Temperature and Respiration 113 
arise of four degrees is serious. A sudden fall of tem- 
perature below normal, unless due to some local cause, 
is always serious, and usually denotes waning vitality 
and the approach of death. A person who takes care 
of much stock should equip himself with a good clinical 
thermometer and familiarize himself with its use. He 
will find it a valuable aid in recognizing disease. 
RESPIRATION 
Respiration, commonly called breathing, consists of 
two movements—the taking in of air (inspiration) and 
the forcing out of air (expiration). In the horse there 
is usually one respiration to three pulse-beats. In 
health, a horse takes from twelve to fifteen inspirations 
per minute; a cow, ten to twenty-five, and a dog about 
twenty. Rapid breathing may be caused by excitement, 
by exercise or by excessive heat. The breathing is also 
faster when the animal’s stomach is distended with food 
or with gas, or if, for any other reason, the capacity of 
the lung cavity is diminished. 
Short, rapid or labored breathing usually indicates 
disease of the respiratory organs. Snoring indicates 
an obstruction of the air-passages of the throat or head, 
or it may come from disease of the brain. It often 
marks the near approach of death. Abdominal breath- 
ing makes prominent use of the diaphragm (midriff ) 
and the abdominal muscles. It usually indicates sore- 
ness of the lungs, and in horses is a symptom of 
heaves. 
Coughing is the forcible expulsion of the air from 
H 
