1967 Volume 1967 Issue 4 Pages 20-28
The effect of hot-spring bathing on the horse was studied with special reference to the relationships among the temperature of water, length of bathing, and various hema tological characteristics. The method of bathing used and the results obtained are summarized as follows. 1. A horse was put in a pool of hot water filled up to the level of the abdomen. Then hot shower was given to the horse over the body. The temperature of water varied between 37 and 45°C. The length of bathing ranged from 30 to 60 minutes. 2. Red blood count, eosinophil count, packed-cell volume, and serum total protein showed a tendency to decrease. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and blood water content increased. No consistent changes, however, were observed in white blood count after bathing. These results seemed to indicate that the blood of the horse might have been diluted after the hot-spring bathing. 3. The horse seemed to have been affected more strongly by the length of bathing than by the temperature of water. It was also presumed that a horse could easily be trained by repeated bathing so as to take hot-spring bath for a longer time.
