132 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



The same effect is occasioned when any foreign hotly enters or 

 endeavours to enter the larynx, and likewise from simj)le irri- 

 tation of the part without any increased secretion of mucus, as 

 Avell as from too great dryness of the part, and probably also from 

 sympathy with another part. Cough is, indeed, but an effort of 

 nature to ward off mischief, and in endeavouring to cure it we 

 should strive to remove the cause by which it is produced. Too 

 much regard should not be paid to the sort of cough that may 

 be present ; for we may have in catai-rh, and even in the same 

 case, various coughs, according to the stage of the disease, and 

 the severity of the symptoms. Many profess to distinguish by 

 the sound of the cough whether it is chronic or otherwise ; such 

 profession, however, is altogether without foundation. We may 

 indeed easily tell the cough of broken wind ; but we cannot dis- 

 tinguish that of catarrh, or sore throat, from a chronic cough. 

 By chronic cough, then, we understand a cough, either trifling or 

 severe, that has existed for a long time without being attended 

 by any active inflammatory appeai'ances. Such a cough may 

 either be so excessive as to be exceedingly annoying to the owner, 

 or so slight as scarcely to engage attention. 



Sometimes a day or two may elapse without its being heard ; 

 at other times the paroxysms may be fi*equcnt and severe. Some 

 horses cough In the stable, and never out of it ; others are only 

 heard in their work and never in the stable. Generally speaking, 

 however, a horse with a chronic cough is heard chiefly during 

 the first mile of his working, and moi*e when ridden than in 

 harness. In many cases the disease can be traced back to an 

 attack of sore throat, which most probably had been protracted, 

 and has left behind some alteration of structure, either a thick- 

 ening or an Irritated state of the membrane lining the larynx. 

 Horses with chronic cough are generally (not always) subject to 

 frequent attacks of sore throat, each attack probably making the 

 cough worse. 



It is considered that the affection is sometimes produced by 

 the presence of worms In the stomach or intestines, or by a dis- 

 ordered state of the dio-estive orfjans. 



Treatment. — We may often materially benefit a chronic cough, 

 although we can rarely achieve a perfect cui'e; and as in many 

 cases we cannot be sure that the case has become chronic, it is 

 therefore desirable to attempt relief whenever the animal is 

 valuable. 



It will be proper to take a few quarts of blood to relieve the 

 local Inflammation ; to administer (if the horse can be spared) a 

 mild laxative, so as to get the digestive organs into a healthy 

 state; to stimulate the throat externally by means of a mild 

 liquid blister frequently repeated, and to give the following ball 

 several nights successively : — 



