THE EYES--THEIR ACCIDENTS AND THEIR DISEASES.
SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA.
[Illustration: SOME OF THE RESULTS OF IMPERFECT VISION.]
The following engraving illustrates some of the accidents which attend
upon injured sight in the horse. The eyes are probably more important
to the safety and pleasure of the master than any other portion of the
quadruped's frame. Let the smallest impediment exist, and there is no
telling in what way it may operate. Certain horses are most affected
by near objects; others exhibit alarm only when bodies are approaching
them; another class of creatures will look upon most forward sights with
indifference, but will invariably be horror-struck whenever the view is
extensive; while a fourth group will shy violently without mortal vision
being able to recognize any cause for terror. In every case, the dread
excited overmasters all other feelings. The presence of extreme fear
releases the horse from the dominion of its proprietor; its movements are
sudden, jerking, and eccentric; the animal has lost all self-control, and
there is no saying in what direction it may move or what it may attempt to
do. It is regardless of its own life, therefore it is careless about the
welfare of others, and he is very fortunate who possesses such a servant
and escapes without accident.
There is no cure for a disposition depending upon a change of structure;
but there may be a preventive. Would all horse-owners preserve their
tempers and forbear from slashing a horse over the head, they would be
vast gainers in a pecuniary sense, and would certainly escape very many of
those ills now commonly attendant upon equestrian exercises.
Whoever has a shying horse had better discard the creature from all
private uses. Send the animal to some work in which the habit will be
accompanied with less danger, or never allow the quadruped to quit
the stable without having the sight securely blinded. Such things are
necessary; but the feeling man, when he considers how much the exercise
of the senses sweeten mere animal existence, will sigh over the order
which compels him to deprive a horse of that which the common sense of the
English has denominated "precious sight."
=Simple ophthalmia= is inflammation of the fine membrane which covers
the horse's eye; it reaches no deeper, it does not affect the internal
structures of the organ, and it is not so much to be dreaded in its
immediate as in its after consequences. It is caused by accident and by
the violence of man.
As the reader has walked the streets, he surely must have seen men indulge
their temper by cutting a horse over the head with the whip. The animal
capers about and shakes the ears, endeavoring to avoid the chastisement;
the man becomes more enraged; the reins are pulled tight, while the master
stands up in the gig, and for minutes continues chastising a creature that
is bound to the shafts and comparatively at his mercy. Were the horse,
thus tortured, to run away, the person who abused his authority would
have provoked a severe retribution; but the animal has no such intention.
The fault may be far more imaginary than real. The timidity of the horse
prevents it from willfully inviting the dreaded lash; possibly the offense
resides more with the individual invested with trust over life than with
the creature that patiently submits to most unworthy control. At all
events, the thong curls about the face; now it cuts the lips, in which
the sense of touch resides; the pain is maddening, the horse capers and
shakes its head, striving to avoid a repetition of the torture. The next
slash, however, turns sharply round the blinkers and lights upon the eye;
the horse is held tight, the man feels happy, he has discovered a tender
place; the whip is plied again and again, always falling true. It hits
the mark. When the animal reaches home, the lid of one eye is closed, and
many tears have wetted the cheek, while scars remain after the immediate
consequences have passed; the vision is interfered with, and timidity
becomes an inveterate shyer.
Also, from the manner in which the rack is placed, a hay-seed frequently
falls into the eye. The hay is always kept in the loft above the stables,
and a narrow trap-door opens into the rack. This is very convenient for
the groom; how could any architect be so very "maudlin" as to design a
stable with the slightest consideration for a horse? At every mouthful
the head has to be raised and the provender pulled out; probably, human
ingenuity could not invent a machine more likely to be attended with
injury. The head uplifted, the eye open to direct the bite, the dry
grass shaken to pull out the morsel, of course the loose particles are
dislodged, and what wonder if one of the hay-seeds should fall into the
open eye? This body is small, dry, harsh, and sharp; moved about by the
motion of the lid it commits fearful ravages upon the tender organ to
which it has found admittance, and simple ophthalmia is the consequence.
Man is too proud to learn from nature, or he might observe horses always
depress their heads when in the field. The common parent, with care for
all her children's comfort, makes the animal stoop to crop the herbage;
man causes the creature to upraise and outstretch the neck to reach its
sustenance. However, the horse is not always free from accidents when it
quits the stall. Carters often amuse the weary way by striking what they
term a "stubborn and foolish horse" over the head with the butt end of
the whip. This action, though most irritating to witness, is generally
less important in its results than any of the injuries previously remarked
upon. The lid shields the eye; consequently, a largely swollen covering
and a slightly injured membrane are the consequences.
Many brutal drivers have "a happy nack" of kicking at the head of a fallen
animal to make it rise. This act may extinguish vision or provoke simple
ophthalmia; but, it is hoped, all such are exceptional cases, therefore
these are willingly not remarked upon.
Frequently horses try to while away the long hours of confinement by
playing with one another; one horse will lean its head over the division
to the stalls and for hours together lick its fellow prisoner's neck.
Sometimes a day's rest begets high spirits, and the animals indulge in
a more boisterous amusement; they bite and snap at one another's heads.
Domestication has, however, disabled the creature to nicely measure
distances; standing all day long with the nose close to a glaring white
wall has probably impaired the vision. One horse projects its teeth too
far; they simply graze the eye; but a small flap of membrane is the
consequence. The bite of an enraged horse is fearful; and were not the
animal gently inclined, more than a minute portion of fine skin would
testify its intention. Simple ophthalmia, accompanied with a small abscess
upon the cornea, is the result.
