THE HORSE 



IN HEALTH, ACCIDENT AND DISEASE 



CHAPTER I 



STABLES AND STABLE CONSTRUCTION 

 HYGIENE OF THE STABLE 



Those who study the welfare of their horses will 

 endeavour to see that their animals are comfortably 

 housed, though, unfortunately, a large proportion of 

 stables are anything but satisfactory. Some horse 

 owners seem to have an idea that any sort of hovel is 

 good enough to keep a horse in, but there can be no 

 greater mistake, and no man can ever expect an animal 

 to look well or perform its work satisfactorily if it is kept 

 in a cold or a damp stable, without drainage or sanitation 

 of any kind. Every well-constructed stable should have 

 its inlet for pure air and its outlet for impure, be eihciently 

 drained, and provided with proper flooring. Makeshift 

 floors are never any use, and prove to be the most 

 expensive in the long run. Existing stables, deficient in 

 their internal arrangements, can very often be materiaUy 

 improved by slight additional cost. The best site for a 

 stable is one on a gravel soil, with the front of the stable 

 facing the south or south-west. If there is a slight 

 natural elevation of the ground, so much the better. The 

 walls can be constructed of wood, corrugated iron, brick, 

 reinforced concrete, or stone, the last-named being the 

 best of all, unless exception be taken to reinforced 



