CURBWhile common to all varieties of the horse, curbs are most frequently seen in the lighter breeds and especially in roadsters and trotting horses.
CURB
While common to all varieties of the horse, curbs are most frequently seen in the lighter breeds and especially in roadsters and trotting horses.
—A sprain or injury to the ligament situated on the back part of the hock joint. Anything that puts too much stress on this part, such as holding back heavy loads going down hill, or backing up too heavy loads, or the hind legs slipping too far under the horse’s body, may cause curb disease. It is also caused by kicks or by the whiffletree striking against the back of the hock joint.
There will be swelling and heat in the part and lameness. In some cases there will be swelling,but no lameness. If the swelling is hot and tender to the touch, mix half an ounce acetate of lead and two ounces tincture of arnica with one quart of water. Shake up and apply a little to the swollen part three times a day and continue until the heat and swelling disappear. If there should be any swelling after the heat and lameness have disappeared, mix 1 teaspoonful of biniodide of mercury with 4 tablespoonfuls of lard. Rub on a little with the fingers, let it remain on for 24 hours, then wash off with warm water and soap and repeat the blister in three weeks if needed. In cases where there is swelling, but no heat or lameness, the lotion would be of no use, but the above blister should be used as directed. In old or long standing cases of curb, if the animal is not lame, it is best to let it alone, as medicines would be of no service.
—In man there are two forms of this trouble seen rather frequently, but among domestic animals only the insipid form is common. It is often simply a sign of some other disease, but not infrequently occurs under similar circumstances; such as certain forms of indigestion, the result of eating musty or damaged feed. The most characteristic symptom, of course, is the frequent urination of liberal quantities of urine. Associated with this is usually an unabating thirst. The animal loses flesh rapidly, the flanks are tucked up, the coat is dull, languid and staring, and great weakness is shown. If not relieved, the animal may die from exhaustion. In the second form of diabetes, the distinguishing feature is the presence of sugar in the urine.
If in a working animal it should be laid off from work. Search should be made for the cause of trouble. If any of the food appearssuspicious it should be substituted with wholesome food. To relieve the ardent thirst and assist recovery, a teaspoonful of the crystals of iodine should be given in a ball of linseed or other pasty material. It may be desirable to repeat this in three or four days. Also give in the drinking water 4 tablespoonfuls of bicarbonate of soda three times daily.
—SeeDysentery.
—SeeObstetrics.
—There are only two satisfactory methods of treating animals with a dip. The first is hand treating, where the number of animals are few and easy to handle. In hand treating the animal the dip is applied with scrubbing brushes, sponges, etc., and all parts of the body liable to infection should then be thoroughly and vigorously rubbed. If hand treating is properly performed it is an excellent method. The second method consists of immersing the diseased animals in the dipping solution. There are two forms of vats in use for this purpose. The cage vat is designed for comparatively few cattle. As its name implies, it consists of a cage in which the animal is placed and then lowered into a vat containing the dip. Where a large number of animals are to be dipped, the swimming vat is very popular. The animals are forced to pass through the vat, which contains sufficient dip to completely immerse them when they plunge into the solution.
The coal-tar dips are made from some of the products of the distillation of coal tar. When mixed with water they form a milky emulsion, having a strong odor of coal tar. The coal-tarpreparations, in addition to being used as parasiticides, have become very popular disinfectants in hospitals. These preparations are used with good success on all open wounds, where a disinfectant is required. In poll evil and fistulous withers they are extremely valuable, owing to the fact that in addition to their power as a germicide they have been perfectly safe to place in the hands of persons not accustomed to handling drugs, because of their non-poisonous nature. They have been found quite efficient when used in three per cent solution.
—Some cattle breeds are hornless. Most, however, are not. Removing the horns is done quickly and is more humane than to permit them to remain, by which death frequently follows to stock and even to people. The dishorning machine is intended for animals whose horns are not removed when young. The simplest method of dishorning is to use a stick of caustic potash. Apply it to the small horn button when a calf is a few days old. Moistening this and rubbing the potash over the skin will permanently destroy the horn tissue and no horns will result.
—SeeStrangles.
—A condition in which the fluid portion of the blood escapes from the blood vessels and collects in the body cavities or under the skin. Any sluggish condition of the blood occasioned by disease or faulty nutrition may induce this collection in various parts of the body. Dropsy is, therefore, not a disease, but a symptom of some other disease. This being the case, treatment depends upon the original disease, upon the nature of which depends in turn the possibility of permanent or temporary cure.
A mild attack of dropsy is indicated when the legs of a horse swell up, due to lack of exercise and poor circulation as occasioned by standing in the stable. The first thing, of course, is to start better blood circulation. Hand rubbing is good; bathing with hot water acts similarly. Any medicine that stimulates the action of the kidneys will prove helpful. Saltpeter is excellent for this. Use once a day for three or four days in succession, and give 4 tablespoonfuls at a dose. In connection with this treatment supply the animal with succulent or laxative food, that the bowels may be kept free and open. Any of the tonic condition powders will help.
—SeeObstetrics.
—An inflammatory, non-contagious disease of the skin in which eruptions may occur in the form of vesicles, pustules, crusts, scales, or simple redness. Its principal victims are animals fed rich food, the penalty being associated with some gastric or intestinal disturbance. Treatment is both external and internal. The former should be in the nature of washes for cleanliness and healing. Tar soap is recommended. A wash made of 4 tablespoonfuls of carbonate of potassium dissolved in a quart of water is also excellent. After a good rub with this, wash off with warm water.
