74 HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA 



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 absorption 

 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 v/onted facility; in 



fact, more or less congestion wiU 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 off 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 half a bucket of water to race- 



