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with the addition of one grain of sulphate of strychnine, may be given three 
or four times weekly with great advantage. If necessary, an occasional 
‘dose of aloes may be given. 
In cases of young foals unable to void the excretions, clysters of oil will 
generally be found efficacious. If the bowels are not relieved by this means, 
or if it is found inconvenient to adopt the above measures, two and a half 
ounces of castor oil may be administered internally. 
There are many causes of obstruction of the bowels in horses. Sometimes 
it is due to impaction of matter in the gut, such as concretions of various 
kinds. Sometimes it is due to twist of the gut, and again at other times it is 
owing to passage of one part of the bowel into that immediately below it. 
‘The symptoms of obstruction which may proceed from so many different 
‘causes are very variable. When it is due to impaction of feces or to the 
presence of concretions, the symptoms are usually gradual, and of an 
intermittent character. The other forms are generally more sudden in their 
onset. Twists or strangulations of the intestines of the horse are generally 
associated with great abdominal pain, restlessness, sitting on the hind-quarters, 
small, frequent, thready pulse, accelerated respiration, cold extremities, 
distended belly, and collapse ending in death from exhaustion. In these 
-cases where there has been constipation with frequent attacks of colic, the 
obstruction is probably due to impaction of faeces. 
In cases of absolute stoppage of the bowels, a drench, composed of one 
ounce and a half of sulphuric ether, half an ounce of chloric ether, and one 
ounce of tincture of opium, given in three-quarters of a pint of gruel or water, 
will be found very useful. Clysters of warm water may be injected in full 
amount into the rectum, and hot fomentations or woollen cloths wrung out 
from hot water applied to the belly. The food should be of a laxative kind, 
and only allowed in moderation. 
In very severe cases of constipation, sulphate of eserine is an invaluable 
- remedy, when injected in solution, intravenously. 
On May roth, 1886, asix year old strong draught horse was affected 
with colic, due to obstinate constipation. We were called in to see it on the 
2oth, and gave a six drachm aloes ball. At 4 p.m. on the 21st, there was no 
relief; the pulse was 96; the pain was almost continuous. From the 
foreman’s calculations, there had been no passage for three days. One grain 
of sulphate of eserine was given by intra-venous injection into the jugular vein. 
In eight minutes there was extreme pain; the horse broke out in twenty 
minutes time into a profuse perspiration. Muscular tremors were marked 
features. At the twelfth minute after the injection, hard feeces together with 
fluid were passed. Violent straining continued for the next twenty minutes, 
during which time the animal voided no less than thirteen distinct 
discharges of alvine material, several of the latter being quite fluid. The 
tenesmus and grunts were intensely extreme. Muscular tremors increased 
up to half an hour after the injection, after which time the animal quietened, 
ate some mash, and the pulse went down to 60. 
On leaving, further action was prevented by the administration of an . 
opiate draught. 
