DOCTORING.
In all cases where a horse falls sick, or meets with an accident, the
proper course to pursue is to send at once for a thoroughly competent
veterinary surgeon. To delay about doing so may be to lose a valuable
animal, or at all events to involve a much longer attendance than would
otherwise have been necessary, and therefore the mistaken effort at
economy which tardiness generally represents, will, in nine cases out
or ten, be entirely defeated.
There may be times, however--in country districts, for instance--when
to send for a surgeon will involve a very long and wearisome delay, and
when to keep an ailing or injured animal altogether without assistance
or relief until his arrival, may be productive of most serious results;
it will, therefore, be apparent that, although a little knowledge is
in many instances esteemed “a dangerous thing,” it is certainly not
so with regard to the subject which we have now in hand. For my own
part, my knowledge of horse-doctoring is decidedly limited, and my
surgical education still more incomplete, yet there have been occasions
on which I was able to prescribe for horses, both my own and others’,
with perfect success, and to keep pain and sickness at all events at
bay, until the arrival of a qualified V.S. To sit down and do nothing,
or to cry and moan over some injured favourite, is a very feeble and
ineffectual mode of action; far better be up and doing: provided always
that you know _what_ to do, and do it in the right way.
Now, as I do not (as stated) pretend for a moment to be a skilled
doctor, I shall content myself with giving a few recipes (the results
of my own experience), for the treatment of ordinary well-known and
common equine ailments--touching lightly upon other matters that seem
to bear upon the subject on which I have undertaken to give advice.
Firstly, then, I strongly object to physicking, and think it ought
to be avoided when possible. Long ago it was a sort of stable craze,
resorted to indiscriminately, whether needed or not. To subject a whole
stud of horses to a severe “physic” every Saturday night was as common
under our forefathers’ _régime_ as to eat dinner or drink a quart of
sack. Happily, the practice is in great measure exploded, although it
is still far too general, especially in country stables. To dose with
aloes was formerly the groom’s chief delight; nothing else satisfied
him, and the results were often unsatisfactory in the extreme. Even
still he loves physicking so very much, that to adopt the oft-followed
course of purchasing horse-balls and leaving them in the stable-press,
is a very unwise one indeed, for the fingers of the groom positively
itch to administer them, and one will certainly be smuggled down the
animal’s throat at some entirely wrong period if his care-taker be
allowed to have them at command. To keep a few properly compounded
balls on the premises, or, in other words, “at hand,” is an exceedingly
wise precaution, but in keeping them I should do so under lock and key.
I have scores of times saved poor horses from the abominable punishment
of having nauseous physic thrust down their throats, by simply treating
them with continued soft mashes--five, or even six a day, given in
small quantities at a time--and so great is my faith in this treatment,
that, except in extreme cases, where feverish and other symptoms are
present and render physic absolutely indispensable, I would never
permit any contrary system to be adopted. For merely relaxing purposes
it is far before all others.
When a ball must be given, have nothing to do with the horrible
contrivance known as a twitch, nor yet with a balling-iron, which is
another aversion. The use of this latter frequently causes the operator
to sustain a broken or injured arm, for the horse throws up his head,
and the holder of the iron is fairly lifted from the ground, and, as a
rule, sustains some hurt to the limb. Even the improved contrivance,
with the aperture at the side, which is decidedly an advance upon
the old-fashioned round orifice, is open to a variety of objections;
moreover, this method of administering medicine subjects the groom, or
operating surgeon, to extreme risk from kicks from the fore-feet. A
startled horse almost invariably rears up, and hits out madly with his
fores--a blow from one of which is not by any means soon forgotten. I
have seen a ball most skilfully given by coaxing and encouraging the
horse in the first instance, taking plenty of time to bring him on
terms of familiarity--then drawing his tongue gently to the right side
of his mouth, into which the right hand _with the ball held between the
first and second fingers_, was inserted, and the physic quietly pushed
down.
It must not be supposed, however, that the operator’s work is over
the moment that he has withdrawn his hand; horses have a marvellous
facility for bringing up medicine, and will do so three and four,
and even five times in succession, but rarely, I think, if properly
administered. It is a good plan to close the animal’s mouth at once,
and hold it so with the left hand, while the right gently rubs the
throat and manipulates the upper lip. A ball can be seen, if watched
for, travelling downward along the gullet, and once it is thus viewed
the task of physicking may be considered complete.
[Illustration: HOLDING HORSE’S JAWS.]
