192 



MODERN HORSE MANAGEMENT 



[chap. 



Besides burning the nostrils, some of the liquid 

 is very liable to get inside them. 



The sponge or batton must not be within three 

 inches of the lips or nostrils. The head must be 

 kept a little raised, with the nostrils a little 

 below the level of the head. The pulse must be 

 continually felt at the submaxillary artery. 

 Weakening of the heart must be watched for. 

 Great care must be taken that no dirt gets into 

 the lower eye. The blinkers must be properly 

 fitted ; special ones for this purpose can be had. 



If the horse is on a table, he must be kept 

 there securely fastened while he is coming 

 round. If he is loose in a field or loose box, etc., 

 he should be left quite free to recover slowly. 



748. The fore arm and shoulder muscles may 

 quiver as the horse is recovering from the effects 

 of the anaesthetic. To test if he is recovering 

 properly, draw back the eyelid, and the pupil 

 will contract on exposure to light. The horse 

 must be given water to drink if he wishes it, but 

 food must be withheld for two or three hours 

 afterwards. Then he must be fed on warm 

 mashes for the rest of the day. If there is reten- 

 tion of urine, the catheter must be passed. 



749. When death takes place, it is due to 

 asphyxia, the heart ceasing to heat after the 

 lungs have ceased to work ; hence the patient 

 can often be saved if the chloroform is removed 

 immediately, and artificial respiration resorted to 

 for perhaps several hours. 



Spirits of ammonia or amyl nitrite should be 

 given at the nostrils as an inhalant. One to two 

 grains of strychnine should be injected into 

 the jugular vein. (P. 137.) Normally, of course, 

 such a dose would probably kill the horse. Give 

 also one gallon normal saline solution as an 

 enema. (Normal saline equals one drachm com- 

 mon salt to one pint of water, approximately.) 



If the horse is not given sufficient air, shown 

 by laboured breathing or breathing through the 

 mouth, more air must at once be given, and the 

 chloroform and bag removed. On no account, 

 let me repeat, must the anaesthetising be hurried. 

 The operator must cease to work whenever the 

 ansBsthetic has to be removed or more air has 

 to be suddenly given, in case consciousness 

 should partly return. The heart shock in such 

 cases might be fatal if the operator continued. 

 This, of course, would not occur with an ex- 

 perienced anaesthetist. 



750. Use of Morphine Prior to Chloroforvi. 

 — Some surgeons prefer to use morphine or 

 morphine compounds hypodermically before 

 administering chloroform. Personally, I think 

 there is very little gained ; although a horse may 

 go under more quietly when morphine has been 

 used, he takes longer to come round. It is 

 claimed that morphine lessens the danger of 

 bronchial troubles following anaesthesia. 



Four to eight grains of morphine should be 

 injected hypodermically half an hour before 



the chloroforming is commenced. The horse 

 will be drowsy and will not generally fight the 

 chloroform so much, although I have known 

 cases where the fight was increased. 



Morphine is given hypodermically to dogs, 

 about one-sixth of a grain, previous to anaesthe- 

 tising, to prevent vomiting. 



A mixture of hyoscine, morphine and cactine, 

 called H.M.C. mixture, is made by the Abbott 

 Alkaloidal Company of Chicago, and is sold in 

 small tablets in two sizes, containing 1^ grain 

 morphine hydrobromide and 2^ grains respec- 

 tively. It is better to use this than morphine 

 alone as a preparation for chloroform. For a 

 large draught horse the larger tablet is used, one 

 an hour before and another half an hour before 

 giving the chloroform. Anaesthesia is prolonged 

 and the danger of bronchial pneumonia greatly 

 diminished. H.M.C. can also be used as a local 

 anaesthetic to allay excitement or to correct the 

 ill-effects of other drugs. It is used with good 

 effect on dogs. 



751. Anaesthetising Dogs. — Dogs are not often 

 given chloroform by itself. It is far safer 

 to use morphine or, preferably, H.M.C. A 

 solution is made of the latter by using a 

 tablet containing | grain (for 15 lb. dog), and 

 injected under the skin ; in half an hour a 

 similar injection is given, which for a short 

 minor operation will be sufficient by itself. If, 

 however, a profound anaesthesia (sleep) is re- 

 quired, it is safer to administer ether, and not 

 to use chloroform at all. A dog while under 

 morphine may whine, due to delirium, but it 

 will be insensible to pain. 



With dogs the morphine has a quietening 

 effect while coming out of the anaesthesia, and 

 vomiting will be unlikely. The objection to 

 ether in dogs is its nauseating effect. It must 

 not be used in lung or kidney diseases. 



752. The Animal Aneesthetics Act.—li is to 

 be sincerely hoped that this Bill will success- 

 fully pass the House, as it is one that fills a 

 gap that horsemen have for years tried to fill, 

 and it is also heartily supported by the veterinary 

 profession. It forbids horses, two years of age 

 and over, from being castrated without a total 

 anaesthetic. It forbids neurectomy (removal of 

 a nerve), enucleation of the eyeballs, trephining, 

 radical operation for quittor, line firing, opera- 

 tion for stripping the sole, radical operation for 

 poll evil, and for fistulous withers without a 

 total ansesthetic. 



It omits to provide for ovariotomy without 

 anaesthetics, but I believe this omission is being 

 provided for. It also omits pin-firing, which is 

 often as painful as line firing. 



Local Anaesthetics 



753. Again I repeat how shameful it is that 

 local anfesthetics are seldom used by vets. How 



