INDIGESTION OR DYSPEPSIA. 
561 
ing between four and five, and watered after feeding on their 
\\a) to the wagon ; are fed again any time betweeen twelve and 
two, being allowed one hour for dinner ; fed first and again 
watered after feeding, and immediately returned to work. This 
is a complete reversion of what is known to be the proper way 
of feeding. City horses suffer more severely from indigestion 
during the hot months of summer. This is due to the fact 
that mail} of these animals come in in the evening completely 
exhausted and overheated, the alimentary tract and nervous 
system sharing largely in the general debilitated condition of the 
entire economy of the animal. Animals again insufficiently 
watered, their stomachs more in need of a rest than of work, 
have the same amount of feed to contend with as if in a normal 
condition feed that the animal would probably not have 
looked at but for the stimulus given to the stomach by the few 
mouthfuls of water which the animal has been allowed to 
swallow. The stomach already in a debilitated condition, the 
glandular structures not performing their proper secretory func¬ 
tion, and the lack of termination to the capillaries and blood 
vessels of the walls of the stomach consequent upon the im¬ 
paired vitality and depressed condition of the nervous system in 
general, the processes of gastric digestion are carried on very 
slowly and imperfectly, and should the animal slip his halter 
and get at the watering-trough the consequences are apt to be 
disastrous. The suffering of the animal during the hot season 
of the year is greatly augmented by the intense heat and the 
vitiated condition of the stable atmosphere dependant upon ani¬ 
mal exhalations. Hardly has the stomach had time to get rid 
of its encumbrance than the morning feed is deposited in front 
of him, and, having eaten this, he then takes as much water as 
he can drink on the way to the wagon, thereby diluting what¬ 
ever amount of gastric juice may have been secreted by the al¬ 
ready overtaxed stomach, and to climax this a hard day’s work 
ensues. This continues till sooner or later the walls of the 
stomach become weakened, and rupture of the stomach ensues 
as a sequel to an attack of acute indigestion. 
