THE HORSE—THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 1138 
tants. Put the horse in a well-ventilated stall, without draughts. Rub the 
legs well with the hand and bandage them with flannel. Use an extra 
blanket if the horse be chilly. Give green food if possible, otherwise a 
little bran and oats (previously soaked in boiling water), and hay. If the 
horse refuses other food, sustain him with oatmeal gruel carefully prepared. 
Keep constantly in the stall pure, cold, soft water for the horse to drink as 
he will. If the disorder terminates in simple “hepatization,” the horse may 
be moderately worked, if the diet be carefully regulated, the stomach being 
nearly or quite empty when work is required. One of the most common, 
and yet one of the most fatal expedients in the treatment of pneumonia is 
blood-letting, not merely in small quantities, but in repeated and exhausting 
amounts. The result is an increase in the action of the heart as a conse- 
quence of weakness, and this is taken as the signal for further bleeding, and 
the animal succumbs and dies, not simply from the blood that is lost, but 
because he is not strong enough to bleed:sufficiently. It is a practice that is 
based upon ignorance, without a single recorded result in its favor. 
CONSUMPTION. 
Consumption, which is rare in horses, is a formation ot tubercles in the 
lungs, which increase and ulcerate. It results from a constitutional tend- 
ency, aggravated by exposure to,damp and cold; pasturage on marshy 
ground; over-exertion. 
Symptoms.—Much coughing, dry or moist, with pus discharged from 
the nostrils, sometimes in great quantities; loss of flesh in spite of a good 
appetite; short breath; weakness; mane falls off; small sores on the withers; 
diarrheea and death. 
TREATMENT.—The disease is usually not noticed until it is settled. 
Then it is incurable, but much can be done to give relief by general care. 
Keep the horse well stabled, avoiding north and east winds, free from ex- 
citement and alarm, warmly clothed and well-rubbed. When the weather 
is warm and the sun shining, allow him to be in the open air, stabling him 
as soon as the evening draws nigh. Give nourishing, easily digested arti- 
cles of food, as fats, consisting of ‘linseed, corn, beans, peas and potatoes. 
Cod-liver oil, the hypophosphites, or the wheat phosphates may be used with 
advantage. Inhalations of carbolic acid, sulphur, and pine tar may assist in 
giving relief. These may be used by steaming with hot water, or by burn- 
ing the articles and allowing the animal to inhale the vapor. The steaming- 
bag represented on page 105 will be found of service in such inhala- 
tions. At best one can only hope to prolong the life of a suffering 
animal which can be of little service. 
Digitized by Microsoft® 
