252 THE HORSE IN SERVICE 



Com stover must be either cut or shredded in order to be 

 conveniently used for bedding. It is customary to feed a gen- 

 erous allowance and permit what is not consumed to go under 

 the horses for bedding. 



Feed boxes sliuuld be easily taken out in order that they may 

 be frequently cleansed and kept sweet. Vai'ious schemes have 

 been devised for the purjDOse of preventing too rapid bolting of 

 feed and throwing it out. Aside from the i)atent slow fee<l- 

 ing contrivances, a broad, flat-bottomed box which insures the 

 feed being spread in a tliin layer, or a few good-sized cobble- 

 stones placed in the ordinary box will serve to prevent hogging, 

 while a flange about the rim of the feed box will help retain the 

 grain, altliough increasing the difficulty of removing what feed 

 is left, in case it may be necessary to do so. 



Mangers for the roughage should not be placed higher than 

 the level of the feed box and should be provided with either 

 cross slats or some other means to prevent the hay being thrown 

 out. They should be open at the bottom in order that they may 

 be kept clean from dirt, chaff, and all trash. It is recommended 

 by some that feeding be done from the floor, inasmuch as that 

 is the natural position of the grazing horse. It has the advan- 

 tage of cheapening construction and economizing stall space, as 

 vv^oll as enhancing the security of the horse in the stable. It 

 requires a careful allotment of hay, however, as what is not 

 readily consumed will be wasted, and with those horses which 

 have acquired the habit of pawing whatever is in front of them 

 back under their hind feet it will prove a wasteful practice. 



Ties. — A horse should be tied securely in his stall for the 

 protection of lx>th himself and others in the stable, but the method 

 of tying should be such as to enable him to rest comfortably, yet 

 w^ithout danger of becoming either cast or entangled in the halter 

 shank. Comfort requires that a horse be permitted to lay his 

 head flat on the floor, yet much more length than this ^vill enable 

 him to get a foot over the halter. Both comfort and safety are 

 met by attaching a weight to the end of the halter shank equiva- 

 lent to the weight of the shank itself, allowing the shank to slip 

 through either a ring or a hole in the manger without being tied. 

 The weight keeps the halter shank taut to the extent of not being 



