DISEASES AND TREATMENT OF THE HORSE. 91 



journey's end, and you can hardly unhitch him from the rig, he it 

 in such pain. As soon as he is taken into the stable he shows 

 violent symptoms by laying" down and trying to roll on his back, 

 tfien he will jump to his feet, look at his flank, and again lie 

 i!own, and sometimes he is noticed to paw first with one foot then 

 the other, and keeps on repeating these symptoms until he gets 

 relief ; he perspires freely all over the body from the pain ; tapping 

 with your finger on his side it will produce a drum-like sound, 

 showing that there is gas there. If you sound the stomach and 

 bowels with the ear you will not hear much noise, any more than 

 the tinkling of gas. He is noticed to pass gas per anus, which is 

 a good sign. The heat of the body, the legs and ears are about 

 natural. This is a good point to note, for in inflammation of the 

 stomach or bowels, the legs and ears are always cold and clammy, 

 his pulse beats from 50 to 75 beats per minute, and beating mod- 

 erately strong, whereas if there was inflammation it would be 

 beating very strong and wiry ; he is also noticed to breathe heavy 

 and quick, which is caused from the stomach being so distended 

 with gas that it presses heavy on the lungs. By placing your ear to 

 the bottom part of his neck you will hear him belching wind. This 

 disease generally takes from twelve to twenty-four hours to run 

 its course. In some cases, where the disease is not so bad as the 

 one mentioned, the symptoms will not be so distressing, he will 

 be noticed to leave his feed and commence pawing, then lie down 

 quiet, probably for a few minutes, then get upon his feet again, 

 take a few bites of feed, paw, and lie down again. In some cases 

 he will seem easy for a few minutes, when the pain comes on 

 again. If you examine his bowels you will hear them working 

 pretty well, but will hear gas passing through them. The pulse 

 will not be changed much, probably 5 or 10 beats faster than they 

 should be, and the heat of the body, and of the ears and legs will 

 be about natural. In a case of this kind, if the animal does not 

 get relief he will probably show these symptoms for days, or even 

 a week, before the symptoms will get worse. It is not well to 

 allow the animal to suffer too long if he does not get relief 

 himself. 



Treatment. — This disease is found more in heavy horses than 

 in light, and also is more fatal in the heavy horse. In some cases, 

 where the animal does not get relief in this disease, it will termin- 

 ate in rupture of the stomach, or inflammation. If you are driving 



