46 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



out in such manner as to support the lower lip. Should the. dose 

 be large, the horse ugly, or the attendant unable to support the head 

 as directed above, the head is then to be held up by running the tines 

 of a long-handled wooden fork under the noseband of the halter or 

 the halter strap or a rope may be fastened to the noseband and 

 thrown over a limb, beam, or through a pulley suspended from the 

 ceiling. Another way of supporting the head is to place a loop in the 

 end of a rope, and introduce this loop into the mouth just behind the 

 upper front teeth or tusks of the upper jaw, the free end to be run 

 through a pulley, as before described, and held by an assistant. It 

 is never to be fastened, as the horse might in that case do himself 

 serious injury. The head is to be elevated just enough to prevent the 

 horse from throwing the liquid out of his mouth. The line of the 

 face should be horizontal, or only the least bit higher. If the head 

 is drawn too high the animal can not swallow with ease or even with 

 safety. (If this is doubted, just fill your mouth with water, throw 

 back the head as far as possible, and then try to swallow.) The per- 

 son giving the drench should stand on some object in order to reach 

 the horse's mouth — on a level, or a little above it. The bottle or horn 

 is then to be introduced at the side of thei mouth, in front of the 

 molar teeth, in an upward direction. This will cause the horse to 

 open his mouth, when the base of the bottle is to' be elevated, and 

 about 4 ounces of the liquid allowed to escape on the tongue as far 

 back as possible, care being taken not to get the neck of the bottle 

 between the back teeth. The bottle is to be immediately removed, 

 and if the horse does not swallow this can be encouraged by rubbing 

 the fingers or neck of the bottle against the roof of the mouth, occa- 

 sionally removing them. As soon as this is swallowed repeat the 

 operation until he has taken all the drench. If coughing occurs, or 

 if, by any mishap, the bottle should be crushed in the mouth, lower 

 the head immediately. 



Do not rub, pinch, or pound the throat nor draw out the tongue 

 when giving a drench. These processes in no way aid the horse to 

 swallow and oftener do harm than good. In drenching, swallowing 

 may be hastened by pouring into the nose of the horse, while the head 

 is high, a few teaspoonf uls of clean water, but drenches must never he 

 given through the nose. Large quantities of medicine given by pour- 

 ing into the nose are liable to strangle the animal, or, if the medicine 

 is irritating, it sets up an inflammation of the nose, fauces, windpipe, 

 and sometimes the lungs. 



Bt the air passages. — Medicines are administered to the lungs and 

 upper air passages by insufflation, inhalation, injection, and nasal 

 douche. 



Insufflation consists in blowing an impalpable powder directly into 

 the nose. It is but rarely resorted to. 



