510 



abscess is felt, or having broken itself the discharge is seen dripping 

 from a small opening. When the discharge from the nostrils has fully 

 developed the fever usually disappears and the animal regains its 

 appetite, unless the swelling is sufacient to interfere with the function 

 of the throat, causing pain on any attempt to swallow. At the end of 

 four or six days the discharge lessens, the soreness around the throat 

 diminishes, the horse regains its appetite, and in two weeks has 

 regained its usual condition. Old and strong horses may have the dis- 

 ease in so light a form that the fever is not noticeable; they may con- 

 tinue to'eat and perform their ordinary work as usual and no symptom 

 may be seen beyond a slight discharge from the nose and a rare cough, 

 whicli is not sufficient to worry any but the most particular owner. 

 But, on the other hand, the disease may assume a malignant form or 

 become complicated so as to become a most serious disease, and even 

 prove fatal in many cases. Inflammation of the larynx and bronchi, 

 if excessive, will produce violent, harsh coughing, which may almost 

 asphyxiate the animal. The large amount of discharge may be mixed 

 with air by the difficult breathing, and the nostrils, the front of tlie 

 animal, manger and surrounding objects become covered with a white 

 foam. The inflammation may be in the lung itself (lobular pneumo- 

 nia) and cause the animal to breathe heavily, heave at the flanks, and 

 show great distress. In this condition marked symptoms of fever are 

 seen; the appetite is lost, the coat is dry, the horse stands back in 

 its stall at the end of the halter strap with its neck extended and its 

 legs propped apart to favor its breathing. Tliis condition may end by 

 resolution, leaving the horse for some time with a severe cough, or 

 the animal may die from choking up of the lungs (asphyxia). 



The swelling under the jaw may be excessive, and if the abscess is 

 not opened it burrows toward the throat or to the side and causes 

 inflammation of the parotid glands and breaks in annoying fistulas at 

 the sides of the throat and even up as high as the ears. Roaring may 

 occur either during a moderately severe attack from inflammation of 

 the throat (larynx) or at a later period as the result of continued lung 

 trouble. Abscesses may develop in other parts of the body, in the 

 poll, in the withers, or in the spaces of loose tissue under the arms, in 

 the fold of the thigh, and, in entire horses, in the testicles. 



During the course of the disease or later, when the animal seems to 

 be on the road to perfect recovery, abscesses may form in the internal ' 

 organs and produce symptoms characteristic of disease of those parts. 

 Delirium.— Uoaiing, plunging, wandering in a circle, or standing 

 with the head wedged in a corner of the stall indicates the collection 

 of matter in the brain. Sudden and severe lung symptoms, without 

 previous discharge, point to an abscess between the lungs, in the 

 mediastinum; colic, which is often continuous for days, is the result 

 of the formation of an abscess in some part of the abdominal cavity, 

 usually in the mesentery. 



