RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN AND HORSES 



medium. When the opening has been made, and the 

 blood ceases to flow, a little of the oil of turpentine 

 should be introduced, and a poultice of flaxseed meal 

 applied when the case may be considered in a con- 

 dition to await the veterinarian's coming. 



There is perhaps no ailment that gives rise to more 

 apprehension and causes more excitement than an 

 attack of blind-staggers, sometimes called " me- 

 grims," and there is no ailment where a remedy is 

 more eagerly sought after, when, in fact, none is re- 

 quired. A favorite, but useless, practice is to plunge 

 a knife blade into the hard palate of the mouth, with 

 a recklessness that often causes serious hemorrhage, 

 and especially so when the palatal artery has been 

 severed. That this procedure is unnecessary is 

 shown by the fact that the violence of the attack has 

 begun to subside before the victim can be gotten quiet 

 enough to permit the treatment. When the attack is 

 first observed coming on, if there is sufficient time 

 allowed, the animal should be taken from the wagon, 

 the harness removed and then kept in as quiet a posi- 

 tion as possible. No horse ever died from this 

 trouble. It is always well to have a veterinarian see 

 a horse that has passed through one of these ordeals, 

 and he may be able to detect and remove the cause. 

 When the attack is of such a character that the victim 

 merely trembles, partially loses consciousness, falls 

 and quickly regains its feet, and then passes off in 

 a few moments, such a case in itself need not be 

 viewed seriously, but one can never tell when it 

 may assume a more violent form and the animal 

 start to run. Such an animal cannot be controlled, 

 and is almost sure, sooner or later, to get itself, or 

 the owner, into trouble, and the proper procedure is 

 to dispose of the horse at once. 



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