WATERING. 199 



As is well known, the effeet of water on corn is to 

 swell the latter. Therefore, whether chewed or 

 not, the result of water passing through the corn 

 must be to swell it, and if the water is given after 

 the corn, the latter, being swollen, may possibly 

 cause colic — indeed, very frequently does so. If, 

 however, the reverse system is adopted, the water, 

 which at once passes on, is out of the way and can 

 do no harm. A horse may be fed almost imme- 

 diately after being watered with impunity ; but 

 at least an hour should elapse before watering if 

 he has first been fed. It is a good plan, where 

 a horse is kept in a loose-box, to let a bucket of 

 water stand in the corner of the box, care being 

 taken that the water is constantly changed. A 

 horse will then drink when he requires it, and in 

 smaller quantities at a time. A horse suffers very 

 much from being kept unduly long without water 

 — far more so than if kept without food. I have 

 heard it stated that a forty-eight hours' abstinence 

 from water will tame the most vicious horse. 

 Therefore it especially behoves grooms, whose 

 horses are in stalls where they cannot drink as 

 they desire, to be early risers, and punctual to 

 their time, in order that their horses may re- 

 ceive their allowance of water at the proper hour. 

 In feeding horses the great thing to be observed is 



