Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1904-12-24
Winter Stabling


The idea of a great many other
wise practical men is that winter
stabling should be warm and
that with them about ends the prop
osition. They may also consider it
necessary to keep the stable clean,
but little thought is given to the sub
| ject of proper ventilation. The air
normally contains about 20 per cent
Of oxygen, and there should be no APP
preciable difference out doors and in
side the stable as to purity of air.
If this be correct, and we think it is,
| then it is certain that few stables are
properly ventilated during the cold
days of winter. On entering the
stable in the morning one is assailed
| by strong fumes of ammonia and
other gases, and where this is the
case one can take it for granted that
noxious gases, like carbonic dioxide,
or carbonic acid gas, as it is more
commonly called, are in evidence.
These things being so, it should be
apparent that the animals have been
all night breathing impure air. AS
| pure blood is dependent upon fresh
air, or in other words an adequate
supply of oxygen, it is evident that
pure blood cannot be made from i'm
pure air. For this reason the blood
of animals exposed to foul air at
length becomes foul or imperfectly
oxygenated. This means that the en-
tire body must suffer, and that is the
case. The first sign of arrangement
of the blood condition and necessarily
of the entire system is thriftlessness
characterized by staring coat, hide
| bound skin, stocking" of the hind
! legs on standing, and often derange-
ment of the urine or solid excrement.
The same symptoms are often due to
extra hard drinking water, contami-
mated water in which is found seep-
age from manure piles or stable
drains, and to spoiled, musty, moldy,
heated or frosted foods. Where foods
of the latter class are fed it is COM
mon to find horses afflicted with dia-
| belts or other urinary disorder, and in
our experience where such troubles
are found most of .he sanitary neces-
sites of healthy stabling are at one
and the same time lacking or imper-
! feet. Winter stabling then necessi-
tates not merely the idea of warmth,
but of fresh air at all times, cleanli-
ness from eXcreta which give rise
! to noxious gases, absence of damp
ness which may also give rise to the
symptoms we have outlined and, in
addition to sanitation, food and wa
ter that are above suspicion as re-
CARDS quality and condition. Cold is
not hurtful to horses or other ami
mails provided they are maintained in
perfect health and cold, meaning
| fresh air in the absence of drafts.
means good health able to withstand
cold. Warmth due to air that is
breathed over and over again is far
more injurious than cold air. From
the warm stable animals go out with
open pores and are apt to catch cold
and are as rule unable to do a
heavy days work without speedy
firing. They suffer from indigestion
and are seen to sweat profusely in
the warm stable and the thick coat
of harsh hair adds to their discom-
fort. Clipping helps matters wonder
fully and should be the first step
where wintered horses sweat in the
stable, have harsh coats and show
symptoms of indigestion and urinary
disorder. They must afterwards be
blanketed in the stable or when
standing idle at work, but otherwise
are less liable to catch cold than
were the coat left on. Dairy cows
shrink in their milk flow when ven
tilation outlets in stable are tenn
porarily closed. During such times
they drink more water and this re-
quires food to raise the temperature
of the water and to offset abnormal
sweating. Horses sweat more than
ordinarily under such circumstances,
and this means that they spend food
to supply waste of tissue and become
weakened accordingly. Winter sta
bles should be comfortable, so far as
keeping out cold drafts and damp is
concerned, but they should be kept
cool by ample provisions for the
escape of foul air and entrance of
fresh air containing the life-giving
oxygen. Sunlight is as necessary to
ideal health as fresh air. Many peo-
pie on the contrary keep animals in
dark, hot stables during the cold days
of winter and wonder why they fail
to thrive. A plant grown in the eel
lar is pale and weakly. Put it in the
sunlight and 1t speedily becomes
green and robust. Animals are SINH.
larly affected by sunlight or its Alb.
seneca. S. Alexander in Farmers