The treatment of simple ophthalmia is somewhat homely. Put on a bridle, or
a leather head-stall; or a halter will answer the purpose; fasten a cord
loosely to either side, so that it may cross the forehead; on this line
suspend a cloth several times doubled; but, mind it is large enough to
cover both eyes, for the visual organs are so sympathetic, that when one
is inflamed the other is very likely to exhibit disease. Keep the cloth
continually dripping with the following lotion.
[Illustration: A READY MODE OF BLINDING A HORSE, AND OF APPLYING A LOTION
TO THE EYES IN SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA.]
Fill a two-quart saucepan with poppy heads, cover these with water; boil,
till the poppy heads are quite soft; pour off the liquor, strain, filter,
and, adding thereto one ounce of tincture of arnica, the preparation, when
cold, is fit for use.
On the first morning, an inspection should be gently attempted; for the
eye is generally so very tender, and the animal so resistful, that no
examination at that time is generally satisfactory. On the following day,
however, the lotion will have reduced the swelling, mitigated the agony,
and have enabled the horse to be more obedient; then make another and a
thorough examination. The skin upon the eye will be white and opaque,
the lining of the lid inflamed, while numerous tears will pour down the
cheek according to the severity of the injury. Remove any substance found
underneath the eyelid. If the hay-seed or sharp particle shaken from
the provender stick firmly into the outer covering of the eye, grasp it
tightly with a pair of forceps, and endeavor to pull it out. Should it
be fixed too deeply for any ordinary force to move it, do not exert all
your power, but take a sharp-pointed knife, which is better than a lancet,
because more under command, and placing its tip below the obstacle, with
a motion, of the wrist oblige it to quit its situation or to come forth
between the ends of the forceps.
[Illustration: AN EYE RECENTLY AFFECTED WITH SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA.]
Should a flap of the cornea be left by a bite, probably pus will be
secreted beneath it; the place must be watched till the local inflammation
has subsided, and a spot of yellow, opaque matter can be detected under
the transparent membrane. With a slight incision the pus must be released
and the eye bathed with a lotion composed of water and chloride of zinc,
one grain to the ounce.
Other cases will rather be known by the variety of marks left behind than
by any difference in their necessary treatment. A lotion is generally
everything required; however, should the inflammation become excessive,
it may be necessary to open the eye-vein or the vessel which, journeying
toward its larger trunk, runs directly beneath and from the eye. When this
prominent and visible vein is pierced, it frequently, although distended,
will not bleed. Then place some favorite food upon the ground,--the
bending of the head and the movement of the jaw will cause the current to
flow forth freely.
It is among the most beautiful attributes of the horse, that though so
very timid, it never suspects nor can it understand actual injury. Thus,
the flowing of its own blood does not affect it; it is otherwise with
other animals not more intelligent. If a dog or cat be hurt, no delicacy
can tempt the creature to feed. The horse, when in battle deprived of its
limb, is so accustomed to restraint and so unsuspicious of harm, that
it has been found, after the strife was ended, maimed, and yet cropping
the herbage about it. The generous beast, when domesticated, retains its
gentle disposition, and soon forgets to recognize danger; it becomes
attached to its superior, and though its treatment be coarse and its usage
brutal, it can pardon all.
[Illustration: HORSE'S EYE INJURED BY THE LASH.]
The consequences of simple ophthalmia are little, white, opaque spots upon
the membrane. Streaks of the same sort are occasionally left upon the
organ by the abuse of the whip; the amount of blemish, of course, will be
decided by the original injury. Never purchase an animal thus disfigured;
better buy a blind horse. The opaque places prevent many rays of light
from reaching the optic nerve; the sight is irreparably impaired the horse
sees imperfectly; it may behold the head of a man, while the opaque scar
conceals the body. Timidity takes alarm at the apparently spectral object.
It has no reason to explain, and it wants intelligence to understand. The
poor abused quadruped becomes a dangerous shyer.
SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.
Before we touch upon the subject which forms the heading to this article,
we wish to establish one proposition, because it will smooth the way to an
understanding between author and reader.
Man cannot make a property of life; he has no power over its continuance;
it may cease to-morrow without his permission and against his wishes;
it is removed from and independent of his control. Man can have nothing
like a property in that which is altogether above his sway. He then,
obviously, has no right to enslave any living creature, and take no care
of the existence which he has deprived of liberty to provide for itself.
When he captures a wild animal and retains it in captivity, he entails
upon himself the duty of providing for its wants, and becomes answerable
for its welfare. He violently usurps nature's province--obviously, he
adopts nature's obligations; if he rebel against such a moral contract
and persist in viewing dominion as absolute authority, as something which
invests him with power to feed or starve at his pleasure, house or turn
into the air according to his will, nature opposes such arrogance, and,
releasing the life by death, takes the oppressed creature from the tyranny
of the oppressor.
Under some such compact the horse is given to man. The implied, not
written obligation, may not be acknowledged or understood; but,
nevertheless, it exists, and the terms of the bond are rigidly exacted.
Let us regard this matter in relation to specific ophthalmia. A gentleman
possesses five horses; he builds a stable twenty feet long, twelve feet
wide, and nine feet high; into this place he crams the five huge lives.
