To drink or not to drink that is the dilemma

It is not unheard of for a horse that is dehydrated to refuse to drink. The owner can lead the horse to a stream, the rider can put all the water he wants before the horse, but the horse will still not drink. As proof of how often this problem occurs we can just count the number of specialist websites dedicated to it.One of the most popular suggestions is to offer the horse clean fresh water in a full, or overflowing, holder, because a half empty container demoralises the horse. If that does not work, then perhaps adding a sprinkle of sugar to the water might help, or for the tougher customer, some fruit juice with a pinch of salt. If the animal continues to refuse hydration, then the owner should get the horse to run for a few minutes, and then inject some treacly substance into the steed’s throat with a syringe in order to create a slimy film on the horse’s tongue.In the world of horse breeders and vets, it is taken for granted that the animals are unable to regulate themselves. In fact even with humans it is not uncommon that a person fails to realise he, or she, is dehydrated. In fact doctors often recommend that elderly people should drink regularly even if they are not thirsty.An ecologist, one of those types who claim that nature is good and man is evil, might believe that the fact some horses don’t drink enough, to the point of getting ill or even dying, is good and right, because it is how things work in nature. The action of man to force a horse to drink is still man interfering with the harmony of nature (romantic ecology) or interfering in the process of natural selection (Darwinist ecology). It is a bit like economist of the Austrian school who claim that injections or subsidies to prevent a bank or company or country from going under is blasphemous because it obstructs the natural harmony present in the market and weakens the process of natural selection.