MAD STAGGERS.— RHEUMATIC FEVER. 71 



plain that unskilful persons might be led to apprehend such paryoxisms de- 

 noted hydrophobia ; but a short inquiry into the habits of the horse previous 

 to its last delirium, would go a gotxl way to relieve the anxiety usually instil- 

 led into a neighbourhood by such events. None can say, however, until the 

 experiment be tried, whether animals fed on such meat might not acquire ra- 

 bies thereby. 



The mad staggers, as the term is, which has never been satisfactorily ac- 

 counted for, can be no other than this delirium of the typhus fever, brought 

 on by pushing the animal in his work although labouring under slew fever. 

 None but common or ordinary cart-horses are lost in the staggers ; whilst none 

 but a very ordinary owner would so force his cattle to the last extremity dur- 

 ing illness. As the above is all I shall find it necessary to say of staggers, I 

 must here remark on the singular impropriety of Mr. Richard Lawrence's 

 considering this as an attack of apoplexy ! Since one pang alone denotes 

 ihe death so to be named. 



Rheumatic Fever is one of those disorders in the horse, upon the existence 

 of which doctors disagree ; but doubtless the vicissitudes of heat and cold to 

 which the horse is subjected, whereby the whole system is checked so as to 

 occasion general fever, is equally likely to check the circulation in one or two 

 limbs only. And the pain the animal would thus labour under in the per- 

 formance of its duties would constitute one of the causes assigned higher up 

 for simple fever. Little good, however, would ensue by my considering it 

 separately ; so I shall content myself with referring the reader to the head of 

 simple rheumatism. 



Epidemic fevers — Distemper. 



Cause. — When these appear, from time to time, they may fairly be ascribed 

 to the season ; for the kind of attack is not of a nature to become communica- 

 tive, unless by continuance putridity follows: then, indeed, infection may be- 

 gin, as it would also happen in any of the preceding species of fever. A rainy 

 spring after a mild winter producer an epidemic catarrh, as well as sudden 

 chill, among horses that are out at pasture whilst shedding their coats, and the 

 most delicate receive this influence earliest. We may as well consider, that 

 whatever may give one horse a cold, or aifect his lungs, singly applied to him, 

 would, if applied to many, in like manner affect the whole : this constitutes 

 epidemy, or the distemper. Cloudy weather and cold easterly night winds, 

 when the weather is warm or murky by day, is more likely to check the ac- 

 tion of the lungs or of the whole system, than when a colder season has pre- 

 pared the animals to withstand the influence thereof. An epidemic prevails 

 sometimes in autumn ; but, happen when it may, horses at grass acquire it 

 less often than those which are kept in, upon hard food. 



Symptoms. — As just intimated, a cold, that harbinger of so many other 

 evils, is what marks the epidemic in every case ; in addition to this, the animal 

 will labour under the other symptoms of fever before described, according to 

 ifs actual state of body at the time of attack. Thus, if the horse be in full 

 Cesh and vigour, his veins quickly fill with the stream of fife, inflammation of 

 the blood wiil ensue, or rather, to speak more accurately, of the vessels which 

 contain it; hence, simple fever, or fever of the whole system follows, as before 

 described, pp. 62, 63 , but, be he poor, with little blood to receive inflamma 

 tion, low fever is that particular affection which accompanies the original cold 

 or catarrh 



Hence, 1 feel no hesitation in classing the epidemic — at least all those which 

 have happened in my time, with one or the other of those diseases, and re- 

 ''ommend treating it accordingly. At its earliest stage, of course, as it assuriicii 



