DISEASES OF ANIMALS 



105 



ply may be easily regulated. Good re- 

 sults are usually obtained also from 

 giving bran mash or linseed gruel. If 

 the horse is somewhat constipated this 

 symptom may be relieved by the use of 

 enemas of warm water and the animal 

 may be made to inhale steam for fifteen 

 to twenty minutes four or five times a 

 day. If the discharge from the nose 

 does not cease within a reasonable time, 

 tonics may be administered. 



Chronic catarrh, or as it is sometimes 

 called "nasal gleet," is essentially a 

 chronic persistence of a cold and con- 

 sists of an inflammation of the nasal 

 membrane. Occasionally the same 

 trouble is due to a fracture of a bone 

 in the nose from blows, or to diseased 

 teeth. This disease is not contagious but 

 great precaution should be exercised to 

 make sure the trouble is chronic catarrh 

 and not glanders. In some cases of 

 chronic catarrh the glands under the 

 jaw are somewhat swollen but there are 

 never ulcers with ragged edges in the 

 nostrils, such as are seen in glanders. 

 Attention should be given to the food 

 and water and a tonic may be adminis- 

 tered containing a mixture of 3 ounces 

 reduced iron and 1 ounce powdered nux 

 vomica. This material should be thor- 

 oughly mixed and made into 16 powders, 

 which are to be given twice a day for 

 eight days. 



Minor respiratory difficulties — The 

 horse is also subject to nasal polypus, 

 bleeding from the nose, inflammation 

 of the pharynx, sore throat and spasm 

 of the larynx. These troubles, however, 

 are not of sufficiently frequent occur- 

 rence to merit a discussion in this con- 

 nection. "Thick wind" and "roaring' 7 

 are terms applied to difficulty in breath- 

 ing which is sometimes shown by horses. 

 Thick wind may be due to the presence 

 of nasal polypus, deformed bone, paraly- 

 sis of one side of the nostril and other 

 causes. In chronic roaring, a peculiar 

 noise is made when the air is drawn into 

 the lungs. This trouble is due to 

 paralysis of the muscles which move one 

 of the cartilages of the larynx and us- 

 ually is to be treated by surgical opera- 

 tion. Similar troubles in breathing are 

 referred to under the names of grunt- 

 ing, high-blowing and whistling. 



Lung troubles—The lungs of the horse 

 may be affected by congestion of a tem- 

 porary sort or by pneumonia in the form 



frequently referred to as lung fever. 

 Pneumonia is ushered in by chill, after 

 which the breathing becomes rapid, the 

 animal hangs its head and the tempera- 

 ture rises. In cases of pneumonia the 

 horse does not lie down but persists in 

 standing during the whole course of the 

 disease. In treating this trouble pure 

 air is essential and it is better to have 

 proper ventilation, even if the tempera- 

 ture is cold, than to secure a higher tem- 

 perature with foul air. If the legs be- 

 come cold they may be warmed up by 

 rubbing, and hot blankets may be applied 

 to the chest at frequent intervals until 

 the most violent stage of congestion is 

 relieved. Since the heart is often very 

 much weakened during the progress of 

 pneumonia, great precaution should be 

 used in giving aconite, since this is a 

 powerful depressant. The diet should 

 consist of a laxative food such as bran 

 mash or green feed if in season. Stimu- 

 lants are indicated in nearly all case3 

 of pneumonia. One that is commonly 

 recommended consists in repeated doses 

 of 6 ounces of whiskey. 



Horses may also be affected by inflam- 

 mation followed by the formation of pus 

 in the guttural pouches or by pleurisy, 

 bronchitis, abscesses in the lungs, 

 chronic cough, rupture of the diaphragm 

 and thumps. 



Heaves [ 8 a disease so frequently re- 

 ferred to that special mention of it may 

 be made in connection with the diseases 

 of the respiratory organs. The peculiar 

 irregular movements of the flanks and 

 abdomen seen in horses affected with 

 heaves are familiar to all horse raisers. 

 While heaves appears to be a disease of 

 the respiratory organs, its cause is usu- 

 ally sought in the use of improper food, 

 particularly smutty or moldy clover or 

 other leguminous forage plants. Heaves 

 is also referred to under the names of 

 broken wind or asthma. The trouble 

 may be obscured by temporary treatment 

 and this gives occasion to some decep- 

 tion by horse dealers. The presence of 

 the disease, however, may be readily 

 shown by driving the horse rapidly up 

 hill, when the peculiar symptoms of 

 heaves will at once appear if the horse 

 is affected with the disease. There is 

 no complete cure for the disease if it has 

 persisted for some time, but the more 

 distressing symptoms may be relieved 

 by giving attention to the diet. 



