52 COLICS AND THEIR TREATMENT 



of the horse is so well guarded as to almost exclude 

 vomition, we can readily see that unless it does pass along 

 the intestinal tract we soon will have a largely distended 

 stomach to contend with. 



On the other hand, should it follow the intestinal tract 

 and accumulate in the cecum and large colon, we have a 

 badly bloated animal. I will admit that this gas can be 

 removed readily by using the trocar and canula, but will 

 this be all? I have tapped horses as many as eight or 

 nine times in one night to keep them from smothering, 

 but too many of them died to suit me, and why ? Because 

 I did not remove the generator of the gas — the cause of 

 the colic. Then why not use a stomach tube (one that 

 will do the work) in this case, and remove all this trouble 

 from where it starts. This done, you have no more ac- 

 cumulation of gas. You have spent only from five to 

 twenty minutes of your time, you have no use for the 

 trocar, your patient rests easily and you are sure you can 

 go home to rest or answer calls, knowing that things 

 will be all right. 



I have made no mention of the dififerent colics of the 

 horse, nor to the differential diagnosis of them, in this 

 article, for I am sure if you will read Dr. R. P. Lyman's 

 article (in the May, 1912, issue of Veterinary Med- 

 icine), you will have to say it is the best article on the 

 diagnosis of colics of the horse ever published. 



