The morning call., 1893-10-08

stable. public and private, in this part of
the country. 1t was about four feet wide.
with sides five high, hayrck and manger
at one end, the horse being tied by his
head to the edge of the latter. and the
floor slanted about three inches from
manger to gutter. The passageway be-
tween TWO long rows of similar stalls was
lighted only by co obwebby window at one
end. and this stall, being at the opposite
end. was nearly dark.
Within this narrow space this strong,
active. nervous, well-fed animal had
stood for two days. probably for two
nights as well, in An unnatural position
upon an inclined plane. the exact reverse
Of what he would have chosen if left free.
The horse, when left to make his own
choice, will. if selecting SPOT. upon
which to stand. pick out bit of rising
ground and stand With his forefeet on the
lower level. The reason for this is that
thus the strain IN the tendOns of his legs,
feet and back is relieved. and he rests
more perfectly. If he stood with his
head toward the higher ground he would
be In the same position and under the
same strain as though he were ascending
a hill. This position and this strain our
horses in most private or public stables
are called upon to endure by reason of the
craze we all have for slanting our sta BILE
| floors from manger to gangway. This
practice Is a fruitful source of injury
to the f0reegs and feet of our equine
| friends. any unsoundness or tendency to
break down being first apparent there.
In this case the weaving" horse had not
only stood for forty-eight hours. but had
stood in this strained and unnatural posi-
ton. The stall being too narrow for him
ing muscles. he had therefore recourse to
the weaving" trick to equalize crcula-
tion and save his weary limbs from in
jury. So far from being an injurious
practice, it was the result of natural in
stiIct of self-preservati0n In the animal.
him what, but for mans stupidity, he
| would not have been left to do-giving
himself a little exercise.
Our hsrses. IN reality. suffer very nearly
as much from our sheltering care of
them as they do from our use and
abuse of them. We tie them up by
the heads at night and when they are
not working for US in such fashion
that it is hardly possible for them to
rest naturally and easily. We keep them
in dark stables under some sort of an
idiotic impression that they thus rest
better and are in better spirits when taken
out into the air. have seen a horse that
had stood for twelve hours or more in
semi-darkDess nodding over his manger,
when taken out into the bright light, dance
and plunge about in such fashion as to call
down upon him a rain of heavy blows,
accompanied by "Take that, you mean
brute" from the startled groom. AS if it
dark until their eyes become weak
and unable to bear the full day
light without liking, but as If we
wished to complete the destruction of
these organs, our stable-keepers and
gr0oms every morning. with our consent,
thrust beneath the mangers or up to the
head of the stalls the bedding which
through the night has been about the
animals hind feet. Some of this has
pro ba bly, come into contact with the ma
nure of the stall and the ammoniacal fumes
that arise from 1t all day into the nostrils
and eyes Of the unfortunate victim are
sufficient to set up active irritation in
these parts. 1t is this irritation of the
mucous membrane of the nose that causes
in many instances the unpleasant exuda-
tion of watery fluid from the nostrfls that
Is so common among our horses. All bed
ding should be removed from the stalls
during the day. 1t should be kept some
where where 1t can be exposed to the air
and only replaced at night. In like man
ner all refuse hay and grain In the manger
| should be removed every morning. If AL
lowed to remain, as it frequently is. until the
| manger is half filled with the mass. il
grows sour and musty. and not only acts
detrimentaliy to the horse by causing him
| to feel disgust for the fresh food placed
on top OF it. but the exudations from it are
positively poisonous to him. The horse
has marvelous!y keen sense of smell.
| Inc delicate nose that makes him aware
o. danger while yet 1t is afar off. that tells
him whether friend or foe Is approaching.
or leads him. on the darkest night with
unerrlng instinct to the pasture bar. warns
| him, faithfully, of impurities in his food.
He will sniff and inquire suspiciously over
the daintiest morsel offered him by the
hand OF love. In all my experience have
never known but one horse who would
take anything from my hand without
first suDjectiDg it TO rigid inves-
tigation. Long experience has taught
| ner TO trust me, and she takes
unhesitatingly whatever offer, but even
she has no such confidence In any one
else. Yet we put our horses food into
filthy hangers and expect that the animals
will, ignoring the warning OF their delicate
organs of smell. eat heartily and thrive.
| remember once when attending to the
| feeding of my own horses that both re-
jected the hay given them for one feeding
| from O certain bale. Madame nibblod a