22 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



fuse sweating, in diabetes, diarrhea, in fever, at the crisis of infec- 

 tious diseases, and when the mouth is dry and hot. 



Some diseases of the mouth or throat make it difficult for the horse 

 to chew or swallow his food. Where difficulty in this respect is expe- 

 rienced, the following-named conditions should be borne in mind and 

 carefully looked for : Diseases of the teeth, consisting in decay, frac- 

 ture, abscess formation, or overgrowth; inflammatory conditions, or 

 wounds or tumors of the tongue, cheeks, or lips ; paralysis of the mus- 

 cles of chewing or swallowing; foreign bodies in upper part of the 

 mouth between the molar teeth; inflammation of throat. Difficulty 

 in swallowing is sometimes shown by the symptom known as " quid- 

 ding." Quidding consists in dropping from the mouth well-chewed 

 and insalivated boluses of food. A mouthful of hay, for example, 

 after being ground and masticated, is carried to the back part of the 

 mouth. The horse then finds that from tenderness of the throat, or 

 from some other cause, swallowing is difficult or painful, and the 

 bolus is then dropped from the mouth. Another quantity of hay is 

 similarly prepared, only to be dropped in turn. Sometimes quidding 

 is due to a painful tooth, the bolus being dropped from the mouth 

 w^hen the tooth is struck and during the pang that follows. Quid- 

 ding may be practiced so persistently that a considerable pile of 

 boluses of food accumulate in the manger or on the floor of the stall. 

 In pharyngitis one of the symptoms is a return through the nose of 

 fluid that the horse attempts to swallow. 



In some brain diseases, and particularly in chronic internal hydro- 

 cephalus, the horse has a most peculiar manner of swallowing and of 

 taking food. A similar condition is seen in hyperemia of the brain. 

 In eating the horse will sink his muzzle into the grain in the feed 

 box and eat for a while without raising the head. Long pauses are 

 made while the food is in the mouth. Sometimes the horse will eat 

 very rapidly for a little while and then slowl}^; the jaws may be 

 brought together so forcibly that the teeth gnash. In eating hay 

 the horse will stop at times with hay protruding from the mouth and 

 stand stupidly, as though he has forgotten what he was about. 



In examining the mouth one should first look for swellings or for 

 evidence of abnormal conditions upon the exterior; that is, the front 

 and sides of the face, the jaws, and about the muzzle. By this means 

 w^ounds, fractures, tumors, abscesses, and disease accompanied by 

 eruptions about the muzzle may be detected. The interior of the 

 mouth is examined by holding the head up and inserting the fingers 

 through the interdental space in such a way as to cause the mouth to 

 open. The mucous membrane should be clean and of a light-pink 

 color, excepting on the back of the tongue, where the color is a yel- 

 lowish gray. As abnormalities of this region, the chief are diffuse 

 inflammation, characterized by redness and catarrhal discharge ; local 



