Special Report on Diseases of the Horse Part 6

SILAGE.--Regarding silage as a feed for horses, Rommel in Farmers'

Bulletin 578 writes as follows:

Silage has not been generally fed to horses, partly on account of a certain amount of danger which attends its use for this purpose, but still more, perhaps, on account of prejudice. In many cases horses have been killed by eating moldy silage, and the careless person who fed it at once blamed the silage itself, rather than his own carelessness and the mold which really was the cause of the trouble. Horses are peculiarly susceptible to the effects of molds, and under certain conditions certain molds grow on silage which are deadly poisons to both horses and mules. Molds must have air to grow, and therefore silage which is packed air-tight and fed out rapidly will not become moldy. If the feeder watches the silage carefully as the weather warms up he can soon detect the presence of mold. When mold appears, feeding to horses or mules should stop immediately.

It is also unsafe to feed horses frozen silage on account of the danger of colic. * * *

To summarize, silage is safe to feed to horses and mules only when it is made from fairly mature corn, properly stored in the silo. When it is properly stored and is not allowed to mold, no feed exceeds it as a cheap winter ration. It is most valuable for horses and mules which are not at heavy work, such as brood mares and work horses during the slack season. With plenty of grain on the cornstalks, horses will keep in good condition on a ration of 20 pounds of silage and 10 pounds of hay for each 1,000 pounds of live weight.

PREPARATION OF FEEDS.

Feed is prepared for any of the following reasons: To render it more easily eaten; to make it more digestible; to economize in amount; to give it some new property; and to preserve it. We have already spoken of the preparation of drying, and need not revert to this again, as it only serves to preserve the different feeds. Drying does, however, change some of the properties of feed, _i. e._, removes the laxative tendency of most of them.

The different grains are more easily eaten when ground, crushed, or even boiled. Rye or wheat should never be given whole, and even of corn it is found that there is less waste when ground, and, in common with all other grains, it is more easily digested than when fed whole.

Hay and fodder are economized when cut in short pieces. Not only will the horse eat the necessary quant.i.ty in a shorter time, but it will be found that there is less waste, and the mastication of the grains (whole or crushed) fed with them is insured.

Reference has already been made to those horses that bolt their feed, and we need only remark here that the consequences of such ravenous eating may be prevented if the grains are fed with cut hay, straw, or fodder. Long or uncut hay should also be fed, even though a certain quant.i.ty of hay or straw is cut and fed mixed with grain.

One objection to feeding cut hay mixed with ground or crushed grains, and wetted, must not be overlooked during the hot months. Such feed is liable to undergo fermentation if not fed directly after it is mixed; even the mixing trough, unless frequently scalded and cleaned, becomes sour and enough of its sc.r.a.pings are given with the feed to produce flatulent (wind) colic. A small quant.i.ty of salt should always be mixed with such feed. Bad hay should never be cut simply because it insures a greater consumption of it; bad feeds are dear at any price, and should never be fed.

The advantage of boiling roots has been mentioned. Not only does this render them less liable to produce digestive disorders, but it also makes them clean. Boiling or steaming grains is to be recommended when the teeth are poor, or when the digestive organs are weak.

DISEASES OF THE TEETH.

_Dent.i.tion._--This covers the period during which the young horse is cutting his teeth--from birth to the age of 5 years. With the horse more difficulty is experienced in cutting the second or permanent teeth than with the first or milk teeth. There is a tendency among farmers and many veterinarians to pay too little attention to the teeth of young horses.

Percivall relates an instance ill.u.s.trative of this that is best told in his own words:

I was requested to give my opinion concerning a horse, then in his fifth year, who had fed so sparingly for the last fortnight, and so rapidly declined in condition in consequence, that his owner, a veterinary surgeon, was under no light apprehensions about his life. He had himself examined his mouth without having discovered any defect or disease, though another veterinary surgeon was of opinion that the difficulty or inability manifested in mastication, and the consequent cudding, arose from preternatural bluntness of the surfaces of the molar teeth, which were, in consequence, filed, but without beneficial result. It was after this that I saw the horse, and I confess I was, at my first examination, quite as much at a loss to offer any satisfactory interpretation as others had been. While meditating, however, after my inspection, on the apparently extraordinary nature of the case, it struck me that I had not seen the tusks. I went back into the stable and discovered two little tumors, red and hard, in the situation of the inferior tusks, which, when pressed, gave the animal insufferable pain. I instantly took out my pocketknife and made crucial incisions through them both, down to the coming teeth, from which moment the horse recovered his appet.i.te and, by degrees, his wonted condition.

The mouths of young horses should be examined from time to time to see whether one or more of the milk teeth are not remaining too long, causing the second teeth to grow in crooked, in which case the first teeth should be removed with the forceps.

