The management and treatment of the horse in the stable, field, and ...

In the Stable, Field, and on the Road. 11
not altogether pleasant, my object being to benefit both
man and horse, being always proud to praise, yet not
afraid to blame. I shall continue from time to time to
praise or blame, according as the subject I treat deserves.
Having endeavoured to show a few faults of the
stable, I will try and show what a stable should be to
be healthy. The three most essential things required
for the comfort of the horse are a dry, well-made and
drained floor, large windows, and free ventilation. The
floor of the stable should be paved with hard brick, laid
upon a bed of concrete six inches thick. The brick
should be laid dry, and afterwards soaked with clean
water, then grouted with Portland cement ; this will
effectually prevent damp rising, and also prevent the
urine from soaking through. The gutters, down the
centre of the stall, should be shallow and running
towards the fore feet, and the grate should be sunk half-aninch
lower than the bricks to allow for wear. Many
floors are laid with the bricks level with the grate, and
in a short time the bricks wear away, leaving a hollow
alongside the grate where the urine will stand, and, the
bricks getting saturated, become comparatively so many
lumps of ammonia, poisoning the air with its fumes.
The drains ot all stables should be large, and of glazed
tiles, and should have a fall of at least one inch in 40, to
prevent accumulation of the small particles and the
choking of the drains. The drains should run into a
cesspool, so that the liquid manure may be saved if
wanted for the garden ; and what gardener will not
want liquid manure if he can get it handy ? The
windows should be large, extending from near the roof