DISEASES OE THE MOUTH AND THROxVT 553 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



DISEASES OF THE ABDOMINAL VISCERA AND THEIR APPENDAGES 



GENERAL REMARKS —DISEASES OF THE MOUTH AND THROAT— DYSPEPSIA— GASTRITIS- 

 STOMACH STAGGERS— GRASS STAGGERS— RUPTURE OF THE STOMACH— COLIC : GRIPES 

 OR FRET — FLATULENT COLIC — INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS — TWISTED GUT — 

 PERITONITIS— CONSTIPATION— DIARRIICEA— CALCULI IN THE BOWELS— DISEASES OF 

 THE LIVER — DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS — DIABETES — INFLAMBIATION OF THE BLADDER 

 — DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS— CANCER OF THE PENIS. 



GENERAL REMARKS 



Though not often producing what in horse-dealing is considered unsound- 

 ness, yet diseases of the abdominal viscera constantly lead to death, and 

 frequently to such a debilitated state of the body, that the sufferer is 

 rendered useless. Fortunately for the purchaser, they almost always give 

 external evidence of their presence, for there is not only emaciation, but 

 also a staring coat and a flabby state of the muscles, which is quite the 

 reverse of the wiry feel communicated to the hand in those instances 

 where the horse is " poor " from over- work in proportion to his food. 

 In the latter case, time and good living only are required to restore the 

 natural plumpness ; but in the former, the wasting will either go on 

 until death puts an end to the poor diseased animal, or he will remain in a 

 debilitated and wasted condition, utterly unfit for hai-d work. 



DISEASES OF THE MOUTH AND THROAT 



Several parts about the mouth are liable to inflammation, which Avould 

 be of little consequence in itself, but tliat it interferes with the feeding, and 

 this for the time starves the horse, and renders him unfit for his work, 

 causing him to "quid" or return his food into the manger without swallow- 

 ing it. 



Injuries to the lips, tongue, lining membrane of the mouth, dental 

 troubles, eruptions, glandular swellings, and lodgment of foreign bodies are 

 among the causes of quidding. 



Where any difficulty either in the prehension of the food or in mastication 

 is observed, the mouth should be carefully examined, and if nothing is to be 

 seen by the ordinary method of opening it and pulling the tongue on one side, 

 a proper mouth-gag (see page 545) should be used to make further search. 



If a temporary tooth has become wedged it must be removed, and the 

 same remark applies to any other body that may have become impacted 

 between the teeth. Young horses, particularly yearlings at grass, are 

 subject to the formation of a bladder or blain inside the lips and upon the 

 side of the tongue, giving rise to distressing symptoms ; food is refused and 

 long ropes of viscid and perhaps discoloured saliva hang from the angles of the 