_Irregularities of teeth._--There is a fashion of late years, especially in large cities, to have horses' teeth regularly "floated," or "rasped,"

by "veterinary dentists." In some instances this is very beneficial, while in most cases it is entirely unnecessary. From the character of the feed, the rubbing, or grinding, surface of the horse's teeth should be rough. Still, we must remember that the upper jaw is somewhat wider than the lower, and that, from the fact of the teeth not being perfectly apposed, a sharp ridge is left unworn on the inside of the lower molars and on the outside of the upper, which may excoriate the tongue or cheeks to a considerable extent. This condition may readily be felt by the hand, and these sharp ridges when found should be rasped down by a guarded rasp. In some instances the first or last molar tooth is unnaturally long, owing to the fact that its fellow in the opposite jaw has been lost or does not close perfectly against it. Should it be the last molar that is thus elongated, it will require the aid of the veterinary surgeon, who has the necessary forceps or chisel for cutting it. The front molar may be rasped down, if much patience is taken. In decay of the teeth it is quite common to find the tooth corresponding to the decayed one on the opposite jaw very much elongated, sometimes to such an extent that the mouth can not be perfectly closed. Such teeth must also be shortened by the tooth forceps, chisel, tooth saw, or rasp.

In all instances in which horses "quid" their feed, if they are s...o...b..ring, or evince pain in mastication, shown by holding the head to one side while chewing, the teeth should be carefully examined. Horses whose teeth have unduly sharp edges are liable to drive badly; they pull to one side, do not bear on the bit, or bear on too hard and "big," toss the head, and start suddenly when a tender spot is touched. If, as is mostly the case, all the symptoms are referable to sharp corners or projections, these must be removed by the rasp. If decayed teeth ere found, or other serious difficulty detected, or if the cause of the annoying symptoms is not discovered, an expert should be called.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE IV.

AGE OF HORSES AS INDICATED BY TEETH.

Longitudinal section of left central lower incisor and cross sections of same tooth showing table surfaces as they appear at the ages of 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 20 and 25 years. _C_, Cement; _D_, Dentine; _E_, Enamel; _I_, Infundibulum; _K_, Cup; _P_, Pulp Cavity; _S_, Star.]

_Toothache._--This is rare in the horse and is mostly witnessed when there is decay of a tooth or inflammation about its root. Toothache is to be discovered in the horse by the pain expressed by him while feeding or drinking cold water. I have seen horses, affected with toothache, that would suddenly stop chewing, throw the head to one side, and slightly open the mouth. They behave as though some sharp body had punctured the mouth. If upon examination, no foreign body is found, we must then carefully examine each tooth. If this can not be done with the hand in the mouth, we can, in most instances, discover the aching tooth by pressing each tooth from without. By tapping the teeth in succession with a hard object, such as a small hammer, the one that is tender may be identified. The horse will flinch when the sore tooth is pressed or tapped upon. In most cases there is nothing to be done but extract the decayed tooth, and this, of course, is to be attempted by the veterinarian only.

_Deformity._--There is a deformity, known as parrot-mouth, that interferes with prehension, mastication, and, indirectly, with digestion. The upper incisors project in front of and beyond the lower ones. The teeth of both jaws become unusually long, as they are not worn down by friction. Such horses experience much difficulty in grazing.

Little can be done except to examine the teeth occasionally, and if those of the lower jaw become so long that they bruise the "bars" of the upper jaw, they must be shortened by the rasp or saw. Horses with this deformity should never be left entirely at pasture.

The method of determining the age of a horse by the teeth is ill.u.s.trated in Plate IV.

DISEASES OF THE MOUTH.

LAMPAS.

Lampas is the name given to a swelling of the mucous membrane covering the hard palate and projecting in a more or less prominent ridge immediately behind the upper incisors. The hard palate is composed of spongy tissue that fills with blood when the horse is feeding, which causes the ridges to become prominent, and they then help to keep feed from dropping from the mouth. This swelling is entirely natural and occurs in every healthy horse. Where there is some irritation in the mouth, as in stomat.i.tis or during teething, the prominence of the hard palate may persist, owing to the increased blood supply. In such cases the cause of the irritation should be nought for and removed. By way of direct treatment, slight scarification is the most that will be required. Burning the lampas is barbarous and injurious, and it should never be tolerated.

It is a quite common opinion among owners of horses and stablemen that lampas is a disease that very frequently exists. In fact whenever a horse fails to eat, and if he does not exhibit very marked symptoms of a severe illness, they say at once "he has the lampas." It is almost impossible to convince them to the contrary; yet it is not the case. It may be put down, then, as an affliction of the stable-man's imagination rather than of the horse's mouth.

STOMAt.i.tIS.

