VIIl] 



STABLE CONSTRUCTION AND SANITATION 



93 



or partially open as required [see P. 84), but it 

 must never be entirely closed, except in very 

 cold climates. The best way to stop grooms 

 from closing the windows entirely is to have 

 blocks of wood fastened so that it is impossible to 

 close them completely. Grooms have a very bad 

 habit of trjdng to heat a stable at the expense 

 of fresh air in order to save themselves trouble 

 in grooming. A hot stable makes a horse's coat 

 shine a little better, but a horseman with a little 

 experience will be able to distinguish between a 

 horse that has been groomed properly and one 

 that has lived in hot stables. The glass (which 

 is most conveniently fitted in four panes) must 

 be put in from the outside, so that there will be 

 no danger of its falling on to the horse's head 

 should the putty get dry. 



366. A most necessary and cheap addition to 

 a stable is that of fitting fly screens to the 

 windows and doors during the fly season. They 

 must be put on before the flies make their first 

 appearance. The doors are fitted on to the out- 

 side of the door frame with hinges. The 

 windows should either screw on or fasten on to 

 the outside of the frames. These frames must 

 fit very accurately, or flies will get in. Fly 

 strings should be hung inside the stable from 

 the ceiling sufBciently high so that a horse can- 

 not reach them if he gets loose. Fly strings are 

 better than papers for catching flies. 



367. Ventilators. — The outlet, as described 

 above, must be through ventilators in the roof. 

 The best kind is shown in P. 87, which is 

 of the new louvre-board type. This kind can 

 be used for stables that have no ceilings, or for 

 those with a ceiling and loft above (P. 84), or 

 for those with a living-room above. P. 87 

 explains as fully as is necessary the detail. The 

 opening at the top, with louvre-boards fastened 

 in to prevent rain and snow from beating in, is 

 the best kind of top to the ventilator. The 

 number and size of ventilators should be, 

 approximately, as shown. These figures vary, 

 of course, in proportion to the number of horses 

 and the size of the stable. There must be holes 

 to allow the foul air from the loft or living-room 

 above to pass out. The bottom of the ventilator 

 shaft should have a trap, a« shown, but, to 

 prevent this being entirely closed, holes must be 

 bored through it. If these traps are entirely 

 closed, not only would the ventilation through 

 the windows be poor, but periodic rushes of 

 eold air would descend on to the horse's 

 head. When these traps are open, the inflow of 

 cold air tends to rise up and pass well over the 

 horse and fall diffused over a large space. What- 

 ever the style of the stable, it is imperative that 

 a window be built in front and above every 

 horse's head. If a stable cannot be constructed 

 to admit of an outward wall being in front of 

 the horses, then a better site should be chosen. 

 Many stables holding a dozen horses have only 



one or two windows in them, and the atmo- 

 sphere is often extremely unhealthy. A stable, 

 if properly fitted with windows, should have 

 such a supply of fresh air that, upon entering 

 it, there is only a slight smell of horses, and 

 upon leaving it, after standing in it for some 

 minutes, one's clothes should not smell of the 

 stables, except perhaps very slightly. The atmo- 

 sphere of many stables is very injurious to those 

 who work in them, especially those who groom 

 the horses, because their breathing, while groom- 

 ing, is naturally more rapid, causing them to 

 breathe so much more foul air. 



368. Stable Impurities. — In order to show the 

 bad effect produced by improperly ventilated 

 stables upon the horse and upon harness it will 

 be necessary to discuss briefly the chemical 

 impurities that are produced in a stable. 



The lungs give ©ff, as explained above, 

 carbon dioxide and water. Other impurities are 

 given off by the system, which remain chiefly 

 in the coat until they are brushed out by the 

 groom. (See Chapter V.) The urine decomposes 

 into gases and solid substances. The chief gas 

 is ammonia gas (NH^) ; the chief solids are 

 ammonium carbonate, ammonium benzoate, 

 ammonium acetate, and acetic acid. 



The dung consists chiefly of insoluble sub- 

 stances, such as cellulose, which have very little 

 effect on the impurity of the air. It decomposes 

 slightly into ammoniacal substances, lactic acid, 

 and a very small percentage of carbolic acid. 



369. Horse Urine. — This is normally cloudy. 

 It is composed of about 90 per cent, water, 5 per 

 cent, mineral salts (salts of K., Ca. Mg. Na.), 

 5 per cent, organic matter, 3 per cent, of which 

 is urea and 2 per cent, alkaline lactates. Fresh 

 urine contains no ammonia, but, owing to 

 ammonia bacteria, fermentation rapidly takes 

 place, the urea combining with water and forn> 

 ing ammonium carbonate : CO (NHj)j (urea) + 

 2H,0 (water) = (NH^^ CO3 (ammon. carb.). 

 Urea is present to a certain extent in the blood 

 when the horse is at rest. Exercise changes this 

 partly into hippuric acid. 



370. The functional changes in the body pro- 

 duced by work cause urea to be changed into 

 hippuric acid. Hence it will be seen that 

 exercise is necessary to diminish the chance of 

 the horse suffering from rheumatism and gout. 

 These are partly due to an excess of urea in the 

 blood. Urea is decomposed, as stated above, 

 and hippuric acid is decomposed by bacteria 

 [see Chapter XVII.) into various solids, as 

 mentioned above. The ammonium carbonate is 

 again split up into water, ammonia gas and 

 carbonic acid gas : (NH,)^ CO, = H^O + 2NH3 -h 

 CO.. 



Ammonia has a very bad effect upon the eyes 

 and lungs of the horse. It destroys all leather 

 by dissolving the fat that leather contains, thus 

 leaving the leather at the mercy of damp and 



