caring for wounded horses

[writerrae]

I am writing a children's historical fiction book and am looking for information on how a musket ball wound would have been treated for a horse. The horse was a real horse (one of Sherman's) and survived, but I'd like some details. Thanks.

[samgrant]

What can you tell us about that incident? (Sherman's horse)

[johan_steele]

Vetrinary medice was in some ways more advanced than human. But by far the most common treatment for a wounded horse was a quick shot from a pistol. A good look at period vetrinary medicine is to take a look at the US Army regs all the up to 1939. There are instructions on how to provide proper field medicine as well as when to put a horse down.

I've seen an original Cav manual of WW1 vintage. That might be an avenue of reseerch worth pursuing.

[ole]

A ball in a major muscle with nothing important broken was not considered worth more than a rest. Serious injuries, if the rider survived, were more often solved with another ball in the head. Now. If it were Sherman's horse, there may well have been extra care, but then, as now, the primary concern was the suffering of the animal. It took a real butthead to let an animal linger and suffer. We now have the wherewithal to save a severely injured beast. Unless its stud fee goes into 6 digits, it's not worth putting the animal through it. It doesn't understand that you're trying to prolong its life, it's only aware of its suffering.
Ole

[larry_cockerham]

Originally Posted by johan_steele

But by far the most common treatment for a wounded horse was a quick shot from a pistol.

I'm afraid Shane is right on target with this one. My great great grandfather James Patterson Cockerham was a farrier with the 10th TN US Cav. In his brief writings he spoke often of shoeing horses and doing the company's blacksmithing, but never of care for the wounded. The armies were on the move and often giving up territory to the opposition or just leaving the animals behind.

Vet bills were not an option. In Nashville, the concentration of medical efforts seemed to be on syphillis, not horses.

[blue_zouave]

Having grown up in the country, I've seen a lot of wounds/injuries to horses that I thought were horrible, but the owners shrugged, slapped on some Bag Balm, and put the horse to pasture for awhile. So probably a "flesh wound" caused by a musket ball would be washed, anointed with some kind of ointment (to keep off flies as well as to encourage healing) and the horse given a rest. Horse would come through fine, only sporting a scar.

I have heard old-timers say that horses don't feel pain, and as long as they are standing, there is hope for recovery.

Horses were an investment even for the Army, and would be salvaged if possible. Slightly wounded horses not fit for duty would be taken to remount stations and nursed back to health. Those still not fit for duty would be sold to the public... a horse not healthy enough for the army might serve to pull a wagon or a light plow.

A few years ago I attended the Society of Civil War Surgeons conference, and heard a lecture on CW veterinary medicine. The speaker only touched on wounds and concentrated more on the diseases. So I know about glanders and founder and roars more than horsey wounds!

Zou

PS Rae, I'm a writer, too, working on a CW novel. It's been slow going but I think I finally have a handle on it. Not yet ready for market!

[whitworth]

After a battle there was hardly enough surgeons to take care of the human wounded, to even think of caring for the horses, in any systematic way.
Over a million horses/mules died in the Civil War, due to wounds, malnutrition, disease and overwork.
Considering all the horses, the Army of Northern Virginia took to Pennsylvania and Gettysburg, the supplement of PA horses, the losses for the Confederates was staggering.
General Lee wrote to Jefferson Davis, just three weeks after Gettysburg, "...we are in great need of horseshoes having been unable to procure none on our expedition, and our constant motion prevented their manufacture from iron that fell into our possession, more than half the cavalry is dismounted, and the artillery horses and wagon teams have suffered equally.