Part 4

The time of all others when a spavined horse will be apt to show his lameness will be the day following a hard day’s work, and when he makes his first move from the stable in the morning is the proper moment for examination. Therefore, you should be prepared to form judgment quickly in these cases, for the longer the animal is trotted up and down the less lame will he generally become.

We may have a visible sign of Spavin, swelling and hardness of the part, without lameness. If there be heat and tenderness on pressure, lameness will almost always be present. A careful comparison should be made of the hocks.

TREATMENT.—An important factor in treating Spavin is keeping the animal quiet. This can be accomplished by placing the animal in a very narrow stall, carrying his feed and drinking water for a month or six weeks, and apply the following ointment: Red Iodide of Mercury, two drams; Pulverized Cantharides, three drams; Turpentine, thirty minims; Pine Tar, two drams; lard, two ounces. Mix well and rub in well for twenty minutes every forty-eight hours until three applications have been applied. Repeat this treatment again in two weeks, and grease well with lard.

To cure a bone spavin it is necessary to unite two or more bones of the hock. The same thing exists in bone spavin as in a fractured bone, only we have no ragged edges like that of a fracture to unite; but the animal must be kept quiet. The younger the animal the easier the spavin is to treat, because the bones hardened with age contain more mineral matter and less flexible animal matter. While treating the animal, feed food that is easily digested.

BOTS.

(Gastrophilis)

Effect of Bots on the Health of Horses

Although the presence of bots inside of a horse can be of no possible advantage to him, their presence, when in small numbers, as a rule produce very little or no ill effect in the horse, but if their number be large they cannot help being a source of debility and irritation. In practically all cases they produce indigestion, especially among young horses, also loss of condition, colic and even death.

CAUSE.—Bot flies lay their eggs during the autumn months on the skin and hair of the horse. These eggs on becoming hatched (in from 20 to 25 days) produce small worms which irritate the skin by their movements and thus cause the horse to lick them off and to take them into his mouth, with the result that they gain access to various parts of the intestinal canal. The bot having selected its place of residence, attaches itself to the membrane lining the stomach and intestines, and derives its sustenance during its stay from the wound made by its hooks. In the summer the larva, after living inside the horse for about ten months, quits its hold and is expelled with the feces. Having concealed itself near the surface of the ground it becomes changed into a chrysalis from which the gadfly issues after an inactive existence of from thirty to forty days. The female fly becomes impregnated, lays her eggs on those parts of the horse from which they can be most easily licked off, and thus completes her cycle of existence.

SYMPTOMS.—Membranes about the eyes and mouth are very pale, as though the animal had lost a large quantity of blood; they will also be subject to colicky attacks, hair faded, dull, rough appearance, appetite poor and manifests a pot belly.

PREVENTION.—The best means of prevention are spraying your horses with the following fly repellant: Crude Carbolic Acid, 10%; Oil of Tar, 25%; Crude Oil, 65%. Mix thoroughly. This prevents the gadfly from depositing her eggs on the animals.

TREATMENT.—Withhold all food for twenty-four hours, then administer Oil of Turpentine, one ounce; place in a gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. Follow this in six hours with a physic consisting of Aloin, two drams; Ginger, two drams. Place in a gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. Repeat the above treatment in a week or ten days to insure the expulsion of Bots that might have escaped the first treatment.

BRONCHITIS.

CAUSE.—It may be the result of debility, constitutional diseases, inhalation of impure air, smoke, or gases. Sometimes brought on by drenching by the escape of liquid into the windpipe; remember, a horse cannot breathe through his mouth. It may also be caused by sudden chill, foreign bodies in windpipe, micro organisms, or it may be associated with influenza, glanders, lung fever, etc.

SYMPTOMS.—Sore throat, loss of appetite, thirst, animal appears dull, membranes of the mouth, eyes and nose are reddened; urine is scanty and highly colored; cough dry and husky. After two or three days the cough becomes looser and a frothy, sticky mucus of a yellowish color is present. This gradually becomes pus-like, after which the animal seems somewhat relieved. In the first stages the pulse is soft and weak, but frequently the temperature is high, ranging from 105° F. to 106° F.; the breathing is quick and more or less difficult.