It ought not, however, to be given in a hard state. If kept made up it
must be re-made and softened. A drachm each of saltpetre, ginger, and
Barbadoes aloes will form a mild aperient, when made into a mass with a
little soft soap. If a stronger one is desired, the quantities may be
doubled.
I object most strongly to giving medicine by a drink. To do so almost
necessitates the use of the twitch, for the ghastly performance cannot
be got through at one effort. Were a whole bottleful of stuff to be
poured down the throat at once, the animal would either cough it up or
be choked. It is generally therefore divided into several portions,
and the wretched patient is made to undergo the torment of taking the
liquid abomination in a succession of doses.
It is always best, when about to physic a horse, to banish all
extraneous aid from the stable. A number of persons standing about,
officious assistants crowding the limited space, and would-be advisers
pressing their unwelcome aid, are things which only tend to embarrass
and confuse the operator, and render the horse so fidgetty that to do
anything with him, or for him, becomes a hopeless task. Not more than
one person ought ever be permitted to be present, and not _even_ one if
his assistance can possibly be dispensed with.
It is a bad thing to allow a horse to drink cold water after he has
been physicked; as warm as he can be induced to have it will be the
proper thing.
I feel that I ought, before passing to another portion of my subject,
to repeat my warning concerning _undue_ physicking. A tendency to
inflammation is repeatedly developed by it, and its evils are in every
way both many and great. It should be borne in mind that well-made
bran-mashes are the safest and most effectual of all laxatives, and
that any desired condition of the bowels may be induced by regulating
the number and frequency of them. When not too often repeated they
act mildly, without inducing any of that bodily discomfort or
constitutional weakness which throws the animal out of condition, and
renders complete rest an absolute necessity for recovery.
Blistering is a very common recipe for a variety of ills. About
once in every score of cases in which it is tried the result proves
that the experiment was justifiable--yet, it cannot be denied that
there are times at which the remedy may in every way be suited to
the disease. Blisters are, however, far too powerfully compounded;
instead of being so severe as to take off hair and skin together,
they ought to be diluted with quite three times their bulk of either
soap-solution or bland oil. To fire an animal and then blister him
is a piece of barbarity which no educated or feeling person would
ever permit. Fancy searing the legs of a timid creature with a fiery
iron, and then setting a man with a coarse rough hand to rub into the
raw and quivering flesh the fearful blistering substances which are
unfortunately in only too common use. No wonder that the sufferer moans
in its agonies, and paws the earth, and sweats and shivers from the
extremity of its torture; and after all, if people will only believe
it, the treatment is (for _any and every_ evil) most palpably wrong.
Simultaneous firing and blistering cannot effect good, except in the
opinion of ignorant grooms and farriers; therefore, such unspeakable
cruelty ought never to be permitted.
It should be remembered, when blistering, that the action of the remedy
depends more on the amount of friction employed in applying the agent,
than on the bulk of vesicatory stuff employed. Brisk rubbing will be
highly beneficial, but roughness may well be dispensed with--and
adjacent tender places should be previously covered with a layer of
simple cerate, which will be a wise as well as a merciful precaution.
A little at a time, also, of the blistering fluid should be rubbed on;
if there is too much it is apt to run upon parts that may be injured
by its agency. A blistered horse should be as mercifully cared, and as
gently treated during healing time, as a human patient. How earnestly
do I wish that I could impress this upon persons who, without really
meaning to be cruel, are so, through carelessness, or lack of striving
_not_ to be.
Bleeding is another matter concerning which horse-owners ought to be
cautious about placing too much confidence in grooms. If the blood-can
is made to contain two gallons--which most of them are--the groom will,
ten to one, drain the animal to fill it, or very nearly so, whereas
the loss of a quart of blood would probably be quite enough for him to
sustain. Horses are very generally bled after coming in from grass,
when they look fat and full-bellied; but I do not consider it a wise
proceeding. As a rule, it is far better not to bleed at all without
the advice of a competent V.S., and few of the better educated of the
profession will be found very often advocating it.
When a horse must be bled, see that his eyes are efficiently bandaged,
in order that he may not start when the wound is about to be given.
Make use of a fleam in place of a lancet; it is better and more
effectual, for it does not inflict a cut of unnecessary dimensions, as
the lancet (if at all unskilfully handled) occasionally does. When the
proper quantity of blood has been extracted, remove the pressure, and
as soon as the flow ceases, prepare to pin up. This is rather a nice
operation, but I have seen a lady perform it quite as well as any V.S.
