494 
COMMUNICATIONS AND CONSULTATIONS. 
six years old now, 16^ hands high; a very handsome horse, shew- 
ing a good deal of breeding, and both lively and gentle in harness. 
He met with an accident the very day he came to my stable, hav- 
ing cast himself in the stall. An injury in the hip-joint was the con- 
sequence, from which he did not entirely recover for three months. It 
was during his convalescence, and while only getting gentle walking 
exercise, that the complaint I now mention first shewed itself. A 
tumour, of the size generally of an egg, but at times double that size, 
rises apparently from the stomach through the whole length of the 
throat, causing distress and threatening suffocation. By following 
it upward with the hand, it may be pressed so that you might ex- 
pect its discharge through the mouth, but no such discharge can be 
obtained. By following it downward it can often, but not always, 
be made to descend out of the throat altogether. To the feeling it 
seems both liquid and flatulent. When small, it does not seem much 
to distress him ; when large, the distress is very great — a violent 
effort to discharge it — perspiration — and even screaming ; and, on 
one occasion, falling down. When such an attack as this passes 
over, the horse’s condition does not seem affected by it ; he takes 
to his meat just as if nothing had been the matter with him. He 
has done his work regularly for the last eight months, though the 
affection has never entirely disappeared. This was his state till 
yesterday, when again he had a very bad attack : — the lump was 
nearly the size of one’s fist, but it rose only about a foot above the 
chest. In his efforts to get rid of it he discharged by the mouth and 
nostrils a considerable quantity of green frothy stuff. He is at pre- 
sent getting some green food. He actually screamed with the pain 
of the effort, but did not obtain relief till a bottle of warm water was 
poured into his throat, and, working this downward, the lump dis- 
appeared. No sooner was this the case than he began prancing 
about in the highest spirits. To-day he is quite well, and has 
done three hours’ light work as gay as a lark : the enlargement 
however, is still visible, and capable of being moved upward or 
downward by the hand. It can always be compressed by the hand 
without any apparent pain, but sometimes gives a slight gurgle on 
pressure. 
I have thus, as minutely as I could, described this case ; suffi- 
ciently, I hope, to enable you to favour me with your opinion of 
its nature, and of the treatment to be resorted to, both on im- 
mediate attack and with the view to permanent cure. I have in 
prospect a journey of some eight or ten days, on which I set out 
the 20th of this month. I take it easily, seldom exceeding thirty 
miles a-day, and that not continuously. It would put me to much 
inconvenience to want this horse, but, at the same time, I would 
not wish to run any risk of injuring him. 
