128 TETANUS. 



able to account for its appearance. It is more mild, 

 more slow, and more often conquered than is that 

 kind of tetanus which springs from injuries. A case 

 of the idiopathic kind, therefore, holds out some hopes 

 of treatment being successful. 



The symptoms which denote that the horse has 

 been attacked by tetanus should be universally known, 

 as every thing will depend upon the disease being 

 recognized in its earliest stage. 



The horse is unable to turn his head easily round to 

 his flank ; the whole body must turn together, like a 

 deal board ; the muscles of the neck are rigid and 

 hard ; the nostrils are dilated to the utmost ; the ears 

 are erect ; the eyes retracted ; the haw drawn over 

 them; the countenance of the horse the picture of 

 mute despair. The muscles of the extremities, al- 

 though less affected, are considerably involved; the 

 poor animal is conscious of his loss of power over 

 them, and fixes himself as securely as he can ; no- 

 thing but absolute force can induce him to move. 

 The fore legs are wide apart, and inclined forwards ; 

 the hind legs are strangely straddling, and inclined 

 backwards ; the tail is erect, and in a constant, qui- 

 vering motion. As the disease proceeds, the horse 

 becomes more and more a fixture ; and the jaws are, 

 at length, so firmly clenched, that nothing can be 

 forced between the teeth. 



This is a disease of extreme suffering to the poor 

 animal. The human being undergoing the like afflic- 

 tion tells us that his tortures are great indeed ; the 

 pain which results from the cramp of one muscle will 

 give some idea of the horrible suffering that must 



