CHAPTER XXIII.

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.

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.