190 SUPPOSED DISLOCATION OF THE CERVICAL VERTEBRAE. 
examination it was found that not only was he unable to 
rise, but that he could not so much as even elevate his head. 
This state of things led the persons about the establishment 
to consider that he must shortly sink, and, as such, they 
remained watching him until midnight, before seeking vete¬ 
rinary advice. Soon after this time I saw the case, and was 
informed that the animal had never made a single effort to 
get up during the five hours which had elapsed; but that 
frequent convulsions of his limbs had taken place. I was 
some time in satisfying m} T self, by a careful examination, of 
the nature of the case. He was lying flat on his side, the 
breathing being seemingly diaphragmatic; for, notwith¬ 
standing its force from the position he was in, and other 
causes, no movement of the ribs could be discovered. Slaps 
and pinches on the limbs or trunk made no impression; nor 
did the muscles of the tail exert the slightest resistance to 
attempts to elevate it, nor did they move on pinching it. 
Nevertheless the lips, nostrils, eyelids, and all the facial parts, 
possessed their normal sensitiveness. 
On examining the neck, which was straightened and the 
nose protruding—a position which had been noticed as 
never having been altered—I found it incapable of the 
slightest movement by the application of manual force, and 
that each attempt to produce lateral motion of the lower 
cervical vertebrae, by raising the head from the ground, 
brought on convulsions of the limbs. The pulse was but 
slightly increased in frequency, affording, consequently, 
no special assistance in the diagnosis. 
It was my opinion that the animal had sustained an injury 
to the lower cervical vertebrae, but the question arose—how 
had it occurred ? I have frequently seen horses standing back 
in their stalls at the end of the halter, and falling asleep in that 
position, wake up just as they are dropping on their knees, 
being roused by the totter which then occurs; and I conjec¬ 
tured, from the extraordinary suddenness of the attack, that 
such might have taken place with this horse, and that the 
check of the halter while he was dropping had occasioned 
the accident. 
I looked upon the case as one of a dislocation, or per¬ 
haps fracture of the cervical vertebrae, and as such it was 
a hopeless affair; but before altogether abandoning my 
patient, 1 was anxious to get some clue as to the precise 
nature of the lesion, and therefore had recourse to fur¬ 
ther manipulations. For this purpose I directed two or 
three strong men to make a steady traction at the head in 
a direct line and along the ground, while I placed my hands 
