258 THE MODERN HORSE DOCTOR. 



even the heart itself." There is no difference, then, between 

 acute rheumatism and founder ; their terminations are in harmo- 

 ny with each other ; and this proposition is confirmed when we 

 notice the causes of the latter. Founder is produced by chilling 

 the animal when exhausted or much fatigued ; he may be chilled, 

 after a brisk drive, by exposure to the weather, by external in- 

 fluences, or he may be chilled by imbibing cold water in quan- 

 tity sufficient to reduce the temperature of the system too sud- 

 denly. The author last quoted says, " Founder is produced by 

 driving a horse, when in a state of perspiration, into a pond, ex- 

 posing him to cold wind or rain, or tying him up in the stable 

 yard while the hostler washes his legs or thighs, and sometimes 

 his body ; but excessive exertion alone will, and often does, pro- 

 duce every kind of founder." Here we have the causes of rheu- 

 matism. Who can deny it ? Take a plethoric, over-fed horse, 

 and let him be exposed even to a slight exciting cause, an affec- 

 tion is generated, and propelled, with railroad speed, from tissue 

 to tissue, constituting acute rheumatism — body founder; or, 

 as in the cases just alluded to, it may spend its force on the 

 heart, and extinguish the vital principle. The disease is apt, at 

 times, to locate in circumscribed situations, about a joint or mus- 

 cular region ; but the treatment will not differ much. 



Treatment of acute Rheumatism. — Our first prescription is 

 invariably the following nauseating cathartic : — 



Powdered aloes, 6 drachms, 



" lobelia, 2 drachms, 



"Warm water, 1 pint. 



Free action of the bowels must be persisted in, and they must 

 afterwards be kept soluble by means of some such remedy as 

 the following: — 



Cream of tartar, ^ 



Sulphur, £• of each, . . 2 drachms, 



Podophyllum, ) 



Wine of colchicum,* .... 2 drachms, 



Thin gruel, 1 pint. 



Mix, and give as a drench. 



* Vinum Colchici seminis of the United States Dispensatory. It can be 

 procured of any apothecary. The author has a preparation of colchicum 