If itching causes any distress, prepare a wash consisting of 2 tablespoonfuls of acetate of lead, 8 tablespoonfuls of tincture of opium and a quart of water. Where scales have formed and the skin is thick and scurvy, rub in a little with the fingers some biniodide of mercury and vaseline. Use 2 teaspoonfuls of the mercury and 8 tablespoonfuls of the vaseline. One application will do the work. If the case is bad, several parts being affected, treatonly one part at a time with the mercury salve. Be certain to have the animal tied so that he cannot get his mouth to the treated region.
For internal treatment let the physic come first. For horses, mix 4 tablespoonfuls of aloes, 4 tablespoonfuls of ginger and 4 tablespoonfuls of soda carbonate dissolved in a pint of boiling water. Let cool to proper temperature and give as a drench. For cattle, give a pound of Epsom salts and 4 tablespoonfuls of ginger in water as a drench. Following the physic should come a good blood tonic. To prepare this, mix 16 tablespoonfuls each of nitrate of potassium and sulphate of iron. Give in doses of 11⁄2tablespoonfuls daily in a bran mash until all is used.
—An inflammation of the lining membrane of the large intestine near the rectum, accompanied with straining, discharge of blood, and fever. Poisonous and irritating food causes it, stagnant and foul water favors its development, but any exposure to cold or excessive heat or overwork may bring it on. In cattle the acute form is attended with shivering, arching of the back and tenderness about the loins. The animal grunts, yawns, grinds its teeth, and, at short intervals, discharges from its bowels a thin, ill-smelling dung mixed with blood and pus. The thirst is excessive, the animal is dull and stupid, and loses flesh rapidly. After the disease has gone on a few days, the hide becomes rough and unhealthy, the teeth loose, the dung bloody and fetid, the eyes sink in the head and dropsical swellings appear about the lower jaws and legs, and usually the creature dies exhausted. For acute dysentery, when seen early, give horses a drench consisting of 15 tablespoonfuls of castor oil, 8 tablespoonfuls of laudanum, and 1 pint oflinseed oil. The rectum and lower bowel should be washed out with large injections of simple warm water. For chronic forms 10 grains of calomel, a teaspoonful of opium, and 4 tablespoons each of gentian and chalk are advised. These are to be mixed and given either as a ball or as a drench once a day. Six tablespoonfuls of laudanum in a pint of boiled starch every two hours until the straining ceases, is also very good. When cattle are affected, remove from grass or other succulent food, put on a dry diet and give a pint of linseed oil every day until recovery. If the action of the bowels does not cease promptly, give 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered alum and 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered ginger in a quart of milk once or twice a day until the discharge moderates. An excellent medicine is 10 tablespoonfuls of castor oil and 4 tablespoonfuls of laudanum mixed with linseed gruel and given as a drench.
—SeeInflammation of the Bowels.
—SeeFits.
—SeeInfluenza.
—A parasitic fungus that grows on different species of grass and produces in one stage of its development black or purple enlarged spurs causes ergotism. The disastrous effect of ergot seems to appear in the late fall and winter, when hay or straw infected with ergot are continuously fed. The animals will be troubled with irritation of the bowels and a sloughing off of the extremities. Frequently the animals lose parts of their tails or ears or hoofs. In others, gangrenous sores appear. In the early stages of the poisoning the symptoms are not clearly marked. The best treatment is secured by an entire change of food, so as to remove the cause, and thento follow with good laxative food. Of course, medicinal treatment will not be satisfactory if an important part of the animal like the hoof were to be destroyed. So much expense would be connected with keeping the animal until a new hoof had been formed that it is better at the beginning to destroy the animal unless very valuable. Where sores only manifest themselves such treatment as given an ordinary wound will be efficacious, provided food absolutely free of ergot is supplied.
—An inflammation of the skin and tissues beneath. Owing to a blood poison, it is characterized by a swelling and hardness of the affected parts which has a tendency to spread and form abscesses. In horses and cattle, erysipelas is nearly always the result of wounds and generally of those in the legs of animals weakened by hard work and poor food, or else in young animals whose blood is vitiated by the poison of glanders or some other animal contamination. The disturbance is noticed on the third or fourth day after the injury in the immediate neighborhood of the wound. The skin is swollen, smooth, hot, tender, and painful. The swelling gradually extends around it, sometimes deep into the muscles. The surface is hard and tense, but often when the finger is firmly pressed upon it and withdrawn a depression is left. In severe cases chills occur, the pulse is weak and quick, the breathing hurried, the bowels constipated and the urine scanty and highly colored. There is considerable thirst, but no appetite. A brisk purge is the first step in treating. Follow the purge with tincture of chloride of iron, 4 teaspoonfuls in a pint of water. Give this every three or four hours. At the same time give internally 4 tablespoonfuls of hyposulphite of soda in a pint of water three times aday. Externally bathe the wound with the following mixture: Tincture of chloride of iron, 4 tablespoonfuls, and alcohol one pint. Another good ointment is sugar of lead 4 tablespoonfuls in a pint of water. This should be applied with a wet cloth to the diseased parts.
—SeeGlanders.
—Any rise in temperature above the normal. It is, as a rule, a symptom of the body’s reaction to some form of infection. It is, therefore, not a disease in itself, but an indication of some disorder occasioned by infection or poison. To treat fever is not so necessary as to remove the cause that brought about the disturbance in the first place. It follows from this that fever is not a cause, but a result. Germs come first, and fever is only a sign that tells of their presence. Another thing brought to light in reference to fever is this: Germs are less active, their vital energy is weakened and their power lessened when the heat in the body is increased. Consequently they are less active in their destructive tendencies as the temperature rises. Fever is, therefore, a provision of self-defense, and the body’s plan of bringing its forces together to battle against the germ foes that have invaded it.
