caused by bad sta
bles. Many of them are underground |
cellars, and with few exceptions all
stables are too small. They do not ad
NIT sufficient quantity of fresh air for
ventilation and respiration, and this al
ways tends to injure the health of the
animals. Light is as essential to the
health of horses as that of men, and yet |
most stables are nearly as dark as dun
geons. 1t would be far better for most
of the horses in our cities to be kept in
open sheds than in the stables commonly
provided for them.
! am also positive that eyeblinds on
the harness tend to injure the eyes of
horses, and as they are totally useless
and unsightly appendages they should
be abandoned entirely. The open bride
has become more common, but it should
be universal. Tight, close collars, which
squeeze the eyes of horses in putting
them on, are also very injurious to the
eyes of the animals. have known one
case of permanent injury to the eyes of
an excellent horse from this cause. Car
riage and draft horses should be pro-
vided with divided collars, secured either
at the top or bottom, so that they are not
required to be forced over the heads of
the animals.-New York World.