We will suppose the place to be good of its kind, to be paved with Dutch
clinkers and to be perfectly drained; still each horse stands in a stall
four feet wide; in this it has to remain all night and the major portion
of the day. In this space it has to relieve its body; the liquid, to be
sure, may run off by the drain, but it has to fall upon straw, which
imbibes some, and to flow over bricks, which absorb more; the solid
excrement is during the day removed by the groom as it falls, but it
remains in an open basket to taint the air of the place. We will suppose
the horses and their attendants, occasionally, are the sole inhabitants,
and the building contains none of those things, living and otherwise,
which ladies are pleased to order should "be carried into the stable."
[Illustration: THE SPECIES OF EYE WHICH IS GENERALLY SUPPOSED TO BE MOST
LIABLE TO OPHTHALMIA.]
Will the sane reader assert that the space is large enough for its
purposes? The stable never can be sufficiently ventilated: it will
smell of impurity--of hay, straw, oats, ammonia, and of various other
things. The air feels hot. Can it be wondered at? Ten large lungs have
been breathing it for weeks and years, during twenty out of every
twenty-four hours. Five huge creatures have been cabined there, living
by day, sleeping by night, feeding and performing all the other offices
of nature. Is it astonishing that the air feels and smells close? Ought
we not rather to wonder that animal life can exist in such an atmosphere?
The chief contamination is ammonia; ammonia will not support vitality.
The reader has inhaled smelling salts; those are purified carbonate of
ammonia; have these not made the eyes water? The ammonia of the stable
affects the eye of the horse; it also undermines the constitution; but,
by constantly entering upon the lungs and stimulating the eyes, it causes
the constitutional disease to first affect the visual organs; in short,
specific ophthalmia is generated.
Now, to prove the case here stated. In the south of Ireland, where poverty
prevails, humanity is obliged to shelter itself in strange places, and
any hole is there esteemed good lodging for a horse. In that part of the
kingdom ophthalmia affects the majority of animals; it not only preys
on horses, but it seizes upon mankind; for the author, a few years ago,
was much struck by the quantity of blind beggars to be encountered in
the streets of Cork. Here we have the conclusion of the argument; its
moral exemplified and enforced. If animals are foully housed and poorly
kept, they generate disorders, which at length extend to the human race;
therefore he who contends for a better treatment of the horse, also
indirectly pleads for the immunity of mankind from certain diseases. Man
cannot hold life as a property, or abuse life without his ill deeds by the
ordinances of nature recoiling on himself.
=Specific ophthalmia= is a constitutional disease affecting the eyes; it
has been submitted to all kinds of rude treatment; no cruelty but has been
experimented with; no barbarity but has been resorted to. It has been
traced to various sources; its origin has been frequently detected; but
the real cause of the disease, to this day, has not been recognized. The
veterinary surgeon is often sent for to just look at a horse which "has
got a hay-seed in its eye." This mistake is very common, as ophthalmia
generally breaks forth during the long night hours, while the stable is
made secure and the confined air is foulest. The groom sees an animal with
a pendant, swollen lid, and with a cheek bedewed by copious tears; he can
imagine only an accident; but the medical examiner must obey the summons
with an unprejudiced mind, because simple ophthalmia is a mere misfortune,
specific ophthalmia is a constitutional disorder.
[Illustration: THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.]
The veterinary surgeon, firstly, in the groom's convictions, makes a
grievous mistake. He goes up to the horse on the opposite side to the
affection; being there, he takes the pulse, remarks the breathing,
observes the coat, feels the feet, examines the mouth, and looks at the
nasal membrane. If simple ophthalmia be present, some of these may be
altered from long-endured pain; but if specific ophthalmia exist, the
general disturbance denotes a constitutional disorder. The pulse is hard,
the breathing sharp, the coat staring, the feet cold, the mouth clammy,
and the nasal membrane inflamed or leaden-colored.
[Illustration: RAISING THE UPPER LID OF AN EYE AFFECTED WITH SPECIFIC
OPHTHALMIA.]
The horse is next ordered round to the stable window, with the diseased
eye toward the light. A pretense is then made of forcing the lid open;
if simple ophthalmia be present, the resistance is energetic, but not
violent. Should specific ophthalmia be the affection, the horse struggles
against the intimation with the wildness of timidity, striving to escape
a terrible torture. The animal is, there-upon, brought into some shady
corner; its fears are allayed, and it permits the lid to be raised with
little difficulty. Should the eye have been injured by an accident,
the most prominent part of the ball is likely to be hurt. The internal
structures are unaffected; the pupil generally is larger than usual, and
the iris is unchanged. The haw may be or may not be projected; but the
color, form, and aspect of the iris is unaltered. During the commencement
of specific ophthalmia, the center of the cornea may be transparent, but
the circumference of the ball is violently inflamed; the reason being
that a constitutional disorder always first attacks the more vascular
structures, and, therefore, commences in the loose conjunctiva, covering
the white of the globe. In specific ophthalmia, the color of the eye has
changed to a lighter hue, and the pupillary opening is firmly closed, to
prevent the entrance of the dreaded light.
[Illustration:
DIAGRAM OF THE EYE IN SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA. THE DARK LINE INDICATES THE
EXTENT TO WHICH HAW MAY PROTRUDE.]
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE HORSE'S EYE WHEN SUFFERING FROM SPECIFIC
OPHTHALMIA.]
Weakness increases as specific ophthalmia progresses. The attack, however,
is seldom stationary; the eye first involved may suddenly become clear and
healthy, and the opposite organ may exhibit the ravage of the disease;
thus, the affection keeps rapidly moving about; when it suddenly quits
both eyes, the inflammation commonly fixes upon some distant part of
the body, as the lungs or feet. No one can predicate how short will
be its stay or how long the attack may last; it has disappeared in a
week, it has continued two months. It seldom reaches its climax during
the first assault. It will occur again and again; generally it ends in
the destruction of one or both eyes; but never, so far as the author's
knowledge extends, causes gutta serena. Like scrofulous affections in the
human being, which it greatly resembles, it generally is the inheritance
of youth; after maturity or after the eighth year has been attained, it is
rarely witnessed.
