ON WATERING HORSES 75 



horses I have had in training, immediately after their 

 gallops. 



Persons who have had to ride long distances, in hot 

 countries, are well aware of the advisability of allowing 

 their mounts to drink frequently during a journey, of any 

 good water near which they may pass, even when the 

 horse is bathed in perspiration. 



In Northern India, the echa (a small two-wheeled 

 trap) ponies, which average about 13 hands 1 inch in 

 height, frequently travel 50 to 60 miles a day over un- 

 metalled roads during the hottest weather, when the 

 noontide heat often exceeds 115° in the shade. Such 

 performances can only be accomplished by watering the 

 ponies every 7 or 8 miles : the system pursued being that 

 they get at each bait from 1 to 2 lbs. of suttoo mixed in a 

 couple of quarts of water. This is in accordance with the 

 practice — generally adopted by stokers and firemen on 

 board steamers — of mixing oatmeal with the water they 

 drink; a practice from which these men, who are often 

 exposed to intense heat, and who are consequently obliged 

 at such times to drink large quantities of water, experience 

 great advantage. 



In the stable, I think the best system is to allow a 

 constant supply of water ; a plan which is not alone 

 beneficial to " washy " horses that scour easily, to roarers, 

 and to broken-winded animals, but also is particularly 

 well calculated to prevent and to cure the pernicious 

 habits of crib-biting and wind-sucking. 



