should be borne in mind and
carefully looked for: Diseases of the teeth, consisting in decay,
fracture, abscess formation, or overgrowth; inflammatory conditions, or
wounds or tumors of the tongue, cheeks, or lips; paralysis of the
muscles of chewing or swallowing; foreign bodies in upper part of the
mouth between the molar teeth; inflammation of throat. Difficulty in
swallowing is sometimes shown by the symptom known as "quidding."
Quidding consists in dropping from the mouth well-chewed and insalivated
boluses of feed. A mouthful of hay, for example, after being ground and
masticated, is carried to the back part of the mouth. The horse then
finds that from tenderness of the throat, or from some other cause,
swallowing is difficult or painful, and the bolus is then dropped from
the mouth. Another quantity of hay is similarly prepared, only to be
dropped in turn. Sometimes quidding is due to a painful tooth, the bolus
being dropped from the mouth when the tooth is struck and during the
pang that follows. Quidding may be practiced so persistently that a
considerable pile of boluses of feed accumulate in the manger or on the
floor of the stall. In pharyngitis one of the symptoms is a return
through the nose of fluid that the horse attempts to swallow.

In some brain diseases, and particularly in chronic internal
hydrocephalus, the horse has a most peculiar manner of swallowing and of
taking feed. A similar condition is seen in hyperemia of the brain. In
eating the horse will sink his muzzle into the grain in the feed box
and eat for a while without raising the head. Long pauses are made while
the feed is in the mouth. Sometimes the horse will eat very rapidly for
a little while and then slowly; the jaws may be brought together so
forcibly that the teeth gnash. In eating hay the horse will stop at
times with hay protruding from the mouth and stand stupidly, as though
he has forgotten what he was about.

In examining the mouth one should first look for swellings or for
evidence of abnormal conditions upon the exterior; that is, the front
and sides of the face, the jaws, and about the muzzle. By this means
wounds, fractures, tumors, abscesses, and disease accompanied by
eruptions about the muzzle may be detected. The interior of the mouth is
examined by holding the head up and inserting the fingers through the
interdental space in such a way as to cause the mouth to open. The
mucous membrane should be clean and of a light-