When this terrible affliction visits a stable, let the proprietor firmly
oppose all active measures. A shed ought to be procured, cool or shady,
and screened on every side, excepting on the north. Every hole, however
minute, should be stopped, because light shines through a small opening
with a force proportioned to its diminutiveness. The stars and candles in
the once popular London Diorama were only small holes cut in the canvas.
The eye-vein is then to be opened, and the lid, if much enlarged,
punctured in several places; when the bleeding has ceased, a cloth,
saturated in cold water, is to be put over both eyes. As to other
remedies, they must be regulated by the condition of the animal. Should it
be poor, oats and beans, ground and scalded; cut green meat; gruel made
of hay-tea, etc., should be given. No dry fodder must be allowed; all the
provender must be so soft that mastication may be dispensed with. The
movement of the jaw, sending blood to the head, is highly injurious during
an attack of specific ophthalmia.
Let the following ball be given twice, daily:--
Powdered colchicum Two drachms.
Iodide of iron One drachm.
Calomel One scruple.
Make into a ball with extract of gentian.
Observe the teeth while this physic is being taken. The author has taken
twenty-five grains of calomel daily, for a month, with impunity; lately,
he was slightly salivated by two grains, when not expecting any effect.
Mercury, therefore, operates in accordance with the system; it is strong
or weak as the body is sickly or robust.
Should the animal be fat, do not therefore conclude that it is strong;
obesity is always accompanied with debility. But if the horse be a hunter
or a racer, in training condition, still give the medicine prescribed,
with soft food, not quite so stimulating, and the ball twice daily.
However, as soon as the medicine begins to take effect, which it will do
soonest upon the weakly, change it for:--
Liquor arsenicalis Three ounces.
Muriated tincture of iron Five ounces.
Mix, and give half an ounce in a tumbler of water twice daily.
Do not bother about the bowels; endeavor to regulate them by mashes and
with green meat; if they should not respond, do not resort to more active
measures. Should the pulse be increased, a scruple of tincture of aconite
root may be administered every hour, in a wineglass of water; should the
pain appear to be excessive, the like amount of extract of belladonna may
be rubbed down in a similar quantity of water, and be given at the periods
already stated; only always be content with doing one thing at a time.
Thus reduce the pulse, for, with the lowering of the vascular action, the
agony may become less intense; however, so long as the beats of the artery
are not more in a minute than sixty-five, and not very thin or hard, the
aconite should be withheld, for during an acutely painful disorder the
heart must be in some degree excited.
The grand measure, however, remains to be told. Remove every horse from
the stable in which the attack occurred; then elevate the roof, widen
the gangway, and enlarge the stalls; improve the ventilation, overlook
the drains, lay down new pavement--in fact, reconstruct the edifice.
It is felt that, in giving these directions, a proposal is offered to
demolish a building. The author is fully alive to the expense of such a
transaction; but one valuable horse will pay for a great deal of bricks
and mortar. Experience has decided that the most humane way is, in the
long run, the cheapest method of proceeding. Ophthalmia is a teasing and
a vexatious disorder. If the owner has no feeling with the inhabitants of
his homestead, still let him study his own comfort, for it is astonishing
how very much good stabling adds to the appearance and to the happiness of
a mansion.
Specific ophthalmia does not terminate in death; it usually leaves the
victim blind in one or both eyes. In England, however, it is mostly
satisfied with the destruction of one organ; the strength of the other
becoming, after its departure, considerably improved. At the same time,
having caused the lids to swell, it leaves them in a wrinkled or a
puckered state; the remaining eye is likewise somewhat sensitive to light.
To gain in some measure the shadow of the brow, and to escape the full
glare of day, the eye is retracted; all the muscles are employed to gain
this end, but the power of the levator of the upper lid causes the eye to
assume somewhat of a three-cornered aspect.
It is always desirable to recognize the animal which may be or may have
been liable to so fearful an affection. One symptom of having experienced
an attack is discovered on the margin of the transparent cornea. The
inflammation extends from the circumference to the center. The margin
of the transparent ball is generally the last place it quits; here it
frequently leaves an irregular line of opacity altogether different to and
distinct from the evenly-clouded indication of the cornea's junction with
the sclerotic, which last is natural development.
[Illustration: AN EYE DISPLAYING THE RAVAGES OF SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.]
Nevertheless, the internal structure best display the ravages of specific
ophthalmia; it is upon these the terrible scourge exhausts its strength.
The eye becomes cloudy; loses its liquid appearance; the black bodies
attached to the edges of the pupillary opening either fall or seem about
to leave their natural situation. The pupil becomes turbid, then white;
the iris grows light in color, and at last remains stationary, having
previously been morbidly active. The whiteness of the pupil grows more
and more confirmed, and every part grows opaque; by this circumstance,
the total cataract, arising from specific ophthalmia, is frequently to
be challenged. The lens, moreover, is often driven, by the force of the
disease, from its position; it lodges against the inner surface of the
globe. Very common is a torn or ragged state of the pupil witnessed, as
was stated, during the intensity of the attack, for the iris contracts
to exclude the light; remaining thus for any period, it becomes attached
to the capsule of the lens; when the disease mitigates, it often rends
its own structure by its efforts to expand. Should those efforts prove
unavailing, the pupillary opening, as sometimes happens, is lost forever.
