84 SPECIAL EQUINE THERAPY 



evacuation; the patient stands now in an exhausted, re- 

 signed attitude. Muscular tremors and perspiration 

 appear, and soon recumbency and death. A horse in the 

 grip of this disease is a pitiable sight to behold. The 

 disease runs its course in from two to four days. During 

 this time the patient will not refuse all feed, but from 

 time to time may nibble some oats. These appear, undi- 

 gested, in the evacuations within a few hours. The urine 

 is very dark in color. 



Nothing will check the course of the disease so far as 

 is now known. In one case which occurred in my prac- 

 tice, I had ample opportunity and every facility and 

 inducement to attempt a cure. Everything was useless. 

 Until the etiology and the pathological changes which 

 occur are better understood, we can expect to make but 

 little impression on an attack with our treatment. The 

 disease runs such a rapid and violent course that any 

 form of handling, to be successful, "must hit the nail on 

 the head." Until we can do this these cases will con- 

 tinue to be always fatal. 



On account of the infrequent occurrence it may not 

 be possible to solve the problem presented by this disease 

 for a long time to come. Experimental handling of 

 these eases would, therefore, be entirely ethical and per- 

 missible by veterinarians in attendance on animals so 

 affected. Under our present form of treatment and un- 

 derstanding of this disease, death is always a foregone 

 conclusion. At autopsy the liver is greatly shrunken 

 or reduced in size and very friable. 



