The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1894-10-25
Popular Fallacies.

The following suggestions were read
before the annual meeting Of Ohio Draft
and Coach Horse Breeders Association,
by DR.. s. r, Howard, of this place.
Heaves is one OF the most common
diseases the horse is subject to. 1t is
analogous to asthma in the human, and
some OF you, no doubt, know that the
treatment of asthma is one of the bug
bears OF the medical profession.
The reason heaves is counted an in.
curable disease, is that in very near all
cases the structure OF the lung tissue is
altered, and the air cells are more or
less permanently dilated and ruptured.
By proper feeding and certain treatment,
an animal, if not very bad, can be rem
dered comparatively useful, but cannot
often be permanently benefited.
Nevertheless, agricultural literature is
teeming with positive cures and spe-
cifics for heaves. Large sums of money
are often offered as forfeits if no cure is
effected Here is the fallacy OF all such
forfeits. If you should be 80 persuaded
as to buy the remedy and try it awhile
and without favorable results, and then
you should be 80 foolish as to claim the
forfeit, this will be their answer every
time: "Yours is very bad case, and
you must try our remedy longer" or
words to that effect. You see no time
is set in which to relinquished the for.
felt.
l doubt very much if any of us ever
knew of person receiving money from
patent medicine company for having
an incurable disease; and what is more.
we never will, verify believe. l sci.
dom 90 to see sick horse in the coun.
try but that some one does not ask me
this question: doctor, do you thin k
he has the bots?" A great many peo.
pie think the bot is injurious. Bots do
not in the least cause any pain or suffer
ing to the horse.
The female bot fly deposits her eggs
upon the hair of the horse about the
breast and foreleg. In several days
these eggs become ripe then the slight
est warmth and moisture brings forth
the latent larvae. You can even hatch
them in your hand by blowing your
breath upon them. A small worm thus
makes it's appearance. You can readily
see how easily then the bot gains access
to the stomach. The horse licks him.
self; the bot thus being Matched, and
on the tongue or lips of the horse, you see
it is easy for the bot then to pass to the
stomach with food or drink, where he
attaches himself to the insensible walls
of the stomach and lives there by alb.
sorption year. He is then grown; he
lets 90 his hold, passes out, bursts open
and emerges as the bot fly. In short,
this is his round of existence. His life
in the horse is merely passive, and does
no harm unless he should become so
numerous that he might obstruct the
passage of food. This last is very, very
rare.
No matter what disease horse dies
of, the stomach often partially digests
quickly and then ruptures. Now, some
men in opening such cases and finding
the stomach ruptured and bots in the
abdominal cavity, look no further for
the cause of death, but jump at the con-
clusion "Bots have eaten through the
stomach"
There are few horses that do not have
bots in considerable numbers. l have
seen almost quart of them in large
horses stomach, and he had never
shown any ill effects from them.
fit is justifable to kill animals for
food, it is justifable to use such means
as will enhance their docility and food.
value, even at the cost of temporary
pain. refer to dehorning and such
like. Although these operations are
cruel, they are necessary. There ls q
great amount of mawkish sentimental
sympathy at times displayed by some
people for their animals. In such ideas
there is no common sense, and they
often lead to very extravagant express
sions. AS for myself, always resent
wanton cruelty wherever l meet it, and
I Weld to no one in my friendliness to
animals. The pain that accompanies
severe operations is often lessened by
the administration of chloroform and
the like. This, veterinary surgeons
often do.
The kidneys of the horse are not at
fault half as much in ordinary cases of
sickness as is generally supposed by
horse owners.
A veterinary surgeon scarcely sees one
sick horse in dozen but that the owner
declares the kidneys are at fault. This
really is not often the case.
Lockiaw is terrible disease, also one
horse is very liable to. Some cases
are curable. In this disease the haw,
or washer of the eye, is pushed well
over the eyeball whenever the horse is
startled or has a spasm. This men,
brane or haw is called the "hooks" by
certain wise individuals. Their treat.
ment for this supposed disease is to cut
the washer out of the eye; which they
proceed to do. If the animal survives
the rest of the treatment, which he
usually does not, he goes blind, because
the eye is robbed of its means of clean.
ing itself of dust, etc.
You have noticed, no doubt, that a
horse can travel very well in the face
of binding storm. Well, it is because
he has this washer, an appendage you
have not. The appearance OF this wash
er in lockjaw is only one of the symp.
toms or effects of the disease, therefore,
do not tolerate the operation before
mentioned.
The practice of "worming" dogs may
be unknown to some of you. Neverthe-
less, it is practiced much more than you
would think. 1t consists in removing
one of the cords or tendons of the
tongue, which when released, is said to
| writhe like a worm. Ignorant people
are thus imposed upon by equally igno'