Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1900-01-25
Hsave,GI

HeAves
II cannot understand writes
western farmer, why 1t Is that In tho
last five years four Of my horses have
become badly affected with "heaves,"
so that cannot work them. I have
always fed them all they wanted and
In winter they have had a yard to run
in where there was stack Of clover
hay and another of fax straw so they
could not want for food.''
We fail to see how horses so fed
could escape having "heaves." Yet
comparatively few farmers understand
how the disease is brought on. The
fact of the matter is that coarse fod-
ders are practically always at the bot
tom of the trouble, SO to speak, and
dusty timothy hay is also common
cause. Average farm horses get far
too much hay and cannot possibly de-
rive any benefit from it, for the surplus
amount that cannot be digested be-
comes burden and sets up indiges-
| ton, eventually lesion of the pneu-
| mogastric nerve, and as reflex con-
sequence emphysema of the lungs.
| The disease is incurable when fully
developed, although the severe symp-
toms may be alleviated by common
sense methods of feeding Bear in
mind that no working horse should
have all the hay he can eat three times
a day. Indeed, when working hard ne
should be fed hay but once daily and
/ that rnoo1 hv nroforonao af z
after the oats have been eaten and
largely digested. Should the hay be
dusty it is liable to produce heaves
even when fed but once daily, unless 1t
be we'll shaken up and wetted with
water, or where cases are already pres
ent, with lime water, which is easily
prepared by pouring water upon hot
lime. Where the intestines are con-
tinuOusly distended with undigested
hay they soon lose tone. gas forms,
and the characteristic cough of heaves
with the accompanying passage of ia
tus from the bowels are the next sure
signs of the disease.
1t may be confidently asserted that
"heaves" need never occur if horses
are carefully fed as we have so often
advised in these columns, viz, feeding
nay and fodder in moderation, always
providing old, sound, sweet, dustless
hay always giving drinking water be-
fore feeding, never allowing horses to
eat when hot, fatigued or perspiring,
and feeding oats in preference to corn
during times of hard labor in hot
weather. In addition to these precau-
tions every horse should get bran
mash at least twice week when work.
ing and much oftener when idle with
carrots in winter time, as both of these
foods tend to keep the bowels acting
properly and so ward off attacks of in
digestion.
If the following rules are followed
any horse afflicted with heaves will
in time be fit for light work but will
not entirely recover. Keep in clean,
well-ventilated barn, and make it i'm.
possible for horse to eat bedding. Place
a lump of rock salt il manger. When
! idle feed clean, bright oat straw in
preference to timothy hay. Never feed
clover hay. Wet all food with lime
water Feed grain in small quantities
never using grain under one year old.
Never work horse Immediately after a
meal. Arrange feeding hours so horse
will have at least one hour of rest be-
fore going to work. If there is any
tendency to constipation keep bowels
acting freely by giving sloppy bran
mashes and gradually accustom horse
to taking raw linseed oil in these
mashes. In bad cases where great i'm
provement does not follow above meth
cd of treatment give one-half ounce Of
Fowler's Solution of Arsenic morning
and night, and in one week, if neces-
sary, increase to three doses daily. In
using arsenic in this or any other dis
ease it must, however, be remembered
that horse will "go all to pieces" if
suddenly deprived of it, so that when
it is decided to quit its use it must be
done very gradually by lessening the
dose day by day until the horse can get
along without it. Fluid extract OF
lobelia may also be given in very small
doses along with the arsenic in aggra-
waited cases.
Castrating and Spaying Swine.