COLD AND COUGH. 261 



the cold. A horse coughs, and the groom declares 

 it to be ' nothing: but a little stable cousfh.' A 

 stable cough S The description would be better 

 rendered as a hot stable, cough. In such a case it 

 is more than probable that, there being an utter 

 absence of proper ventilation in the stable, the 

 impure, vitiated air had irritated the mucous mem- 

 brane, and so caused the cough. The irritation, 

 unless treated promptly, spreads, and a cold is the 

 result. The horse gets dull and listless, refuses his 

 corn, and all the several stages of a bad cold ensue. 

 The nostrils discharge ; the poor horse is perfectly 

 wretched. The owner is obliged to walk, and has 

 to pay a veterinary surgeon a probably long bill, 

 and all for the want of a little attention to proper 

 ventilation. 



It is, however, quite possible to stop a cold, if it 

 is promptly treated. At the first symptom of a 

 cough, if mustard is rubbed well into the throat, 

 any further evil will probably be averted. The 

 horse should also be put on laxative diet for a day 

 or two, such as bran or linseed mashes. Should the 

 cough run on into a settled cold, the horse should 

 be at once removed to a large airy loose-box. 



Steaming the head will relieve the animal. The 

 best way of doing this is by half filling a bucket 

 with hay, and pouring boiling water on it, in 



