630 ADMINISTEATION OF MEDICINES. 



a little longer than the tube. The stick should be flat at one end, 

 and should be provided at the other end with a transverse piece of 

 wood or other substance which will prevent this end from being 

 pushed through the tube. Having withdrawn the guarded end 

 of the stick two or three inches out of the tube, we insert the ball 

 into the other end, which we put into the horse's mouth, and push 

 the ball forward hj the thumb, from the guarded end. 



b. As a drench. 



The usual way to give a drench is as follows : Raise the horse's 

 head so that the line of his lower jaw is horizontal, or inclined 

 slightly upwards. If he be quiet, an assistant on the near side 

 should hold his head up with his hands ; but if he be fractious, 

 his head can be kept in position by means of a loop or cord of suffi- 

 cient length passed under his upper jaw, and restint^ on the palate 

 at the space which is bare of teeth (the interdental space). It is 

 convenient to run one of the prongs of a stable fork through the 

 upper end of the loop, and to give the handle to an assistant to 

 hold ; though it is better to have a staff with a loop of cord passed 

 through it at one end, made for the purpose, than to employ a 

 sharp-]3ointed instrument near the animal at a moment when he 

 may be apt to struggle. 



The person who gives the drench should stand on the of! side, 

 and should introduce the bottle, or other vessel which holds the 

 medicine, into the mouth just in front of the grinders, at the space 

 which is bare of teeth, and should direct it well back. Only a little 

 at a time should be given, say, one or two wine-glasses full, and 

 ample time should be allowed the horse to swallow the fluid. If he 

 makes the slightest effort to cough, his head should be instantly 

 lowered, so that the fluid may not go the "wrong way." His 

 tongue should on no account be drawn out of his mouth and held, 

 and his nostrils should not be grasped with the hand ; for a sudden 

 gasp for breath might carry the fluid into the windpipe, and con- 

 sequently set up inflammation of the lungs. 



The mouth of the drenching vessel should be broad^ so that the 

 fluid may readily escape. An ordinary glass bottle is bad ; as its 

 neck is narrow, and it is apt to break and hurt the mouth, unless 

 it be covered with leather. A wide and smooth mouthed block-tin 

 vessel, containing about a pint and a half, fulfills its purpose. 



Even with the greatest care, the foregoing method of drench- 

 ing is sometimes attended with disastrous results, on accoimt 

 of the liquid going the wrong way, because the head is held 

 in an abnormally high and extended position. 



A French way of drenching is as follows : — Put the drench 

 into a syringe, close the animars mouth by means of a nose- 

 band, place the pipe of the syringe between the bars of the 



