Stable economy; a treatise on the management of horses, in relation to stabling, grooming, feeding, watering, and working / By John Stewart.

  • Stewart, John, 1810-1896.
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Stable economy; a treatise on the management of horses, in relation to stabling, grooming, feeding, watering, and working / By John Stewart. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    hend, is applicable only to a new stone wall, to one composed of particular kinds of stone, or to that which is sunk in clay. Brick walls, however, are most esteemed. [Dampness of stone or brick walls may be entirely obviated im the drier climate of America, and warmth gained in winter, and cool- ness in summer, by running the roof over the gable ends and sides of the building about two feet, as in the Italian or old French style. Dampness may also be prevented inside, by furrowing out from the walls, and lath and plastering ; but this is too expensive for stables ; nor does it accomplish the same objects as jutting roofs; and, moreover, the hollow space makes a harbor for vermin, which is a very great ob- jection to it.] In towns or other places where the ground is likely in a short time to become too valuable for stables, brick is the least expensive material, and it brings the highest price when pulled down. A brick wall is usually recommended to be hollow, and thirteen and a half, or eighteen inches thick. Thus built, it is said to exclude the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Few, however, are made thicker than nine inches, and none hollow. It is a long time ere either cold or heat pierces a nine-inch wall ; but a thick wall affords re- cesses for racks, cupboards, and shelves, and, in exposed Situations, it certainly keeps the stable comfortable through a severe winter. The inside of the walls is sometimes left bare, but most frequently it is either plastered or boarded. All the stalls ought to be lined with wood, boarded at the head for about three feet above the manger; and the wall forming one side of the end stall should be boarded as high as the partitions. Sometimes the back wall is boarded all round to the height of four or five feet. A few of the more costly kind, which are built of freestone, are polished on the inside as on the out. As far as the horse is concerned, it is sufficient to have the wall neatly and smoothly dressed off. Plaster is apt to break, to blister, and fall away. ‘The wooden lining round the lower part of the wall is more durable, and when the upper part is plastered, the stable has a cleaner, more finished, and more comfortable appearance. ‘The parts against which the horse is likely to come in contact when rising, lying down, or turning, ought to be smooth and soft, not calculated to bruise or ruffle his skin. Doors.—A stable should have only one door. [This is not enough. ‘They should have a door at each end, for the sake of a draught of air when necessary. The stables are