Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 June 1879 — Watering Horses. [ARTICLE]

Watering Horses.

Although few persons pay proper attention to this department of stable management, yet a little reflection will prove of how much importance it is that the horse should be supplied with such water as is most palatable to him. Horses have a great aversion to what is termed hard water, and have been known to turn away from the filthy stuff found in the troughs of some of our stables. The water of wells and pumps is usually hard and possesses a degree of coldness not at all congenial to the animal. Pure water will never hurt a horse if given to him at proper times and in small quantities. The Enfliah grooms generally water from- a ucket three times daily. Water if fiven in this manner scarcely, if ever, pes barm; but let a horse be driven hard and then allow him to go to the trough and imbibe water ad libitum more than he actually needs, the same may prove injurious, and result in some disease known as “founder.” The latter clause is in accordance with the popular theories of the day, which are always open to argument. Hence we shall now examine into the merits of the case. We don’t believe one-half of the multitude of stories that are told about water “foundering horses;” in a great majority of cases the blame rests on the driver who, as a general rule, will be found to ,be rather fast. He has either over-driven or overworked the poor brute, or else has suffered him, when heated, to cool off Without the necessary care and attention, which should always be observed when animals are fatigued or perspiring freely. Hard usage, willful ncgl ict and wanton cruelty are more likely to produce disease than the “universal beverage,” so acceptable to the palate of a weary or thirsty horse. How often do we see a “ let” horse come into the stable all exhausted and “used up,” scarcely able to advance one limb before another. Examine into the facts and we shall find that the powers of the subject have, perhaps, been overtaxed. He has been driven too far, or at too rapid a rate for the present state of his constitution to enaure, and, perhaps, he has not had sufficient nourishment to repair the waste incidental to the living mechanism, under the states of rapid and protracted labor. "Hb not this enough to account for the used up condition? Is it not more rational to suppose that abuse of the respiratory organs and those of locomotion operates far more unfavorably on the horse than water? It is. But the driver must, if there be any blame rightly belonging to him, try to shift the same from nis shoulders, and therefore he avails himself of a popular error, “he drank too much water." Yet the individual has no means of ascertaining the precise quantity needed. We might say the same as regards horses used for any purpose, whose labors are very fatiguing. They come from their work, and, as soon as unharnessed, go to the water trough and imbibe from ono to three buckets without any bad effect. Some horses need more water than others; the kind of work, the temperature of the atmosphere, and the nature of the food, whether it be t cel or dry, all tend to diversify an animal’s want. The domesticated horse requires a bountiful supply of good water. His body is cqm posed of seventy-five per cent, of water, and he can no more exist without it than he can without food. Consider for a moment the condition of the. people of this city during the present sultry season: thirst almost amounts to a disease; to allay this they are continually imbibing water, rendered cold, hot, sour, sweet, or alkaline, justj as fancy dictates, qr as fashion prevails. Cold ices and other fixings are called into requisition to smother the fire of thirst that rages within. Everybody partakes freely, the young and the aged, the exhausted and the vigorous, the laborer exhausted by a hard day’s work, and the rich man of no work; each and all are doing their best to see the. .bottom of the pitoher, and to ; pitch their'" into' the watery element. Yet, after fill, Jiow few persons of any

bad effeota from this course! Inquire into the history of some of the acute maladies that are supposed to arise from water-drinking, and it will be found that many of the sufferers have a peculiarity of constitution which renders them amenable to the laws of ftrimogenlal disease, whioh although atont, under ordinary circumstances, can, by disturbing the life forces, through neglect, cruelty and overwork, be developed at almost any time of life. At this stage our argument, as regards what water “wifi not do,” ends. We have at the commencement admitted that under certain circumstances, if a horse be permitted to imbibe too muchdt may injure him, but this is rather a faulty assumption, because no one can ever determine the precise quantity suitable to meet the wants of all animals, and therefore the assumption falls to the ground. We shall bring this article to a termination by offering a few practical observations on watering horses. Horses should, in warm weather, be watered often, say two or throe quarts every three or four hours, provided they be at work. Should the norse be in a cool stable enjoying a sort of lazy life, he will require less. “ Strange* water, as it is termed, is not good for horses, yet where given in small quantities at a time seldom, if ever, does harm. Stagnant and fithy water is always more or less injurious, and should never be offered to so noble an animal as a horse. On the road a horse may be watered often, provided ho bave but a small quantity at a time; if he obtains more it occupies space in the abdominal cavity, and in rapid motion interferes with the physiological action of important organs. Watering immediately after a full meal is a practice highly censurable, for, at such times, water retards'digestion, and the food; instead of being digested, is apt to undergo a process of fermentation, and thus endanger the life of the animal. — Farmer's Review.