THE TREATMENT OF THE HORSE.

North Otago Times, 3 December 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE TREATMENT OF THE HORSE.

A short wileagq/'TheHowe, and his Ailments^•:, was the text 61 ; an address 'by, VeV Surg.- : Desmond, 8, Australia, .who "dealt ; !with: the troublesi ; ;:> to':-which ',^'manY'best friend" jraß;liable, his head to his •' heels," and the common methods ■'•of- treatment.' .He -lucidly described ;theV nature pf eye and dental ailments, .and the wrong and right way -of treating these complaints, as well as lampas, strangles, and influenza.- In connection with tho removal 'of obstacles 'from-the eye it was advisable to first inject three or four drops of a 5 per cent, solution of' cocaine which, after a few minutes, would render tho eye insensible pain when the piece of chaff or pther foreign substance should be taken out with the aid of a soft damp cloth, In the event of the eye and,Uts surroundings being much inflamed a bandage should be placed ovor both eyes-a hole for the sound eye having previously been cut Out of the material—and kept damp' with Applications of a mixture made up of loz. of laudanum to ai pint of coldwater.' On* no account should lotions be applied to tho eye direct. In- 'unmistakable terms the speaker emphasised the' cruelty of some of the measures adopted by "teeth-crackers." . -After .having carefully -described . the anatomy of the'horse, s teeth, he explained that when the -edges of the teeth we're sharp, all that ""was necessary was to file them-down with an ordinary fine rasp. ■ It was highly reprehensible! to break the.-teeth forcibly with' powerful instruments, as often when this was done the teeth were smashed obliquely and had to bo removed altogether. Dealing with the tongue of the horse,- Mr. Desmond said to

' was frequently injured through the ' barbarous' practice of placing a half- ; hitch of the halter oyer the tongue ■ and around the lower jaw. Should • the animal, when fastened in this • manner suddenly pull back, there was a great danger of the front porJ tion of the tongue being crushed off. r and the lower jaw seriously injured. ; Among the purely imaginary dis- ! ' eases of the liorso' lampas had al- ' ways been a prime favorite, and had •been responsible for some of the • cruellest. treatment. ' Young .horses > alone were supposed to be subject ; to tho "complaint," as they did not :' finish teething until the fifth year, i During the cutting' of the molars a ' swelling was generally apparent in i the bars behind the upper incisor i teeth. While this condition existed ■ the horse should be fed on soft food, and upon the animal reaching ma--1 turity the trouble would completely i disappear. A disease in young 1 horses closely allied to distemper in the dog. was strangles. The animals, as a rule, were affected only once in their lifetime. When the trouble oc-cured-.in a mild form, provided that ' the horses had suitable shelter and an abundance of green feed, no special treatment was called for. In bad seasons, however, when feed and 'water were, scarce, and the disease assumed a malignant form, the patients should be placed in wellventilated sheds, where there was plenty of straw bedding, and fed on green feed. Should this not be obtainable, the horses should be supplied with boiled wheat or barley ! and bran mashes, and as much clean cold water as they ■ desired,'' When the swelling appeared in the throat, ' under the lower . jaw, the owner should apply' a fly blister, and as soon as the part became doughy to' the touch, indicating the presence of pus, he should make an opening in the centre of. the swelling to allow the matter to exude. The wound should be well washed morning and .night with hot water and washing soda. In the early stages influenza in the horse was often mistaken for strangles, but. generally, the 'constitutional disturbance was greater in the former. As a rule, in influenza the gland in. the back, portion of the throat was enlarged and painful to -any pressure. The throat should be kept warm by - means of an eight-tailed bandage, and dressed daily with a mild liniment. The additional treatment advised was practically the same as that followed in connection with strangles. ' Bleeding a nd purging could not be too strongly deprecated. Owing to I the soreness of the throat, •medi-! : cines should not be administered' by | the mouth, as there- was a likeli-| hood, of them entering the windpipe! and finally lodging in the lungs and j producing pneumonia, j

' In all diseases of the horse the i first object was to relieve pain, and I for this, purpose the most rational 1 form of treatment was the administration of - chlorodyne or laudanum, The usual dose of chlorodyne was a tablespoonful, and of laudanum two tablespoonfuls, both to be given in a pint of cold water, and repeated every four hours until the animal became free from pain. The stomach of an adult horse had a capacity of about 4 gallons, and digestion took place at best when' the stomach was three parts full. This proved that the horse Bhould have small feeds at frequent intervals. A fairly common complaint of . the horse was colic,

which in the'majority of cases was caused by (Unsuitable feed and a restricted supply of water. It had been demonstrated that when horses had a constant supply of water in front of thorn colics were of rare occurrence. When a horse knew that he could get water at will he invariably consumed small quantities at a time, but when the supply wSs irregular he often gorged himself. It was a wise plan to allow horses as much water as they could drink prior; to feeding. Colic >could be easily distinguished from inflammation of the bowels, as in the former trouble the animal had short intervals of freedom from pain, whereas in the latter the pain was. continuous, and the horse was usually covered with presperatibn,. It should always be borne in mind that nature was the greatest doctor, and that it was the duty of owners of stock to assist it whenever possible. . Horaes suffering from colic should: be allow : . Ed their freedom, so that they could roll about on the ground, which was nature's method of helping in,the re-, moval of the obstruction in: the bowels. ' The animal should not be walked about or trotted. To alleviate the pain administer chlorodyne or laudanum in the propbrtions referred to. In deallflg ivlth the coiiw ottreat*

wasaftectdd with sand &lr. hesmottd: uttered some scathing'comments: conxerning' the' practice' of : administering Unseed- or paint oil. - That, ho said, would .bo better mixed •with white, or red lead and applied to the 'farmers'- vehicles,,;':;' machinery,. 'and ■fences. Hundreds of killed by the admihjstration of lirt- • seed oil .which was prepared primarily for us}ng... with paint, and contained a considerable quantity of dryers, extracted from different gums belonging to' the turpentine family. The accumulation of sand in .the intestines was brought about through the horse pullijg up the herbage" by tho roots' and eating it -with the sand attached.- The sand which passed through the stomach was washed through the small intestines with.the .water supply,-andi accumulated" in.the water bag: and large intestines.'' The proper'.treatment' was. to feed t!io horse- -on-, pollard-gruel-that. was, pollard well boiled and.made into a thick gruol. This should bo mixed with a,, little chaff'and bran, and its effect would-be to, adhere to tha sand and carry- it "gradually away. : Should a l , horse with sand show signs of colicky pains, it was advisable to give it chlorodyne or laudanum as indicated. In .the event of the' patient declining to partake of the gruel, the mixture should be frequently renewed (otherwise-it would become sour) until the animal changed its mind, It was worth remembering that a horsa would live/for weeks without. feed or water, and that there was not : miich danger during, -the' progress of 'this' .treatment of the animal 'starving. When horses, ate a large quantity of wheat they should be drenched- slowly with 4bz. of common washing soda dissolved in, say, a quart of water. That,, if administered , sufficiently early, would prevent tho grain from being digested, and thus avert any serious consequences.-" Journal of Agriculture," Bth. Australia.