148 VETERINARY HYGIENE 



too short. The length should be such that it is impossible for one 

 horse to kick his neighbour when both are standing back in the stall. 

 The width of a stall for large horses needs to be 6 feet 6 inches if 

 the animal is to lie down in comfort, and to permit of his being 

 turned round in the stall when the head-rope is loose. A breadth 

 of 6 feet will be found ample for light draught and riding horses. 



Passage. The passage at the rear of a row of horses or between 

 two rows of horses in a stable should be sufficiently wide to permit 

 of the animals turning comfortably when entering or leaving their 

 stalls. Usually this passage is much too narrow ; it should not be 

 less than 8 feet for a single-stall stable and 15 or 16 feet for a 

 double stable. In many single stables it is no wider than 5 feet. 



The height of the stable must be such as will give ample air- 

 space for the animals, but yet not so high that ventilation is inter- 

 fered with by the foul air becoming cooled and condensed before 

 it gets an opportunity to escape. If the stable has a closed roof, 

 that is with a loft, stable or other room above, the height from the 

 floor to the ceiling should be 14 feet, but not more. A little less 

 will be adequate for the smaller horses. 



If the air-space be calculated from these dimensions, that is, stall 

 13 feet from wall to heel-post and 6 feet 6 inches wide, passage 

 8 feet wide, and height of building from floor to ceiling 14 feet, 

 it will be found to be 1910 cubic feet. From this must be deducted 

 20 cubic feet for the space occupied by the horse, leaving a net air- 

 space per animal of 1890 cubic feet. While this might with advan- 

 tage be increased, the present cost of building is such that it must 

 be considered sufficient. The floor space of a stable having these 

 dimensions is 136 square feet per animal, or one- fourteenth of the 

 total number of cubic feet of air-space. 



If the stable is open to the roof, that is without any other room 

 above it, and this is a form of construction much to be preferred to 

 a closed roof, then not only will the total air-space be greater, but 

 the ventilation will be more efficient. The height of the walls with 

 an open roof should be approximately 11 feet, and with a single 

 stable having an inside width of 21 feet, the height of a slate-covered 

 roof from the ridge to the eaves would be 7 feet. 



The air-space of such a building, after making a suitable 

 deduction for the space taken up by the horses, will be 1957 cubic 

 feet per head. 



Ventilation and Lighting. The ventilation should be planned 

 as recommended in the chapter dealing with the subject. Windows 

 of the Sherringham or hopper type are excellent for lighting and 

 ventilating stables. Where there is accommodation over the stables 



