Disease of the Intestines 



221 



coats of the intestines — the external layer 

 (the reflexion of the lining of the belly) and 

 the internal layer, and, between those, a layer 

 of muscular tissue, like that by which we 

 are enabled to move our limbs. Anything 

 that gave rise to spasmodic action of that 

 muscular tissue would give rise to an attack 

 of colic or spasm of the bowel. Under 

 different circumstances the malady passes 

 under different names ; hence you will hear 

 of windy colic or griping colic, or, in tech- 

 nical language, "flatulent" and "spasmodic" 

 colic. In the spasmodic case the intestines 

 become smaller than ordinary, and in flatulent 

 colic they are distended by the presence of 

 gaseous material. Spasmodic colic gives 

 rise to the same sort of pain as when a man 

 is seized with cramp in the calf. While the 

 bowels are affected in that way, the pain 

 will often disappear in one place, and 

 gradually make its appearance in another 

 place. Flatulent colic differs in this respect, 

 that instead of the empty bowel being con- 

 stricted, and the calibre of it becoming 

 smaller, it is distended by gaseous material, 

 resulting from decomposition of the contents. 

 What were the symptoms of colic ? It may 

 be the horse is well and absolutely at Avork 

 when his driver suddenly becomes aware of 

 his being a little dull, and in a few minutes 

 he suddenly stops in the road, and will throw 

 himself down before the driver can get to 

 him. Supposing he is taken out of harness 

 and put into the stable, the probability is he 

 will throw himself down and roll about, and 

 strike at his belly, and give every evidence 

 of active pain in the belly. If we take the 

 pulse at that time, we shall find thar, in- 

 stead of being from 32 to 36, which is the 

 normal pulse, it has risen to 80 or even 100 

 beats a minute, but between the attacks it 

 returns to its normal standard. That symp- 

 tom is diagnostic of the disease, because in 

 other diseases of the bowels we get no varia- 

 tion in the pulse. In cases of inflammation 

 or strangulation of the bowels, the mucous 

 membrane is congested, and the animal is 

 colder instead of warmer. In flatulent colic, 

 when the stomach is distended by gaseous 

 material, instead of having that violent pain, 



and the animal throwing itself about, and the 

 marked^periods of time between the attacks, 

 we find the animal exhibits a mere dull pain, 

 looking round at the sides, kicking at the 

 belly, attempting to lie down, and so on, but 

 not to the same extent as in spasmodic colic. 

 Another marked symptom between the two 

 kinds of colic is that in one (the spasmodic) 

 the abdomen presents its usual size, while in 

 the other the flanks are considerably ex- 

 tended. 



CAUSES OF COLIC. 



Now what are the causes that give rise to 

 these maladies? By knowing the causes and 

 avoiding them, we can avoid the disease it- 

 self, which, though not fatal, is to be dreaded 

 because it gives rise to others that are fatal. 

 Exposure to cold is a cause of colic. An 

 animal driven for miles at a pace that makes 

 him heated, is pulled up in the street with- 

 out shelter, the circulation in the skin is sud- 

 denly checked, an abnormal amount of blood 

 circulates internally, and spasmodic action of 

 the bowels frequently results. The same 

 result is produced by giving a quantity of 

 cold water to a horse, esiaecially when heated, 

 which has been a long time without food, as 

 the water, when the stomach is empty, im- 

 mediately passes into the small intestines. 

 Suddenly changing a horse's food will give 

 rise to attacks of colic. Supposing a horse 

 has been feeding for a considerable period on 

 dry food, and is then unguardedly allowed a 

 quantity of green food (especially if grown 

 in a wet season, and therefore containing a 

 large quantity of moisture), the sudden change 

 of food in the intestines will give rise to spas- 

 modic colic. Indigestible food will very 

 commonly give rise to it, and a horse suffer- 

 ing from indigestion is more liable to attacks 

 of colic than one not so suffering ; the food 

 is brought into the bowels in an unprepared 

 condition, acts as a foreign agent on the 

 lining membrane of the gut, and an attack of 

 colic results. Indigestion is perhaps the 

 most fruitful cause of flatulent colic. Crib- 

 biters and wind-suckers, also, are commonly 

 producers of windy coUc. A horse suffering 

 from colic, unassociatcd with any other 



