Colic (horse)

“ Newly crushed barley or cracked maize, even in considerable proportion to the rest of the food, gives good results with draught, coach, ’bus and light harness horses generally. Boiled food of any kind is unnatural to a horse, and is risky to give, being liable to produce colic, especially if the animal bolts its food when hungry, although it generally produces a glossy coat. ”

“ During the period of pain sweat is poured out freely. Sometimes the horse moves constantly in a circle. The respirations are accelerated, and usually there is no fever.
Engorgement colic.—This form of colic consists in an overloading of the stomach with feed. The horse may have been overfed or the feed may have collected in the stomach through failure of this organ to digest it and pass it backward into the intestines. Even a normal quantity of feed that the horse is unaccustomed to may cause [Pg 67] disease. Hence a sudden change of feed may produce engorgement colic. ”

“ In wind (flatulent) colic there is bloating of the right flank and the horse lies down, rolls without violence, breathes with difficulty, paws, looks around at his sides and finds no relief. In bloat of the stomach, gas and fluid gush back and forth from the stomach to the throat; flanks may not show bloat; pain is steady but not violent; horse sweats; nostrils flap; pulse is fast and weak; countenance is haggard and anxious. ”

“ The colic caused by these conditions is chronic. The attacks occur at gradually shortening intervals and become progressively more severe. Relief is afforded by the use of purgatives that render the feces soft and thin and thus enable them to pass the obstruction, but in time the contracted place is liable to close so far that passage is impossible and the horse will die. ”

“ Symptoms.—These should be carefully studied in order to diagnose this from other forms of colic requiring quite different treatment. Spasmodic colic always begins suddenly. If feeding, the horse is seen to stop abruptly, stamp impatiently, and probably look back. ”

“ In the more severe there may be more or less violent colic, but this is usually marked to some extent by the profound depression attendant on the specific fever which is the cause of the congestion. Palpation of the spleen is impossible in the horse. In ruminants it may sometimes be felt along the upper border of the rumen just behind the last rib on the left side. ”

“ The diagnosis is easy, on account of the suddenness of onset, rapid development and history of the disease, discovered on questioning the owner or herdsman.
The prognosis is not grave. This form of colic generally cures itself. Nevertheless precautions are required against possible complications, such as intestinal hæmorrhage and invagination.
The necessary preventive measures are self-evident. Animals returning from work should not be allowed to drink freely of cold water, but should first receive a little food and afterwards water at the temperature of the atmosphere. ”

“ At first the 163animals show uneasiness, stamp, and continually move about striking themselves in the flank with the feet or horns, swishing the tail, etc. They refuse food, lie down and rise frequently, and paw the ground.
As a general rule this form of colic lasts from half an hour to one hour, and terminates in recovery. In some rare cases where death occurred Cruzel found on post-mortem examination congestion of the abomasum, and, in a few, congestion of the small intestine, with or without rupture. ”

“ He stands with back arched, loins insensible to pinching, and legs drawn somewhat toward each other under the belly. There are indications of colic, pawing, looking toward the flanks, and shifting of the hind feet without the violent kicking motion of spasmodic colic or intestinal congestion. When he lies down it is comparatively slowly and carefully and he is more inclined to lie on the side with hind legs, or at least the one on the affected side extended backward. ”

“ And the animal hot from work, on drinking very cold water, often gets colic. Then, too, a change of food, or a change from dry feed to green food or eating some root crop when the animal is not used to it, may bring on the disease.
Then, again, some horses and cattle are more given to colic than others. Some individuals are never troubled, and others are almost constantly under its influence. If much inflammation sets in, a very serious case is on your hands. Two kinds of colic are known—the spasmodic, a contraction, commonly known as cramps of the bowels ”

“ Trifling colic sets in, resembling that due to congestion, and is indicated by unrest, switching of the tail, lifting of the hind legs, slight groaning, moving from side to side, and lying down and rising at short intervals. The animals seem oblivious of their surroundings, anxious, and at times semi-comatose. ”