[Illustration: TERMINATION TO SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.]
In the previous description of disorder, no mention has been made of the
cartilago nictitans, or haw, or third eyelid, as it has been called. This
thin body is very active, and resides at the inner corner of the eye;
of course, in a disease under which the eye is pained by light, the haw
is protruded to the utmost. In ophthalmia, however, it is covered by an
inflamed membrane, and though in health its movements are so rapid that
it may easily escape notice, yet in this disease it lies before the eye,
red and swollen; this substance it was once common for farriers to excise,
under a foolish notion of removing the cause of the disorder.
The use of the cartilago nictitans in the healthy eye will now be
explained. Let the reader inspect any of the illustrations to this
article; he will find the outer corner represented as being much higher
than the inner corner of the eye, where the active little body resides.
Under the upper lid, near to the outer corner, is situated the lachrymal
gland, which secretes the water or tears of the eye.
Suppose any substance "gets into the eye;" being between two layers of
conjunctiva, it creates much anguish, it provokes constant motion of
the lid, which in its turn causes the lachrymal gland to pour forth its
secretion. Liquid flowing over a smooth globe of course gravitates; the
substance "in the eye" is thus partly washed and partly pushed toward the
inner corner.
Now, the base of the cartilago nictitans rests upon the fat at the back of
the eye. Pain causes the globe to be retracted by spasmodic jerks; adipose
matter cannot be compressed, and it is therefore driven forward every time
the muscles act. The fat carries with it the cartilago nictitans, and the
edge of the body being very fine and lying close to the globe, shovels up
any foreign substance that may be within its reach, to place it upon the
rounded development at the inner corner of the eye. Still may the reader
inquire, if the cartilago nictitans is covered with conjunctival membrane,
and the inner corner of the eye is enveloped in the same, does not the
foreign substance occasion pain to these as it did to the globe of the
eye? No; it was just hinted that conjunctiva is not sensitive except two
layers of the membrane are together, as the ball and the inner surface
of the eyelid. The haw, therefore, has no sensation upon its external
surface, neither has the inner corner of the eye, whence all foreign
bodies are quickly washed by the overflow of tears.
Farriers, however, are not an extinct race; many of the fraternity still
exist, still practice, and are, it is to be feared, very little improved.
Should one of these gentlemen offer to cure specific ophthalmia, it is
hoped the owner, after the foregoing explanation, will not allow the "haw"
to be excised.
Let every man treat the animals over which he is given authority
with kindness, as temporary visitors with himself upon earth, and
fellow-inhabitants of a striving world. Let him look around him; behold
the owner of a coveted and highly-prized racer to-day, in a week reduced
to the possessor of a blind and wretched jade; then ask himself what kind
of property that is to boast of, which may be deteriorated or taken from
him without his sanction? Having answered that question, let him inquire
whether it is better to propitiate the higher being by showing tenderness
toward his creatures, or to defy the power which can in an instant snatch
away his possessions.
CATARACT.
=Cataract= is a white spot within the pupillary opening. The spot may be
indistinct or conspicuous,--soft, undefined or determined; it may be as
small as the point of a needle, or so big as to fill the entire space: in
short, any indication of whiteness or opacity upon the pupil is regarded
as a cataract.
[Illustration: PARTIAL CATARACTS, OR SMALL WHITE SPECK WITHIN THE PUPIL OF
THE EYE.]
Cataracts are designated according to the parts on which they reside. The
lens of the eye is contained within a capsule, as an egg is within its
shell. Any whiteness upon this capsule is termed a =capsular cataract=.
The lens floats in a liquor which surrounds it, as the white does the yolk
of an egg. Any turbidness in this fluid is termed a =milky cataract=; any
speck upon the lens is a =lenticular cataract=; and any little glistening
appearance behind the capsule is spoken of as a =spurious cataract=.
Moreover, there are the =osseous=, the =cartilaginous=, and the =opaque
cataracts=; but those distinctions rather concern the anatomist than the
pathologist, as they may be guessed at, yet are not to be distinguished
with certainty one from another, during life.
That which more concerns the reader is, to learn the manner, if possible,
of preventing cataract from disfiguring his horse's eyes. Then will the
gentleman be kind enough to hold a sheet of white paper close to his
nose, so that the eyes may see nothing else, for a single half hour. Let
us suppose the trial has been made. With many people the head has become
dizzy and the sight indistinct. In some persons singing noises are heard
and a sensation of sickness has been created. Let the author strive to
explain this fact. Travelers, passing over the Alps, wear green veils,
to prevent the strain or excitement which looking upon a mass of white
snow occasions the visual organs. Any excitement is prejudicial to the
eye. Workers at trades dealing in minute objects, often go blind, and
the use of the microscope has frequently to be discontinued. But to look
continuously upon a white mass is the most harmful of all other causes.
This fact must be considered as established. And what does the horse
proprietor have done to his stable? He orders the interior to be
whitewashed. It looks so clean, he delights to see it; but do the
horses--does nature equally enjoy to look upon those walls of "spotless
purity?" Before those walls, with its head tied to the manger, stands the
animal through the hours of the day. Close to its nose shines the painful
whiteness which the master so enjoys. Is it, then, surprising (seeing how
nature for its own wise purposes has connected all life) that the equine
eye, doomed to perpetual excitement, sometimes shows disease?
