VETERINARY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
416 
The first question would be, whether the horse is subject to idi¬ 
opathic fever, and this hinging on what we determined fever to be. 
He considered it to be increased action of the heart and arteries. 
The cold fit, and the shivering fit, and the succeeding hot fit, 
although frequently accompanying it, were not essential to it. 
Mr. King , senior, said that the sweating fit of the human subject 
was not essential to fever in the horse : indeed, it seldom appeared, 
unless brought on by profuse bleeding. The cold fit was more 
common; nothing was of more frequent occurrence than complete 
rigor, succeeded by unnatural warmth, and that followed by 
determination to some particular part. 
Mr. Mavor thought that no person who had seen much prac¬ 
tice could doubt as to the existence of simple fever in the horse. 
It was sometimes preceded by the shivering fit, but much more 
frequently existed without it. The symptoms, so far as he had 
regarded them, were dulness, hanging of the head, staring coat, 
quickness of pulse without much alteration in the respiration, until 
the fever had existed some time. When he saw the shivering fit, 
he always suspected inflammation of the lungs, or speedy determi¬ 
nation to that organ. 
Mr. King observed that the veterinary surgeon had not always 
the opportunity to observe the early rigor. He had often seen 
the animal shaking from head to foot. 
Mr. Henderson had very lately seen a horse under a complete 
shivering fit, which was quickly followed by swelled legs. It was 
his opinion, that either the shivering fit immediately preceded 
some local affection, or that the illness of the horse was speedily 
removed by bleeding and physic. 
Mr. W. Percivall remarked, that there could be no doubt that 
the shivering fit was occasionally observed; but the question was, 
is it essential to fever? Is it the usual symptom of fever? Does 
not fever often run its course without the shivering fit ? 
Mr. Slocombe had often seen the shivering fit and the whole 
indisposition yield at once to a copious bleeding; and he had seen 
it almost as frequently disappear without medical treatment. 
Mr. King acknowledged that he was not a friend to much bleed¬ 
ing in the early stage of fever. He contented himself with cooling 
and diuretic medicines, or more frequently a mild dose of physic. 
The local determination alone imperatively required bleeding. 
Mr. W. Percivall recollected having seen, in one of the French 
journals, an account of a case of regular intermittent fever in a 
horse. He w r ould ask, is fever contagious ? 
Mr. King .—Only under the catarrhal form. 
Mr. W. Percivall .—The distemper is considered to be conta¬ 
gious by many practitioners. Is it so? 
