160 DISEASES OF HORSES AND CATTLE. 



tions caused by exhaustion and exposure to the hot 

 sun. The great heat and the exhaustion from fast 

 driving, or hard, slow work continued for a long 

 time in a hot afternoon heats the body of the ani- 

 mal to such an extent as to destroy the nerve tissue, 

 so that it does not perform its function, resulting 

 in congestion of the brain or cord, or the heart it- 

 self may be the part most affected, or the blood may 

 become changed. In some cases the whole super- 

 ficial circulation is stopped. 



Symptoms: The animal begins to lag behind 

 and stagger along for a few yards, then falls to 

 the ground in an unconscious state. The breathing 

 is noisy and the pulse is small, slow and irregular, 

 and sweat may break out in patches on the body. 

 The animal may die in a few minutes. In some 

 cases which are not so severe the animal becomes 

 used up, staggers in walking, breathing fast, eyes 

 half closed and watery, nostrils dilated. The pulse 

 is rapid and weak, and if pushed on in this condi- 

 tion will soon fall unconscious. 



Treatment: On a very hot day a horse at work 

 should be rested often and given a drink of water, 

 and if it should show any signs of lagging it should 

 be stopped at once and taken to a cool place, and 

 if possible be given a stimulant, half a pint of 

 whisky in a little water, or two ounces of aromatic 

 spirits of ammonia in half a pint of cold water, and 

 not put to work for several hours. In bad cases 

 where the animal falls unconscious, it should get 

 one of the above stimulants. I find the best and 

 surest method is not only to apply water to the 



