ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOQY. 169 



From the above quotation* it is easily seen that grave er- 

 rors might be made in attempting to set down a specific treat- 

 ment for colic. The best treatment, for the non-professional 

 person, is to get the patient free from all harness, in a roomy 

 box-stall with plenty of bedding, so that he will not hurt himself 

 in his spasms of pain — and send for a veterinary surgeon. 



Indigestion, or catarrh of the stomach or intestines, 

 is a much more common disease than colic, but it usually does 

 not exhibit such violent symptoms. The mucous membrane is 

 the general lining membrane of the digestive and respiratory 

 apparatus. Inflammation of this membrane impairs the di- 

 gestive ability of the organs inflamed, and the animal suffers a 

 loss of vitality in direct proportion to the extent of the disease. 

 The symptoms of the disease are an irregular and depraved ap- 

 petite and a loss of condition. The animal" may show colicky 

 symptoms in extreme cases. The bowels are irregular, and the 

 dung contains much of the horse's food that is unchanged by its 

 passage through the animal's body. The horse's skin seems 

 very tightly stretched, and the abdomen is "tucked up." 



Indigestion is due to numerous causes; anything that ir- 

 ritates the mucous membrane may cause it. Feeding improper 

 food, bad teeth," causing imperfect mastication, working a horse 

 immediately after eating — all are prolific causes of indigestion. f 



Lampas, the undue swelling of the membrane covering 

 the forward part of the roof of the horse's mouth, is more an 

 indication of disease than a disease. Treatment of the swelling 

 itself does little good. The cause is usually with the horse's 

 diet or digestion. The old practice was to burn the swellings 

 with a red-hot iron; such a treatment simply aggravates the 



*Page 50, " Diseases of the Horse," Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 1903. 



fThis disease is, except in cases where its origin is hereditary, 

 one that should be prevented. It will be discussed more at length 

 under the head of " Preventable Diseases." 



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