72 



HORSE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



from it, and this still further interferes with 

 respiration, and necessitates a constant 

 cough to get rid of it. These symptoms 

 are always present, but they will vary 

 greatly in intensity, and in the rapidity 

 with which they progress, from which cir- 

 cumstances bronchitis is usually said to 

 be acute or chronic, as the case may be. 

 In the acute form there are also several 

 variations, and veterinary writers are in 

 the habit of again sub dividing it into 

 acute and sub-acute, but the two leading 

 divisions are sufficient for all practical 

 purposes. It begins with the usual pre- 

 monitory appearances of a severe cold, 

 accompanied by a staring coat, and entire 

 loss of appetite. The breathing is some- 

 what quicker than natural, and the pulse 

 is raised to sixty or seventy. The legs 

 remain of the usual temperature, and 

 vthere is a hard, dry cough, the lining 

 •membrane of the nostrils being intensely 

 <red, and in severe cases dry and swollen. 

 On auscultation there is a dry rattling 

 rsound, very different from the crepitation 

 ^of pneumonia, and as soon as mucus is 

 . secreted, succeeded by gurgling, and soap 

 .bubble sounds easily distinguished when 

 -once heard. If the attack goes on favor- 

 ably, the cough becomes loose, and there 

 is a free discharge of mucus, both from 

 the lungs, as evidenced from the nature 

 .of the cough, and from the nostrils, as 

 .-shown by the running from them. On 

 the other hand the prognosis is unfavor- 

 able when the breathing is very laborious, 

 with the legs extended, and the cough 

 ■constant and ineffectual in affording re- 

 lief. Should no relief be afforded, death 

 takes place a week or ten days alter the 

 onset of the disease from soffocation. 

 The treatment should depend greatly up- 

 on the urgency of the inflammation, which 

 only an experienced eye can judge of. 

 If slight, nitre and tartar emetic internal- 

 ly, and a blister (to one or both sides, 

 according to the extent of the bronchi 

 involved), will suffice, but in severe cases 

 blood must be taken at the onset, or it 

 will be impossible to control the inflam- 

 mation. Bleeding should be avoided if 

 It is judged prudent to do so, for of late 

 ■years the type of diseases has changed so 

 ;much in the horse that he is found to 

 bear loss of blood badly. Nevertheless, 

 it is not wise to lay down the rule that it 

 is never desirable. The bowels must be 



acted upon by the ordinary physic ball, 

 resorting to raking and clysters, if the 

 time cannot be afforded for the usual lax- 

 ative preparation. For the special con- 

 trol of the morbid state of the membrane 

 the following ball will be found advant- 

 ageous : 

 Take of Digitalis ••-••% drachm. 



Calomel ----- X drachm. 



Tartar Emetic - - - 60 to 80 grains. 



Nitre ------ 2 drachms. 



Mix with treacle, and give twice a day. 



Should the disease continue after the blis- 

 ter is healed, a large seton may be put 

 in one or both sides with advantage. 



Chronic bronchitis seldom exists ex- 

 cept as a sequel to the acute form, and after 

 adopting the balls recommended for that 

 state, it may be treated by attention to 

 the general health, a seton in the side, 

 and the exhibition of an expectorant 

 ball twice a day, composed of the follow- 

 ing materials; 



Take of Gum Ammoniacum - - %. ounce. 



Powdered Squill - - - I drachm. 



Castle Soap • - - - - 2 drachms. 

 Mix and make into a ball. 



HORSE, Epizootic Apthse. — This con- 

 tagious malady of stock belongs to the 

 class of zymotic diseases, or, in other 

 words, it is caused, like specific fevers 

 generally, by the introduction into the 

 system of a poison germ, which propa- 

 gates itself, and increases in the blood 

 and tissues in a manner allied to the 

 growth of a ferment in a saccharine solu- 

 tion. During this reproduction of the 

 virus in such fevers, the system passes 

 through a series of successive stages of 

 disease, the nature and duration of which 

 are determined by the character of the 

 particular poison taken in, and during 

 which the poison germs (contagious prin- 

 ciples) are given off abundantly by one 

 or other or all of the secreting surfaces. 

 Hence, like other zymotic diseases, this is 

 altogether specific in its cause, its nature, 

 and its mode of propagation. As known 

 in Western Europe and America, this 

 disease is invariably due to a virus or con- 

 tagion thrown off by some animal suffer- 

 ing from the disease ; it is always mani- 

 fested by a slight preliminary fever, and a 

 period of eruption and decline, and these 

 are respectively of constant and well-de- 

 fined duration. These different periods 

 of the disease are characterized by varied 

 manifestations. The first period is that 



