One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered Part 69

How can warts be removed from a horse's hide?

We use sulphuric acid. The results were favorable from the very start.

The warts rapidly shrunk away and finally disappeared entirely. The acid is applied to the crown of the wart with a small swab or similar instrument, and only in sufficient quant.i.ties to wet the crown surface of the wart. It should be applied about three times a week until the wart is well reduced. Don't use too much acid, and don't keep up the application too long - A. F. Etter.

Kidney Trouble in Horse.

What is the remedy for a horse that stops often to urinate while working?

The horse is affected by an irritation of the kidneys. Give 1 quart of flaxseed tea daily, change the food and give 1 drachm of C. P.

hydro-chloric acid in one bucket of drinking water.

Castration of Colt.

Which is the correct and best way to castrate a yearling colt, with an emasculator or a blade, and when is the proper time?

An emasculator is the only instrument to use in castrating. The object in using any instrument is to prevent a hemorrhage, and nothing works with so much certainty and quickness. The A. Hausman and Dunn emasculator is recommended. The proper time is when the weather is mild, the gra.s.s at its best and the colt in good condition.

For a Chronic Cough.

We have a mare seven years old that is troubled with a chronic cough, and at times shows symptoms of heaves, and also has occasionally a white foamy discharge from the nostrils. She is a greedy eater and drinker and her excreta is often very offensive.

If she expels flatus when she coughs, this would indicate a predisposition to heaves. Wet all food, as dry or dusty food aggravates the cough. Give the following: Spirits camphor, 4 ounces; Fl. Ext.

belladonna, 2 ounces; neutral oil, 8 ounces; oil eucalyptus, 2 ounces.

Mix and give tablespoonful three times daily.

Chronic Indigestion.

I have a mare eleven years old. Give her plenty of oats, hay, grain and a little alfalfa hay three nights per week and leave salt where she can get at it, but she is falling off and her hair does not lie down properly. She eats well and her system seems to be in good condition.

Have had her teeth attended to so she chews her food well.

This condition is caused by the animal not being able to properly masticate the food. Have your dentist examine the mouth again, or you can carefully examine the feces and see if it shows whole grain, or long pieces of hay.

For Short-Wind or Heaves.

I have a mare that has something wrong with her wind. About six months ago I noticed her wind was not good and she had a slight cough, and about a week later, while working her, she seemed to choke down and almost died before she got her wind, and since then she sometimes takes those spells should she trot off briskly for a short distance.

Give two 3/2-ounce doses of Fowler's solution a.r.s.enic daily. Dusty or musty hay will aggravate the symptoms. Thoroughly shake out the dust and wet the hay. Feed hay only at night. Give the animal as little feed and water as possible before being put to work. Continue this treatment one month if necessary. The following is a case of experience with this treatment: For a remedial agent we began to use Fowler's Solution of a.r.s.enic, in two teaspoonful doses at first. once a day, put in the water with which the hay was moistened. These doses were given for a few days, then skipped for a day, then continued for five or six days again. This treatment has been continued. At times when the trouble was most severe, giving a great spoonful at a dose, twice a day for two days, then stopping for a day or two, always being sure to mix it with the water which the hay is moistened, so that it shall be taken into the stomach very slowly. This course of treatment has served to so relieve the disease that nature has nearly or quite overcome it.

Side-Bone.

I have a 1500-pound 3-year-old colt with small brittle feet that has side bone coming on left front foot caused by driving him barefoot on the road two or three months ago.

A good blister of the following once every six weeks for three times will stop the side-bones from growing. Side-bones on a draft horse are not considered an unsoundness; in light fast drivers it is an incurable blemish causing lameness. Side-bones cannot be removed. Use this blister: Simple cerate, 4 ounces; cantharides, 3 drachms; bin iodide mercury, 2 drachms. Mix thoroughly and apply after clipping hair.

Fungus Poisoning.

One of my mares, every evening after a full day's work harrowing, stands for an hour or so with her head to the ground, shaking it frequently and not touching the feed till the spell was over. She does not seem to be any worse off, and in the morning seems to be in good shape.

This is due to a mold or fungus in the earth or hay. Let them have access to plenty of water during the day. In the morning feed give a handful of sodium hyposulphate.

Treatment for Horse's Feet.

The soles of the fore feet of a fine 4-year-old horse, weight 1350, are rather spongy and grow down faster than the hoof, sometimes causing slight lameness. He is not on soft pasture, but is stabled all the time.

Now have bar shoes on him. What treatment do you recommend?

Use leather, tar and ok.u.m and a dish-shoe.

For a Cleft Hoof.

I have a horse with a cracked hoof. One hind foot has been in a bad condition, the other seems to be beginning to crack. Can anything be done by feeding or otherwise to toughen the hoofs and render them less liable to crack?