The Veterinarian

C >> Chas. J. Korinek >> The Veterinarian

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BOG SPAVIN

CAUSE: Faulty conformation, slipping, falling through a bridge or
culvert; large loosely built draft horses are prone to this blemish. Bog
Spavin is hereditary, and you should, therefore, select a good type of
animal for breeding purposes.

SYMPTOMS: A puffy swelling located in front and on the inside of the
hock, varying from the size of a walnut to that of a man's fist. It very
seldom causes lameness, but is a serious disfigurement and blemish.

TREATMENT: Treatment is not satisfactory unless taken in its first
stages and when the animal is young. If there is heat, pain and
swelling, apply cold water or ice packs until the inflammation has left
the parts. Then use the following prescription: Tincture of Iodine, two
ounces; Gum Camphor, two ounces; Gasolene, one pint. Mix and shake well
before applying with a nail or tooth brush twice a week.

I may add that I have derived some wonderful results in treatment of Bog
Spavin with the above mentioned prescription in both young and old
animals, and perhaps it will be well to use it on both young and old
animals in both acute and chronic forms of Bog Spavin.

BOTS

(Gastrophilis)

Effect of Bots on the Health of Horses

Although the presence of bots inside of a horse can be of no possible
advantage to him, their presence, when in small numbers, as a rule
produce very little or no ill effect in the horse, but if their number
be large they cannot help being a source of debility and irritation. In
practically all cases they produce indigestion, especially among young
horses, also loss of condition, colic and even death.

CAUSE: By the bot flies, which lay their eggs during the autumn on the
skin and hair of the horses. These eggs on becoming hatched (in from 20
to 25 days) produce small worms which irritate the skin by their
movements and thus cause the horse to lick them off and to take them
into his mouth, with the result that they gain access to various parts
of the intestinal canal. The bot having selected its place of
residence, attaches itself to the membranes lining the stomach and
intestines, and derives its sustenance during its stay from the wound
made by its hooks. In the summer the larva, after living inside the
horse for about ten months, quits its hold and is expelled with the
feces. Having concealed itself near the surface of the ground it becomes
changed into a chrysalis from which the gadfly issues after an inactive
existence of from thirty to forty days. The female fly becomes
impregnated, lays her eggs on those parts of the horse from which they
can be most easily licked off, and thus completes her cycle of
existence.

SYMPTOMS: Membranes about the eyes and mouth are very pale, as though
the animal had lost a large quantity of blood; they will also be subject
to colicky attacks, hair faded, dull, rough appearance, appetite poor
and manifests a pot belly.

PREVENTION: The best means of prevention are spraying your horses with
the following fly repellant: Crude Carbolic Acid, 10%; Oil of Tar, 25%;
Crude Oil, 65%. Mix thoroughly. This prevents the gadfly from depositing
her eggs on the animals.

TREATMENT: Withhold all food for twenty-four hours, then administer Oil
of Turpentine, one ounce; place in a gelatin capsule and give with
capsule gun. Follow this in six hours with a physic consisting of Aloin,
two drams; Ginger, two drams. Place in a gelatin capsule and give with
capsule gun. Repeat the above treatment in a week or ten days to insure
the expulsion of Bots that might have escaped the first treatment.

[Illustration: Photograph of horse.]
HACKNEY STALLION BAGTHORP SULTAN, FIRST INTERNATIONAL SHOW.
Owned by Henry Fairfax of Virginia.

BRONCHITIS

CAUSE: It may be the result of debility, constitutional diseases,
inhalation of impure air, smoke, or gases. Sometimes brought on by
drenching by the escape of liquid into the windpipe; remember, a horse
cannot breathe through his mouth. It may also be caused by sudden chill,
foreign bodies in windpipe, micro organisms, or it may be associated
with influenza, glanders, lung fever, etc.

