66 SPECIAL EQUINE THERAPY 



The condition runs a slow course, becoming more 

 marked month by month. Soon the animal finds it 

 impossible to move in a straight line, and usually back- 

 ing becomes difficult. If the animal is forcibly and 

 quickly shoved backward it will either fall or flounder 

 clumsily about. 



In some cases the horse has spells of violent attacks. 

 These last for several hours at times, during which the 

 animal presents a set of symptoms generally described 

 as staggers. It plunges about, falls, rises again, and 

 goes through similar antics frequently. In one case oc- 

 curring in my practice a violent spell of this sort lasted 

 nearly forty-eight hours, during which time the horse 

 succeeded in completely demolishing its stall and eventu- 

 ally broke loose and ran amuck. It was later recap- 

 tured in an exhausted, sleepy condition. 



"Dummies" eventually become whoUy unserviceable. 

 The condition is always incurable. In the early stages 

 it is recognized by testing the alertness and the acute- 

 ness of sensibility, as well as by noting the progressive 

 development of permanent sluggishness. These horses 

 always have a slow, full, soft pulse ; and in nearly every 

 case the respiratory motions are abnormally slow and 

 deliberate. The horse is not easily excited by noise that 

 formerly alarmed it, and it responds slowly or not at all 

 to slapping, or to commands. Violent spells, such as 

 have already been described, can frequently be aroused 

 by making the horse perform unusually hard work, and 

 at times by confinement in hot stables during extremely 

 hot weather. Because of the possibility of an unexpected 

 violent spell of this kind, horses so affected should be 

 considered unsafe and dangerous. 



Treatment during these spells is wholly symptomatic. 

 Treatment of the condition itself is useless. 



