Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/204

192 192 shoulders straight, and hind legs defective in power. They are not a very profitable stamp of horse to have much to do with ; they must have a certain amount of action, and this on the London stones soon knocks to pieees legs that are not particularly calculated to withstand wear and tear in the first instance ; and it very often happens that during breaking a horse s legs show signs of failing, and he has to be thrown up for a while. Carriage horses are of course not always bay ; but greys, chestnuts, and browns are not of any distinct breed. A really well-matched pair, with good action, are worth a long price ; and it is most unreasonable for persons, after selecting their horses no less with an eye to their natural good appearance than for other qualities, to persist in making them carry themselves in a highly unnatural position, by the grossly unnatural use of the bearing rein, which is buckled up cruelly short. If a carriage horse carried his head naturally in the position into which it is forced by the abuse of this contrivance, he would be rejected at once ; tight reining up is the cause of many horses becoming roarers. With regard to harness horses of a smaller size, their ranks may be recruited from the class that supplies hunters and hacks ; but straight and loaded shoulders and straight hind legs, unpardonable defects in a saddle horse, are not quite so objectionable behind the collar. Phaeton horses should have moderately high action, and be compactly built, and should not exceed 15 1, unless the vehicle be very high on the wheel. Stage coaching, as a trade, no longer exists in England, but, during the summer months, many well-appointed coaches are put on different roads to places within a day s journey, not only from London, but elsewhere. For this work the leaders are generally about 15 2, and the wheelers an inch higher; they should all have good sound legs and feet, and free but not high action ; the wheelers should have plenty of strength for the exertion required of them in going down hill. art- The Cart-Horse. At the present time it is difficult to rse - classify cart-horses, and to point to any distinct breeds. The true Cleveland horse is practically extinct, and the animal now called a Cleveland bay bears but a slight resemblance to his ancestors. The old Cleveland horses were noted for their strength ; they are said to have carried a weight of 760 ft, or more than 54 stone, a distance of 60 miles in 24 hours. The old Suffolk Punch, originally descended from Norman stallions and Suffolk cart mares, is also extinct, the modern representative of that breed being the result of different crossings ; he is found of two different kinds, ligh t and heavy. The Clydes dale horse is well adapted for use in a hilly country. It derives its name from a district on the Clyde in Scotland, whither it was introduced by one of the dukes of Hamilton, who crossed the Lanark mares with imported Flemish stallions. The native English cart-horse is a huge animal, usually of a black colour, and stands about 17 hands high and more. These horses are bred chiefly but not solely in Lincolnshire. At two years old they are generally sold by the breeder, who thus is enabled to secure a fair profit at an early period. They are at once put to gentle work by the first purchaser, and so earn something towards their keep. During this period they are well fed, and when they have attained their fourth year they are made up for the market, by being fed with oilcake, grains, and other fattening food, besides oats. When their preparation is finished, they find purchasers at a sum sometimes exceeding 100. The use of these very heavy horses is now chiefly con fined to brewers drays, to contractors trollies for conveying blocks of stone, and for drawing carts containing building [HARNESS HORSES. materials, and heavy iron work, such as boilers, parts of bridges, &c. From their great size they require a large amount of food ; and, although occasionally useful for drawing heavy weights, they are being gradually displaced by a lighter and more active horse. STABLE MANAGEMENT. In treating of this part of the subject, it is assumed that the stable is in a healthy situation, for in an unhealthy one trouble or expense will be simply thrown away. Horses dislike bad smells ; the drainage of the stable should there fore be well looked to, and the traps should be as far from the stable as circumstances will permit. The pit for the reception of the manure and foul litter, which should be constantly removed, should also be some distance from the stable. Stalls should not be less than 6 feet wide ; if 3 inches Stalls. more can be had so much the better. The partitions should be long enough to prevent horses kicking each other, and high enough, towards the head, to prevent them biting one another. Some authorities recommend that the partitions be so arranged that horses cannot see each other; it makes them restless they say. The soundness of this advice is open to question : it may perhaps hold good with regard to race-horses ; but the horse is fond of company, and certainly horses that are driven together, or ridden in company, seem to like the society of their fellows in the stable, while, as already stated, a stable companion is useful to lead young horses over fences in their early attempts at leaping. In dealers stables the floor of the stalls often slopes con siderably from front to back. This makes a horse look bigger than he really is, but it throws all the strain of supporting the body on to the back tendons, and should not be permitted in private stables. A fall of 2| inches is more than enough for the purposes of draining. As regards the internal arrangements, especial care should Light- be paid to light, ventilation, and temperature. A sufficient in &quot;- amount of light is indispensable for the health of the horse. Horses, like men, are greatly influenced by surroundings, and, considering the number of hours in the week spent indoors, a horse can no more thrive in a dark stable than a man in a dark room. Moreover, a horse brought out of a dark stable is much more likely to shy than one whose eyes had not been dazzled by the sudden change from dark to light. Dark stables were once thought to be conducive to good feeding, and to making a horse lie down, but the idea is now exploded. The horse owner may here be warned against seeking to make up for a deficiency of natural light by having the whole of the interior of the stable whitewashed, To the height of 7 feet from the ground the walls should be coloured with some neutral tint, that the horse s eyes may not be injured by the glare inseparable from whited walls. Dark stables encourage carelessness in the groom, the result being an accumulation of dirt ; and, even if the stableman be an honest worker, he cannot see to clean the floors and corners properly unless light be freely admitted to the building. In the ventilation of stables many theories have been Ventila- propounded, and many appliances suggested, but most of tiou - thelatter have failed from letting in cold currents to a greater extent than they let out the foul air. In nineteen cases out of twenty, the ventilation of private stables consists of holes in the brickwork. In using these it will be found advis able to have thin pieces of zinc, with felt edging to prevent noise, and with easy working hinges, nailed outside the wall, to act as valves ; then should the wind set from the quarter in which the ventilators are situated, the zinc coverings will be blown against the apertures, and the en-