506 THE HORSE. 
brought on by drinking cold water while the horse is in a heated and 
exhausted state. 
WHERE THERE IS A STOPPAGE IN THE BOWELS to cause the spasm, on 
questioning the groom, it will be found that the dung for some days has 
been hard and in small lumps, with occasional patches of mucus upon 
it. In other respects there is little to distinguish this variety from 
the last. 
The treatment must in all cases be conducted on a totally different plan 
to that necessary when inflammation is present. Bleeding will be of no 
avail, at all events in the early stages, and before the disease has gone on, 
as it sometimes will, into an inflammatory condition. On the other hand, 
stimulating drugs, which would be fatal in enteritis, will here generally 
succeed in causing a return of healthy muscular action. The disease is 
indeed similar in its essential features to cramp in the muscles of the 
human leg or arm, the only difference being that it does not as speedily 
disappear, because it is impossible to get at the muscular coat of the 
intestines, and apply the stimulus of friction. 
AS SOON AS A CASE IS CLEARLY MADE OUT TO BE OF A SPASMODIC NATURE, 
one or other of the following drenches should be given, the choice being 
made in proportion to the intensity of the symptoms :— 
Ub Shlbpree G6 6 6 6 6 a oS io o Jl @ued: 
lbeobhay g So 58d os 6 ¢ a 6 o 6 Howey 
Compound decoction of Aloes . . . . . . 5 ounces. 
Mix and give every half-hour until relief is afforded. 
2. Spiritiof Turpentine . 9. 2 . « « . « . 4 ounces: 
ibmarteeol. OMe G5) 8 6 a 6 a o 6 o o 5 UA @umeas, 
Laudanum . Ras eS chau oon ee ier ee sO Ces 
Mix and give every hour till the pain ceases. 
3. Aromatic Spiritof Ammonia... . . . 14 ounce. 
IbeybKotneey | Gg Gorn 9 GF oo 5 & o 7 Ome 
MinctureoL Ginger. | csi ae ie) eee | enounce: 
* Hot Ale 1 quart. 
Mix and give every hour. 
Hot water should also be applied to the abdomen, as described under the 
head of Enteritis, and if an enema pump is at hand, large quantities 
of water, at a temperature of 100° Fahrenheit, should be injected per anwm, 
until in fact the bowel will hold no more without a dangerous amount 
of force. 
IN FLATULENT coLic the same remedies may be employed, but the tur- 
pentine mixture is here especially beneficial. The use of warm water injec- 
tions will often bring away large volumes of wind, which at once affords 
relief, and the attack is cured. Sometimes, however, the distension goes 
on increasing, and the only chance of recovery consists in a puncture of 
the caecum, as it lies high in the right flank, where, according to French 
veterinary writers, it may often be opened when greatly distended, without 
dividing the serous covering. The operation, however, should only be 
performed by an experienced hand, as it is one of great danger, and a 
knowledge of the anatomy of the parts concerned is required to select the 
most available situation. 
THE TREATMENT OF IMPACTION must be completely a posteriori, for all 
anterior proceedings with aperient medicines will only aggravate the 
spasms. Injection of gallons of warm water, or of gruel containing a 
quart of castor oil and half a pint of spirit of turpentine, will sometimes 
succeed in producing a passage, and at the same time the spasm may be 
relieved by the exhibition at the mouth of one ounce of laudanum and 
