HORSE SENSE. 199 



which is the most conducive to his health, because it obliges him to eat 

 more slowly, oft'ers more facilities for the saliva to flow from the salivary 

 glands into the mouth, and gives more exercise to the muscles. 



DRINKING WATER FOR HORSES. 



Horses are so fastidious as to the quality of their drinking water, 

 and grooms are often so careless of this fact, that we feel certain it is a 

 mistake to have a fixed water vessel alongside of a horse, which, wc 

 may be quite sure, will not be cleaned out as frequently as necessary. 

 Observation convinces us that when a horse has a basin or bucket of 

 water constantly in front of him, he will undoubtedly slaver into it and 

 foul it, so that its inner surface will soon be covered with mucous and 

 •dirt, which will not be always cleaned away by the groom, even if he 

 be careful enough to keep the vessel constantly full. When the re- 

 ceptacle is a fixture, the cleaning-out process can be accomplished only 

 with difficulty. 



THE HAY MANGER. 



The hay receptacle should never take the form of the old-fashioned 

 hay-rack, which is placed high up, and which consequently is not an 

 uncommon indirect cause of inflammation of the eyes, from irritating 

 particles dropping out of the hay into them. Besides, with these hay- 

 racks, many horses get into the idle and provoking habit of pulling out 

 the hay, irrespective of their desire to eat it, until all the hay they have 

 not consumed is scattered over the floor, and more or less "messed" 

 about. 



MANGE IN HORSES. 



This annoying disease is characterized by irritation and itching of 

 the skin, causing the horse to rub himself whenever the opportunity 

 offers. There are several kinds of this disease, but nearly all may be 

 relieved, and generally cured, by removing the scabs with a brush, soap 

 and warm water, and then applying a strong decoction of tobacco, 

 which can be made by putting one and a half to two ounces of tobacco 

 in one quart of water. The operation should be repeated in about two 

 weeks, to destroy the new brood. The barn and stalls should be white- 

 washed. The parts generally affected are at the roots of the hair of 

 The mane, along the back and tail, head and sometimes the heels and 

 lower portions of the legs. 



FATIGUE, A CAUSE FOR DISEASE. 



If a horse is tired when he comes to the barn we should not water 

 him immediately, nor should we give him a feed, but first allow him to 

 become rested. 



The following methods should be observed in feeding and water- 

 ing horses: 



Avoid sudden change in the kind of food. 



Avoid sudden changes from whole food to ground food, and vice 

 versa. 



Limit the quantity of food to what can be easily and thoroughly di- 

 gested. 



Water before feeding. 



Never feed or water a horse when exhausted or very tired. 



