ruminal lactic acidosis develops in ruminant animals following the ingestion of large amounts of unaccustomed feeds that are rich in readily fermentable carbohydrates . characteristics symptoms of this disease include systemic acidosis , ruminal acidosis , forestomach stasis or forestomach hypomotility , inappetence , depression and hemoconcentration . alpha - 2 adrenoceptor antagonists have been found to be capable of re - establishing forestomach motility that has been lost or severely diminished in ruminants suffering from ruminal lactic acidosis . these antagonist compounds have also been found to be effective in the treatment of ruminants experiencing ruminal lactic acidosis .