Treatment of ruminal indigestion according to popular belief in Sweden.

Abstract

For hundreds of years, the Swedish peasantry were able to cure diseases of animals by using various popular remedies. In this context, ruminal indigestion is a disease of special interest to veterinary history. Long before research had demonstrated the importance for rumination of the ruminal microflora and microfauna, the Swedish peasantry used to administer living ruminal microorganisms from a healthy cow or sheep to an animal suffering from ruminal indigestion. This was performed by giving the diseased animal a cud obtained from the healthy animal. According to some beliefs, the cud was a living being. Those cherishing this belief therefore thought it wise to take only part of the cud so as not to harm the involuntary donor. Another common treatment of ruminal indigestion was based on the thought that the cow had lost the ability to chew. The authors describe the frequent use of chewing of various substances as a remedy. In the available literature, some forty different remedies have been described either alone or used in combination with the above principles.