ppear restless and
lie down for a few moments to gain relief from the pleuritic pains, but
he soon rises. In pneumonia the breathing is rapid and difficult, but
when the pneumonia is complicated with pleurisy the ribs are kept as
still as possible and the breathing is abdominal; that is, the abdominal
muscles are now made to do as much of the work as they can perform. If
pleurisy is not present there is little pain. To the ordinary observer
the animal may not appear dangerously ill, as he does not show the
seriousness of the ailment by violence, as in colic, but a careful
observer will discover at a glance that the trouble is something more
serious than a cold. By percussion it will be shown that some portions
of the chest are less resonant than in health, indicating exclusion of
air. If the air is wholly excluded the percussion is quite dull, like
that elicited by percussion over the thigh.

By auscultation important information may be gained. When the ear is
placed against the chest of a healthy horse, the respiratory murmur is
heard more or less distinctly, according to the part of the chest that
is beneath the ear. In the very first stage of pneumonia this murmur is
louder and hoarser; also, there is a fine, crackling sound something
similar to that produced when salt is thrown in a fire. After the
affected part becomes solid there is an absence of sound over that
particular part. After absorption begins one may again hear sounds that
are of a more or less moist character and resemble bubbling or gurgling,
which gradually change until the natural sound is heard announcing
return to health.

When a fatal termination is approaching all the symptoms become
intensified. The breathing becomes still more rapid and difficult; the
flanks heave; the animal stares wildly about as if seeking aid to drive
off the feeling of suffocation; the body is bathed with sweat; the horse
staggers, but quickly recovers his balance; he may now, for the first
time during the attack, lie down; he does so, however, in the hope of
relief, which he fails to find, and with difficulty struggles to his
feet; he pants; the nostrils flap; he staggers and sways from side to
side and backward and forward, but still tries to retain the standing
position, even by propping himself against the stall. It is no use, as
after an exhausting fight for breath he goes down; the limbs stretch out
and become rigid. In fatal cases death usually occurs in from 10 to