SOME OF THE COMMON AILMENTS IN FOALS.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume II, Issue 2, 15 February 1911, Page 100

SOME OF THE COMMON AILMENTS IN FOALS.

By

H. G. Wilkie,

F.R.C.V.S.

The ailments of foals are naturally of great interest to all breeders of horses on account of their economic importance and of the difficulties which are generally supposed to surround their treatment.

The anatomy of the foal is sufficiently distinct in. important features from that of the adult horse to require a special consideration, while the physiological actions of important organs in early life require some study before even simple ailments can be properly understood.

I purpose, however, dealing only with a few of the more common ailments of foals from a purely practical standpoint in order to endeavour to smooth away some of the difficulties with which all breeders of horses are sooner or later faced.

All the conditions here mentioned are of common occurrence, and are capable of directly or indirectly causing death. Most of them admit of successful treatment with very simple remedies, such as can be procured almost anywhere, and, although it would be too much to hope that by reading this the same success can be obtained as by the personal services of an experienced veterinary practitioner, yet the lives of many valuable foals might be saved, which in a great many parts of the Dominion, far from the reach of professional aid, are now lost.

Persistent Urachus,

This is a dribbling of the urine from the navel, and is due to the remaining open after birth of a tube connected with the bladder, called the urachus. Before birth the urine trickles drop by drop from the kidneys, through the bladder, along the urachus, and flows into a membranous bagthe middle of the three envelopes of the foetus. After birth this tube normally closes, the bladder retracts into its place in the cavity of the pelvis, and the urine has to find its way through what is then its proper channelthe urethra.

Where the urachus does not close, the urine continues to dribble through, and the longer this is allowed to continue the less likely is the tube to close spontaneously. In a few cases, and especially, I may say, in filly foals, this dribbling does spontaneously cease a few days after . birth. Where it persists, it interferes very materially with the health of the foal and affords an easy point - of entrance for destructive organisms, notably those which cause joint-evila disease to be described hereafter.

Treatment.

It is necessary, first of all, to ascertain if the natural channel for the passage of the urine, the urethra, is open, because if, as happens sometimes, this is blocked up, or there is any malformation such as an imperforate prepuce, this defect must be remedied before the passage through the navel is closed. Having become satisfied on this most important point, the navelopening must be closed and the lumen of the tube obliterated.

Several different methods of doing this have been; recommended at different times. The one I prefer and have found to be most successful is to take a large pin, such as a blanket-pin, and drive this through the tube, which is easily seen when the foal is lying on its back. The pin should be pushed exactly through the middle of the tube crosswise until half the pin is visible on the opposite side. A strong piece of carbolised catgut is now put round the part between the pin and the belly-wall, and, after being pulled tight, is tied very firmly. I usually use two half-hitches for this purpose. This is a very simple procedure and a very effective one. One can see the foal improve in condition almost hourly after it is done.

It sometimes happens, though seldom, that the urachus is broken off level with the abdominal wall and cannot be secured in the way described. These cases require special manipulation, for which professional aid is required.

Constipation.

This is a common trouble with foals, especially very young ones. The contents of the rectum after birth, called the “ meconium,” should be expelled very soon after birth, but where it is retained, measures should be immediately adopted for its removal. The meconium of foals is naturally somewhat stiff in consistence,, but when it comes away it is normally followed by much softer faeces. Retention of the meconium in foals is most frequently seen in those whose dams have been fed on dry food during pregnancy. If the bowels do not operate within two or three hours after birth it becomes necessary to adopt measures for emptying the rectum.

Treatment.