TREATMENT.—Place the horse in a clean, comfortable, well ventilated stall, exclude drafts, blanket if the weather is chilly. Also, hand rub the legs and bandage them. Inhalations from steam of hot water and Turpentine are beneficial. Also administer Chlorate of Potassi, two ounces; Nitrate of Potash, two ounces; Tannic Acid, one ounce. Mix this with a pint of black-strap molasses and give about one tablespoonful well back on the tongue with a wooden paddle every six hours. In severe attacks of Bronchitis it is well to apply a liniment consisting of Turpentine, Aqua-Ammonia Fort., and raw Linseed Oil, each four ounces; mix well and apply to the throat and down the windpipe once or twice a day. The animal should be fed on soft food, such as hot bran mashes, grass, carrots, kale, apples or steamed rolled oats. After the acute symptoms of the disease disappear, give Pulverized Gentian Root, one ounce; Nux Vomica, two ounces; Nitrate of Potash, three ounces; Pulverized Fenugreek Seed, six ounces. Mix and give one tablespoonful three times a day in the feed or in a gelatin capsule and administer with a capsule gun.

CAPPED KNEE.

CAUSE.—Bruises from pawing or striking objects with the knee, falling on the ground, etc., are perhaps the most common causes.

SYMPTOMS.—It may be a simple bruise, or it may be a severe wound. There is always swelling, heat and pain present. The joint becomes stiff and interferes with the movement of the leg. Under careful treatment the swelling and enlargement disappear.

TREATMENT.—Relieve the inflammation and clean the wound by fomenting with hot water, to which add a few drops of Carbolic Acid. If the wound is very large, trim off the ragged edges with a pair of scissors and apply the following: Boracic Acid, two ounces; Iodoform, one ounce; Tannic Acid, one ounce. Powder finely, mix and apply two or three times a day. If the skin is not broken, apply cold water or ice packs until the inflammation has subsided; then use the following: Tincture of Iodine, one ounce; Camphor, two ounces, and Gasolene, eight ounces. Apply with nail or toothbrush every forty-eight hours until the enlargement has disappeared.

CAPPED HOCK.

CAUSE.—Some horses have the habit of rubbing or striking their hocks against the partition of their stalls. May also be produced by kicks from other horses, or hocks may be bruised by the singletree.

SYMPTOMS.—An enlargement at the point of the hock, which may run up along the tendons and muscles of the leg. Repeated injuries cause the hock to enlarge and become flabby, and in some cases it contains a bloody serum or pus.

TREATMENT.—Do not attempt to lance the puffy swelling on the point of the hock, as you may produce an open joint, which is very difficult to treat, and chances are that you would lose the animal.

The treatment that I would recommend is to find out the true cause and remove it. When the puffy swelling is hot and painful, apply cold water or ice packs. When the heat and pain have subsided apply the following: Tincture of Iodine, two ounces; Gum Camphor, two ounces, dissolved in one pint of Gasolene. Shake the contents of the bottle before using each time and apply with a nail or toothbrush every forty-eight hours. This is very penetrating and will remove the enlargement or absorb fluids that might have accumulated from the result of the bruise.

CASTRATION.

There are few countries where this operation is not performed to any great extent. Under favorable conditions of health, castration should be performed at the age of one year. The safest months are April and May, and the safest time a week or two after being turned out to pasture when he is shedding his coat. Do not operate upon a colt that has been kept in ill ventilated place, but have the colt in good condition, and the weather moderate, neither too hot or too cold. See that he has no distemper or any such disease. It is necessary that the hands and instruments be thoroughly cleansed by washing them in hot water, a little soap and a few drops of cresol. If the age be above a year it is best to feed very light the day before the operation, as there is less danger from being thrown and tied and also from the operation itself, when the bowels are empty. It is very important to ascertain whether or not the colt has ever suffered rupture, as he must be operated upon differently. Examine the testicles to see that they are down. Generally speaking after these precautions, so far as the animal is concerned, he is ready for the operation.

There are several methods of removing the testicles and I will mention only the Emasculator method. This is the latest method of operation, and gives results that are satisfactory in majority of cases. In my opinion it is the best and most humane. Open the scrotum and allow the testicles to protrude, being careful to make the opening sufficiently large. When the testicles protrude sufficiently far from the opening in the scrotum, pour some cresol and cotton-seed oil (20 drops of cresol to an ounce of cotton-seed oil) around the cords and into the scrotum. Apply it thoroughly in order to prevent its healing too rapidly. Open the emasculator and place it around the cord, shove up as far as possible on the cord without pulling or using force. Should the patient pull upon the cord it is better to suspend operation for a time until he ceases, as the length of the cord cannot be ascertained unless it is slack when the emasculator is placed at the proper point. Tighten up the instrument by means of pressing the two handles together until the testicle is squeezed off. This makes a peculiarly dull cut, different from that of a sharp knife and thus has the effect of closing the end of the artery and preventing the flow of blood. Some veterinarians take off both testicles at the same time. There is, however, more danger from bleeding in this way, and I recommend that each be taken off separately. The patient may be allowed to regain his feet as soon as the testicles are removed. I desire to add again that it is absolutely necessary to see that the hands of the operator and the instruments are thoroughly cleansed both before and after the operation.