112 

 men of this couiitry more erroneous. However con- 

 geniaFwarmth may be to the constitutions of horses, 

 particularly of the blood kind, as being originally 

 natives of a warm climate, it is self-evident that 

 breathing and re-breathing the same air, as is the 

 case in all close stables, must be pernicious ; and as 

 being completely removed from what in a state of 

 nature they enjoy, it must be highly productive of 

 disease. The very great difference of the tempera- 

 ture without doors and that within, subjects horses 

 kept so vvarm to that vast chain of diseases arising 

 from what is termed catching cold. A stable should 

 be only moderately warn), and it should be always 

 ventilated ; the ventilation should likewise be as near 

 the top as possible, for the foul air is always upper- 

 most. Where the ceiling is low, and there is no large 

 window, there should be a tube or funnel passing up 

 thron«:h the stable ceiling, and throuoh that of the 

 loft above, and m hich is the most effectual way of 

 ventilating possible: the tube should be funnel-shap- 

 ed towards the stable, giving, by its bell mouth, a 

 greater freedom to the foul air to pass off. The heat 

 of stables should be regulated by a thermometer, 

 con&tantly kept in them: 55 degrees of Fahrenheit is 

 a very good winter heat, and it would be desirable 

 never to have it higher than6"5 in summer; t)0 degrees 

 is an excellent medium heat. A stable should like- 

 wise be very light ; when it is otherwise, the newly 

 received light the horse gains when he goes out, is a 

 painful stimulus to the eyes, and his imperfect vision 

 makes liim start ; and, however horses may fatten in 

 dark stables, it must be the fat of a pig, and not with 

 the lusty and cheerful gain of a horse, open to the 



