528 



its halter and fastenings ; it will bite at the woodwork and surrounding 

 objects in the stable. If the animal lives long enough it shows paralytic 

 symptoms and falls to the ground, unable to use two or more of its 

 extremities, but in the majority of cases, in its excesses of violence, it 

 does physical injury to itself. It breaks the jaws in biting at the man- 

 ger, or fractures other bones in throwing itself on the ground, and dies 

 of hemorrhage or internal injuries. At times throughout the course of 

 the disease there is an excessive sensibility of the skin, which, if irritated 

 by the touch, will bring on attacks of violence. The animal may have 

 appetite and desire water throughout the course of the disease, but on 

 attempting to swallow has a spasm of the throat, which renders the act 

 impossible. This latter condition, which is common in all rabid animals, 

 has given the disease the name of hydropJiobia (fear of water). 



In a case recently under the care of the writer a horse, four weeks 

 after being bitten on the forearm by a rabid dog, developed local irri- 

 tation in the healed wound and tore it with its teeth into a large ulcer. 

 This was healed by local treatment in ten days and the horse was kept 

 under surveillance for over a month. On the advice of another prac- 

 titioner the horse was taken home and put to work, and within three 

 days it developed violent symptoms and had to be destroyed. 



The diagnosis of rabies in the horse is to be made from the various 

 brain troubles to which the animal is subject; first, by the history of 

 a previous bite of a rabid animal or inoculation by other means; sec- 

 ondly, by the evident volition and consciousness on the part of the 

 animal in its attacks, offensive and defensive, on persons, animals, or 

 other disturbing surroundings. The irritation and reopening of the 

 original wound or point of inoculation is a valuable factor in diagnosis. 



Recov^ery from rabies may be considered as a question of the cor- 

 rectness of the original diagnosis. 



No remedial treatment has ever been successful. All of the anodynes 

 and amcsthetics, opium, belladonna, bromide of potash, ether, chlo- 

 roform, etc., have been used without avail. The prophylactic treat- 

 ment of successive inoculations is being used on human beings, and has 

 experimentally proved efiBcacious in dogs, but would be impracticable 

 in the horse, which must invariably be destroyed or be so guarded as to 

 protect the surrounding attendants and other animals in the same sta- 

 ble, when it will die iu a day or two from self- in dieted traumati:;m or 

 paralysis. 