The wound should be left open until the lips of it become sticky; then
all hairs must be most carefully removed, the sides of the incision
brought together with the greatest nicety, and closed by a twisted
suture, a thing which I have made successfully in the following way:
first running a pin through the integument at each side of the wound,
and then twisting a strong silk thread round its either extremity,
after the fashion of the figure 8 turned on its side--thus, ∞. I have
stopped the bleeding from a wound received in the hunting-field by
extemporising this kind of suture, and using a hair pulled from the
horse’s tail, in place of a silk thread.
When the wound has so far united as to justify the removal of the pin,
the patient should be so placed that he cannot rub the part, and should
be fed on nourishing and readily-digested food.
Slings form an excellent support for a horse that is not meant to lie
down. The apparatus consists of a broad canvas belt that goes under
the belly, extending from the points of the elbows backwards; there is
a supporting shaft at each extremity, to which the suspending ropes
(carried from either roof or stall posts) are attached; a breast-strap
and breeching keep the belt in its place. The horse is not really
suspended at all. When he is disposed to rest his legs, he has only
to bend them, and the belt receives his weight: when tired of its
support he again stands on his feet. The breeching for this should be
very strong and broad, and the belt well stuffed, and stitched like a
mattress.
Fomentations are usually not half carried out by grooms. If, say, a
leg is to be fomented, a _pailful_ of thoroughly hot water ought to be
employed, and the horse’s foot put down into it; the water should then
be laved through a large sponge, as high as the shoulder, and allowed
to run down over the entire limb. This process should be carried on for
at least half an hour, renewing the water as quickly as it cools. If a
poultice or bandage is to be applied after the fomentation, it should
be done immediately, before the leg has time to grow cold.
Poultices should be large, moist, and warm, and ought never to be tied
too tightly on the affected part. A good poultice will not need to be
changed for twenty-four hours.
Having thus described a few appliances for remedying sickness and
wounds, I proceed to say a word or two about the commoner forms of
ailments--such, for instance, as are most calculated to need amateur
doctoring, and to bring the foregoing remedies into requisition.
By far the greater number of stable sicknesses are brought about by a
persistent giving of indigestible food, while the remainder are, as a
rule, due to exposure, cold, and chills. Indigestion can only be cured
by careful dieting, and by giving water (if that liquid is, as is
customary, administered at stated intervals) _before_ instead of after
each meal. By this method the gastric juices are given fair play, which
by any other can not be the case.
Ordinary cold, which shows itself precisely as in the human subject,
should be treated by clothing the body, bandaging the legs, suspending
corn diet, and giving warm mashes, with occasionally a little nitre
(half-an-ounce will be sufficient) introduced. If sore throat exists, a
mustard poultice ought to be applied. By attending early to this common
complaint, the evils attendant upon chronic cough may be averted.
Inflamed and congested lungs, bronchitis, and other dangerous chest
maladies should be at once treated by a surgeon; but pending his
arrival, a good deal of danger may be staved off by applying strong
mustard poultices, keeping up the surface circulation, and admitting
plenty of pure air.
I regard ringbone, glanders, roaring, and whistling, as altogether
incurable, although the second is the only one that will prevent a
horse from working, the other three being merely partial disablements.
A glandered animal should at once be separated from his fellows, and,
as a precautionary measure, destroyed.
In case of worms, a dose of about four drachms of areca nut, prepared
with a grater, should be given every alternate day, mixed well through
a soft and tempting mash. If this is not found sufficiently powerful it
may be increased, and a pint of linseed oil given to the patient. All
“worm medicines” should be banished from the stable.
Diarrhœa may be speedily arrested by giving bicarbonate of potash in
small half-ounce doses.
Where colic occurs there is often great internal suffering. A pint
of warm gruel should be at once prepared, and in it put an ounce of
tincture of opium and oil of turpentine, together with double that
quantity of nitric ether. The horse should be walked about as much as
possible, and his attention distracted from his pain. If the attack
continues obstinate, the dose must be repeated.
Inflammation of the gums, or bars of the mouth, commonly called
lampass, is a very general ailment, and when horses are suffering from
it they will not eat. I have never tried any treatment except a gentle
aperient and a mash diet, except in one or two extreme cases where a
lance was applied. The old remedies of a hot iron or an iron nail were
mere symbols of cruel barbarism.
