ON WATEEING HOESES. 73 



from nervous shock. General Sir F. Fitzwygram 

 remarks : " It is a somewhat singular fact that horses 

 may be watered with safety almost immediately after 

 their return from work, even though somewhat heated." 

 And he points out that there is then far less risk of 

 chill from such horses drinking cold water, than when 

 the system has begun to flag ; and that, in the latter 

 case, the water should be made slightly tepid, or a 

 bucket of gruel should be substituted for it. As the 

 application of cold causes contraction of the muscular 

 coats of the blood-vessels, so does it retard the absorp- 

 tion of water which is taken into the stomach. 



When a horse goes through violent and continued 

 exertion without drinking, the amount of water in his 

 blood falls below its normal quantity. If this loss is 

 considerable, the thickened blood will be unable to 

 circulate through the lungs with its wonted facility; 

 in fact, more or less congestion will take place, and the 

 action of the heart will become laboured in its efforts to 

 pump this abnormally dense fluid through the system. 

 If a horse, in this state, be given, say, a couple of gallons 

 of water, they will be absorbed at once into the blood, 

 and will restore it, more or less completely, to its 

 normal fluidity ; the action of the lungs and heart will 

 be almost instantaneously relieved, and the feelings of 

 distress will rapidly subside. - Had the water, on the 

 contrary, been withheld until the horse had cooled 

 down, the prolonged distress, even if the congestion 

 had passed oft' with no bad results, would undoubtedly 

 have injuriously affected the animal's condition and 

 spirits. In accordance with this principle, I have 

 adopted, with the best results, the practice of giving 



