feeding too much green feed or grain; feeding frozen or decomposed feeds;
drinking ice-cold water; and violent exercise or work that the animal is
not accustomed to, immediately after feeding are the common
disease-producing factors.

_The symptoms_ may vary from impaired appetite and slight restlessness to
violent, colicky pains. In the large majority of cases the attendant is
unable to differentiate between this and other forms of acute indigestion.
The characteristic symptoms are attempts at regurgitation and vomiting,
assuming a dog-sitting position and finally such nervous symptoms as
champing of the jaws, staggering movement and extreme dulness.

The violent form of gastric indigestion frequently ends in death. Rupture
of the stomach is not an uncommon complication (Fig. 12).

[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Rupture of stomach of horse.]

_The treatment_ is both preventive and medicinal. This digestive disorder
can be prevented. The feeding of the right kind of a ration and in the
right way, and avoiding conditions that may interfere with the digestion of
the feed, are the general lines of preventive treatment indicated. Such
measures are of special importance in the handling of animals that possess
an individual predisposition toward this class of disease. In mild attacks
the animal should be subjected to a rigid or careful diet during the attack
and for a few days later.

It is advisable to place the animal in a comfortable stall that is well
bedded with straw and plenty large for it to move about in. If a roomy
sick-stall can not be provided, a grass lot or barn floor may be used. If
the weather is chilly or cold, the body should be covered with a blanket