110 DISEASES OF HORSES AND CATTLE. 



work, and swelling of the legs takes place. It is 

 also the result of disease, especially distemper and 

 influenza, which have a tendency to affect the 

 glands. 



Symptoms: It usually begins with a chill and a 

 rise in the temperature, very soon followed by 

 lameness. Often a horse may seem all right at 

 night, and in the morning one or both hind legs 

 will be so sore and stiff that the animal will not 

 move. If only one hind leg is affected, he will hold 

 it up, and if made to move it will not put it to 

 the ground, but hop off on three legs, which often 

 gives the animal the appearance as if its leg was 

 broken. The animal will be breathing fast and 

 heavy, and if made to move may groan with pain ; 

 and I have seen some cases where if you rubbed your 

 hand up the inside of the leg the animal would lift 

 it so high as to over-balance and sometimes fall. 

 The glands on the inside of the thigh will be hard 

 and feel like a rope under the fingers, and hot and 

 tender; this will at once let you know the nature 

 of the disease. In the course of a few hours the leg 

 will begin to swell from the foot, caused by a fill- 

 ing up of the lymphatic vessels, and as they be- 

 come distended they, too, will become inflamed and 

 hot. In some cases the leg will swell to an enormous 

 size, and it may be that the skin may crack or 

 a thin fluid may ooze out. There is considerable 

 fever and a full pulse, from sixty to seventy, and 

 the animal will not eat, but may drink consider- 

 able; and if it should lie down, it will be unable 

 to rise until turned over on the well side. A horse 



