108 LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



the better. It may begin even genei'ations before. It can 

 be understood, therefore, how important it is that a horse 

 should not be confined to a barn without regular and syste- 

 matic exercise. 



When horses are at hard labor it is best not to turn them 

 out for the night. They need the night to rest. It is a good 

 practice, however, to let them out into the yard for a short 

 time in the evening when they come in from the field. This 

 gives them a chance to roll and limber up so that they will 

 eat better and feel better. When horses are not at work, 

 however, they should not be allowed to stand in the barn 

 unless they are exercised. Even during the winter horses 

 should be given the freedom of a yard except possibly on the 

 coldest and stormiest days. They should not, however, be 

 exposed to cold rains. 



Fences. — It should be remembered that horses frequently 

 paw at a fence, and if the fence is made of barbed wires which 

 are too close to the ground, there is much danger. Many a 

 horse has been ruined by getting its foot across a barbed wire 

 and then pulling. When the pull is a little sidewise or along 

 the wire as it usually is, a severe gash is usually cut at the 

 back of the hoof and pastern. In order to avoid accidents 

 like this a woven wire may be used. A woven-wire strand 

 with a few barbed wires on top is good. If an all-barbed-wire 

 fence is made the lower wire should be put as high above the 

 ground as possible. 



Housing. — A horse barn should be built especially to provide 

 comfort and health for the horses and economy of labor for 

 the help. It should be well ventilated and well lighted. The 

 windows also should not be too close to the heads of the 

 horses. When a horse stands with its head toward a window 

 which is in the wall above the manger, where the manger is 

 attached to the wall, there is too much variation in light, 

 lender such conditions when the horse has its head up its 

 eyes are in the bright light. When the head is down in the 

 manger, the eyes are in the dark. Thus, there is a constant 

 changing for the eyes from light to dark and vice versa which 

 is very bad for these most important organs. 



A horse barn need not be made especially warm. \^ery 



