Part 6

TREATMENT.—Make the animal as comfortable as possible by placing in a clean stall with pure air, but avoid drafts. Blanket if the weather is chilly and give the following prescription: Chloride of Potash, two ounces; Nitrate of Potash, four ounces. Mix these well in a pint of Pine Tar and place about one tablespoonful of the mixture as far back on the tongue as possible every six hours. Relief is very certain if this treatment is given in the first stages. If not it will become chronic and terminate into nasal gleet, or lung complications.

COUGH.

(Acute and Chronic)

As a cough is a symptom of various diseases, these in addition to the cough should be treated.

KINDS OF COUGH.—Many writers give several different varieties, but for sake of convenience I will divide them into two forms, namely: Acute and Chronic.

CAUSE.—Acute Coughs are generally due to sudden exposure to cold, drafts and are the forerunning symptom of a disease of the organs of breathing.

Chronic Coughs are associated with, and often a result of, sore throat, lung fever, pleurisy, bronchitis, broken wind, influenza, nasal gleet, catarrh, glanders, heaves and distemper.

TREATMENT.—Under each disease of which a cough is a symptom, I have also prescribed to include its suppression. The following prescription is reasonable in price, yet very effective in all forms of cough: Tannic Acid, one ounce; Potassi Chlorate, four ounces; Potassi Nitrate, four ounces. Powder well and mix with Black Strap Molasses, one pint; placing container in hot water assists in dissolving contents. When this is thoroughly mixed add Pine Tar one pint, and place one tablespoonful well back on the tongue with a wooden paddle every three or four hours, according to the severity of the cough.

Sometimes a liniment applied to the throat and windpipe has a good effect, and I would recommend the following on account of its penetrating qualities: Aqua Ammonia Fort., two ounces; Turpentine, two ounces; Raw Linseed Oil, four ounces. Mix and apply twice daily, shaking the contents of the bottle well before using.

COLT CONSTIPATION.

CAUSE.—Improper digestion of its mother’s milk, especially when overheated or not allowed to nurse enough.

SYMPTOMS.—The colt appears stupid; does not care to move about, but lies flat on either side and shows signs of great pain.

TREATMENT.—Give two tablespoonfuls of Cascara Sagrada. Great care must be exercised in administering the medicine to place it well back on the tongue; do not hold the nose high or some of the liquid may enter the lungs; it is much better to waste some of the medicine. One of the most important factors in the treatment of Colt Constipation is rectal injections; they relieve temperature, gases, and pain, promoting the worm-like action of the bowels and liquefying their contents.

COLT DIARRHOEA.

CAUSE.—Specific infection, the action of which is favored by insanitary conditions, irregular feeding, or permitting the colt to nurse when the mother is overheated or out of condition.

SYMPTOMS.—Frequent watery discharges, sometimes tinged with blood, and as the disease progresses the colt shows signs of great pain. If not treated promptly, the disease will terminate fatally in the course of six or ten days.

TREATMENT.—Determine the exact cause, if possible, and remove it. If the colt has not been weaned, attention should at once be given the mare, and if anything is wrong with her, it may be best to take the little patient away from its mother and feed it on cow’s milk sweetened with sugar. Give two tablespoonfuls of Castor Oil on the tongue; this will remove the irritant within the bowels. The following prescription is a very reliable remedy: Protan, three ounces; Pulv. Ginger, four drams; Zinc Sulphocarbolates, four grains. Mix and make into twelve powders; give one powder on the tongue every four hours, effecting a cure within a few days. Do not pull the tongue, or hold the head too high. Permit the animal to swallow slowly. Remember that sanitary surroundings are essential in the treatment of all diseases.

CRACKED HEELS.

CAUSE.—There is little doubt in my mind that ammonia, which is so plentifully found in ill-kept stables, is the chief cause of cracked heels. The action of ammonia on the skin renders it soft and pulpy, and diminishes its strength by separating the layers of which it is composed.

SYMPTOMS.—When inflammation is set up in the part, the secretion of natural oil is interfered with and cracks usually occur in the place where the skin becomes wrinkled when the pastern joint is bent. The discharge from cracked heels has an offensive smell. In early stages there is extreme heat and swelling, there is pain and lameness, which usually disappear as the case becomes chronic.

TREATMENT.—Keep the affected parts clean as possible, if there is extreme inflammation present. Apply hot poultice made from bran or flaxseed meal. When the inflammation subsides, apply Zinc Ointment twice daily. Before each application of the ointment, wash with Warm Water and Castile Soap. Feed carrots, green grass, if possible, also hot bran mashes or steam rolled oats each morning. Sometimes it is well to give a physic, and I would recommend Aloin, one and one-half drams; Ginger, two drams. A physic has very good effect in reducing the swelling of the legs.

