The Sauk Centre herald., 1938-06-30

or at noon, leave animal in stable
and call a qualified graduate veter-
marian at once. He will recon-
mend adequate treatment.
Even where animals become sick,
95 percent Of those attacked can be
saved If competent veterinarian
Is called Immediately.
The bulletin continued that musty
or mouldy feeds produces a similar
disease, and that such unfit feeds
should be kept away from horses
and mules.
County Agent Secures Information
With an abundant supply of mos
quitoes in most communities, farm
ers may become alarmed about the
possibilities of equine encephalomy-
elitis or sleeping sickness with their
horses. From several sources the
county agents office at st. Cloud
has gathered information that may
be Of value to horse owners. DR..
C. p. Fitch, chief Of the division
of veterinary medicine, University
Farm, is the author of some Of the
information given out. Likewise
Wayne Dinsmore, secretary Of the
Horse and Mule Association of
America, has contributed a portion
of 1t.
To prevent sleeping sickness
among horses it Is well to keep the
horses off pasture during the mos
quito and fly season and screen the
barns as much as possible. When
working, horses should be provided
with coverings and good insect
repellent should be used. Good re-
pellents can be purchased but one
can be prepared as follows: Mix one
pound of pyrethrum flowers with
one gallon of kerosene and let stand
48 hours. Then thoroughly mix two
parts Of this extract with one part
of water containing 8 to percent
of soft soap. The mixture Is then
ready for spraying. The soft soap
is added to permit better emulsifi-
cation of the kerosene mixture with
the water.
It is we'll to bear in mind that
sleeping sickness is not always TO
ticed as soon as it exists. Often
when it can be noticed some horses
are quite far gone. First Of all when
any Of the horses appear to be alb
normal have them examined. Symp-
toms are many, and all may not
be present at tho same time and
are much more pronounced in some
cases than others. A horse drags
it's toes and has a wobbly gait. It's
temperature is high for 2 or 3 days
after which it falls to normal or
below. Normal Is 80 to 1908 de-
grees. Breathing Is shallow and
the pulse soft and slow. Mucuous
membranes of the eyes and mouth
become yellow. An animal has a
general appearance Of drowsiness,
the head hangs low, the upper and
lower lips droop, and the nose may
appear to be crooked. There may
be a blinking of eyelids and diff
ficulty in swallowing. Saliva may
drool from the mouth. The mus
cles of the abdomen will be rigid.
If any of the above symptoms are
noticed, animals should be put in
the barn Immediately and not work.
ed. A veterinarian should then be
called. Treatment must begin be-
fore the disease has progressed to
a point where the temperature goes
down to normal, which is 2 to 3
days after the onset. If animals
are not treated and are worked,
fatality Is almost certain.
Keep animals that are sick In a
darkened, screened box stall, If pos
sible, and give absolute rest and
quiet. Provide support for him for
a down horse usually means a dead
horse. BY all means, avoid excit-
ing the animal and keep him away
from other animals. Since loss of
water from body tissues causes rap
i'd loss Of weight the first "a hours,
the horse must be given all the
water it will take. Hold the water
up to the level Of the nose; the
horse will not lower his head to
drink. The same applies to feed.
Cold packs can be applied to both
the head and the neck.
There Is no vaccine which may be
as a preventive. Howev-
er, vaccination to be effective, must
be completed at least two weeks be-
fore the appearance OF the disease
in community. Likewise the spe-
cific serum is effective only If ad-
in large doses soon af-
ter symptoms appear. Serum treat
ment is relatively expensive. The
method, according to the