426 DISEASES OF DIGESTION. 



sweet spirits of nitre, m&j be given now and then, if the horse be 

 very weak. 



In oases of simple diarrhoea, Dick's colic draught acts well. It 

 consists of — 



Linseed oil ... 1^ pint. 



Oil of turpentine ... ... ... ... 2 oz. 



Laudanum... ... ... ... ... 2 „ 



In the treatment of diarrhoea, several Continental veterinary 

 surgeons have had excellent results from the internal administra- 

 tion of tannoform, in doses of from 6 drachms to 4 oimces, either 

 as a. drench (in camomile tea or linseed tea), or in a ball. 



Always be careful not to administer too much physic, and avoid 

 checking diarrhoea suddenly by medicines, when milder means 

 might suffice. 



The not very uncommon practice, among horse dealers and 

 grooms, of giving arsenic to improve the appearance of the skin, 

 tends to cause irritability of the coats of the intestines, and to 

 render the animal liable to diarrhoea. 



Specific Diarrhoea of Foals. 



NATURE AND CAUSE.— Cad6ac, who gives an admirable 

 account of this disease in his " Pathologie Interne des Animaux 

 Domestiques," considers that the diarrhoea of foals is generally 

 due to a specific infection, the action of which is favoured by un- 

 sanitary conditions. The following remarks, taken principally 

 from Cadeac's work, refer particularly to the severe and presum- 

 ably infectious form, which is often mistaken for dysentery, and 

 appears to be similar to '' white scour " in calves. It is some- 

 times complicated with umbilical pyaemia, acute laminitis, 

 pneumonia, peritonitis, jaundice, and inflammation of the eyes. 

 It generally runs a fatal course in from six to ten days. As a 

 rule, it affects foals about the time of weaning. 



PREDISPOSING CAUSES.— The chief predisposing causes are : 

 A vitiated condition of the milk, from over-working the dam, from 

 feeding her on improper food, or from the fact of her being in ill 

 health ; too prolonged int6rval& between the times of sucking ; too 

 early weaning ; improper food given to the foal ; chill ; worms ; 

 and general debility. In the case of a sucking foal being kept for 

 too long a time from his dam, he would, on again approaching 

 her, be inclined to drink more milk than his stomach could digest, 

 especially as that organ woxdd be more or less enfeebled from 