“ Baby koels, in addition to hatching out before their foster-brethren, develop more quickly, so that they leave the nest fully a week in advance of the young corvi. After vacating the nest they squat for some days on a branch close by; numbers of them are to be seen thus in suitable localities towards the end of July. At first the call of the koel is a squeak, but later it takes the form of a creditable, if ludicrous, attempt at a caw. The young cuckoo does not seem to be able to distinguish its foster-parents from other crows; it clamours for food whenever any crow comes near it. ”

“ The doki-boy forthwith conveys this mass of wet stuff into the pony’s stable for his consumption during the night, thus forming a sound basis for colic in the morning. Don’t let him do it. Even if dhoob grass is not to be had, make him cut the grass before midday, and have it well spread out in the sun, so that the pony [260] gets it thoroughly dried. Remember, he does not want real food at night, only something comforting to munch, that will employ his mind harmlessly and happily, and divert his attention from trying to break loose and go off to fight any other pony he can find near at hand. ”

“ Nevertheless, he returns to their corps the least sick, he orders others to lie down completely dressed, knapsack in readiness. Francis and I are among these last. The day passes, the night passes. Nothing. But I have the colic continually and suffer. At last, at about nine o'clock in the morning, appears a long train of mules with "cacolets," [10] and led by "tringlots." [11] We climb two by two into the baskets. ”

“ Farmers often put bitting harness on a colt the first thing they do to him, buckling up the bitting as tight as they can draw it to make him carry his head high, and then turn him out in a lot to run a half day at a time. This is one of the worst punishments that they could inflict on the colt, and very injurious to a young horse that has been used to running in pasture with his head down. ”

“ Give ten to fifteen drops every hour, if necessary. A physic is indicated in the majority of cases of Colic for the purpose of removing irritants or obstructions from the intestines. Calomel, one to two grains, is a very efficient drug, while Castor Oil is given with great difficulty and it should be administered only where diarrhoea is a complication of Colic. Rectal injections of warm water is very beneficial in the treatment of intestinal obstructions. It is good practice to give a dog some vermifuge after an attack of Colic, as worms frequently produce it. ”

“ It would appear that lead colic is most frequent among people of that trade in cities of the largest size. In Geneva, as I am informed by my friend Dr. C. Coindet of that place, colica pictonum is now almost unknown and never occurs among painters. In Edinburgh it is also little known among painters. A journeyman painter, a patient of mine in the Infirmary, had been seventeen years in the trade, and yet did not know what the painters’ colic or lead palsy meant. In London, according to the Dispensary reports, and in Paris, according to the tables of Mérat, many workmen of that trade suffer. ”

“ I haven't taken any pleasure in eating either, since She fell from her horse.
KIKI-THE-DEMURE
Heavens, one can love people and care for one's stomach too.
TOBY-DOG (with ardor)
Not I! When She screamed and fell from her horse, I felt the heart crack inside me.
KIKI-THE-DEMURE
That affair couldn't have ended otherwise. One doesn't go climbing up on a horse! People don't do such things! I see nothing but extravagance around me. To begin with, a horse is a fearful monstrosity. ”

“ Symptoms. The attack always occurs suddenly, develops rapidly, and is of an extremely grave character.
Colic comes on while the animal is working, moving about, or resting, according to circumstances, and at first resembles that due to congestion. It afterwards becomes very violent; the animals paw, stamp, show great uneasiness, throw themselves violently down, and rise suddenly, only to again lie down as before. The face expresses anxiety, suffering and depression; the tail is often kept lifted, and efforts are continually made to defæcate, mucus being passed. ”

“ Then is it that the jaded dweller in the plains, uttering strange oaths, rushes for his gun and seeks out the disturber of his slumber. In case there be any unable to identify the koel, let it be said that the cock is black from head to foot, that he possesses a wicked-looking red eye, that he is about the size of a crow, but has a slighter body and a longer tail. The hen is speckled black and white. This bird spares not even Sind or the Punjab. It visits every part of the plains of India, wintering in the south and summering in the north. ”

