Acute Gastric Indigestion in Solipeds. 157 



water or wading or swimming a cold river, is commonly less in- 

 jurious than a full drink of iced water, when heated and fatigued. 



Certain kinds of food are far more dangerous than others, and 

 especially such as should be digested in the stomach. Thus the 

 different grains — barley, rye, buckwheat, wheat, oats, Indian 

 corn, and even bran, have been especially objected to. The 

 amount of proteids in oats, for example, is 11.9 per cent., while 

 those of hay are but 7 per cent. The same bulk of oats, there- 

 fore, demands nearly double the work of the stomach to reduce 

 its nitrogenous constituents to peptones than does hay. But 

 when fully insalivated the difference is even greater, for oats 

 take but the equivalent of their own weight of saliva, whereas hay 

 takes four times its own weight. There is one part of proteids in 

 16.7 parts of insalivated oats, and but 1 in 71.4 of insalivated 

 hay. If the oats are bolted without mastication, which can 

 never be the case with hay, the discrepancy becomes greater still. 

 Grain is best fed often, in moderate amount, and without further 

 loading of the stomach immediately with either solids or fluids. 

 Above all, never feed grain to a thirsty horse and then lead him 

 direct to the watering trough. Even should he fail to have the 

 stomach paralyzed by the cold water, and indigestion developed, 

 yet much of the proteids will be washed out into the small intes- 

 tine to threaten indigestion there. 



Selenitic waters may induce indigestion by neutralizing the 

 hydrochloric acid of the stomach and interrupting digestion. 



Finally, all forms of gastritis — catarrhal, toxic, and phleg- 

 monous — induce atony, fermentation and indigestion. 



Symptoms. There may be simply tardy digestion or grave 

 disorder with impaction or tympany. 



In the former case there is impairment or perversion of appe- 

 tite, refusal of food, irregular feeding, licking earth or lime, or 

 eating filth, even faeces, with some dullness, apathy, or signs of 

 pain such as pawing with the fore feet, or looking round at the 

 flanks. There is rumbling of the bowels, followed in favorable 

 cases by the passage of flatus, of softened faeces containing im- 

 perfectly digested food, and distinct diarrhoea which proves 

 curative. 



The more violent attacks set in suddenly, usually within one or 

 two hours after feeding. There are usually colicy pains, pawing, 

 looking back at the flank, kicking at the abdomen with the hind 



