MALADIE t>U COIT. 
403 
the horse paws and appears uneasy, as if the urine irritated the 
urethra. 
The disease may remain for a long period limited to the swell¬ 
ing of the sheath. After a time it is perceived that the animal is 
not so vigorous as usual; rests more frequently, and does not 
evince much ardor when mares are exhibited; as yet the appetite 
is good, but there is loss of condition, and also gradual emacia¬ 
tion, which is scarcely noticeable until after several weeks or 
months; the coat looks dry and the skin tight and inelastic, and 
the slightest pressure on the loins causes the horse to evince symp¬ 
toms of tenderness. Soon afterwards difficulty is observed in 
walking ; there is swaying of the croup, and apparent weakness 
of the posterior extremities, standing is fatiguing, and the hind 
limbs are alternately rested twenty or thirty times a minute; still 
later, when trotted the animal goes as if its loins were affected ; 
the croup swings from side to side, and it, as well as the hocks, 
is much flexed when the pace is suddenly checked. 
There is a marked lameness of the hind or one of the fore 
limbs ; most frequently it is confined to the right hind leg. The 
hip joints are painful, and when the hind feet come to the ground 
they are jerked up again, as if the horse was affected with string- 
halt. At times the weakness is so great that the animal falls to 
the ground like an inert mass. 
These symptoms are intermittent. A horse that goes lame 
to-day may not be lame two or three weeks hence ; then the lame¬ 
ness will again appear, and diminish or increase until the feeble¬ 
ness terminates in death. 
There is tumefaction of the submaxillary lymphatic glands, 
and those in the inguinal region, and a discharge from one or 
both nostrils, while the eyes are lachrymose. At an advanced 
stage of this disease the appetite is variable and capricious; the 
food is eaten slowly, and the hay is often held listlessly between 
the lips, as if the animal forgot it was eating, or the jaws were 
fatigued. 
In some cases a peculiar symptom is remarked; this consists 
in excessive pruritis confined, to the posterior extremities, and 
which persists until death ensues. The stallion gnaws itself about 
