INDIGESTION IN THE HORSE. 
475 
lies down with more caution ; lie dreads the danger of doing so; 
he often stretches himself and makes vain attempts to pass his 
manure and urine ; feels a desire to vomit, manifested by the 
elongation of the head and neck; he frequently belches up gases, 
which is sometimes accompanied with liquids, mixed with par¬ 
ticles of food, which escape by the nose and month. The swelling 
of the belly now augments with fearful rapidity; the right flank 
becomes elevated; the countenance is expressive of the most in¬ 
tense suffering; the pulse is nearly imperceptible; he is now 
nearly insensible to everything that is around him, and to every¬ 
thing that you do to him, except, perhaps, that he will refuse to 
take any draught with all the energy with which he is still capa¬ 
ble. The anus, forced out by the intestines, forms a sort of soft 
tumor which elevates the tail. The skin is now covered with 
cold sweat, and the pulse completely gone; the air can scarcely 
penetrate the respiratory organs; the blood circulates with diffi¬ 
culty in the vessels; asphyxia becomes imminent; the animal 
staggers and may fall heavily ; sometimes he is relieved by sitting 
on his haunches like a dog, but this relief is deceptive; it is the 
result of rupture of the stomach, intestines, or diaphragm allow¬ 
ing displacement of gas. A moment after, he becomes comatose ; 
there is no further relief for him, his vital energy is exhausted, 
and he dies. 
I now come to the treatment of the various forms of digestive 
derangements which I have endeavored to describe in this paper, 
and in doing so, it will be necessary that we consider carefully 
the causes by which they are produced. In all cases, but partic¬ 
ularly in those of the milder form of indigestion, much may be 
learned from the groom or stable attendant, and it is of the 
utmost importance to the success of our treatment, that as much 
of the history of the case be got from him as possible. 
First .—If the horse has been irregularly fed, or his work 
more than ordinarily severe, he should have absolute rest, change 
of diet, a slight dose of physic and a few vegetable tonics. 
Second .—If the cause is greedy feeding, have his corn ground, 
hay cut, and a muzzle put on at night to prevent him filling his 
belly with indigestible matter. 
