886 ILL EFFECTS OF OVER EXERTION. 



cise, has been long practically recognized by 

 sportsmen, who are careful to cover the race- 

 horse with a warm garment immediately after 

 he reaches the goal, with a view to prevent his 

 taking cold. Veterinarians are also aware, that 

 horses are far more liable to tetanus from expo- 

 sure to cold, when fatigued by violent exertion, 

 than at any other time ; and that what is called 

 a founder, is generally brought on by drinking 

 too much cold water, (which is also the cause of 

 colic,) when they have been over exercised. 



Many persons imagine, and I am not sure 

 that even medical men are wholly free from the 

 same error, that the danger from exposure to 

 cold after fatigue, is owing to what they call an 

 over heated state of the body. But there is not 

 the slightest danger of taking cold when the body 

 is over heated by the warm bath, as proved by 

 the Russians, who have found that it enables 

 them to endure cold for a much longer time than 

 they otherwise could ; and that after coming out 

 of the vapour bath, the lower orders often roll 

 themselves in the snow with impunity. The fact 

 is, that whenever the circulation is languid, respi- 

 ration is augmented by the warm bath, which 

 increases the action of the heart, and causes a 

 larger amount of blood to pass through the lungs 

 in a given time, as explained in the preceding 

 chapters of this work. 



