38 THE FAMILY HORSE. 



Kentucky. If a change is made from soft to hard water, it should 

 be done gradually, as the horse becomes accustomed to it. Where 

 rain water is given it should be kept clean and aerated. Stale, 

 foul water from a neglected cistern is unfit for a horse, and will be 

 refused except in case of extreme thirst. 



Horses, when working in the fields, are subjected to great suf- 

 fering from thirst. From morning till noon, and again from noon 

 till the hour of quitting for the night, the horses are kept in the 

 dusty field, often under a burning sun, without drink. The driver 

 makes frequent visits to the water jug in the shade, without giving 

 a thought to his thirsty horses. If there is no brook or other water 

 supply within convenient distance, a keg of it, with a pail, may be 

 carried along and kept in the shade. 



When a horse comes in heated and tired from hard driving, 

 nothing is more grateful and soothing than a few quarts of gruel 

 made by throwing a handful of oatmeal or linseed meal in a gallon 

 of boiling water, letting it steep an hour and then adding a gallon 

 of cold water. If none of this is prepared, a handful of oatmeal in 

 half a bucket of cold water may be given. 



