1 86 THROUGH STABLE AND SADDLE-ROOM. 



Oat-straw does very fairly well when used as 

 chaff, but chaff is more suitable for carriage horses 

 and such-like work, except in special cases. 



It is difficult to know what to use as a sub- 

 stitute for straw for bedding purposes. Fern is not 

 good, as it harbours ticks. Still, it is perhaps the 

 next best substitute. Sawdust is perhaps even 

 better than fern, but it should be beech, and not 

 deal or oak, inasmuch as the resin in the one, and 

 the tannin in the other, is bad for the feet, and is 

 apt to render them brittle. 



Peat-mould, well dried and sifted, will answer 

 very well for use during the summer, but it requires 

 constant care and raking over, and looks comfortless. 



The moss-litter, which is so much used, has many 

 advantages and many disadvantages, and I hardly 

 know whether to praise it or condemn it. It is very 

 handy, inasmuch as, being sold in compressed 

 bundles, a large supply occupies but a small 

 space. It is cheaper than straw. Horses' feet do 

 well on it, and the horn is kept tough and sound. 

 This I have proved to be the case. So far, I have 

 nothing to say against it, but horses do eat it, and 

 it must be harmful to them ; moreover, it is the 

 most dreadful stuff to use in a stable, as, without 

 the greatest care being exercised, it very soon stops 

 up the drains, and so is a source of constant 



