RUPTURE OF THE COLON IN A HORSE. 265 
ture had existed for several days previous to the death of the 
animal. 
Cases of rupture of the intestines are certainly by no 
means uncommon in the horse, and they are, as far as my 
experience goes, usually accompanied by a chain of symp¬ 
toms in most respects similar to the one reported by Mr. 
Billington, but his is of such an extraordinary nature that it 
w ill, I think, be found to be at variance with the experience of 
the majority of veterinary surgeons. Had the case been under 
the personal care of Mr. Billington from the commencement, 
he would have had an opportunity of witnessing the symp¬ 
toms as they presented themselves, and consequently would 
have been in a much better position to give an opinion on it; 
but as I understand the record, he did not see the horse until 
after its death, and had therefore nothing to guide him in 
forming the opinion he has expressed, except the history he 
obtained of the case from those persons who had had the care 
of the horse while alive and in health. It likewise does not 
appear that the animal had been submitted to any medical 
treatment wdiatever, or that the attention of any veterinary 
surgeon had been called to it while alive, and the replies ob¬ 
tained by Mr. Billington to his inquiries on the subject after 
death appear to have been very vague and unsatisfactory. It 
was admitted that at times the horse “^seemed griped but 
W'e are not informed w'hether those symptoms were observed 
at intervals during the whole period of his illness or only 
during the latter part of his existence. Mr. Billington 
further states that he w^as called upon to perform the jpod- 
moftem examination on the of December, the day after 
the horse died. 
The whole history of this remarkable case is, that on the 
19 th the horse was first observed to be unw^ell and refused 
his food; he was rested for three or four days; but not im¬ 
proving, he w^as again put to w ork on the 22nd, and continued 
working until the 24th5 without evincing any marked inca¬ 
pability to perform his duty ” and from this date we have no 
further account till death. 
If it be admitted that the rupture had existed for several 
days, it is certainly a most extraordinary circumstance that 
none of those symptoms should have presented themselves 
which are invariably observed to be present in such cases, 
and that the horse should have continued to perform his work 
“ without evincing any marked inability to do so.^^ 
Upon a careful consideration of this cnse, I am inclined to 
the belief, which is confirmed by practical experience in cases 
of rupture of the intestines, that few^ practitioners will be 
