CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF STABLES. 



539 



Four cuts arc here given, showing the anatomy of the parts that sus- 

 tain injury in this way, and the results commonly seen following such 

 injuries. The center of gravity is thrown in a different line from what 

 nature intended ; and though the feet and legs can stand this for a while, 

 yet when long continued, the tendons become wearied, from the constant 

 strain, and are also predisposed to sprains when the horse is taken 

 out. The joints, too, share in the protest against the slope. The weight 

 being thrown upon a bearing that is unnatural, the cartilages and ends of 

 the bones become irritated, ana' the synovial bursse distended ; inflamma- 

 tion is set up ; and then follows ringbone, spavin, osteophytes, or the like 

 trouble, according to the special susceptibility of the animal. 



Any one may satisfy himself as to the correctness of these views, 

 by noticing how a horse will back out of his stall, and stand with his 

 toes in the gutter, back of him What is this for? To rest the back 

 tendons that have been under an unnatural strain. 

 Horses, when left to choose for themselves, will almost 

 invariably find a place where the hind feet stand 

 higher than the fore. This is well illustrated by the 



cut at the end of chapter IV, 



Part II. 



The stall should be built, 



as to length, to suit the class 



of horse intended to occupy 



it. Draft horses, for in- 

 stance, require longer stalls 



than buggy horses. Make a 



gutter just back of the horse, 



to carry off the urine, and let 



the floor beyond the gutter 



be on the same level as the 



floor of the stall. Some 



stables have the stall floor 



built from three to ten inches 

 higher than the main floor. This is a great mistake, 

 notwithstanding it may save labor to the stable-man, 

 for his comfort and ease should never be allowed to outweigh those 

 of the stock. 



Very serious accidents sometimes happen from the horse kicking over 

 the rear post of the stall, and coming down astraddle of it, in some 

 instances letting the intestines right out on the floor, and in others skinning 

 the whole inside of the leg, from the thigh to the foot, clean to the bone. 

 To prevent this, let the rear post go from floor to ceiling, and see that it 



OSTEOPHYTES ON THE PAS- 

 TEllN BONES. 



DISEASED HOCK 

 JOINT. 

 Another dang-er from 

 sloping floors. Hock 

 joint of the left hind 

 leer, in which the bony 

 deposit of spavin has 

 involved all but the 

 true hock joint. 



