50 THE COMMON COLICS OF THE HORSE 



suffering in a dumb animal — but he should never forget 

 that his first duty is to preserve life. I have remarked thus 

 fully upon this in order that I might point out as conclu- 

 sively as possible this fact. Of all the predisposing causes 

 to attacks of colic, this regular frequency with which the 

 horse evacuates the contents of his bowels is to be 

 looked upon as of supreme importance. 



Hereditary Predisposition. — 'Are diseases of the 

 bowels hereditary ? Why not ? Cannot an amount of 

 susceptibility be transmitted from parent to progeny ? 

 May there not be a diathesis transmitted, by which the 

 structure of the bowels is more susceptible to disease 

 in some than in others ? If cases were carefully traced 

 back, might we not find that the sire or the dam had 

 been subject to some disease of the bowels?' 



These are questions asked by a practitioner in the 

 Veterinary Journal. To all of them I can confidently 

 answer in the affirmative. I have frequently been told, 

 when attending a case, that the animal's mother was 

 always subject to colic. 'Ay, and her mother died from 

 it, too!' is often the close of the owner's remarks. Seeing 

 that as many as 50 to 90 per cent, of the total cases 

 in some practices are those of colic, it is no great argu- 

 ment, I admit, to say that because one patient's mother 

 died from colic the offspring of other victims of the 

 disorder must necessarily inherit a fatal predisposition. 

 Nevertheless, the point that has struck me is the 

 frequency with which one hears the word ' always ' 

 inserted. 



With a certain amount of hesitancy, I also put 

 down ' weather ' as a predisposing cause of these com- 

 plaints. We all know the way in which the weather 

 exerts an effect — baneful or beneficial — upon ourselves. 

 It is only fair to add that these same influences are at 