With a well-oiled finger as much of the hardened meconium as possible should be removed, and afterwards an enema of soapy water about threequarters of a pint in quantity should be injected into the rectum. This is best done with a brass syringe, made for the purpose with a long wellrounded nozzle, but in an emergency it can be satisfactorily effected by passing a piece of ordinary half-inch rubber pipe into the rectum and pouring the water down it through a funnel inserted in its end. If in the course of an hour or so matters are not remedied, another enema should be given of half a pint of warm water and 3 oz. of glycerine. This usually has the required effect. • i

It is best, especially in the case of very young foals, to avoid giving medicine by the mouth for the relief of constipation. In the few cases where this is really necessary castor oil is the most suitable for that purpose, in doses of 1 oz. to 2 oz. Manna used, to be employed for this purpose, and is a fairly effectual and harmless agent. Its action, however, cannot be always depended upon. | ,

It is better, however, at all times to operate upon the bowels of the foal through its dam’s milk, and this can in most cases be done readily enough by a little careful attention. The mare should have an abundance of pure water to drink, and she should be fed only on sloppy food such as branmashes and boiled roots. For medicine which will act upon the foal through the milk, the mare should receive from 2 oz. to 3 oz. of sulphate of soda. Some mares will drink this in their water, but in most cases it is necessary to administer it, dissolved in water, as a draught.

’ > Imperforate Anus. There are various forms of imperforate amis seen in foals, most of which can be remedied by treatment. The simplest form occurs where the anus is covered by a membrane or by skin, and the bowel beneath is normal. This condition is remedied by simply incising the skin or membrane by two cuts in the form of a cross. Very little after-attention is necessary beyond water dressings and the use of an antiseptic. Another form which I have seen several times is where the middle of the rectum is divided by a membrane which stretches across it and prevents the feces getting through. This condition too is to be remedied by a simple incision.

Still another variety of imperforation exists where the rectum is divided into two, each end being completely closed and separate. Such a malformation is far more serious than the others, but by a special operation a communication is made between the two parts of the rectum. Cases of imperforate anus in foals are by no means very rare, and should always be looked for in any serious obstruction of the bowels immediately after birth.

Indigestion. This is a common disorder of young foals which frequently leads to serious consequences. Its cause may be looked for in any change in the character of the mare’s milk, which renders it less easy of digestion. Perhaps the commonest cause is a large supply of over-rich milk, but it may also arise from the directly opposite conditionthat of an extreme poorness of quality. A frequent cause of indigestion and diarrhoea in foals is found in the alterations which take place in the mare’s milk when she is put to work during the time she is suckling a foal.

Symptoms.

The foal shows considerable dulness and uneasiness, loss of the desire to suck, eructations of wind from the stomach, vomiting of milk through the nostrils, yawning,: breath has a . sour odour, tongue coated and white or yellowish white, windy swelling of the abdomen, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain or colic which is oftentimes very severe. In mild cases of indigestion in foals where there is no more than a little windy swelling and an occasional vomiting of milk through the nostrils it is not unusual to find that the habit of eating the mare’s dung has been acquired. This bad habit is most often seen in foals which are on too bare a pasture, or are too much shut up in a loose-box. It causes a very obstinate form of diarrhoea, and must be treated with change of pasture or more freedom if circumstances demand it, in addition to the medicinal treatment recommended. A very old-fashioned way to prevent a foal eating dung is to place a loose necklace of osiers round its neck. As soon as the head goes down, the necklace falls on to the ears and the head goes up with a start. This manoeuvre is very successful for a day or two, but after that the foal gets used to it. However, by that time the cause should have been removed.

Treatment. Prevention of this disorder is based on an examination and avoidance of all the conditions which we know cause it. If a mare has a great -flush of

milk it is necessary to draw most of it oft until this can be remedied by more scanty and dry feed. The foal will always be able to get as much milk as it really needs. If the mare is in a very low condition and the cause of indigestion is the poor quality of the milk, which probably contains some deleterious matters and is deficient in fat, the remedy for this is obvious. If the mare is being worked while suckling the foal, and the cause of indigestion is evidently the acid changes in the milk while the mare is heated and the milk is retained in the udder, the udder should be emptied when the mare comes in, and plenty of fresh milk will be formed when the foal wants it. The conditions caused by working mares suckling foals are not so common in this Dominion as in the older countries, but it is within my knowledge that they do occur here.

