VIII] 



STABLE CONSTRUCTION AND SANITATION 



95 



must be left. Concrete is absolutely fireproof, 

 and looks well if lines are made on the outside 

 wall representing blocks of stone. Inside it can 

 be painted with washable sanitary paint. The 

 best colour for the inside of the walls is white 

 or light cream. 



374. Doors and Windows. In Sec. 365 win- 

 dows have been discussed. They should be 

 made of metal fireproof frames and casements. 

 If they are arranged as shown in P. 84 there 

 is no need for any ropes, which are always 

 liable to break ; small plugs should be used to 

 regulate the extent to which the window is 

 opened. Doors must be in halves, must be 4 ft. 

 6 in. wide, and should open outwards. Their 

 total height should not be less than 8 ft., and the 

 height of the bottom half not less than 4 ft. 6 in. 

 The bottom half should bolt very securely, to 

 prevent a loose horse from getting out when the 

 top half is open. The doors should be made of 

 hard wood, or may be covered on both sides with 

 metal to make them fireproof. The frames 

 should be of metal if it is desired to make the 

 whole stable fireproof. Hard wood is almost as 

 fireproof as thin metal sheeting. 



The latches should be such that a loose horse 

 cannot use his muzzle to open the door, but 

 must also be of such a pattern that in case of a 

 fire in the stable they can be opened immediately. 

 In Canada double doors are often used in the 

 winter ; in this case the inner door should be 

 put up in the winter and should open inwards. 

 A space of about 6 in. should be left between the 

 two doors. With good thick doors and properly 

 constructed stables two doors should not be 

 necessary. 



On the floor, inside each door, a ridge of con- 

 crete an inch high should be made to fit tight 

 against the bottom of the door to prevent cold 

 air and rain beating in under the door. 



Sliding doors that are hung on wheels that 

 run on a rail are very convenient where large 

 doors are necessary, such as in coach-houses. 

 They do not sink, as heavy doors on hinges are 

 liable to do ; they are, of course, fastened on to 

 the outside of the wall. 



375. Coach-houses. Coach-houses and har- 

 ness-rooms should be constructed very similarly 

 to stables, except that a fewer number of larger 

 windows are better than the smaller stable 

 windows. Strict attention must be paid to ven- 

 tilation, but the temperature should be kept up 

 to about 60 F. in winter. Without perfect ven- 

 tilation the carriages will become mouldy and 

 the varnish will become spoilt ; the harness will 

 also suffer considerably. A fireplace, properly 

 constructed, should be placed in the harness- 

 room, to keep the room dry in damp weather, 

 and also for the purpose of boiling water and 

 cooking food for the horses. 



376. Floors. Floors should be of tiles, or, 

 preferably, small bricks, as shown in P. 87. 



These consist of small rectangular bricks, with 

 grooves running in one direction only. If the 

 grooves run in both directions it is more difficult 

 to brush out the dirt. 



The slope of the floor of each stall must not 

 be more than i in. in 3 ft. (1 in 36) ; therefore, 

 in a stall 6 ft. in width the drop in the centre 

 would be 1 in. The slope from front to rear 

 should be i in 80 ; therefore, in a stall 10 ft. 6 in. 

 in length the drop would be i^i in. If the 

 slope is greater it will be uncomfortable for the 

 horse, and if very great it will be injurious. The 

 bricks or tiles must be laid so that the grooves 

 run in the direction of the line shown. 



The gangway or passage between two rows 

 of stalls should be level unless surface drainage 

 is used (see Sees. 377-8), and the tiles should be 

 laid so that the grooves run across the passage. 

 The floor should be at least 3 ft. thick, and should 

 be at least i ft. above the outside ground. There 

 should be 2 ft. of loose brick and tiles, and 9 in. 

 of good concrete on top, and about 3 in. of tile 

 or brick above the concrete. 



The approaches, or ramps, leading up to the 

 stable doors should be made of concrete, well 

 grooved, or wood with slats across them, and 

 should not have a greater slope than 1 in 10. 

 They should be about 2 ft. wider on each side 

 than the door. 



If concrete alone is used as a floor, the groove 

 should be as shown in P. 87. Concrete, however, 

 although cheap, does not make a good floor. 

 Horses are very liable to slip, and the concrete 

 wears badly, especially under a fidgety horse. 

 The grooves are also awkward when calkins are 

 used, as is done during the winter in Canada. 

 In the coldest of Canadian winters the best 

 method of keeping the horses warm is to place 

 wooden floors, already fitted together, measuring 

 6 ft. by 12 ft., in the stalls. These floors should 

 be made of at least 1-in. boards, separated 

 slightly between each board, and nailed on cross 

 pieces of 2-in. by 4-in. scantling. These floors 

 should be taken out daily one by one, and the 

 stall underneath washed down. In stables that 

 have wooden floors the horse should not stand 

 on the main flooring, which is generally made 

 of 2-in. planks, but should stand on an upper 

 hard wood floor made by laying 1-in. planks 

 across the stall. When these become worn they 

 can be replaced, which is considerably cheaper 

 than waiting for the 2-in. floor underneath to 

 wear through, and does away with the danger of 

 the horse's leg breaking through, which I have 

 seen occur several times. When calkins are used 

 a 2-in. board will wear through in a few weeks. 

 Single flooring in these cases is extremely dan- 

 gerous. 



377. Drainage. The stall should be drained 

 as shown in P. 87. 



Surface drains are really the best, as they are 

 much more easily kept clean. They should run 



