340 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



Thrush. 



Bog 



spavin. 



Bone 

 spavin. 



Curb. 



Wind 

 galls. 



Horse 

 sickness. 



Thrush is an inflammation of the fleshy frog vi^hich results in a 

 stinking discharge from the cleft ; it is caused by dirt, wet, and neglect, 

 and is particularly liable to occur in shod animals whose frogs are not on 

 the ground or are cut about, and, when severe, may cause lameness. 

 The cleft of the frog should be thoroughly cleaned, and a dressing of 

 boric powder applied dry will stop the discharge. When severe, 

 the foot should be poulticed or soaked in hot water till thoroughly 

 cleaned before the dressing is applied. Cleanliness, dryness, and frog 

 pressure are the points which demand particular attention. It is largely 

 preventable. 



Bog spavin is a distention of the joint oil bag of the hock at the inner 

 and upper part of the joint ; it rarely causes lameness except in animals 

 which are worked with heavy loads in a hilly country, when it becomes 

 a somewhat frequent cause of trouble. When causing lameness the 

 enlargement will be found tense and hot and sometimes painful to the 

 touch, and may be fomented till the pain disappears, or a cold wet cloth 

 applied till it is cool. 



Bone spavin is the growing together of the small bones at the inner 

 and lower part of the hock, so that they become a solid mass ; the 

 enlargement caused by it may be most easily observed by comparing the 

 hocks one with another, standing outside each foreleg in turn to look 

 at the insides of the hocks, or it may be felt by the hand. When once the 

 bones have grown firmly together it does not often incapacitate animals 

 from working, nor does it always cause lameness ; when it does there 

 is usually a dragging of the toe of the affected limb. 



Curb is a sprain at the back of the hock, about four or five inches 

 below the point, and may be best observed by standing at the side of the 

 animal. It usually causes lameness when first done, and the place is 

 swollen and painful, but subsequently it rarely causes trouble. 



Wind galls are enlargements of the joint oil bags above and at the 

 sides of the fetlocks, where they may be seen as small, round, soft 

 swellings, which are easily compressed and painless. They rarely 

 occasion lameness, and most hard-worked animals have them, but they 

 may become inflamed if the anunal brushes them. 



Horse sickness. — This is a South African disease fatal to horses and 

 mules. The visible onset of the disease is usually very sudden, the 

 animal falls shortly after it is noticed to be ill, quantities of froth are 

 voided from the nose, and death is rapid. Attempts at cure are of no 

 avail. The exact cause of the disease is not yet known, but observation 

 points to the great probability of its being transmitted by mosquitoes 

 which bite during the night only. Preventive measures based on this 



