DISEASES IN STOCK

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10710, 14 October 1912, Page 3

DISEASES IN STOCK

LBCTURE BEFORE MASTKRTON FARMERS. BY A GOVERNMENT YETEIUNARIAN. <.-..pU:*i A, R. Young, M.E.0.V.5., W.criTiary Supervisor of the Agricultural Department, addressed a meeting of farmers in the rooms of the A. Mid P. Association at Masterton on Saturday afternoon under the auspies of the Farmers' Union on the subject ■of "Diseases ■■ in Stock." About thirty persons were present, avid the chair was occupied by Mr H. Morrison, President of the A. .and p. Association. LUptiun Young expressed pleasure at .the intention of the farmers of the Wairarapa to improve their position. 01 all the persons that lie knew, the two persons who required the greatest knowledge in the "world wore the former'- and the editor of a newspaper. The speaker expressed the opinion that the time would come when the farmers would have to throw in their let with the Farmers' Union. This Union was the .weakest of all the Unions in the Dominion, and he thought it should be the strongest. 1 Clap tain Young thought that a series ) of lectures should bo arranged for from Government experts in the winter evenings.. The speaker said he had selected horses as the subject of his address that afternoon. Carriage horses, he said, were being knocked f out by the motor cars, but draughts I were .still an important consideration j on the farm. In selecting a horse, the buyer should.be sure he was get- J ting the animal ho . wanted. The ■ first thing to be considered in a horse was the forehead and expression. The ears should also be sharp, and not too sluggish. After the head, the shoulder, legs; knees, back and I quarters should receive attention, particularly in a hack. The muscle of the stifle should also be prominent. ' In buying a horse, a person should look at the mouth to discover the age. Enquiry should then be made for lam- , pas. The speaker deprecated the use of the soaring iron for lampas. He believed in cutting the lampas out. One of the greatest causes of scouring in horses was indigestion produced by defective molars. In draught horses, a common complaint was "slip ' of the .shoulder." This' was caused by the sprain*of a muscle. To a practical man, there was uo difficulty in discovering whether the' bores was lame in the shoulder or the foot. If a horse was moving stiff in the foreleg, . the lameness was in the shoulder. If [ he put his foot down . smartly, the j lameness was below the knee. A par- ( son, horse could bo detected by his I broken knees. A splint below the knee did not produce unsoundness, j but a splint in the vicinity of the knee ' was an indication of unsoundness. The speaker had not known a case of ■ sprained tendons. When the tendons had lumps upon them, it was an indication of recent lameness. The J characteristics of side-bone and ring- ■ bone were then described. To'exam- , ine a horse's hoof, the leg should be \ kept well up. The Veterinary Surgeons, at a recent conference, had j decided that disease of the foot should j be regarded as hereditary unsoundness. An important consideration in j buying a. horse, was to discover that its breathing was correct. In draught < horses, it was a common thing to find J the stifle joint, out. It was a very ' sjmple matter to put the stifle joint back. This could bo done by slinging the animal and moving the-leg. Coming to the bock, they frequently found bone-spavin? To discover bonespavin, which was an indication of f unsoundness, one should examine the hocks. If one hock was larger than the other, it was certain that there was bone-spavin. The speaker referred to the other weaknesses, such as bog-spavin, to be found in the legs otj a horse. Strangles were a sign of i ■hereditary unsoundness, and animals suffering from this complaint should not be admitted to a sale-yard or to a public liverv-stable., Once there was strangles on a farm, there was 1 no knowing when it would be got rid of. The speaker would like to see strangles gazetted an infectious disease. Influenza (was a complaint that could be readily dealt with. It was , important that horses should be well I fed from the time they were bor n un- I til the time, they were broken in. A horse that had received a luck near ' the hock should not be worked for a day or two. Where a horse picked up a nail, it should also be eased from work for a day or two. The speaker I concluded by stating that ho would be pleased to answer questions or describe diseases in other classes of i stock. In answer to a question. Mr Young ■ said it was very rare indeed for a hip joint to bo put out. The stifle joint j went wrong very readily*, but it took a lot of force to put out the hip joint. Answering, further questions, Mr Young said there was no glanders in New Zealand, and was not likely to be, as horses were tested on arrival. There was no known cure for glanders. Ft was unsafe to breed from a maro suffering from string-halt, because in ordinary cases it was hereditary. What .was known as "slip shoulder" was an injury to the tendon. By pulling the leg forward and r pushing it back, the injury could ho repaired. A hearty vote of thanks was acf corded Captain Young for his address.