The management and treatment of the horse in the stable, field, and ...

In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 141
of equal bulk. To prevent as far as possible any
unusual flow of blood to this part, Nature has adopted
a curious but, as usual, wise plan. The arteries are
made to pursue an extremely winding and circuitous
course, and enter the skull through small holes in the
bony process. These holes are so small that they admit
of but little enlargement of the blood-vessels, and
thus to a great extent the chances of inflammation are
lessened. Yet, notwithstanding this beautiful provision
of an all-wise and far-seeing Creator, the horse is
liable to be afflicted with disease of the brain, often
from the want of brains in the so-called superior
animal, man, by his subjecting the horse to violent
and injudicious exercise and hard driving or riding in
warm weather. It is but seldom that we find horses
attacked with megrims when riding, and it seems
principally horses in harness that are subject to
this disease. Hard driving in warm weather forces
the blood to the head, and distends the arteries of the
head more than the veins, the consequence being that
the small vessels covering the brain get gorged with
blood, and then its bulk is increased to such an extent
that it produces undue pressure upon the organs of
the nerves, which is followed by loss of power and
even consciousness. Frequently the horse will stagger
backwards and fall, the result being disastrous to the
horse and all who may have the misfortune to be
sitting behind it. A tight curb or collar with over-
driving is too often the cause. It is a disease that is
rarely met with except in the months of June, July,
and August. Megrims is the name of the simplest