198 THE HORSE. 



The gullet, as will be more particularly described in what follows, term!* 

 nates in 



THE STOMACH. 



Which is found on the left side of the belly, lying upon the large intestines, 

 its fore part close to the liver, and its left side in contact with the diaphragm. 

 This situation of the stomach will at once explain the reason why a horse 

 is so much distressed, and sometimes irreparably injured, if worked hard 

 immediately after a full meal. The stomach must be displaced and driven 

 back in the belly by every contraction of the diaphragm or act of inspira- 

 tion ; then in proportion to the fullness of the stomach will be the weight to 

 be overcome, and the labour of the diaphragm, and the exhaustion of the 

 animal. If the stomach be much distended, it may be too weighty to be 

 forced sufficiently far back to make room for the quantity of air which the 

 animal in a state of exertion requires. Hence the frequency and labour of 

 the breath, and the quickness with which such a horse is blown, or, pos- 

 sibly, destroyed. Hence the folly of giving too full a meal, or too much 

 water, before the horse starts on a journey or for the chase ; and hence, 

 likewise, the absurdity and danger of that unpardonable custom of some 

 grooms to gallop the horse after his drink, in order to warm it in his belly, 

 and prevent gripes. 



The horse was destined to be the servant of man, and to serve him at 

 all hours, and whether fasting or full : it would seem, therefore, that to 

 lessen the inconvenience or danger of the pressure of the stomach on the 

 diaphragm, a smaller stomach, in proportion to his size, is given to the horse 

 than to almost any other animal. The bulk of the horse, and the services 

 required of him, demand much nutriment; and his nutriment is of such a 

 nature that it must occupy a very considerable space, yet his stomach, com- 

 pared with his bulk, is not half so large as that of the human being ; and, 

 therefore, although he, like every other animal, feels inconvenience from 

 great exertion immediately after a full meal, he feels not so much as other 

 animals; for his stomach is small, and a great proportion of what he eats 

 rapidly passes through it, and descends to a part of the intestines distant 

 from the diaphragm, and where the existence and pressure of the food 

 cannot cause him any annoyance. 



The orifice by which the gullet enters the stomach is called the cardiac,, 

 h, from its nearness to the heart, or sympathy with it. It is constantly 

 closed by strong muscular fibres, except when food is passing into the 

 stomach. It is the construction of the soft palate, however, as has been 

 already described, and not this closing of this cardiac orifice of the stomach, 

 that chiefly prevents the act of vomiting in the horse. 



The stomach has four coats. The outermost is the lining of the cavity 

 of the belly, and the common covering of all the intestines; by which they 

 are all confined in their respective situations, and from which a fluid is 

 given out, which prevents all friction between them. This is called the 

 peritonetim, or that which stretches round. 



The second is the muscular coat, consisting of two layers of fibres — one 

 running lengthways and the other circularly — and by means of which a 

 constant gentle motion is communicated to the stomach, by which the food 

 is more thoroughly mixed together and prepared for digestion, and by the 

 pressure of which also the food, when properly prepared, is pushed on into 

 the intestines. 



The third, or cuticular, (skin-like coat,) c, covers but a portion of the 

 inside of the stomach. It is a continuation of tlie lining of the gullet. 