With regard to curative measures, where there is considerable diarrhoea and the foal is not otherwise very ill, a simple and very effective remedy consists in milking the mare out frequently, say, three or four times a day, putting her on a diet of hay, dry bran, and chaff, and giving her one or two doses of carbonate of soda, 1 oz. each time. This I have seen effectual time after time. In any but the newly born, this treatment may be supplemented by giving the foal a dose of carbonate of soda. In cases of colic in foals, which occur at all ages, treatment has to be somewhat circumspect. Colic in young foals is often very severe, and in the absence of judicious treatment it frequently ends in death. These cases are originally caused by the presence of undigested and irritating matters in the intestines, and in cases where considerable fermentative action takes place there is extensive abdominal distension.

The removal of the irritating matter in the intestines may be hastened by giving castor oil and enemas of warm water and glycerine at frequent intervals.

The griping pains should not be dealt with in young foals by powerful sedatives such as chlorodyne, opium,, aconite, &c.,'because this kind of treatment undoubtedly kills a good many foals which might otherwise recover. The pain may usually be got under control by the constant application of hot-salt bags. These are readily made out of any linen bags, and they are sewn in crossing diagonal lines in order to hold the salt in small diamondshaped pockets and prevent it falling all to one place. Two such bags are necessary. One should be put in an oven, while the other is firmly fastened round the foal’s body and covered with a piece of mackintosh. As the heat diminishes the bags are changed. With regard to medicine, as I before said, this must be used with great circumspection, and powerful sedatives altogether avoided.

A homely and very good mixture for a griped foal is a little carbonate, of soda and the ordinary peppermint cordial which, can be obtained anywhere and which seems to suit the foal’s stomach’ exceedingly well. In some of these cases stimulants are necessary, and of these sweet wines are the most suitable. Spirits I have not found so successful as slightly diluted port, which a foal will suck out of a bottle after he has once tasted it. Spirits can only be administered at any time by main force, and a considerable amount of nausea is always exhibited afterwards.

Joint-evil or Navel-ill.

This disorder consists of an ' infection of the system by pus-producing microbes which obtain entrance through the unhealed umbilical cord or

navel-string. . Cases in which. the urachus is pervious as previously described are specially liable to this infection. The disease is characterized by an inflammation of the joints, which ■usually manifests itself within two or three weeks of birth, but in some cases is longer delayed. It varies from what may be termed a mild case, where perhaps only one joint is swollen and painful, to a more advanced or acute infection, where there is a decided rise of temperature, a purulent nasal discharge, pus-formation in the joints, subcutaneous abscesses in different parts, diarrhoea, and a rapidly fatal termination. The variations between these two extremes are numerous, but the most commonly seen cases of joint-evil are slow in their onset and their course.

Cause.

The predisposing cause of joint-evil or navel-ill is, as previously stated, an open urachus or an unhealed navel-string, and the exciting cause is the admission to the system of pus-producing organisms, which are constantly present in yards, stables, and on dirty pastures, which, if bare, afford an ■easy contact of the soil with the point of infection in the foal.

Treatment.

This painful disease does not admit of successful treatment in any but the mildest of cases. The joints most commonly affected are the hocks and stifles, although any joints may. be so. Where the inflammation of the joints has not reached the stage of pus-production and the foal has a vigorous constitution there is some hope of recovery. The mare should be taken care of and well fed, and should not have too large a paddock to roam about in. Exercise for a foal in this condition aggravates matters very considerably. In all cases a careful examination of the foal’s navel should be made, and if this is unhealed and discharging pus it should be thoroughly cleansed and fomented with, warm water and kept covered with an antiseptic pad .held in its place over the navel with a bandage until the part is healed. If the urachus is open this must be closed as previously recommended. In many cases of joint-evil, by the time they are noticed the navel is healed over, and in such cases I have often found a considerable abscess inside the abdomen in that portion of the urachus which lies upon its floor, and in some cases a considerable collection of pus in the umbilical vien about .an inch from the navel as it passes along the floor of the abdomen on its way to the-liver. Such cases as these can, of course, only be handled by the veterinary surgeon.

Prevention.

The prevention of this disease consists, in using an antiseptic to the umbilical cord, and properly securing it with carbolized catgut or some ■other suitable ligature.