Just what degree of temperature is to be considered is difficult to establish. Many things enter into the problem, like exercise, age, food, and mode of living. In general, however, any special rise above the normal, whatever that may be, is the signal of danger and infection. A rise of a degree or two indicates a mild disturbance, hence a mild fever; an elevation of two or three degrees indicates a slight fever; of four or five, of considerable fever; and if six or seven, of high fever. When the elevation reaches 108 degrees, the limit of lifehas just about been reached. In some diseases there is a regular alternative between morning and evening temperatures. In others, the course is continuous, with slight variations, while in others the course is intermittent. In this last named it varies at different portions of the day, but reaches a normal at a certain time each day.
The pulse-rate usually bears a certain relation to the height of the disease. Consequently the pulse should be taken in connection with the fever height indicated by the thermometer. A fast pulse and a high fever in general is more serious than a high fever with a pulse only slightly above the normal number of beats. There are exceptions to this however, as, for instance, in cerebro-spinal meningitis. In the early stages of fever, the development cannot at the moment always be decided. In many cases little treatment, if any, will be necessary. The caution should be observed, nevertheless, of ascertaining the cause of the disturbance, if possible. In any case, simple cathartics can be given, good air provided, nourishing feed supplied, and time allowed for careful observation of the system and of the actions and movements of the animal.
—A chronic discharge from some tubelike channel, with no tendency to heal. Fistulæ are most common in horses. They may be located on the withers (fistulous withers), on the side of the face (tooth fistulæ), on the breast bone (sternal fistulæ), or on the lower jaw (salivary fistulæ). Fistulous withers are caused from some external injury (the animal rolling on a rock, ill-fitting collars, the saddle pressing on the withers, or from being struck by a club). Tooth fistulæ are caused by a decayed tooth. The pus in trying to get out of thebody takes the easiest course and eats through the bones of the face and escapes, causing a chronic discharge. A sternal or breast fistula is caused by some sharp object being run into the breast and striking the breast bone, injuring it and causing decay and pus formation. A salivary fistula is caused by an injury to the tube which carries the saliva from the gland to the mouth.
—At first a large swelling appears on one or both sides of the withers. In about a week this enlargement becomes soft, and the fluid contained in it can be distinctly felt. If left to itself the swelling gets larger and softer, and in a month or so breaks and discharges the contents. The fluid that comes from the swelling is first thin and streaked with blood; later it contains yellow-appearing masses. The last material is the pus. The sack that formed at the time the fistula was caused is a hard, firm membrane. This keeps the wound from healing. For this reason the discharge becomes chronic. The wound may heal and there will be no pus discharged for a month, then the old opening will be broken and the pus will flow out again until the sack is emptied. This healing of the wound and then breaking again may be kept up for years, unless the disease is properly treated. As a general rule, the affected animal runs down in flesh.
FISTULOUS WITHERSSometimes only the skin and tissue immediately under it become affected. In such cases little trouble need be anticipated; but if the cause is not removed, the deeper structures, muscles and bones, may become diseased.
FISTULOUS WITHERS
Sometimes only the skin and tissue immediately under it become affected. In such cases little trouble need be anticipated; but if the cause is not removed, the deeper structures, muscles and bones, may become diseased.
Treatment for fistulous withers consists of opening the swelling and inserting muslin strips that have been dipped into terchloride of antimony. Insert one and remove, inserting another and leave in the opening for three or four hours. Repeat this operation every four or five days for a month. In addition rub on the outside of the swelling once every two weeks a mixture made of 2 teaspoonfulsof cantharides and 4 tablespoonfuls of lard. The tooth fistula usually calls for the removal of the tooth and thorough disinfection of the opening from the face through to the mouth. With a sternal fistula the diseased bone may need to be scraped and then antiseptic washes used daily. The salivary fistula is more difficult to treat. Better have the veterinarian to examine, and an operation may be necessary.
—Some horses are subject to fits, and with them it is incurable. These should not be driven, because, when the attack comes on, injury may result to the animal itself and to the occupants in the carriage. The cause of the difficulty may be overfeeding, bad circulation or indigestion. When an attack occurs the best treatment is to throw cold water over the head. If this attack is repeated you had better consult a veterinarian.
—SeeColic.
—Fleas are always a nuisance and always disagreeable. They live in dry, filthy quarters and associate with dogs, hogs, and chickens. To keep fleas away or to destroy them when at hand, clean the quarters occupied by the animals, destroy the bedding and add lime and disinfectants. Dogs may be washed in a creolin solution of, say, 2 tablespoonfuls of creolin to each pint of water. To disinfect chicken, hog, and horse pens use in a hand spray any of the so-called sheep dips or other preparations manufactured for lice, itch, mange, or insect troubles.
—These pests are a nuisance on every farm. While they do not directly cause death they greatly worry and irritate farm stock, especially in summer, and in this way greatly affect the results whether along dairy or beef lines. It would be impossible to estimate the misery these pests inflict on the stock of the country during a single year. Aside from the pain that flies inflict on domestic animals, they are carriers of disease, both to the human family and the beast family. A great many common infectious diseases are spread by flies, including such serious diseases as typhoid fever and tuberculosis. The only treatment is in way of prevention. As the breeding places are in filth andmanure, it follows that if these be destroyed or removed, and not permitted to accumulate, the floods of flies will disappear. The fly remedies now on the market are excellent. When sprayed about the stable premises and on the animals the flies stay away until the application evaporates. Darkened stables are not attractive to flies, and by this means the nuisance and annoyance is minimized.
—SeeLiver Flukes.
—This malady generally affects ruminants, but, although found most often in cattle, sheep, and goats, it may be transmitted to swine, and, in some instances, to horses, dogs, cats, birds, or human beings. In most cases where proper disinfection is made the animal recovers in about 15 days. The most dangerous thing about foot and mouth disease is the fact that it spreads so rapidly. The virus which transmits the disease may be carried by railroad cars, bedding, feeds, dairy products, dogs, cats, birds, or persons. A dog running through a pasture may be the means of infecting a whole herd.
