buckingmule.com

Laryngitis.—Symptoms : Difficulty in swallowing; the mouth is hot, and the horse allows hay to fall from his mouth.
Treatment: Fresh air, warm clothing. Diet on soft food, and feed from a temporary manger placed so as to suit the horse’s head carriage. Feed on grass, carrots, bran or linseed. Hay is inadmissible, and purgatives must not be administered. Warm water fomentations can be given and hot flannel bandages applied on the throat.
If the trouble persists, the larynx can be blistered.1
Bronchitis.—Symptoms: Quickened breathing, and either a slight whistling sound (sibilus) or a rumble (bronchus). Nostrils red and inflamed.
Treatment: As above. A little nitre in the water will help the kidneys to work freely. Foment the chest with warm blankets and hot water.
Congestion of the lungs is often the result of extreme exertion when not in a fit condition.
Symptoms: Increased pulse rate (80 to 120 per minute); ears and legs cold; the horse stands with forelegs wide apart and elbows turned outwards; his nostrils are dilated, and he sweats.
Treatment: As above; also apply hot fomentations to the chest. Whisky is said to be a help in stimulating the circulation (2 oz. in a pint). Mustard or other blister must not be applied to the sides. Light laxative food should be given and a little nitrate of potassium in the water is good. The clothing should be put on loosely.
Pneumonia.—Symptoms: Shivering, coldness of the ears and legs, a staring coat, and the usual signs of inflammation. The horse is uneasy and turns his head frequently round to his chest. His temperature may
be as high as 104 degrees. He stands with his forelegs wide apart and his elbows out. He will not lie down. His head is low, nose protruded and nostrils extended. If there is a cough, it is a sharp one. The breathing is irregular, and the legs, ears, and muzzle cold. If one applies one’s ear to his chest, a humming noise is heard, which later on gives way to a moist rattle.
Treatment : As above. In addition, plaster the whole chest with mustard.
Chronic Cough: This is a very troublesome affection, said to come sometimes from worms in the intestines; it also accompanies broken wind; or it may have its source in indigestion.
Treatment: Good stable management.
Thick Wind: Sometimes produced by violent exercise after watering or on a full stomach.
Symptoms: The breathing is laboured, especially when at work. Unlike ‘broken wind’ the respirations are regular.
Treatment: Can only be palliative. Careful watering and feeding and regular work will mitigate the trouble.
Roaring.—A peculiar noise in breathing, often occurring in both expiration and inspiration.
Cause: Roaring may be due to tumour, or to injury, or it may be caused by a band of lymph across the trachea after severe inflammation, or the origin may be disease of the lungs. The most common cause is paralysis of the muscles.
Treatment: This must depend upon the cause of the obstruction. If we fail to find mechanical impediment, the roaring must be due to paralysis, and treatment is useless. Large horses, especially if they are long in the windpipe, are more pre-disposed to roaring than others. Ponies are seldom affected. Highblowing is sometimes mistaken for roaring. It soon disappears as the speed is increased, whereas the opposite is the case with roaring. Highblowing is merely the horse flapping his nostrils.
Grunting: Horses that grunt when threatened with the stick should be examined for their wind with more than ordinary care. Grunting is often a premise to roaring.
Whistling is a modified form of roaring and comes from much the same causes.
Broken Wind is indicated by a short, weak and constant cough, and an odd double action of the flanks.
Causes and symptoms: Narrow chests, protuberant bellies, gross feeding. Sometimes it comes slowly, commencing with a chronic cough. Sometimes it comes suddenly, after a hard gallop when the horse is unfit. Sometimes it is the sequel to pneumonia.
Treatment: In cases where the trouble is incipient, especially those that are due to indigestion, good management may check the progress of the disease, but in advanced or chronic conditions, it is incurable. It is commonest in underbred horses and in those whose feeding has been carelessly attended to. It is rare amongst racehorses. Permanently affected horses can be ‘tubed’, an operation which eases them a great deal.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 11:45 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.