126 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



confined to one only. It may be so slight as to pass away with- 

 out treatment, or so severe as to threaten suffocation and en- 

 danger life. The symptoms depend very much on the particular 

 part attacked : if the inflammation be confined to the nostrils, 

 there is sneezing, redness of the membrane, and an increased 

 secretion, at first often watery, and afterwards of a mucous 

 character: if the pharynx is affected, there is a difficulty of 

 swallowing ; and if the larynx is involved, there is a cough. In 

 some cases abscesses form about these parts ; in others the throat 

 may become ulcerated. In very slight cases there is no con- 

 stitutional disturbance; in others there are feverish symptoms — 

 a hot mouth, an impaired appetite, and a pulse quickened to 

 from 40 to 50. Very frequently the attack commences in the 

 chambers of the nostrils, and afterwards extends itself to the 

 throat. 



This disease has been termed a cold, from the supposition that 

 it was produced by cold ; but it is more frequently occasioned by 

 the alternation from cold to heat, for few horses get cold from 

 being turned to grass from the stable ; whilst nothing is more 

 common than for horses to be affected with catarrh on being 

 taken from grass into a warm stable. Exposure to cold will, 

 however, produce the disease ; but it is then rather owing to 

 the reaction which follows than to the cold itself. 



Catarrhs are much more frequent during the moulting season 

 than at any other period ; and particularly in the autumn, and 

 during the prevalence of wet weather. 



This disease frequently appears as an epizootic, when the 

 symptoms are usually more urgent, the discharge more profuse, 

 and the debility greater. In this form it is very common 

 amongst the young stock in racing stables, Avhere it is termed 

 the distemper; and sometimes the symptoms of catarrh appear 

 in other diseases, as in influenza, an account of which will be 

 separately given. 



The duration of an attack of catarrh is very uncertain; it 

 may last only a few days, or as many weeks. This is owing 

 partly to the violence of the attack, and partly to the idiosyn- 

 crasy of the animal. Some horses are so susceptible as to take 

 cold from the slightest cause, and are frequently suffering from 

 the disease ; others are rarely, if ever, so affected, however much 

 exposed. 



The termination of catarrh may be, as it generally is, reso- 

 lution or restoration to health ; or ulceration of the throat, 

 or roaring, or glanders; besides which, the inflammation may 

 extend itself down the windpipe, and the lungs may become 

 affected, and death may ensue. 



The treatment must depend on the severity of the attack. 

 In some slight cases a few bran mashes, and a little nitre, six 



