Читать книгу Special Report on Diseases of the Horse - Charles B. Michener - Страница 73

The causes of many of the diseases of these organs may be given under a common head, because even a simple cold, if neglected or badly treated, may run into the most complicated lung disease and terminate fatally. In the spring and fall, when the animals are changing their coats, there is a marked predisposition to contract disease, and consequently at those periods care should be taken to prevent other exciting causes.

Badly ventilated stables are a frequent source of disease. It is a mistake to think that country stables necessarily have purer air than city stables. Stables on some farms are so faultily constructed that it is almost impossible for the foul air to gain an exit. All stables should have a sufficient supply of pure air, and be so arranged that strong drafts can not blow directly on the animals. In ventilating a stable, it is best to arrange to remove air from near the floor and admit it through numerous small openings near the ceiling. The reason for this is that the coldest and most impure air in the stable is near the floor, while that which is warmest and purest, and therefore can least be spared, is near the top of the room. In summer, top exits and cross currents should be provided to remove excessive heat. Hot stables are almost always poorly ventilated, and the hot stable is a cause of disease on account of the extreme change of temperature that a horse is liable to when taken out, and extreme changes of temperature are to be avoided as certain causes of disease.

A cold, close stable is invariably damp, and is to be avoided as much as the hot, close, and foul one. Horses changed from a cold to a warm stable are more liable to contract cold than when changed from a warm to a cold one. Pure air is more essential than warmth, and this fact should be especially remembered when the stable is made close and foul to gain the warmth. It is more economical to keep the horse warm with blankets than to prevent the ingress of pure air in order to make the stable warm.

Stables should be well drained and kept clean. Some farmers allow large quantities of manure to accumulate in the stable. This is a pernicious practice, as the decomposing organic matter evolves gases that are predisposing or exciting causes of disease. When a horse is overheated, it is not safe to allow him to dry by evaporation; rubbing him dry and gradually cooling him out is the wisest treatment. When a horse is hot—covered with sweat—it is dangerous to allow him to stand in a draft; it is the best plan to walk him until his temperature moderates. In such cases a light blanket thrown over the animal may prevent a cold. Overwork or overexertion often causes the greater number of fatal cases of congestion of the lungs. Avoid prolonged or fast work when the horse is out of condition or unaccustomed to it. Animals that have been working in cold rains should be dried and cooled out and not left to dry by evaporation. When the temperature of the weather is at the extreme, either of heat or cold, diseases of the organs of respiration are most frequent.

It is not to be supposed that farmers can give their horses the particular attention given to valuable racing and pleasure horses, but they can most assuredly give them common-sense care, and this may often save the life of a valuable animal. If the owner properly considers his interests, he will study the welfare of his horses so that he may be able to instruct the servant in details of stable management.