HUNTERS 



the condition of the animal. It sometimes 

 leads to severe attacks of colic, the stomach 

 becoming excessively distended with gas, and 

 a fatal issue is not uncommon. There is no 

 doubt that the mucous membrane of the 

 stomach is in an extremely irritable condition, 

 and, in course of time, the stomach becomes 

 dilated and its functions materially impaired. 

 In passing it is worthy of note how very small 

 the stomach of the horse is, in comparison 

 with the animal's size. A wind-sucker ap- 

 parently swallows in air, the act being accom- 

 panied by a "gulping" sound. There appears 

 to be no remedy for this trouble, and once 

 it exists, it continues throughout the animal's 

 life. It is a vice of variable degree, some- 

 times being so slight as to be hardly noticeable, 

 whereas, in other instances, it is so strongly 

 marked that it can be heard in the stable. To 

 prevent wind-sucking, a neck strap is usually 

 worn, and it certainly is efficacious, but the 

 trouble reappears directly it is removed. A 

 wind-sucker is certainly not a sound horse, and 

 if this vice is found to exist, the animal can, 

 on proof of warranty, be returned. 



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