242 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[J UNE, 
Keeping One Horse. 
[FIRST PRIZE E9SAT. BY “ SLACK.”] 
I purchased my horse on the 25th of No¬ 
vember, and the first thing to be done was 
to decide as to his stable ; should it be in the 
basement of the bam, or on the floor above, 
should it be light or dark, should he sleep on 
the plank at night and stand on the ground 
by day, or when not at work ; should he eat 
from a rack or a manger, and if from a rack, 
at what elevation ? 
Now up to the time of the purchase of this 
horse, my experience in the care and general 
management of the useful animal had been 
so slight that I very much desired the advice 
of some one who knew by long and critical 
observation and use, just what his stable 
ought to be, and fortunately for me, my next- 
door neighbor, Thaddeus Hamilton, a man of 
seventy-five years, knew all that long ex¬ 
perience could teach about horses, their care 
in winter and summer, their management in 
the bam, in the pasture, and in the harness, 
and also as to their diseases, the safest and 
most efficient remedies. 
Uncle Thad's house was nearly opposite my 
barns, and being so old he was seldom away 
from home, and therefore could be easily con¬ 
sulted. He was one of those men we occa¬ 
sionally find on a New England farm, and 
quite frequently on the grain growing prai¬ 
ries of the West, whose eyes saw everything 
at a glance, who remembered what he saw 
and heard, who never read much except his 
village paper and the agricultural periodicals, 
but whose judgment seemed to be intuitive. 
He stood leaning on bis gate with a merry 
twinkle in his large blue eyes, watching every 
movement of my horse, as I rode him for 
the first time on that sunny, smoky afternoon 
in November, up to the bam that was to be 
his future home. 
Now, notwithstanding my name was Swift, 
Uncle Thad, with his keen perceptions, saw 
something in my movements and habit that 
had induced him from my childhood to call 
me Slack, and as I turned my horse from the 
road to the barn, Uncle Thad shouted (he 
always spoke loud), “ Well, well, Slack, what 
you got there ? ’ 
“ A family horse,” I replied, “one for the 
women and children to drive, and for oc¬ 
casional work about the farm. Please come 
over, Uncle Thad,” I said, “ and tell me some¬ 
thing about his stable.” 
“ Now Slack,” said he, as he patted with 
his wrinkled hand my horse, “ you have 
done better in your purchase than you know. 
Your horse appears to be sound in wind and 
limb, a rare condition in these days, and that 
he is kind, true, and gentle, is plainly in¬ 
dicated in every line of his pleasant face. 
He is worthy of a good stable, and I’ll tell 
you just what it should be. It should be six 
feet wide. The floor, whether of plank or 
the ground, should slope to the rear so as to 
admit the urine to ran away, but not so great 
a slope as to cause weariness to his limbs, as 
would be the case were his heels much lower 
than the front of the feet. Some people 
prefer a box-stall so that he may be left un¬ 
tied, but it is not altogether necessary, and is 
often attended by more difficulties and dis¬ 
comforts both to yourself and your horse, 
than advantages. It makes little difference 
whether the floor be plank or ground. The 
ground would be softer and cooler in sum¬ 
mer, but is objectionable because of its 
liability to become uneven in the locality of 
the feet, and the prevalence of ammonia and 
other injurious gases and vapors arising from 
the urine and manure which the ground ab¬ 
sorbs. If you will keep the ground on which 
he stands even and clean by renewals of soil 
as often as may be required, then by all 
means, other things in his care being equally 
accessible and convenient, put him on the 
ground, especially in the summer. But if 
you allow the depression that will soon be 
formed where his feet are, to remain, and the 
ground to become offensive because of unre¬ 
moved excrements, or by a retention of the 
smell thereof to an offensive degree in the 
ground on which he stands or lies, then his 
comfort will surely be diminished and his 
health impaired.” 
“ But why not keep him on a plank floor, 
Uncle Thad, as that is so easily cleaned and 
kept in good condition so long ?” 
“ Why, certainly, you can use a floor of 
plank for his stable, and he will be comfort¬ 
able and healthy thereon, but he should be 
well supplied with straw or litter to make it 
softer for his feet while standing, and easier 
for a bed at night.” 
“ Yes, Uncle Thad, no doubt that would 
add to his comfort, but if I should move to 
New England, as we think now is probable, 
it would be difficult to procure straw.” 
