Men, particularly household men, who do not work for what they eat, often have indigestion for several successive years. They are said to have a weak stomach, or to be troubled with bile. They are always complaining, never quite well, yet never very ill. The stomach is truly weak. It wants energy, it acts slowly, often imperfectly; yet it is not wholly inactive. It rarely loses all control over the food. The horse seldom suffers under a similar complaint; when indigestion does occur in him, it is a serious affair, soon cured, or soon producing death. In men the disease usually termed indigestion, ought perhaps to have another name, for all or most of the food does undergo the process of digestion although it may be performed very slowly. The indigestion I am about to speak of in the horse, has been termed acute. It ought to be called complete; or rather, that in man should be termed difficult. After this explanation, the reader need not confound indigestion in man with indigestion in the horse. They are totally different. The structure of the horse's stomach, and the nature of his food, account to a certain extent for the difference.

But in men the digestion is difficult, in the horse it is not performed.

It is very obvious that the stomach in health must exercise a peculiar control over the food, which does not putrefy, or ferment, as it would, were it kept equally warm and moist in any place but the stomach. So long as the stomach is able to digest, the food suffers neither putrefaction nor fermentation. But it sometimes happens that the stomach loses its power. It becomes unable to digest the food, or to exercise any control over its changes.

Now, when the horse's stomach ceases to digest, one of two things usually takes place. Either the food remains in the stomach without undergoing any change, or it runs into fermentation. In the one case the horse is often foundered; in the other he is griped, he takes what I shall here call colic.

Founder is an inflammation of the feel, generally of the forefeet, but sometimes of them all. It is not apparent why a load of undigested food in the stomach should produce a disease in the feet; yet it is well known that it does so. There seems to be some untraced connexion between the feet and the stomach, and some theories have been made on the subject, but I have heard none worth notice; we do not even know why in one case the food remains unchanged, and in another undergoes fermentation. Perhaps it depends a good deal upon the quantity of water that happens to be present with the food. [This is all idle speculation and not to be depended on; founder never springs from this cause.]

An overloaded stomach is one of the causes of indigestion. If a horse reach the grain-chest, or in any other way obtain a large meal of grain, he will be very likely to take colic in an hour or more after he gets water. If water be withheld, he may founder; but colic will not occur, unless there be much water previously in the stomach or bowels. Those who are experienced in these matters know how to manage a horse after he has been gorged with food. They give him no water all that day, and none on the next till evening. Then they give only a little at a time, and often, till thirst be quenched. If he be a slow horse he goes to work, but if his work be fast he must remain at home, having, however, a good deal of walking exercise. In this way the stablemen prevents what he calls the gripes, colic, or batts. He is ignorant of the mode in which water operates, but experience has taught him that it has something to do with the disease. Founder, it is true, may happen, but that is usually regarded as a more curable malady than the other.

It is not so deadly, but I shall presently show that colic can be cured sooner, and with more certainty, than founder.