IMMOBILITE. 565 



animal, but very rarely attacks ponies or well-bred horses. Town 

 work seems to predispose horses to it, more than agricultur"*! 

 labour. Geldings are usually considered to be more susceptible to 

 it than mares ; the reason probably being that there are more 

 geldings than mares in cities. As a rule, it affects only horses 

 which have been put to work, although cases of it have been met 

 with in young, unbroken animals. It is said to be more common 

 in Scotland than elsewhere. 



No exact information has been obtained respecting the cause of 

 shivering. Excitement and injury hasten its development, but they 

 cannot be regarded as producers of shivering, because their effect 

 in that direction is practically inert on well-bred horses. As the 

 raising of the feet in shoeing will cause a shiverer much distress, 

 its remembrance will generally bring on a more or less severe 

 paroxysm when he is taken again to be shod. In susceptible 

 horses, the symptoms are often seen for the first time after a rail- 

 way journey. Some persons regard casting (as, for instance, for 

 castration) and docking as causes of shivering, but no proof has 

 been advanced in support of either of these suppositions. 



THE EXAMINATION OF A SHIVERER for soundness is not 

 always an easy task to perform with accuracy, because the symp- 

 toms are often intermittent. It should naturally be conducted 

 with greater care, in the case of a heavy horse, than in that of a 

 light one. It is advisable to adopt the following procedure : 



1. See the horse in his stall or box, and observe if he " cocks " 

 his tail or leg. Make him move over to one side, and then to tie 

 other. 



2. Sharply back him and turn him to both sides, and note how 

 he lifts his legs. 



3. Take up each of his legs, one after the other, hold them up 

 for a few seconds, and see that there is no unusual difficulty in 

 raising them, and that he does rot shiver. 



4. Offer him water to drink, and observe if he " cocks " his tail 

 or leg. 



Immobilite. 



This is a more or less chronic condition brought on by various 

 kinds of brain disease, of which water on the brain is the most 

 common. It is characterised by mental torpidity, and failure to 

 correctly co-ordinate external impressions. 



I think that immobilite is extremely rare in England, where 

 it is often erroneously supposed to be identical with " shivering." 

 According to Friedberger, Frohner, and others, it is frequent 



