DR. LEGEAR'S STOCK BOOK. 47 



CHAPTER VI. 

 THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 



The principal organs of digestion are the teeth, stomach, and 

 bowels. Mastication takes place by the teeth, which is the first 

 step toward the process of digestion. A horse has 40 teeth, a 

 mare 36, a cow 32, a dog 42, and a pig 44 teeth. The canine 

 teeth, or tushes, are seldom developed in the mare. Cattle have 

 no upper front teeth, there being nothing but a tough pad of 

 gristle in the place of teeth. The teeth of a horse need a great 

 deal of attention far more than they get. A horse, dog and 

 pig each have but one stomach, while cattle, sheep and goats each 

 have four stomachs. The capacity of a horse's stomach averages 

 three and a half to four gallons, a cow's from forty-five to fifty 

 gallons, and the dog's one to three quarts. The length of a 

 horse's bowels is about 100 feet, while a cow's is about 150 feet. 

 The horse's bowels although shorter than a cow's are larger in 

 capacity. It is estimated that three-fourths of the horses that 

 die, die of some disease of the stomach or bowels, and in a ma- 

 jority of cases it is caused by faulty feeding or watering. There- 

 fore, it is very important that every horse owner should have a 

 thorough knowledge of the proper way to feed and water. Below 

 will be found all the diseases of the digestive organs, briefly de- 

 scribed. 



DENTITION. 



This covers the period during which the young horse is cutting 

 hi> teeth from birth to the age of five years. -The horse expe- 

 riences mor-e difficulty in cutting the second, or permanent, teeth 

 than with the first, or milk teeth. Too little attention is paid to 



