STABLES 121 



If moisture forms In winter upon the walls or ceiling 

 of a stable, it is sure proof that there Is a want of 

 ventilation In It. In such cases you will sometimes find 

 that the tips of the horses' ears are sticky and dirty, 

 this being caused by the ear becoming moist at the tip 

 owing to bad ventilation, and the dandruff and dust 

 forming with the moisture a sticky mixture. I once 

 saw a well-bred, young trotting horse that had been 

 wintered In northern New England, whose ears flopped 

 over a little at the tip, having evidently been frozen, 

 and, no doubt, they became frozen when the horse was 

 taken out to exercise on some particularly cold morning 

 with the tips of his ears In this wet, sticky condition 

 from want of ventilation In his stall. 



TEMPERATURE 



Stables should be warm in winter. Fifty-five degrees 

 is about the right temperature. Horses suffer very 

 much from cold, and I believe that a cold stable for a 

 horse doing hard work Is worse than a badly ventilated 

 one. Even In warm and crowded stables, horses will 

 do well if well-fed, well-groomed, and well-bedded, 

 although they will be more susceptible to disease than 

 they would be In a properly ventilated stable. 



A young horse used to a cold climate, not blanketed, 

 and not groomed enough to take the dandruff and oil 

 from his coat, can stand severe cold In a stable or else- 

 where If generously fed; but hard-worked horses that 

 are groomed and blanketed need to be kept In a warm 

 and comfortable place. 



Some persons think that if a horse has to stand on 



