Colic and Azaturea 253 



sours and proves a source of o-'-eat flan,2;er. Overfeeding mav 

 cause colic, as when a horse is accidentally fed twice or gets loose 

 and finds the grain l)in. 



A large drink of water immediately after eating may canse 

 colic. The stomach of the horse is so small (holding only six or 

 seven gallons), that a large amount of water is apt to flush out 

 some of the food into the intestines before it has been acted upon 

 by the gastric juice. The system of the horse can ordinarily 

 adapt itself to almost any condition, and many farmers let their 

 horses have practically all their drinking water after eating, and 

 yet they seldom have a case of colic. I believe, however, that 

 many cases of colic are due to drinking too much water soon after 

 eating. Do not scrimp your horses on water ; give it often and 

 in small amounts. 



I believe if we could divide colics under the following three 

 general classifications as to kind, we could diagnose our cases with 

 a fair degTee of accuracy, and in that way intelligently treat and 

 prevent a much larger proportion of them : 



1. Excess of gas in the digestive tract. 



a. Acute indigestion is the name applied if the fermenting 

 mass is confined principally within the stomach. 



b. Flatulent colic is the name applied when the fermenting 

 mass has passed along into the intestines. 



2. Excess of partly digested food and fecal matter in the di- 

 gestive tract. This condition is often called impaction or ob- 

 struction colic, or constipation or stoppage of the bowels. 



3. Conditions which interfere with the nervous mechanism of 

 the digestive tract. This condition is designated as spasmodic or 

 cramp colic. 



In order to treat a case of colic intelligently we should be 

 able to distinguish with a fair degree of accuracy which one of 

 these conditions we are dealing with. It frequently happens that 

 two, or possibly all three conditions are operating at the same 

 time. 



Excess of Gas in the Digestive Tract 



This is by far the most common and fatal of all colics with 

 which the horse is affected. I believe that in the country more 

 horses die directly or indirectly from this form of colic than 

 from all others combined. 



