42 THE HORSE : ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 



horse is safe either way, whether it has water at once 

 or waits. Many of the ostlers have told me that if their 

 employers knew they gave a horse water when it was hot 

 they would be discharged at once. 



If my horses come home the coldest night in Winter, or the 

 hottest day in Summer, they are always allowed to drink as 

 much water as they like. Some people have a pail of water 

 fastened in the manger for them to drink when they like, 

 others again will have an iron manger and a place arranged 

 purposely to keep water in, with a plug at the bottom, so 

 that it can easily be washed out. I do not like this method 

 so well, and I will give my reasons why. When the mangers 

 are arranged in this way, horses get accustomed to keep 

 putting their mouth in the food and then in the water, and 

 by doing this they often make their food quite wet. When 

 the food is moistened the horse swallows it much quicker 

 than it otherwise would, and does not masticate it as it 

 ought. This is the principal reason why I say horses 

 should not have water standing by them the whole of the 

 time they are eating. There are cases where a little time 

 should be spent in allowing a horse to drink as much 

 water as it likes. Suppose, for instance, the owner or 

 attendant has been driving very quickly and the animal has 

 been on a long journey, and has not been offered any water 

 for two hours. If a horse in such a state as this were 

 allowed to drink as much as it liked it might do the animal 

 injury, so that a little care and judgment should be 

 used in this respect. I have never had a horse of mine 

 meet with this misfortune, because when I am on a journey 



