DISEASES OP THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 35 



" founders " the animal or produces colic. This is erroneous. No 

 matter how warm a horse may be, it is always entirely safe to allow 

 him from six to ten swallows of water. If this is given on going into 

 the stable, he should be given at once a pound or two of hay and 

 allowed to rest about an hour before feeding. If water be now offered 

 him it will in many cases be refused, or at least he will drink but 

 sparingly. The danger, then, is not in the " first swallow " of water, 

 but is due to the excessive quantity that the animal will take when 

 warm if he is not restrained. ' 



Water should never be given to horses when it is ice cold. It may 

 not be necessary to add hot water, but we should be careful in placing 

 water troughs about our bams to have them in such position that the 

 sun may shine upon the water during the winter mornings. Water, 

 even though it be thus cold, seldom produces serious trouble if the 

 hcrse has not been deprived for a too great length of time. 



In reference to the purity of water. Smith, in his " Veterinary Hy- 

 giene," classes spring water, deep-well water, and upland surface 

 water as wholesome; stored rain water and surface water from culti- 

 vated land, as suspicious; river water to which sewage gains access 

 and shallow-well water, as dangerous. The water that is used for 

 drinking purposes for stock so largely throughout some States can 

 not but be impure. I refer to those sections where there is an imper- 

 vious clay subsoil. It is the custom to scoop, or hollow out, a large 

 basin in the pastures. During rains these basins become filled with 

 water. The clay subsoil, being almost impervious, acts as a jug, and 

 there is no escape for the water except by evaporation. Such water 

 is stagnant, but would be kept comparatively fresh by subsequent 

 rains were it not for the fact that much organic matter is carried 

 into it by surface drainage during each succeeding storm. This or- 

 ganic matter soon undergoes decomposition, and, as the result, wo 

 find diseases of different kinds much more prevalent where this water 

 is drunk than where the water supply is wholesome. Again, it must 

 not be lost sight of that stagnant surface water is much more certainly 

 contaminated than is running water by one diseased animal of the 

 herd, thus endangering the remainder. 



The chief impurities of water may be classified as organic and 

 inorganic. The organic impurities are either animal or vegetable 

 substances. The salts of the metals are the inorganic impurities. 

 Lime causes hardness of water, and occasion will be taken to speak of 

 this when describing intestinal concretions. Salts of lead, iron, and 

 copper are also frequently found in water, and will be referred to 

 hereafter. 



About the only examination of water that can be made by the aver- 

 age stock raiser is to observe its taste, color, smell, and clearness. 

 Pure water is clear and is without taste or smell. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



