120 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



with them. If the cramp is due to irritants in the bowels, a cure is 

 not complete until there is given a cathartic of 1 ounce of aloes or 1 

 pint of linseed oil. Injections into the rectum of warm soapy water 

 or salt and water aid the cure. 



Rectal injections, or enemas as a rule should be lukewarm, and 

 from 3 to 6 quarts are to be given at a time. They may be repeated 

 every half hour if necessary. Great care is to be taken not to injure 

 the rectum in giving such injections. A piece of rubber hose 4 or 

 5 feet long, with a funnel attached at one end, affords the best means 

 by which to give them. The pipe of the hose introduced into the 

 rectum must be blunt, rounded, and smooth. It is to be thoroughly 

 oiled and then carefully pushed through the anus in a slightly up- 

 ward direction. Much force must be avoided, for the rectum may 

 be lacerated and serious complications or even death result. Ex- 

 ercise will aid the action of the bowels in this and similar colicky 

 troubles, but severe galloping or trotting is to be avoided. If the 

 horse can have a loose box or paddock, it is the best, as he will then 

 take what exercise he wants. If the patient be extremely violent, it 

 is often wise to restrain him by leading him with a halter, since 

 rupture of the stomach or displacement of the bowels may result and 

 complicate the trouble. 



(5) WORM COLIC. Parasites of many kinds reside in the in- 

 testinal canal of horses. There are three kinds of tapeworms, one 

 long roundworm, and several kinds of smaller roundworms. Besides 

 these are the bot-fly grubs. The intestinal worm most commonly 

 seen is the long roundworm, known as Ascaris equorum. They are 

 white or reddish in color and measure from 4 to 12 inches in length. 

 In thickness they vary from the size of a rye straw to that of a lady's 

 little finger, being thickest at the middle and tapering at both ends. 

 They are found singly or in groups or masses, and infest chiefly the 

 small intestines. 



Symptoms. Symptoms of intestinal worms are not always ob- 

 served, even when many parasites are present. If the infestation is 

 extreme, there may be slight colicky pains at times, or there may 

 only be switching of the tail, frequent passages of manure, and some 

 slight straining, itching of the anus, and rubbing of the tail or rump 

 against the stall or fences ; the horse is in poor condition ; does not 

 shed his coat ; is hidebound and potbellied ; the appetite is depraved, 

 licking the walls, biting the wooden work of the stalls, licking parts 

 of his body, eating earth, and being particularly fond of salt; the 

 bowels are irregular, constipation or diarrhea being noticed. Some 

 place much dependence upon the symptom of itching of the upper 

 lip, as shown by the horse frequently turning it up and rubbing it 

 upon the wall or stalls. Others again declare that whenever we see 

 the adherence of a dried whitish substance about the anus, worms 

 are present. The one symptom, however, that we should always 

 look for, and certainly the only one that may not deceive us, is see- 

 ing the worms or their eggs (by the use of a microscope) in the 

 dung. 



