VARIETIES OF BEDDING. 261 



from the dung, which duty an ordinary floor will not 

 perform. 



3. To save the horse from the bad effects of chill, whether 

 generally, or locally in his feet and legs, he needs for lying and 

 standing on, a material which is a bad conductor of heat. 

 Except when the floor is of wood, it is in all usual cases a 

 good conductor of heat. It is true that when a horse 

 lives in the open, his lying down and standing up are per- 

 formed as a rule on substances which conduct heat with 

 comparative rapidity from objects placed in contact with 

 them ; but this disturbance of blood circulation is more or 

 less counterbalanced by the fact that the animal's system 

 is then more resistant to the effects of chill than that of 

 the stabled horse. Also, when at liberty, he occupies the 

 greater part of both day and night in moving about, chiefly 

 in search of food. The tendency to " fill " shown by the legs 

 of even sound horses which are kept for a long time in a 

 stable, is far greater, if they have to stand during the day on a 

 floor which is a good conductor of heat, like stone, cement, or 

 brick, than if the standing is warm to the feet, as is the case 

 with straw, wood, and peat moss for instance. Frequent 

 movement being one of the natural conditions of equine 

 life, we find that a horse's feet and legs are anatomically 

 badly fitted to bear long-continued rest, especially when 

 standing, in which position gravitation materially helps to 

 retard the circulation of blood in these parts. The ill-effects 

 of this local interference are manifested not only by the 

 legs filling, but also, and far more seriously, by tendency to 

 fever in the feet and navicular disease. 



VARIETIES OF BEDDING. 



The principal varieties of bedding are straw, peat moss, 

 sawdust, wood shavings, tan, ferns, sand, and fir needles. 