A horse with imperfect vision is a dangerous animal. A small speck upon
the lens confuses the sight as much as a comparatively large mark upon the
cornea. To render this clear, let the reader hold a pen close to the eye;
it prevents more vision than yonder huge post obstructs. So impediments
are important, as they near the optic nerve. The lens is nearer than the
cornea, and therefore any opacity upon the first structure is more to be
dreaded.
However, let it be imagined a horse, with an opacity upon the pupil, and
the sight confused by staring at a white flat mass spread out before it,
is led forth for its master's use. By the aid of the groom and its own
recollections, it manages to tread the gangway, and even to reach the
well-known house door in safety. The owner, an aged gentleman, of the
highest respectability, comes forth in riding costume. He mounts, and
throwing the reins upon the neck of the animal, sets his nag into walking
motion, while he, erect and stately, looks about him and proceeds to pull
on his gloves. The horse, however, has not gone many steps before the
cataract and the confused vision, acting conjointly, produce alarm. The
steed shies and the gentleman loses his seat, being very nearly off. The
passengers laugh, the proprietor suffers in his temper, but the whip is
used, and the equestrian is soon out of sight.
The man and horse proceed some distance; the gentleman becomes much
more calm, and the horse recovers sufficient composure to try and look
around it. The pace now is rather brisk, when the horse thinks, or its
disabled vision causes it to imagine, it sees some frightful object in
the distance. The timid animal suddenly wheels round. The rider is not
prepared for the eccentric motion: he is shot out of the saddle. He falls
upon his head; he is picked up and carried home; but afterward he avoids
the saddle.
Never buy the horse with imperfect vision; never have the interior of
your stable whitewashed. Then what color is to be employed? Probably
blue would absorb too many of the rays of light; at all events, it seems
preferable to copy nature. Green is the livery of the fields. In these the
eyes take no injury, although the horse's head be bent toward the grass
for the greater number of the hours. Consequently, the writer recommends
that green wash, which is cheap enough, should be employed, instead of the
obnoxious white, for the interior of stables.
[Illustration: COMPLETE CATARACT.]
For complete cataract nothing can be done. In man, operation or couching
may be performed with success; but the horse can retract the eye and
protrude the cartilago nictitans. Thereby difficulties are created; but
these may be overcome. However, when an opening through the cornea is
perfected, the spasmodic contraction of the muscles of the eye, acting
upon the fibrous covering of the globe, is apt to drive forth the liquid
contents of the organ in a jet: this is irreparable, of course. When so
fearful a catastrophe does not ensue, still the capsule of the lens is
always difficult to divide, and the lens itself cannot easily be broken
down. The lens, therefore, must be abstracted; but that necessitates
a large incision, which the previously named probability forbids.
Displacement is the only resort left; but the lens, when forced from its
situation into the posterior or dark cavity, is, by the contraction of the
muscles, forced up again. The uncertainty of the result, even when the
operation is successfully performed, is peculiarly disheartening. Half
lose their eyes in consequence of the attempt; half the remainder are in
no way benefited; to the rest, as these cannot wear spectacles to supply
the place of the absent lens, of course the pain endured becomes useless
torture.
Where partial cataract is feared but cannot be detected, then artificially
dilate the pupil. Rub down two drachms of the extract of belladonna in one
ounce of water. Have this applied, with friction, to the exterior of the
lids and about the eye; mind none gets into the eye. The belladonna, acted
upon by the secretions, turns to grit; inflammation is the consequence,
and the clearness of the cornea is impaired. When the belladonna is
properly used, it dilates the iris and exposes the margin of the lens,
thus enabling the practitioner to inspect the eye in a full light.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE ACTION OF BELLADONNA.
The inner space represents the natural pupil, on which no cataract
is to be observed. The second space represents the pupillary opening
as it may be enlarged by the application of belladonna, whereon
two partial cataracts are to be remarked. The other space merely
represents the dilated pupil.
]
To tell a spurious cataract, which defect is never permanent, first
observe the spot. Note if it present any metallic appearance, and try
whether, as the horse's head is moved, it alters in shape, catching
irregular lights. Then inspect the exterior of the eye; see if it retain
any signs of recent injury. Subsequently endeavor, so far as may be
possible, to ascertain the exact position occupied by the defect: upon
all this evidence put together, make up your opinion.
To distinguish between the different kinds of cataract, apply the
belladonna. Next place the horse near a window or under a door. Should the
sun shine, have the animal led into the full glare of day. Look steadily
into the eye from different points of view. Then have the horse's head
moved about, all the time keeping your sight fixed upon the part you are
desirous of inspecting.
Should one spot continue in every position, of one bulk, and of one
aspect, never becoming very narrow and always occupying one place
throughout the examination,--it is a lenticular cataract that is beheld.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CATARACT.
1. A capsular cataract or an opacity, situated on the envelope of
the lens.
2. A lenticular cataract or an opacity, within the substance of the
lens.
3. A spurious cataract, or a particle of lymph adhering to the inner
surface of the lenticular capsule.
]
If the whiteness changes appearances, in some positions seeming very thin
or perceptibly less bulky, it is assuredly a capsular cataract which is
inspected.
Most cataracts may either be partial or complete; but a spurious cataract
is always partial, never permanent, and invariably caused by violence.
For spurious cataract, treat the injury to the exterior of the eye. For
other cataracts, do nothing: there is no known medicine of any beneficial
effect. However, it is well to add, the author's and the general opinion
favors the absorption of cataract; or that these opacities may appear and
after a time go away without the aid of medicine. Nevertheless, to hasten
such a process, have the interior of the stable colored. However much
in favor a clean white wall may be with grooms or with the lower order,
exercise an informed judgment; have the wall shaded of the tint most
pleasant to the inhabitants' sight, and the prospect of recovery will by
so trivial an outlay be materially facilitated.
