262 COMPENDIUM OF THE VETERINARY ART. 



wounds were occasioned by them. I once saw 

 a horse break his spine, or back bone, by 

 endeavouring to rise while under the bail ; and 

 several horses lost their sight from being bitten 

 in the eye : but the most serious inconvenience 

 perhaps attending bails is the impossibility 

 almost of feeding every horse equally ; some 

 horses feeding very slowly, and others so 

 expeditiously, as to devour as well as their 

 own great part of their neighbour's allowance 

 in a short time. To this may be added the 

 facility with which contagious diseases ar« 

 communicated, the disturbance a horse is 

 liable to when fatigued, and the difficulty of 

 lying down quietly. 



The floor of the stall should be made of 

 hard brick, as a more equal surface is tlien 

 formed than can be obtained by paving vritli 

 pebbles. Very little declivity is necessary 

 to drain off the urine; and as great incon- 

 venience sometimes arises from suffering a 

 liorse to stand in a stall where the fail is con- 

 siderable, creating unnecessary exertion in 

 the muscles of the hind leg, and keeping the 

 ligaments constantly in a tense state, it has 

 been recommended to make the drain in the 

 middle of the stall, whereby the liind and 



