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There are at least four special reasons why the diseases of the digestive 

 organs of the horse require a very careful and complete description at our 

 hands. First, these disorders are the most commonly encountered of all 

 equine maladies ; secondly, owing their origin in a very large number of 

 instances to dietetic errors of one kind or another, they are the most easily 

 guarded against ; thirdly, they are in many cases when recognised in the 

 •early stages, very amenable to judicious care and treatment ; and lastly, they 

 -are, generally speaking, very imperfectly understood. 



We have already treated of several general dietetic disorders, such as 

 weed, diabetes, and others, and now we turn to the consideration of the 

 special disorders. Of the diet of the horse we shall treat shortly ; for it is of 

 great importance that every owner of horses should give his attention to this 

 important subject. Were the dietetics of the horse more generally understood, 

 disease would be markedly diminished, more especially in the cart-horse 

 stables. 



In the horse, the intestinal tract is more liable to disease than the 

 stomach, whereas in the ox and sheep the latter organ is more frequently 

 affected. This is in all probability due to the fact that in the horse the 

 stomach is much less complex than in the ruminating animals, and is also 

 smaller in proportion to the rest of the intestines, than in the latter class of 

 creatures. In consequence of this, the process of digestion, begun in the 

 stomach of the horse, is largely completed by the intestines. 



The digestive mechanism of the horse, and the higher animals, and man, 

 consists of a long tube which runs through the body, beginning at the mouth, 

 and ending at the anus. In the mouth, the food is acted upon by the salivary 

 secretion, and is passed on into a cavity called the pharynx, which leads 

 into the gullet. This tube passes down the neck behind the windpipe, and 

 thence through the chest into the abdomen, where it opens into the stomach. 

 Our readers will see at a glance how small this organ is in the horse as 

 compared with the extensive intestinal tract. We should here mention that 

 the body-cavity of the horse, as of all other higher animals, is divided into two 

 halves by a sheet of muscle called the diaphragm, which stretches 

 across from side to side. The front cavity is the chest, the hinder 

 one is the abdomen. When the food enters the stomach, it is 

 acted upon by the gastric juice, and it then passes on into the 

 intestines, where it is again changed, and rendered assimilable by 

 the secretions of the liver and those of the pancreas, and intestinal 

 Avails. When the food has passed through the various necessary 

 changes prior to its absorption, the residue passes onwards, and is expelled 

 Hi intervals from the system. 



The horse is a herbivorous animal, and owing to the large amount of 

 food which has to be taken by it, as by other creatures feeding upon vegetable 

 matter, in order lo obtain the necessary amount of nutrition, the digestive 

 tract must present a large area for absorption. Dogs, cats, and other animals 

 which live upon flesh do not need to eat so large a bulk of food in order to 

 obtain the necessary sustenance ; and hence, consequently, their digestive 



