STABLE MANAGEMENT. 79 



the horn of the foot, and cause an eruption on the skin from contact with 

 it when lying down. These conditions are hkely to occur if the so-called 

 " continental " system of allowing bedding to remain down for long periods 

 without any sanitary attention, is adopted. The soiled portions should be 

 removed daily and during the day the litter should be swept to the sides 

 of the stalls. With care it is possible to leave the unsoiled portions down 

 for a few days in boxes and partitioned stalls, but very careful attention 

 to the removal of soiled portions is called for, since, as already pointed 

 out, the absence of smell may lead to neglect of sanitary precaution in this 

 matter. 



Good peat moss should contain no earthy matter, but consist of close- 

 fibred lumps of moss, which can be easily broken by the hand, but which 

 hold closely together by their interwoven threads. A certain quantity of 

 other plants, often the variety called "horsetail " (equisetum), is unavoid- 

 able, but any amount of stones or dirt, or a dark earthy appearance, 

 stamp it as a bad sample. 



General 7ioies on bedding. — Before using any absorbent litter. General 

 securely block all stable drains ; if this is not done, the material will get notes on 

 down, gradually choke them, and render them very troublesome if they bedding. 

 are required at any future time. 



A wooden or brick ledge, or, in hot climates, a mud rim, at the back 

 of a sand, sawdust, or peat moss bed, helps to keep it tidy. 



When sand is being used and the weather is cold, a layer of straw on 

 the top makes a very comfortable bed. Generally speaking sand is not a 

 good litter in England, but an exception must be made in favour of the 

 sand bath, which is a great enjoyment to horses and a good means of 

 drying them rapidly. 



Dung should be removed from the beds as soon as passed if possible 

 as it is otherwise trodden into the litter and increases wastage. 



In order to induce horses to take plenty of rest it is a good plan to 

 keep them bedded down as much as possible, a comparatively simple 

 matter with peat moss, but one which requires more management where 

 straw is used and the quantity limited. In order to check waste as far as 

 possible, the litter should not be put down until the horses are done over, 

 and since they often stale as soon as the bed is under them, a handful of 

 the worst should be shaken under the geldings, and the back of the stall 

 littered last ; the wet straw and urine can then be removed and a dry 

 bed left. 



A system of leaving the litter down constantly, and adding fresh Conti- 

 bedding to the mass daily without further attention, is practised in some nental 

 parts of the Continent, and has been tried in our own stables. It systems. 



