The Glenwood post., 1912-06-01
BEST TINE TO WATER
HORSES BEFORE MEALS

I
feeding, and never given Il iarge qla.-
I ty of water after meal, for the
simple reason that the water will wasl
the food out of the stomach befor-
stomach digestion has taken place, an
the food will not be well prepared for
absorption; and besides it is sometimes
the cause of collie
There is a popular idea that a w&rm
horse should not be allowed to drnk
and, unlike a great many other popular
ideas. there is little truth in it. If|
you water a warm horse in the ordin-
airy way, letting him drink all that hc
viii, you are likely to have foundere
horse on your hands. This is espcci8llg
SO if, at the time, the horse is fatigue,..
Nevertheless, it is always safe to allow
him from six to ten swallows, NO mat
ter how warm he is. If this be given
on going into the stable and be be q,
lowed to stand and eat hay for an hour
ana is then offered water, he viii mo-,
drink nearly so much as he would had
none been given before.
The danger is not in the first swa,
low, as we often near it asserted, but
in the excessive quantities he viii
drink if not restrained
John Span, the great trainer, writes.
As to water, l think that a horse
should have all that he wants at al
times. a man says. Why; will you
give your horse water before a race?
Yes, before the race, in the race, and
after the race, and any other time that
he wants to drink When l say give
your horse all the water he wants be-.
fore the race, l do not mean that you
shall tie him in a warm stall where be
cannot get drink for five or SIX hours
on not day and then take him to Il
pump and give him all that he wants
What l mean is to give him water
often and, in that way he viii take
only small quantity at time
After long, continuous exertion the
system is greatly depleted of fluid.
Nature calls for its replacement, aul
this is the cause of thirst which j.
SO intense that, if the animal is not re
strained at this time, he may drink
much more than he needs.
The custom. almost universally fol
owed, Of giving the morning meal be
fore water, is not very Objectionable,
either theoretically or practically. AZ
this time there is no depletion of fluid
consequently the horse is not very
thirsty and does not drink rapidly or
excessively, and apparently very ltt'o
| evil results from this method. How
ever, the writer much prefers that the
horse should have an opportunity to
drink before the morning meal.
Personally, l much prefer keeping
horses, both summer and winter, in an
open shed, with large water tank 'n
tine yard, to tying them by the head in
barn.
Not only in giving water to horses
must care be exercised, but in ever
other way.
Many a good driving horse has his
years of usefulness cut short by being
left in the hands of some person who
does not know how to take care of q
horse or does not care what happens .
the horse that happens to come into
his hands.
One of the most common ways OF
injuring driving horse is by driving
him hard in cool weather, and when the
horse has been brought into a sweat,
leaving him uncovered and exposed to
cold winds or to drafts in a stable.
1t is seldom necessary to drive
horse so hard on cool day that &c
will be in sweat In warm weather
it is different as the horse then swcata
with little exertion.
When the horse has been driven un
til he is covered with foam and sweat
he should be taken into stable, rub
bed down with whisps of hay or piece
of rough cloth, and then blanketed
The neglect of such precautions has re
suited in many a horse catching cold
that has proved serious.
Driving is science itself, and there
are many mature people who have no.
learned how to drive a horse They
have no idea as to the amount of work
he is able to perform without lesseuing
his vitality.
1t must be remembered that a horse.
as well as a man, is limited as to what
he can do.