138 THE HORSE 



are fed, as water given in any quantities after food 

 is liable to cause colic. 



There is no objection to allowing a horse to 

 drink a bucketful of cold vrater immediately he 

 comes in heated from work. If he is much ex- 

 hausted, however, or if he has had time to partially 

 cool, the cold water should be withheld, as it may 

 lower the whole temperature of the body, and 

 cause chill. In such cases a little tepid water, or a 

 bucketful of warm gruel, will be beneficial. 



Horses always prefer soft water to hard ; spring 

 water to well water. Rain water collected in 

 tanks is not wholesome, as it is generally fuU of a 

 quantity of decomposing matter. Obviously, only 

 the cleanest, purest water, such as would be drunk 

 in the house, is iit for horses. Many fallacies 

 exist with regard to the most suitable water, and 

 there is an example of a coachman who habitually 

 gave his horses soapy water to drink, with the idea 

 that it was better for them than the clean, pure 

 liquid. In o one can go wrong if they give the best 

 and purest water, and plenty of it. A horse will 

 drink from five to eight gallons a day, and it has 

 been found that the animal will drink a much 

 gi^eater quantity when watered than he wiU if he 

 always has access to it, Naturally a horse should 



