The Stable Handbook 



if you want them for work as well as 

 pleasure, as you are not so likely to 

 overwork the one, and the cost of two 

 horses is about one-third more than 

 that of one. 



The Stables. — Air, dryness, and cleanliness 

 are best attained by open windows, outside drains, 

 and removal of litter. 



Forage. — The best is the cheapest, but if we 

 cannot afford the best then we must buy the best 

 we can. It is better to give less of the best 

 forage than a greater quantity of inferior stuff. 

 Water should be always in the stall. Exercise 

 should be regular, and should be from ten to 

 fifteen miles a day as a minimum. 



Hard- worked horses, regularly fed and well 

 groomed, thrive best. 



An hour's grooming is equal to an extra quartern 

 of oats. 



A horse generally requires shoeing once a month. 

 The nails should be looked to every time before a 

 horse does a long day's work. I always have my 

 horse's shoes looked at before hunting, and on 

 the only occasion I omitted this last year a shoe 

 was wrenched off and the horse laid up for a 

 week. The foot should be kept as much as 

 possible the natural shape. The horse should 

 have the shoes fitted exactly. The good black- 

 smith fits the shoe to his foot, the bad one fits the 

 foot to the shoe. You can easily tell when the 



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