The cause of the disease has not been satisfactorily determined, but it is definitely known that the virus which reproduces the disease comes from the ulcers and natural secretions and excretions of the body, such as milk, saliva, perspiration, feces, urine, and exhalation. The contagion is not harmful when dried. Infected animals lose the power of transmitting the disease when the ulcers of the mouth, feet, and udder have healed.
In from three to five days after infection the animal has a moderate fever. The appetite is lost and the mouth is kept closed. There is a dribbling of saliva, and in two or three days yellowish-whitespots the size of a hemp seed appear on the gums, the lower surface of the tongue, lining of the mouth and on the lips. These eventually attain the size of a silver dollar. They run together, burst and form painful, foul-smelling ulcers. At this stage the saliva is more profuse and ropy and the animal makes characteristic smacking noises with the mouth.
Infected animals lose flesh rapidly, in some cases as much as 100 pounds in eight or ten days. The milk is thick, yellowish-white, has a bad taste, and is with difficulty made into cheese or butter. The reduction in milk yield during the sickness and for some time after recovery is 50 to 75 per cent.
Usually, a short time after an appearance of the disease in the mouth parts, there is a redness, heat and swelling of the skin at its junction with the hoof and especially between the toes and upon the soles of the foot. Similar ulcers to those on the mouth appear on the feet and soon burst. The animal becomes lame and moves stiffly and lies down a great deal. These ulcers ordinarily heal up in one or two weeks.
In some cases the animal dies suddenly, in others lingers a few hours with difficult breathing and discharge of blood from the nose, and finally dies of paralysis of the heart and lungs. In still other cases emaciation and reduction of milk flow is the only bad result. Sometimes ulcers form at the root of the horn and cause the horn to drop off.
Owing to the nature of the disease, its contagion and danger, treatment should be in line of prevention and in destruction of infected animals. While the disease yields to treatment, our best suggestions when the disease is suspected is in notification to the state officers and in securing the services ofa veterinarian who will be able to advise what is best to do.
—SeeWounds and Their Treatment.
FOOT ROTA disease usually associated with sheep. It is sometimes so serious that the entire hoof rots away.
FOOT ROT
A disease usually associated with sheep. It is sometimes so serious that the entire hoof rots away.
—A chronic inflammation of the foot, marked by ulceration, softening of the hoof, lameness, and the discharge of a sticky material which has a very fetid odor. It is a contagious disease, and is produced by a germ that lives in the soil and gains entrance to the feet through wounds and surfaces chafed by barbed grasses and stones, or by gritty clay, which becomes lodged between the toes and hardens there.
The first symptom is a slight lameness. If the affected foot be examined, that part just above the horny part of the cleft of the foot, either in front or behind, will be found inflamed, feverish, and moist. Erosions or ulcers soon appear, generally on the heel. These penetrate the foot and burrow beneath the horny parts, causing fistulous tracts from which exudes a foul-smelling pus possessing an odor sufficiently characteristic to indicate the disease in a flock, even without a close examination. In time, the foot becomes greatly overgrown and deformed, the hoofs increasing in length and curling upward. In bad cases, the suffering is so great the animal lies down most of the time, but when only the front feet are diseased, it will crawl around on its knees.
That the disease is contagious is shown by the fact that it generally starts in one foot and spreads to the others, and, at the same time, the feet of other sheep in the same flock become diseased in the same way, the outbreak covering a period of several months. In cases that recover spontaneously the foot is deformed and the joint is stiffened. It is only in virulent outbreaks where all the feet are diseased, or where some complication, such as maggots, is present, that deaths occur.
Having as its cause a microbe, it is proper to take measures of prevention as well as cure. In purchasing sheep, it is highly advisable to keep them isolated for a week, as a test. All overgrown hoofs should be trimmed. Sores or wounds, from any cause, should be carefully disinfected daily. Low, boggy lands should not be used as pasture for sheep, and dirty, unsanitary pens should be made sanitary, as these all predispose to an outbreak of the disease.
As treatment, first isolate all affected animals. Mild cases are best treated by making the sheep stand for several minutes daily in a trough containing a disinfectant, or, better still, by arranging the trough of suitable length with fenced-up sides and a widened entrance, so the sheep can be easily started into the inclosure and made to wade through the disinfectant.
In bad cases and where the hoof is underrun with pus, the horn and all overgrowths must be cut away so as to expose the diseased parts to the action of the disinfectant. The foot should then be dried, dusted with finely powdered burnt alum, and bandaged to keep out the dirt. This antiseptic treatment of the feet must be kept up daily as long as the disease exists. Any of the following maybe used: 1 pound chloride of lime to 12 quarts of water; 1 pound of pure carbolic acid to 4 gallons of water; a solution of creolin; a coal-tar disinfectant of the same strength; or any good sheep dip containing these substances in the proper amounts.
—An inflammation of the sensitive or soft structures between the hoof and bones of the foot. The popular belief that founder is to any extent in the legs and chest is probably an error. The disease is in the feet, and those symptoms which make it appear as a stiffness in the legs and shoulder are but the natural results of soreness in the feet. The same statement might be made regarding those cases which are popularly described as “stove up in the shoulder.” Instead of the soreness being in the shoulder in these cases, it is generally in the feet, or at least below the knee.
It is somewhat difficult to explain how those influences or causes which are known to produce founder bring about that condition, but observation shows clearly that an irritation of the digestive tract, or in fact, any extensive irritation of any mucous surface, may produce an inflammation of the sensitive laminæ of the feet; that is, founder. Therefore founder may be produced by a change of feed or excessive feeding, a change of work or excessive work which results in exhaustion, large quantities of feed or water when warm or fatigued, sudden changes of temperature such as cooling too fast when sweating, and a long drive on hard roads, especially without shoes. Excessive purging or diarrhœa may also produce it. Founder also occasionally results from irritation of foaling, but this is not common.
