234 THE HORSE 



Thus a plain iron frame- work, consisting of wrought-iron post, ramp, and 

 cill, may be obtained for about 21. , to which must be added the expense 

 of boarding both sides, which will come to about 20s. in deal or elm, exclusive 

 of the labour, being nearly double the cost of wooden posts and rails, put 

 up in a correspondingly plain way. The length of the travis should be 

 9 ft., or if the horses are 16 hands or more, the travis may be 10 ft. long 

 with advantage. No travis should be less than 6 ft. 8 in. in height at 

 the head, and 4 ft. 6 in. or 5 ft. at the tail-post. If lower than this, the 

 horses can bite each other over the head, or kick over the tail, and so 

 become hung, from which latter accident serious mischief may ensue. 



If wooden posts are used they are apt to rot at the floor level, from damp ; 

 it is usual therefore to dowel them into a stone raised above the floor in 

 order to prevent their speedy destruction, and it is then necessary to carry 

 them up to the ceiling. But now that iron posts are almost universally 

 used in good stables, it is no longer necessary to carry them up to the 

 ceiling, as they can be made quite secure by means of long bases set in 

 concrete. The advantages of short posts in respect of appearance, cleanli- 

 ness, and safety fully counterbalance the disadvantage of having to strengthen 

 the floor above, the joists of which have either to be deeper, or they may 

 be supported on a strong cross beam of wood or rolled iron. 



A BARRIER BAR is sometimes used in stables, when valuable horses are 

 kept in stalls, such as hunters and race-horses. It is merely a strong iron 

 bar sliding through the post in a sheath prepared in the travis, and when 

 drawn out drops into a socket fixed in the wall opposite ; so that, if either 

 of the horses gets loose, he cannot reach his neighbours. It also serves to 

 prevent two horses from hanging back and kicking at each other, which 

 vicious animals will sometimes do. 



THE MANGERS AND RACKS are now almost invariably made of the annexed 

 form, whether of wood or iron ; the addition of a separate cavity for water, 

 Oi*an mashes, or gruel, being a modern invention. It used to be objected 

 by advocates of the old system that a low manger and hayrack allowed the 

 horse to breathe over his food, and was further a danger if a restless horse 

 reared up and put his foot in it. The first objection is overcome by not 

 putting in too much provender at a time, but the second, though a real 

 danger, is not a frequent cause of trouble. The bars of the hayrack should 

 not be wide enough to permit the foot of a pony to pass between them. 



The high rack is sometimes responsible for small particles of hay falling 

 into the eyes, and injuring them, beside the minor evil of filling the mane 

 with dust. The old-fashioned high rack may now be considered quite 

 obsolete, but a medium kind of rack is in use which seems to combine the 

 advantages of the low rack with others of its own. Both sorts are also 

 sometimes sheeted in front with wrought-iron, as shown in the illustration, 

 which has the upright rack. There is a sloping grid at the bottom 

 which throws the hay to the front as it is consumed, and the seeds are 

 caught in a tray below. This is a good plan, as if the seeds drop on to the 

 floor many horses, being fond of them, rub their manes against the manger 

 front in the effort to pick them up. 



WITH REGARD TO THE MATERIAL of which the racks and mangers should 

 be made, I am not quite so settled in my convictions. Wood is undoubtedly 

 the cheapest, and it has the advantage in its favour that the horse, in laying 



