The Farmers Own Book 5

The Farmers Own Book 5

Linseed oil is an uncertain but safe purgative, in doses from a pint to

a pint and a half. Epsom salts are an inefficacious remedy except in the

immense dose of a pound and a half, and then they are not always safe.

 

 

SPRAINS OF THE BACK SINEWS.

 

Should there remain the slightest lameness or enlargement, the leg must

be blistered; and it would seldom be a bad practice to blister after

every case of severe sprain. The inflammation may lay deep, and the part

once sprained may long remain weak, and subject to renewed injury, not

from unusual but ordinary exertion. The horse should be afterwards turned

out for one or two months.

 

We must here again repeat that a blister should never be used while any

heat remains.

 

 

ENLARGEMENT OF THE HOCK.

 

A horse with an enlarged hock must always be regarded with suspicion: in

truth he is unsound. The animal may discharge his usual work during a

long period, without return of lameness, but when all his energies are

required, the weakened part will fail. The treatment is plain enough:

fomentations, blistering, &c. may remedy the evil.

 

 

SPRAIN OF THE COFFIN JOINT.

 

The proof of this is when the lameness is sudden, and the heat and

tenderness are principally felt around the cornet. Bleeding at the toe,

physic, fomentations and blisters are the usual means adopted. This

lameness is not easily removed even by a blister, and if removed like

sprains of the fetlock and of the back sinews, it is apt to return again.

Sprains of the coffin joint sometimes become a very serious affair; not

being attended by any swelling, and being detected only by heat around

the coronet. First reduce the heat by fomentations: say bathe the foot

with water as warm as the hand will bear, fomentate with this for 15 or

20 minutes--the long continuance of fomentations has been found very

efficacious in reducing inflammation; next apply a clay poultice made

with vinegar, and when getting dry moisten by pouring vinegar on the foot

and clay. After the heat has left the parts, then blister. The horse

should not be used for a month or two.

 

 

GREASE.

 

Grease consists of swollen legs, although swelled legs occur frequently,

yet there is no grease. Friction and bandaging will generally remove

this. Grease is a specific inflammation of the skin of the heels,

sometimes of the forefeet, but oftener of the hinder ones. It is not a

contagious disease, as some have asserted although when it once appears

in a stable, it frequently attacks almost every horse in it.--Bad stable

management is the true cause of it. The first appearance of grease is

usually a dry and scurfy state of the skin of the heel, with redness,

heat and itching. The heel should be well but gently washed with soap and

water, and as much of the scurf detached as is easily removed. If the

cracks are deep, with an ichorous discharge and considerable lameness,

it will be necessary to poultice. A poultice made of carrots boiled soft

and mashed will answer the purpose. The efficacy of a carrot poultice

is seldom sufficiently appreciated in cases like this. The poultice

just referred to should be diligently applied at night, to insure

success, and when the heat and tenderness and stiffness of motion have

diminished, astringent lotions should be applied. Either the alum lotion

or a strong decoction of oak bark--perhaps the alum dissolved in whiskey

will do better than water, or the alum dissolved in a decoction of bark

will answer better than either. This disease requires perseverance--the

decoctions should be made very strong. After washing several times should

there be watery matter on the heels or leg, wash it off with wafer and

soap. Moderate physicing, bran mashes, &c. will be found very beneficial.

The above decoctions will never fail to cure the scratches.

 

 

INFLAMMATION OF THE FEET, ACUTE FOUNDER.

 

This is a disease that was less understood than any other until very

recently. It often arises by allowing a horse that is very much heated to

stand in the snow or cold water for any length of time, or where he is

apt to become chilled, which produces a general stiffness throughout the

entire system; but it will soon be observed that the seat of the disease

is in the feet, by the disinclination of the horse to remain upon them.

 

 

SYMPTOMS.

 

The earliest symptoms of fever in the feet are restiveness, frequent

shifting of the fore legs, but no pawing. The pulse is quickened, the

flanks heaving, the nostrils red and his moaning indicating great pain.

He looks about his litter, as if preparing to lie down; he continues

to shift his weight from foot to foot; he is afraid to draw his feet

sufficiently under him for the purpose of lying down, but at length he

drops. His lying down will distinguish inflammation of the feet from

that of the lungs, in which the horse obstinately persists in standing

until he drops. His quietness when down will distinguish it from colic or

inflammation of the bowels. He will point out the seat of the disease by

looking at the part; his muzzle will often rest on the feet or affected

foot.

