DISEASES OE THE HOKSE. 495 



temperature is accurately me8,3ured })y means of a clinical thermometer 

 inserted in the rectum. 



This elevation of temperature can readily be felt by the hand placed 

 in the mouth of the animal, or in the rectum, and in the cleft between 

 the hind legs. It is usually appreciable at any point over the surface 

 of the body and in the expired air emitted from the nostrils. The ears 

 and cannons are often as hot as the rest of the body, but are sometimes 

 cold, which denotes a debility in the circulation and irregular distribu- 

 tion of the blood. The pulse, which in a healthy horse is felt beating 

 about -1:2 to 48 times in the minute, is increased to 60, 70, 90, or even 

 100. The respirations are increased from 14 or 16 to 24, 30, 36, or 

 even more. With the commencement of a fever the horse usually has 

 its appetite diminished, or it may have total loss of appetite if the 

 fever is excessive. There is, however, a vast difference among horses 

 in this regard. With the same amount of elevation of temperature one 

 horse may lose its appetite entirely, while others, usuallj^ of the more 

 common sort, will eat at hay throughout the course of the fever, and 

 will even continue to eat oats or other grains. Thirst is usually 

 increased, but the animal desires onlj^ a small quantity of water at a 

 time, and in most cases of fever a bucket of water should be kept 

 standing before the patient, which may be allowed to drink ad libitum. 

 The skin becomes dry and the hairs stand on end. Sweating is almost 

 unknown in the early stage of fevers, but frequently occurs later in 

 their course, when an outbreak of warm sweat is often a most favor- 

 able symptom. The mucous membranes, wliich are most easily exam- 

 ined in the conjunctivse of the eyes and inside of the mouth, change 

 color if the fever is an acute one; without alteration of blood the 

 mucous membranes become of a rosy or deep-red color at the outset; 

 if the fever is attended with distinct alteration of the blood, as in 

 influenza, and at the end of two or three days in severe cases of 

 pneumonia or other extensive inflammatory troubles, the mucous mem- 

 branes are tinged with yellow, which may even become a deep ocher 

 in color, the result of the decomposition of the blood corpuscles and 

 the freeing of their coloring matter, which acts as a stain. At the 

 outset of a fever the various glmds are checked in their secretions, 

 the salivary glands fail to secrete the saliva, and we find the surface 

 of the tongue and inside of the cheeks dry and covered with a brown- 

 ish, bad-smelling deposit. The excretion from the liver and intestinal 

 glands is diminished and produces an inactivit}'" of the digestive organs 

 which causes a constipation. If this is not remedied at an early period, 

 the undigested material acts as an irritant, and later Ave may have it 

 followed by an inflammatory process, producing a severe diarrhea. 



The excretion from the kidneys is sometimes at first entirely sup- 

 pressed. It is always considerably diminished, and what urine is 

 I)assed is dark in color, undergoes ammoniacal change rapidly, and 



