30 



out of the poncb. The symptoms presenting themselves are as follows: 

 The horse is able to swallow a few mouthfuls of food without ai^pareut 

 distress; then he will suddenly stop feeding, paw, contract the muscles 

 of his neck, and eject a portion of the food through his nose or mouth. 

 As the dilatation thus empties itself the symptoms gradually subside, 

 only to re-appear when he has again taken solid food. Liquids pass 

 without any, or but little, inconvenience. Should this dilatation exist 

 in the cervical region, surgical interference may sometimes prove effect- 

 ual ; if in the thoracic portion, nothing can be done, and the patient 

 rapidly passes from hand to hand by ''swapping," until, at no distant 

 date, the contents of the sac become too firm to be dislodged as here- 

 tofore, and the animal succumbs. 



DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 



Impaction — Stomach staggers, or gorged stomach. — These are terras 

 given to the stomach when it is so enormously distended with food that 

 it loses all power of contracting upon its contents. It occurs most 

 frequently in those horses that after a long fast are given a large feed, 

 or in those that have gained access to the grain-bin and eaten rav- 

 enously. The proportionally small stomach of the horse, as well as his 

 inability to vomit, will account for the frequency of stomach staggers. 

 I have witnessed this trouble most frequently in teamsters' horses and 

 those that are not fed as often as they should be. After a long fast it 

 is the custom to feed abundantly. The horse bolts his food, and the 

 stomach not having time to empty itself becomes distended and 

 paralyzed. To prevent this condition it is sufiBcient to feed at shorter 

 intervals, to give small quantities at a time, and to secure the feed-bins 

 so that if a horse gets loose he can not " stuff himself to bursting." 



Si/mp)toms. — Percivall says that "a stomach simply surcharged with 

 food, without any accomj)anying tympanitic distention, does not ap- 

 pear to occasion local pain, but to operate rather that kind of influence 

 upon the brain which gives rise to symptoms, not stomachic, but cere- 

 bral. Hence the analogy between this disease and staggers, and hence 

 the appellation for it of ' stomach staggers.'" The horse soon after eat- 

 ing becomes dull and heavy, or drowsy ; slight colicky symptoms are 

 observed, and are continuous; he rarely lies down, but carries his head 

 extended and low, nearly touching the ground. Dullness rapidly in- 

 creases, the eyes are partially closed, vision is impaired, he presses or 

 thrusts his head against the manger or sides of the stall, and paws or 

 even climbs with his fore feet. Respirations are less frequent than in 

 health, the pulse slow and sluggish. All these symptoms rapidly in- 

 crease in severity ; he becomes delirious ; cold sweats bedew the body; 

 he trembles violently, slobbers or vomits a sour, fermenting mass, 

 staggers from side to side, or plunges madly about until he drops dead. 

 Usually the bowels are constipated, although (and especially if the en- 

 gorgement is due to eating wheat or rye) diarrhea has been observed. 

 These symptoms resemble in some particulars those of "blind" or 



