258 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



could never achieve within two or three feet of the 

 proper distance, and doubtless it was his want of quality 

 which was accountable for his failure. 



So much has been written elsewhere concerning 

 stables, so many plans have been published in various 

 books, and so much advice has been given that the 

 subject is rather worn. Wealthy hunting folk can 

 have stables on a most elaborate scale, and can spend 

 big sums of money on outward adornment, but it is 

 greatly open to doubt whether their horses are any 

 better for it, while one feels quite certain that in many 

 cases some horses suffer from too much artificial heat- 

 ing, and coddling generally. 



Still one likes to see a stable that is pretty without, 

 and clean, tidy, and roomy within, and as in nearly 

 every other question of life the happy medium is what 

 should be aimed at. On the whole boxes are more 

 suitable for hunters than stalls, for a horse can move 

 about in a box, whereas in a stall he must stand all 

 day with his head tied up. But about half a dozen boxes 

 inside a big stable are best, for horses like to live in 

 company. The size of the stable must of course depend 

 upon the strength of the stud, and yet the plan of having 

 a very great number of boxes or stalls under one roof 

 is not altogether satisfactory, because of the chance of 

 fire breaking out. We have no statistics on the sub- 

 ject from the fire offices, but we incline to the opinion 

 that fires in stables are fairly common, and certainly 

 many such have been known in the training stables. 

 The fact is that straw is about the most inflammable 

 material that there is, and if it becomes ignited the 

 blaze follows so quickly that there is often the greatest 

 difficulty in rescuing the inmates — and horses go 

 almost mad with fear when fire is in their immediate 



