468 



A gunshot wound, when irreparable injury has not been done, is to 

 be treated the same as punctured wounds, i. e., remove the foreign 

 body if possible, and apply hot fomentations or poultices to the wound 

 until suppuration is fairly established. Antiseptic and disinfectant 

 injections may then be used. Should pus accumulate in the tissues 

 openings must be made at the most depending parts for its escape. 

 Wounds from shotguns if fired close to the animal are serious. They 

 are virtually lacerated and contused wounds. Remove all the shot 

 possible from the wound, and treat as directed for contusions. When 

 small shot strike the horse from a distance they stick in the skin or 

 only go through it. The shot grains must be picked out, but as a 

 rule this "peppering" of the skin amounts to but little. 



Cliajing hij the harness— saddle or collar galls.— ^Vonnds or abra- 

 sions of this description are very commonly met with during the spring 

 plowing, particularly in "new ground," or from ill-fitting saddles or 

 collars at any time of the year. Collars too large or too small are 

 equally productive of this trouble. In the spring of the year, when 

 the horse has been unused to steady work for some months, the skin 

 is tender and easily abraded. The horse, from being wintered on a 

 scanty allowance of grain, is soft, sweats easily, and if the collar and 

 shoulders are not properly attended to chafing of the skin is almost 

 sure to follow. The harness should be repaired, cleaned, and oiled 

 before using, and the collar in particular should be thoroughly cleansed 

 after every day's use. The shoulders are to be frequently washed with 

 cold water, and afterward bathed with white-oak bark tea, alcohol, or 

 other astringents. Should ill-fitting or badly made harness or saddles 

 gall a horse, they must be refitted at once, or laid aside for other and 

 better ones. 



The treatment of such abrasions is simple and effective if the cause 

 be removed without delay. The parts must be thoroughly bathed in 

 soapy water, allowing the lather to remain on the abraded surface. 

 There are many remedies for harness galls. Among them may be 

 mentioned alcohol, 1 pint, in which are well shaken the whites of two 

 eggs; a solution of nitrate of silver, 10 grains to the ounce of water; 

 sugar of lead or sulphate of zinc, 20 grains to an ounce of water; car- 

 bolic acid, 1 part in 15 parts of glycerine, and so on almost without 

 end. Any simple astringent wash or powder will effect a cure pro- 

 vided the sores are not irritated by friction. If the animal must 

 continue his work the harness must be padded or chambered. 



Burns and scalds.— Wounds from burning or scalding are rare in 

 the domestic animals, but when extensive they prove very trouble- 

 some and are often fatal. According to the severity of the burn we 

 find the skin simply reddened, vesicles (blisters) may be produced, or 

 the part may be literally roasted or boiled, causing complete destruc- 

 tion of the tissues and sloughing. When a large surface of the skin 

 is burned or scalded the animal (if he does not die at once from shock) 



