68 MANUAL FOR STABLE SERGEANTS. 



not practicable, and the cleaning should be done by scraping with 

 a hoe or shovel and sweeping with a stable broom. 



If the floors become slippery from ice, sand or sifted ashes should 

 be put on them before the bedding is put down; this to prevent 

 injury to the horses from slipping. 



Should the floors wear smooth and become slippery, the surface 

 should be roughened by chipping with a stone or cold chisel and 

 mallet. The chisel can be made by the troop blacksmith. 



When for any purpose the horses are tied in during the day, the 

 stalls should be cleaned again as soon as the horses are turned out. 



139. Dirt floors. — Dirt floors require continual work to keep 

 them in good condition. As soon as wet spots or depressions form 

 they should be dug out and filled with fresh clay well wet and 

 tamped in. The front of the stall floor should be 2 inches higher 

 than the floor at the rear. 



140. Bedding. — The monthly allowance of bedding is 100 pounds 

 of straw or hay^ for each horse, or 3 J pounds daily. To give animals 

 a good bed, this must be used as economically as possible. 



During pleasant weather all parts of the bedding which can be 

 used again are taken out and spread on the bedding racks to dry. 

 In the evening it is returned to the stalls and enough fresh straw or 

 bedding added to make a comfortable bed . Habitually the bedding 

 should be put down just before the horses are tied in for the night. 

 . Putting it down in the morning prevents the stalls drying out and 

 allows the stable police to conceal the fact that they have neglected 

 to clean the stables properly. 



141. Care of the corral. — The corral should be cleaned twice a 

 day, once at morning stables and again in the evening after the 

 horses have been tied in for the night. 



Thorough drainage should be pro\ided, and all depressions kept 

 filled, so that after rains no pools of standing water may remain. 



The picket line should be drawn tight and raised high enough so 

 that the horses can not rub themselves on it. Seven feet from the 

 ground is about the proper height. The fastenings at the end of 

 the line should be outside the corral. 



The floor of the picket line should be raised and trenches to carry 

 off the rain should be provided so that the ground on which the 

 horses stand may be kept dry, 



142. Water troughs. — Water troughs should be emptied and 

 thoroughly cleaned each morning. Under no circumstances should 

 strange animals be permitted to drink at the water trough or be fed 



