Part 7

SYMPTOMS.—In the early stages they are not very plain, but become better developed after a time. The animal will show some irritation while eating. Although he is hungry, and goes ravenously to eating, he will all at once quit masticating, and either holds the food in the mouth or throws it out unchewed. This may be due to a slight irritation of the teeth. He acts something similar to the human being, and these symptoms may be present for some time before well-marked symptoms appear. But in, it may be, six months or a year, certain distinct symptoms appear. If it is in the table surface, the tooth is brittle and wears down more readily and the tooth opposite to it grows longer; he quits or rejects the food, and a peculiar stench or fetor is present. The animal falls off in condition in most cases. When it is in connection with the root or fang it is different. As it extends it involves the other tissues, sets up irritation in the upper sinus of the head, if it is in the lower jaw, as well as the symptoms given, you will, perhaps, notice a slight enlargement which extends down the lower portion of the jaw; sinuses form and pus is discharged. Exercise care and judgment and you need make no great mistakes. I know of horses being destroyed for glanders when only affected with ulcerated teeth.

TREATMENT.—Remove the tooth—and this is not very easily done, but there are various ways. Open the mouth by means of a mouth speculum, and, if practical, use the forceps. The trouble with the forceps is, they are apt to break the tooth when they are closed upon it too tight. There is a root forcep which can be used in the lower jaw, as the teeth in that are more easily removed than those in the upper jaw; or you may remove by trephining, and then, by inserting a punch, it can be driven out. When you attempt to remove a tooth and it breaks down, it will, in many cases, come away of itself without further treatment. The first and second molars are more difficult to punch out than the others. After treatment keep the animal quiet; feed upon soft food that does not require much mastication. There is a difference in treating the cavity. Some recommend filling it with gutta percha to prevent the food from passing into the sinus. It will sometimes pass into both sinuses; but generally there is no necessity for filling it. If you trephine, it is more needful than in pulling. If food passes into the sinuses then it will be necessary to fill the hole. Sometimes in parrot-mouth the incisors of the lower jaw grow and irritate the mucous membrane of the opposite jaw when it is necessary to use incisor cutters or rasp them down.

WOLF OR SUPERNUMERARY TEETH.—Wolf teeth are comparatively small in size and have only one root and are found just in front of the upper molar teeth. Sometimes they do harm, but that is an exception and not the rule. They can be easily removed with a pair of small forceps or they may be punched out in some instances, but I prefer that you use the regular wolf tooth forcep as it looks much better to the onlooker. I think they interfere with the eyes, causing them to become watery and inflamed, due to the tooth exerting some influence upon the ophthalmic division of the fifth nerve.

SUPERNUMERARY TEETH.—Tooth substance may develop in almost any part of the body. These are called supernumerary teeth and are commonly found in the testicles, ovaries and sinuses of the head, etc.

FOREIGN BODY LODGED IN THE MOUTH.—A foreign body sometimes gets lodged in the mouth, as a piece of wood, wire from the feed, etc., and possibly becomes imbeded between the molar teeth, and the animal is not able to get it out. There will be difficulty in masticating; a flow of saliva; the animal stands with the head poked out, as if suffering from sore throat. He will partially masticate, then try to swallow, and perhaps eject the food. These symptoms are present in sore throat, and it is necessary to make a careful examination; you are not likely to mistake just one case, but if there is some other disease prevalent that presents similar symptoms, then you are liable to make a mistake. As stated before, exercise care and judgment and you need make no great mistakes, this applies to all diseases, etc., that you are called upon to treat.

CURB.

CAUSE.—Faulty conformation of the hind legs; that is to say, if a animal has crooked legs, a slight sprain from slipping or jumping will produce Curb. In cases where an animal has well proportioned limbs, and is afflicted with Curb, it is caused by a rupture of the small ligament or cord situated just back of the hock.

SYMPTOMS.—A swelling will be noticed on the back part of the hock. At first the animal is lame and the enlargement is hot and painful. After a few days’ rest the inflammation will partially subside and the enlargement can be plainly seen. When the animal is walked about he may be very lame at the start, but this will disappear as he is moved.

TREATMENT.—When the curb is hot and painful, it is well to apply ice packs or cold water to the part. When the inflammation subsides, apply Red Iodide of Mercury, two drams; Lard, two ounces. Mix and rub in well for twenty minutes; repeat every forty-eight hours until three applications are made. If the Curb is of long standing it is more difficult to treat, in which case the above treatment should be repeated again in two or three months. Do not use the animal in drawing heavy loads, or drive on slippery roads, for six months. Give the blister time to strengthen the ruptured tendons. A high-heeled shoe is often valuable in relieving tendons of their tension.

DIARRHOEA.

CAUSE.—Sudden change of food, frozen food, soft food, unwholesome food, stagnant water, or drinking large quantities of water at one time, purgative medicines, or it may be associated with blood diseases, lung and intestinal affections, or produced by micro-organisms. Many horses, particularly slack loined, slight, “washy” animals, purge if worked or excited, as may be observed among race horses when taken to a race course. Diarrhoea may also be due to worms, or it may be merely an effort on the part of nature to expel some irritant matter from the bowels or from the blood, in which case it should on no account be prematurely checked.

SYMPTOMS.—Frequent loose evacuations of the intestines, with or without pronounced abdominal pain; generally, loss of appetite, animal looks gaunt and the hair rough.

