COLICS OF THE HORSE. 



147 



the horse rears, sneezes, groans, utters distressing cries, opens his 

 mouth, grinds his teeth, bites the manger or some part of his body, 

 and sometimes attacks man ; in other cases, where the pains are less 

 violent, he pushes himself against the wall and performs queer 

 movements ; the head is also shaken or swings like a pendulum. 

 When the cases end fatally the weakened patients lean against the 

 walls, tremble, and are subject to convulsive movements ; soon 

 they are covered with a cold and profuse perspiration, the pulse 

 is falling, intermittent, imperceptible ; the heart's action is precip- 

 itate, irregular, tumultuous; the eye is haggard, the pupil dilated, 

 the lower lip hanging ; the anus, wide open, runs with a brownish 

 fluid. Finally, without any further resistance, the animals stagger, 

 fall, and soon die. At this point, just before they succumb, some 

 animals will begin to neigh, others willingly partake of fresh water. 

 Often the pains cease, but they may possibly continue up to the 

 last moment; death takes place either during coma or in an attack 

 of violent suffering. 



Course, duration, and complications. The course of colics 

 is ordinarily extremely acute. Sometimes they last but a few 

 minutes ; in most cases they persist for several hours ; when they 

 last more than from twenty- four to thirty- six hours they are often 

 fatal. They may, however, take a subacute course, or even become 

 chronic and last for weeks, with remissions; this is the course taken 

 by colic from constipation. 



As a complication of colics, we may mention the dry crusts 

 which are formed upon the salient points of the body, and which 

 are produced by compression of the skin at the time of decubitus ; 

 wounds, tendinous and ligamentous distentions, fractures, internal 

 lesions, etc., determined by unusual movements on the part of the 

 patients. Unskilful administration of drinks may result in trau- 

 matic pneumonia. There are cases where vomited alimentary mat- 

 ters fall into the trachea and likewise cause pnemuonic accidents, 

 which almost always end in gangrene and death. Drinks which 

 are too hot, and also caustic remedies (croton oil, emetics), which 

 are not given sufficiently well diluted, will produce either super- 

 ficial or deep lesions of stomatitis and pharyngitis. We may also 

 find similar alterations produced by the application of pepper 

 and salt upon the vaginal mucous membrane of mares — a very 

 popular means of treatment with empirics. Unskilful manipu- 

 lations in the rectal cavity may also produce colic by provoking 