SYMPTOMS: Sore throat, loss of appetite, thirst, animal appears dull,
membranes of the mouth, eyes and nose are reddened; urine is scanty and
highly colored; cough dry and husky. After two or three days the cough
becomes looser and, a frothy, sticky mucus of a yellowish color is
present. This gradually becomes pus-like, after which the animal seems
somewhat relieved. In the first stages the pulse is soft and weak, but
frequently the temperature is high, ranging from 105 to 106 degrees F.;
the breathing is quick and more or less difficult.

TREATMENT: Place the horse in a clean, comfortable, well ventilated
stall, exclude drafts, blanket if the weather is chilly. Also, hand rub
the legs and bandage them. Inhalations from steam of hot water and
Turpentine are beneficial. Also administer Chlorate of Potassi, two
ounces; Nitrate of Potash, two ounces; Tannic Acid, one ounce. Mix this
with a pint of black-strap molasses and give about one tablespoonful
well back on the tongue with a wooden paddle every six hours. In severe
attacks of Bronchitis it is well to apply a liniment consisting of
Turpentine, Aqua-Ammonia Fort., and raw Linseed Oil, each four ounces;
mix well and apply to the throat and down the windpipe once or twice a
day. The animal should be fed on soft food, such as hot bran mashes,
grass, carrots, kale, apples or steamed rolled oats. After the acute
symptoms of the disease disappear, give Pulverized Gentian Root, one
ounce; Nux Vomica, two ounces; Nitrate of Potash, three ounces;
Pulverized Fenugreek Seed, six ounces. Mix and give one tablespoonful
three times a day in the feed or in a gelatin capsule and administer
with a capsule gun.

CAPPED KNEE

CAUSE: Bruises from pawing or striking objects with the knee, falling on
the ground, etc., are perhaps the most common causes.

SYMPTOMS: It may be a simple bruise, or it may be a severe wound. There
is always swelling, heat and pain present. The joint becomes stiff and
interferes with the movement of the leg. Under careful treatment the
swelling and enlargement disappear.

TREATMENT: Relieve the inflammation and clean the wound by fomenting
with hot water, to which add a few drops of Carbolic Acid. If the wound
is very large, trim off the ragged edges with a pair of scissors and
apply the following: Boracic Acid, two ounces; Iodoform, one ounce;
Tannic Acid, one ounce. Powder finely, mix and apply two or three times
a day. If the skin is not broken, apply cold water or ice packs until
the inflammation has subsided; then use the following: Tincture of
Iodine, one ounce; Camphor, two ounces, and Gasolene, eight ounces.
Apply with nail or toothbrush every thirty-six hours until the
enlargement has disappeared.

CAPPED HOCK

CAUSE: Some horses have the habit of rubbing or striking their hocks
against the partition of their stalls. May also be produced by kicks
from other horses, or hocks may be bruised by the singletree.

SYMPTOMS: An enlargement at the point of the hock, which may run up
along the tendons and muscles of the leg. Repeated injuries cause the
hock to enlarge and become flabby, and in some cases it contains a
bloody serum or pus.

TREATMENT: Do not attempt to lance the puffy swelling on the point of
the hock, as you may produce an open joint, which is very difficult to
treat, and chances are that you would lose the animal.

The treatment that I would recommend is to find out the true cause and
remove it. When the puffy swelling is swollen, hot and painful, apply
cold water or ice packs. When the heat and pain have subsided apply the
following: Tincture of Iodine, two ounces; Gum Camphor, two ounces,
dissolved in one pint of Gasolene. Shake the contents of the bottle
before using each time and apply with a nail or toothbrush every
forty-eight hours. This is very penetrating and will remove the
enlargement or absorb fluids that might have accumulated from the result
of the bruise.

CHOKING

This term applies to obstruction of the gullet as well as that of the
windpipe.

CAUSE: Too rapid eating, by which pieces of carrots or other roots, or a
quantity of dry food become lodged in the gullet. Although obstructions
of the windpipe caused while drenching, or food entering the lungs, will
kill an animal in a very short time, obstructions in the gullet may not
prove fatal for several days.