“Well, friend Slack, I know by long ex¬ 
perience all about New England, and though 
you will not be able to procure straw there, 
except at high prices, there are but few 
farms there without large patches of brakes 
(ferns), which will be a good substitute for 
straw, and there are also there, on most 
farms, acres of low land grass to be procured 
which will make good litter, and is worth 
but little for any other purpose, and if none 
of these, there will be bushels and bushels 
of forest leaves, easily gathered, and excel¬ 
lent for bedding and manure. But now,Slack, 
there are some things about your plank floor 
that must be attended to promptly and regu¬ 
larly : Never use the litter for his bed after 
it has been saturated with urine, or offensive 
with manure. I know people who use the 
same bedding when it smells so strong you 
can hardly stay in the barn, and, what is 
still worse, they pitch it under his manger to 
remain by day where he must inhale the 
noxious odors, and even this course is recom¬ 
mended by as good authority as Youatt, but 
no horse can relish its food when compelled 
to partake of it over, or in the presence of, so 
much that is disgusting, to say nothing of its 
injury to his health.” 
“ Why, Uncle Thad, I have seen horses eat 
such litter as you speak of, even after it had 
been thrown out on the manure heap.” 
“ Yes, yes, Slack, so have I, and I have seen 
men eat tobacco, but I never knew a boy to 
whom tobacco was not at first offensive. No 
horse in good health, and sufficiently supplied 
with wholesome food, will ever be found eating 
his litter. Almost all animals are cleanly in 
their habits, and even the hog, when his pen 
is so arranged that he can be so, and the 
horse is particularly neat. So, once for all, 
keep your horse and all his surroundings 
clean, as you value his comfort and health. 
“Here is a little kink, Slack, in this matter, 
worth knowing, as it will aid you in keeping 
his stable clean, No horse, if he can well 
help it, will urinate in his harness, and near¬ 
ly all horses can be taught to do it, after the 
drive, and before they are put into the stable. 
I teach m i n e in this way. Unharness the 
horse and lead him to the manure heap out¬ 
side of the bam, letting him stand so that 
his fore feet will be just on the manure (it 
being largely composed of straw), and by 
perfor mi ng the act yourself, he will, after a 
few trials, do so himself. The tendency on 
his part may be increased at first if you will 
make a low whistle with your lips, and also, 
by slightly blowing, cause the saliva in your 
mouth to pass between your teeth, making 
a sound something like the rushing of a small 
stream of water. Remember to never, on 
your part, manifest the least disappointment 
or anger if he at any time does not comply 
with your wishes.” 
“Shall I feed his hay in a rack, or in a 
manger, Uncle Thad ? ” 
“ I have used both, and both are good, but 
some horses will pull all the hay from a 
rack before eating it, and let it fall down to 
their feet; for such I should use a manger.” 
“ I have seen a horse, Uncle Thad, that 
would push with his nose all the hay from a 
manger to the floor before eating it.” 
“Yes, we see horses do most everything, 
even to eating their mangers and the street 
hitching posts, but the long and short of the 
whole matter is, that for all horses, the 
manger is the best form, the upper portion 
to be about even with his breast, and the bot¬ 
tom no lower than his knees. Nail slats 
across the top to prevent pushing out the 
hay, the slats to be about two feet apart. 
Put slats also a little above the bottom of the 
manger, for the seeds, sticks, and refuse, to 
pass through.” 
“ Some folks think, Uncle, that a horse 
will be inclined to carry his head higher 
when in the harness, if he feeds from a rack, 
than he would if fed from a manger.” 
“ Some folks, Slack, don’t know. Let your 
observation guide you as to the truth or 
reasonableness of what men say, when you 
can see as well as they. The natural food of 
the horse is the short green grass growing on 
the ground ; now there are no horses in the 
world that naturally carry their heads higher, 
when travelling, than the wild ones. The 
same may be said of colts that never pulled 
their feed from a rack. If a rack is used, it 
should be so low, that the dust and seeds 
from the hay will not fall into his nostrils 
and eyes.” 
“ What kind of hay is best?” 
“ Timothy hay is unquestionably best for 
horses, but I have had them do just as well 
on clover hay, though generally they will not 
do so well on clover hay, for the reason, in 
part, that it is not properly cured. To be 
safe and sure, feed Timothy, and be sure 
to cut your grass before it goes to seed. 
Neither buy nor feed hay of any kind that, 
when cut, was so far matured as to allow of 
the shelling of its seeds. Com stalks cut be¬ 
fore the com has hardened, and so cured and 
kept as to be bright and green in color, make 
excellent feed. Now, Slack, whatever you 
feed in the way of hay, be sure and remove 
every day, from the bottom of his rack or 
manger, all that he has refused to eat, and 
never feed him at any one time more than 
he will eat of that which is eatable. Again, 
your horse will do well on clean bright 
straw, especially if you cut the straw and 
sprinkle it, after it is moistened with clean 
water, with some kind of ground grain. If 
your hay is in a mow or in bales, remove 
