, 1885-02-20
400 CAR HORSES
FED AND HOUSED AND CARED FOR
UNDER ONE ROOF.
Keeping Them In Condifion-How Car
Horses Are Injured-The Average Loss
Per wesk-The stables-Pur-
chase OF Animafs-


@Hi, there, " shouted a gruf voice. A re-
porter moved to ono sid and a team of
horses wore driven into the main depot of
the Third Avenue Surface Railroad com
pany. "A team comes in AMI goes out
every two minutes" said John y. Waller,
the company's foreman
~On each day in the yearf querisd the re-
porter.
aNo," was tho answer, Abut in seasons like
this When we are at our busiest a team
goes out and comes In every thirty seconds"
Tho company own about 2,lo0 @head Of
cattls"-to use the technical tsrm-but 400
Of thsm are required for Its other stables.
Mr.. Waller has made q study OF tho horse,
and is able to tall by CHANGING at an An
lmal whsther or not 1t Is In
condition II laughed" said be,
when an old horse doctor told me
years ago hat he could tell the
have since discovered that the old Vet knew
what he was talking about. II you spend
your days and often your nights, for year.,
among horses and keep your eyes half opsn
you can't help understanding them They
have much in common with the human
family. The old horses, for instance, never
tale kindly at first to a new horse and will
kick at him whom they get a chance As
soon as the stranger begins to feel at home
tho kicking stops, because he has plucksd up
spirit enough to kick back. They often fight
over their feed. The horse first served Is
looked upon with feelings of envy by thct
that have TO wait a little longer. They
seldom kick any of the men, except II q
man happens TO pass close to their heels with
= box Of feed. Then they sometimes attempt
to kick. There is one man in the stable who
had his head almost kicked Off last year.
Two horses were fighting. One made q ter
rible kick with his hind feet Just as the man
was passing. One Of the feet struck him In
the face and dashed him up against . stall.
No, the quesrest part of the business was
that he didn't die"
Tho stable occupies three stories OF the
huge building, which covers q square. Ths
descent TO the door below the grade of the
street is as deep as the ascent to the floor
above the ground, but the horses manage to
make the trips without accident Each
hose, or rather each pair Of horses, for
every horse has a mate, is expected to work
three hours per day. A team which starts
from Harlem makes one round trip, daily.
II an accident happens 10 a horse while on
duty the driver informs the foreman OF it,
with the attendant circumstances II a
driver fails to do this and the negligence Is
discovered, the company has no further use
for i'm The best possible care is taken Of
0o STOCK Tor obvious reasons
Car horses are injured in a variety Of
ways They run the greatest risk during the
hottest part OF the summer and tho coolest Of
winter. These two periods aggregate about
four and a half nontha The month OF Sep
tsmbsr was the hardest month OF this year
for car horses An intensely warm term
came on the heels Of a cool period. and the
result was the prostration of g large number
Of car-horses in this city as well as In many
other parts of the country. Leaving In
tsnssly hot and cold weather out of the ques-
ton, the most p~erilous season for the car
horse Is dry, windy weather. The cobbls
tones over which he travels are thon as
smooth as polished glass. Not q particle of
any foreign substance can get q foothold on
them. and the sh~arply-shod hoof will slip
from them with tho same ease
as the human foot will slide off
ths smooth side Of a banana akin.
Some OF the roadbeds offer even more
than the usual facilities for accidents Of this
nature. They are constructed on the shape
Of q watershed, sloping from the center to
tho tracks On these the car horse has .
hard time indeed in Wintry and windy
weather. Comparatively few accidents hap
pan in wet weather. Unless they happsn to
brsak q limb, only a mail percentage of
horses which slip and fall suffer permanent
injury. With rest and care they generally
recover from sprains and strains. Out OF
100 horses the Third avenue company loses
but ono a week, according to its foreman.
Tn latter has ninety-three hostlsrs under his
eye, besides a large number of mon employed
In other capacities. Each hostler Is expected
to groom twenty horses per day, and to feed
and bed them
The tables ara as clean as 1t Is possible to
keep them Tn horses are in keeping with
their surroundings Horses are purchased
af all seasons. but the best are bought in the
fall The seller Is willing to take much less
ct the beginning than at the end of winter.
The company has a standing price Of sl55.
Some splendid specimens Of horse flesh have
besn bought for this figure. Gray Is the
color preferred. Horses of this color are
said to suffer less from the heat than blacks
and baya- From eight to ten horses are
used In a snow sweeper, and one
team possessed by the company attract much
attention as they rattle through the Avenue.
along as II 1t were q light road wagon Sew
erai OF these horses stand seventeen hands
high. Every new purchase Is subject to an
attack Of pinkeye. This Is attributed 10
change Of climate and surroundings. Most
of the horses come from the west, and they
are found TO require from a week to two
weeks to obtain their 1sea legs" 1t Is a com
mon opinion that the lot of the car horse Is
not q happy one In comparison with the
fate Of a large number of horses which re-
csive but little sympathy, the car horse Is to
be greatly envied. He Is not overworked;
he Il we'll fed, well housed and Is seldom H.
treated with IMMUNITY.