— aia— 



what is commonly the case in some places, compelling the dam to 

 work shortly after the birth of the offspring, and allowing it to suckle 

 at rare intervals and when the dam is heated. In the horse the 

 symptoms of indigestion are loss of appetite, or depravity and capri- 

 eiousness of it, manifested by the horse eating at irregular intervals, or 

 having a desire to eat filth, with sourness of the mouth and usually 

 increased thirst. The animal soon becomes hide-bound, has a dry, 

 scurfy skin; there is irregularity of the bowels and frequent escape 

 of flatus by the anus. If caused by imperfectly masticated food, 

 such as whole oats or coarse hay, these may be found in the faeces. 

 In addition to the above diagnostic symptoms, there may be a dry 

 cough, or irregularity of the pulse, which may be slower or faster 

 than natural ; colicky pains may also be present in some cases, oc- 

 curring more particularly in an hour or two after the animal has par- 

 taken of its food, whilst in others fits of giddiness, and even paralysis, 

 occurs; the latter condition being not seldom seen in cattle, and 

 very often in horses. 



In the young animal the above symptoms are more commonly as- 

 sociated with diarrhoea than in the older ones, in which constipation 

 is generally present. The faeces often resemble the color of the food; 

 for example, if the horse is fed on dark colored hay or clover, the 

 fseces will be dark colored also ; if, on the contrary, it is fed on oats, 

 the faeces will be light in color ; and in the young animal, when fed on 

 milk, it will often resemble it both in color and consistence, mixed, 

 however, with large masses of curdled milk, and often very foetid. 

 It has often been noticed that when indigestion is induced by clover 

 the urine is very dark in color, and deposits a thick, almost brick- 

 colored sediment. This condition of the urine, however, need cause 

 no apprehension, as it is often seen in the clover -fed animal without 

 any disease being present. Indigestion is a fertile source of deposits 

 in the urine, which results from imperfect nutrition of the tissues, 

 or a chemical change in the constituents of the blood-plasma, due 

 to the products being imperfectly prepared or containing some ma- 

 terial unfit for healthy nutrition. 



In the treatment of indigestion, the cause ought to be carefully 

 inquired into and removed. If due to the process of dentition, the 

 presence of unshed crowns of the temporary teeth irritating and 

 wounding the mouth, or to any irregularity of the dental apparatus^ 



