CHAPTER XL 

 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS 



^T^HERE is a general opinion that the domestic 

 -*" animals are "tougher" than the human kind, and 

 have a stronger digestion; but the exact opposite is the 

 case. The horse, especially, has a weak digestion, and 

 the fact that he cannot relieve himself by vomiting 

 makes the presence of undigested matter in his stomach 

 extremely dangerous. No horse could stand for a day 

 the intemperate and irregular feeding in which many 

 men can indulge for months and even years. 



COLIC 



The most common and the most fatal trouble of the 

 horse is colic; and, except in chronic cases, it is 

 always the result of some neglect or abuse. No horse 

 should ever have colic. 



The most frequent causes are feeding grain when 

 the horse is tired, feeding an unusual amount of grain, 

 watering him when he is heated, allowing him to 

 become chilled, feeding new oats, half-cured hay, new 

 hay, or green corn, and feeding too much grain before 

 he becomes accustomed to it. 



There are two kinds of colic, spasmodic and 

 flatulent. Flatulent colic is the more common form, 

 and means simply wind in the stomach, caused by 

 acidity of the stomach. In this form of colic there is 



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