DISEASES AND INJURIES. IQ5 



outbreaks always occurring where there is much movement 

 of horses from one place to another ; in this way it follows 

 the lines of traffic, and may appear at any season of the 

 year. Horses of all ages and under all kinds of conditions 

 may be affected, but it generally visits most severely those 

 which are badly attended to and kept in unhealthy stables. 



Symptoms. The most marked characteristic of influenza is 

 the intense prostration that accompanies the fever from the 

 very commencement ; otherwise, in most of the outbreaks 

 the symptoms are much the same as those of catarrh, and 

 they may all be developed very quickly. Sometimes the air- 

 passages and lungs are chiefly implicated ; at other times the 

 abdominal organs suffer most ; and in some of the outbreaks 

 symptoms of rheumatism, with swelling of the legs, head and 

 other parts of the body, predominate. Not unfrequently we 

 may have all these symptoms manifested in one animal. 

 The disease has received several names according to the 

 prevailing symptoms. The catarrhal symptoms may be well 

 marked, and then we have, in addition to the fever and great 

 debility, the signs of ordinary catarrh ; these, under favour- 

 able conditions, gradually subside in eight or ten days, and in 

 a fortnight or three weeks the animal has usually recovered. 



When the lungs and bowels are implicated, however, the 

 cases are more serious, especially if the sanitary conditions 

 are bad and the horses are not healthy and vigorous. 



Treatment. One of the essential conditions in the success- 

 ful treatment of influenza is relieving the animal from fatigue 

 and work whenever the first signs of illness become apparent. 

 These signs are generally diminished appetite, listlessness, 

 weakness, dry hot mouth, hanging head, swollen eyes, and 

 perhaps shivering. To work and fatigue the horse after the 

 disease has seized him, is to expose him to the risk of a more 

 severe attack than he otherwise would have, and may lead to 

 his death. 



Therefore cessation of work at once is all-important. Good 

 nursing comes next in importance, for the amateur and even 



