STABLE ROUTINE 99 



admittance of air and sunshine. The floor should be well 

 swept, and any portion of it which may have become wet 

 with urine should, if the floor be of waterproof material, be 

 strewn over with dry earth, and then swept dry and clean 

 with a broom. If the floor be of earth, the soiled parts 

 should be scraped up and replaced by dry soil. On the 

 horse's return from work or exercise, say about 8 or 9 

 o'clock, he is watered, groomed, and clothed according to 

 the season. His bedding is now neatly put down ; and he 

 is fed, and given a full allowance of grass or hay, at the 

 same time as he gets his corn. The stable is then darkened, 

 and the animal is left to himself for three or four hours. 

 Between twelve and one he is watered, lightly groomed, 

 and fed as before ; and is not again disturbed until about 

 four o'clock, at which time he gets a little water, a small 

 feed of corn, and a thorough grooming. The bedding 

 should again be removed, dried, and selected. On the 

 horse's return to the stable in the evening, he is watered 

 and lightly groomed over. His bedding is now arranged, 

 he is fed, given his grass or hay, clothed, and left for the 

 night. 



The syce should remove, without delay, all dung, urine, 

 and soiled litter from the stall ; for the presence of dirt is 

 not alone injurious to the horse's health, but it also attracts 

 flies, which are extremely annoying to the animal, especially 

 during the hot weather. 



Strict supervision must be exercised in order to prevent 

 syces taking the clothing off theu" horses on cold nights, 

 and using it themselves for bedding. 



For hours of feeding and division of food, see page 80. 

 Instead of watering the horse at fixed times, he may, 



