84 STABLE MANUAL AND HORSE DOCTOR 



the farmer's stable, filled from above, and from which the 

 horse so wastefully dragged his provender, to the damage of 

 his eyes and nostrils, is utterly condemned, and should be 

 cast forth wherever it yet lingers, and its place supplied 

 by an under-feeding square or corner rack. The obvious 

 defects of the first-named vile contrivance are that the horse 

 acquires the habit of pulling down the greater portion of 

 his hay, with the view of culling, with his fine and sensitive 

 upper lip and his delicate organ of smell, the sweetest and 

 most succulent locks. Hence, much of his provender is 

 trampled under foot ; and, though a hearty-feeding horse 

 will afterwards pick up a great deal of what he has thrown 

 down, a large quantity must be soiled and spoilt. We have 

 seen a third of the whole amount thus lost by slovenly and 

 capricious horses. These defects led to the abolition of the 

 high rack in all well-contrived stables, and the substitution 

 of manger-feeding, in which chaff, composed of equal quan- 

 tities of clover or meadow hay, wheat, oat, or barley straw, 

 were mingled with the corn or beans. The animal is thus 

 compelled to masticate his food, and cannot, especially with 

 such well-made contrivances as those under notice, waste his 

 hay, while the sharp straw compels a more complete chewing 

 of the oats. 



THE HARNESS-ROOM. 



" Everything in its place, and a place for everything," is 

 a motto which should be inscribed over every place where 

 horses are kept, or at any rate be ever-present to the groom 

 or horse-keeper. It is amazing how much needless expen- 

 diture of labour, oaths, or ill-temper — how much confusion, 

 how much loss of time may be avoided by regularity, 

 method, and a use of those convenient appliances which 

 modern mechanical skill and ingenuity have placed at the 

 command of every one whose means allow them to fit up a 

 stable properly ; and surely no other should pretend to 

 keep horses of a good class than such as can supply them 

 with those conveniences which are necessary to keep them 

 up to the highest point in cleanliness, food, warmth, clothing, 

 and even ornamental appointments. 



How much of a horse's comfort depends on a well-made, 

 well-fitting saddle, a properly adjusted rein, bit, and bridle, 

 and the tme setting of his harness horses alone can tell ; 



