Badly-constructed, badly-kept, and badly-managed stables are the contributing causes to most of the illnesses that horses suffer from. As nine stables out of ten in America are bad in all these three regards, I am confirmed in the belief that horses are very hardy animals instead of the delicate creatures that we sometimes think they are. That so many of them should be equal to hard and continuous work considering the conditions that surround them when they are at home is really quite remarkable. Even on breeding farms, where it is the business of the proprietors to rear fine animals for sale, the stables more frequently than not are wretched barns not fit even for the lodgement of mules. This is the case in Kentucky, even in the Blue Grass region. In many of the stables there I have seen tons of manure, that were most valuable for fertilization, left in the stables for no other reason that I could fathom than that it seemed to be no one’s business to take it away. “Why don’t you spread it on the pastures, or use it on the ploughed fields?” I asked one gentleman. “Oh, the ground does not need it,” he replied. I did not like to go any further for fear of seeming intrusive. Then again I did not believe that a man who thought tilled ground even in the limestone enriched land of the Blue Grass section would not be better for stable manure would bother particularly about the advantages of keeping stables clean.

Stables should be light not dark. There is a notion as old as the hills that a stable should be a dark and somber place. There are those who still hold stoutly to this view. Why a stable should be dark and the living room of a human being light, I cannot conceive. Light and air are the great purifying agents. Germs of various kinds multiply mightily in the dark, while many are killed by the light. The only reason that is given for a dark stable is that constant light in a horse’s eyes is likely to injure his organs of sight. I grant that cheerfully. Still there is no reason why there should not be light without the light shining directly into the eyes of the horses. It is as easy as possible to place the windows above the heads of the horses, and even to shield them with shutters that open upwards, shutters such as are so generally used on seaside cottages.

Ventilation is most important. This should always be provided for, however, so that in securing it there will not also be draughts either on the body or the legs of a horse. To accomplish this is not difficult even in the stables of the dry-goods-box pattern. The one supreme affection of a horse is for his home, and it is as little as an owner can do to make that home comfortable. Cleanliness is an imperative necessity. Without it the other things go for naught. There is no good reason why a stable should not be as clean as any other part of a gentleman’s establishment. And yet this is so seldom the case that a man who has visited a stable often brings with him to his house odors that are unmistakable and entirely objectionable to the sensitive olfactories of the more delicate members of his household. This cleanliness can only be secured by unremitting good housekeeping. The stable should not only be cleaned very thoroughly once a week, but it should be kept clean the other six days in the week. Any owner, no matter whether he be a good horseman or not, can see to this. He may not know the nice points in harnessing a horse or even the points of a horse, but his eyes and his nose can tell him whether his stable is clean. The droppings should be removed as soon as they are discovered, and they should not be piled up in the stable or against one of the walls of the stable on the outside, but removed to a distance, if in the country and treated for fertilizers; in a city stable they should be removed daily. This latter can be done without any expense to the owner, as there are manure collectors only too glad to cart it away.

Drainage is also most important, but it should always be surface drainage. Pipes beneath the floor are always getting clogged up, and hence becoming foul. Besides plumbing everywhere is expensive and bothersome. There should be as little as possible of it in a stable. Of course running water is most desirable if not necessary. But it should be restricted to two hydrants, one for carriage washing and one for drinking water. The surface drainage can be got rid of by having the floor of the stable a little bit elevated above the surrounding ground. Where the stable can be located so that there is declining ground on one side other than the exit, there is natural drainage which is a great advantage. The stalls also should have a very slight incline, so that they will keep dry naturally. This stall inclination, however, should be very slight, as it is desirable that a horse should have all his feet pretty nearly on the same level.

Box-stalls or not? This is a disputed matter. Some owners have only box-stalls in their stables; some none at all. In my opinion both ideas are wrong. Cutting up a stable into a series of boxes does not facilitate drainage, ventilation, light, or cleanliness. Then again it is doubtful whether a horse in a loose box-stall does not often acquire habits of independence that are sometimes uncomfortable and dangerous. In a stall a horse is tied, he is also more easily observed and therefore always under control. Box-stalls, however, are excellent for a horse that comes in very tired, or for one that is sick. So I should advise that in every stable there be one or two box-stalls, but that as a general thing the horses be kept in ordinary stalls. These stalls should be 9 feet long and 5 feet wide. A wider stall makes it easier for a horse to get cast. The ceiling of a stable should not be less than 12 feet.^[10]

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 be 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 be kept in good condition and turned out with proper harness to proper traps must take an interest in his stable and be on good terms with his servants. There is no suggestion of familiarity in this, but only the good understanding and the good feeling that always exists between that master and man, when the one gives and other gets good service.

