DRINK FOR HORSES

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4874, 23 July 1936, Page 8

DRINK FOR HORSES

IMPORTANCE OF CLEAN WATER. Horses require anything from 5 to 15 gallons of water a day, the quantity depending on the temperature and the amount of work performed. The water should be as pure as possible, clear in appearance, and free from taste, colour, or smell. Pure water is just as essential to a horse as it is to a man, and it is a mistake to suppose that a horse can drink badly contaminated water with impunity. Water obtained from pools or shallow wells contaminated with surface drainage, or containing decomposed organic matter, frequently causes diarrhoea and generally predisposes to colic. Water that contains a 1 large amount of sediment should not be given, as the sediment causes a mechanical irritation of the mucous membrame of the stomach and intestines^—i.e., san colic. When the horse is at rest in the stable water should be given three times a day, and should invariably be given previous to feeding. This latter point is of considerable practical importance. A horse’s stomach is small in proportion to the animal’s size, and water does not remain in it, but passes through the stomach and small bowel to the caecm, or watergut. If water is given after feeding, besides weakening the digestive juices, a considerable portion of the food in the stomach and small intestines will be washed out in an undi-

gested state, and indigestion and colic may result. Water in small quantities can be given within an hour or so from the completion of feeding, if desired.

After a long journey it is a good plan to water a mile or so before the journey’s end and to take the horse slowly in afterwards. This prevents chills and colic due to the indigestion of a large quantity of water when in an exhausted state. An animal after prolonged exertion or fast work has its system depleted of fluid. It will not eat sufficiently until its thirst has been satisfied; therefore, the water should come first, and while the animal is still warm is the best time to give it. After standing, the body temperature falls, and to give cold water freely then is only to intensify the effect of the cold water on the system.