EIGHTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 535 



twice daily. If the manure is pale in color and offensive in odor give 

 half an ounce of hyposulphite of soda twice daily in the food or dis- 

 solved in the drinking water, if the horse will take it that way. 

 If the dung comes in balls but clay-colored and slimy give an ounce of 

 glauber salts twice daily in the food or drinking water until improvement 

 is seen; then once daily until conditions are normal. If much gas is 

 passed with the feces, or at any time during the day, give charcoal freely 

 and add hyposulphite of soda. If the horse pants at work and has dry, 

 hot skin and is easily exhausted, so that the owner concludes that some- 

 time or other he has been "overhet," work him early in the morning 

 and late in the afternoon or evening, but not in the middle hours of 

 the day; keep his head shaded, but do not burden it with a big soggy, 

 heavy, dirty sponge which is not protective but adds much to the 

 misery of the horse. Air should pass freely under anything used to 

 protect the poll of the horse's head while at work in the field. Then 

 too, if the easily tired horse has a thick, coarse coat of hair clip it off 

 at once as this will tend to prevent exhaustion and at the same time 

 prevent "summer itch." 



Despite all that can be done to prevent, a horse will now and then 

 succumb to the heat and the attack is ushered in by sudden stopping of the 

 sweat, lagging, panting, distension of the nostrils, redness of the lining 

 membranes of the eyelids and nostrils, passing of gas or thin feces, 

 bloating, staggering, stumbling, weakness, and finally falling and un- 

 consciousness. 



At the first sign of any one of these symptoms or the combination 

 unhitch the horse, remove his harness, get him into a shady place, under 

 a dense tree where there is a draft of air by preference, and as soon as 

 possible sprinkle him from head to foot with cold water from a sprink- 

 ling can, keep cold wet swabs to the poll of his head and give him large, 

 frequent doses of any stimulant that can be had, but do not bleed him 

 or administer dangerous drugs like tincture of aconite, acetanilid, or 

 strychnia. In severe cases the veterinarian should be called as soon 

 as the horse has been treated as we have suggested and we feel sure 

 that by following the advice given as to the prevention and giving first 

 aid intelligently and promptly when needed losses from sunstroke will be 

 materially lessened in our farming districts. 



THE DRAFT HORSE. 



Chas. E. Baklicin, Spencer. Iowa, before Clay County Farmers' Institute. 

 It seems to me that we farmers have a just claim on this one class 

 of horses. He is the product of the farm and the best friend we have 

 on the farm. He plows our land, plants and sows our seed, tills our 

 soil, keeps down the weeds and corrupt vegetation, harvests and hauls 

 our grain to market. All these things he does and many more. What 

 is more wonderful, there is never any complaint on his part. The draft 

 horse is truly our "Beast of Burden." 



