HAY AND GRAIN LOFT. 59 



part of the groom to properly fasten the horses or doors is 

 blamed on the mechanism of the locks, snaps, etc. A 

 plain, simple catch which requires the attention of the 

 attendant is the most durable, effective and inexpensive. 

 (See Fig. 34.) A couple of round poles set up vertically on 

 either side of the doorway and made to revolve on pins 

 will prevent the horse from being injured in passing through 

 the opening, for the reason that should the animal come 

 in contact with either side of the doorway the surface will 

 turn in the direction the horse is moving. In old stables a 

 thorough examination of the walls and posts should be made 

 for projecting hooks and nails ; and when and wherever 

 found they should be immediately removed. 



HAY AND GRAIN LOFT. 



The hayloft is best located when over the horses' heads. 

 When thus situated it insures quiet and acts as a noncon- 

 ductor of heat and cold. The flooring should be double 

 boarded. It is a great nuisance to have the loft so placed 

 that the hay has to be carried through a passage to the 

 chute or has to be dropped into the stall part. Chutes for 

 hay and straw, measuring two feet deep and four feet wide, 

 with a sliding door the full width, should extend from the 

 loft to the passage back of the stalls. The bins for grain 

 should deliver directly into the same part. The bottoms of 

 these bins should slope from the four sides to the centre with 

 a pitch of four inches to the foot. As a protection against 

 the ravages of mice, rats, rodents and other grain-devouring 

 creatures, these boxes and the shafts should be lined with 

 tin. Extending from the top of the loft door there should 

 be a beam upon which a block and tackle can be fastened for 



