PRACTICAL HINTS ON STABLE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA. 307 
When a number of horses are watered at the same trough or 
watering-place, the watering of them should be carried out under 
the supervision of a responsible and careful agent, and he should 
see that no more horses be led or brought to the trough at one 
time than there be full standing room for, so that the most timid 
may not be deterred from coming up to drink, for some horses 
will not force themselves into a crowd. Again, horses should 
not be watered in couples, for if the syce takes two to water at 
the same time, one horse will in all probability have satisfied his 
thirst more quickly than the other; and, being allowed by the 
syce to leave the trough, he drags the less fortunate and still 
thirsty horse with him. This is apt to lead to the sufferer 
drinking more than is good for him at the next opportunity, 
thereby earning for himself an attack of colic. 
Horses should never be allowed a large quantity of cold water 
when sweating after work, but may be fully watered as soon as 
they are cooled and dried. 
With reference to the general character of potable waters, I 
may remark that the water of Meerut has been proved by analysis 
to be unexceptionable. 
e. Warmth. —The next point is warmth, and I still proclaim 
this (through good and ill report) to be a sine qua non for the 
well-being of all animals, and that, although the heat of the 
climate in which we reside be naturally at certain seasons ex¬ 
cessive, it is at all times imperative that we protect ourselves, 
and the animals of every species under our care, by artificial 
warmth, from the ill effects that may arise from the sudden and 
great ranges of temperature which occur in it, especially during 
the rains and the cold months of the year, as, from the neglect 
of this precaution, I have seen mortality run riot to a fearful 
extent among horses and cattle, though it was checked at once 
by the protective means employed for the safety of the survivors 
(viz. keeping them clothed and protected from draughts), but 
to occur again as soon as these agents, “ warmth^ and “ clothing ,'” 
were discarded. 
To create warmth we have recourse to shelter and clothing, 
and whenever the former be either wanting or inadequate, the 
demand for the latter is increased accordingly. 
The theorist on the subject may assert that shelter and clothing 
are luxuries, and declare, in support of his theory, that wild 
horses live without stables, or any clothing beyond the hairy 
covering supplied by nature. This, of course, no one will deny ; 
but, be this as it may, it is evident that nature has provided the 
tame horse, at any rate, with the instinct of self-preservation 
that leads him, if loose, to avail himself of any shelter he can find 
on an inclement day; and it is also certain that the coat is heavier 