A well-groomed horse is so fine a thing that we have latterly applied the term to fine men and beautiful women. The grooming of a horse is an art, which is not practised on more than one or two per cent of the horses at work in the United States. The others are cleaned in a happy-go-lucky fashion, which makes them neither clean nor beautiful. This 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 offensive odor. This does not conduce to the pleasure of a person using such a 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 the 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 be 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 places where water should be applied to a horse are the feet and the 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” is the old English rule. And it is as true as gospel. The feet should always be kept clean in the stable, and at night they should be packed with sponge or felt. The foot of a horse is an important part of him, and every owner should see that they are well looked after. And in accomplishing this he will not find it an easy job, for a horse has to have his shoes changed every three or four weeks, and if the feet be not ruined by the farrier or the fads of his groom or coachman then he is lucky. Every man that has anything to do with horses sooner or later develops notions as to horseshoeing, the blacksmith usually knowing much less than any one else but confident that he knows it all. He should know it all, as to shoe horses is his business. As a matter of fact, however, his practice, if he be permitted to have his own sweet will, is to lame horses and ruin their feet. There are a few good horse-shoers, however, and if an owner find one in his neighborhood he is lucky. I shall not attempt, however, to write a treatise on horseshoeing. There are books in abundance on the subject, and any man who wishes to become an accomplished amateur on the subject can find plenty to study and also an abundance of instruction. But there are a few principles that dominate all else. The shoe should be neither too large nor too small. A large shoe stretches the hoof too much, a small shoe pinches the hoof and makes corns. Then do not permit the blacksmith to pare the sole and frog of the foot or rasp or burn the hoof to make it fit the shoe he has selected. The shoe should be made to fit the hoof, and as few nails used as is consistent with security. As the hoof is growing all the time, just as a man’s finger-nails grow, the shoes need often to be changed so that they will not be too small and so contract the hoof. The ideal horse is the barefoot horse, but this is not possible when a horse is used on pavements or hard roads. Then the shoe should not be too heavy. Heavy shoes merely make a horse’s work very much harder.

The feeding and watering of a horse are most important. The horse can carry only a little food, as his stomach is small compared with his size and his need of nourishment. But he can drink a good deal of water. He should have both food and water equal to his needs. He should always be fed three times a day, and he would not be the worse if he were treated as the Germans treat themselves, with four meals a day. Moreover, a horse’s food should be varied a little. Oats and hay three times a day for three hundred and sixty-five days in the year may suffice, but it seems to me very like a cruelty when it is so easy to vary the food with barley, beans, pease, corn, turnips, and many other things easy to obtain and not at all expensive. A little nibble of fresh grass occasionally is also a grateful change, but not much of this should be given when a horse is doing steady work. The allowance of oats in the United States army is ten quarts a day. This with plenty of hay is a good allowance and will keep a horse in good condition, but a hearty eater can make way with twelve quarts a day and be all the better for it. The hay should not be fed from a rack over the manger, but from the ground. When carrots are fed they should be sliced; whole they might choke a horse. When corn is fed it should be given on the cob. In this way the horse improves his teeth and helps his gums, while he is obliged to feed slowly.

A horse should be watered before eating, and the last thing at night before the stable is closed. And when the horse comes in tired he should be given a mouthful of water, even before he is permitted to drink his fill. I have seen stables where there was running water in a trough in each stall. I do not recommend this, nor yet a common drinking-place for all the horses in a stable. A bucket filled from a hydrant and held up to the horse is the best way. A horse needs salt. The best way to give it to him is to put a crystal of rock salt in his trough and let it remain there. He will then take it when he pleases, and not too much at a time.

One man cannot properly look after an unlimited number of horses. If the stableman does no driving he can look after four together with the vehicles and harness. If he has to go out with the carriages he cannot manage more than three. Without a proper, sober, and sensible stableman, a gentleman can never have any satisfaction out of his horses. They are hard to get, but there are such. If a man be an accomplished horseman he can train his own servants, and be pretty sure of nearly always being well served. If he know nothing himself he will have to use his own intelligence and learn. In case he will not do this he had better not keep horses. Saddles should be dried in the sun when it is possible. Stirrups and bits should be cleaned at once as it is much easier to prevent rust than remove it. The same rule should apply to all harness and to carriages. The best results will never be obtained unless the grooms be given ample time to harness or saddle a horse. Sometimes, of course, in cases of emergency this has to be done “on the jump,” but generally speaking the groom should be given time to do his work with calm carefulness.