The illustrated horse management; containing descriptive remarks upon anatomy, medicine, shoeing, teeth, food, vices, stables; by Mayhew Edward 1813?-1868

Author:Mayhew, Edward, 1813?-1868
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Horses
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & co
Published: 1867-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

bovine tribe. The time was also lengthened, by the equine race not being gifted with a power to ruminate. The ox, having filled the mouth, bestows little care upon the comminution of the food; but the jaw being moved twice or thrice, thereby crushing the herbage, so as to form it into a pellet, the mouthful is forwarded at once to the rumen. This receptacle is large, and is somewhat hastily filled. Then the ox retires to a quiet spot and there enjoys its meal; the grass being regurgitated and fully masticated, during which time the animal is said to be "chewing the cud." The horse has no such power. The food it gathers must be prepared by mastication and insalivation before it enters the stomach; consequently, because of the niceness of its appetite, and the absolute necessity for each mouthful being separately comminuted, the horse, in a free state, has to journey far and to feed long before it can lie down and rest.

The equine race were meant to collect their sustenance from the surface of the earth; and, doubtless, the tribe are most at ease when feeding with the head lowered to the necessary position. A dog naturally lowers the mouth when it laps a fluid; but, if this creature be tempted to drink from a saucer held on a level with the ordinary elevation of the head, repeated coughing will interrupt the draught and testify to the inconvenience experienced by the animal. So, in the instance of the horse, we may infer the meal is most relished when the head sinks to its gratification; and, to justify such an inference, anatomy discloses a special provision made to that end. Such a proof is, to the author's mind, of much more weight than any assertion to the contrary of the united British public, as emphasized by the fixed altitude of all the mangers throughout the three kingdoms.

A serious suggestion here forces itself upon the mind of the writer; and it is one the importance of which should recommend it to the consideration of the public. Laryngeal affections are among the most frequent annoyances of every stable, and stand foremost among the most vexatious of the many evils which the veterinary surgeon is expected to eradicate.

However, it is proved that if sustenance be swallowed with the head at a certain elevation, it must interfere with the most irritable organ entering into the composition of the entire body. Then, horse proprietors would do well to reflect upon the fact, and to say, how far constantly-repeated provocation may aggravate or induce the fearful laryngeal maladies to which domesticated horses are peculiarly liable.

The valves existing in the jugular veins are formed by duplicatures of its internal lining membrane ; and they are so arranged as to prevent the natural tendency to regurgitate when the fluid within the vessel

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