 

 

TREATMENT--REMEDY NO. 1.

 

The treatment in this disease resembles that of other inflammations.

Bleeding is indispensable and that to its fullest extent. Four quarts of

blood should be taken from the toe of the foot, which may be put into

warm water to quicken the flow of blood. Poultices of linseed meal,

made very soft, should cover the whole of the foot and pastern, and be

frequently renewed. This will relieve its painful pressure on the swelled

and tender parts beneath. The shoe should be removed, the sole pared as

thin as possible, the crust and quarters well washed--all this should

be done gently. Sedatives and cooling medicines should be diligently

administered, consisting of digitalis, nitre and tartar emetic, 1 drachm

digitalis, 2 drachms tartar emetic, 3 drachm saltpetre. If no amendment

is apparent after this, blood should again be extracted on the following

day. In extreme cases, a third bleeding may be justifiable, and instead

of the poultice, cloths kept wet with water in which nitre has been

dissolved, in the proportion of an ounce of nitre to a pint of water. The

cloths should be wrapped around the feet.

 

 

TREATMENT--REMEDY NO. 2.

 

Take 1 quart sweet milk, 1 quart molasses, ½ oz. pulverized saltpetre,

mix and dissolve all together, give in 2 drenches about 5 minutes apart:

this is highly recommended by those who have tried it.

 

 

RESTIVENESS, OR TAMING HORSES.

 

Mr. Catlin has published an account, the veracity of which is

unimpeached, of his travels among the North American Indians. “He coils

his lasso on his arm and gallops fearlessly into the herd of wild horses.

He soon gets it over the neck of one of the number, when he instantly

dismounts, leaving his own horse, letting the lasso pass out gradually

and carefully through his hands until the horse falls for want of breath.

The Indian advances, keeping the lasso tight upon his neck until he

fastens a pair of hobbles on the animals two fore feet,--then passing

a noose round the under jaw by which he obtains great power over the

affrighted animal, that is rearing and plunging when it gets breath. By

this means he gradually advances until he is able to place his hand on

the animal nose and over its eyes, and at length to breathe into its

nostrils, when it soon becomes docile and conquered; so that he has

little else to do than remove the hobbles from its feet, and lead or ride

it to the camp.”

 

Mr. A. B. Moss happened to read this account, and he felt a natural

desire to ascertain how far this mode of horse training might be employed

among the American horses. He soon had an opportunity of putting the

veracity of the story to the test. A man on a neighboring farm was

attempting to break a very restive colt, which had foiled him in every

possible way. After several attempts, he succeeded in breathing into one

of the horse’s nostrils, and from that moment all became easy. The horse

was completely subdued. He suffered himself to be led quietly away with a

loose halter, and was perfectly at command.

 

 

BROOD MARES.

 

Great care and attention should be paid to brood mares, particularly

three or four weeks before foaling. She should be worked up to the day of

foaling, being very careful not to overwork or exert her too much; light

and moderate work is an advantage to the animal with foal. She should

be fed on a little flax seed meal, or the whole seed if the meal cannot

be obtained, twice a week at least six or eight weeks before foaling,

and should never fail to turn out to grass of a night for several weeks

previous to foaling. Should be fed on bran mash through the winter, and

up to the time of foaling, which will be found very advantageous to both

mare and colt. There is nothing so refreshing as a bran mash with a

little salt in it, adding a reasonable quantity of corn and oats. If this

course and caution is taken you will not lose one mare out of a hundred,

and perhaps not one out of a thousand.

 

 

WARTS.

 

Warts are found on the eye-lids, the muzzel, the ears, the belly, the

neck, the penis, and the prepuce. There are some caustics available, but

frequently they must be removed by an operation.

 

If the root is very small it may be snapped asunder close to the skin

with a pair of scissors, and touched with lunar caustic.

 

If the pedicle or stem is somewhat larger, a ligature of waxed silk

should be passed firmly round it and tightened every day. The source of

nutriment being thus removed the tumor will in a short time die and drop

off.

 

If the warts are large or in considerable clusters, it will be necessary

to cast the horse in order to cut them off close to the skin. The root

should then be seared with a red hot iron; unless these precautions are

used the warts will speedily sprout out again.