130 WATERING HORSES. 



which is in them, before such residue, in the more or less 

 perfect form of dung, decomposes, or before its presence can 

 interfere with digestion. The water which is drunk by a 

 horse naturally helps the water which is contained in the food 

 to perform this office. 



DESTINATION OF WATER DRUNK BY HORSES. 



When water is drunk by a horse in the usual way, it 

 passes through the gullet, stomach, and small intestine, which 

 is able to absorb fluids, and the remainder flows into the 

 caecum. This transit from mouth to caecum is rapidly effected, 

 and consequently with little loss of water. The stomach of 

 the horse, according to Colin, has hardly any absorbent 

 power. The caecum, the walls of which can freely absorb 

 water, is constructed in such a manner that it can hold a 

 considerable quantity of fluid ; the excess being passed out 

 along with the food, into the lower portion of the large intes- 

 tine. As the absorbents take up water only to the extent 

 required by the body, the caecum acts as a water reservoir to 

 the system. It appears that the fact of the horse possessing 

 this water reservoir prompts him, when he is thirsty and when 

 he has the opportunity, to take a copious drink, so as not 

 only to supply his present need, but also to lay up a store for 

 the requirements of the next few hours. We also find that, 

 unlike the majority of human beings, he does not as a rule 

 drink frequently during the twenty-four hours, supposing that 

 he has free access to water. We may therefore conclude that 

 it is in harmony with a horse's nature for him, under ordinary 

 conditions, to drink copiously when he is thirsty, so as to fill 

 his caecum. To restrict him to small and frequent drinks, 

 would be as irrational as it would be to apply the same method 

 to the feeding of dogs, whose health is best maintained when 

 their comparatively large stomach receives food only once or 

 twice a day. When the water in a horse's system suffers from 



