FOOD AND DIGESTION 



359 



horse than in the dog, and hence, when the animal has 

 received hay, followed by oats, these are found lying more or 

 less separate, unless the animal has taken water, when they 

 are more fixed. 



In the horse the amylolytic period is well marked, and the 

 percentage of hydrochloric acid is never so high as in the dog. 

 Lactic acid is always formed from the carbohydrate of the food, 

 and on a diet of hay it may exceed the hydrochloric acid. 



The proteolytic action of the gastric juice of the horse is slower 



Oc* 



FIG. 159. Stomach of Horse fed successively on four differently coloured 

 foods to show the distribution of the various foods in the viscus. 



than that of carnivora, but it is very marked, and peptones 

 are found abundantly in the stomach at the end of digestion. 

 In the stomach of the horse the cellulose of the food is partly 

 decomposed, probably by the action of an enzyme in the grain, 

 which has been described by H. J. Brown. 



Vomiting in the horse is very rare, and only occurs when 

 the stomach is much over-distended. The food passes up the 

 oasophagus in small quantities, and, on account of the length 

 of the soft palate, it cannot get into the mouth, but escapes 

 through the nose (fig. 148, p. 337.) 



