ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 173 



acting as a solvent for certain noxious salts, developed in the 

 nourishment and maintenance of the body, to excrete the 

 solution as urine. 



Much of the daily allowance of water is left on the stable 

 floor by the horse. If he is well bedded, the bedding absorbs 

 it. If the floor of his stall is of clay, unless the most perfect 

 care is taken of it, he will mix clay and urine and manure to- 

 gether into foul mud, an excellent culture for disease germs and 

 a still for the manufacture of ammonia. If the floor is of wood, — 

 a very poor floor, by the way, — the urine soaks into it, and, 

 unless perfectly drained, renders it very unsanitary. If of brick 

 or stone, the drainage can be easily maintained if the floor is 

 well made and the gutters kept open. 



In any case, to insure both cleanliness and dryness, 

 all the bedding must be taken out of the stall in the morn- 

 ing and the stall cleaned. Such of the bedding as has be- 

 come urine-soaked must be thrown away with the manure and 

 the rest exposed to the sun and air and thoroughly dried before 

 it is put back. The stable should be opened and well aired, the 

 mangers cleaned, and the dust swept up and carried out. 



All persons having animals in their charge should 

 frequently inspect their stables early in the morning, to 

 test the quality of the air in them and to see that their 

 orders respecting ventilation have been carried out. They 

 should inspect them daily at the hour designated to have the 

 bedding aired, to see that everything is scrupulously cleaned, 

 and again when the stables are prepared for the night, to see 

 that the bedding is clean, dry, and well laid and that the gutters 

 are not stopped up. 



Feeding and Watering. — The time of feeding must be 

 regulated according to the uses to which the horses are put. 

 The sequence of feeding should be the same for all horses. As 

 we have seen, water passes almost directly through the stomach 

 and small intestines to the caecum, or water-sac; the hay com- 



