The Veterinarian | Page 5

It may be difficult at first to insert the finger, but the opening will gradually enlarge. Work slowly and carefully until three fingers may be inserted. Breeding should follow about three hours after the womb has been dilated.

BLEEDING AFTER CASTRATION
If bleeding is from the little artery in the back portion of cord, it will generally stop of its own accord, but if it should continue to bleed for thirty minutes, I throw clean, cold water against the part.
When bleeding is from the large artery in front of the cord, it is considered dangerous. The artery should be tied with a silk thread if possible, or twisted with a pair of forceps. Occasionally the artery cannot be found, in which case the hole in the scrotum should be plugged with a clean cloth saturated with Tincture of Iron, which will clot the blood and thus close the artery.

BLOOD POISONING
(Septicaemia or Pyemia)
CAUSE: By the popular term, "Blood Poison," is meant a state of constitutional disturbance brought on by the entrance of putrid products--usually from a wound--into the blood. As a rule some pressure or inoculation is necessary for the introduction of poison into the circulation; hence, the necessity of free drainage and thorough disinfection of the wound, and the only hopeful cases are those in which by this means the supply of poison may be cut short.
SYMPTOMS: It is introduced through any wound or abrasion, whether due to injury, disease or by an operation. Signs of septic poison are heat, pain and swelling.
TREATMENT: It is necessary to see that the wound has good drainage, and wash with Carbolic Acid, one tablespoonful to one pint of distilled water or Bichloride of Mercury perhaps is the best in an infected wound. Apply one part to one thousand parts water. Also, give internally, Potassi Iodide, one ounce; Sodii Hyposulphite, eight ounces. Make into eight powders and give one powder two or three times a day in their drinking water or in capsule, and give with capsule gun. This is an intestinal antiseptic which is very valuable in the treatment of Blood Poisoning. Feed soft, laxative food and green grass, if possible.

BONE SPAVIN
CAUSE: Sprains of the hock from falling, slipping, jumping, pulling, traveling on uneven roads, falling through bridges, etc.
Since Spavin is due to causes which come into existence after birth, it cannot be regarded as an hereditary disease. Hereditary predisposition, however, is largely accountable for its appearance. In the first place, the process of evolution in the horse, which is a single-toed animal, descended from a five-toed ancestor, predisposes him to suffer from union of the bones of the hock, just as it predisposes him to splints. The weaker the bones of the hock in comparison to the weight of the body the more inclined will the animal naturally be to contract Spavin.
SYMPTOMS: Spasmodic catching up of the spavined limb, the moment the heel of the foot touches the ground, something after the manner of string-halt. At times the stiffness can be observed only when the animal is pushed from one side of the stall to the other. Spavin may often be detected when riding a horse down a steep hill from the fact that he drags the toe.
The time of all others when a spavined horse will be apt to show his lameness will be the day following a hard day's work, and when he makes his first move from the stable in the morning is the proper moment for examination. Therefore, you should be prepared to form judgment quickly in these cases, for the longer the animal is trotted up and down the less lame will he generally become.
We may have a visible sign of Spavin, swelling and hardness of the part, without lameness. If there be heat and tenderness on pressure, lameness will almost always be present. A careful comparison should be made of the hocks.
TREATMENT: An important factor in treating Spavin is keeping the animal quiet. This can be accomplished by placing the animal in a very narrow stall, carrying his feed and drinking water for a month or six weeks, and apply the following ointment: Red Iodide of Mercury, two drams; Pulverized Cantharides, three drams; Turpentine, thirty minims; Pine Tar, two drams; lard, two ounces. Mix well and rub in well for twenty minutes every forty-eight hours until three applications have been applied. Repeat this treatment again in two weeks, and grease well with lard.
To cure a bone spavin it is necessary to unite two or more bones of the hock, and a fractured bone cannot unite if moved frequently. The same thing exists in bone spavin as in a fractured bone, only we have no ragged edges like that of a fractured bone to unite; therefore, keep the animal quiet. The younger the animal the easier the spavin is