172 ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 



men to work in a warm stable, they persuade their employers 

 that the horses need it, thereby sacrificing the health of their 

 charges to their own comfort. 



Horses that are blanketed in warm stables must, when 

 they are taken out, be kept moving or warmly clothed. Other- 

 wise there is, in the winter, grave danger of pneumonia, lung 

 fever, or other similar diseases, and, in the summer, of founder. 



Proper grooming of horses kept blanketed in cold 

 stables will keep their coats in order. They will be more 

 willing to work and less liable to suffer from the effects of standing 

 outside in the cold, when the business or pleasure of their owners 

 demands it. Veterinary bills will be kept down, and the only 

 persons to find fault with the arrangement will be the men who 

 have to tend them. 



Insist, therefore, on an ample supply of fresh air in the 

 stable. Insist also that the fresh air entering the stables does 

 not produce direct draughts on the horses. The currents of 

 entering air should be diffused by suitable mechanical arrange- 

 ments. 



In damp, cold climates, valuable horses that justify the 

 expenditure are benefited by having open fire-places in their 

 stables to keep them dry and to assist in ventilation. Steam 

 or hot water heating arrangements should not be used to heat 

 the stalls. 



Dryness should be insisted on in stables. 



This can only be secured in most climates by building the 

 stables in well-drained situations, open to the air and sunlight. 



Cleanliness can be secured only by constant super- 

 vision. 



Cleanliness and dryness go hand in hand. A horse drinks 

 about eight gallons of water a day. This water is used: first, 

 to maintain the fluidity of the blood and other liquids, the 

 moisture of the tissues, and to replace that lost by perspiration; 

 second, to moisten the food and prepare it for digestion; third, 



