432 DISEASES OF DIGESTION 



Constipation 



is a symptom of various diseases, and may be due to natural ten- 

 dency, constitutional weakness, paralysis of the bowels, folding or 

 twisting of the intestines, the action of certain drugs, the presence 

 of calculi (balls of earthy or undigested matter) in the intestines, 

 obstruction of the bowel itself, errors of feeding, or of watering, 

 etc. Horses which have not a plentiful supply of water are liable 

 to obstruction, owing to the dung becoming of too solid a condition 

 to be easily passed onward. We may, for convenience sake, limit 

 the term " constipation," to retention of dung, generally, in the 

 large intestine owing to its deficient action, to the practice of 

 feeding horses on food which contains an excess of indigestible 

 matter, and to improper methods of feeding and watering. Thia 

 condition is known to doctors and veterinary surgeons as fiecal 

 accumulation or coprostasis. The symptoms of this form of con- 

 stipation, besides the stoppage in the passage of dung, are : dis- 

 tension of the abdomen with gas ; mild and recurring attacks of 

 colic : and sometimes more or less painful efforts at staling, owing 

 to irritation of the bladder caused by pressure of the hardened 

 mass of retained dung, on that organ. Death from this form of 

 constipation is generally due to rupture of the intestine. 



TREATMENT. — Constipation, when it is caused by improper 

 food, rarely kills, even though no dung is passed for three 

 weeks, or even longer, as has not unfrequently happened in cases 

 which have, subsequently, made good recoveries. This fact should 

 teach us to exercise patience when treating this condition. Human 

 beings have been known to live for six months without going to 

 stool. A horse usually dungs 8 or 10 times a day. 



Strong purgatives, such as aloes or eserine, may, if given, cause 

 rupture of the intestine and consequent death, by producing a 

 copious watery discharge which is not able to force a passage in a 

 natural manner, by the removal of the impacted matter. 



If colicky pains are present, with a hard pulse, a purgative 

 should on no account be given ; for such a condition indicates a 

 tendency to inflammation. The administration of belladonna and 

 enemas of water will then be appropriate. If the pulse is soft, 

 a gentle purgative, for instance, a quart bottle of linseed oil, may 

 be given. 



In constipation owing to errors of feeding, we should starve the 

 animal, give a pint and a half of linseed oil, two or three times, 

 back rake once or twice, and give two or three enemas of as much 

 cold water as the bowel will take. The enemas should be admini- 



