80 HEALTH AND DISEASE 



The cubic space for army stables has been fixed at 1605 cubic feet per 

 head, and for infirmary stables at 1900 cubic feet per head; these dimen- 

 sions render it necessary, in order to provide the horse with the 15,000 cubic 

 feet of air per hour, to change the air in the first stable (1605 cubic feet per 

 head) about nine and a half times per hour. These dimensions suggest 

 the necessity for very complete and perfectly controllable means of 

 ventilation. 



It is not probable that a space of more than 1000 cubic feet will be 

 allotted to each horse in ordinary stables when only a few horses are kept, 

 and this, with proper ventilation, will prove to be quite sufficient. Where 

 new stables are being built under the control of the owner, the common 

 plan of placing living rooms or lofts over the stables may advantageously 

 be abandoned. Great height is not at all desirable, and where the roof 

 is carried up, and ventilators are put in the ridge, a height of 10 to 12 feet 

 to the eaves may be taken as a standard height. 



The most violent advocate of fresh air and free ventilation will not deny 

 the stableman's assertion that in a warm stable the animals' coats are 

 rendered fine and glossy, and the horses do better on a smaller amount of 

 food than they would in a large, cold stable, in which, whatever is done to 

 protect them, they always put on a half-starved appearance, as the groom 

 will designate it. The problem of how to provide a sufficient quantity of 

 pure air in a reasonable cubic space, without keeping the animals too hot or 

 too cold, is one that cannot be solved without incurring the expense of a 

 somewhat elaborate system of warming and ventilation. 



Where the cost of warming the air required for ventilation is pro- 

 hibitive, the best method is to provide windows on opposite sides of the 

 stables and perhaps also in one end, the windows themselves being of the 

 " hopper" type, so that the air enters the building with an upward current. 

 Triangular side-pieces or cheeks should be fixed to the frames so that, w r hen 

 the windows are open, the air cannot enter except at the top. The windows 

 at the rear should be well above the horses' heads. As windows are 

 provided on opposite sides of the stable, it will always be possible to open 

 some of them, without creating excessive draughts, whatever the direction 

 of the wind may be. If the ceiling is flat, these windows will in many 

 cases serve adequately for inlets and outlets, but where practicable it is 

 better to provide one or more outlets at a higher level. The continuous 

 ventilator along the ridge, with louvre boards on both sides, is certain to 

 prove draughty, and cannot fail to admit air when the wind is blowing 

 strongly against it. There are many different cowls or exhaust ventilators 

 which are more suitable for the purpose. 



Much of the coldness complained of in stables is due to defective 



