131 



CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



KIG. r,l. — HEAD OF STEER SHOWING RE 

 SULT OF PROPER DEHORNING. 



around the muzzle may be omitted and the last lap of the rope carried 

 around the stanchion rail to the front and to the hands of the assistant. 

 The rope should pass each time over the neck of the animal to the stan- 

 chion rail so that the laps are be- 

 tween the horns, in order that the 

 rope may not interfere with the 

 work of the saw. 



II. Treatment After Dehorning. 



It is not usual to apply any 

 preparation after the operation of 

 dehorning to prevent bleeding, as 

 the loss of blood is not sufficient, 

 as a rule, to be of consequence. 

 Care should be taken, however, to 

 prevent substances from getting 

 into the openings left after the 

 horns are removed. The horn 

 cores are elongations of the 

 frontal bones of the skull, and are 

 hollow. They communicate ^\'ith 

 the frontal sinuses, or air spaces, 

 of the head ; therefore foreign substances which would act as an irritant in 

 these cavities are apt to set up an inflammation, resulting in the formation 

 of pus or an abscess, which may prove quite serious. Fragments of horn 

 detached in the process of dehorn- 

 ing would serve as such irritant 

 and by their presence in these 

 cavities cause inflammation. This 

 trouble, though, is of infrequent 

 occurrence, but would appear 

 more liable to happen when the 

 dehorning instruments are used, 

 on account of their 'tendency to 

 crush, especially in the case of old 

 animals, whereas the saw cuts 

 clean. If proper care is taken, 

 however, such an occurrence fol- 

 lowing dehorning may in almost 

 every instance be avoided. 



Occasionally animals after be- 

 ing dehorned and turned out of 



the stable will rub their heads against a dirt or gravel bank or the rough 

 bark of a tree, and foreign material may thus get into the cavities, though 

 usually the soreness of the parts is sufficient to prevent this. 



5 2. — HEAD OF STEER SHOWING BAD 

 APPEARANCE CAUSED BY IM- 

 PROPER DEHORNING. 



