,824 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



quantities of food, and the collection of the fceces is corres 

 pondingly great. 



TREATMENT. 



Sometimes the horse will recover from an attack of flatu- 

 lent colic without any assistance. The stricture relaxes suf- 

 ficiently to allow a passage of the fceces, when, the obstruc- 

 tion being removed, the gases readily escape, and the horse 

 is at once relieved. 



But such an issue can not be calculated upon, and ener- 

 getic treatment must be commenced at once, for, in all dig- 

 eases of this kind, time is precious. 



The essential thing to be done is to remove the impedi- 

 ment to the passage of the gases which are causing such a 

 painful expansion of the bowels. A clyster will often effect 

 this, in connection with bleeding. It may be of salt and 

 water, of soap-suds, or of lard, as is most convenient. By 

 these means, the parts may be so relaxed as to admit of a 

 passage, and, when* this point is reached, the danger is 

 over. 



. The only course which can be infallibly relied upon, how- 

 ever, is the operation which the books speak of as hack- 

 raking, consisting simply of the removal of the impacted 

 balls from the throat of the rectum by the hand. The strict- 

 ure takes place about eighteen or twenty inches from the 

 anus. The hand and arm should be well greased, and grad- 

 ually pushed forward to the place of the obstruction, and 

 the balls carefully removed. If the forefinger is pushed 

 through the ball, it can be pulled along more readily ; but 

 the ball is generally too hard to permit of this being done. 

 In this case, the forefinger must be gently passed over the 

 ball, which is then to be rolled backward. Such will be 

 the force with which the rectum contracts upon the hand^ 

 and arm that the pain will become very great to the oper- 

 ator, and he will probably be compelled to withdraw the arm 

 for a time. 



