58 
CENTRAL VETERINARY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 
move its hind legs perfectly well. He told the driver to drive him up. 
He moved like a dog walking on his hind legs, and could not raise his hind 
quarters. Went round for half a circle, then fell and never rose again. 
This horse had never been ill before. Had been resting for. two or 
three days. He found the condition of the liver very startling, the 
mucous membrane extremely yellow, and the liver pulp a clay colour. 
The Germans have studied this disorder pretty well. The last accounts 
of the malady by Bollinger, of Munich, of the symptoms ascribed to 
poisoning of urea, were very interesting. The change takes place in 
the kidney, though the kidney does not appear diseased. Bile salts get 
in the circulation, and in that way disorganise the blood.. He found 
the blood-cells perfect, and everything all right. The animal died in 
convulsions. 
Mr. Atkinson had seen some twenty or thirty cases during the last 
four or five months in the Tram Company. He thought the best thing 
was to get them to the nearest stable, and then sling them. Some 
cases he had seen they had literally to drag them off their feet. The 
treatment should be the same as used for fever. Since they had tried 
the strong purgative system and slinging they had never lost one case. 
He advised them to try the slinging process. 
The Chairman had heard from Mr. Hopkin he had found slinging was 
dangerous in this affection, it led to several horses having their tails 
broken off by means of the breech strap getting under the tail. This 
objection to the use of slings was worthy of notice, as if they recovered 
and were so disfigured, it was obviously better to do without them. In 
the cases he had seen the bodies were covered with perspiration. The con¬ 
dition of the muscles and the urine were also very characteristic of this 
disease, as distinguishing it from paralysis ; the urine was either a lighter 
or darker colour than when in its normal condition. In the early stages 
the animal moved its hind legs like the case he had previously described, 
in which the horse moved for half a circle and then fell. This disease 
was quite different from paralysis as far as pathology was concerned. 
Mr. Atkinson said the last case he saw was very much paralysed, the 
marked pressure upon the animal was intense. He gave no sedatives 
whatever, but a brisk stimulant and a purgative. There were two or 
three veterinary surgeons present ; some considered putting it into 
slings cruelty to the animal, but if he had not been so treated he most 
probably would have died, as all did prior to the practice of slinging 
them. They generally recovered in about twenty-four hours. The last 
three cases began to recover from the twelfth hour. 
Mr. Gerrard was of opinion slinging did them harm, those he had 
slung never recovered. He remembered one case very distinctly. A 
large horse in good condition. It was slung up. After four days the 
rope gave way, and he fell down and did not recover. If he had not 
slung him but turned him over occasionally as he was in the habit of 
doing before, he believed he would have done better. 
Mr. Burrell thought unless the horse was allowed to stand when in the 
slings he frequently became suffocated thereby. On the second or 
third day when he was able to stand it was better to let him do so; 
sometimes the abdominal muscles were injured, and probably the case 
would prove fatal. In one case he experienced the owner had seen the 
horse stand, and was anxious to have him slung up. He objected, but 
the owner persisting it was done, and the animal died in a couple of 
hours from suffocation. 
Mr. H. J. Hancock believed slings did more harm than good unless 
the horse could take some portion of its weight. 
