742 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



Grooms are always wasteful, but with bedding they are 

 exceptionally improvident ; most manure pits contain good 

 bedding, which probably only requires drying or exposure, 

 or not even this. In the army one of the best tests of the 

 good stable management of a regiment is the condition of 

 the manure pit. 



A good bed in a stall can be maintained for horses where 

 economy is practised by the allowance at the rate of a truss 

 of straw per head every fourth day. In high-class stables, 

 allowing for the usual waste, the same amount every two 

 days will be required. 



Bedding should be removed from the stable daily and 

 placed outside, litter sheds being provided for wet weather. 

 The practice of turning it up under the manger for the day 

 is a lazy and dirty practice. It should' be placed outside 

 and aired if only for an hour or two. During this time it 

 should be frequently shaken with a fork, and to get the full 

 effect of airing should not be placed in a heap but in a 

 layer not more than six inches in thickness. 



Bedding left too long in a hot sun breaks up easily, but 

 it is seldom in these islands that this damage has to be 

 guarded against. 



Where economical ' bedding down ' is practised, the new 

 and old bedding after drying should be mixed ; where 

 horses have the habit of eating their bedding, the old 

 material should be used for the front of the stall and the 

 new placed behind. 



The making of a bed is not as simple a matter as it 

 looks ; it is a stable accomplishment only learned by prac- 

 tice and experience. The bedding should be higher at the 

 sides than in the centre, so as to bring the largest amount 

 of straw under the body. 



The majority of horses prefer standing on bedding to the 

 bare floor ; they will go out of their way to get their feet, 

 especially the hind feet, on to bedding ; conversely many 

 will not tolerate bedding under the fore feet, and persis- 

 tently rake it away until the feet come on the floor. 



This is a very annoying habit to the groom when the 



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