54 



Bicarbonate of soda is a very useful medicine to counteract the 

 acidity (sourness) of the stomach. Dose, one dram twice a day/ 

 and may be continued for several days. 



If intestinal worms are the exciting cause, they must be re- 

 moved and until this has been accomplished the animal will retain 

 its unthrifty condition although it may brighten uji temporarily. 



The f ollo\\ing prescription is recommended: Spirits turpentine 

 2 ounces, oil linseed 4 ounces. Give before feeding and repeat 

 once a day for four days; then follow up with 1 pint of linseed oil. 



DIARRHEA. 



This term is applied to all cases of simple purging in w^hich the 

 feces (dung) are loose, liquid, and frequently discharged. 



Diarrhea may be a spontaneous effort to discharge from the 

 intestines something which is obnoxious to them or the system 

 generally. It is caused by various agencies, such as indigestible 

 food, sudden change of diet— particularly from a dry to a moist 

 one— medicinal substances, worms, derangement of the liver, or 

 large drafts of water when the animal is heated. Some ani- 

 mals are particularly predisposed to diarrhea from tri\-ial causes. 

 Narrow-loined, flat-sided, and loosely-coupled horses— that is to 

 say, horses in which the distance betw^een the point of the hip 

 and last rib is long— and those which are of a nervous tempera- 

 ment are apt to purge without apparent cause. These are called 

 washy horses. They are hard to keep in condition and require 

 the best of food. 



Syni2:)toins.—Pu.rgmg, the fecal matter being semifluid, of a 

 dirty-brown color, without offensive odor, or clay-colored and 

 fetid. If the condition continues long the animal loses flesh and 

 the appetite is wanting. 



Treatment.— When the purging arises from the presence of 

 some offending matter in the intestinal canal (sand, worms, un- 

 digested food, bad w^ater, etc.) its expulsion must be aided by a 

 moderate dose of linseed oil {1% pints). 



If the purging arises from no apparent cause, or if the bowels 

 do not regain their normal condition after the action of the oil 

 has subsided, it will be necessary to give astringents, such as 

 tannic acid, 1 to 2 drams, or the following prescription may be 

 used: Gum camphor 1 ounce, opium, powdered, 1 ounce. Mix. 

 Make eight powders and give one powder every three or four 



