The first and most important thing in the treatment of sprains is rest, as sprains are a long time in making a complete recovery. In the early stages, that is, before swelling has taken place, applications of cold water should be used, applications of hot water, or hot packs of water, 1,000 parts, and bichloride of mercury 1 part, are very good. This will relieve the pain and reduce the swelling. Applications of liniments are also very good. Should there be great heat and soreness in the part, it is well to use cold applications. Never blister in the early stages. A blister may be used after the swelling has gone down, and the part has become cold, from two to four weeks after the injury occurred. This should be followed by rest for some time after all lameness has disappeared.
STAGGERS.
—Staggers in horses is an affection of the brain showing itself usually in one of two forms—sleepy or stomach staggers and blind or mad staggers. In the first form the stomach is at fault. Sudden change of feed, moldy or dirty food heavy work or fast driving right after a heavy meal or severe exposure is liable to cause indigestion in the stomach and this is reflected to the brain, causing the animal to act dull or sleepy, sometimes showing symptoms of serious colic, with gas forming from the fermentation of the food, frequently resulting in death.
Blind or mad staggers is an inflammation of the brain and may affect any of the lower animals. In the beginning of this form the symptoms closely resemble those in the stomach form, but as the inflammation progresses the animal becomes blind and violent and may roll, paw, kick, wander around in a circle, usually going only one way, either to the left or right, or it may walk or run in a straight line as near as possible for hours at a time—paying no attention to injuries received in its travels. In either case the animal may be drenched once daily with a quart of raw linseed oil or a pound of Glauber salts, dissolved in water, which sometimes gives relief.
Staggers in Sheep
is mostly caused by the young stage of a tapeworm which infests sheep dogs. The dog eats the infected brain of the sheep and the sheep eats the egg of the tapeworm after it has passed through the dog. After the egg hatches in the stomach of the sheep the young worm passes through the bowels and other organs or tissues or circulates through the blood and reaches the brain, where it develops and causes an inflammation, resulting in disease. It is most common in young animals, rarely occurring in sheep after their second year.
Prevention is about the only practical way of handling this trouble. The grounds should be thoroughly drained, allowing the animals only pure, fresh water to drink. It may be necessary to change pastures for a year or two. The brains of all sheep killed and the heads of all dying with the disease should be burned.
STOMACH AND INTESTINAL WORMS IN SHEEP.
—If a box of salt is kept covered in some place frequented by the sheep, to which they are allowed to help themselves, and if said salt is saturated with spirits of turpentine in proportions of a gill to every four quarts of salt, it will wonderfully help to keep the worms from multiplying. It is well, also, to have another box of larger size, where sheep can help themselves at will, filled with tobacco stems. These stems should be cut up in inch lengths and from time to time a quantity of wheat bran should be put on top of the stems. When this is done the sheep soon instinctively learn to use tobacco, and no young intestinal worm or stomach worm, except the tapeworm, can stand the diet. This will not kill mature worms. It will only prevent the worm family multiplying to the extent of injuring the health of sheep.
