FEEDING AXD WATERING. 3? 



the kidneys, and their indiscriminate use often leads to serious 

 derangement of those organs. 



Salt is doubtless wholesome and beneficial for horses, notwith- 

 standing the contrary opinion of some people who have given atten- 

 tion to the matter. But horses are fond of salt, and thrive better 

 with it than if deprived of it. The best method of supplying this 

 article is to keep a lump of rock salt at all times where the 

 horse can hck it. Receptacles are made of wire for this purpose; 

 but a small wooden or iron box, fastened near the manger or rack, 

 will serve nearly as well. 



WATERING. 



The horse in a state of nature feeds upon juicy, succulent 

 herbage, and drinks at pleasure from pure water. When these con- 

 ditions are changed for confinement in the stable or work on the 

 dusty road, with a diet consisting mainly, if not exclusively, of dry 

 hay and grain, the health and well-being of the horse, as well as 

 common humanity, demand careful and judicious attention to the 

 matter of water supply. The water must always be pure and fresh. 

 No animal is more delicate and fastidious about its drink than a 

 horse, and one of them will suffer agonies from thirst rather than 

 quench it with impure, tepid or stale water. It should be given in 

 small quantities and frequently, and never m large draughts, when 

 the horse comes in heated, or immediately before being put to work. 

 Many writers recommend such an arrangement of the water supply 

 as shall keep it constantly within reach of the horse. If the drink- 

 ing vessel could be kept perfectly clean and free from shme and 

 dirt, with a stream of pure water constantly running in by one pipe 

 while the surplus escapes by another, this kind of an arrangement 

 would be admirable for a horse while it was kept in the stable. But 

 even then it would be necessary to shut off the supply when the 

 horse comes in heated from work. On the whole, probably the com- 

 mon practice of carrying the water to the horse in a bucket, or 

 leading the animal to a trough, is the best practicable. Some horses 

 require more water than others, the quantity varying with the 

 amount of hay it will eat, its propensity to sweat, etc. The water 

 should not be excessively cold. Copious draughts of cold water, 

 when the horse is heated, produce colic, or founder is likely to 

 ensue. If pumped from a cold well it may stand until the chill is 

 taken off. Hard water is much decried as causing harshness in the 

 coat, and soft water is doubtless better. Yet no part of the country 

 produces fijier horses than the limestone States of Vermont and 



