RACKING AND DRESSING 89 



of corn, where four feeds per day are customary ; but, if not 

 going out to work, merely put hay in the rack. 



Litter.— K few words about " litter." We have already 

 mentioned the pungent ammonia which arises so rapidly in 

 a close and heated stable, to the detriment of the respiratory 

 functions of the animal, and the damage of the hay in the 

 loft above. As much of the litter as has been wetted and 

 softened by the urine must be removed every morning, a 

 little being left for the animal to stale on, as some animals 

 object to and are uneasy at the splashing which takes place 

 on the bricks or cobble-stone pavement. No heap of 

 fermenting dung should ever be allowed in any corner 

 of the stable; upon this point the master should be 

 inflexible. 



Whether horses should be allowed to stand upon litter at 

 all during the day is a subject on which opposite opinions 

 have been entertained by practical writers. When the 

 litter is suffered to remain, it certainly encourages the 

 horse to lie down, which is favourable to the recovery of 

 strained or overworked limbs, and prevents extreme 

 pressure on tender feet, if the stable should be bricked or 

 paved. But, 'per contra, foul-feeding horses are very apt 

 to eat their litter, and the other mischiefs from acrid 

 exhalations, elsewhere spoken of, are multiplied. With 

 some horses, too, the very disorder it would seem to 

 alleviate is produced or aggravated by it — namely, swelled 

 legs, which have been found to return to their proper size 

 when the stimulus of warm litter was removed. Litter, 

 when neglected and allowed to heat, is mischievous to 

 the horny hoof, which is contracted by the increased 

 temperature. We would recommend a little only of the 

 litter to be left under the fore-feet during the day, and in 

 the summer that the bricks should be lightly watered to 

 keep them sweet and cool. Fresh green rushes, if they 

 can be procured, make an excellent day litter. In many 

 stables on the Continent, and some of our racing establish- 

 ments, the floor is of wood, cut across the grain ; this, and 

 hard " compo," are not bad for the purpose, with tan, a coat 

 of sawdust, or a thin layer of straw, spread upon the floor of 

 the stall. 



