House and Garden 
STABLE ENTRANCE, CORNWALL-ON-HUDSON, N. Y. 
Taylor & Levi, Architects 
Sachs, at Elberon, New jersey, and the stable lay¬ 
out and the perspective of a stable built by Messrs. 
Taylor & Levi, architects of New York, on the 
summit of one of the highest mountains flanking 
the Hudson above West Point. Largely for the 
reason that hauling to such an eminence was very 
difficult, concrete construction was adopted for 
this Hudson River stable. One of the most impor¬ 
tant points in the planning of this particular stable, 
and the grouping of the various buildings, was the 
method used to tie them together by roads and 
terraces. The gate-lodge and gardener’s cottage, 
as the photograph shows, have been tied to the 
stable building itself, by a concrete retaining-wall 
made necessary in the building of the road—this wall 
suggesting in its character the architecture of the sev¬ 
eral buildings. In the penetrations of the gate-posts, 
old lanterns are hung which cast their light up and 
down the road without the confusing cross-light. 
This stable, besides being provided with the usual 
coachman’s quarters, consisting of living-room, 
kitchen, two bath-rooms and three bedrooms above, 
has a garage underneath the stable room, with 
workshop and accommodations for three cars and 
other machinery. The stable and garage cost 
$7,000, and the group of buildings, with walls and 
other accessories, cost about $24,000. 
Every stable should be kept cool in summer and 
warm in winter. But artificial heat should never 
be used, as it is in some of the sumptuous stables 
of the over-rich in the large cities. A horse does his 
work in the open and there is no sense in pampering 
him. In very cold weather the stable should be kept 
as warm as is possible without stoves or steam-pipes, 
and the horse made comfortable with good blankets 
and plenty of straw for his bedding. In the summer 
when the thermometers are trying to climb to a 
hundred in the shade, then the shutters should be 
regulated so as to keep out the direct rays on the sunny 
side, and other windows and doors be left open. 
Harness-room and coach-room depend almost 
entirely on the size of the establishment that is kept. 
Both, however, should he light, then both can be 
seen without difficulty by the owner when he makes 
inspections. These inspections, by the way, should 
not be made at stated times, but at any time. An 
owner who expects his horses to he kept in good 
condition and turned out in proper harness in proper 
traps must take an interest in his stable and be on 
good terms with his servants. There is no sugges¬ 
tion of familiarity in this hut only the good feeling 
and good understanding that must exist between 
that master and man when the one gives and the 
other gets good service. 
A well groomed horse is so fine a thing that we 
have latterly applied the terms to fine men and 
beautiful women. The grooming of a horse is an 
art, which is not practiced on more than one or two 
percent of the horses at work in the United States. 
The others are cleaned in a happy-go-lucky fashion 
that makes them neither clean nor beautiful. I bis 
is not as it should be. A horse that is compelled to 
give service to a man is entitled to good attention. 
An ungroomed or improperly groomed horse has an 
off ensive odor. I bis does not conduce to the pleasure 
of the person using the horse nor to the well-being 
of the horse himself. In grooming a horse the brush 
and cloth alone are needed. A currycomb—-once 
universally used—should never be put on a horse. 
It serves a good purpose, however, in cleaning the 
brush. And that is its only service. Where an 
owner knows or suspects that a currycomb is used 
directly on the horse it is better to banish it entirely. 
When a horse has been put away covered with sweat 
and the sweat allowed to dry, it is very much easier 
to remove this salty deposit with a currycomb than 
with a brush. But a horse should never be put away 
without being thoroughly groomed except when he 
comes in so tired that the grooming would further 
fatigue him. This is sometimes the case. When it 
is so the horse should have quite loosely wrapped 
bandages put on his legs, he should be well blanketed, 
given a swallow of water, and turned into a box stall 
knee deep in straw. Then when this horse is rested 
enough to he groomed, the mud on his legs will have 
become caked and will come off by using the hand 
and a wisp of straw, the polishing being finished with 
the brush and cloth. The dried sweat should be 
removed in the same way. When a muddy horse 
comes into the stable it is a great temptation to play 
the hose on his legs and so wash the mud off. This 
should never be done. The only place where water 
should be applied to a horse are the feet and other 
hairless portions. These should be washed with a 
sponge. The washing of a horse’s feet before he 
is put away is most important. “No foot no horse” 
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