FARMING WORLD

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21248, 19 October 1940, Page 20 (Supplement)

FARMING WORLD

Indigestion in Horses

A Waikato farmer, who has been running a few horses on his property, complains that he has had considerable trouble with his horses suffering from chronic indigestion. There are several causes which bring about this complaint, but those usually met with are improper food, an improper system of feeding and watering, imperfect chewing of the food by the animal, owing, perhaps, to bad teeth, or to the habit of bolting his food. The appetite is generally capricious and depraved. There is often acidity of the stomach, which is shown by the animal grinding his teeth, or the liking for licking whitewashed walls, etc. Sometimes there is a cough, known as a stomach cough. The coat is out of order, being hide-bound, lacking its natural gloss and often filled with dandruff. In the stable the horse is inclined to be costive, but a little exercise excites purging. There

might also be mild colicy pains soon after being fed. The animal

has a tucked-up look generally, or the abdomen might seem swollen, as

if distended with gas. In treating this complaint, the first thing to do is to avoid the causes, such as by paying strict attention' to the quality and the quantity of the food given. See to the mouth, and if necessary have the teeth regulated by careful rasping, and perhaps cutting away the sharp points, etc. Mix about two ounces of bicarbonate of soda daily in the feed, and half a cup of best raw linseed oil, mixed with the daily feed, should be found very satisfactory. A lump of rock salt should be always in the manger, and a little pure superphosphate mixed occasionally with the food is also very good. Beyond these simple remedies, medicines are not of very much use, and it is wiser to pay more attention to dieting with good, wholesome food and green meals, such as lucerne, etc., and to see that the teeth are in good order. Rickets in Stock

Rickets is a disease affecting principally young stock, such as foals and yearlings, but it also affects other animals; in fact, probably all animals. In foals and calves the shafts of the metacarpals—the long bone between the knee and fetlock—are the first to give way, the curvatures being from within outwards; thus the knees are thrown outwards. and the toes drawn inwards, pigeon-toed. When the bones of the posterior, or hind extremities, are affected, the toes are turned outwards and the hock inwards, the animal being then what is termed cow-hocked.

The joints and extremities of the bones sometimes become enlarged, hot, and painful, causing extreme lameness. This disease appears to be caused by a deficiency in the food of salts of lime, or of want of sower of assimilating such salts on account of the absence in the food of other constituents which are necessary to healthy digestion. Camiverous animals are liable to rickets if fed on meat without bones, and so are pigs if their feed consists almost entirely of potatoes, which are poor in salts of lime. The disease is less frequently seen in young stock running on soils rich in lime, such as those of chalk and limestone, than on soils poor in lime, like those of gravel, sandstone, granite, etc. Symptoms of Disease The first symptom to be generally \ i noticed is decrease in power of movement from one place to another and fatigue from comparatively slight exertion. There is gradual swelling of the joints, chiefly of the hock, knee, and fetlocks. The animal may knuckle over in front and behind, or Lin hind fetlocks may descend down to the ground. In bad cases the difficulty of moving about gradually increases until the animal is unable to walk or even stand, and dies from starvation and exhaustion. In rickets the bones become so abnormally brittle that they are apt to break with little or no unusual provocation.

If the foal or calf is not already weaned it might be necessary to put it to a healthy foster-mother which has plenty of milk, or, failing that, liberally feed with cow’s milk, to which about a pint of limewater is added daily. Sulphate of iron is also very useful in this trouble, about ten grains of which might be given to a young foal twice a day.

If one wants to get the best results, and the foal is old enough to take a little food in addition to its mother’s milk, it is as well to give both mare and foal a couple or so feeds daily of good, nourishing food, containing best of chaff, a little crushed oats, together with a little lucerne chaff and bran if they will take it. Mix about a cupful of pure

BY “STOCKMAN"

raw Linseed oil daily in the feed, a little in each feed, but discontinue I or lessen the quantity if the droppings become too soft. Castration of Lambs The best method to castrate lambs is ajways an interesting topic of conversation in the Waikato and consequently the following comments of Mr W. Andrew Biggar, of the Rowlett Institute, in a recent issue of the Socttish Journal of Agriculture should be of interest to readers. He compares the effect on the rate of growth of lambs castrated by the knife and by the bloodless castrat : cn method respectively, and shows that the advantage lies with the latter. Practical observations, Mr Biggar says, have differed regarding the relative merits of the two methods of castrating lambs now in use, and even experimental' findings ha ;e not been in total agreement. The view that castration bv the emasculator method was followed by a better rate of growth in the lambs than castration by the “knife” method had so many supporters that it was decided to test the rate of growth subsequent to castration by the two different methods. The knife method is that of severing the top of the scrotum and removing the testicles individually complete with the cord. This method has most certain results—there is no doubt about the lamb being properly and effectively castrated, provided that both testicles are descended, it has the disadvantage of having an open wound that would invite any infection that might be present, and which, if the operation was carried out in a period of warm weather, would attract flies and become subject to their ravages. The more modern method relies on the principle of crushing the sper-

matic cord with a pair of powerful pincers, leaving the testicle to shrivel up and eventually to disappear. The method is bloodless and so does not leave an open wound with its attending disadvantages. On the other hand, it requires a greater degree of care to carry out the operation with certainty. Frequent complaints are made against the method on the ground that many “rigs” are left, but if care is taken there is no need for this to occur. In the last two years Mr Biggar states he has castrated the male lambs out of a flock of over 1000 without leaving a single “rig.” The labour required is the same as that for the knife method, i.e., one man to hold the lamb and another to operate, and if anything, castration by the emasculator method can be carried out quicker than with the knife.

In general Mr Biggar’s conclusions are as follows:

1. Lambs castrated by the emasculator ipethod showed a higher rate of growth throughout the subsequent two to three months than those castrated with the knife. 2. Little difference was noticed in general appearance at the end of the period; the emasculator lot were in as good condition and were perhaps a little bolder than their brothers castrated with the knife. 3. The advantage shown by the emasculator lot was not obtained immediately after the castration. 4. The rate of growth of lambs castrated by the emasculator method three weeks after castration and onwards was approximately the same as that of their uncastrated “rig” twin brothers.