BOG SPAVIN
The bulging outward of the soft tissues of the hock joint is due to the secretion of joint oil or lubricating liquid in abnormal amounts.
BLOODY MILK.
—Sometimes, just after calving, bloody milk is observed. The cause is generally due to a rupture of the small blood vessels in the vicinity of the cells that secrete the milk. It may be due to a tiny accident of some kind or it may be the result of disease, localized in the udder. Bathing the udder with hot water will prove helpful and, until the milk is normal, frequent milkings are desirable. If the condition prevails for any length of time and the cow is not a very good one, it is just as well to fatten her and send her to the butcher.
BLOODY URINE.
—A condition of the urine peculiar to certain diseases like Texas fever in cattle and azoturia in horses. In the latter disease the urine is quite turbid and dark in color, sometimes almost black.
BOG SPAVIN.
—A round, smooth tumor at the front and on the inside of the hock. It is the result of sprains, bruises, or other injuries. When these injuries occur, too much joint oil is secreted, causing a bulging of the ligament. Lameness seldom accompanies a bog spavin. If lameness be present other structures are certain to be affected, and some pain and heat will be noticed, together with a stiffness of the joint.
Treatment consists of applications of cold water to the affected parts and a lotion made of 2 tablespoonfuls of acetate of lead in a quart of water. A blister made of 1 teaspoonful biniodide of mercury and 4 tablespoonfuls of lard rubbed in a little with the fingers and repeated in ten days or two weeks and continued for some months will correct the trouble. Wash the part having received the blister twenty-four hours after application. It is also advisable to tie the horse’s head while the blister is on, so that he cannot bite the part.