The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-09-15
Care Of Farm Horses.

| Equal in Importance to the feeding
of horses is the management of them,
when their daily labor is performed;
but concerning the best mode of doing
this considerable difference of opinion
prevails. By some it is remarked that
the keeping of horses in stables, with
may feed quietly and be expeditiously
harnessed, is in every respect the pre-
ferable method, provided the stable be
we'll ventilated. By ventilation we do
not mean the admission of draughts of
air from various quarters, as is too
often the case in carelessly constructed
farm stables, but that means shall be
taken to facilitate the removal of the
heated and impure air, as by tubes, fun
nels or perforated ceilings; and where
the hay loft is over the stable, every
precaution should be taken to prevent
any of the foul air from permeating
into the loft and saturating the food
with noxious gases.
Others, on the contrary, assert that
sheds, open to the front, with racks and
managers fixed below, and having a
pump and cistern, as we'll as q small
yard in which the horses may run at
pleasure, are superior to the stable
method, because, if we'll Uttered, they
will not require any other dressing than
is usually given by farmers servants.
Since, however, these animals are very
susceptible to cold, it is most advisable
to keep them in stables, in exposed and
bleak situations; but in mild and shell
tered places, the shed system may at
times be found the most profitable.
Where the practice has been followed,
it has been generally found successful,
and horses thus managed are by some
considered not only to be more healthy
than those kept in stables, but also to
attain greater age.
In stables every horse should have
stall to himself, and as roomy as pos
sible, not less than six feet in width.
Thus greater degree of supervision
can be maintained. 1t will be instantly
perceptible when an animal is off his
feed, and each will get his own due
share of food. There should be win
dows to light and air the stable when
required, but these should be furnished
with shutters, for many horses will not
lie down to rest while the stable is
light.
Teamsters are often very Negligent,
not so much in feeding, but in the care
which requires labor, and owners too
often permit the hired men to manage
the teams nearly as they please. The
consequences of this are frequently in
furious to the animals health.
1t is not necessary that farm horses
should be groomed like trotters, but a
certain degree of grooming is highly
necessary to promote health and keep
in action the functions of the skin;
and no dieting, no amount of ever 80
well chosen food, will give horses that
sleek look of condition they should
have, unless they are also regularly
rubbed down with wisps when they
come in, and well brushed. and their
legs and feet cleaned, before they are
shut up for the night. The fetlocks of
cart horses are usually covered with
profuse quantity of hair, and, in finty
soils moderate portion of it forms a
very desirable protection against inju-
ry; but if not daily cleansed from the
dirt which is collected, the accumula-
ton at length occasions that unsightly
| and stubborn disease, "grease." In