There is no essential difference in the nature of the disease determined by the particular agent or condition which causes it. “Water founder,” and that produced by over-feeding, concussion, or extreme fatigue are, in so far as the character of the disease is concerned, one and the same thing.
FOUNDERIn bad cases of founder the foot shrinks from the wasting of the sensitive substances. A typical foundered foot is pictured here.
FOUNDER
In bad cases of founder the foot shrinks from the wasting of the sensitive substances. A typical foundered foot is pictured here.
in the fore or hind feet or in both; but generally the fore feet are those affected. A stiffness and disinclination to move are perhaps the first symptoms noticed. The position in which the animal stands is characteristic. The fore feet will be placed well forward, so that the weight will be borne by the heels, while the hind feet are brought well up under the body in order to take as much weight off the front feet as possible. This position gives a rather unsteady appearance to animal, and the hind feet are frequently shifted in order to maintain as steady a position as possible. From this fact founder is frequently mistaken by inexperienced persons for a disease of the kidneys. The body temperature is usually considered increased; that is, there is fever—as it is generally expressed—due to inflammation in the feet. As is usual in the first stages of inflammation, the pulse beat is increased in frequency and force. An increase of heat in the feet, with a manifestation of pain when the hoofs are tapped with a hammer, are, when taken with all the foregoing facts, sufficient evidence of founder.When founder occurs in one foot, however, as it sometimes does, the diagnosis may be more difficult for the inexperienced. When it occurs only in the hind feet the position which the animal takes will not be different from that taken with founder in only both fore feet but from different causes. The hind feet are brought well forward under the body, but for the purpose of throwing such little weight as is borne on them on the heels.
—Remove the shoes and apply moisture to the feet. The latter may be done by standing the animal in water five or six inches deep each day, several hours at a time, or by the application of a poultice of wheat bran or some such material, or by wrapping the feet with cloths and keeping them thoroughly saturated with water. The animal should always be encouraged to lie down and take the weight off his feet, which is beneficial. When this occurs, a poultice of some sort must be used to apply moisture to the feet. It may be applied by the use of a sack large enough to envelop the foot and hold sufficient of the poultice to retain the moisture for some time. This application of moisture to the feet should be continued until the severity of the inflammation and the lameness have subsided.
Unless the founder be due to excessive purgation, a quart of raw linseed oil should be given as a purgative. During the first 48 hours from 30 to 40 drops of tincture of aconite may be given every three or four hours. Four tablespoonfuls of nitrate of potash (saltpeter) should also be given three times a day in the feed or on the tongue. If the lameness continues after the acute symptoms have subsided, a rest of several weeks on a soft pasture and the application of a blister around thetop of the hoof are recommended. The following mixture has been useful as a blister: Red iodide of mercury, 1 part; lard, 4 parts; cerate of cantharides, 4 parts. Apply around the top of the hoof, except at the heels, and rub for 10 to 15 minutes. The animal should be tied so that it cannot get its mouth to the blistered part for several hours after the medicine has been applied.
—In a majority of cases the above treatment will be followed by a good recovery, but an animal once foundered is probably more likely to suffer from a subsequent attack. If the lameness does not entirely disappear in a week or ten days, it is seldom that a complete recovery takes place. In such cases the animal is likely to remain unfit for road work and to continue to show more or less soreness. These are the cases that are later said to have “chest founder,” or “stove up in the shoulder,” owing to the fact that the muscles of the chest waste away from lack of free use.
In some cases still more serious results follow an acute attack of founder. The inflammation may be so severe that there is separation between the hoof and structures, the formation of pus, and a descent of the central organs of the foot, which causes a bulging of the sole. In such cases, even though recovery takes place to such an extent that it is advisable to allow the animal to live, it is not fit for work, and can only be used for breeding purposes.
—SeeChicken Cholera.
—A symptom caused by worms in the windpipe; oftenest seen in young chicks and turkeys. Birds droop, cough, and lower their wings.A feather moistened, but not dripping, with kerosene or oil of turpentine is the commonest remedy. Cleanliness of food, water and quarters is the great preventive. Poultry men who keep their chicks on ground not used for chick raising the previous year, and who insist on strictest cleanliness, report highly satisfactory results in avoiding gapes.
—A swelling, accompanied by inflammation of the udder. It may be caused by kicks or blows, by germs getting into the udder, or as a result of holding the milk too long. Do not use the milk when the udder is affected. For garget rub with hot camphorated oil twice a day. Give as medicine 8 tablespoonfuls of hyposulphite of soda each day, either in the feed or in a drench. Keep up the treatment for two weeks.
—A rather uncommon disease in domestic animals and the result of a disturbance in the stomach, with inflammation following, caused by irritating substances, usually of a poisonous nature. A common symptom is nausea and pain like colic. Indeed, the ordinary outward signs of colic are observed. At first the pulse is strong, which weakens, and runs rapidly, from 80 to 100 beats a minute. As the disease progresses the pulse becomes irregular and the animal dull and listless. Treatment consists of simple agents. If the disturbance is due to some potassium compound, give oil; if to ammonia, give vinegar; if from turpentine, give oil and opium, the opium in teaspoonful doses every couple hours. After recovery, let only easily digested food be provided.
—A disease of the brain due to a worm in the brain substance. This worm, known as the bladder worm, is a form of the tape-worm of the dog at an early stage of its existence. Theeggs of this worm, on being swallowed, are hatched in the stomach, from which they enter into the circulation, finally lodging in the brain and spinal cord. Those that lodge elsewhere, as in the heart and lungs, grow for a time and then disappear. The most conspicuous symptom is the staggering, stupefied condition of the affected animal.
