70 THE CANADIAN HOESE 



above lotion. A horse having lost part of the tongue cannot 

 drink, without plunging the head deep in the water. 



INJURIES OF THE GULLET — CHOKING. 



The oesophagus or gullet is the soft muscular tube through 

 which the food is conveyed from the back part of the mouth 

 {pharynx) to the stomach. It first passes above and behind 

 the top of the windpipe, (larynx,) then inclines to the left 

 side of the neck, down which it passes, entering the chest 

 with the windpipe (trachea) between the two first ribs ; pass- 

 ing through that cavity, it penetrates the midriff, (diaphragm) 

 and enters the upper {cardiac) portion of the stomach. 



The gullet of the horse is not very liable to injury. 



OBSTRUCTION OF THE GULLET— CHOKING. 



This, when it does occur, arises generally from eating 

 ravenously of dry food, as branchaff, chopped hay, &c., or 

 from a hard ball getting across the passage, or an egg, which 

 grooms are sometimes in the habit of* giving, to improve 

 the coat. 



Symptoms.^H.e manifests considerable uneasiness, twist^ 

 ing his head, and stretching his neck, making frequent 

 attempts to vomit. If he swallows any fluid, it distends the 

 gullet, and it runs out at the nostrils. 



Treatment. — Until the symptoms are alarming, nothing 

 should be done but turn him into a loose-box, and give him 

 some well-boiled gruel, which, says Professor Dick, " is grate- 

 ful to the animal, which freely tries to gulp it, and often 

 succeeds. The bland fluid lubricates the part, softens down 

 the. foreign body, and in this way it will often slip down. 

 Should this not succeed, the probang must be resorted 

 to. The mouth being held open with a gag or balling-iron, 

 the head stretched out, and tongue taken out to one side. 



