Impaction of the Colon in 

 Horse 



BY I. E. NEVVSON, FT. COLLINS, COLORADO 

 Professor of Anatomy, Colorado Agricultural College. 



I believe that fully one-half of all the cases of colic 

 that we treat in the alfalfa districts are impactions of 

 the colon. I am quite sure that two out of every three 

 cases treated at Fort Collins, Colorado, would be given 

 that name if properly diagnosed. 



The farmers speak of horses as being "plugged," 

 and certainly this expresses the condition about as 

 forcefully as one could desire, for there is nothing less 

 than a large, unyielding "plug" sometimes nearly as 

 large as a man's head, and usually found in the float- 

 ing colon. Only occasionally have we found one 

 located at the termination of the large colon. Rarely 

 is the obstruction near enough to the rectum to be 

 remo^'ed by the hand. 



Straw or alfalfa — more often the latter is usually 

 responsible for impaction of the colon. Alfalfa hay 

 that has been improperly cured, or scattered in the 

 fields and becomes bleached, is probably the most 

 common cause, but green alfalfa, strange as it may 

 seem, is responsible for many obstinate cases. 



Usually there is but one mass causing the impac- 

 tion, but sometimes the autopsy reveals two or three. 



