My dad, LEE BROOKS, was a very good amateur veterinarian. He doctored all our animals and was often called to help neighbors. Though he didn't have a license, he practiced on many, many cases and was an expert at home remedies and procedures.
When a horse or mule got colic, a very common but dangerous malady, he would drench them with linseed oil followed with doses of Epson salts. The sick animal's head had to be held high in order to administer these medicines although they resisted vigorously. I often was called upon to assist in these situations and would physically overcome the horse with ropes while Dad held the horse's mouth open and pulled the tongue aside to put the needed medicine down the poor animal's throat. Cows, on the other hand, were drenched through the nose.
Although colic can kill an animal, this drenching procedure usually worked. Dad was credited with saving lots of sick livestock.
A horse with bots (larvae in the stomach), he treated with warm chicken entrails that caused the bots to turn loose and respond to flushing with linseed oil.
Sores and cuts were treated with carbolic acid mixed with water. Turpentine was poured onto sore hooves and then lighted, a treatment that, although drastic, was very helpful in preventing permanent lameness. Sometimes he had to bore holes in the hoof to drain infection and relieve pressure.
When a cow or horse got cut up on barbed wire (a common occurrence), he used a long curved needle and sewed up the laceration. Just about the only thing he didn�t even try to treat was a broken leg. When an unfortunate animal had a broken leg, it had to be destroyed.
Dad was called if the delivery of calves and colts were going to be difficult. He would use his hands to turn a fetus for a better birthing position and would sometimes unfold a colt's legs to make it easier to deliver.
Cattle often got a disease we called "hollow horn". A sick cow would get scrawny looking, lose weight, and begin to stagger. If the animal ever fell, they would be unable to get up and death would eventually follow. People came from far and wide to get Dad�s help. His treatment started with boring holes in the cow�s horn into which he poured turpentine. He then split the end of the tail and packed the tail with table salt and bound it tightly. Then, after a bit, he coaxed the animal to its feet. Many, many times this treatment was successful and his reputation spread.
Animals who got into the feed, ate some toxic weed, or got swelled or bloated stomachs were other common occurrences. Many neighbors who otherwise doctored their own animals were too squeamish or uncertain to operate on the suffering animal, so Dad was called. He would feel the rib cage carefully and then insert a butcher knife between two ribs to puncture the stomach and relieve the pressure of gas. Usually the procedure worked immediately and the animal recovered at once. Untreated, this condition killed large numbers of livestock every year.
Dad could tell the age of horses and mules by looking into their mouths. The teeth have rings similar to the rings of a tree and horse traders could read the teeth quiet accurately. Good sound teeth were also essential in both cows and horses. Horses graze by biting down on the grass although cows bite upwards and cut the grass with their lower teeth. They have no upper teeth in the front.
Early Ranchers needed a lot of knowledge, even if it was knowing who to call for HELP ! Thank GOD for the AMATURE VET, and others like him!
