94 



gullet, below the offending body, pressing it firmly and forcibly into the 

 mouth. If this method does not succeed, and the object cannot be 

 withrawn by the hand, the turnip-rope may be used. This should 

 always be done very carefully, and not in a hurry, especially if the 

 animal resists. Should there be a quantity of gas in the stomach, 

 and the patient much swollen, it may die a mechanical death, owing 

 to the pressure of the the gas on the diaphragm, the lungs, and heart, 

 before it can be relieved. If there is any likelihood of this happening, 

 the stomach must be punctured, so as to liberate the gas. This may be 

 done with a trocay and canula, or, in extreme cases, even with a knife, 

 by plunging it into the stomach, half-way between the last rib and the 

 haunch-bone, on the left side, then turning it crosswise, when the gas 

 will rush out. A little treacle and brown paper, placed over the opening 

 in the side, as soon as the knife is withdrawn, is all that is required for 

 the wound made, and it is seldom that any bad effects follow. 1 have 

 met with cases where the offending body has dropped into the stomach, 

 after the pressure of the gas was removed. 



242. The CEsophagus, or gullet, is subject to stricture and 

 dilatation, as well as to the formation of tubercular tumours ; and to 

 injuries by pins, wires, and needles becoming fixed. All these cause 

 periodical swellings on the left side, the same as in choking, and are 

 very troublesome. The probang, or turnip-rope may be passed several 

 times a day, but the treatment scarcely ever produces satisfactory 

 results. 



243. Derangement of the Stomach of the horse arises from many 

 causes, such as injudicious feeding, or over-feeding with too much badly 

 cooked food, as, for example, boiled wheat and barley, neither of which 

 should be left to cool and then warmed up again — a common and 

 very dangerous practice with many — as it turns sour and ferments. 

 Wheat and barley should always be used newly boiled. Another cause 

 of stomach derangement arises from the animal bolting the food without 

 chewing it, thus preventing the food being properly mixed with the 

 salivary secretions, and, consequentl}^ fermentation, or generation of 



