Special Report on Diseases of the Horse — John Shaqi
Special Report on Diseases of the HorseUnited States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Science
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Horses -- Diseases
This elevation of temperature can readily be felt by the hand placed in
the mouth of the animal, or in the rectum, and in the cleft between the
hind legs. It is usually appreciable at any point over the surface of
the body and in the expired air emitted from the nostrils. The ears and
cannons are often as hot as the rest of the body, but are sometimes
cold, which denotes a debility in the circulation and irregular
distribution of the blood. The pulse, which in a healthy horse is felt
beating about 42 to 48 times in the minute, is increased to 60, 70, 90,
or even 100. The respirations are increased from 14 or 16 to 24, 30, 36,
or even more. With the commencement of a fever the horse usually has
diminished appetite, or it may have total loss of appetite if the fever
is excessive. There is, however, a vast difference among horses in this
regard. With the same degree of elevation of temperature one horse may
lose its appetite entirely, while another, usually of the more common
sort, will eat at hay throughout the course of the fever, and will even
continue to eat oats or other grains. Thirst is usually increased, but
the animal desires only a small quantity of water at a time, and in most
cases of fever a bucket of water should be kept standing before the
patient, which may be allowed to drink ad libitum. The skin becomes dry
and the hairs stand on end. Sweating is almost unknown in the early
stage of fevers, but frequently occurs later in their course, when an
outbreak of warm sweat is often a most favorable symptom. The mucous
membranes, which are most easily examined in the conjunctivae of the eyes
and inside of the mouth, change color if the fever is an acute one;
without alteration of blood the mucous membranes become of a rosy or
deep-red color at the outset; if the fever is attended with distinct
alteration of the blood, as in influenza, and at the end of two or three
days in severe cases of pneumonia or other extensive inflammatory
troubles the mucous membranes are tinged with yellow, which may even
become a deep ocher in color, the result of the decomposition of the
blood corpuscles and the freeing of their coloring matter, which acts as
a stain. At the outset of a fever the various glands are checked in
their secretions, the salivary glands fail to secrete the saliva, and we
find the surface of the tongue and inside of the cheeks dry and covered
with a brownish, bad-smelling deposit. The excretion from the liver and
intestinal glands is diminished and produces an inactivity of the
digestive organs which causes a constipation. If this is not remedied at
an early period, the undigested material acts as an irritant, and later
we may have it followed by an inflammatory process, producing a severe
diarrhea.
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