MANUAL FOR STABLE SERGEANTS. 69 



211. Shoes. Animals which are likely to remain on sick report 

 for some time should have their shoes removed. 



212. Feeding sick horses. Only the choicest food, and food 

 suitable to the requirements of each case, should be provided. The 

 grain ration must be reduced, and the appetite tempted with daintily 

 prepared food, such as fresh grass, bran mashes, carrots, or steamed 

 oats. Green alfalfa, or cured alfalfa which has been soaked for an 

 hour or two in clean water to which a small quantity of salt has been 

 added, is usually eaten with great relish. 



A lump of rock salt should be kept in the manger at all times. 



Food should be given often and only in such quantities as the 

 patient will readily eat. The feed should be placed within easy 

 reach, and any portion left over should be at once removed and the 

 feed box thoroughly cleaned washed. 



Food that is wet, such as bran mashes or steamed oats, soon sours 

 in warm weather and gets cold or may freeze during the winter. If 

 eaten in this condition it may cause diarrhea or colic. 



Horses suffering from colic should have food withheld for at least 

 12 hours after all pain has disappeared, and then fed only in small 

 quantities during the next 24 hours. 



213. Watering sick horses. A supply of fresh water should be 

 kept constantly within reach and changed at least three times a day 

 or oftener in warm weather. 



214. Grooming sick horses. Horses that are weak and de- 

 pressed should not be worried with unnecessary grooming. Such 

 animals should be carefully hand-rubbed or wisped at least once a 

 day, and their eyes, nostrils, and docks should be wiped out with a 

 sponge or soft cloth. The feet must also be cleaned. 



Animals that are only slightly indisposed should be groomed in 

 the usual way. 

 Animals with tetanus should not be cleaned at all. 



215. Utensils to he kept clean. Buckets, feed boxes, mangers, 

 and all utensils used in or about the sick stall must be kept abso- 

 lutely clean. 



CARE OF THE INJURED. 



216. Seriously injured animals. When an animal is seriously 

 injured and stands with difficulty, it should be placed in slings 

 (p>ar. 243, fig. 37) to partially support the weight of the body. For 

 slinging, a single stall, having a level floor, free from bedding, is 

 more suitable than a large one. 