In walking, if a single side is affected, a circle is described. The feet are raised as if the animal did not see well. In many cases blindness results. The growth of the worm is somewhat rapid. In about three weeks after the appearance of the disease a softened condition of the skull results, which may be found by pressing the fingers over it. From this it will be observed that there is practically no treatment for animals affected. Occasionally the skin is accidentally broken over the point where the worm is encysted, out of which it emerges and the sheep recovers.
Treatment, therefore, is along the line of this natural recovery. Find the soft spot by pressing the fingers over the skull, then introduce the trocar and canula. Withdraw the trocar, apply a syringe to the canula, and withdraw the contents of the cyst within. Of course, inflammation of the brain may set in and the sheep die from this, or another worm may be present and grow, thus causing continued disease. Inasmuch as the bladder worm of sheep is a stage of the tape-worm of the dog, it follows that destroying all affected sheep, so as to prevent the dogs from becoming reinfested from it, is the only really safe and satisfactory method of warding off the trouble.
—A contagious disease peculiar to the horse, ass, and mule, and may be communicated to human beings, and also sometimes to carnivorousanimals in menageries, by means of infected horse flesh, and also by means of inoculation to field mice, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, and sheep. Pigs are not readily susceptible and cattle appear to be immune. Like all diseases of a contagious or infectious character, glanders is due to a specific organism, known as the bacillus malleus.
The external manifestations of glanders differ and consequently the disease is spoken of as glanders or farcy, depending upon the symptoms presented. The disease is known as glanders when the horse suffering from it has a discharge from the nose, ulcers on the septum nasi (the partition dividing the nasal cavities) and enlarged submaxillary glands, and is known as farcy when the affected animal has farcy “buds” or ulcers on the skin, and corded lymphatic vessels running from one “bud” to another. In farcy, the corded lymphatics, “buds” and ulcers on the skin are very apt to be on the inside of one hind leg or the other, but may appear on the inside of a fore leg, or on the neck or body.
Farcy was, in olden times, thought to be a different disease from glanders, and was believed by many to be curable, while glanders has always been generally believed to be incurable, but it is now known that farcy is simply one manifestation of glanders. It has been found that a horse with glanders may give another farcy, and vice versa. Guinea pigs inoculated with the discharge from a glandered horse’s nose will develop glanders, and pure cultures of the glanders bacillus can be obtained from them, and in a similar way if guinea pigs are inoculated with the discharge from a sore on a horse with farcy glanders may be produced in these little experimental animals, and upon post mortem examination pure cultures of the glanders bacillus canbe obtained from the lesions of the disease produced in them. Glanders and farcy may again be divided into two forms, acute and chronic glanders, and acute and chronic farcy.
In the acute form the disease develops rapidly, the lesions form more speedily and with greater rapidity than in the chronic form and the animal loses strength and condition and dies within the course of a few weeks, sometimes in the course of a week or two. It is not unusual to meet with an animal showing symptoms of both glanders and farcy, especially in the acute form.
In the chronic form the symptoms are not so well marked, and a horse may go for months keeping in fairly good condition and able to do its work, the disease developing very slowly, and at times showing a tendency to recover; yet such an animal is a source of danger to other horses, and also to the man taking care of him or driving him. A horse with chronic glanders, or farcy, may give the disease to another in an acute form, especially if the other one is more susceptible for some reason, such as a less strong constitution or being run down by hard work.
Post mortem examination of horses with glanders, or farcy, nearly always reveals the presence of glanders nodules or tubercles in the lungs, and, in many instances, there is no doubt but what a horse may have the tubercles of glanders in his lungs for some time before showing outward symptoms of the disease, and in many cases the primary lesions of the infection occur in the lungs. A horse with lung glanders may be a source of danger to other horses and cause disease in them and yet go unsuspected for some time. A case is said to have occurred in Boston a number of years ago where ahack horse lost eight successive mates with glanders; he was finally killed and his lungs were found to be full of glanders nodules, and yet he never showed any external symptoms of glanders. Such cases could be cited in large numbers if space permitted, but one example will answer.
BAD CASE OF GLANDERSThe farcy form is shown here. The animal has not long to live. Except for experimental purposes, every horse having glanders should be killed as soon as the disease is discovered.
BAD CASE OF GLANDERS
The farcy form is shown here. The animal has not long to live. Except for experimental purposes, every horse having glanders should be killed as soon as the disease is discovered.
A horse with lung glanders may have a little dry, spasmodic cough, may look somewhat unthrifty,and if the temperature were taken it might be slightly above normal, say, 101 degrees to 1011⁄2, the normal temperature being 100 degrees. Yet such an animal might do its work, last for a long time and not be suspected as a source of danger until several cases had occurred in the stable, for which it was difficult to account.
While a well-marked case of glanders or of farcy is not difficult of diagnosis, there are many obscure cases which escape detection for some time. If a horse has a well-marked discharge from one or both nostrils, with characteristic chancres visible upon the mucous membrane of the septum nasi, and hard enlarged submaxillary glands in the intermaxillary space, it is not a difficult matter to diagnose such a case, and any horseman ought to recognize it. The same is true of a well-marked case of farcy. When the lymphatic vessels on the inside of a leg, especially a hind leg, are swelled and corded, with a chain of farcy buds along their course, some of which have gathered and broken, leaving a discharging open ulcer in the skin, it is quite evident that the animal is suffering from farcy.