Stomat.i.tis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the mouth and is produced by irritating medicines, feeds, or other substances. The symptoms are swelling of the mouth, which is also hot and painful to the touch; there is a copious discharge of saliva; the mucous membrane is reddened, and in some cases vesicles or ulcers in the mouth are observed. The treatment is simple, soft feed alone often being all that is necessary. A bucket of fresh, cold water should be kept constantly in the manger so that the horse may drink or rinse his mouth at will. In some instances, it may be advisable to use a wash of chlorate of potash, borax, or alum, about one-half ounce to a pint of water. Hay, straw, or oats should not be fed unless steamed or boiled. A form of contagious stomat.i.tis, characterized by the formation within the mouth of small vesicles, or blisters, sometimes occurs. In this disease the horse should be isolated from other horses, and his stall, especially the feed box, and his bit should be disinfected.

GLOSSITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE TONGUE).

Glossitis, or inflammation of the tongue, is very similar to stomat.i.tis, and mostly exists with it and is due to the same causes. Injuries to the tongue may produce this simple inflammation of its covering membrane, or, if severe, may produce lesions much more extensive, such as lacerations, abscesses, etc. These latter would require surgical treatment, but for the simpler forms of inflammation of the tongue the treatment recommended for stomat.i.tis should be followed.

SALIVATION (PTYALISM).

Ptyalism, or salivation, consists in an abnormal and excessive secretion of saliva. This is often seen as a symptom of irregular teeth; inflammation of the mouth or tongue, or of the use of such medicines as lobelia, mercury, and many others. Some feeds, such as clover, and particularly second crop, produce it; foreign bodies, such as nails, wheat chaff, and corncobs becoming lodged in the mouth, also are causes.

If the cause is removed no further attention is necessary, as a rule.

Astringent washes may be applied to the mouth as a gargle or by means of a sponge.

PHARYNGITIS.

Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining of the pharynx or throat. It rarely exists unless accompanied with stomat.i.tis or laryngitis, especially the latter. In those rare instances in which the inflammation is mostly confined to the pharynx are noticed febrile symptoms--difficulty of swallowing either liquids or solids; there is but little cough except when trying to swallow; there is no soreness on pressure over larynx (head of the windpipe). Increased flow of saliva, difficulty of swallowing liquids in particular, and cough only when attempting to swallow, are the symptoms best marked in pharyngitis. In some cases the throat becomes gangrenous and the disease ends in death.

For treatment a wet sheet should be wrapped around the throat and covered with rubber sheeting and a warm blanket. This should be changed three times daily; or the region of the throat may be rubbed with mercurial ointment twice daily until the skin becomes irritated, but no longer; chlorate of potash may be given in 2-dram doses four times daily, mixed with flaxseed meal or licorice-root powder and honey, as an electuary. Soft feeds should be given, and fresh water should be constantly before the horse.

PARALYSIS OF THE PHARYNX.

Paralysis of the pharynx, or, as it is commonly called, "paralysis of the throat," is a rare but very serious disease. The symptoms are as follows: The horse will constantly try to eat or drink, but will be unable to do so; if water is offered him from a pail he will apparently drink with avidity, but the quant.i.ty of water in the pail will remain about the same; he will continue by the hour to try to drink; if he can get any fluid into the back part of the mouth it will come out at once through the nose. Feeds also return through the nose, or are dropped from the mouth, quidded. An examination of the mouth by inserting the hand fails to find any obstruction or any abnormal condition. These cases go on from bad to worse; the horse constantly and rapidly loses in condition, becomes very much emaciated, the eyes are hollow and l.u.s.terless, and death occurs from inanition.

Treatment is very unsatisfactory. A severe blister should be applied behind and under the jaw; the mouth is to be frequently swabbed out with alum or chlorate of potash, 1 ounce to a pint of water, by means of a sponge fastened to the end of a stick. Strychnia may be given in 1-grain doses two or three times a day.

This disease may be mistaken at times for foreign bodies in the mouth or for the so-called cerebrospinal meningitis. It is to be distinguished from the former, upon a careful examination of the mouth, by the absence of any offending body and by the flabby feel of the mouth, and from the latter by the animal appearing in perfect health in every particular except this inability to eat or drink.

ABSCESSES.

Abscesses sometimes form back of the pharynx and give rise to symptoms resembling those of laryngitis or distemper. Interference with breathing that is of recent origin and progression, without any observable swelling or soreness about the throat, will make one suspect the formation of an abscess in this location. But little can be done in the way of treatment, save to hurry the ripening of the abscess and its discharge by steaming with hops, hay, or similar substances and by poulticing the throat. The operation for opening an abscess in this region necessitates an intimate knowledge of the complex anatomy of the throat region.