THE MODERN HORSE DOCTOlJ. 381 



problem. The human patient has the advantage of medical 

 skill in the early stage of his malady, under the directions of his 

 own knowledge, the experience of kind friends, &c. ; and, by 

 directions from the family physician, he so regulates his mode 

 of life that he is placed in the most favorable circumstances for 

 cooperating with nature and with the physiological laws of his 

 being ; and his disease, although of a tuberculous character, may 

 be modified in the manner just referred to, so as not only to render 

 him a useful member of society, but to lengthen his days» But 

 how striking is the difference in regard to the poor horse ! He 

 will work and toil to death without uttering a groan. He labors 

 from day to day, while the disease, in an insidious form, is per- 

 manently locating itself in the vital tissues. A slight cough, or 

 other premonitory symptoms, may be present ; but generally they 

 are not considered of any consequence. If the poor brute lags 

 in his pace, the whip is brought into requisition to urge him on 

 under his heavy load ; and after a day of toil he is often placed 

 under circumstances very unfavorable for the healthy action of 

 the vital forces. So soon as the disease has approached to that 

 intensity as not to be mistaken, he then becomes an object of 

 terror, neglect, and cruelty. Whereas, had the animal been 

 attended to in the incipient stage, the disease might have termi- 

 nated as favorably as it ofttimes does in the human subject. It is 

 a well-known fact — perhaps confined within the halo of the 

 profession — that thousands of our most valuable horses annually 

 perish in consequence of neglect and ignorance on the part of 

 their owners. For wherever we find the conditions which the 

 physiologist asserts to be most favorable to the preservation of 

 health most completely fulfilled, there do we find glanders least 

 prevail. A few facts will place this subject in a striking light : 

 A great majority of the cases of glanders occur among horses 

 used under railroad contractions, where the work is of the most 

 laborious kind, and the owners are too poor to furnish their 

 animals with good quarters and wholesome food. So directly, 

 however, is the health of the horse promoted by comfortable 

 quarters, good management, and nutritious diet, that our wealthy 

 citizens seldom, if ever, have a glandered horse, considering, 

 however, that the disease is of spontaneous origin. The mortality 



