RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN AND HORSES 



casts, but it is more likely there was a mistake in 

 diagnosis than that a cure was actually obtained. 



Cysts. When an injury has been sustained and 

 swelling follows, which continues to increase for three 

 or even four days, we may reasonably conclude there 

 is a cyst present which should be opened, and at its 

 most pendent part, as there is always in such cases 

 some risk of blood poisoning. 



Major Injury. There is no time when a horse in 

 use is not more or less liable to deep cuts or tears, 

 followed by hemorrhage, either extreme or mild in 

 character, and there is nothing that will so quickly 

 cause a person to lose his presence of mind as the 

 sight of a little blood. 



It should be borne in mind, however, that a horse 

 in good condition can lose a large quantity of blood 

 without suffering any serious inconvenience, and in 

 most cases ample time will be afforded for the driver 

 to take a look around, get his wits together, and 

 apply the proper means to arrest the flow. If the 

 wound should prove to be a gaping one, and about 

 the legs, all extraneous matter should be removed, 

 the opening cleansed, the cut or torn edges of the 

 skin brought evenly together, the part covered with 

 a thick pad of oakum, cotton, or wool ; or when these 

 are not readily obtainable several folds of some thin 

 material, a handkerchief for instance, will do, and 

 then a bandage applied around the parts and drawn 

 just tight enough to arrest the hemorrhage, but not 

 the circulation. This bandage in nearly all cases can 

 be removed in twenty-four hours, as the blood clots, 

 and will by this time have assumed sufficient density 

 to prevent further trouble. The wound should then 

 be cleansed and sutures applied in such a way as to 

 hold the severed edges together. The layman as a 



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