A peculiarity of glanders seems to be a tendency for the symptoms to appear on the left side; in many cases of glanders the discharge and ulceration is in the left nostril, and the left submaxillary gland is enlarged; and in a large number of the cases of farcy met with it is the left hind leg that shows the lesions of the disease. In obscure cases of glanders or farcy the diagnosis is not always so easy, even for experts, and then other methods for determining the trouble have to be resorted to. These are the guinea pig test and the mallein test. The guinea pig test consists of inoculating one or two of these little animals with the discharge froma suspected horse’s nose, or from a farcy sore. If they should develop glanders it would be proof positive that the suspected horse had this disease; if they do not develop glanders it is not always positive proof that the suspected horse is free from the disease. Sometimes more than one test is necessary, or another method of diagnosis may have to be resorted to. This is the mallein test.
Mallein is a product made from cultures of the glanders bacillus analogous to tuberculin as made from cultures of the tubercle bacillus, and is used for testing horses for glanders much as tuberculin is used for testing cattle for tuberculosis. A horse infected with glanders will react to a mallein test in much the same way as a cow infected with tuberculosis will react to the tuberculin test. It is not customary in some states to kill a horse that reacts to mallein unless it shows some clinical evidence of disease. All horses that show clinical evidence of glanders or farcy in some states are killed by the state authority, and the law requires persons knowing or suspecting cases of this kind to report in writing to the chief of the cattle bureau of the state board of agriculture or to the inspector of animals in the city or town where the disease is believed to exist, except in some cities where the city board of health has full charge of glanders and farcy. Anyone selling, removing, transporting, or concealing a horse knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it has glanders or farcy is in most states liable to a heavy penalty.
In stables where glanders exists, in some cases, all the horses are tested and divided; the reactors are separated from the non-reactors, and those that react are tested once a month until they cease to react, or show physical indications of glanders andare killed. Used in this way mallein seems to have a curative effect on incipient cases, and has been very successfully used in freeing infected stables from the disease. When a horse is killed because it has glanders or farcy the stall should be thoroughly disinfected where it has been kept, as well as the harness, blankets, currycomb and other utensils, and anything that cannot be easily disinfected ought to be destroyed. Public watering troughs where the horse has been watered should be emptied and cleaned out, and the blacksmith ought to disinfect his shop where the horse was shod.
There are various diseases that may be taken for glanders or farcy, and there have also been numerous instances where glanders has been taken for something else; for instance, chronic nasal catarrh. What many old-time veterinarians used to call chronic nasal catarrh or nasal gleet, were, in many instances, if not in nearly all, cases of chronic glanders, and when one of these cases of nasal gleet was rounded up in a locality, glanders disappeared in that neighborhood.
A horse with a chronic discharge from the nose as the result of a decayed tooth may sometimes be mistaken for a case of glanders, and also a horse with distemper or strangles; but the latter generally recovers soon, and in strangles the gland under the jaw softens and breaks and discharges while in glanders the gland remains firm and hard and generally not sensitive to manipulation.
There is a disease that has been troublesome in Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio the last two years called suppurative lymphangitis or epizootic lymphangitis, which may be mistaken for farcy, but animals suffering from it do not react to mallein, and guinea pigs inoculated with the discharges donot develop glanders. There is not much glanders in the Eastern states, except in the cities, and the disease is not of a great deal of interest to farmers, except to avoid purchasing animals with it at some of the unreliable sales stables. Where a case occurs on a farm, except on some market gardener’s farm near a city, it is found, as a rule, that the horse was purchased at some unscrupulous dealer’s stable in the city, and, in some instances, other horses on the farm are infected, and the farmer not only loses his new acquisition, but has two or three other horses killed besides that have become infected.
Farmers buying new horses at city sales stables ought to endeavor to deal with only reputable concerns, and to avoid cheats. It is well to remember that a person cannot get something for nothing, and it is not likely that anyone can buy a horse for $50 to $75 because it is afraid of elevated railroad trains that would otherwise be worth $300 to $500, or because a widow lady wants a good home for her late husband’s old pet. Anyone buying horses from a fake coal company, or a humbug ice company, or an unknown express company that is just going out of business, is liable to invite a serious disease to his farm.
—A collection of pus, or other fluid containing gravel or dirt. It occurs most frequently in the foot, and is associated with the horse and mule almost exclusively. The cause may be from a bruise, but more frequently it is due to a punctured wound of the foot by nail, wire, or other pointed object. Nearly always there will be dirt carried into the wound with the offending object or shortly after its removal. This dirt, infected with germs, sets up an inflammation of the sensitivestructures causing more or less lameness. In many instances the nail hole becomes closed up and the collected matter may have to seek an outlet above the hoof. To determine the trouble a very careful examination of the hoof should be made, looking for any opening leading into the foot, often detected by discoloration of the part, or at an over-sensitive point in the foot.
Treatment should consist in making or enlarging the opening at a dependent part of the hoof, if possible, so that all secretion formed in the wound can find a ready escape to the outside. Without free opening there is danger of tetanus (lockjaw) developing. The wound should be thoroughly cleansed, and washed with some mild disinfectant, after which a small quantity of oil of turpentine should be injected, and the wound packed with calomel or iodoform and covered with a pledget of cotton. If the wound is very deep or extensive it may be beneficial, after thoroughly cleansing the foot, to apply a hot bran or flaxseed poultice. Use poultice for several days and change daily.
—A form of eczema that attacks the skin of the heel and fetlock. Sometimes the disease becomes so severe as to crack open, from which blood oozes out. A crust forms and later on becomes painful and disagreeable. To remove the scurvy part that is noticed first, apply a poultice, made of wheat bran or linseed meal. Change the poultices two or three times during the day. After removal each time wash with warm water, in which has been put some carbolic acid or creolin, and then apply the poultice again. After the poulticing is ended apply a salve made of 4 tablespoonfuls of oxide of zinc and 8 tablespoonfuls of vaseline. If indigestion seems to be associated in any way, givethe horse a dose of physic, aloes being best for the purpose.
