^o Horses on Board Ship. 



have their floors laid down with a plentiful 

 supply of soft material, such as straw or coir 

 matting, so as to prevent them slipping, and 

 to save them from hurting themselves, in the 

 event of their falling down. Accidents are 

 much less liable to occur when the horses 

 are left loose in these lighters, than when 

 they are tied up. As I have already indi- 

 cated (p. 54), it would be well, under 

 ordinary conditions, to remove the hind 

 shoes of the animals, so that they may not 

 hurt each other by kicking. 



When a horse is put into a portable horse- 

 box, previous to slinging him and the box, 

 the ropes on his head-collar or halter should 

 be firmly secured at a short length to the 

 rings which are fixed to the respective posts 

 at the entrance of the box, so as to stop 



