20 AMERICAN STABLE GUIDE. 



tion of having prongs of iron to fasten tliem when open, to 

 prevent the wind or other agency from throwing them 

 against whatever may be passing through. Neglect of 

 this precaution results in injury to the panels of the car- 

 riage, and more than once has contact with the open doors 

 been the cause of horses running away. The doors of the 

 stable are in some cases placed on hinges, and in others 

 on rollers, sliding back against the wall like the carriage- 

 house doors. The hinged door when opening into the 

 stable is objectionable, chiefly on account of its being 

 sometimes left partly open and the horse being loose at the 

 time or thoughtlessly led out, jamming himself between the 

 door and the wall; whereas if the door opened outwardly 

 or was placed on rollers, it would open to its fullest 

 extent, or slide back to its proper place by the simple pres- 

 sure made against it. The key of the stable door at the 

 time it is unlocked should be taken out of the door and 

 put in its proper place ; that is, if it is a long-handled one 

 and apt to catch upon some of the harness when horses are 

 passing. For this reason, also, stable-door keys should 

 have a ring to turn them by, instead of the usual shank or 

 long handle, and a place sunk in the door or wood for this 

 ring to fall and lie in while it is in the door. 



The windows of city stables are chiefly confined to the 

 front of the building, showing into the carriage-house ; but 

 if there are back windows, they are generally placed above 

 the horses, so as to throw the light into the stable-loft, and 

 not into the stable or horse apartment at all. In many 



