The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1874-04-16
Every Man his own Horse Doctor.

There Is scarcely anything connected
with the horse or the opinion Of men
in regard to horses, which can furnish
more amusement Of 4 ridiculous char
acter than the little animal called bolts.
Through the ignorance which pre-
walls concerning its nature and habits,
the horse has been, and is still sub
jectcd TO the most absurd and useless
treatment by those who should be bet
ter vcrsrd ia veterinary science as well
MS by those who ire confessedly igno-
rant.
The bolt has proved TO bc very de-
structivc to the horse. II has taken
many valuable lives, or at least it has
led TO the destruction Of many animals.
Still of itself il is innocent. There is
n custom among horse owners to ac-
cusc the bolt of misdemcanors of which
il is never guilty almost every time
horse is found suffering from any ill.,
ternal pain.
Well marked cases of 'colic, ''infia-
nation of the bowels and ''pnuemo-
MIA" have been pronounced bolts, and
the patieut consequently drenched
with the most horrid mixtures with
the view To forcing them to loosen
their hold aud thereby relieve tie pa
ticnt, as though a bott was like ter
rier dog. holding on 10 the sensitive
INNER coating of the stomach WIN u
grip savage and un.iclding.
Let il be understood that the bolt is
natural To the horse, could not exist
without its development in the horses
stomach. and that portion of the stoIr-
ach which il occupies is entirely dcsti-
tute of nerves. hence has no feeling,
and all the nonsense relative to their
affecting the horse will vanish from
the mud of the owner and he Will di-
rect his attention 10 the true cause OF
the disease, with some hope of Afford
ing relief by the administration of
proper rcmidics.
Ii is a fact established beyond qucs-
tiou that there j. no drug that will
have any effect on the bolt, that would
not Kill a horse almost rs certainly as
a ball from rifle. They will grow fat
ia spirits of turpcntinc. aud the reason
cures are effected in cases called bolts,
is because the horse j. really suffering
from spas mode collie" and the tur-
pcntine j. one of the best remedies for
il, being an aniispa>modic: thus the
patient was cured 10y mistake, and
should the cause have been pneumonia
or inflammation of the bowels. how diff
fcren; would have been ihe result.
Bolt, in no ease can be called a dis
ease. and should never for Il moment
enter into the mind OF the owner when
diagnosing cnrc. We are aware that
old and able surgeons have claimed III
their writings that sometimes bolts
eat through and fall into the cavity
outside of the bowels. but am quite
certain that in every such ease they
IaNt l1uee't wv u aiAN'
il has been rupiurcd by "flatulent col
ic." for the mouth of the b0tt forbids
its eating through ANYTHING, and in
such cases after death dissection has
clearly shown me the destructive eff
fleets of the poisonous and fatal gas.
The "bott fly" or bee" that annoys
4 "A. Ii RI If
and in fall. lays her eggs on the hair
where il grows TO maturity ana Is
taken into the horses mouth while
biting or licking the parts, the tongue
striking the egg which is ready 10
burst at a touch carries away the little
insect which i. swallowed. and naiur-
aly finds its way TO The .jnsen>iblc part
of the stomach. where il is fastened 10
the membrane. Ia feed on the sccrc-
lions which float 10y, The head is pro-
yided with a hook-likc point by which
the bolt holds itself in place. and the
mouth being underneath il takes nour-
ishment without loosening its hold:
thus it lives until spring, when ii loos-
ems itself. passing out OF the bowels
into the manure pile, is there trans
formed ito a fly and makes its appear
ance 10 propagate its species as did its
predecessor. When the bolt loosens
its hold it must pass out through the
bowels, whether fully developed or