174 Management and Treatment of the Horse. 



forces the blood to the head, and distends the 

 arteries of the head more than the veins, the 

 consequence being that the small vessels covering 

 the brain get gorged with blood, and then its 

 bulk is increased to such an extent that it pro- 

 duces undue pressure upon the organs of the 

 nerves, which is followed by loss of power and 

 even consciousness. Frequently the horse will 

 stagger backwards and fall, the result being dis- 

 astrous to the horse and all who may have the 

 misfortune to be sitting behind it. A tight curb 

 or collar with over-driving is too often the cause. 

 It is a disease that is rarely met with except iff 

 the months of June, July, and August. Megrims 

 is the name of the simplest form of inflammation 

 tirising from the above causes, and, as I have said 

 before, it most commonly appears when the horse 

 is over-driven. When attacked it will suddenly 

 stop and shake its head, having been seized with 

 giddiness and a slight degree of unconsciousness. 

 If allowed to stop for a few minutes this Avill 

 go off, and it will be enabled to proceed on its 

 journey, but it not unfrequently happens that the 

 attack is of a more severe kind, and under such 

 circumstances will fall suddenly or run round two 

 or three times and then fall. Sometimes it will 

 lie quite quietly in a state of complete torpor, at 

 other times it will struggle with great violence, 

 yet still be unable to rise. In either of these 

 conditions it will lie from five to ten minutes, 

 when it will gradually resume sensibility, and 

 then will be able to get upon its feet and proceed 

 on its journey. After these attacks it generally 



