CONSTRUCTION AND FITTING OF STALLS. 237 



covered with porcelain tiles of some suitable colour, such as 

 a light olive green. 



Tying-iip is the process of securing a horse in a stall in such 

 a way that he will be able to feed, drink, and lie down in more 

 or less comfort, although he cannot quit the spot allotted to 

 him ; and is carried out either by one line placed in the centre 

 of the stall, or by two lines, one on each side. In their most 

 common form, these lines, whether single or double, pass 

 through a ring on the manger, and are attached at one end to 

 the headstall, and at the other end to a weight (log or iron 

 ball). This weight acts in preventing the line from getting 

 free, and in lessening the tendency of that part of the rope 

 which is between the manger and the headstall to form a loop, 

 over which a horse might get a leg (in almost all cases, a fore 

 one), with more or less serious consequences. It is evident 

 that, while fulfilling their special purpose, these lines should 

 be durable ; should work with freedom and a minimum of 

 noise ; should be arranged so as to offer as little chance as 

 possible to the horse to get a leg over them ; and should be 

 readily releasable when this accident occurs. Many ingenious 

 attempts to meet these conditions have been made by 

 manufacturers of stable fittings. In the more elaborate 

 tying-up arrangements, a pulley is usually substituted for the 

 ring, so as to diminish friction and noise, which is always unde- 

 sirable in a stable. Tying-up lines are generally made of rope- 

 chain, or leather. Rope soon begins to fray, chain is noisy, 

 and leather is a tempting substance for a horse to gnaw, but 

 on the whole it is preferable to the other two, except when 

 economy has to be studied, in which case, chain is of course the 

 best, as it is practically indestructible. Some of the more elabo- 

 rate tying lines have the part which goes over the pulley made 

 of leather, so that it may run freely and make as little noise as 

 possible ; and the part next to the horse, of chain, so that he 

 may not injure it with his teeth. It is manifest that the fixed 



