Your veterinarian's term "dry bloat" means the rumen was distended with gas rather than froth. Others might also call this a "gassy bloat." You can tell if you are dealing with a dry bloat or a frothy bloat by whether the bloat is relieved after passing a stomach tube. Frothy bloat doesn't relieve well from a stomach tube because the gas is trapped in many "bubbles." Therabloat® is a product to relieve frothy bloat by breaking down the bubbles until free gas can be relieved. Frothy bloat is often associated with consumption of lush legume pastures (sometimes legume hays) without an adaptation period — for example, with turnout into lush, spring pastures. The causes for dry bloat are many, but generally they occur when gas production exceeds the cow's ability to eructate (belch out) the gas. Either gas production is increased because of an upset in rumen organisms (a digestive upset), or there is some reason why the cow cannot belch normally (choke, muscular, or neurological problems). Usually, bloats are self-limiting if you can keep the bloat relieved and provide a diet of coarse roughage. Unfortunately, severe, untreated bloat can be fatal when the pressure prevents the animal from breathing.

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