352 STABLE ECONOMY. 



tightly, as they mostly always are in hunting and in ra- 

 cing. 



Let the horse stand with his head to the wind, take off the 

 girths, and wait a little. He will get better presently, in five 

 or ten minutes, and then he may be led home. He must be 

 placed in a cold, airy stable ; a warm or close one is very 

 dangerous. If the breathing does not become easier in eight 

 or ten minutes, the horse must be bled ; but if, in this time, 

 his breathing become tolerably quiet, bleeding may be de- 

 layed till the horse is stabled, and it will then be seen 

 whether or not the operation is needful. 



Bleeding, when properly managed, gives immediate and 

 certain relief ; but it is folly to bleed from the mouth in a 

 case of this kind. Open the neck vein, and take away six or 

 eight quarts of blood, as quickly as possible. As the skin 

 cools, dry it, and apply clothes. After the bleeding, give six 

 drachms of the carbonate of ammonia, powdered, and made 

 into a ball with water and linseed-meal. Give the first three 

 or four quarts of water quite cold, the rest tepid. Keep the 

 legs warm, give a bran-mash, and open the stable windows. 



Sometimes the horse reaches home before it is apparent 

 that he is much the worse of his work. Perhaps he is sta- 

 bled and dressed before it is observed that his breathing is 

 still quick, that he does not eat, that his eye is red, his crest 

 sunk, and flank tucked up. Put a finger upon the vein ; if it 

 do not rise, bleeding need not be tried. Give the carbonate 

 of ammonia, and repeat it in an hour. Should the horse be 

 no better at the end of that time, it is probable he will then 

 bleed. The ammonia should make the blood flow. If live- 

 lier and the breathing easier, bleeding will not be necessary. 

 Keep the legs and body warm ; but give pure and cool air to 

 breathe. Next day the veterinarian will see whether there be 

 any danger of inflamed lungs, which is often the result of 

 congestion. 



Spasm of the Diaphragm takes place when the horse is at 

 work, or it is observed whenever he is pulled up. His flanks 

 heave rapidly ; every fall is a convulsive jerk which shakes 

 the whole body ; a loud noise is heard, as if the heart were 

 beating violently against the side. The diaphragm seems to 

 be the seat of intermitting spasm. The action of the heart is 

 always feeble and indistinct. 



This aflection is not very common. In a few cases it ap- 

 pears to exist independent of congestion in the lungs, but most 

 frequently the two are combined. They are produced by the 



