Handbook for Light Artillery

by A. B. Dyer

STABLES AND STABLE DUTIES.

Foul air and dampness are the cause of many diseases of the horse; hence the importance and economy of spacious, clean, dry, and well-ventilated stables. Ceilings should be twelve or fifteen feet high, with large ventilators through the roof, and a window or side aperture in each stall, which should be placed well above the horse's eyes. If possible, the building should have no upper story or loft. In stables with a loft, ventilation from the top is always insufficient, and there must be side openings well above the horses, so that the draught will pass over their heads. These openings must never be closed except on the windward side, to keep out rain or snow.

There should be a passageway for feeding in front of the stalls, and so that the horses can look to the right and left. Their heads should never be placed against a partition if it can be avoided.

Double stalls should not be less than 4½ feet by 9 feet to each horse; and single stalls should be 5 feet wide. Stalls 6 feet wide and 10½ feet long are greatly to be preferred. Not less than 1200 cubic feet should be allowed to each horse in the stable.

A picket-line is established in the immediate vicinity of the battery stable, the horses being tied to a hemp or wire rope or chain passed through the picket-posts. There should be shallow trenches behind the horses to carry off rain, the ground on which they stand having just enough slope to let the water run into the trenches, or there may be a single drain in the centre along the line of the picket-posts. Constant attention must be paid to maintaining the ground about the picket-line in good order.

Hut Stables.—Rough sheds with clapboarded roofs are the best; with the litter and some wet earth good walls can soon be constructed around the shed; these walls should be vertical on the inside, but with a good slope toward the outside. Sheds made 30 feet wide can accommodate two rows of horses, their heads being turned toward one another. Plenty of openings must be left for doors by which to remove the horses quickly in case of fire, and drainage must be well attended to. The stalls, or standing-space, should be 5 feet wide and 9 feet long.

An excellent shed can be made under the lee of a bank by erecting forked poles, placing connecting pieces, and laying thereon boards or poles and thatching.

GENERAL RULES FOR STABLE MANAGEMENT.

The stable sergeant takes immediate charge of the police and sanitary condition of the stable, picket-line, etc., and is the custodian of the forage and stable property generally.

The stable is to be kept thoroughly policed, free from smells, and well whitewashed. There must be no accumulation of manure or foul litter inside, or near the doors or windows without. The feed-boxes are washed out frequently and kept perfectly clean. The ground about the picket-line is swept daily and all dung, etc., carried to the manure-heap.

Except at night, when the horses are bedded down, no manure or urine is to remain in the stalls; the stable police remove it as fast as it accumulates.

If practicable, all woodwork within reach of the horses and not protected with sheet iron or other metal is painted with thin gas-tar, to prevent its being gnawed; it should be thoroughly dried before putting horses near it. The same precaution must be followed with regard to troughs, picket-posts, and hemp picket-line.

Smoking in stables or in their immediate vicinity is prohibited.

One or more lamps will be hung in each stable, to burn during the night.

The horses are stalled according to their positions in the battery, the teams nearest the door being led out first; their places at the picket-line will be in accordance with the same rule.

The name of each horse, and that of his rider or driver, are placed over his stall.

Clay is the best for earthen floors, as it packs well. Gravel or sandy earth is not suitable. Each man is held responsible for the removal of the earth and the levelling of the floor of his stall.

The sloping of the floor of stalls from the manger to the heel-post is injurious and uncomfortable for the animal, who stands in an unnatural position, with the fore legs higher than the hind ones. When earthen floors are not level, they give more trouble, as the horse will paw a hollow for his fore feet unless he can elevate his hind legs by backing out of the stall.

Whenever the horses go out of the stable, the windows of their stalls are to be kept open, unless necessary to exclude rain or snow, or when cold draughts affect the animals in contiguous or opposite stalls.

Stable doors are never closed in the daytime except to keep out the wet or to exclude cold winds. If the doors be in a single piece, bars are put across the doorway; if divided in half, it will be usually sufficient to open the upper part. At night, except in very hot weather, they should be closed and locked, communication with the stable being kept up by a manhole.

Except in very cold, windy weather, or in very hot weather, where there is no shade, horses should stand most of the day at the picket-line, as they have better air and are less confined, while the stables become drier and more healthful.

