252 
ON FEVER IN THE HORSE, 
must be done with circumspection; for I am not one of those 
who in every case, and indiscriminately, let the disease be what 
it will, bleed and physick*. In the milder forms I believe the 
less we do the better, and allow nature to act for us; at least, 
our measures should be more palliative than active. In the more 
violent forms, bleeding, regulated, I say, by the state of the 
pulse; physicking in mild doses, so as to keep the bowels 
thoroughly open, without amounting to purging; acting upon 
the skin by the use of hellebore and digitalis; abstinence, green 
food, cool drinks, and cool air, such appears to be the essential 
part of the treatment: but no positive treatment can be laid down 
for every case; the practitioner must be guided by the nature of 
the case and the state of his patient. 
Diseases, no doubt, are often cured by obviating their remote 
causes; and in this way strict attention to the state of the 
stomach, from its close sympathy with the brain, is a matter of 
great importance, and to be attended to here. Though we may 
not be able so readily to apply this to veterinary practice, still 
we may do a great deal: and conjoining this with our practical 
knowledge of the pulse, it is here our medical knowledge will 
assist us. 
Under every form of disease, simplicity of prescription is desir¬ 
able, more particularly while our resources and powers are 
abridged by the present limited pharmacopceia of the veterinarian. 
• It has often struck me that sufficient attention is not paid to the state 
of the pulse of the horse by the veterinarian; the quantity of knowledge 
to be ascertained by it being limited to the quickness or slowness of the 
pulsations, this being their chief guide in the use of the lancet; but the 
experienced practitioner well knows that the quality of the pulse will fre¬ 
quently inform him of the nature of the case, and be to him what the tongue 
of the human patient would be—his director. 
I may elucidate this by referring to the state of the pulse in enteritis, 
where it has the quick, wiry feel, which it is impossible to mistake. 
And again, the full, hard pulse we always find when inflammation 
attacks membranous parts, as in inflammation of the membrane of the 
brain. 
I may not be considered digressing by making the following observa¬ 
tions on the pulse. So many different appellations have been given to 
different kinds of pulses, that it tends more to confuse than assist us; 
but by attending to the four following rules, we shall find them, I think, 
quite sufficient, and, at all events, others may easily be referred to them. 
The contraction and dilatation of the heart is termed systole and diastole, 
and the blood being forced through the arteries forms the pulse; and 
though it will not give 11 s the exact state of the heart, it will give us its 
relative state. 
1st, A pulse where the artery is too much dilated. 
2d, Where it is not sufficiently so. 
3d, Where it is too frequent in its motions. 
4tb, Where it is too slow. 
