544 
ABSCESS OF THE BRAIN. 
walked straight up to him on the near side ; and, when I laid my 
hand upon him, gave a sudden start and tremor, as; if he had 
not seen my approach, although he was in a spacious airy box. 
I turned him round and examined his eyes, and found he had very 
defective vision of the near eye. The pupil of that eye contracted 
very imperfectly in the light, and on bringing him out of the door 
he evidently shewed he could only see very little with the near 
eye, by his being afraid of the doorway, &c. No other particular 
change had occurred in the animal. The dung was soft, the ani- 
mal fed well, & c. I told these circumstances to the owner about 
the loss of sight, adding my opinion that it proceeded from some 
organic affection of the brain. Many of the officers came to see 
the horse, and I was nearly laughed out of my opinion that any 
thing was wrong with his brain, as they could see very little amiss 
with him. However, I gave the horse a dose of physic, and re- 
solved to watch him very closely. Monday, the physic acted ; no 
change in the animal. On Tuesday, the animal looked brighter, 
and, I thought, saw better; he was well inclined for food, and 
nothing further unusual. 
Wednesday morning I was looking through a hole into the box 
where the horse was, when I perceived that he was hanging his 
head a great deal, and that his eyes were half closed, and I was 
beginning to “smell a rat,” when the horse walked round the box and 
went with his head straight against the manger. I then went into 
the box and scrutinized him very closely, and sure enough I found 
he could not see from either eye — that both his eyes were perfectly 
insensible to light. It was not a case of distended pupil ; the pupils 
were of the natural size in the stable, but did not diminish in the 
slightest degree with light, and the finger might be put into either 
eye before the horse was conscious of it. Taking into considera- 
tion the state of the bowels, which was quite loose — the horse only 
having had mashes — and all the previous circumstances, I came at 
once to the conclusion that organic disease of brain was the source 
of mischief, and that his case was hopeless. However, something 
must be done. I took six quarts of blood at 11 o’clock, A.M. 
The blood was thin and of good colour. At 2 o’clock, P.M. I found 
the pulse 34; the animal hanging the head, and beginning to 
bore against the wall. I applied a large blister to the poll and 
over the forehead. At 4 o’clock, P.M. weakness had very much 
increased ; boring forward with the head ; slow pulse, 25 ; staggers 
about on attempting to move ; sight totally gone ; weakness in- 
creasing momentarily, and insensibly boring forward with the head. 
In staggers I had frequently seen good effect from the dash of cold 
water from a bucket at the head in restoring consciousness, and 
I now tried it. It had a momentary effect, and made the animal 
