41 



of two drachms, with three drachms of Hqiior arsenicalis, in the form of a 

 draught twice daily with a pint of water, after feeding. In very bad cases, 

 the sound may be lessened l^y pads attached to and fitted carefully over the 

 nostrils, so as to regulate the amount of air entering the larynx. If this 

 method is effectual, a tube may be passed through an opening made in the 

 windpipe, and kept there for the remainder of the life of the animal. The 

 electrical current, together with the use of such drugs as nux vomica, 

 the iodide, the chlorate, and bicarbonate of potassium, liquor arsenicalis, 

 and arseniate of iron, constitute probably the most useful of all combined 

 methods of treating roaring. In Germany, the removal of one of the 

 cartilages of the larynx is recommended ; but this treatment is not very 

 successful, and we therefore pass it by. Bad roarers can be used for slow 

 work, but they thrive badly as a rule, and often succumb to slight disoixlers,. 

 more especially of the breathing organs. 



ASTHMA AND BROKEN-WIND. 



Asthma of the horse is a morbid condition, characterised by attacks of 

 difficulty of breathing. It probably depends as in man, upon spasm of the 

 small air tubes in the lungs, and is often accompanied by a wheezing 

 noise, which is more distinct than in the allied disease. 



One of the chief predisposing causes of asthma is inherited tendency j- 

 but fatigue, overwork, general debility, and other factors also play a prominent 

 part in its production. It bears a close resemblance in many points to broken 

 wind, of which we shall treat shortly ; and if prolonged, it not unfrequently 

 terminates in this chronic malady. By some authors asthma is regarded as 

 an early stage of broken-wind, but as many cases undoubtedly recover 

 without ever passing into this more serious condition, and as the treatment 

 required is essentially different, we have thought well to consider it separately. 

 Asthma is characterised by sudden spasmodic difficulty of breathing, which 

 resembles that of broken-wind, in that the inspiration is easier than the 

 expiration. The latter is usually of a jerky character, but has a less distinct 

 double action than in the allied malady. In asthma also the wheezing noise 

 made is more distinct, and there is more exhaustion with less cough, which is 

 not so hollow as in broken-wind, but is short, quick, or suppressed. The 

 suddenness of attacks of difficulty of breathing, their severity, their rapid 

 accession and decline, and their unaccountable disappearance, are marked 

 features of asthma. The febrile disturbance is severe when the attack is fully 

 developed, the chest is fixed as it were, arkd there is increased movement of the 

 muscles of the belly. When the cough is severe, small pellets of mucus are 

 discharged through the nostrils. If we listen to the fore part or to the side of the 

 chest, we can distinctly hear the wheezing sound. The spasms may last a few 

 days, or may extend over several weeks, and then disappear or pass impercept- 

 ibly into broken-wind. In attacks of asthma, the horse should be placed in a 

 well-ventilated roomy box, and the diet should consist of bran mashes, and 



