284 The Care of Animals 



resulting from pleurisy. The respiration is rapid, the 

 animal standing with the head drooping, the ears 

 lopped, and elbows turned out; this position is usually 

 maintained throughout the course of the disease. In 

 cases that prove fatal, horses will stand until they 

 fall from exhaustion, after which they die very soon. 

 When animals lie down with pneumonia, they usually 

 lie on the side that is the most seriously diseased. 

 The pulse is rapid, small, and rather hard, varying 

 from sixty to eighty beats per minute. The appetite 

 is wanting and the bowels constipated. By placing 

 the ear to the chest, over the region of the lung, a 

 rattling sound (crepitus) is heard, in place of the 

 normal murmur. Or, if the lung is badly diseased, it 

 may be solidified (hepatized) so that no air can enter; 

 in this case there is absence of sound. Animals sick 

 with pneumonia like fresh air and will often place 

 the nose to a door or window, if one is accessible. 

 When pleurisy is associated with pneumonia, there 

 is a well-marked pleuritic line running from the 

 point of the hip downward and forward towards the 

 lower end of the ribs. This is due to a contraction 

 of the muscles to prevent the ribs from moving more 

 than necessary, as friction between the lungs and ribs 

 causes pain. 



Pneumonia runs a definite course, the temperature 

 reaching its highest about the sixth day. All the 

 treatment should be directed toward keeping the ani- 

 mal comfortable and conserving its strength. The 

 body should be warmly clad, the legs rubbed lightly 

 and bandaged, and the animal placed in a warm, dry 



