92 COLICS AND THEIR TREATMENT 



jaw could not be counted and the artery felt like a small 

 hard cord. The extremities were cold and the shoulder 

 muscles were in a constant tremor. Per rectum I de- 

 tected the presence of ingesta floating free in the peri- 

 toneal cavity, this I attributed to intestinal rupture and 

 told the owner that the horse must surely die in a very 

 few hours. 



I then made arrangements to hold an autopsy the 

 next day at six a. m. Soon after my departure the 

 owner had the animal led to a field, where he died after 

 about an hour's suffering. 



Post Mortem Findings. — At the autopsy I was 

 surprised to find the cecum, instead of the colon, im- 

 pacted and ruptured, its walls were darkened and easily 

 torn. 



The remainder of the intestinal tract was practicall}' 

 empty save for a small quantity of ingesta the consistency 

 of pea soup. 



Attack of Cecal Impaction of Seventeen Days' Dura- 

 tion 



My second case occurred in a twenty-year-old mare 

 weighing about 900 pounds. This mare was one of a 

 stable of nine horses, used for delivery purposes, by a 

 grocery firm. 



These horses were fed oats, bran and hay, and were 

 allowed water when brought in from work just before 

 the evening meal, but received no more until after break- 

 fast when harnessed for the day's work. 



On the morning of July 1st this mare and an old 

 gelding from the same stable were driven to the hos- 



