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

204 The Management and Treatment of the Horse,
the appearance of something being imperfect in the
respiratory organs. The animal thrusts out its head,
the mucous membrane of the nose becomes very red,
especially in the inside angles of the nostrils, where it
continues, although at times it extends further up,
from which position it may disappear, but still main-
tains its chief position in the lower portion of the
nostril. The animal expresses great anxiety in its
look, and turns its head frequently and hurriedly
round to its flanks, more especially to that side where
the inflammation has settled. It stands in a straddling
manner, with its fore legs generally apart ; it seldom
lies down, and when it does it is but for a
few minutes, remaining for days on its legs. It does
not, however, always happen that the premonitory
systems are the same, for in many cases inflam-
mation comes on sloAvly and in an insidious manner ;
perhaps the horse may be off its feed and its coat
will stare, its breathing may be bat slightly
accelerated and abbreviated, with the legs a little
colder than usual. Sometimes inflammation of the
lungs is preceded by symptoms which are attendant
upon common fever, catarrh, or the distemper. In
such instances the true disease manifests itself in full
force before the groom or master of the horse in the
least suspect it. The first manifestations are
coldness in the limbs and ears, accompanied by a
flurried pulse and anxious look, with a seeming dread
of lying down. This is soon followed by an irregu-
larity and indistinctness of the pulse, and extreme
coldness of the leofs and ears. The nostrils become