98 Horses on Board Ship. 



and one extra, so that the rearmost mat 

 can be taken out every day, cleaned and 

 dried, and the others pushed down in daily 

 succession. If one large mat is used, there 

 will be great difficulty in changing it from 

 time to time, as would be necessary for 

 purposes of cleanliness. The old plan of 

 putting battens across the floor of a box 

 is not good ; because, instead of using the 

 battens as a fixed point for his toes in the 

 manner intended, a horse will often place his 

 heels on them, apparently with the hopeless 

 object of digging his toes into the wood 

 beneath, and will thus adopt a position which 

 is well suited to bring on fever of the feet. 

 Hay is much less slippery than straw. Cinders 

 and sand are very inefficient substitutes for 

 rough cocoanut matting ; although they are 



