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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 
walls. When the food has passed through the various necessary 
changes prior to its absorption, the residue passes onwards, and is expelled 
at 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 to 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 
