STAGGERS, CONVULSIONS, &C. 81 



Cause of tlie Staggers. 



comer of the stable should be well stuffed, or 

 bolstered, with straw, so that he cannot strike his 

 head against the wall : for a horse in this situation 

 may be compared to one yoked in harness, and 

 drawing at a weight, pushing forwards with all his 

 power, till his strength is exhausted, when he 

 drops down as if he were shot. The pulse is not 

 invariably the same in all these kinds of staggers, 

 but is, for the most part, more frequent than na- 

 tural, and less frequent than in a state of health. 



The staggers may arise from various causes, 

 perhaps from a primary or a common fever trans- 

 ferred to the brain. The greatest number of 

 horses that we have seen afflicted with this dis- 

 ease, has consisted of such as were purchased from 

 dealers and farmers, and put to hard labour, and 

 full allowance of corn; and kept in close sta- 

 bles, where every hole has been stopped, in order 

 to exclude the air. This, indeed, is one way by 

 which to make his coat look jine^ and also a sure 

 way to destroy his health. In these cases, if the 



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