Scouring, or diarrhœa, 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 diarrhœa should continue persistent, then professional advice should be obtained.
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.
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 given, some of it will be washed into the intestine, and, being hard, and not properly softened, irritate it and set up colic. The best plan is to always have water in front of the horse, so that he can drink when he likes, and I have found that they take much less this way than when watered at regular times. In India this can be easily done by building up in mud a wide-mouthed, shallow, earthen vessel, called a "gumalo," in one corner of the stable, in the same way that a manger is made. It should be high enough for the horse to conveniently reach it, and be kept constantly full.