CHAPTEE II. 



STABLES AND STABLE MANAGEMENT. 



When a man first commences to keep horses his chief 

 difficulty is his stable. This arises from the fact that 

 unless he is the freeholder of the land on which the 

 stables are to be erected, he is naturally unwilling 

 to erect a permanent building at his own expense 

 upon another man's property, while the stables already 

 built are probably worse than useless. House-agents 

 are in the habit of describing an ill-drained, ill- 

 ventilated, ill-lighted barn as a stable. We agree 

 that it is a stable — for rats, mice, and other vermin ; 

 but to place a valuable hunter in such an erection 

 is cruelty to the horse and madness on the part of 

 his owner, for such filthy stables are only hot-beds 

 of disease. We, therefore, strongly advise any man 

 who rents a stable to thoroughly examine it, and to 

 insist upon the landlord making the necessary per- 

 manent improvements before he allows a horse to enter 

 beneath the roof. We further strongly advise the 

 landlord to make these necessary improvements, as 

 the outlay need not be heavy, and the result will 

 materially increase the value of his property. Should 

 it be found impossible to make these improvements 



91 