FUNGOID TUMORS WITHIN THE SUBSTANCE OF THE EYE.
These, fortunately, are rare affections. We know of no immediate cause
for their production. No man can prophesy their appearance. The horse,
to human judgment, may enjoy the top of health; may be in flesh and full
of spirit--altogether blooming. Nevertheless, the action of the legs may
perceptibly grow higher, and the ears become more active. The animal will
wait to be urged or guided, when the road is clear. Also, it may run
into obstacles, when the rider does not touch the rein. Should anything
be left in the gangway of the stable, it is certain to be upset, by
what the groom terms "that clumsy horse." Sometimes it will stand for
hours together neglecting its food, with the head held piteously on one
side. Occasionally, when at grass, it may be found separated from its
companions, alone and dejected, with the head as before, held on one side,
while the waters of the eye copiously bedew the cheek.
[Illustration:
FUNGUS HÆMATOIDES, OR CANCEROUS GROWTHS WITHIN THE SUBSTANCE OF THE
EYE.
]
At last the eyes are examined. The eyeball may be clear, but some
brilliant yellow substance may be discerned shooting from the base of the
interior, and the horse is declared contaminated by a cancerous disease.
All is now explained: the sight is lost; the horse is blind. There are
three terrible decisions now left to the master. Is the life to be
shortened? The thought shudders at taking existence, when misery pleads
for consolation. Is the animal to live on and nurture to maturity the
seeds of a cancerous disease? The mind shrinks from subjecting any
creature to the terrible depression and hopeless agony attendant upon such
disorders. Is an operation to be performed? Shall the surgeon extirpate
the eye? This last proposal seems the worst of all; nor does inquiry
improve the prospect. The cancer does not entirely reside within the eye;
it is not limited to that part. The taint is in the constitution, and the
operation can do no more than retard its effect. The eye removed, the
cancerous growth will soon fill the vacant orbit. After two or several
months of dreadful suspense, the life at last will be exacted, and the
animal, worn out with suffering, will expire.
Under such circumstances, the writer recommends death, before the full
violence of the disease is endured. Should, however, the reader think
differently, and prefer the extirpation of the eyeball, the operation will
here be described. First, mind the operator has two knives not generally
kept by veterinary surgeons: one of small size and slightly bent to one
side; the other larger, and curved to one side till it has nearly reached
a semicircle. Mind the operator has everything ready before he begin:
a sharp scalpel, two straight triangular-pointed needles, each armed
with strong twine; one curved needle, similarly provided; sponge, water,
injecting tube, bellows, lint,--and all things at hand. It is necessary
the proprietor should see to this, as some men will commence an operation
upon a mere horse and be obliged to stop in the middle, not having brought
all the instruments which they may require.
Cast the horse. Impale both eyelids, each with one of the straight
needles, and leave the assistant to tie the thread into loops. Through
these loops the assistant places the fore-finger of each hand, and then
looks toward his superior. The sign being given, the man pulls the eyelid
asunder, while the surgeon rapidly grasps the straight knife and describes
a circle round the globe, thereby sundering the conjunctival membrane. The
knife is then changed, the small curved blade being taken. The assistant
again makes traction, and the knife, being passed through the divided
conjunctiva, is carried round the eyeball, close to the bone; the levator
and depressor muscles are detached by this movement. The assistant again
relaxes his hold the operator relinquishing the knife, selects the curved
needle. With this the cornea is transfixed. The thread is drawn through
and is then looped. Into this loop the surgeon puts the fore-finger of
his left hand, and giving the sign once more to his assistant, takes hold
of the large bladed knife. Traction is made on all the loops. The curved
knife is inserted into the orbit, and, with a sawing motion, is passed
round the organ. The posterior structures are thereby divided, and the eye
is drawn forth.
[Illustration: EXTIRPATION OF THE EYE.]
The operation ought to be over in less time than five minutes; but speed
depends on previous preparation. The assistant, during the operation,
should rest his hand upon the horse's jaw and face; sad accidents by that
means are prevented; but, above all things, he should be cool, doing just
what is sufficient and no more.
Some hemorrhage follows the removal of the orb; to stop it, inject cold
water into the empty socket; should that have no effect, drive a current
of air from the bellows upon the divided parts; if this be of no avail,
softly plug the cavity with lint, bandage the wound to keep in the
dressing, and leave the issue to nature.
Such is the undisguised operation for extirpating the horse's eye. The
reader is confidently asked, whether a few months of miserable existence,
with the certainty of a fearful death, are not dearly purchased at so
great a suffering?
LACERATED EYELID.
Horses frequently endeavor to amuse the weary hours by a playful game
with one another; if accident results, it is not wholly the fault of the
guileless animals; they are tied to the mangers; they cannot exert their
activity; otherwise their principal enjoyment resides in the freedom of
their heels. And looking at a blank mass of monotonous white for many
hours may have disabled the sight or have confused the judgment.
The groom being absent, advantage is taken of the event to have a romp.
The animals snap at one another over the divisions to their stalls; often
the amusement extends, and four or five heads may be beheld united in
the sport. Generally, however, the game is confined to two players; but,
either way, no injury is meant; the teeth rattle, but they are intended
to close upon empty space. However, man has to bear the consequences
which his errors provoke. That species of confinement to which horses are
subjected renders the judgment uncertain and the sight untrue. The animal
pretends to snap, but, either from one head not being removed quick enough
or from the other head being protruded too far, the teeth catch the eyelid
and divide it through the center. The injury is not very serious, for had
malice impelled the assault, much more than an eyelid would have been
grasped between the jaws.
