BEDDING 51 



has gone through the floor of his stall, or has had some 

 other accident. Such experiences last for years. 

 Often, however, a horse that never lies down in a 

 straight stall, will do so in a box stall; and often, too, 

 a horse that will not lie down in any kind of stall, will 

 lie down if you give him a good bed on the barn or 

 stable floor, or in a shed, or in any other place where 

 he is not inclosed, as it were, by walls or partitions. 



A horse that never lies down should occasionally be 

 slung for the night, as that will enable him to rest his 

 over-worked joints and feet. 



To use a good supply of bedding is really more 

 economical than to use a small amount for each horse, 

 because when only a small quantity is used, pretty 

 much all of it will become wet and spoiled and will 

 be thrown away, whereas if a liberal amount is used 

 the moisture will be diffused through it, and it can all 

 be dried and used again. Oat straw or meadow hay 

 can be dried once or twice, and rye straw four or five 

 times. In stables where it is possible to have a plat- 

 form outside for the purpose of drying the bedding, a 

 great saving can easily be effected. In rainy weather 

 the wet bedding can be allowed to accumulate on the 

 platform, and when the weather clears it can all be 

 dried without much trouble, no matter how wet it has 

 become. Sunshine and a west wind will do the work 

 with surprising rapidity. 



KINDS OF BEDDING 



It does not make very much difference to the horse 

 what kind of bedding is used, whether rye straw, oat 



