SORE SHOULDERS AND BACKS IN HORSES.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 6, Issue 346, 8 April 1884, Page 5

SORE SHOULDERS AND BACKS IN HORSES.

r' :'j§ope i shoulders and backs often bave ; their '[ origin' in a number of pimples, \- commonly known as warbles; the , Tj^ifcliieirs, ajnd particularly the root of being 1 frequently affected in the same T^y* ; ne eru P^ 011 s technically tn^Wa a& ache, and begins as an eleiygjfioTtf"of > variable size, the summit of ;WHw?h^ '-.''■suppurates, and remains for :"wvMrkl dvijrs.asa pustule with an in- ' \durated baa©; leaving a svy.elling which %#iy dißapP^ ar8 ' ? he disease is vep y ijreralent in th& spring, sometimes af--7 leciing' the tail as; weU as the main and :*,j&^£^ l-JWhen situa^d in parts liable *^offe©H n a? e 4 b y M l 3 arness » as the >>BKbildeipSi;neclc : ani back, those pus-'■s*-'&&;ty&''>'"T#X.' troublesome, often £-sti>n^e^^feiecessary to throw the until they are quite Hariessi lined with thick coarse I^S^olfeiv^pM^ $?^ cause of this as %^W i! oiie^ ; Bki^idiseasfia| and all Wsao^s^i& % -' Hned wifch l^ ht &jmO^sßa^r.j7". ; . .. .-. ■:,.

hard and suppurate slowly, poultices nicely applied are very useful \ but when inapplicable, fomentations are to be employed, and the parts dressed with zinc or lead lotion. The general treatment is to be directed to the removal of all constitutional cause of derangement, and this is best effected by a dose of purgative medicine, followed by alterative medicine. The following powders will be found beneficial, viz., Sulphate of Magnesia, six / ■ ounces; sulphur, four ounces; powdered i I ginger, two ounces ; and powdered | carraway seeds, two ounces. A table- | spoonful to be given in a damped feed . once or twice a day. i If the tumors become indolent, the application of iodine or iodide of mercury ointment will prove beneficial. Occasionally, the pressure of the ha""!' ess. upon these elevations produces a circumscribed form of grangrene of of the skin, surrounded by a red circle of inflammatory congestion and suppuration. After a time the gangenous skin assumes a hard, horny, or leathery appearance, adheres firmly to the subcutaneous tissue, is surrounded by an I angry-looking supparating wound, and ! from the difficulty experienced in its 1 removal, the white gangeanous patch has been called a " sitfast " These si tfasts are also seen to arise independently of any previous pimple, | and are caused by the pressure of badl} rfitting harness The centre of the sitfast seems to retain some portion of its vitality, and from ita connection with the more perfectly living tissue being to a degree retained, it is not thrown off spontaneously as in the case of a more complete gangrenous patch. The circumference of the patch dries, shrivels up and irritates the surrounding living tissues, which suppurate more or less Removal of the leathery patch by carefully dissecting it out is the only expeditious method of treatment, the wound so made to be afterwards treated in the usual way. Some writers recommend blisters and caustics, but they are quite inapplicable, and the only circumstance that admits of the use of caustic is where a thin pellicle of diseased tissue has not been removed with the knife. In such a case nitrate of silver is the best remedy. — ' Federal Australian.'