DIGESTION 



343 



The churning action of the stomach is less complete in 

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

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

 less separate. Even when the animal has taken water the 

 contents are not much disturbed (p. 367). 



In the horse, the amyolytic 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 



Fig. 157.— Stomach of Horse fed successively on four differently coloured 

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



of the food, and on a diet of hay it may exceed the hydro- 

 chloric acid. 



The proteolytic action of the gastric juice of the horse is 

 slower 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. 



Intestines. — In the small intestine the processes that go 

 on are much the same as in carnivora. 



