In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 7 



of those who keep such a valuable animal as the horse 

 in a stable where the air is so bad that it would kill the 

 vilest weed that grows upon mother earth ? Yet such is 

 the ignorance displayed by the builder, that little or no 

 ventilation is found in nearly all stables, and where there 

 is any ventilation the prejudice of the groom often 

 neutralises their best intentions. No horse should have 

 less than 10,000 cubic feet of air to consume every hour 

 of his life ; then how is it possible for them to keep 

 healthy if they do not get 1000 feet of air, let alone 

 10,000 feet per hour ? It is a well-known fact that after 

 air has once passed through the lungs of man or beast, 

 it is of no use to support life until it is again charged 

 with oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere ; yet some 

 grooms are so short-sighted that they will even stop the 

 keyhole to exclude the air. I have seen stables in 

 Leicestershire and also in Newmarket, which when 

 opened on a frosty morning, the hot impure air would 

 rush out so that anyone might suppose the stable to be 

 on fire. The true principle of ventilation is to obtain a 

 constant supply of fresh air without causing draught. 

 This should be accomplished by grates on the outside of 

 the stable through the wall, and brought up under the 

 floor into the stable, which should have a double grate, 

 the under portion made to slide, so as entirely to stop 

 the upper space through the bars of the grate ; this 

 would bring a supply of cold air upon the floor of the 

 stable through the foundation of the walls. The hot air 

 should be carried off through large grates up in the 

 ceiling to allow the hot or consumed air to escape. These 

 should be connected with air shafts, which should go 



