46 THE COMPLETE HORSEMAN 



thoroughly groomed soon learns to appreciate 

 it, and to look for his periodical '' dressings." 



A word remains to be said about the quality 

 of the water and the food. Well water is fre- 

 quently all that is available for stable use and 

 there is nothing to say against it provided that 

 it is not contaminated and that it does not con- 

 tain a greater proportion of minerals in solution 

 than 4| grains to a pint. It is sometimes objected 

 that well water is too cold, but I do not approve 

 of drawing the water and letting it stand in 

 the stable. Water standing in buckets in a 

 warm stable will attract all the microbes in 

 the place. Capt. Hayes is emphatic on this 

 point and his argument is borne out by the 

 experience of many close observers. Says he, 

 '* Throughout my long life, which has been spent 

 amongst horses in all kinds of climates, and 

 in many different parts of the world, I have 

 never known, heard or read of a case of injury 

 to a horse caused by the fact of the water he 

 drank being cold. On the other hand, I have 

 seen scores of cases of horses refusing to drink 

 because the water offered to them had been 

 artificially warmed. The employment of any 

 means that prevents a horse from quenching 

 his thirst, or at least renders water more or less 

 distasteful to him, can hardly fail to be pre- 

 judicial to his health — to say nothing of the 

 cruelty." 



When on the subject of drink a word or two 

 may be said about gruel, which should always 



