CANADIAN HOBSE AND HIS DISEASES. 123 



It consists in a congested or inflamed state of that' membrane, 

 giving rise to a glairy discharge from one or both nostrils, 

 and when the head of the windpipe (larynx) is implicated, ac- 

 companied by a cough. 



' Causes. — May be classed under predisposing and exciting, 

 as the majority of young horses under five years old may be 

 said to be predisposed to this afiection. The exciting causes 

 are sudden variations in the state of the temperature ; undue 

 exposure to cold when an animal is in a heated state, espe- 

 cially after a hard -day's work or drive; standing in stables 

 badly ventilated, or any place exposed to cold draughts. Per- 

 haps the most common cause in young horses is placing them 

 in warm stables in the fall of the year immediately on taking 

 them off the pastures. A sudden change from a cold to a 

 hot temperature is more likely to cause catarrh than a change 

 from a hot to a cold one. 



Symptoms. — If the horse is standing in the stable he will 

 appear dull, and incline to hang his head in the manger; the 

 mouth is hot, and the pulse quickened and weak ; the coat is 

 staring, and the lining membrane of the nose is reddened 

 and injected. If the larynx is involved, steady pressure on 

 that region will cause coughing. This is the congestive 

 stage, which speedily passes off, and exudation takes place 

 from the vessels, causing a discharge from the nostrils, at 

 first watery, gradually becoming thicker and thicker, and of 

 a yellowish colour. In some cases this matter becomes pent 

 up within the sinuses of the head, and comes away in large 

 quantities at intervals of three or four hours. A watery dis- 

 charge from the eye is also very often an accompaniment of 

 catarrh. If these symptoms become aggravated, the appetite 

 is impaired, the bowels are costive, and the faeces passed are 

 of a clayey nature, the legs and ears are cold, and the breath- 

 ing accelerated. Catarrh, if improperly treated, or the anitoal 



