ENTERITIS. 167 
ous; hardened feces are one of the surest causes of enteritis. Disre- 
garding this fact, the endeavor of the immediate age seems to be to keep 
horses cheap. Strange mixtures are now substituted for wholesome 
corn, in which the grain and husk are mingled, the one supporting the 
strength, the other stimulating the bowels. It is folly to seek for profit 
from a life, and to stint the nourishment which feeds the strength, or to 
view cheapness as desirable where the service is unlimited. It is wicked 
to imprison a living being and then to regard it only in connection with 
our conveniences ; ‘much care and no spare” is a good stable proverb. 
The food makes the work; omnibus masters know this fact; their horses 
perform hard work and eat of the best, however abominably the gener- 
ality of these slaves were once lodged. The home of a London horse 
is mostly a miserable hole: heated only by fermentation ; too often un- 
drained; nearly always without sufficient ventilation, The stall of such 
a building is large enough for the animal to stand in and not wide 
enough for the recumbent frame to rest in; the roof is low, and the re- 
fuse of the body is piled near the entrance. When will man learn that 
his interest is best consulted by the proper observances due to vitality 
in every form? <A horse cannot be treated as though it were a jug; it 
cannot be placed upon a shelf and taken down when required. The 
functions which nature has placed within a beautiful and exquisitely 
framed body will, if thus regarded, soon become deranged. Sickness 
will soon cost more money than health would have required for its sus- 
tainment; and, in the end, he who strives to blend the animate and the 
inanimate will speedily find himself possessed only of the latter descrip- 
tion of property. 
The predisposing cause may, in most instances, be difficult to discover ; 
but the premonitory symptoms of enteritis are well marked. The animal 
is dull and heavy. It may not notice aught about it, or it picks at its 
food; repeated and violent shivering fits usher in the attack. When the 
above characteristic signs are observed, at once take away all hay and 
corn. Bandage the legs, which will be cold; clothe the body, and, if 
already dressed, loosen the surcingle. Litter well the stall or remove 
the horse to a loose box; give two or three drinks, one every quarter 
of an hour, containing sulphuric ether and laudanum, of each one 
ounce; water, half a pint; and observe the animal without disturbing it. 
These symptoms are, however, generally unseen, because the groom is 
between the bedclothes while his charge is suffering. 
The primary symptoms of decided enteritis are termed “colic” or 
“fret.” Such words simply represent bellyache; but harm is done and 
valuable time lost, if the terms of the stable are accepted in any abso- 
lute signification. Grooms always have some invaluable nostrum hoarded 