It is essential that foals should not be kept about dirty yards or stables, and that mares and foals should run on clean pastures where there is a good growth of grass, and should never be put on bare ones.

Hernias or Ruptures in Foals.

The two commonest ruptures in foals are umbilical or navel hernia and. scrotal hernia. The first is a very common form of rupture in Otago, and,, although I am not in practice, I have operated . on over twenty of these cases during the last twelve months at the special request of farmers who could not obtain the services of a veterinary surgeon otherwise. I therefore have some reason to infer that there must be a considerable number of ruptured foals born in this province.

The best age at which to operate is from nine to eighteen months old. Many cases of small navel ruptures spontaneously reduce, but if they persist and show no signs of diminution in size by the time the foal is nine months old the sooner they are operated upon after that the better. The practice in England is to perform these operations after weaning-time and before the winter sets in.

Umbilical hernia in foals consists of an opening in the abdominal wall in the vicinity of the navel through which a portion of either bowel or omentum protrudes and makes a bag for itself between the skin and the abdominal wall. Very many of these ruptures consist of a portion of the great omentum, or, as it is called, the caul-fat, and it is a few of these cases principally which spontaneously recover. There are two methods of operating on these cases—one, which is adopted for the more extensive ruptures, consists of opening the sac and suturing the abdominal walls with kangaroo-tendon, after freshening the edges of the opening ; the other, which is adopted for mild cases,, consists in taking up the sac with strong steel pins or skewers and a stout ligature. These remain in position usually from ten to twelve days, and after that the bowel will not come down again. Both of these operations may be said to be practically uniformly successful.

Scrotal hernia in foals is not so common as umbilical. It consists of the escape of a knuckle of bowel into the scrotum, and many of these cases recover without treatment. I have seen quite large scrotal ruptures in very young foals disappear when the animal gets to be six or eight months old. So long, however, as a scrotal hernia exists there is always a certain amount of danger from strangulation. On the whole it is better, except in very bad cases, to leave these ruptures until the first year is over, and if the hernia persists it should be remedied by operation when the animal is castrated. This is done by what is termed the “ covered operation,” which I need not describe here, as no one but a veterinary surgeon would be likely to attempt it. I may say that in my experience there is but little danger attached to the operation, and that it is a radical cure for the hernia.

White Scour.

Apart from the diarrhoea induced by the presence of irritating undigested matter in the intestines of young foals, and that caused by the dung-eating habit, there is another well-known and much-dreaded form of diarrhoea called “ white scour,” an intestinal catarrh which attacks newly born foals and which is important on account of its evidently infective nature, the difficulty of its successful treatment, and the heavy, mortality which attends it. It hangs about ■ certain breeding-establishments often for years, and can only be eradicated by the adoption of the most vigorous measures. From my experience of the disease, I think thoroughbreds and hackneys are more liable to it than other breeds.

The disease has certain, special features which serve to at once distinguish it from other forms of diarrhoea. It is essentially a disease of very young foals, as it occurs usually from one day to a week after birth. It is not accompanied by pain or flatulency. The evacuations are fluid, either white, light yellow, or sometimes greyish green in colour, and having a characteristic and highly foetid odour. They are very slimy in consistence from the enormous quantity of mucus they contain. The foal loses all its strength with a suddenness that is sometimes astonishing, emaciation becomes extreme, the eyes sink in the orbits, and for two or three hours before death the animal lies immovable and apparently unconscious. The disease is rapid in its course, death taking place within twenty-four hours to three days from the first appearance of the symptoms, the shorter periods being the more common.

Brugnone, several years ago, observed an ophthalmia in many of these cases as a complication, particularly involving the anterior chamber of the eye. I have myself seen this condition in several cases, the eyes becoming cloudy, intolerant of light, tears flowing freely, and the eyeballs being retracted into their sockets.

This disease, so far as I am aware, is not known (at present) in New Zealand, but I mention it here because it is undoubtedly the most fatal of all the diseases to which young foals are subject. It occurs frequently as an epizootic, and it is common in Great Britain and most of the countries of Europe.