TREATMENT: No time should be lost in attempting to remove the
obstruction from the gullet. It may be dislodged by gently manipulating
the gullet. If unsuccessful in dislodging the obstruction in this
manner, secure the services of a competent veterinarian. He will use a
probang, an instrument made for this purpose, or inject Sweet or Olive
Oil into the gullet with a hypodermic syringe, or give hypodermic
injections of Arecoline. In administering drenches with the object of
dislodging obstructions in the gullet, you must remember that the
liquids used are apt to go the wrong way, that is to say, enter the
lungs, and give rise to lung complications, as lung fever, bronchitis,
etc. Obstructions of solid substance in the windpipe generally cause
death very shortly. When liquids enter the lungs, death is not so apt to
occur, as the animal may live several days, and sometimes even get well.
They should be treated the same as for lung fever.

CRACKED HEELS

CAUSE: There is little doubt in my mind that ammonia, which is so
plentifully found in ill-kept stables, is the chief cause of cracked
heels. The action of ammonia on the skin renders it soft and pulpy, and
diminishes its strength by separating the layers of which it is
composed.

SYMPTOMS: When inflammation is set up in the part, the secretion of
natural oil is interfered with and cracks usually occur in the place
where the skin becomes wrinkled when the pastern joint is bent. The
discharge from cracked heels has an offensive smell. In early stages
there is extreme heat and swelling, there is pain and lameness, which
usually disappear as the case becomes chronic.

TREATMENT: Keep the affected parts clean as possible, if there is
extreme inflammation present. Apply hot poultice made from bran or
flaxseed meal. When the inflammation subsides, apply Zinc Ointment twice
daily. Before applying each application of ointment, wash with Warm
Water and Castile Soap. Feed carrots, green grass, if possible, also hot
bran mashes or steam rolled oats each morning. Sometimes it is well to
give a physic, and I would recommend Aloin, one and one-half drams;
Ginger, two drams. A physic has very good effect in reducing the
swelling of the legs.

COFFIN-JOINT LAMENESS

(Navicular Disease)

CAUSE: Driving young animals on hard roads. Always found in the front
feet, owing no doubt to the fact the front feet support largely the
weight of the body.

SYMPTOMS: The symptoms are very hard to detect. As a rule the animal
will point the affected foot when at rest even before there is any
lameness present. While at work he apparently goes sound, but when
placed in the stable, or when stopped on hard ground, one foot will be
set out in front of the other and resting on the toe. It will be noticed
that the animal takes a few lame steps and then goes well again. Again
he may be lame for a day, or he may leave the stable in the morning
apparently well and sound and go lame during the day. In the course of
time he will develop a severe case of lameness, which may last for five
or six days. These spells are intermittent and finally he becomes
permanently lame, and the more he is driven the greater the lameness,
and he steps short, wears the toe of the shoe, stumbles, falls on his
knees when the road is rough. Sometimes both front feet are affected and
the shoulders will be stiff. When put to work he sweats from pain; there
will be extreme heat about the foot, and he will flinch from pressure.

Comparatively few recoveries are made from this disease.

TREATMENT: First remove the shoe. If the foot is inflamed, poultice with
hot bran or flaxseed meal. After the inflammation disappears, clean the
foot well, clip the hair from around the top of the hoof and use the
following: Red Iodide of Mercury, two drams; Pulverized Cantharides,
four drams; Turpentine, thirty drops; Lard, two ounces. Mix well and
apply every forty-eight hours, rubbing in well for twenty minutes each
time. After three or four applications have been applied, turn the
animal out to pasture. Repeat this treatment again in a month or so.
Animals affected with this disease should be put to slow and easy work
on soft ground, and carefully shod. This disease is unsatisfactorily
treated and only a few cases recover when the best care is taken.

CORNS

CAUSE: Dry feet, increased pressure from ill fitting shoes, or high
heeled shoes, which tend to contract the heels and produce corns. Wide
flat feet are predisposed to bruises which terminate in corns.

