DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 465 



is SO severe that sloughing must ensue, we should encourage this by- 

 poultices made of linseed meal, wheat bran, turnips, onions, bread and 

 milk, or hops. Charcoal is to be sprinkled over the surface of the 

 poultice when the wound is bad smelling. After the sl(>igh has fallen 

 off the wound is to be dressed with warm antiseptic washes of carbolic 

 acid, chloride of zinc, permanganate of potash, etc. If granulating 

 (filling up) too fast, use burnt alum or air-slaked lime. Besides this 

 local treatment, we find that the constitutional symptoms of fever and 

 inflammation call for measures to prevent or control them. This is 

 best done by placing the injured animal on soft or green food. A 

 physic of Barbados aloes, 1 ounce, should be given as soon as possible 

 after the accident. Sedatives, such as tincture of aconite root, 15 drops 

 three times a day, or ounce doses of saltpeter every four hours, may also 

 be administered. When the symptoms of fever are abated, and if the 

 discharges from the wound are abundant, the strength of the patient 

 must be supported by good food and tonics. One of the best tonics is 

 as follows: Powdered sulphate of iron, powdered gentian, and pow- 

 dered ginger, of each 4 ounces. Mix thoroughly and give a heaping 

 tablespoonf ul twice a day, on the feed or as a drench. 



PUNCTURED WOUNDS. 



Punctured wounds are produced by the penetration of a sharp or 

 blunt-pointed substance, such as a thorn, fork, nail, etc., and the 

 orifice of these wounds is always small in proportion to their depth. 

 In veterinary practice punctured wounds are much more common than 

 the others. They^ involve the feet most frequently, next the legs, 

 and often the head and face from nails protruding through the stalls 

 and trough. They are not only the most frequent, but they are also 

 the most serious, owing to the difficulty of obtaining thorough disin- 

 fection. Another circumstance rendering them so is the lack of 

 attention that they at first receive. The external wound is so small 

 that but little or no importance is attached to it, yet in a short time 

 swelling, pain, and acute inflammation, often of a serious character, are 

 manifested. 



Considering the most common of the punctured wounds, we must 

 give precedence to those of the feet. Horses worked in cities, about 

 iron works, around building places, etc., are most likely to receive 

 "nails in the feet." The animal treads upon nails, pieces of iron 

 or screws, and forces them into the soles of the feet. If the nail, or 

 whatever it is that has punctured the foot, is fast in some large or 

 heavy body, and is withdrawn as the horse lifts his foot, lameness 

 may last for only a few steps; but unless properly attended to at once 

 he will be found in a day or two to be very lame in the injured mem- 

 ber. If the foreign bod}- remains in the foot, he gradually grows 

 worse from the time of puncture until the cause is discovered and 

 1-1384—03 30 



