EXAMINATION OF A SICK HOKSE. 27 



weakened from long-continued retention and where there is a partial 

 paralysis of the hind quarters. 



Horses usually void urine five to seven times a day, and pass from 4 

 to 7 quarts. Disease may be shown by increase in the number of 

 voidings or of the quantity. Frequent urination indicates an irri- 

 table or painful condition of the bladder or urethra or that the quan- 

 tity is excessive. In one form of chronic inflammation of the kidneys 

 (interstitial nephritis) and in polyuria the quantity may be increased 

 to 20 or 30 quarts daily. Diminution in the quantity of urine comes 

 from profuse sweating, diarrhea, high fever, weak heart, diseased and 

 iionsecreting kidneys, or an obstruction to the flow. 



The urine of the healthy horse is a pale or at times a slightly red- 

 dish yellow. The color is less intense when the quantity is large, and 

 is more intense when the quantity is diminished. Dark-brown urine 

 is seen in azoturia and in severe acute muscular rheumatism. A 

 brownish-green color is seen in jaundice. Red color indicates admix- 

 ture of blood from a bleeding point at some part of the urinary tract, 

 usually in the k-itlneys. 



The urine of the healthy horse is not clear and transparent. It 

 contains mucus, which causes it to be slightly thick and stringy, and 

 a certain amount of undissolved carbonates, causing it to be cloudy. 

 A sediment collects when the urine is allowed to stand. The urine of 

 the horse is normally alkaline. If it becomes acid the bodies in sus- 

 pension are dissolved and the urine is made clear. The urine may be 

 unusually cloudy from the addition of abnormal constituents, but to 

 determine their character a chemical or microscopic examination is 

 necessary. Red or reddish flakes or clumps in the urine are always 

 abnormal, and denote a hemorrhage or suppuration in the urinary 

 tract. 



The normal specific gravity of the urine of the horse is about 1.040. 

 It is increased when the urine is scanty and decreased when the 

 quantity is excessive. 



Acid reaction of the urine occurs in chronic intestinal catarrh, in 

 high fever, and during starvation. Chemical and microscopic tests 

 and examinations are often of great importance in diagnosis, but 

 require special apparatus and skill. 



Other points in the examination of a sick horse require more discus- 

 sion than can be afforded in this connection, and require special train- 

 ing on the part of the examiner. Among such points may be men- 

 tioned the examination of the organs of special sense, the examination 

 of the blood, the microscopic examination of the secretions and excre- 

 tions, bacteriological examinations of the secretions, excretions, and 

 tissues, specific reaction tests, and diagnostic inoculation. 



