140 THE VETERINARY SCIENCE 



that of the farm to driving on the road, may account for it ; 

 while the turning of a horse into a field of clover, alfalfa 

 especially, is almost certain to result in a serious attack of 

 acute indigestion. 



Symptoms. — Suppose a case such as is often met with on 

 the farm. The farmer intends to take a journey of fifteen or 

 twenty miles. The night before he gives his horse an extra 

 heavy feed, and if used to feeding on cut feed he probably 

 changes to hay. The next morning he gets up early and 

 gives another heavy feed before hitching up. The horse 

 starts off at a lively gait but in a few minutes he becomes 

 dull and sweats freely around the belly and chest. He passes 

 manure in small quantities and it may be noticed that he even 

 scours. If allowed to stop he shows signs of cramps or pains 

 in the belly and may attempt to lie down. He looks round 

 at his side and an examination discloses the fact that he is 

 slightly bloated. As the journey proceeds he becomes duller 

 and the bloating increases. He finally reaches the journey's 

 end and by this time he is in such pain that it is a difficult 

 matter to unhitch him. As soon as he is taken into the 

 stable the symptoms become violent. He lies down, tries to 

 roll on his back, then jumps to his feet, looks at his flank 

 and again lies down. He paws first with one foot, then with 

 the other, perspires freely all over the body because of the 

 pain and repeats these symptoms until he gets relief. Tap- 

 ping with the finger on his side, etc., will produce a drum-like 

 sound, showing that gas is present. Sound the stomach and 

 bowels with the ear and very little noise is heard, nothing 

 more than the tinkling of gas. He is noticed to pass gas per 

 anus, which is a good sign. The heat of the body, the legs 

 and ears is about natural. This point should be noted, for 

 with inflammation of the stomach or bowels, the legs and 

 ears are always cold and clammy. His pulse beats from 50 

 to 75 per minute, and moderately strong, whereas with in- 

 flammation the pulse is strong and wiry. He is also noticed 

 to breathe heavily and quick, caused by the stomach being so 

 distended with gas that it presses heavily on the lungs. By 

 placing your ear to the bottom part of his neck you will hear 

 a belching of wind ; this is a symptom peculiar to this disease 

 only. It generally takes from twelve to twenty-four hours to 

 run its course. In some cases if not so bad as the case out- 

 lined, the symptoms are not so distressing. He will be 

 noticed to leave his feed and commence pawing, then lie 



