CHAPTER XIV 



(a) signs of disease ; (b) THERAPEUTICS. 



THE BREATHING AND PULSE. 



WHEN the horse is at rest, and kept in a cool stable, 

 the respirations average twelve to fourteen per minute. 

 In lung apoplexy, especially, this number is greatly 

 increased. Exercise, excitement, etc., all increase the respira- 

 tory movements. 



In some diseases the breathing is slowed, whilst the inspira- 

 tory (intake of air) and expiratory (output) acts are performed 

 unequally, or irregularly. Notew^orthy examples of the latter 

 are seen in broken wind and pleurisy. 



The most convenient situation to take the pulse of the 

 horse is at the artery winding around about the middle of the 

 lower jaw. The fingers, second and third, ought to be made 

 to compress the artery very gently, and of course it is essential 

 that the animal be perfectly quiet meanwhile. It is not an 

 easy matter for the layman to glean a correct appreciation of 

 the pulse, the beats of which, in the adult horse, during health, 

 range from thirty-six to forty-five per minute. 



The pulsations may be equal or unequal as to time, or 

 volume, or both, and either hard or soft. In foals the pulse is 

 not of much value in assisting one to mark the progress of 



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