.26 



perni'anently enlarged; and this is the condition which has often beeiv 

 confounded with farcy. The writers have seen cases Avhere a second and a 

 third attack have been followed by a fourth, fifth, and even a sixth. 



The chief cause of weed is feeding -beyond the requirements of the 

 healthy nutrition of the animal. Cessation or sudden diminution of work 

 in well-fed horses is also a- common cause, as is seen in the frequent 

 occurrence of this malady among heavy draught horses after a Sunday's rest. 

 The complaint has in consequence been named the " Monday morning 

 disease." Sudden or prolonged exposure of the horse to cold or damp will in 

 many cases bring on an attack by suddenly disturbing the digestive functions, 

 and indeed any rapid change in the work or habits of the animal may bring 

 on an attack. Lastly, " weed " may occur as a local inflammation of the 

 limb resulting from an injury. For example, an injury to the foot in shoeing 

 may bring on an attack. Tlie inflammation spreads upwards to the groin, and 

 thus differs from the general disease, in which it begins above and spreads 

 downwards. The symptoms of weed, like those of many other diseases 

 vary very much with the intensity of the attack, and though they are quite 

 characteristic, the writer has nevertheless, strange as it may seem, been called 

 on several occasions to cases of "weed"' which were being treated by farriers 

 as "inflammation of the lungs.'' In many cases a shivering fit precedes 

 the local inflammation of the limb or limbs, and this may last during some 

 hours. As a rule the intensity and duration of this "rigor,"' as it is termed? 

 is a mark of the severity of the attack. At an early stage there is restlessness 

 and lameness, and after the shivering fit a hot stage follows. The fever 

 runs high. The pulse varies from 70 — 100 per minute, and is hard, full, and 

 firm. Sometimes, though not always, the breathing is also much accelerated, 

 and sweats bedew the body. The quickness of the breathing is the factor 

 which leads so many farriers to treat weed as if it w^ere inflammation of the 

 lungs, a disease which does however sometimes complicate weed. In weed 

 the bowels are constipated, the urine is dark coloured, and the temperature 

 is raised from 2'5 to 3*5 degrees above the normal, which in the horse is 

 ioo'5° F. The appetite is lost, and there is great thirst and restlessness. 

 The swelling is very tender, and rather firm. It is first noticed in the groin, 

 or in the corresponding region of the fore part of the bod}-. It feels hot, 

 and gradually extends downwards, first on the inner side of the thigh, but 

 gradually encircles the whole of the limb. This pain and lameness increase 

 until the crisis of the fever is reached, and then they remain stationary for 

 a day or two. In severe cases a serous exudation often occurs over the inner 

 surface of the limb, and particularly at the "bend" or "flexures" of the 

 joints. 



The general and the local symptoms continue to increase for 24 to 48_ 

 hours, and then remaining stationary, are followed in a day or two by 

 subsidence of the fever and gradual diminution of the local swelling. 



When Aveed recurs in a limb, there is less chance of complete recovery, 



for the tissues of the part become augmented, the entire bulk of the limb 



Lbecomes increased, and the skin is thickened and hardened. This condition. 