DENTISTRY.

The art of animal dentistry has been abused by the owners of stock allowing the services of irresponsible men in the veterinary profession, who do not look to the betterment of the animal’s condition. The owner of the animals, not being able to see the condition of the animal’s teeth for himself, is persuaded into having the animal’s teeth worked on regardless of whether it is needed or not. The quack or transient veterinarian will pull and crack healthy, sound teeth, and lacerate the poor animal’s mouth.

HOW TO EXAMINE AN ANIMAL’S TEETH.—Perhaps the best method that can be applied in examining an animal’s teeth or mouth is by the use of a mouth speculum. There are several different makes on the market, and some can be purchased very reasonably and will give excellent service.

UNNATURAL CONDITION AND IRRITATION., ETC., OF THE TEETH.—After studying the anatomy thoroughly you will be able to see at once any abnormal condition of the teeth or mouth, which are as follows:

DENTITION begins at or soon after birth, and continues until the horse is five years old, and the animal suffers more or less during that time. The lower animals do not appear to suffer so much in getting their first teeth, but do suffer when getting their permanent ones, even more, perhaps, than the human being. Hence, we have dentition fever in the horse from three or four up to five years old—there is a weak pulse, impaired appetite, a staring coat, the bowels sometimes costive, and sometimes there is diarrhoea; he is not able to work, and it is hard to say what is the matter, unless the system is affected by the irritation set up by the teeth, for all of the organs appear to be in a healthy state. Such symptoms indicate that the temporary teeth are not being displaced in a proper way. The same applies to cattle. The food passes improperly digested, which may be due to the state of the teeth. It is well in such cases to examine the mouth, and if you find some tooth not properly displaced, the gums swollen, remove it—which you can sometimes do with the thumb and finger, or you may have to use the forceps, which we believe the best. Then give a laxative, feed on soft food, and the animal will soon recover.

IRREGULAR TEETH.—The gums are sometimes irritated in connection with the molar teeth. This irritation extends and affects the pharynx and larynx, and perhaps a severe cough is the result, called a dentition cough. It is often the result of but a slight irritation at the back part of the gums—this cough may not be very severe, but it is troublesome—or the gum may become badly swollen. The best treatment is to scarify it. We find tumors in the upper and lower jaw, perhaps from the imperfect development of the teeth, or from slight injury, irritation, etc. They may or may not be malignant, and are likely to extend and involve the alveoli and bone. If not malignant, and only upon the surface, it is called epulis, and is not very common. If not malignant remove it, and it may do well for some time; it will return, extend and become a hopeless case. The horse frequently suffers from sharp, projecting teeth, which occurs more commonly in old horses, from wearing down the teeth in an uneven manner. They will be sharper on the inner edge of the lower jaw and the outer edge of the upper jaw, which may be from faulty formation. In such cases the animal has difficulty in eating, grinds his food, ejecting it. Perhaps when driving him he carries the head to one side from the bearing of the bit not being the same on both sides. If the teeth are sharp in the lower jaw they lacerate the tongue; if in the upper they lacerate the cheeks. The best remedy for this is the tooth rasp, and there is no necessity for using the mouth speculum. After rasping, feed upon soft food for a day or two. There are more difficult cases where the teeth project to some extent, generally in old horses, due to malformation of the jaw. Sometimes the upper jaw extends over the lower, and a part of the tooth is not worn down properly, and after a time it interferes with mastication, and the animal suffers considerably from irritation. The same appears in the front teeth of the upper jaw, but it is not so serious as the back tooth. The animal may be reduced to a walking skeleton, almost; although the appetite appears good, the food is thrown out. You can detect by examining with the hand, and if it is the last molar tooth it is advisable to place a twitch on the horse’s nose, and using the mouth speculum, then remove the projecting portion of the tooth by means of the molar cutter. After using the molar cutters smooth the cut surface of the tooth with a tooth rasp and feed properly, and he will improve rapidly.

ULCERATED OR CARIES OF THE TEETH.—The lower animals do not suffer from this as much as man, for two reasons: their teeth are complicated, and the mode of living. Sweets have a bad effect upon the teeth. Horses rarely suffer from toothache, but they frequently suffer from carious teeth. Caries may commence either on the table surface, root or fang, or even in that which surrounds the teeth; or it may result from a slight injury, as getting a stone, etc., between the teeth when masticating, or it may begin in the fang from improper development of the dentine, which receives its nourishment from the tooth-pulp, and when this is gone, the tooth does not receive proper nourishment, etc.