XIXTH AXXtAL YEAR BOOK— PART K 399 
We cannot, however, leave aside entirely here a consideration of the 
digestibility of foods; and by this we mean the readiness with which 
foods undergo those changes in the digestive canal that fit them for ab- 
sorption and deposition as integral parts of the animal economy. 
The age and health of the animal will, of course, modify the digesti- 
bility of foods, as will also the manner and time of harvesting, preserving, 
and preparing the foods. 
In the horse digestion takes place principally in the intestines, and 
here, as in all other animals and with all foods, it is found that a cer- 
tain part only of the provender is digested; another portion is undigested, 
xhis proportion of digested and undigested food must claim passing no- 
tice at least, for if the horse receives too much food, or bulky food con- 
taining much indigestible \a aste, a large portion of food must pass unused, 
entailing not only the loss of the unused food, but also calling for an 
unnecessary expenditure of vital force on the part of the digestive organs 
of the horse. It is thus that, in fact, too much food may make an animal 
poor. 
In selecting food for the horse we should remember the anatomical 
arrangement of the digestive organs, as well as the physiological functions 
performed by each one of them. Foods must be wholesome, clean, and 
sweet, the hours of feeding regular, the mode of preparation found by 
practical experience to be the best must be adhered to, and cleanliness in 
preparation and administration must be observed. 
The length of time occupied by stomach digestion in the horse varies 
with the different foods. Hay and straw pass out of the stomach more 
rapidly than oats. It would seem to follow, then, that oats should be 
given after hay, for if reversed the hay would cause the oats to be sent 
onward into the intestines before being fully acted upon by the stomach, 
and as a result produce indigestion. Experience confirms this. There is 
another good reason ^hy hay should be given first, particularly if the 
horse is very hungry or if exhausted from overwork, namely, it requires 
more time in mastication (insuring proper admixture of saliva) and can 
not be bolted, as are the grains. In either instance water must not be 
given soon after feeding, as it washes or sluices the food from the stomach 
before it is fitted for intestinal digestion. 
The stomach begins to empty itself very scon after the commencement 
of feeding, and continues rapidly while eating. Afterwards the passage 
is slower, and several hours are required before the stomach is entirely 
empty. The nature of tne work required of the horse must guide us in 
the selection of his food. Rapid or severe labor can not be performed on 
a full stomach. For such labor food must be given in small quantity 
and about t'.vo hours before they go to work. Even horses intended for 
slow work must never be engorged with bulky, innutritious food imme- 
diately before going to labor. The small stomach of the horse would 
seem to lead us to the conclusion that this animal should be fed in small 
quantities and often, which, in reality, should be done. The dispropor- 
tion between the size of the stomach and the amount of water drank tells 
us plainly that the horse should always be watered before feeding. One 
of the common errors of feeding, and the one that produces more di- 
gestive disorders than any other, is to feed too soon after a hard day's 