“ As soon as he will bear this, put on the lines, caress him as you draw them over him, and drive him about in the stable till he will bear them over his hips. The lines are a great aggravation to some colts, and often frighten them as much as if you were to raise a whip over them. As soon as he is familiar with the harness and line, take him out and put him by the side of a gentle horse, and go through the same process that you did with the balking horse. Always use a bridle without blinds when you are breaking a horse to harness.
How to hitch a Horse in a Sulky. ”

“ Half a dozen saddled and picketed horses crop the grass near by, and a small bunch of cattle, guarded by a single rider, who lolls sleepily in his saddle, lie a little further off, their heavy bodies appearing strange and shapeless in the half light. A coyote from a little distance barks and howls, but even its voice is drowsy. The only animated sound comes from a bell on a horse tinkling as he feeds.
At four o'clock a little red spark appears near the XXX outfit and the cook can be dimly discerned moving round his wagon. ”

“ It is excellent in indigestion with flatulence; it checks gastric fermentation, expels the gas and overcomes irregular and violent gastro-intestinal movements; hence, is also very good in spasmodic colic. In spasmodic colic, best to combine with cannabis indica or belladonna. When used as a vermifuge it should be followed by a purge. Used diluted one to ten to dislodge worms in the rectum. A most reliable remedy for collapse. Ether and alcohol are indicated in parturient paresis, ether with aqua ammonia may be used intravenously when the cow is unable to swallow. ”

“ But whereas man is usually content with swearing at the noisy cuckoo, crows attack it with beak and claw whenever an opportunity offers. This fact is turned to account by the koel. The cock alights in a tree near a crow’s nest and begins to call. The owners of the nest, sooner or later, “go for” him. He then takes to his wings, continuing to call, so as to induce the crows to prolong the chase. As he is a more rapid flier than they, he does not run much risk. While the irate corvi are in pursuit, the hen koel, who has been lurking around, slips into the nest and there lays her egg. ”

“ Found in all harbours in the Province of Auckland, even up to high water mark, this greedy little animal, seldom more than an inch long, is well worth watching. In some localities, when a cart has been driven along a beach, the track, as soon as the tide reaches it, will swarm with the Cominella lurida. They are looking for cockles or other shellfish smashed by the wheel, and will even burrow in the sand to get at them. If you lift up a broken or injured cockle, some will cling to it with their rasp-like tongues till they are lifted out of the water. ”

“ We shall reside in London for the next four months. God bless you, Cottle, I love you,
S. T. Coleridge."
P. S. The volume (second edition, Coleridge, Lloyd, and Lamb) is a most beautiful one. You have determined that the three Bards shall walk up Parnassus, in their best bib and tucker.
"Stowey, June 29th, 1797.
My very dear Cottle,
... Charles Lamb will probably be here in about a fortnight. Could you not contrive to put yourself in a Bridgwater coach, and T. Poole would fetch you in a one-horse chaise to Stowey. What delight would it not give us.... ”

“ A large proportion of the cases have been found in horses that have died of colic, or which have been cast for operation, and the recent character of the lesions has often shown that we must look upon them as the result of the tumultuous peristalsis, and the lying, rolling, sitting and other sudden and unwonted movements performed. A heavily loaded portion of bowel, occupying a position slightly lower than a lighter portion or parallel to it, suddenly moves by gravitation when their relative positions are altered as in rolling, decubitus, or rising, and it thereby becomes twisted upon itself. ”

“ They never seem to notice the trick that has been played upon them. Even when the black-skinned young koels hatch out, the crows are apparently unable to distinguish them from their own pink-coloured young.
The young koel invariably emerges from the egg before his foster-brothers and thus begins life with a start. He develops much more quickly than they do, but, unlike the common cuckoo, ejects neither the other eggs in the nest, nor the young birds as they hatch out. He lives on good terms with the other occupants of the nest, and when fledged, makes laudable if ludicrous attempts to caw. ”