Part 11 (1/2)
The horse, in a normal condition, breathes exclusively through the nostrils. The organs of respiration are quite liable to become diseased, and, as many of the causes which lead to these attacks can be avoided, it is both important and profitable to know and study the causes.
CAUSES OF DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS.
The causes of many of the diseases of these organs may be given under a common head, because even a simple cold, if neglected or badly treated, may run into the most complicated lung disease and terminate fatally. In the spring and fall, when the animals are changing their coats, there is a marked predisposition to contract disease, and consequently at those periods care should be taken to prevent other exciting causes.
Badly ventilated stables are a frequent source of disease. It is a mistake to think that country stables necessarily have purer air than city stables. Stables on some farms are so faultily constructed that it is almost impossible for the foul air to gain an exit. All stables should have a sufficient supply of pure air, and be so arranged that strong drafts can not blow directly on the animals. In ventilating a stable, it is best to arrange to remove air from near the floor and admit it through numerous small openings near the ceiling. The reason for this is that the coldest and most impure air in the stable is near the floor, while that which is warmest and purest, and therefore can least be spared, is near the top of the room. In summer, top exits and cross currents should be provided to remove excessive heat. Hot stables are almost always poorly ventilated, and the hot stable is a cause of disease on account of the extreme change of temperature that a horse is liable to when taken out, and extreme changes of temperature are to be avoided as certain causes of disease.
A cold, close stable is invariably damp, and is to be avoided as much as the hot, close, and foul one. Horses changed from a cold to a warm stable are more liable to contract cold than when changed from a warm to a cold one. Pure air is more essential than warmth, and this fact should be especially remembered when the stable is made close and foul to gain the warmth. It is more economical to keep the horse warm with blankets than to prevent the ingress of pure air in order to make the stable warm.
Stables should be well drained and kept clean. Some farmers allow large quant.i.ties of manure to acc.u.mulate in the stable. This is a pernicious practice, as the decomposing organic matter evolves gases that are predisposing or exciting causes of disease. When a horse is overheated, it is not safe to allow him to dry by evaporation; rubbing him dry and gradually cooling him out is the wisest treatment. When a horse is hot--covered with sweat--it is dangerous to allow him to stand in a draft; it is the best plan to walk him until his temperature moderates.
In such cases a light blanket thrown over the animal may prevent a cold.
Overwork or overexertion often causes the greater number of fatal cases of congestion of the lungs. Avoid prolonged or fast work when the horse is out of condition or unaccustomed to it. Animals that have been working in cold rains should be dried and cooled out and not left to dry by evaporation. When the temperature of the weather is at the extreme, either of heat or cold, diseases of the organs of respiration are most frequent.
It is not to be supposed that farmers can give their horses the particular attention given to valuable racing and pleasure horses, but they can most a.s.suredly give them common-sense care, and this may often save the life of a valuable animal. If the owner properly considers his interests, he will study the welfare of his horses so that he may be able to instruct the servant in details of stable management.
WOUNDS ABOUT THE NOSTRILS.
Wounds in this neighborhood are common, and are generally caused by snagging on a nail or splinter or by the bite of another horse; or by getting ”run into,” or by running against something. Occasionally the nostril is so badly torn and lacerated that it is impossible to effect a cure without leaving the animal blemished for life, but in the majority of instances the blemish, or scar, is the result of want of conservative treatment. As soon as possible after the accident the parts should be brought together and held there by st.i.tches. If too much time is allowed to elapse, the swelling of the parts will considerably interfere. Never cut away any skin that may be loose and hanging, or else a scar will certainly remain. Bring the parts in direct apposition and place the st.i.tches from a quarter to a half-inch apart, as circ.u.mstances may demand. It is not necessary to have special surgeons' silk and needles for this operation; good linen thread or ordinary silk thread will answer. The wound afterwards only requires to be kept clean. For this purpose it should be cleansed and discharges washed away daily with a solution made of carbolic acid 1 part in 40 parts of water. If on account of the irritability the horse is inclined to rub the wound against some object, his head should be tied by means of two halter ropes attached to the opposite sides of the stall to prevent him from opening the wound. Except when at work or eating, the head should be so tied about 10 days.
TUMORS WITHIN THE NOSTRILS.