In ordinary climates military stables must be kept as cool as possible. If the horses do not stand directly in the draught, the colder the stable the less will they suffer if suddenly called to take the field. For the same reason horses should never be blanketed in the stable except in very cold weather in high latitudes.

STABLE DUTY.

The captain is responsible for the proper performance of stable duty in his battery.

At morning stable-call the cannoneers, assisted by the prisoners, clean out the stalls and police the stable under the direction of the stable sergeant. The bedding is taken up, that which is much soiled being separated for the manure-heap, and the remainder put on the racks or spread upon the ground to dry. If necessary, the drivers assist after they have done grooming.

At evening stable-call the stable is policed as in the morning; the bedding is laid down and fresh straw spread on top of it; the bed must be soft and even, with the thickest part toward the manger.

Horses are groomed twice daily, at morning and at evening stable-calls, under the supervision of the first sergeant and battery officer of the day. In special circumstances it may be advisable to groom only once, about noon.

The grooming is always at the picket-line, except in stormy weather.

Each driver, whether on guard or not, grooms his own horses, under the superintendence of his chief of section. Supernumerary horses are groomed by a detail of cannoneers under the direction of a corporal, who is assigned to this duty. In each platoon the horses of the chiefs of section are groomed by a cannoneer, who is permanently detailed, both horses being attached for grooming purposes to the section to which the cannoneer belongs. The trumpeters groom their own horses under the direction of the first sergeant.

At evening stable-call each man examines and cleans out his horse's feet, and sees that the shoes are in good order. Horses requiring shoeing are reported to the proper non-commissioned officer, who notifies the stable sergeant.

Each horse should be groomed not less than twenty minutes, beginning with the near horse. If any horses are not properly groomed they will be left at the picket-line, and groomed by their drivers under the direction of a non-commissioned officer of the guard.

In garrison, when there are no available prisoners, two or more men, called the stable police, are usually kept at work between morning and evening stable-calls in removing manure, policing generally, feeding, etc.

In horse-batteries stable duty is conducted on the same principles, with such modifications as the nature of the service demands.

GROOMING.

Take the currycomb in the right hand, fingers over back of comb; begin on the near side at the upper part of the neck, thence proceed to the chest, arms, shoulders, back, belly, flank, loins, and rump. Then go to the off side, taking comb in left hand, and proceed as before.

The currycomb is applied gently, and is used only to loosen the scurf and matted hair; it is not used on the legs from the knees or hocks downward except to carefully loosen dried mud.

Next take the brush in left hand, and change currycomb to right; begin at the neck on the near side, and proceed in the same order as in currying, brushing also the parts not touched by the comb; on the off side take brush in right hand, currycomb in left. In places difficult to clean apply the brush backward and forward, finishing by leaving the coat smooth. After every few strokes clean the brush from dust with the currycomb.

Having done with the brush, rub or dust off the horse with the grooming-cloth, wipe about the eyes and nostrils, and clean the dock. The skin under the flank and between the hindquarters must be soft, clean, and free from dust.

Currycombs, cards, or common combs must never be applied to the mane or tail; but the brush, fingers, and cloth are freely used on both.

The wisp is used when the horse comes in warm from exercise, and he is rubbed against the hair until dry, from his hindquarters up to his head.

FEEDING.

In garrison it is recommended that grain be fed at first call for reveille by the stable sergeant, assisted by one or two members of the stable-guard, or men detailed for the purpose. The grain, in a box on wheels, is rolled in front of each stall, when it is transferred to the feed-boxes by allowance-measures. Grain is fed again at evening stable duty as in the morning, but not until after the hay has been distributed and the stable swept up.

In camp or on the march grain is fed at morning and evening stables. The men are matched to the forage-wagons or other grain depository, where the non-commissioned officer in charge, with an allowance-measure, issues to each in turn.

Gruel is very good for horses when tired. To make it, put a double handful of fresh coarse oatmeal in a bucket, add a little cold water, mix well, and add 1½ gallons of hot (not boiling) water. Stir well till smooth, and give it at the temperature of new milk; add a wineglass or two of spirits if horse is much exhausted.

In garrison hay is fed thrice daily—immediately after morning stables, in the middle of the day, and at evening stables; at the evening feed each animal should have at least one half of his daily allowance. The dust must be well shaken out of the hay before it is put in the mangers. During the short days of winter the feeding at noon may be omitted without injury to the animals.

