Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 158, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1915 — SHOULD COOL OFF GRADUALLY [ARTICLE]

SHOULD COOL OFF GRADUALLY

Mistake to Turn the Hose on Perspiring Teem, to the Assertion of Veterinarian. "In this hot weather there are always a number of fools who think they are kind to their horses when they turn a hose on themand drench them with cold water to thoroughly Cool them off,” said a veterinarian as he stopped a driver from throwing water over his perspiring team. “If the horse is overheated,” he continued, “the shock of such a bath on the region where the kidneys are situated to enough to kill It, and even if it does no apparent harm the horse will succumb much more readily to the heat afterward. After a horse has been working In the broiling sun it should be cooled off as gradually as possible. The first thing to do to to take a sponge and wash out its mouth. This removes the saliva, which is poisonous, and refreshes the animal greatly, before it can be allowed to have a drink. After this the horse should have Its four legs bathed —the hind ones as far as its haunches, the front ones up to the chest Then it Is safe to wet its head, neck and the part of its back. Immediately behind the neck. Care should be taken, however, to keep the region of the kidneys perfectly dry. This habit of driving a team up before a fire engine house and playing a hose indiscriminately over their bodies is accountable for the death of many good horses every summer.”