156 CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF 



ounces, and laudanum one to two ounces, in six or eight ounces of water, : 



and give injections, and a little turpentine may be added to the injections. \ 



Some recommend always treating with a large dose of purgative medi- . 



cine, but I can not agree with them : but, in any case where the bowels j 



are overloaded, give six to eight drachms of aloes, after giving anti- j 

 spasmodics. And there is another way of treating this : that is by hj'po- 



derraic injections of the acetate of morphia — but you must be careful not ; 

 to inject it into a blood vessel— and if it does not act just as you desire, 



do not be too hasty in giving another, or it may act more powerfully than i 



you desire. Chloral hydrate is recommended I have tried it, but have i 



been more successful with what I have recommended. Turpentine, lau- I 



danum and oil was Prof. Dick's favourite remedy. If you give a dose and : 



there is no relief, repeat the dose in a half hour, and if you think there ■ 



are symptoms of enteritis, withhold the stimulants. I have used opium, | 



but I now prefer hypodermic injections. If you have no remedy at hand, ; 



then give ale, beer, whiskey, etc., and common salt may, perhaps, expel • 



the attack. Put the horse in a comfortable place, and let him roll about ', 



as much as he pleases, and a little exercise may be of use, but any great ; 



amount will do harm. I think it is better to keep him in a comfortable '■ 

 box or yard. Kub the belly well, use judicious counter-irritation, hot 



water, mustard, etc. If a horse suffers repeated attacks, the bowels be- \ 

 come weakened, and sooner or later it will terminate fatally. 



Flatulent Colic— It is hard in some cases to tell the difference between ; 



this and acute indigestion, but the bowels may be flatulent and the j 



stomach not be affected. It consists of gases ; there are carbonic acid ' 



gas, sulphuretted hydrogen, and in some cases carburetted hydrogen. . 



Flatulent colic is more common in old than in young horses— perhaps ; 



because digestion is impaired to some extent— and in horses that bave ; 

 been fed for a long time on over-stimuhtting food. 



Causes. — A change of food or feeding soon after a long drive. Indian : 



corn, or inferior food of any kind, is likely to produce it. j 



Symptoms are similar to spasmodic colic ; the animal lies down and i 



rolls, etc., and the abdomen soon becomes distended, and in a pure case ■ 



there is no regurgitation of food nor eructations of gases, but just dis- | 



tention of the bowels, and one part of the colon may be affected more j 



than the others 1 



Treatment — Give injections freely, and you may be able to overcome a ; 



slight attack by injection, but medicines may be necessary. You may j 



put one or one-and-a-half ounces of turpentine in the injections ; this ! 



may relieve it, although the intestines are pretty full of food, but may i 



have to remove the contents of the rectum with the hand. Chemically j 



speaking, the best remedies would be lime, ammonia, etc., which would i 



combine with the gases and form new compounds, and so afford relief ; \ 



but they do not act internally in all cases ; but give turpentine one or j 



two ounces, with linseed oil and laudanum or belladonna, according to ; 



the suffering ; or you may relieve the pain by giving two or three grains j 



of the acetate of moi-phia, hypodermically ; and it is good practice in ] 

 some cases to give a purgative and carbonate of ammonia, one, two or 

 three drachms, in the form of a ball, or rubbed down in a little cold 

 water or gruel with some mucilage, and give as a drench. You must be 

 careful in giving aqua ammonia, or it will cause great irritation. The 

 horse requires great care, and you will find carminatives, stomachics, 



etc , useful ; and see that he gets good, nutritious food, and internal j 



remedies have but little or no effect, then puncture; and I believe ■ 



puncturing is more successful in a pure case of flatulent colic than in j 