A small, globular tumor is sometimes found within the false nostril, under that part of the skin that is seen to puff or rise and fall when a horse is exerted and breathing hard. These tumors contain matter of a cheesy consistency.
_Treatment._--If the tumor is well opened and the matter squeezed out, nature will perform a cure. If the opening is made from the outside through the skin, it should be at the most dependent part, but much the best way to open the tumor is from the inside. Quiet the animal, gently insert your finger up in the direction of the tumor, and you will soon discover that it is much larger inside than it appears to be on the outside. If necessary put a twitch on the ear of the horse to quiet him; run the index finger of your left hand against the tumor; now, with the right hand, carefully insert the knife by running the back of the blade along the index finger of the left hand until the tumor is reached; with the left index finger guide the point of the blade quickly and surely into the tumor; make the opening large. A little blood may flow for a while, but it is of no consequence. Squeeze out the matter and keep the part clean.
COLD IN THE HEAD, OR NASAL CATARRH.
Catarrh is an inflammation of a mucous membrane. It is accompanied with excessive secretion. In nasal catarrh the inflammation may extend from the membrane lining the nose to the throat, the inside of the sinuses, and to the eyes. The causes are the general causes of respiratory disease enumerated above. It is especially common in young horses and in horses not acclimated.
_Symptoms._--The membrane at the beginning of the attack is dry, congested, and irritable; it is of a deeper hue than natural, pinkish red or red. Soon a watery discharge from the nostrils makes its appearance; the eyes may also be more or less affected and tears flow over the cheeks. The animal has some fever, which may be easily detected by means of a clinical thermometer inserted in the r.e.c.t.u.m or, roughly, by placing the finger in the mouth, as the feeling of heat conveyed to the finger will be greater than natural.
To become somewhat expert in ascertaining the changes of temperature in the horse it is only necessary to place the finger often in the mouths of horses known to be healthy. After you have become accustomed to the warmth of the mouth of the healthy animal you will have no difficulty in detecting a marked increase of the temperature. The animal may be dull; he sneezes or snorts, but does not cough unless the throat is affected; he expels the air forcibly through his nostrils, very often in a manner that may be aptly called ”blowing his nose.” A few days after the attack begins the discharge from the nostrils changes from a watery to that of a thick, mucilaginous state, of a yellowish-white color, and may be more or less profuse. Often the appet.i.te is lost and the animal becomes debilitated.
_Treatment._--This disease is not serious, but inasmuch as neglect or bad treatment may cause it to lead to something worse or become chronic it should receive proper attention. The animal should not be worked for a time. A few days of rest, with pure air and good feed, will be of greater benefit than most medication. The value of pure air can not be overestimated, but drafts must be avoided. The benefit derived from the inhalation of steam is considerable. This is effected by holding the horse's head over a bucketful of boiling water, so that the animal will be compelled to inhale steam with every inhalation of air. Stirring the hot water with a wisp of hay causes the steam to arise in greater abundance. One may cause the horse to put his nose in a bag containing cut hay upon which hot water has been poured, the bottom of the bag being stood in a bucket, but the bag must be of loose texture, as gunny sack, or, if of canvas, holes must be cut in the side to admit fresh air.
The horse may be made to inhale steam four or five times a day, about 15 or 20 minutes each time.
Particular attention should be paid to the diet. Give bran mashes, scalded oats, linseed gruel, and gra.s.s, if in season. If the horse evinces no desire for this soft diet, it is better to allow any kind of feed he will eat, such as hay, oats, corn, etc., than to keep him on short rations.
If the animal is constipated, relieve this symptom by injections (enemas) of warm water into the r.e.c.t.u.m three or four times a day, but do not administer purgative medicines, except of a mild character.
For simple cases the foregoing is all that is required, but if the appet.i.te is lost and the animal appears debilitated and dull, give 3 ounces of the solution of acetate of ammonia and 2 drams of powdered chlorate of pota.s.sium diluted with a pint of water three times a day as a drench. Be careful when giving the drench; do not pound the horse on the gullet to make him swallow; be patient, and take time, and do it right.
If the weather is cold, blanket the animal and keep him in a comfortable stall. If the throat is sore, treat as advised for that ailment, to be described hereafter.