SYMPTOMS: Lameness, or as the old saying goes, "The animal will go
tenderfooted." When standing the animal is generally very restless, they
paw their bedding behind them at night. Tapping or pressure on the foot
will assist in locating a corn.

TREATMENT: Discover the true cause of the corn and remove it if
possible. Take away all pressure from over the corn and turn the animal
out in some damp pasture. If this cannot be done, put on a flat "bar"
shoe, packing the sole of the foot with Pine Tar and Oakum; then place a
leather between the foot and shoe. Repeat this application every two
weeks, as this will keep the sole soft and flexible, and with proper
shoeing your animal will be relieved of corns.

Frequently coffin-joint lameness or navicular disease is mistaken for
corns.

[Illustration: Photograph of horse.]
CLYDESDALE STALLION SIR EVERARD (5353).
Sire of Famous Baron's Pride (9122), who earned $300,000.00 in the Stud,
who Sired Baron O'Buchlyvie, who was sold for $45,000.00, the Highest
Price ever paid for a Draft Stallion.

CONSTIPATION

CAUSE: Indigestible foods, irregular feeding, lack of, or too much,
exercise, insufficient secretion of digestive materials, strictures,
ruptures, paralysis, worms, folding and twisting of the intestines,
which frequently occurs in old age.

SYMPTOMS: The animal cannot expel the contents of the intestines, which
frequently causes colicky pains. Death from this form of constipation is
generally due to rupture of the intestines, when due to indigestible
foods or irregular feeding. Lack of, or too much, exercise seldom
produces death, although the animal may not pass any fecal matter for a
week.

TREATMENT: Give a capsule containing Aloin, two drams, and Pulverized
Ginger, two drams, every eighteen hours until the animal has a movement
of the bowels. Then give the following tonic: Pulverized Nux Vomica, two
ounces; Pulverized Gentian Root, two ounces; Pulverized Fenugreek Seed,
four ounces. Mix well and give one tablespoonful in feed three times a
day. If the animal refuses to eat it in the feed, place one
tablespoonful in gelatin capsule and administer with capsule gun. This
will stimulate the worm-like movement of the bowels and strengthen the
heart action.

Give the animal all the water it will drink. If the water is cold, take
the chill off by warming or adding warm water. If the animal will eat,
feed food that is easily digested, such as grass, carrots, turnips,
potatoes and apples, but do not feed too large a quantity at one time.
Hot bran mashes or steamed rolled oats are very nourishing and easily
digested. Rectal injections of Soap and Turpentine in small quantities,
added to warm water, are very beneficial, and I would recommend their
use. It is advisable to elevate the animal's hind parts when giving
rectal injections, as compelling the animal to stand with its head lower
than its hind parts will cause the animal to retain the injection much
longer, consequently it does its intended work much better.

If due to worms, fast the animal for twenty-four hours and give
Barbadoes Aloes, three drams; Calomel, one dram; Ferri Sulphate, two
drams; Antimony Tartrate, two drams. Place in gelatin capsule and give
with capsule gun, This dose should be repeated in ten days to insure the
expulsion of newly hatched worms.

COLD

(Nasal Catarrh)

CAUSE: Atmospheric changes common in the spring and fall; animal allowed
to chill when standing in a draft, or driven when the system is in a
poor condition. It is also produced by inhaling irritating gases, smoke,
drenching through the nose, dusty hay or grain that contains infectious
matter.

SYMPTOMS: Animal is stupid, does not take food very freely, hair stands
and looks dusty, throat becomes sore, pulse is not greatly affected.
There may be a slight rise of temperature, say 101 to 103 degrees F.
After a day or two there will be a discharge of mucus from the nostrils
which may be offensive to the smell. There is generally an increased
flow of urine. The breathing is not much affected.