TREATMENT.—Keep the animal quiet, comfortably stabled and warmly blanketed. Give pure water to drink, often, but in small quantities. If the animal will eat, feed moderately on clean food, as rolled oats and dry bran. Also, give the following prescription: Protan, three ounces; Zinc Sulphocarbolates, ten grains; Creosote, one dram; Powdered Ginger, two ounces; Powdered Gum Catechu, six drams; Powdered Gum Camphor, one-half dram. Mix and make eight powders. Place one powder in gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun, or the same sized dose dissolved in a pint of water and used as a drench. However, be very careful when drenching an animal. It is dangerous. This prescription will not only check the diarrhoea, but will tone the muscular fibres of the intestines which aid in throwing off these irritant matters from the system. If the horse shows colicky pains, administer the same treatment as that recommended for colic. It is well to give the following treatment in the convalescing stages of diarrhoea: Pulv. Gentian Root, four ounces; Ferri Sulphate, four ounces Pulv. Nux Vomica, four ounces; Pulv. Fenugreek Seed, eight ounces. Mix and give one heaping tablespoonful three times daily in feed. This facilitates digestion by stimulating the flow of gastric juices.

DISTEMPER.

CAUSE.—Distemper is placed among the germ diseases, and is produced by the Streptococcus of Schutz. It is contagious and a number of animals in the same stable may become affected at the same time. It is supposed to attack an animal but once, but it may be contracted a second time. May occur at any time of the year.

SYMPTOMS.—The animal will first appear dull, and show loss of appetite, and the hair will look dull and rough. There will be a watery discharge from the nose, and in a day or so a lump will appear between the jaws; the animal keeps his head in a peculiar position; saliva runs from its mouth; the pulse will be a little faster than normal. The breathing will become more rapid and the lump between the jaws will get larger. This lump, or tumor, may form in other parts of the body, on the shoulder, in the groin, lungs or intestines. It usually causes death if it cannot be absorbed. This is called irregular distemper. A determined effort should be made to draw the lump, or tumor, to a head as soon as possible.

TREATMENT.—Place the horse in a clean, well-ventilated and lighted stall, excluding all drafts, blanket the animal, hand rub the legs and bandage them; give inhalations of steam from Hot Water and Turpentine. A good method for heating water for this purpose is to place hot stones or bricks in the water and Turpentine. This will relieve the hard breathing. Remember a horse cannot breathe through his mouth, therefore, liquid drenches are dangerous. A paste made from Potassi Chlorate, two ounces; Potassi Nitrate, two ounces, dissolved into a pint of warm molasses and given well back on the tongue in tablespoonful doses every two or three hours is very beneficial. A liniment made from equal parts of Aqua Ammonia Fort., Turpentine and Sweet Oil should be applied every morning over the enlargement that appears in the region of the throat. If the enlargement fails to come to a head, use a clean knife for lancing purposes.

After an attack of distemper your horse is generally run down in condition. Give the following: Potassi Nitrate, four ounces; Pulv. Gentian Root, four ounces; Pulv. Anise Seed, eight ounces. Make into thirty-two powders and give one powder three times daily in feed.

DROPSY.

(Of the Belly, Chest, Sheath, Udder and Legs)

CAUSE.—Poor circulation; kidneys not working properly; lack of exercise; diseases of the lungs, liver, heart, womb or sheath. Mares heavy with foal often have dropsical swellings.

SYMPTOMS.—Swelling seldom contains fluid, although sometimes a sticky serum oozes through the skin; fingers pressed against the swollen parts leave impressions.

TREATMENT.—Avoid giving physics in this condition when possible, especially to mares with foal. Feed laxative food, as hot bran mashes, green grass, carrots, potatoes, etc.; also the following mixture: Potassi Iodide, two ounces; Potassi Nitrate, four ounces; Chloride of Potash, two ounces. Mix and make into sixteen powders. Place one powder in their drinking water three times a day. Exercise the animal as much as possible and you will derive good results from this treatment within a week or so.

I may add that in the above affection it is a bad practice to apply hot applications, as the chances are it would produce a sloughing of the skin.

ECZEMA.

CAUSE.—Anything that interferes with the healthy action of the skin, as checked sweating, irritation from dirty blankets or harness, or from accumulation of dirt on the skin through want of grooming, errors in feeding, overheat, or by infection. In some cases the cause seems to be constitutional; in others, local. Though the disease is not parasitic in character, it is probable that when once contracted the diseased parts may become infected.

SYMPTOMS.—Slight dryness and eruptions that may affect the head, ears, neck, shoulders, flanks, inside of thighs and root of the tail, followed by vesicles or pimples which burst and discharge, or the contents may be absorbed. The animal will rub against the stall, manger, or any other object he can reach, until the parts are very sore, or if worked, he will rub himself violently when unharnessed.

TREATMENT.—Give Fowler’s Solution of Arsenic, one tablespoonful morning and night on their feed; also give a physic consisting of two drams of Aloin and two drams of Pulverized Ginger in gelatin capsule. Give at one dose. One physic is all that is necessary to cool out the blood, which will assist materially in treating Eczema. Also, apply Zinc Ointment twice daily over the vesicles or pimples which will appear on the skin. Also, feed easily digested food if possible, such as carrots, apples, grass, hot bran mashes and steamed rolled oats, and keep the animal clean and groom carefully with clean combs and brushes.