SYMPTOMS OF MUSCULAR RHEUMATISM IN HORSES. 



Under usual causes, muscles tender, stiffness, groaning, loins, quarter, 

 shoulder, neck, chest. 



Developed under conditions .similar to those causing rheumatism 

 of the joints, rheumatism of the muscles tends to attack those of 

 a particular region, and to continue in these throughout the 

 attack rather than change to others. The affected mu.scles are 

 very tender to the touch, but usually show no swelling nor heat. 

 The muscles are relaxed and tend to atrophy, fever is little 

 marked, there is comparatively little tendency to the implication 

 of the heart, and the suffering and stiffness vary with the varia- 

 tion of tlie weather, or with electric or barometric changes. 

 When generalized, however, fever may supervene, and the joints 

 may be implicated (Thomi)son). 



When the loins are affected they become extremely tender to 

 the touch, and the horse shows great stiffness, and groans when 

 made to walk and above all when turned or backed. He does 

 not, however, show the unsteadiness in gait and tendency to 

 stagger that is shown in sprain of the loins, and there is no history 

 of a slip, fall or injury, but an unmi.stakable connection with 

 cold, exposure, change of weather, or overfeeding on grain. 



When the gluteal muscles are attacked there is intense lame- 

 ness, and dragging of the hind limb, with an acute sensitiveness 

 of the skin of the region, which characterizes neither disease of 

 the hip nor of the trochanterean bunsa. 



When the scapido-lnmieral muscles are the seat of disease, there 

 is a marked stiffness, shortness of step, drooping of the head, 

 and great tenderness of the .skin and muscles to manipulation or 

 the use of the currycomb. Like the other cases named it occurs 

 suddenl}^ without evidence of accident, but bearing a relation to 

 cold or other change of the weather, and is better or wor.se as the 

 weather is more or less genial. 



When the cervical muscles are affected (torticolis), the .same 

 features are noted, the absence of traumatic cause, the presence 

 of a meteorological one, or at least of cold or wet, the respons- 



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