How a horse’s digestive system works

How well do you understand how your horses digestive system works? A good diet is key to a their digestive health. Its large and its complicated but a horses digestive system much like a persons works like a dream when its maintained in a healthy state. Horses are hind gut fermenters which means their digestive system is very different from ours a dogs or even a cows. Rabbits elephants and rhinoceros are some of the other animals that have this type of digestive system but there are few of them. Managing your horse correctly therefore and knowing what to avoid andor look for that can trigger problems some bigger and potentially more deadly than others is vital.

A horses lips and sensitive muzzle mark the start of their digestive system. Their lips tongue and teeth are designed to grasp food which they do effectively explains equine vet Sara Fleck. Horses can move their jaws from side to side back and forth and they also have very moveable tongues and lips to the point where they could just about form words.
Once food is in your horses mouth their teeth break it down by crushing and grinding which releases nutrients from inside the plant cells. The food becomes a soft pulp and is made into a bolus ball by the tongue says Sara. When a horse swallows the trachea is blocked by the epiglottis to make sure food goes into the oesophagus and not the windpipe.
The oesophagus is a muscular tube about 1 5m long that transports food from the horses mouth into the stomach by rhythmic contractions known as peristalsis. The bolus then passes through the cardiac sphincter and into the lumen of the stomach. The sphincter acts as a oneway valve which explains why horses cant vomit.
Digestive system inside the mouth
A horses mouth is an important and sometimes overlooked part of the digestive system states Dr Laura Wilson a vet and technical advisor at Dodson Horrell. It is in their mouth that mechanical digestion begins via chewing and saliva is secreted.
Dental health is vital to a horses overall digestive health and it is therefore important to have your horses teeth checked regularly.
Food is broken down into smaller pieces in the mouth to improve its digestibility and absorption of vital nutrients explains Laura Forage such as hay haylage or even grass requires more chewing than concentrate feeds. Increased time spent chewing is beneficial for the horse as it promotes