Navicular disease cannot be cured, but it may be mitigated by
blistering the coronet; and a horse affected by it may be made to go
sound for awhile by dividing the sensitive nerves that supply the feet:
an operation for which the services of a skilled V.S. will be, of
course, imperative.
Foot-fever is another ailment that ought not to be trifled with. Before
the arrival of the surgeon, get the shoes taken off, the feet put into
warm poultices, and administer a purgative medicine.
Thrush is both common and curable, if taken at once. It will be
necessary to remove the ragged bony particles, and treat the foot daily
with an astringent dressing, having the horse at the same time so shod
that the frog will, when exercising, be brought quite close to the
ground.
The presence of a corn is indicated by lameness, and a red spot in the
horn, close to the heel. In most cases relief may be obtained by paring
away the horn, and affixing a shoe that will effect no pressure upon
the tender portion of the foot. A horse with corns will be immensely
benefited and relieved by working him with india-rubber soles, as by
their use the pressure is taken off the heels.
Swollen legs, a very common ailment, will, in most instances, speedily
yield to the following treatment: Complete immunity from hard work,
regular and gentle exercise, constant bathing with tepid water in which
salt has been dissolved, and careful bandaging with flannel.
Splint is very general with young horses just put to work. I have
seen it effectually cured on its first appearance by giving the
horse complete rest, applying cold water bandages, and utilising a
three-quarter shoe on the inner portion of the foot--a course of
treatment which certainly lessens the concussion. If obstinate, the
periosteum must be divided over the newly-formed deposit, and if
this fails a blister will have to be resorted to, or--as a very last
resource--firing the affected part. If this operation is skilfully
performed _with a pointed iron_, very little blemish will ensue. It
ought to be borne in mind, however, that a splint when once formed into
bone cannot possibly be removed, although a horse that has _good sound_
legs and even action need not by any means be rejected on account of it.
Farcy is not an uncommon ailment among horses. It is notified by a
puffy swelling covered over with little yellowish ulcers of an ugly
sort; but, if properly looked after, it will as a rule yield speedily
to judicious treatment. The ulcers should be opened gently with a large
needle or lance, and dressed with an ointment composed of biniodide of
mercury and lard. A horse thus affected ought to have plenty of walking
exercise, with liberal feeding, and an abundance of fresh cool air.
Tonics, both vegetable and mineral, will be found of great service.
Mud-fever is consequent upon wet, hardship, and improper grooming.
I never allowed my horses’ legs to be washed after a journey, and
although the uninitiated will stare at this, and self-sufficient grooms
be found to rail against it, I advise a trial of my plan. When a
horse comes in, the dirt should be removed from his legs by scraping,
rubbing, and strong, rapid _wisping_, which will very soon leave them
ready for the finishing brush. If the horse has white legs, they may
be sponged next morning, and dried with a towel. This is a pleasant
operation to lovers of horses, and a beautiful cleanliness is the
result. Where there is mud-fever the horse should not be worked. A
little aperient medicine may be given, and a linament applied, composed
of liquor plumbi and olive oil--or petroleum-jelly, or “veterinary
vaseline,” may be tried.
Despite the aptitude which many horses have to cracked heels, I
never had a case of them in my own stable, and this immunity I
attribute almost entirely to the rigidity with which my orders against
leg-washing were carried out. Strong vigorous hand-rubbing, and
perfectly dry woollen bandages when not at work, were my preventive
measures, and whenever my neighbours had a case of them we doctored
by applying oatmeal poultices until all inflammatory symptoms had
subsided, and then dressed the sore parts with an ointment composed of
alum and lard, with a good admixture of zinc.
Saddle-galls are terribly common evils. I pointed out the causes of
them in a former chapter. Ladies’ horses are the chief sufferers, and
therefore every lady ought to be able to attend to her own animals,
should they chance to become affected. The moment that a tender spot
is noticed, the horse’s work should at once be stopped, and the part
well bathed with _cold_ salt and water. A little fuller’s earth may
then be applied. It is a great mistake, and a general one, to begin
by fomenting with hot water; such a practice only makes the skin
peculiarly delicate and sensitive to future hurt. Where there is
abrasion, the part should be well cleansed, bathed with zinc lotion,
and smeared abundantly with zinc ointment until it heals. For collar
and harness galls the same treatment will be found effectual, and the
stuffing or padding of the articles that have caused the injury should
be looked to without delay.
