00 VETERINAKY MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 



Aloes 3 vi. 



Gentian 3 ij. 



or for young or not strong horses: 



Linseed oil 1 pint. 



SPASMODIC COLIC. 



Synonym.— Gripes. 



Definition. — Colic is spasmodic contraction of the muscular coat of 

 any part of the intestines. It is liable to run on to inflammation, al- 

 though this is not probable in the great majority of cases. 



Its usual seat is in the small intestine, although it may arise from im- 

 paction of food in the. large intestine. Colic, of itself, rarely causes 

 death, and the trouble commonly disappears after a few hours. 



It is always accompanied by pain, of an intermittent character. 



Etiology. — The causes of colic are various, but in a great majority 

 of cases it arises from some impropriety in feeding. Any sudden change 

 of diet, or bad food of any sort, which is not easily or properly assimilated, 

 or an excessive quantity of food at one time, especially after a long fast, 

 when the stomach is always weak, is apt to produce irritation and spas- 

 modic affections of the intestines. In horses which are predisposed to 

 colic, very slight causes are sufficient to bring on an attack. 



Among other common causes are worms, obstructions in the intestinal 

 canal, such as hair balls, calcareous or other accretions resulting from 

 the use of hard or mineral waters. 



Colic may also be produced by those causes which induce indigestion 

 generally, such as a lack of gastric and intestinal juices, which prevents 

 complete digestion; or mastication may not be properly performed; or 

 the secretions of the salivary glands or those of the liver may be bad or 

 defective; or the peristaltic motion of the intestines maybe sluggish from 

 general debility, or from costiveness. All these causes, however, are 

 aggravated, if not in many cases produced, by improper feeding and 

 watering, aided perhaps by want of due exercise. 



Colic is sometimes ascribed to drinking cold water, but, unless the 

 hodj is exhausted by hard work, or overheated, it is doubtful if it can be 

 the primary agent. Crib-biting is a still more doubtful cause of colic. 



Symptoms. — The early sign of colic is sudden pain evidently in the 



