THE CARE OF HORSES. 291 



a recent work will be found a plan for making loose 

 boxes convertible at will to straight stalls. 1 



If the latter are used, they should be as wide 

 as possible ; and they should be long, not less than 

 twelve feet. Short stalls have three disadvantages : 

 they allow two contiguous horses to kick each other, 

 — a possible but infrequent evil; they fail to protect 

 the hind legs from draughts ; and, worst of all, they 

 enable the occupant to stand with the toes of his 

 hind feet in the gutter, which usually runs behind the 

 stalls. This is a bad position, being certain, if long 

 continued, to result in a straining of the cords and 

 muscles of the pastern. It is said in all horse books 

 that the stall should slope backward but a trifle, only 

 just enough for purposes of drainage ; but 1 go fur- 

 ther, and declare that it ought not to slope at all. I 

 believe that the natural position of a horse is with his 

 fore legs actually lower than his hind legs, and cer- 

 tainly he should never be put in a stall where his 

 fore legs must stand in the least degree higher than 

 his hind legs. 



Perfect cleanliness can be obtained by having the 

 stall floored with slate, sloping as much as may be 

 desired. On the top of this is laid a removable floor 

 of wooden or metal slats, so supported that it is ex- 

 actly level. On this the horse stands, and, as it is 

 easily taken up, the slate floor can be flushed with 

 water every morning. It may be doubted if a stable 

 should ever have a pipe or gutter connecting with a 

 sewer, the danger of its becoming clogged is so great. 



1 " Stable Building and Stable Fitting," by Giraud. London : 

 B. T. Batsford, 1891. 



