12 STABLE ECONOMY. 



that a horse who has water always within reach, will nevel 

 take so much as to hurt himself ; but it is doubtful whether he 

 can be ready at all times to work. 



When a water-trough is introduced, it ought %o be so con- 

 trived that it can be easily rilled and easily emptied. After 

 standing a certain time, it becomes nauseously warm ; the 

 horse plays with it, washing his muzzle ; and tke vegetable 

 matter which falls into it is soon decomposed, a:.d the water 

 becomes unfit for use. The trough ought to b;3 connected 

 with a pipe at the bottom, which will carry off the water when 

 opened, by lifting the plug or turning the stopcock This is 

 important. If the groom have to carry the*manger sc its con- 

 tents to the door, the supply of fresh water will ;>e often 

 neglected. The stables first built by Mr. Laing at Edinburgh, 

 have water-mangers in each stall. The water is supplied by 

 a pipe running into the manger, and covered with an iron slide 

 to keep the horse's teeth off the stopcock. As far as I re- 

 member, there is no means of emptying the trough, without 

 lifting out its contents, or carrying away the manger. The 

 new stable wants the water-trough — so that, I suppose, it has 

 not been found of much service. I believe they are worse 

 than useless — unless provided with a pipe to take away the 

 soiled water, and another to bring the fresh. 



Water-mangers must be made of iron. Lead is too soft, 

 and wood is altogether unfit for the purpose. They should 

 be cleaned every day ; not merely emptied, but well scrubbed. 

 Vegetable matter falls into the water and covers the manger 

 with a glutinous slime, which soils every fresh supply, and 

 which can be removed only by a good deal of rubbing with a 

 brush or hard wisp. Loose boxes or other places intended 

 for sick horses, should be furnished with these water-troughs 

 whether the stables are or are not. They should be deeper, 

 and may be shorter than the grain-manger, but of the same 

 width, and placed at the same elevation. 



VENTILATION OF STABLES. 



It is upward of eight-and-forty years since James ClarKe 

 of Edinburgh protested against close stables. He insisted 

 that they were hot and foul, to a degree incompatible with 

 health ; and he strongly recommended that they should be aired 

 in such a manner as to have them always cool and sweet. 

 Previous to the publication of Clarke's work, people never 

 thought of admitting fresh air into a stable ; they had no notion 



