366 DISEASES OF BREATHING. 



from time to time, as may be convenient, will act very beneficially 

 in safeguarding him from the ill effects of a long and trying day. 

 During his journey home, the pace should be so regulated between 

 walking and slow trotting, that he will return to his stable per- 

 fectly cool, and v/ith the circulation of his blood thoroughly 

 c(]ualised throughout his body. If this cannot be done, the groom 

 should walk him about, after the horse has come back, until a 

 similar effect has been obtained. When he is taken into his stable, 

 friction, by means of hand-rubbing or a whisp, should be freely 

 applied to his skin, and he should be warmly clothed, warm 

 bandages being put on if necessary; but the legs should not be 

 washed. The ventilation should be perfect, but without any 

 draughts. Indirect congestion of the lungs is most common among 

 unfit hunters which have to return to their stables by rail, as is 

 usually the case with those animals whose owners live in large 

 towns during the hunting season. 



SYMPTOMS. — The animal uses every effort to breathe. He 

 stands with his fore legs wide apart, his head stretched out, his 

 nostrils dilated, and he breathes with great rapidity ; while his 

 wild look, heaving flanks, bloodshot eyes, and trembling and sweat- 

 ing body denote the utmost distress. His legs and ears are cold. 

 The lining membrane of his eyelids and nostrils is of a more or 

 less purple colour, on account of its vessels being filled with non- 

 oxidised blood, which the lungs have been unable to purify. The 

 veins over the surface of the body appear swollen. It often 

 happens that some of the congested vessels of the air passages give 

 way, and there is bleeding of the nose. The pulse is extremely 

 weak, though frequent ; and the artery feels very full. After a 

 time, the animal becomes more or less insensible, from the action 

 of the impure blood on the nerve centres. 



" Cases of pulmonary congestion occurring in connection with 

 other diseases, although the symptoms exhibited are seemingly 

 less severe, are more generally fatal than when appearing as the 

 result of over-exertion " (Rohertsmi). 



Congestion of the lungs is frequently followed by inflammation 

 of the lungs. 



POST-MORTEM APPEARANCES.— The lungs are swollen, dark- 

 coloured and soft, and their substance is easily broken : appear- 

 ances which might lead an inexperienced person to imagine that 

 these organs were rotten, and that the disease was of long standing, 

 when, in fact, the condition may have become developed in a very 

 short time. 



TREATMENT. — If the disease is due to over-exertion in the 



