DISEASES AND TREATMENT OF THE HORSE 151 



then with the other. He turns the head round to the side, 

 cringes and lies down. There is not a minute's ease as in 

 colic. He soon gets up, walks round and looks at his side. 

 If the pulse be taken at this stage of the disease, it will be 

 found to be about 45 beats per minute, full and bounding. 

 His legs and ears are hotter than they are when well. He 

 passes slimy looking manure in small quantities. The pain 

 continues to increase and the symptoms become more notice- 

 able. He is not easy for a moment. The pulse runs up to 

 about 75, but still remains full and bounding, not variable as 

 in colic. It still increases as the disease advances. He sweats 

 freely, and the lining of the eyes becomes very much red- 

 dened and angry looking. His legs and ears are first hot, 

 and then cold, while the pain continues to become more 

 severe. At this stage the ears begin to lop over and there is 

 a very haggard look on the face, indicating extreme agony. 

 In a few hours he becomes a pitying sight to see. If you 

 sound his bowels at this stage, the slightest movement can 

 not be heard — merely a jerking and trembling all through 

 the insides. He begins to breathe heavy, and his ears and 

 legs feel, cold and clammy. The symptoms as outlined con- 

 tinue, and should he make water, it will be red and bloody 

 looking. If there be any passage from the bowels, it will be 

 mostly slime. In eight or ten hours, if the disease be not 

 checked, mortification will set in, and the patient becomes 

 quiet and easy. He, however, continues to sweat and breathe 

 heavily. In some cases he will try to eat and once in a while 

 he will be noticed to walk round. In this stage he does not 

 lie down. The surface of his body, his ears, his nose, his lips 

 and legs get colder and have a death-like feeling. The pulse 

 now is up to 100 beats per minute, and so weak as to be 

 scarcely felt, showing that his heart is merely fluttering. The 

 haggard look of the face becomes more marked. He strains 

 a few times, as if trying to pass something, but nothing 

 comes. He will keep on his feet as long as he can, but finally 

 staggers, falls and dies. This disease generally runs a course 

 of from 10 to 15 hours, but in some cases we have known a 

 horse affected with it to live as long as two or three days 

 after being attacked. In such a case only a small portion of 

 the bowels was affected. 



Treatment. — This disease, if taken as soon as the animal 

 is noticed sick, may be sometimes cured, but the treatment 

 must be quick and careful, for, if the disease once gets a 



