WATERING HORSES. 23 



straw or hay after every meal. From time to time tliey 

 should be washed with water. Particular care must be taken 

 to clean the mangers thoroughly after bran-mashes have been 

 fed, as the remains of the mash, which stick to the sides and 

 bottom of the manger, soon turn sour, and this will taint other 

 food. 



CHAPTER III. 



WATERING HORSES. 



The best way of watering horses while in tlie stable is to keep 

 a bucketful of water continually in the stall or box. Tliis 

 plan allows of the horses quenching their thirst whenever they 

 want to do so-, and greatly conduces to their comfort. The 

 alternative plan of watering the horses at stated intervals, 

 which is very generally followed, is not nearly so good as the 

 former, and is not to be recommended. It matters little 

 whether the water comes out of a well, or stream, or pond, pro- 

 vided it is reasonably clean, and does not contain impurities. 

 Rain-water, if clean, is also very suitable for watering horses. 

 It is immaterial whether the water is hard or soft, as horses 

 Avill drink either with equal relish, but a sudden change from 

 soft to hard water in the case of horses accustomed to drinking 

 the former, may give rise to digestive troubles, and may upset 

 them. Small stagnant ponds, in which there is much mud 

 and dirt at the bottom, not infrequently contain the embryos 

 (germs) of worms, and if horses drink from such, they are 

 liable to contract worms. 



Horses should always be allowed to drink as much water 

 as they like, and the buckets in the stable should be kept 

 continually tilled. When tilling up the buckets, the water still 

 in them should first be emptied away, as water soon becomes 