TREATMENT: Make the animal as comfortable as possible by placing in a
clean stall with pure air, but avoid drafts. Blanket if the weather is
chilly and give the following prescription: Chloride of Potash, two
ounces; Nitrate of Potash, four ounces. Mix these well in a pint of Pine
Tar and place about one tablespoonful of the mixture as far back on the
tongue as possible every six hours. Relief is very certain if this
treatment is given in the first stages. If not it will become chronic
and terminate into nasal gleet, or lung complications.

COUGH

(Acute and Chronic)

As a cough is a symptom of various diseases, these in addition to the
cough should be treated.

KINDS OF COUGH: Many writers give several different varieties, but for
sake of convenience I will divide them into two forms, namely: Acute and
Chronic.

CAUSE: Acute Coughs are generally due to sudden exposure to cold, drafts
and are the forerunning symptom of a disease of the organs of breathing.

Chronic Coughs are associated with, and often a result of, sore throat,
lung fever, pleurisy, bronchitis, broken wind, influenza, nasal gleet,
catarrh, glanders, heaves and distemper.

TREATMENT: Under each disease of which a cough is a symptom, I have also
prescribed to include its suppression. The following prescription is
reasonable in price, yet very effective in all forms of cough: Tannic
Acid, one ounce; Potassi Chlorate, four ounces; Potassi Nitrate, four
ounces. Powder well and mix with Black Strap Molasses, one pint; placing
container retaining the above in hot water assists in dissolving. When
this is thoroughly mixed add Pine Tar one pint, and place one
tablespoonful well back on the tongue with a wooden paddle every three
or four hours, according to the severity of the cough.

Sometimes a liniment applied to the throat and windpipe has a good
effect, and I would recommend the following on account of its
penetrating qualities: Aqua Ammonia Fort., two ounces; Turpentine, two
ounces; Raw Linseed Oil, four ounces. Mix and apply twice daily, shaking
the contents of the bottle well before using.

COLT CONSTIPATION

CAUSE: Improper digestion of its mother's milk, especially when
overheated or not allowed to nurse enough.

SYMPTOMS: The colt appears stupid; does not care to move about, but lies
flat on either side and shows signs of great pain.

TREATMENT: Give two tablespoonfuls of Cascara Sagrada. Great care must
be exercised in administering the medicine to place it well back on the
tongue; do not hold the nose high or some of the liquid may enter the
lungs; it is much better to waste some of the medicine. One of the most
important factors in the treatment of Colt Constipation is rectal
injections; they relieve temperature, gases, and pain, promoting the
worm-like action of the bowels and liquefying their contents.

COLT DIARRHOEA

CAUSE: Specific infection, the action of which is favored by insanitary
conditions, irregular feeding, or permitting the colt to nurse when the
mother is overheated or out of condition.

SYMPTOMS: Frequent watery discharges, sometimes tinged with blood, and
as the disease progresses the colt shows signs of great pain. If not
treated promptly, the disease will terminate fatally in the course of
six or ten days.

TREATMENT: Determine the exact cause, if possible, and remove it. If the
colt has not been weaned, attention should at once be given the mare,
and if anything is wrong with her, it may be best to take the little
patient away from its mother and feed it on cow's milk sweetened with
sugar. Give two tablespoonfuls of Castor Oil on the tongue; this will
remove the irritant within the bowels. The following prescription is a
very reliable remedy: Protan, three ounces; Pulv. Ginger, four drams;
Zinc Sulphocarbolates, four grains. Mix and make into twelve powders;
give one powder on the tongue every four hours, effecting a cure within
a few days. Do not pull the tongue, or hold the head too high. Permit
the animal to swallow slowly. Remember that sanitary surroundings are
essential in the treatment of all diseases.

CURB

CAUSE: Faulty conformation of the hind legs; that is to say, if an
animal has crooked legs, a slight sprain from slipping or jumping will
produce Curb. In cases where an animal has well proportioned limbs, and
is afflicted with Curb, it is caused by a rupture of the small ligament
or cord situated just back of the hock.

