140 BLEEDING 



Should it be necessary to bleed for a sudden attack, 

 some relief may be afforded — if circumstances prevent 

 the operation being done properly at the time — by 

 cutting the bars of the palate with a penknife. The 

 bar which should be so cut is that which is precisely in 

 line between the middle and second incisor teeth, and 

 rather more than an inch inside the mouth, the artery 

 and vein there forming a curve. The cut may be 

 made with a sharp penknife, and a copious flow of 

 blood will result. The bleeding will stop when 

 some three quarts of blood have run, when the 

 artery will shrink of its own accord, having been cut 

 across. Should the bleeding, however, not cease, the 

 application of cold water with a sponge will soon 

 stop it. The vein cut is merely a nerve vein, and 

 no injury can result. Care must, however, be taken 

 not to cut too much on one side, otherwise the artery 

 would be wounded longitudinally, and not divided, in 

 which case great danger might ensue, and considerable 

 difficulty be experienced in arresting the bleeding. 



This operation, however, is better performed by a 

 skilled hand, and I have only here described it, inas- 

 much as circumstances might arise in which the assist- 

 ance of a veterinary surgeon might not be available. 



Every horse-owner should know how to ' take ' the 

 pulse of a horse, so as to be able to form an opinion 

 as to whether the animal is sufferinQf from fever or 

 debility. The most convenient place is in the lower 

 jaw, a little way behind where the submaxillary artery 

 and vein and the parotid duct come from under the 

 jaw. In this spot the pulsations are easily counted, 

 and the true character of the pulse obtained. At the 

 side, however, the pulsations can only be counted, and 



