50 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



Benefit of 

 fresh air. 



Draught 

 and chill. 



Tempera- 

 ture of 

 stable air. 



The amount of carbonic acid is very minute, but if it rises from 2 to 6 

 volumes per 10,000 the air is "very stuffy," while 6 to 8 volumes per 10,000 

 makes it " very offensive." 



The bearing of the quality of the air on the condition of the blood has 

 been already noted (Respiration, p. 11), and unless a full supply of pure air 

 is constantly afforded, the body is not so well able to perform hard work, 

 or to resist the attack of disease as it otherwise would be. Unfortunately, 

 this fact is not at once supported by the appearance of animals which 

 are kept under the most insanitary conditions ; rather is the reverse the 

 case. The horse which lives in a stuffy, ill-ventilated stable may look fatter 

 and sleeker than the occupant of a cold, fresh one, and this is sufficient to 

 make the fresh air stable unpopular with a large section of those whose 

 credit to a varying extent may depend on the appearance of the 

 animal. It is only when called on to undergo hardship or when some 

 epidemic disease is prevalent that the difference in health and strength 

 is noticeable, and these are the very conditions under which the soldier has 

 most need of a really hardy mount. A practical and reliable test for the 

 purity of the air in a stable is the effect produced on the sense of smell 

 when entering it. If there is no apparent difference from the air outside 

 it is satisfactory ; but if there is any stuffiness the ventilation is defective, 

 and the air of the stable requires to be changed more frequently. 



Draught and chill. — A draught is a current of air passing through a 

 confined space, like a building, at such a pace that it produces a feeling 

 of cold when it strikes the skin. The effect of such a draught on a warm 

 skin full of blood is to drive the blood into the internal organs and 

 produce chill and shivering. The hotter the skin at the moment when 

 the animal is exposed to the draught the greater is the danger of a chill. 

 If the air has to be changed very often, its constant inrush will keep the 

 animals in a perpetual draught, and as it is one of the chief objects of 

 ventilation to avoid this, a considerable cubic space is necessary in order 

 to keep the atmosphere pure without having to change it too frequently. 

 Careful experiments have shown that although men can only bear three 

 changes per hour, eight or ten in the same time is not too often for the 

 horse's comfort or health, and a calculation based on that shows 1,500 

 to 1,600 cubic feet per head is sufficient, and is a convenient space in all 

 respects. 



It may be objected that a stable ventilated to such a degree that it 

 does not differ from the open air, will be extremely cold in winter, but 

 this is really no objection ; the health of animals does not suffer from 

 cold to anything like the same extent as that of men ; they stand varying 

 temperatures remarkably well, and chills from standing in a draught 



