92 THE ECONOMICS OF FEEDING HORSES 



that after feeding is the natural time for a horse to take 

 his water. In practice a mixture of some or all of these 

 methods seems to work well and without any apparent 

 ill-effects upon the digestive apparatus. To feed and water 

 at the same time makes extra work, as the mangers get 

 very dirty and sometimes sour. The only general state- 

 ment that can be made is that the quantity of water 

 required by a horse daily is between six and eight gallons, 

 varying with the season, work, and size of the animal, 

 and that water should not be withheld for very long. 

 With regard to the effects of drinking whilst hot or when 

 sweating nothing assertive can be laid down. Probably 

 it is better for a horse not to drink his fill when very hot ; 

 many, however, do, and appear to suffer no harm there- 

 from. Watering is generally done by buckets filled 

 from taps at the ends of rows of stalls, when the animals 

 are in their standings ; or by means of drinking-troughs 

 which the animals pass when going to or returning from 

 work. Public drinking-troughs should not be used, and 

 in the stable-yard a covered trough is advisable to assist 

 in preventing infection by worm eggs and soiling with 

 dust. 



The following are four examples of different systems 

 of feeding and watering practised in the same town. 

 The food in each case is scientifically good and econo- 

 mical, and the respective owners are quite satisfied that 

 their own particular procedure is the best, and that it 

 leaves nothing to be desired. It will be seen that the 

 examples include methods where food is given three, 

 four, five, and six times a day. Water is always given 

 after the first meal, but in other respects each procedure 

 is different. 



