STOMACH-STAGGERS. 87 



It is essentially necessary to ascertain the cause of 

 this disease. A very frequent one is over-distention 

 of the stomach. The horse may have got loose in 

 the night, and filled himself with corn, beans, or 

 chaff; he may have been worked longer and harder 

 than usual, and have had a double feed given him 

 upon reaching the stable. The powers of the sto- 

 mach having been exhausted with those of the frame, 

 have been consequently unable to act on its contents, 

 or to expel them. If no positive information can be 

 obtained, the appearance of the horse may direct the 

 judgment as to the probability of these having oc- 

 curred ; for the animal will be evidently bloated, 

 much swollen, and the lethargy will be more complete 

 when it originates with over-gorging than when it 

 springs from other causes. 



This disease has often made its appearance in 

 large establishments, where horses have been kept 

 long fasting, and then allowed an unlimited quantity 

 of dry food. In these cases the desire for provender 

 has been awakened by prolonged abstinence, and has 

 then been unrestrictedly gratified; the brain has be- 

 come affected from the pressure of the stomach upon 

 the diaphragm obstructing the circulation and pre- 

 venting the perfect oxygenation of blood. 



This disease, however, will sometimes occur from 

 simple indigestion without such strange distention of 

 the stomach ; yet not without evident affection of that 

 viscus. When the hours of feeding are irregular, the 

 stomach becomes weakened by being long empty, 

 and is then oppressed even by an ordinary meal. 

 This happens to farm horses after too long a day's 