SYMPTOMS: A swelling will be noticed on the back part of the hock. At
first the animal is lame and the enlargement is hot and painful. After a
few days' rest the inflammation will partially subside and the
enlargement can be plainly seen. When the animal is walked about he may
be very lame at the start, but this will disappear as he is moved.

TREATMENT: When the Curb is hot and painful, it is well to apply ice
packs or cold water to the part. When the inflammation subsides, apply
Red Iodide of Mercury, two drams; Lard, two ounces. Mix and rub in well
for twenty minutes; repeat every forty-eight hours until three
applications are applied. If the Curb is of long standing it is more
difficult to treat, in which case the above treatment should be repeated
again in two or three months. Do not use the animal in drawing heavy
loads, or drive on slippery roads, for six months. Give the blister time
to strengthen the ruptured tendons. A high-heeled shoe is often
valuable in relieving tendons of their tension.

[Illustration: Photographs of two horses.]
The Famous Team of Arabian Horses.
Owned by Dr. C. J. Korinek.

DIARRHOEA

CAUSE: Sudden change of food, frozen food, soft food, unwholesome food,
stagnant water, or drinking large quantities of water at one time,
purgative medicines, or it may be associated with blood diseases, lung
and intestinal affections, or produced by micro-organisms. Many horses,
particularly slack loined, slight, "washy" animals, purge if worked or
excited, as may be observed among race horses when taken to a race
course. Diarrhoea may also be due to worms, or it may be merely an
effort on the part of nature to expel some irritant matter from the
bowels or from the blood, in which case it should on no account be
prematurely checked.

SYMPTOMS: Frequent loose evacuations of the intestines, with or without
pronounced abdominal pain; generally, loss of appetite, animal looks
gaunt and the hair rough.

TREATMENT: Keep the animal quiet, comfortably stabled and warmly
blanketed. Give pure water to drink, often, but in small quantities. If
the animal will eat, feed moderately on clean food, as rolled oats and
dry bran. Also, give the following prescription: Protan, three ounces;
Zinc Sulphocarbolates, ten grains; Creosote, one dram; Powdered Ginger,
two ounces; Powdered Gum Catechu, six drams; Powdered Gum Camphor,
one-half dram. Mix and make eight powders. Place one powder in gelatin
capsule and give with capsule gun, or the same sized dose dissolved in a
pint of water and used as a drench. However, be very careful when
drenching an animal. It is dangerous. This prescription will not only
check the diarrhoea, but will tone the muscular fibres of the intestines
which aid in throwing off these irritant matters from the system. If the
horse shows colicky pains, administer the same treatment as that
recommended for colic. It is well to give the following treatment in the
convalescing stages of diarrhoea: Pulv. Gentian Root, four ounces; Ferri
Sulphate, four ounces; Pulv. Nux Vomica, four ounces; Pulv. Fenugreek
Seed, eight ounces. Mix and give one heaping tablespoonful three times
daily in feed. This facilitates digestion by stimulating the flow of
gastric juices.

DISTEMPER

CAUSE: Distemper is placed among the germ diseases, and is produced by
the Streptococcus of Schutz. It is contagious and a number of animals in
the same stable may become affected at the same time. It is supposed to
attack an animal but once, but it may be contracted a second time. May
occur at any time of the year.

SYMPTOMS: The animal will first appear dull, and show loss of appetite;
and the hair will look dull and rough. There will be a watery discharge
from the nose, and in a day or so a lump will appear between the jaws;
the animal keeps his head in a peculiar position; saliva runs from its
mouth; the pulse will be a little faster than normal. The breathing will
become more rapid and the lump between the jaws will get larger. This
lump, or tumor, may form in other parts of the body, on the shoulder, in
the groin, lungs or intestines. It usually causes death if it cannot be
absorbed. This is called irregular distemper. A determined effort should
be made to draw the lump, or tumor, to a head as soon as possible.

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