264 THE HORSE 



providing ventilation independently of the windows, a 

 small ingress near the floor in the gangway, and an egress 

 for the warm used-up air, high up in the wall near the 

 ceiling, both easy to open or close by a sliding 

 shutter, being the guiding principle. In this way fresh 

 air in graduated quantity can be admitted without any 

 draught, which is so apt to cause colds and coughs if not 

 carefully guarded against. Fresh air is one thing, but a 

 draught is most pernicious, and the ancient Spanish proverb 

 that " death comes in with the wind through a hole" has 

 more than an element of truth in its teaching. 



Stalls. 



It is well to have both stalls and loose boxes, but if the 

 stalls are also provided with doors they can be utilised as 

 boxes, which adds so much to the comfort and health of the 

 occupants that such an arrangement is well worth the extra 

 cost. Many years ago the writer thus provided six stalls 

 with doors, which he has never since regretted doing, and 

 for horses not exceeding 16 hands they have answered 

 extremely well. They are only 6 ft. 6 in. in width, 

 and would have been better if they had been 7 feet, the 

 usual width for large horses ; but still the animals which 

 have occupied them, chiefly thoroughbred horses, have 

 thriven in them ; and certainly they possess one advan- 

 tage, they require far less straw for bedding — an economy 

 not to be despised under the stress of present legislation. 



It is not intended for one moment to suggest that such 

 boxes should take the place of those of the usual dimensions, 

 but merely to point out how much more comfortable stalls 

 can be made if they can be turned into temporary boxes. 

 The same attempt is often made by placing bars across the 

 stalls, but this plan is not nearly so satisfactory as when 

 proper doors are used. The privacy of a box is undoubtedly 

 welcome to a tired animal which is desirous of resting, and 

 the prevention of draughts is another very great point in 

 favour of closing the stall behind. 



For all ordinary purposes such a stall remains as if 



