WORKING TEAMS

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 291, 21 November 1936, Page 4 (Supplement)

WORKING TEAMS

It is not always kept in mind by otherwise alert farmers that for the , working team to pull its full weight in continuous land operation the teeth and , food mastication of each draught member must be in as good order as in tho I case of the man who holds the reins. I Both old and young horses require care- : ful watchfulness in this regard, says I the “Australian.” Young draughts are ; often impeded in the thorough disposal I of their feed by imperfect shedding of i their first teeth, while older horses with i teeth grown overlong and sharp experience the same difficulty. The trouble is that horses so affected tend to bolt i their food down without proper crusltI ing a wholesale swallowing whose con- ' sequence is stomach fermentation '■ead- : ing to disorders seriously interrenng with working et-deney. Where balls of i partly chewed food are noticed in the j manger the danger signal is cleqrly ap- ■ parent. The horse indicated should be ' closely watched, and it will be found 'that “quiddling,” or the making of ; one or two rapid attempts to masticate I and then dropping the food from the mouth, is the cause. j The danger to be guarded against I rises from the anatomical fact that the j horse’s stomach is so arranged that ho cannot relieve it by vomiting. Thus the situation so caused is. aggravated by the fact that increasing pressure of hastily swallowed food in the overloaded stomach is liable to result in the opening into the small bowel becoming choked in addition. The completely imprisoned food then ferments, without possibility of relief, and by the exaggerated expansion of its walls the stomach becomes paralyzed and ceases to function. The ultimate consequence of such a state of affairs is all to frequently a rupture, that brings the team member’s career of working usefulness to a wasteful end, with corresponding severe farm loss. Even horses whose teeth are in good order will develop the habit of too rapid swallowing, with imperfect mastication. A method adopted by some farmers to check this propensity is to place a number of fairsized cobble-stones in the manger, to make it difficult for the gobbler to continuously get too many overlarge mouthfuls at a time. The essential requirements in most cases is a thorough examination of teeth condition, with prompt attention to such of them as call for remedy.