26 DISEASES OP THE HORSE. 



pension are dissolved and the urine is made clear. The urine may be 

 unusually cloudy from the addition of abnormal constituents, but to 

 determine their character a chemical or microscopic examination is 

 necessary. Eed or reddish flakes or clumps in the urine are always 

 abnormal, and denote a hemorrhage or suppuration in the urinary 

 tract. 



The normal specific gravity of the urine of the horse is about 1.040. 

 It is increased when the urine is scanty and decreased when the 

 quantity is excessive. 



Acid reaction of the urine occurs in chronic intestinal catarrh, in 

 high fever, and during starvation. Chemical and microscopic tests 

 and examinations are often of great importance in diagnosis, but 

 require special apparatus and skill. 



Other points in the examination of a sick horse require more discus- 

 sion than can be afforded in this connection, and require special train- 

 ing on the part of the examiner. Among such points may be men- 

 tioned the examination of the organs of special sense, the examination 

 of the blood, the microscopic examination of the secretions and excre- 

 tions, bacteriological examinations of the secretions, excretions, and 

 tissues, specific reaction tests, and diagnostic inoculation. 



