170 THE HORSE. 



be dowelled into a stone rising above the floor, and thus escape 

 destruction. Charring the part buried is the usual expedient 

 adopted to prevent decay, but though it acts beneficially to some 

 extent, it does not long put off the decomposition of the woody 

 matter by the damp of the floor. 



A GANGWAY BAIL is sometimes used in stables, when valuable 

 horses are kept in stalls, such as hunters and race-horses. It is 

 merely a strong piece of oak which is dropped into a mortice in 

 the stall-post at one end, and into another made in the wall oppo- 

 site ; so that, if either of the horses gets loose, he cannot, reach 

 his neighbors. It also serves to prevent two horses from hanging 

 back and kicking at each other, which vicious animals will some- 

 times do. 



The mangers and racks are now almost invariably made of 

 the form, as shown on p. 172, whether of wood or iron ;* the addi- 

 tion of a separate cavity for water, bran mashes, or gruel, being a 

 modern invention. With the single exception of Mr. Miles, I am 

 not aware of any recent authority on the subject who has written 

 in favor of the old high rack, and after about fifteen years' expe- 

 rience of each in my own stables, I can confidently recommend 

 the low position for its manifold advantages both to the horse and 

 his master. The above-named writer gives as the reasons for his 

 preference of the high rack, " that besides the chance there is of 

 a horse getting his feet into a low rack, when he is either frolic- 

 some or alarmed, it is open to the objection that he is constantly 

 hanging bis head over his food, and breathing on it while he is 

 feeding, which renders the undermost portion of it moist and 

 warm, and makes him reluctant to consume the whole." Now the 

 first of these objections may be tenable, for, no doubt, a horse can 

 get his feet into a low rack, but so he can into his manger, and as 

 this must be placed low, no farther harm is done in the one case 

 than in the other. Moreover, the rack being placed in the corner 

 is not so likely to receive the feet as the manger in the middle. 

 But, in either case, if the bottom is strong enough to bear the 

 weight, which it ought to be, no mischief is done, and the horse 

 gets down again when he likes. The second objection I contend 

 to be wholly without foundation, and I do this after carefully try- 

 ing the experiment for a mouth, with the same four horses, tended 

 by the same men, and doing the same kind of work. It so hap- 

 pened that in the year 1845 I required two additional stalls; and 

 at that time having high racks in my own three-stalled stable, I 

 hired one of two stalls close adjoining. In this I placed two of 

 the three horses for a month, and carefully weighed the hay which 



* i. e. In England. In this country the high racks are generally pre- 

 (erred. — Kuitoe. 