—This condition is the presence of the larva (worm stage) of the sheep bot fly, located in the frontal sinuses (cavities) of the head. The trouble is confined to sheep and occasionally goats. The so-called “grub” of the horse is found in its stomach, while the “grub” of cattle is found along its back just underneath the skin. The adult fly, which lays the living “sheep grub,” is of a yellowish-gray color, slightly larger than a house fly. During the warmer part of the summer days the fly goes about depositing its young in the nose of the sheep. The young then work their way upward into cavities of the head between the eyes, but not into the brain cavity. Here they attach themselves to the lining, remaining when unmolested for some ten months, then lose their hold and are sneezed out to the ground. Burrowing into the ground they enter the pupa or dormant stage, when, after a month or six weeks, they emerge as adult flies to replenish their kind.
When few grubs are in the head little trouble may be observed, but if more numerous may cause free discharge of dirty white or yellowish, thick fluid, loss of appetite, frequent coughing and sneezing, tossing of head and weakened gait, and the animal may become too weak to rise, and finally dies. With a special instrument (trephine) bore a hole into the cavity containing grubs and remove them with forceps. When they are present every year the sheep should be protected by keeping the nose smeared with tar during summer months. This can be done by causing sheep to lick salt from holes in a trough after placing tar about the holes.
—True hair balls are seldom found in other animals than cattle, resulting either from licking themselves or others; but different kinds of indigestible balls or concretions are frequently found in cattle and other animals, particularly the horse, in the stomach or intestines. Dust balls are occasionally formed when animals are fed upon mill cleanings. In sections where crimson clover is fed, and frequently in over-ripe condition in large quantities, balls are formed of parts of the indigestible heads. Again, calcareous or mineral matter may accumulate about an indigestible substance as a nucleus. These are not well-defined, in many instances, and the balls are often present without making it known. So long as they do not irritate the bowel too much, or do not occlude the opening from one portion of the bowel to another, they are likely to escape notice. In case they do obstruct the bowel they become serious obstacles, the greater number of these cases terminating in death. The symptoms then become those of colic from obstruction. In many cases no relief can be given, but attempts should be made to cause the obstruction to pass by giving mild purgatives and copious enemas.
—The term “heaves” is used to describe that disease of the horse which otherwise is known as “broken wind,” or technically as “emphysema of the lungs.” This ailment, which is incurable when thoroughly established and to which a tendency is inherited by the offspring of an affected sire or dam, is characterized by the following symptoms: Double, bellows-like action of the abdominal muscles in breathing; short, suppressed cough, usually accompanied by passage of gas from the rectum; gluttonous appetite; harsh, staring coatof hair; pot belly; weakness; lack of endurance, sweating, panting, or staggering during work; dilated nostrils; frequent passage of gas and soft, foul-smelling feces when starting from stable.
The disease begins with indigestion, affecting in time the pneumo-gastric nerve of the stomach and then the branch nerves running to the lungs. At first the air tubules and vesicles of the lungs become dilated (aneurism); later they may break down into large air spaces and the surrounding lung tissues become involved (interlobular emphysema). Air then is easily inhaled, but is exhaled with difficulty and the effort causes cough and expulsion of gas (flatus).
The distress may be relieved by treatment, but perfect recovery is impossible when the lungs have become badly affected. Treat by substituting wet oat straw for hay in winter and grass for hay in summer. Allow double the usual rest period after a meal. Work when stomach is not distended with food. Do not feed hay at noon. Use lime water to wet all food. Once or twice a week give raw linseed oil in a bran mash to open bowels. Give half an ounce of Fowler’s solution of arsenic night and morning. Do not breed from affected horses.
—The horse that is stricken with heat exhaustion or which falls from heat, apoplexy or “sunstroke,” is sick or out of sorts at the time of attack; otherwise he would withstand heat and work. The middle horse of a three-horse team suffers most and is apt to succumb to the ill-effects of the combined radiation of heat from his mates and direct rays of the sun. Attacks are most apt to happen on the third or fourth day of a spell of intensely hot weather characterized by mugginess, electrical storms and moisture-saturatedair. At such times the horse that has indigestion, a heavy, unhealthy coat of hair, a skin or kidney trouble or any affection of the brain or heart is the one that must be most carefully watched and worked.
With the hope of preventing attacks feed light rations, no corn, no mashes, no ground feed other than bran; avoid green grass, unless the horses are on it all of the time; do not feed hay at noon; allow cool, pure drinking water often when horses are at work; keep stables clean, darkened, screened, and ventilated; shade the polls of the horses’ heads during work time and in such a way that air passes freely under the shading device.
In sunstroke the horse falls and soon succumbs. In heat exhaustion he lags, stops sweating, pants, staggers, skin is dry, nostrils dilated, membranes of eyes and nostrils red. High fever is present. Treat by keeping cold, wet packs to the poll of head or letting a stream of cold water run over it. Shower body with cold water from a sprinkling can. Stand horse in shady place under a tree where air passes. Give stimulants freely in water as a drench every hour at first, then less often as symptoms abate. A suitable stimulant is whiskey in half pint doses, or a mixture of one part of aromatic spirits of ammonia and two parts each of alcohol and sweet spirits of niter. Dose is two ounces in half pint water. Do not bleed horse or give aconite. Give half ounce doses of saltpeter in water twice daily as horse recovers. Call the veterinarian in sunstroke cases.
—A protrusion of any portion of the bowels or their coverings through a break in the walls of the abdomen. A rupture, for that is the popular term, is most common in horses. Oftenat birth they are seen near the navel. These disappear in a few months without any treatment being required. In mature horses the usual causes are blows, kicks or some violent effort that tears the muscular structure.