DISEASES OF HORSES 37 



condition. Old and strong horses may have the disease in so light a 

 form that the fever is not noticeable ; they may continue to eat and 

 perform their ordinary work as usual and no symptom may be seen 

 beyond a slight discharge from the nose and a rare cough, which is 

 not sufficient to worry any but the most particular owner. But, on 

 the other hand, the disease may become complicated so as to become 

 a most serious disease, and even prove fatal in many cases. Inflam- 

 mation of the bronchi, if excessive, will produce violent, harsh cough- 

 ing, which may almost asphyxiate the animal. The large amount of 

 discharge may be mixed with air by the difficult breathing, and the 

 nostrils, the front of the animal, manger, and surrounding objects 

 become covered with a white foam. The inflammation may be in the 

 lung itself and cause the animal to breathe heavily, heave at the 

 flanks, and show great distress. In this condition marked symptoms 

 of fever are seen, the appetite is lost, the coat is dry, the horse stands 

 back in its stall at the end of the halter strap with its neck extended 

 and its legs propped apart to favor breathing. This condition may 

 end by resolution, leaving the horse for some time with a severe 

 cough, or the animal may die from choking up of the lungs. 



The swelling under the jaw may be excessive, and if the abscess 

 is not opened it burrows toward the throat or to the side and causes 

 inflammation of the parotid glands and breaks in annoying fistulas 

 at the sides of the throat and even up as high as the ears. Roaring 

 may occur either during a moderately severe attack from inflamma- 

 tion of the throat, or at a later period as the result of continued lung 

 trouble. Abscesses may develop in other parts of the body, in the 

 poll, in the withers, or in the spaces of loose tissue under the arms, 

 in the fold of the thigh, and, in entire horses, in the testicles. 



During the course of the disease, or later, when the animal seems 

 to be on the road to perfect recovery, abscesses may form in the in- 

 ternal organs and produce symptoms characteristic of disease of those 

 parts. 



Roaring, plunging, wandering in a circle, or standing with the 

 head wedged in a corner of the stall indicate the collection of matter 

 in the brain. Sudden and severe lung symptoms, without previous 

 discharge, point to an abscess between the lungs, in the mediastinum ; 

 colic, which is often continuous for days, is the result of the forma- 

 tion of an abscess in some part of the abdominal cavity. 



Pathology. The lesions of strangles are found on the surface 

 of the mucous membranes, essentially of the respiratory system, and 

 in the loose connective tissue fibers of the internal organs and glands, 

 and consist of acute inflammatory changes, tending to the formation 

 of matter. The blood is unaltered, though it is rich in fibrin, and if 

 the animal has died of asphyxia it is found dark colored when the 

 body is first opened. 



Treatment. Ordinary light cases require but little treatment 

 beyond diet, warm washes, moistened hay, warm coverings, and pro- 

 tection from exposure to cold. The latter is urgently called for, as 

 lung complications, severe bronchitis, and laryngitis are often the 

 results of neglect of this precaution. If the fever is excessive, the 



