284 
N. S. TOWNSHEND. 
symptoms of colic on the evening of May 16th. After giving a 
colic drench she seemed relieved, so that I paid no more attention 
to her, but left her for the night. About two o’clock I was aroused 
by the man sleeping in the barn saying the mare was bad. I got 
there as soon as I could, and don’t think I ever saw a case in the 
condition she was. The abdomen was distended to its utmost capac¬ 
ity, the walls of the abdomen were rigid as a plank, and respiration 
in consequence of the great pressure on the diaphragm and lungs 
were very laborious, amounting to almost a hundred a minute; 
pulse indistinct, eyes glassy and protruding, a cold, clammy pers¬ 
piration all over the body, pupils so dilated that the mare would 
run against the walls like a blind horse. Her agony was so intense 
that I did not try to administer any medicine, but at once plunged 
the trocar into the right flank; the gas escaped very freely, and 
had the effect of giving immediate relief; gave a drench of 
hyposulph. soda and a stimulant, with a purgative, which had the 
effect of neutralizing the gasses so as to cause no further trouble. 
This mare made a good recovery, and was in harness four days 
afterward. 
In conclusion, I would say in my opinion, puncturing the in¬ 
testines of horses is safe if performed early, while there is plenty 
of vitality left in the animal. In a great many cases that are 
punctured the practitioner waits to do it as a last resort, and the 
animal dies, and he condems the operation, when in all proba¬ 
bility the animal would have died without the puncture. I think 
if we are going to have success in cases of this kind the operation 
must be performed early, and not as a last resort. 
INJURY TO A MARE FROM COVERING. 
By N. S. Townshend, M.D., (Columbus, Ohio). 
A five year old mare, of good height but short quarters and 
light of body and limb, was in June last served by a large Perche- 
ron stallion. After the covering the mare strained considerably, 
and made frequent attempts at micturition. In a day or two the 
vulva became much swollen, and a discharge of bloody mucus 
