256 STABLES. 



PLANS FOR STABLES. 



The principles which should guide us in drawing out the 

 plan of a stable, are those by which we can obtain healthy 

 stable conditions combined with safety for the horses and 

 convenience for carrying out stable routine. In order to 

 obtain full advantage from the best aspect, the portion of 

 the stable containing the animals should be more or less 

 in a straight line, and should have no objects near it that 

 will interfere with its ventilation, drainage, or supply of 

 sunlight. A quadrangular or three-sided arrangement is 

 often convenient for a large establishment ; for, by adopting 

 it, the boxes, stalls, saddle-room, coach-house, and other 

 places can be grouped round a central yard. 



With respect to internal arrangement, the conditions in 

 question will best be observed when the horses have only 

 one wall on each side, between them and the outer air, and 

 when they are placed in a single row, with a passage opening 

 by a door at each end between the front wall and the boxes 

 or stalls. If there are more than seven or eight horses, a 

 door may be allowed in the front wall (and also in the rear 

 wall, if necessary) for every three or four horses. By placing 

 the passage next to the front wall, the windows in that 

 wall can be made of any size, or may be placed at any 

 height that may be desired. If the horses stand in two rows 

 with a passage between them, little or no direct sunlight 

 can fall on the compartments occupied by the animals which 

 are next the front wall. The necessity for economising 

 space will, however, often oblige an owner to adopt this two- 

 row arrangement. 



The presence of an inside passage is convenient, and 

 by aiding ventilation, especially if a door is at each end, 

 is conducive to health. Want of space would, as a rule, 

 be the only consideration that would warrant its absence. 



