166 ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 



Water takes a different course. It passes almost directly 

 through the stomach and small intestine to the water-sac or 

 caecum, where it is stored for use. A portion is drawn off to be 

 mixed with the blood to supply the fluids of the system; the 

 rest, carrying with it certain salts necessary to be removed from 

 the body, is excreted through the kidneys as urine. 



The horse is an animal requiring regularity in feeding and 

 watering and a very limited variety of foods to be kept in effi- 

 cient condition. The horse's stomach is very small; in propor- 

 tion to his bulk, it is only half the size of the human stomach. 

 It rests upon the large intestine and against the diaphragm, 

 while the small intestines lie further back in the abdomen, more 

 remote from the direct action of the diaphragm. The walls of 

 the stomach are, elastic, and permit it to accommodate itself to 

 the bulk of the food that enters it. 



The above considerations render it imperative that a horse 

 should not be called on for severe work or rapid exercise imme- 

 diately after eating a bulky meal. The stomach, distended, in- 

 terferes with the free action of the diaphragm, and the latter, 

 in its efforts to increase the air capacity of the lungs, squeezes 

 the stomach back against the intestines, and so greatly impedes 

 the processes of digestion. 



Very fortunately, digestion is a rapid process in the horse, 

 and the stomach is called on to do but little of the digestion of 

 the bulkier foods. Water is retained in the stomach or small 

 intestines only when it is absorbed by partially-digested food. 

 This has the effect of diluting the digestive fluids, of delaying 

 the process of digestion, and of mechanically removing from the 

 stomach food that is not ready to be passed to the intestine. In 

 addition, the water cools the stomach and its contents below 

 the temperature at which it best performs its functions. For 

 these reasons horses should not have access to water while 

 eating, or for an hour or two after. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



