196 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



about an inch apart. In this way the standing place is level 

 and the drainage perfect. 



Many horses have been seriously injured, besides being made 

 uncomfortable, by being confined in narrow stalls upon inclined 

 floors. In box-stalls, where the horse can move about and take 

 the most agreeable position, it is of course not necessary that 

 the floor be level, and perhaps better that it should not be. 



The sides of the stall should be smooth, and if tlu) horse is 

 disposed to I'ub his tail he may be prevented by fastening strips 

 of plank six inches wide to the partition about three feet from 

 the floor. In a narrow stall there might be danger that the 

 horse would injure his hips upon these planks, but he will soon 

 learn to avoid them in rising. 



The common form of rack and manger for ordinary stables 

 is on the whole not very objectionable. When the hay and 

 straw are all cut, the rack is quite unnecessary, and if one be 

 used, it would be much better to set it in a vertical position 

 than inclined, as is usual. Tbe horse would feed more easily 

 and be less annoyed by dust. The edge of the manger should 

 always be protected by a strip of band iron, both that it may 

 not be destroyed and that the horse be not tempted to acquire 

 the vicious habit of cribbing. 



The best mode of fastening a horse in a stall is the English 

 one of attaching a light weight to the end of the halter and 

 allowing it to run up and down under the manger, which 

 should always be boarded in front from the floor up. By this 

 arrangement, the horse enjoys sufficient liberty and yet has no 

 chance of getting cast by stepping over his halter. 



FOOD OF HORSES. 



The food of horses necessarily varies much in different 

 countries. 



In Sweden and other northern regions they are often habitu- 

 ated to a diet of fish, and in Iceland, the scanty stock of vege- 

 table fodder is eked out by the addition of soup made of dried 

 whale's flesh. In Arabia, camel's milk, dates, flesh balls, eggs 

 and brotli are common articles of food for horses as for men ; 

 and in India, balls of flour, butter, salt and spices are given to 

 improve digestion and render the hair sleek and glossy. In 

 France horses are sometimes fed with chopped hay or straw 



