THE HORSE—THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 47 
the breathing has a snoring sound; constipation; scanty urine. Then may 
follow dullness, convulsions, loss of consciousness, and death; or the horse 
may grow more violent before death, plunging about, pawing, biting and 
striking at every one near, with eyes standing out from the sockets, breath- 
ing and pulse rapid, and mouth hot and dry; the horse dashes violently 
against any object by him, falls exhausted, foaming at the mouth, sweating, 
and then dying. Symptoms of colic may be confused with these, but in 
colic rolling is prominent, as it is not here, and consciousness is not lost. 
The symptoms of brain fever, or “mad-staggers,” should be carefully com- 
pared with those of apoplexy, or “sleepy staggers,” found in the next sec- 
tion. But those of stomach staggers (see section on that disease) are most 
likely to be confused with the indications of brain fever. Hence the fol- 
lowing distinctions made by Gamgee should be carefully noted: 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, 
Very rare; never epidemic. 
History indicates the cause to be some 
local injury ; sometimes due to disease of 
the ears. 
Originates and progresses slowly. 
Usually very slight functional disturb- 
vance of stomach and ir.testines, indicated 
by costiveness. 
High fever of a persistent type. 
Stupor, listlessness. 
No signs of colic, and rarely sweats. 
Permanent uneasiness, ranging very 
‘slightly in intensity; delirium occasionally 
marked, but more frequently coma. 
Symptoms yield slowly and with diffi- 
-culty to treatment. 
Consequences.—No tendency to ruptured 
stomach; suppuration offen results, with 
marked symptoms of coma or blood-pci- 
soning. 
STOMACH STAGGERS WITH DELIRIUM. 
A common disease; often epidemic. 
History indicates the cause to be repletion 
of the stomach. 
Comes on suddenly. 
Marked signs of derangement of alimen- 
tary canal. 
Febrile symptoms easily dispersed. 
Symptoms of severe pain. 
Colic, sweats, tremors. 
Paroxysmal derangement and severe de- 
lirium. 
When evacuation of the stomach is ob- 
tained the delirium disappears, and the 
animal soon recovers. 
Conseguences.—Death in a few hours in 
. many cases; ruptured stomach, indicated 
by symptoms of vomiting. 
TREATMENT.—The most common treatment 1s free blood-letting, with 
‘powerful cathartics. 
While this may give temporary relief, the depletion, 
‘even if recovery takes place, will often produce a useless animal, a fine- 
‘spirited horse scarcely ever becoming more than a broken-down hack. A 
much better treatment consists in arterial sedatives which lessen the fever 
and allay the inflammation. Among the best of these we mention 
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