70 Stable Servants and 



and take up the droppings regularly at once, before they 

 are trodden into the straw. 



Straw when good is bright and clean-looking. The price 

 will vary from 30^. to 45 s. per load, according to the season, 

 In wet seasons it is difficult to get good straw, as it is gene- 

 rally then dark and mildewed-looking from the rain. At 

 any time, good oat or barley straw is better for cutting into 

 chaff than wheat straw, but it is not easy to obtain ; most 

 farmers keeping it for fodder for home use. 



Economy in the stable depends entirely upon the groom. 

 If he does his duty well and conscientiously, he will keep 

 down the expenses as far as is practicable with justice to 

 the horse. Nothing whatever is gained by buying cheap 

 or inferior fodder; on the contrary, the horse suffers in 

 every way in condition, appearance, and value. 



WATER. Soft water is in all cases better for horses than 

 hard, hence they are often watered in a brook or pond in 

 preference to the bucket, which is generally replenished 

 from the well. If, therefore, soft water can be easily pro- 

 cured, it should in all cases be given, but I do not think 

 that with our present warm stables it answers well to allow 

 the horse to slake his thirst at the pond or brook at all 

 seasons ; cart horses may do so with impunity, because 

 they are seldom heated with their work, and their stables 

 are comparatively cool. Boiling gets rid of a great pro- 

 portion of the lime, and where it exists in large quantities 

 it is advisable to give all boiled water. The temperature of 

 the water given should in all cases be that of the stable, 

 or very little below it ; and so in the warm one the water 

 must be raised to at least 70 degrees of Fahrenheit, by 

 mixing a little hot water with the cold, or by leaving the 

 bucket full of water constantly in the stable, and only using 

 it when it has acquired the temperature of the stable. If 

 cold water is given to a horse used to it chilled, and to 

 warm stables, it sets the coat the wrong way directly, and 

 often produces colic, or shivering, followed by rheumatism; 

 and this is especially likely when he has undergone any 

 violent exertion, and is becoming cool from it. It does not 

 do nearly the harm while the horse is reeking with heat 

 and perspiration that it does when given to the tired horse 