In camp hay is fed at the picket-line morning, noon, and evening; on the march, in the evening only.

The occasional use of bran is important for stabled horses. In spring or early summer they should have grass for at least a week or ten days, during which time they ought not to be much worked. Salt should be given at least once a week.

When forage cannot be obtained, grazing should be allowed at every spare moment, especially early in the morning when the dew is on the grass.

The daily allowance of oats, barley, or corn is 12 pounds to each horse; that of hay, 14 pounds; the allowance of straw for bedding is 100 pounds a month to each animal.

Barley and corn should both be crushed, if possible, when used to feed horses or mules.

Good oats weigh about 32 pounds to the bushel, barley about 48 pounds, corn about 56 pounds. Pressed hay weighs about 11 pounds per cubic foot.

Good Oats are clean, hard, dry, sweet, plump, full of flour, and rattle like shot. They have a clean and almost metallic lustre. Those in a sample vary but little in size, and are entirely free from smell. The pressure of the nail ought to leave little or no mark on them. The value of an oat depends mainly on its weight per bushel. Dirty oats weigh heavier than clean ones.

New oats can be distinguished from old by their smell, which is fresh and earthy, and by their taste, which is fresh and milky, while that of the old oats is slightly bitter. New oats are indigestible. Oats one year old are best.

Various Defects in Oats.—Kiln-dried.—Oats that have been dried to render them hard after they have been damp. They have a loose and shrivelled appearance about the ends of the husks, and are easily recognized by their peculiar smell and reddish color.

Foxy Oats.—Oats that have undergone a certain process of fermentation from having been stowed in bulk when not perfectly dry. They are unfit for horses, are of a reddish color, and have both bitter smell and taste. Their reddish color is sometimes gotten rid of by subjecting them to fumes of sulphur, which makes them unnaturally white.

Damp Oats are objectionable and should be rejected. Continued dampness soon produces softness, mustiness, mouldiness, and sprouting.

Dirty Oats.—This can be remedied by winnowing.

Hay.—There is a great variety of grasses. The best hay contains a large proportion of the best of these, along with clover and other good herbage, and only a small proportion of the inferior kinds, whilst in the inferior kinds of hay good herbage is nearly entirely wanting, and the inferior grasses predominate.

The characteristics of good hay are green color combined with a delicate smell and taste, a presence of flowers in their natural colors, and of a variety of grasses and good herbage (not weeds), and clover of moderate fineness, crispness, and hardness.

Straw must be wheat, oats, or rye straw; barley induces disease of the skin. It ought to be long and strong. Horses are inclined to eat wheat straw when new.

WATERING.

Horses must be watered quietly, and without confusion; the manner in which this duty is performed is a good test of the discipline of a mounted command.

Horses are to be led or ridden at a walk to and from water, depending upon its distance from the stable. At the drinking-place no horse should be hurried or have his head jerked up from the water.

If a stream is used for watering horses from the bank, the level of the water must not be more than 3 or 4 inches below the latter; and if the water is very shallow dams should be constructed to deepen it, as animals drink more rapidly when water is at least 6 inches deep. Mules should be watered higher up stream than horses. When animals will not drink from a stream, they will frequently do so from a bucket with a handful of grass on the water.

In the field or on the march the watering is from the most convenient running water; in garrison it is usually from troughs. In warm weather water drawn from a cold well or spring before being used should stand long enough for the chill to pass off.

The horses are watered under the immediate direction of the first sergeant, but if they are liable to meet those of other commands at the watering-place a commissioned officer should replace him.

During the hot months horses are watered thrice daily—in the morning, at noon, and just before grooming in the afternoon. At other times two waterings are enough, after morning and at evening stables. In very cold weather once a day, at noon, is sufficient. It is to be always remembered that a horse will rarely drink enough very early in the morning.

The daily allowance of water for a horse is six gallons.

On the march horses are watered with buckets carried on the carriages. The oftener this is done the better, as it is not usually known when another watering-place will be reached.

When horses have to make a day's march without water, they will be watered after they are fed, just before leaving camp in the morning.

If a mounted command has to march a long distance without water, so that it will be necessary to encamp en route, the animals are well fed, but denied water until just before starting, when they are permitted to drink freely. The command marches in the afternoon, and does not encamp until it has accomplished at least half of the distance, and moves early the next morning to reach water.