A HORSE CHOKED. 
585 
Treatment .—I first of all tried to force it down by gentle mani¬ 
pulations of the hand and fist; then by greater pressure with a 
stick, a person standing on each side of the horse’s neck, and rub¬ 
bing it both upwards and downwards but which seemed to have 
no good effect in removing it, and only caused extreme pain and 
convulsive action of the muscles of the breast, &c. I then 
drenched him with half a pint of sweet oil, and renewed the 
pressure at intervals, as before : this occupied about two hours. 
After this, I abstracted five or six quarts of blood, and fomented 
the neck, and then waited for half an hour, to see if any relaxa¬ 
tion took place; he was easier for a short time, but afterwards 
became more unruly than ever. 
I then, seeing no chance of his getting better without intro¬ 
ducing the probang, determined on doing so, and accordingly 
took him into a field and cast him, and put a common probang 
down his throat, for nearly the whole length of the tube, and 
which must have gone into his stomach. On drawing it out, it 
stuck fast towards the top of the oesophagus, and I was obliged 
to use a good deal of force in getting it out. I fancy that this 
was occasioned by the tube having passed through the obstruc¬ 
tion, and having drawn some of it hack again, which became 
impacted towards the upper part of the oesophagus, as some of 
the hay was found about the probang on drawing it out, and 
more came up on coughing immediately on his getting up. 
On his getting up he seemed quite relieved, and the obstruc¬ 
tion was gone. He was then taken into the stable and rubbed 
dry (prior to casting him and during the operation he had 
sweated excessively), and I gave him aloes Barb. 3 iv and ammon. 
carb. ^ii in a small soft ball, and also horned down two or three 
hornsfull of warm water. He seemed very much fatigued ; his 
legs and ears were cold, and, indeed, he was cold all over. His 
breathing also was quickened. We covered him well with cloth¬ 
ing, bandaged his legs well up, tied him up to the rack, and left 
him alone for awhile. 
8 p.M. —Is more comfortable, and his legs and cars tolerably 
warm, but not so warm as they should be. He drank a sip or 
two of warm water: seems sore about the top of the throat, and 
slavers a little. 
10 p.M.— More comfortable ; but his respiration is increased, 
and his pulse small and irritable. I drenched him with about a 
quart of gruel, and put half a bucketful of thin gruel before him 
in the manger, and ordered the ostler to see him about two or 
three on the following morning, and if he was any worse, to call 
me up. 
Oct.\)lh, 5 A.M. —The man called me up, and said the horse 