In other cases, the groom has driven nails into the wall of the gangway;
grooms are fond of seeing the stable decorated with pendant objects of
various kinds. So long as the nails are occupied, little danger ensues;
but they are apt to be left vacant, and horses are constantly passing
along the gangway. To leave room for the servant obliges the animal, very
often, to keep close to the wall; the projecting nail catches the lid of
the eye, and a long rent, commencing upon the outer side, usually results.
[Illustration: EYELID TORN BY A NAIL.]
Such an injury creates great alarm, but it is less serious than it appears
to be. Let the wound, from whatever cause it springs, be well bathed
with a soft sponge and cold water; this should be done till the bleeding
ceases. Afterward, the wound should be let alone for two or three hours,
that the edges may become partially sticky; then let there be procured
a long piece of strong thread, having a needle at each end; the needles
should be new, very sharp, and of the stronger sort employed by glovers.
Let all the punctures be made from within outward, to avoid injuring the
eyeball, and a separate needle be employed for each divided surface. The
thread being brought through, cut off the needles, and loop, but do not
tie the thread. Proceed with another suture, and do not tie that; then
with another, observing the same directions, and thus, till the eyelid
has a sufficient number of sutures. Then proceed to draw all to an even
tightness--none should be absolutely tight. The parts ought only to be
approximated, not tied firmly together; well, all the sutures being of
equal size, they are fastened, and the operation is concluded.
But as the wound begins to heal it is apt to itch, and the horse will
often rub the eye violently to ease the irritation. To prevent this,
fasten the animal to the pillar-reins of its stall, and let it remain
there till the wound has healed; the injury will in a short time close,
but the sutures should be watched. When the holes begin to enlarge, the
thread can be snipped. If the punctures be dry, let the divided sutures
remain till nature shall remove them. If they are moist, and the wound
appears united, you may try each thread with a pair of forceps; should
any appear loose, then withdraw it, for after division it can be of no
use, and may provoke irritation; however, should it be retained, employ no
force; have patience, and it will come forth without man's interference.
[Illustration:
THE LID, WHEN DIVIDED BY THE TEETH, BROUGHT TOGETHER BY MEANS OF
SUTURES.
]
Feed liberally, regulate the bowels by mashes and green meat; smear
the wound with oil of tar to dispel the flies; for should the accident
happen during the warmer months, these pests biting and blowing upon so
delicate a part as the eye may occasion more harm than our best efforts
can rectify. When the lid is bitten through, the operation is precisely
similar; the divided edges are to be brought together by sutures. To
prevent needless repetition, an engraving of the bitten lid, after the
operation has been performed, is here presented.
IMPEDIMENT IN THE LACHRYMAL DUCT.
The =lachrymal duct= in the horse is a small canal leading from the
eye to the nostril; it commences by two very minute openings near the
terminations of the upper and lower lids, at the inner corner of the eye;
it emerges upon the dark skin which lines the commencement of the horse's
nostril, being on the inner side of the internal membrane. Its use is
to carry off the superflux of tears; hence, with human beings, who have
a like structure, "much weeping at the theaters provokes loud blowing of
noses."
The channel being so minute, any substance getting into it soon becomes
swollen with the moisture and closes the passage. The tears cannot escape,
and being secreted, flow upon the cheek. The perpetual stream pouring over
a part not designed for such uses, causes the hair to fall off, and thus
forms gutters, along which the fluid continues to run. The flesh at length
excoriates, and numerous sores are established; the lids swell and become
raw at the margins; the conjunctiva reddens, and the transparency of the
cornea is greatly lessened by the spread of inflammation.
[Illustration: A HORSE'S HEAD, DISPLAYING OBSTRUCTION OF THE LACHRYMAL
GLAND.]
The wretched animal in this condition presents a very sentimental
appearance to a person ignorant of the facts of the case. The swollen
lid, because of its weight, is permitted to close over the eye, while the
tears, flowing fast upon the cheek, with the general dejection, gives the
creature an aspect of weeping over some heavy affliction.
Like the late William Percivall, whose works on veterinary subjects remain
a monument to his memory, the author has encountered but a single case
of this description; it was in a matured but not a very aged animal. The
report was, that a year ago it had been attacked by influenza; the lid
then enlarged, and the near cheek had been wet ever since.
Referring to the pages of Percivall's "Hippopathology," the author
procured a thin, elastic probe, about twelve inches long; the horse being
cast, and an assistant holding the upper lid, the probe was introduced
at the inner corner of the eye, by the lower opening to the duct; the
entrance was easy enough, but the passage was soon obstructed; then the
probe was inserted at the opening of the duct within the nostril. The
way in this direction was longer, but the end came at last, without any
good being effected. Next, a syringe being charged, the fine point was
introduced up the nasal termination of the duct, the power of the jet
effectually removing every impediment; the water streamed through the
upper openings, and the horse was sent home cured.
The writer saw the animal six months subsequent to the operation; it was
apparently in excellent health, and obviously in amended condition. The
owner said the horse soon got well after it reached home; but, being
pressed to say how great a duration "soon" represented, he rejoined
"_about_ six weeks, _perhaps_."
Three months afterward, however, the horse was once more brought with
"watery eye," and again operation was successful. The proprietor then
received back and soon sold the creature, which being past the age when
horses are most valuable, seemed likely to become an expensive retainer.