Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-03-01
watering When Heated.
THE HORSE NEEDS A SMALL AMOUNT
OF WATER TO COOL HIS BLOOD.

L. F., California, writes: Will DR..
Smead please give his opinion on water
ing the team as it is taken from work,
before putting in barn often sweating.
Two men do not agree on this; one
thinks it Injuries the horse TO water be-
fore standing while to cool of, while
the other claims that the horse wants a
drink as we'll as he does himself. Please
give your views in this, as theso men
Zone of them particularly think what
DR.. Smead doesn't know is not worth
considering.
The question you ask me has long
been debatable one, horsemen seeming
to be at great variance on the subject;
yet candidly see no reason whatever of
such being the case. There is no doubt
whatever that when horse is overhead
ed and Is famishing with thirst he will,
if allowed to drink all the cold water he
wants, drink to his injury. Yet because
this has happened in some mans ex-
perience it does not follow that an ex-
tremely thirsty, fevered-up horse should
not be allowed to have any water at all
until he is cooled off. Right here comes
in another matter. Many men think
that when sweat dries on a horse his
temperature is lowered; but it is not
true, as a rule, when this horse has not
been allowed water to cool him of by
being rapidly taken into his blood to
cool him.
1t would be very unwise thing (yet
many do III to feed horse his grain be-
fore he is allowed water, when brought
=. vfron al ku
His stomach is in no condition to re-
ceive food when his system is fevered
by thirst. The glands of his system can
not secrete their normal supply OF secre-
tons when the horse is fevered with
thirst.
Now, let some of the withhold-the-wa-
ter men tell US two things, or offer two
explanations, sustaining their belief.
The first is, by what means other than
giving a very thirsty horse water can his
temperature be reduced to the normal (;
second, are the means as safe and salts
factory as the judicious giving of water
| Water is natures sheet anchor in keep
ing the temperature of man or beast
normal. Food cannot be digested with
out the aid of water. The blood cannot
circulate freely except water is used to
make it thin enough so that it can pass
through the minute blood vessels. Every
student of physiology knows this. Now,
all these being known facts, is it not
the hesensible-reasonable-thing for the
one in charge of horse, when he comes
in from his work warm and thirsty, to
give him water sufficient to relieve the
extreme thirst and lower his tempera-
ture?
| That does not mean to allow him to GO
to the trough and drink, as he will,
twice as much water as needed to do
this. Evil results will likely follow il
he be allowed to do so. The tempera.
ture will be reduced not only to the
normal but much below it. His diges
tive organs will be so chilled by the wa
ter (if cold) as to be unfit to digest food.
Thus, we see it is tweedle-dee and
tweedle-dum. The fellow that allows
the horse to engorge himself is right on
a par with the fellow who won't allow
the horse any at all. The common sense
man will give his horse some water
when he is thirsty, and never have his
horse sick; while the other fellow-the
radical fellow-will be always having
more or less trouble by reason of sick
ness among his horses.
As for myself, will say 1 never saw
the horse so hot and thirsty that l would
not give him some water; but would
do it by allowing him few swallows
not over gallon; then wait about ter
minutes and give him another gallon,
and, as a rule, it takes a very thirsty
horse that will not be cooled off and his
thirst quenched on two gallons of water
when, if allowed, he will, under the
thirst, gulp down five or ten gallons.
The needed thing in horse management
is sensible action on the part of the one
having him in cbarge.-C. D. Smead,
V. S., in Tribune Farmer.