Horses 323 



So far as was observed, the time of drinking had no effect on 

 the digestibility of a ration of grain and hay. When hay only 

 was fed there seemed to be a slight advantage in watering before 

 feeding. The general conclusion was drawn that horses may 

 be watered before, during, or after meals without interfering 

 with the digestion and absorption of food. All these methods 

 of watering are equally good for the horse, and each of them 

 may be employed according to circumstances. It is obvious 

 that certain circumstances may make it necessary to adopt 

 one or the other method. For instance, after severe loss of 

 water, such as occurs in consequence of long-continued, severe 

 exertion, the animal should always be allowed to drink before 

 he is fed, as otherwise he will not feed well. 



In this connection it is worth noting that many American 

 farmers believe that watering before feeding is best. Although 

 all methods of watering seemed in these tests to be equally 

 good for the horse, it is not desirable to change unnecessarily 

 from one method to another. Animals, or at least some of 

 them, appear to be not altogether indifferent to such a change. 

 In the experiments referred to above, it was found that when- 

 ever a change was made from the plan of watering after feeding 

 to that of watering before, the appetite fell off for some days ; 

 not that the horses did not consume the whole of the food 

 given to them, but for some days together they did not eat 

 with the same avidity as before, and took a longer time to 

 consume their rations completely. A similar effect was not 

 observed when the change was from watering before to watering 

 after feeding, or from watering after to watering during meals, 

 or when the change was in the opposite direction to the last. 

 It seems best, therefore, to avoid sudden and unnecessary 

 changes in the method of watering. 



174. Soundness in horses. A horse with a disease or a 

 vice that interferes with his usefulness or makes him incapable 

 of reasonable work is termed unsound. The term serviceably 

 sound is often used to indicate horses that have no defects 



