BULLETIN No. 1, ISSUED IN DECEMBER, 1909. 



WATERING AND BEDDING. 



During the past five months an agent of 

 this Association has visited 157 stables, 

 including almost all the large livery and 

 boarding stables, in Boston and the neigh- 

 boring cities and towns. One object of 

 these inspections was to ascertain the prac- 

 tice in regard to watering the horses during 

 the night, after they have eaten their hay, 

 and in regard to bedding them in the day 

 time, as well as at night, especially on Sun- 

 days. The agent submits the following re- 

 port : — 



THE WATERING OF HORSES AT 

 NIGHT. 

 In most cases all the hay which horses 

 in the city receive is fed to them at night. 

 It is therefore especially important that 

 they should be watered during the night. In 

 an inspection of over 150 of the leading hv- 

 ery and boarding stables in Boston and the 

 vicinity, particular attention was paid to 

 this matter. All authorities agree, and ex- 

 perience teaches, that city horses should be 

 watered between 8 P. M. (9 P. M. would 

 he better) and midnight; but it was found 

 that less than half of the stables visited give 

 their horses water after 7 P. M. 



And yet more stablemen volunteered in- 

 formation on this subject than upon any 

 other matter considered in the five months 

 •during which the investigations were made. 

 "A horse comes in hungry," was the usual 

 way of putting it, "and he wants his sup- 

 per so much that he will drink but little; 

 and he ought not to drink deeply at that 

 time, even if he wanted to. Then he eats 

 a quantity of dry, heating food. He 

 shouldn't have water right after eating; 

 but if he doesn't get a good drink two or 

 three hours later, he will go through the 



night thirsty, and the heating food will 

 burn out his insides for the lack of the 

 water that is needed to give the nourish- 

 ment of the food a chance to do the good it 

 ought to be doing." Moreover, a horse not 

 watered at night is very apt to drink too 

 much in the morning. 



This night watering is not onlv common 

 humanity in hot weather, but it is almost 

 equally valuable in winter. For appetite 

 comes with the bracing effect of cold 

 weather, and horses eat more than they do 

 in summer. Consequently, if this extra food 

 is to do its part in giving the horse power 

 to resist the cold and the strain of winter 

 work, water must be given at the time 

 when it will do the most good, which is, in 

 most cases, between 8 and 10 P. AI., or 

 even later. Nothing does so much toward 

 giving back a return for the food given in 

 the way of extra strength, working endur- 

 ance and good condition. 



The effect of this night watering on the 

 blood and general circulation is far reach- 

 ing. The thirst that follows the digestion 

 of a meal is the call of nature for the water 

 that is needed to help the good of the food 

 to get into the flesh and blood of the ani- 

 mal ; and equally important is the part 

 plaved by the water in sending the waste 

 matter out of the body with the least pos- 

 sible wear and tear on the organs that per- 

 form this indispensable duty. A horse that 

 remains thirsty all night cannot be ex- 

 pected to last so long as one that is wa- 

 tered at the proper time.* 



*If anyone doubts whether horses need watering 

 at night, let him go into a stable, sav at 9 v. yi., 

 turn loose the horses which have not been watered 

 since they were fed. and observe how eagerly they 

 will make for the watering-trough.— H. C. M. 