Almost all hunting ladies know by troublesome experience what an
overreach is. I once possessed a hunter whose hind action was so
extravagant that he was constantly hitting the fleshy heels of his fore
feet, but after a while I found a remedy, or rather a preventive, by
having the toes of the hind shoes set back, and rounded. My treatment
for the overreach was to bathe and cleanse the wound, take away any
adherent broken horn, and lay on a piece of cotton wool steeped in
sulphate of zinc, taking care that the torn portions of the integument
were pressed nicely into proper place, and the whole secured with a
bandage.
Wounds of all sorts should be most carefully washed, bathed, and the
edges brought tenderly together. When a horse gets staked in the
hunting-field, the rider ought at once to dismount, remove the glove
from his right hand, and probe the depth of the wound with his index
finger. If not deep, there will be no danger, provided it be attended
to at once; but to prosecute a run on an injured animal is a piece of
cruelty, happily very rarely witnessed. I strongly advise, however,
that a horse so hurt should be ridden or led quietly home, if within
possible distance, rather than that he should be removed to an adjacent
stable until sent for, which is a usual practice, meant to be merciful,
but in reality extremely the reverse, as the animal stiffens on its
injury, and suffers intensely in the transit.
In cases of laceration of the wall of the belly and protrusion of a
portion of the intestines, the best thing to do will be to remove the
saddle without a _second’s_ delay, press the exposed gut very gently
back into its proper place, bring the edges of the wound together
with an improvised suture (such as I have previously described), and
bandage the whole tightly up. The horse must not be moved until proper
assistance shall have arrived for the requisite conveyal to his stable,
where he should be kept in a standing position, with plenty of air
about him, complete quietude and an allowance of very soft food.
Should there be inflammation about the wound, the application of warm
wet rags will serve to allay it.
Injuries to the knees from falling are among the commonest ailments of
the stable. Sometimes the skin only is injured, while at others the
deeper structures are involved, and cases occasionally occur in which
the bones are absolutely laid bare. The treatment in all instances
should commence by the most careful cleansing, with warm fomentations
for half an hour or more, and should then proceed as follows: for
skin-deep injuries, tincture of myrrh after frequent daily bathings
will prove an excellent dressing: for those of a deeper nature, the
same treatment, only intensified, and at night a soft pad of cotton
wool steeped with sulphate of zinc and secured with a bandage; when
bones or tendons are involved, the joint-oil--a white-of-egg-like
substance--will be discharged, and when this occurs the horse’s fate
is sealed: he is absolutely valueless, and may be destroyed at once,
unless he can be made of use for stud purposes. In ordinary cases of
broken knees, if there is suppuration or proud flesh, a weak solution
(about a twelfth part in water) of bichloride of mercury will be found
useful, and in all cases the patient must be prevented from lying down.
He should be walked gently about at intervals throughout the day, and
be fed on nourishing food of a succulent nature.
When a horse has to undergo any painful operation, a merciful owner
will always chloroform him. The best way to do this is to wind a very
long towel, or bandage, about his jaws, and form a kind of tunnel with
the ends; through this the arm should be passed, the hand holding a
sponge steeped in chloroform, which should be held steadily within four
inches of the nostrils, and only removed to transfer the sponge to the
other hand in the event of the first becoming tired.
When the friend who has carried us has to be destroyed, the kindest
and easiest way to do it will be to open a vein and blow in a little
air with an instrument made for the purpose--a sharp lance, or rather
needle, hollowed in the centre, and with an air-chamber attached. Death
is then absolutely instantaneous. If shooting is to be resorted to, the
weapon should be placed right behind the ear, in a slightly slanting
direction, the muzzle pointing for the brain. Shooting in the centre
of the forehead is frequently mere butchery. In all instances of so
sad a nature the eyes of the victim ought to be gently bandaged, and
the whole matter conducted as silently and in the presence of as few
persons as possible.
Melancholy as is the destruction of an animal we have loved, and who
has loved and served us in return, it is infinitely less so than
selling a worn-out or injured creature to servitude, which generally
means hardship and a hard and miserable death. Such barter can bring
no blessing. The eternal God of pity sends us these noblest of His
creatures with the intention that they should serve us, yet not as
slaves, and knowing that they must perish, yet not willing that they
should do so by any unrighteous or cruel means. At our hands will their
blood, I believe, be required; and if the faith is a peculiar one, and
not deemed worthy of general acceptance, it may at least be regarded
without ridicule and passed by without contempt.
[Illustration]