132 THE FAMILY HORSE. 



eight inches wide and deep, and as long as the stall is wide. A hole 

 or ring in the upper right hand corner will furnish a place for 

 hitching. A heap of sand or sawdust should always be kept, with 

 which to sprinkle the stable floor. If the horse's feet are dry, standing 

 on the wet sand will help them, and when mixed with the urine and 

 manure, it renders the fumes less volatile. A heap of dry earth or 

 swamp muck should be kept under the bam, and every day or two 

 a little thrown on the manure heap will prevent the heating so 

 common to horse manure, and the consequent odors so fatal to 

 harness polish and carriage varnish. The manure can and should 

 be frequently removed. Sawdust is highly recommended by some 

 horsemen, and it certainly changes the odor in and around the 

 stable, but by others it is said to injure the horse's feet. Sand is to 

 be preferred, but in the writer's experience no injurious results have 

 ever been noticed. 



The best bedding is doubtless rye-straw. It has a tougher fiber 

 than oat or wheat straw, lasts longer and dries more readily. Enough 

 should be used to make a good thick bed. If the horse is inclined 

 to eat the bedding — a habit caused by lack of hay — the bedding that 

 has been once dried should be put under the fore-feet and the new 

 straw further back. It is a mistake under any circumstances to use 

 wet straw, simply for economy's sake. Use new if the old is not 

 dry, till it can be put in the sun, and if more is used than is needed 

 some can be laid aside and used later. It does not require the 

 exercise of much judgment to understand that when a horse, warm 

 and tired, lies down on a mass of cold, wet and sometimes half decayed 

 straw, rheumatism may naturally result, yet in the winter and rainy 

 weather of spring the writer has often seen such bedding used. No 

 animal better repays good treatment than the horse, and a good 

 night's sleep on a dry bed is little enough to give after a hard day's 

 work in the field, or a long drive on the road. To those living in 

 the neighborhood of woods, leaves gathered in the fall when they 

 are dry furnish a good bed, make a valuable addition to the manure 

 heap, and of course cost practically nothing, as the children are 

 always glad to spend part of a day in getting them. But they must 

 be removed every day, as they cannot be dried. If oat or wheat 

 straw is raised on the place, they should, of course, be used, subject 

 to the same conditions as the rye straw. 



FEEDING. 



It is to be presumed that in the proper feeding of any horse, a 

 fair amount of good sweet hay is almost a necessity. This need not 

 always be the highest priced, but should never be dirty or musty. 



