DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND INTESTINES. 51 



or the food may have collected in the stomach through failure of this 

 organ to digest it and pass it backward into the intestines. Even a 

 normal amount of food that the horse is unaccustomed to may cause 

 disease. Hence a sudden change of food may produce engorgement 

 colic. Continued full rations while the horse is resting for a day or 

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

 oats, corn, or hay, damaged food, or food difficult of digestion, such 

 as barley or beans, may incite engorgement colic. This disease may 

 result from having fed the horse twice by error or from its having 

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

 feeds that pack together making a sort of dough may cause engorge- 

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

 predisposed to this disease. 



Syntj^toms. — The horse shows the general signs of abdominal pain, 

 which may be long continued or of short duration. Eetching or vom- 

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

 uiDturned 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 may assume a sitting position on his 

 haunches, like a dog. At times the pain is very great and the horse 

 makes the most violent movements, as though 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 struggles, pro- 

 fuse perspiration. Following retching, gas may escape from the 

 mouth, and this may be followed by a sour froth and some stomach 

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

 lently 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 bowels should be stimulated to contraction by the 

 use of clysters of large quantities of water and of glycerin. Veteri- 

 narians use hypodermic injections of eserin or arecolin or intra- 

 venous 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 hemp (2 drams) may be 

 placed in the mouth and are absorbed in part, at least, without pass- 

 ing to the stomach. These drugs lessen pain and thus help to over- 

 come the violent movements that are dangerous, because they may be 

 the means of causing rupture of the diaphragm or stomach. If 



