DISEASES OF THE IIOESE. 51 



two or working too soon after feeding may serve as a cause. New 

 oats, corn, or hay, damag-ed food, or food difGcult of digestion, such as 

 barley or beans, inay incite ongorgcment colic. This disease may result 

 from having fed the horse twice hj error or from its having escaped 

 and taken an unrestricted meal from the grain bin. Ground feeds 

 that pack together makhig a soii of dough may cause engorgem.ent 

 colic if they are not mixed with cut hay. Greedy eaters are predis- 

 posed to this disease. 



Symptoms. — The horse shows the genei'al signs of abdominal pain, 

 which may be long contmiied or of short duration. Retching or vom- 

 iting movements are made; these are shown by labored breathing, 

 upturned upper lip, contraction of the flank, active motion at the 

 throat, and drawing in of the nose toward the breast, causing high 

 arching of the neck. The horse ma}^ assume a sitting position on his 

 haunche3, like a dog. At times the pain is ver}^ great and the horse 

 makes the most violent movements, as thougli mad. At other times 

 there is profound mental depression, the horse standing in a sleepy, 

 or dazed, way with the head down, the eyes closed, and leaning his 

 head against the manger or wall. There is, during the strug;gles, pro- 

 fuse perspiration. Following retching, gas may escape from the 

 mouth and this may be follov/ed b}" a sour froth and some stomach 

 contents. The horse can not vomit except when the stomach is vio- 

 loutl}^ stretched and, if the accumulation of food or gas is great enough 

 to stretch the stomach so that vomiting is possible, it may be great 

 enough to rupture this organ. So it happens not infrequently that a 

 horse will die from ruptured stomach after vomiting. But after the 

 stomach ruptures vomiting is impossible. The death rate in this form 

 of colic is high. 



Treatment. — The bov^els should be stimulated to contraction by the 

 use of clysters of large quantities of Avater and of glycerin. Veterina- 

 rians use h^'podermic injections of eserin or arecolin or intravenous 

 injections of barium chloride, but these have to be employed with 

 great caution. It is not profitable to give remedies by the stomach, 

 for they can not be absorbed. But small doses of morphine (5 grains) 

 or of the fluid extract of Indian herpp (2 drams) may be placed in the 

 mouth and are absorbed in part, at least, without passing to the stom- 

 ach. These drugs lessen pain and thus help to overcome the violent 

 movements that are dangerous, because they may be the means of 

 causing rupture of the diaphragm or stomach. If facilities are avail- 

 able, relief may be afi'orded bv passing an esophageal tube through 

 which some of the gaseous and liquid contents oL' the stomach may 

 escape. 



Rupture of the sfomach. — This mostly occurs as a result of engorged 

 or tympanitic stomach (engorgement colic) and from the horse vio- 

 lently throwing himself when so affected. It ma}^ result from disease 



