266 THE HORSE 



All doorways should be high and wide, to prevent the 

 danger of knocking the top of the head or the hips when 

 passing through them ; and the side-posts must never be 

 left with a sharp edge, being carefully rounded off to mini- 

 mise any possible accident ; when practicable it is better to 

 have the posts protected with a small roller, which will turn 

 round if the horse catches against it. A groom leading a 

 horse into a stable should never pull at the bridle, if it hangs 

 back, for then it is certain to elevate the head, and knock it 

 against the top of the doorway if it is low. There is no 

 surer method of teaching a horse to be afraid of entering a 

 stable than this, and the habit of going in and out with a 

 rush is soon learned if a horse has once been thus hurt. If 

 the man allows the horse a slack rein he will carry his head 

 low, and there will then be no fear of his hitting it however 

 low the doorway may be. The provision of light is an 

 important one, as, though horses may rest better in the dark, 

 their eyesight will soon suffer if they are kept habitually 

 without sufficient light. But the windows must be placed 

 sufficiently high up that the light does not strike directly 

 upon the eyes, or evil consequences may be the result. This 

 is the one objection to highly glazed bricks being employed 

 for lining the walls of stalls, especially when white enamelled 

 bricks are used, for they reflect many points of light, 

 which cannot be good for the optic nerves when subjected 

 incessantly to the strain thus imposed. Although not orna- 

 mental, nothing is better for coating all woodwork than 

 black varnish, since it is healthy and can be renewed at any 

 time, and horses do not gnaw it. Some animals have such 

 a fancy for gnawing woodwork that they are with difficulty 

 restrained from doing so, and the most effective plan is to 

 cover all wood with zinc wherever it is needed. As a tem- 

 porary measure horses can generally be stopped for a time 

 from this annoying habit by rubbing aloes over any place 

 which they have commenced upon ; and another excellent 

 remedy is to dab on Pilcher's Stop-rot, the taste of which is 

 objectionable to them. 



