Shoulder Abscesses 75 



of sore necks in the early spring work for there is usually not much 

 weight on the neck. 



TREATMENT 



Shoulder abscesses are enlargements on the shoulder that contain at 

 first blood and water but later pus forms and is surrounded by hard fi- 

 brous tissue. Often a tighter fitting collar can be used, the draft of the 

 hames raised and work continued with the horse until the rush work of 

 the season is over. Improvement will be hastened by painting such ab- 

 scesses twice daily with a mixture of 



2 ounces (4 tablespoonsful) of tincture of iodine 



6 ounces (12 tablespoonsful) of extract of witch-hazel 



In cases that are more advanced and disappear when the horse is at 

 rest only to appear when the horse returns to work, probably tiie best 

 method is to remove the fibrous tissue with the knife or by the use 

 of a caustic. I prefer the latter since it does more perfect work and 

 heals much faster, according to my observation and experience. 



Copper sulphate (blue stone) is the most common caustic used to 

 eat out fibrous tissue. A lance should be inserted into the lump from 

 above until the cavity is reached and the pocket filled with all the blue 

 stone it will hold. In 48 hours refill the cavity with blue stone. In 

 horn 5 to 10 days the fibrous tissue will be loose and must be removed. 

 After it is removed open the cavity at the lowest point and place in it 

 a rubber tube and leave it there as long as pus runs out. If a rubber 

 tube is not inserted it will heal up on the outside and pus will have no 

 outlet and the work will not be successful. 



