144 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



of new grain or young or mouldy grass. Let us particularly men- 

 tion red clover, lucerne, sainfoin (fenugreek), buckwheat, grass, 

 and mainly gramineous plants of damp meadows, leguminous grains 

 which absorb much water, all kinds of new grain ;^ also turnips, 

 potato-stems, etc. Fermentation is accelerated by the ingestion of 

 a large quantity of water immediately after meals. Another cause 

 to be mentioned here is the deglutition of air. 



6. Retention and hai^denin g of excrementitious matters — coprostasis. 

 Besides the constipations which are under the influence of intestinal 

 catarrh, arrest of matters contained in the digestive canal is pro- 

 duced after prolonged inactivity of the animal; after alimentation 

 with long or short straw ; with hard, woody fodder ; poor aliment, 

 which is deprived of all stimulating principles ; or food that is too 

 dry (flour, bran, crushed oats). The alimentary matters may cease 

 to move forward in a weakened, dilated, or paralyzed intestine. 



7. Calculi and concretions which are formed in the stomach or 

 intestine, and the accumulation of sand or earth in these organs. 

 This latter cause has especially been observed in army horses in the 

 field, but it can also be seen in animals going to pasture. Calculi 

 rich in phosphate of magnesia are particularly observed in millers' 

 horses, which consume large quantities of bran. 



8. Intestinal worms, especially when formed in balls. 



9. Constrictions of the intestine due to compression, torsion, or 

 invagination and strangling of this organ. 



10. Prolonged abstinence^ which causes the colic of abstinence 

 common in army horses in the field. 



11. Unusual movements, mainly rolling on the back when the 

 animals are cast. Kohne has seen volvulus happen in a horse 

 which had been thrown in order to undergo a surgical operation, 

 and which had been turned several times. In slaughter-houses we 

 frequently observe volvulus in pigs and calves that have been 

 unloaded in a brutal way. It would, however, be unreasonable to 

 try to prevent a horse attacked by colic from rolling ; observation 

 teaches us that horses at liberty roll with impunity; moreover, 

 recent volvulus may be cured spontaneously by rolling. 



1 Vuibert affirms that well-ripened and well-harvested oats never produce colic. 

 If, in the country, the horses are often attacked by colic at the time when they are 

 given new oats, it is because they have been deprived of this food for months, their 

 provisions being frequently exhausted by June. Based upon a twenty-five-years' 

 experience, Vuibert maintains that this deviation of diet is the great cause of colics, 

 which are attributed to ingestion of unseasoned oats.— N. d. t. 



