The Veterinarian Part 3

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.

CURB

CAUSE: Faulty conformation of the hind legs; that is to say, if an 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 applied. 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Photographs of two horses.]

The Famous Team of Arabian Horses.

Owned by Dr. C. J. Korinek.

DIARRHOEA

CAUSE: Sudden change of food, frozen food, soft food, unwholesome food, stagnant water, or drinking large quant.i.ties of water at one time, purgative medicines, or it may be a.s.sociated 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 p.r.o.nounced abdominal pain; generally, loss of appet.i.te, 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 quant.i.ties. 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 appet.i.te; 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 Pota.s.si Chlorate, two ounces; Pota.s.si Nitrate, two ounces, dissolved in a pint of warm mola.s.ses 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, secure the services of an accomplished veterinarian, who will use a clean instrument for lancing purposes.

After an attack of distemper your horse is generally run down in condition. Give the following: Pota.s.si 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 gra.s.s, carrots, potatoes, etc.; also the following mixture: Pota.s.si Iodide, two ounces; Pota.s.si 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 acc.u.mulation of dirt on the skin through want of grooming, errors in feeding, overheat, or by infection. In some cases the cause seems to be const.i.tutional; in others, local. Though the disease is not parasitic in character, it is probable that when once contracted the diseased parts may be 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 a.r.s.enic, 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 a.s.sist 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, gra.s.s, hot bran mashes and steamed rolled oats, and keep the animal clean and groom carefully with clean combs and brushes.

EYE DISEASES

CONJUNCTIVITIS, or Inflammation of the superficial structure of the eye.

CAUSE: Direct or indirect injury to the eye, as a blow from a whip, dust, sand or chaff in the eye, or it may be due to extreme cold, heat, or foul air.

Inflammation of the Membrane of Nict.i.tans

The membrane of nictation is an accessory eyelid common to all domestic animals, the purpose of which is to remove foreign substances from the eye in much the same manner as we use the hand.

SYMPTOMS: Conjunctivitis and inflammation of the membranes of nict.i.tans are very much the same. A partial or complete closure of the eye, and a watery discharge due to overstimulation of the lachrymal glands, the fluid being secreted so abundantly that it is impossible for the tear duct to carry it away; hence, there will be a continuous overflow of tears down the horse's face. The formation of a film or sc.u.m over the eye need not cause alarm if the eye shows no sign of puncture.

TREATMENT: Examine the eye carefully and remove any foreign body with clean cloth or feather and apply the following: Yellow Oxide of Mercury, three grains; Lanolin, one ounce. Mix well together and apply to the eye three or four times daily. Avoid the use of liquid medicines, as they are hard to apply, and the animal throws them out by shaking the head.

FISTULOUS WITHERS