Over-Heating 59 



HEAT STROKE 



{Sun Stroke) 



Heat stroke is caused by the horse becoming too warm while at work 

 and is usually called sunstroke by farmers, but horses do not necessarily 

 have to be worked till too warm to have a sunstroke if we were to stay 

 absolutely in the bounds of veterinary medicine. 



Heat stroke is far more frequent among farmers and I will deal 

 chiefly with that distress. Heatstroke is an affliction of the brain. In the 

 north half of the United States I have observed that the attacks come 

 during only 3 or 4 of the hottest days of the summdr. Usually on such 

 days no breeze blows to carry the body heat away from the horse 

 therefore by extra care on such days practically all cases can be avoided 

 yielding high compensation to the horse owner. 



There is nothing as efficient to keep the body temperature of the 

 horse normal on a hot day as plenty of cool water to drink every 2 or 3 

 hours. Your first thought will be, "How foolish to water a horse every 

 2 or 3 hours" but when once tried and you see how much cooleir the 

 horse keeps and how they appreciate it a barrel will be taken to the 

 fields on hot days. There can be no work done that will enable the 

 horse to stand more work in hot weather. I have tried this and standing 

 in the shade and I know it is far superior to idling much time away in 

 the shade. 



Heatstroke is less likely to happen if horses are watered frequently 

 for water reduces the body temperature. 



A horse that fails to sweat freely is more subject to heatstroke than 

 one that prespires freely. Sweat is only one way of reducing the body 

 temperature. 



SYMPTOMS 



Warning is given by horses in all cases before heatstroke occurs. 

 The warning consists of labored breathing, twitching of the muscles, 

 laying back of the ears and lagging. 



As the attack approaches the horse may break out in excessive hot or 

 cold sweat, assume a staggering or wabbling gait, drop the head and 

 ears and may fall to the ground. The pupils of the eye get smaller but 

 later enlarge. The mortality is near 60 per cent. Attacks seem to par- 

 alize the sweat glands hence a horse once over heat is much more likely 

 to a reoccurence of the trouble. 



