74 THE HORSE BOOK. 



is comfortable for them to rest on and it absorbs 

 the fertilizing elements. A wet place for horses 

 to stay in, day or night, is very bad. 



The watering-trough is usually in the yard, 

 but no matter where it is it should always be 

 raised above the level of the surrounding 

 ground and kept dry by the plentiful use of 

 gravel. A concrete trough is the best, with a 

 concrete platform entirely around it, well found- 

 ed and slightly above the rest of the ground. 

 If ice accumulates around the trough in winter 

 chop the ice away. Use a tank heater. Ice-cold 

 water is bad for all horses, but do not go to 

 the other extreme and get the water too hot. 

 Just get the chill off. In any case always do 

 something to insure dry footing that is not slip- 

 pery around the watering place. If in mixed 

 weather in winter ice forms in other parts of 

 the yard, take the glare off it somehow so that 

 the mares may not slip. It pays well to watch 

 these minor points in raising horses. Well 

 water is best for them to drink. Creeks and 

 sloughs are frequent and fruitful sources of 

 disease infection. 



In feeding idle mares it is poor policy to let 

 them run to hay or straw stacks at will and stuff 

 themselves with coarse fodder. Bright clover 

 hay that was gotten into the barn without rain 

 and is entirely free from dust and mold is, used 

 in moderation, the best possible roughage for 

 brood mares and young horses. Eemember 



