176 THE HORSE 



Colic 



This affection is also spoken of as "gripes," "fret," 

 " belly-ache," the " bats," and various other appellations. 

 It is one of those affections which usually make their appear- 

 ance without any previous warning, and many horses are 

 attacked with colic whilst they are at work. Sometimes 

 the attack is slight and passes off within half an hour, 

 whereas at other times it is very severe and the pain so 

 acute that the poor animal begins to sweat all over the 

 body, is continually rising and lying, roUing and wandering 

 round about the box through the agonising pain which it 

 is enduring. Frequently a horse attacked with colic 

 will continue in pain for several days and then finally 

 recover, particularly if proper treatment has been adminis- 

 tered. Things, however, do not always go as favourably as 

 this, the case not being one of simple colic but due to 

 som.e disease, such as a twisted gut or inflammation of the 

 bowels, rupture of the stomach, internal haemorrhage, 

 or some other organic lesion. As pointed out, the 

 symptoms of colic vary in their severity, their course, 

 their duration, and their termination. In most inflamma- 

 tory conditions the pain is more sustained, more severe, 

 and the animal presents general indications of impending 

 dissolution. The causes of colic are as variable as its 

 termination, but we may say that excessive food, sudden 

 changes of food, drinking too much cold water when 

 over-heated, prolonged feeding on dry food, worms, 

 super-purgation, too much green food, a concretion or 

 concretions in the stomach or intestines, strangulated 

 rupture, etc., are all liable to produce it, but symptoms 

 allied to those of colic arise through gastro-enteritis pro- 

 duced by mechanical, chemical and specific causes. 



Intussusception or invagination of the bowel ; strangu- 

 lation of it ; changes in the wall of the bowel ; in fact, 

 anything which leads to obstruction of it is capable of 

 producing violent pain in the belly, which in 99 per cent 



