DIGESTIVE DISORDERS 



Green food in excess, purgatives, drinking cold water when over- 

 heated, diarrhoea, lead poisoning, etc., are all causes of colic. 

 Sometimes a rupture (hernial becomes strangulated, causing the 

 most violent symptoms of bellyache. Stalhons or geldings 

 having a rupture, should always be examined carefully with a 

 view to ascertaining whether this is the cause of the pain. 



The palisade worm (see Worms) occasionally produces 

 bellyache, and it is quite likely other parasites do the same. 

 In-foal mares are rather inclined to have attacks of colic, often 

 of great severity. 



Symptoms. — Most horse owners are familiar with the 

 symptoms of colic. Sudden manifestation of pain within the 

 belly, with intervals of freedom from this ; stamping the feet, 

 rolling on the ground, and rising to the feet again, and when 

 the pain is very severe, profuse sweating. Sometimes the pain 

 is not so severe, still we know it is there, because the animal 

 will keep rising and lying alternately. In these instances, 

 there is usually no sweating, or very little, and we have known 

 the animal continue in this state several days. 



Treatment. — Before giving any medicine it is absolutely 

 essential to consider the cause. We have seen it recommended 

 to give a purgative before having ascertained this latter. This 

 is a practice that cannot be too strongly censured. On this 

 account the layman should never try nostrum gripe drinks. 



To make the matter plainer, let us suppose that a horse 

 suffers from frequent attacks of bellyache, and that we believe 

 the cause to be concretions. Now, by giving a purgative, the 

 concretion will be moved, driven along the bowel, and perhaps 



2/9 



