102 ON WATER. 



of food ; water given to them immediately after, occa- 

 sions the grain to swell, and this produces a distension 

 of the stomach, weakens its contracting powers, and 

 thereby retards the process of digestion. Nor should 

 water be given them immediately before or after their 

 work ; it is never done by good training grooms. 



If the day is wet, and the groom is obliged to water 

 his horses in the stables, whether in the morning or 

 the evening, the water should be given them just be- 

 fore they are stripped to be dressed, which is an hour 

 before they feed ; nor are they, when at exercise, to be 

 watered on the heath until the strongest of their work 

 is got into them ; they are to be walked for an hour 

 or more, or until they are perfectly cool, before they go 

 to the troughs to drink. 



The water on the premises of a racing, or any other 

 establishment, is mostly well or spring water; and, 

 whether hard or soft, it is generally made use of for 

 the horses, unless it is observed to be any way detri- 

 mental to their health, which declares itself by their 

 becoming chilly, trembling, or perhaps a little griped 

 after taking it. To prevent hard water from producing 

 these bad effects, it should first be put into the troughs 

 irf the yard, with some clay and chalk to soften it, 

 and during the day, the lids of the troughs should be 

 left up, so as to expose the water to the heat of the 

 sun. 



When the horses are kept in the stables from other 

 causes than from the wetness of the day, whether in 

 summer or in winter, such water as I have made men- 



