254 NAVIN ON THE HORSE. 



importance to make use of sucli measures as will preserve 

 tliese good results. 



IS'ow, if tliese results are desirable, there is certainly great 

 advantage in bringing them about by bleeding, for the one 

 powerful reason that they are accomplished in a few minutes, 

 whereas they can not be brought about by any other means 

 short of several hours. 



Many object to bleeding, in acute inflammatory diseases of 

 the horse, from the fact that general bleeding is not much 

 practiced at this day by human doctors. And this is, per- 

 haps, the j)rincipal foundation of the prejudice against it in 

 the horse. But there is a great difference in the circum- 

 stances of a case occurring in man and a horse. In man, the 

 duration of most inflammatory diseases is several days, and 

 there is abundant time for medicines to act before the disease 

 reaches the point of danger. In the horse, such diseases run 

 their course much more rapidly, the case often progressing 

 beyond the reach of remedies in a few hours. In man, the 

 effect of medicines can be obtained in from one to three hours, 

 while in the horse the time required is much longer. Hence, 

 though Ave may safely await the action of medicines in the 

 human patient, we can not in the horse. His disease pro- 

 gresses much more rapidly, and it takes longer time for medi- 

 cines to act. 



It is urged by some that injury is done the horse by bleed- 

 ing, by reducing the proportion of red globules in the blood. 

 This is, no doubt, true of the human patient whose blood is 

 already below the standard of health, but ail experience 

 shows that men of full habit, and rich in blood, may be safely 

 bled. JSTow, as the horse, as we have before seen, ir of pleth 

 oric habit, we would expect him to bear bleeding without 

 injury ; and it is very rare, indeed, that any real injury 

 follows judicious bleeding; but hundreds of horses are lost 

 by fooling away time to subdue inflammation by the use of 

 means requiring many hours for thoir nction on the system. 



