Scouring (_dast_).

Scouring, or diarrhoea, is usually seen in nervous horses when they get
excited, and, as a rule, disappears when they get quiet again. It is more
commonly seen in light-coloured, or what the horseman calls "washey,"
chestnuts and blacks, than any other colour. Some horses will always scour
after a draught of cold water, and with such the chill should be taken off
either by adding a little warm water, or standing the bucket out in the
sun for a couple of hours before it is used. If the scouring persists,
after returning to the stable, let the next feed consist of dry bran, not
"bran mash," and this generally stops it. If a horse that is not in the
habit of doing so suddenly begins scouring, it is a mistake to try and
stop it too suddenly, as frequently it is an effort of nature to throw off
something deleterious to the system. If, however, the diarrhoea should
continue persistent, then professional advice should be obtained.

WATER.

Water (_pani_).

Horses prefer soft to hard water, and are particularly partial to
rain-water. Many horses refuse to drink at all from a running stream,
unless very thirsty, and even then will not take as much as is necessary.
Mules, which in other respects are hardy animals, are very dainty and
particular about their water. Such horses should be watered either out of
a bucket or a still pool. In mountain and quick running streams there is
often a large quantity of sand and small gravel held in suspension, that
sinks to the bottom in places where the current runs slow. I have seen
more than one death caused by constantly watering horses in such streams,
by the animal swallowing a quantity of such sand; it accumulates in large
masses in the intestines, and causes "sand colic." If it is necessary to
water horses from such places for any length of time, if a suitable pool
cannot be found where the water is still and the sand and gravel can
settle, one should be made by building a dam.

Times of Watering.

Horses should be watered half an hour before feeding, or, if this cannot
be managed, at least two hours should elapse after the feed before he is
allowed to drink his fill. The reason of this is that the hard grain the
horse eats is only partly crushed and broken by the teeth, and it is in
the stomach where it is principally softened before passing on into the
intestines. If, when the stomach is full of partly digested food, a large
quantity of water is g