STRANGULATED INTESTINE AND RUPTURE OF STOMACH. 147 
I made a post-mortem examination a few hours after death, 
and I forwarded to Professor Spooner the ruptured stomach, 
and a fine specimen of strangulated intestine. But as 1 was 
in a hurry to catch the train, coupled with a desire that 
it should not be unravelled until it had been placed in your 
hands, through Professor Spooner, by whom the changes that 
had taken place would be expounded in far more eloquent 
language, and in a manner greatly superior to that of a 
provincial veterinary surgeon in hard practice, I really did 
not take the trouble to observe whether it was a portion 
of the duodenum, jejunum, or ileum, that had become stran¬ 
gulated. 
I shall be exceedingly glad to hear your opinion on this 
case, as one would naturally suppose that a dose of physic 
operating upon a horse properly, and that horse a sound, 
hardy, healthy animal, would not so increase the peristaltic 
action of the intestines, as to tie the latter into a knot, similar 
to a cravat on our necks. Many people are very averse to 
purging their horses, and there is no doubt that great care 
should be taken both in their preparation and treatment 
whilst the medicine is operating, and likewise for a few days 
afterwards. Physic is often blamed for killing horses. “Let 
well alone’ 5 is my maxim, and don't be always ramming balls 
down a horse's throat! 
Permit me, before closing this long epistle, to mention one 
more case, as we are on the subject of purgatives, commonly 
called “ physic." A gentleman living some miles from 
Newcastle, has some of the finest horses in England. They 
are the perfection of condition, and he has also one of the best 
stud grooms in this county, or any other. A few’ days since 
he gave one of his horses a purging ball, for the purpose of 
making him “ better than wellnothing else, as he ailed 
nothing. It operated well, set properly, and the horse took 
his exercise in clothes, on the fifth day. On the sixth day, 
after again exercising the animal in his clothes, I w T as sent 
for professionally in a hurry, when I found he was labouring 
under a severe attack of tetanus, and so acute that the owmer 
thought it most humane to destroy him, which was ac¬ 
cordingly done. Both the owner and his groom assured me 
that the horse had not been injured in any way. The weather 
was cold and damp. 
[A lesion existed in the stomach, near to the pylorus, 
through w r hich the hand could be thrust. Apparently it had 
been caused by a simple giving way of the coats of the organ 
during the animal's struggles, it being at that time distended 
with gaseous compounds. The portion of the small intestine 
