78 VETKRIXARY HOMCEOPATHY. 



those muscles into the composition of which white- fibrous tissue 

 does not enter are rarely the seat of rheumatism, we feel justi- 

 fied in coming to the conclusion that these connective tissues as 

 they are called are the chief seat of attraction for this disease. 

 It is rare for the horse to be the subject of rheumatism in that acute 

 form which is experienced by the human subject nor does its 

 development frequently extend to that vital organ, the heart, as 

 is the case in man; at the same time if a horse has been the sub- 

 ject of chronic rheumatism for a length of time and the treat- 

 ment it has experienced has not proved satisfactory, cases have 

 come under notice in which the valves of the heart seemed to be 

 affected during life, a diagnosis that has several times been con- 

 firmed by us, post mortem; in examining a horse for soundness, 

 we invariably make a rule to auscultate the chest to discover 

 abnormal heart sounds, if present; and on one occasion warned 

 the buyer that the valves of the heart were diseased — probably 

 rheumatic in origin — but so much was the buyer's h^art set upon 

 this particular animal that he determined to risk purchase against 

 our advice to the contrary; and paid the penalty accordingly, for 

 it was not long before the horse fell dead in the street when draw- 

 ing the carriage; we also know the case of a racehorse that was 

 known to be extremely speedy who seemed rarely able to win a 

 race collapsing and dying away as it were at the critical part of 

 the race; he was designated a '' non-stayer \'" I diagnosed him as 

 the subject of heart disease; one morning he was found dead in 

 his box, and the autopsy showed thickening of the valves of the 

 heart; these cases, however, are in our experience not very numer- 

 ous; this somewhat extraordinary development of the disease does 

 not however offer any serious obstacle to successful treatment; 

 certainly the drugs required under such conditions differ from 

 those that are so successfully used when the extremities are the 

 seat of affection. If it can be affirmed that the homoeopathic 

 principle shines in some diseases more than others, certainly 

 rheumatism should be included in the list; but in our opinion the 

 reason why success is more notable in what may be termed the 

 exceptional diseases is due to the fact that Allopath}^ fails utterly 

 therein and therefore the comparison is all in favor of the system 

 that effects a large proportion of cures. 



In cases where the disease locates itself in a very acute form 



