Riding and Driving

by Edward L. Anderson; Price Collier

Whatever else they may have, good stables must infallibly have light, air, and good drainage. To accomplish these things, the stable should be above the level of the ground surrounding it, if only a few inches, to facilitate proper drainage. It should face preferably south or west, to get the largest possible amount of sunlight. Pay no attention to any talk about "a dark stable." It is an exploded notion. It is of course necessary to be able to darken the part of the stable where the horses take their rest; and it is a great convenience to have a box-stall or two, separated entirely from the others, where a horse may be kept quiet, cool, and out of the light. But if necessity demands a choice between light and darkness, choose the light every time. Sunlight is the best antiseptic in the world for either men or horses.

The size of the stable depends upon the purse. It is not a question of the number of horses, because no horse owner was ever known to have all the horses he wanted. Just as every yacht owner wishes to add just ten feet to his yacht, so every man with a stable of horses could use just one or two more to advantage. It is a fair statement to work upon, however, that every horse in a stable is entitled, for his health and comfort, to nine hundred cubic feet of space, at least. Next to the proper allowance of food and water, this matter of good air in the stable is the most important of all. The gases given off through the lungs and skin, and those generated from urine, and fæces, are poisonous and irritating. Coughs, colds, bad coats, swelled legs, general debility, are all due to badly ventilated stables, and if a contagious disease starts in such a stable, it is well-nigh impossible to save any one of the inmates.

Bad ventilation does not mean necessarily that a stable is hot, nor good ventilation that a stable is cold. If properly managed, a stable may be so ventilated as to avoid either extreme. What is wanted is abundance of fresh air without draughts. All systems of ventilation are based upon the principle that heated air expands and ascends, so that the inlets should be below, the outlets above. The inlets should be so arranged that the cool air does not come in where it may blow upon the legs of the horses or make them uncomfortable when lying down.

All windows and doors should be kept in easy working order, so that it is no trouble to servants to open and close them.

For after all has been said and done upon these matters theoretically, the practice will depend almost entirely upon the man or men in charge. I would rather have a poor stable, with a first-rate man in charge of it, than the best stable ever built, with a careless, indifferent, ignorant, and occasionally inebriate man in charge. No mechanical arrangements, no matter how minute and delicate in their serviceability, are of the slightest value when in control of the incompetent. Spend time, thought, money, and patience in building yourself the best stable your purse permits; but in proportion spend even more in procuring the man who is to be at the head of it.

When you get him, don't pamper him, or bribe him, or kotow to him,—no self-respecting man is held by such bonds,—but make him your friend and run your stable jointly with him, respecting him in his capacity and retaining his respect for you in yours.

Above all things, abjure the maudlin sentiment of the day, that there should be no master and no man. The universe, so far as telescope can see, the earth, from centre to rim, recognize love, law, and obedience. Every intelligent man is the servant of somebody, and ought to be proud of it; if he is not, something is radically wrong with him or the master he has chosen to serve. Try to make the man in the stable proud of being your servant. If you succeed, everything will go well; if you cannot accomplish this with love and law, then you will have to fall back upon some makeshift, like money, and get on the best you can. But make no mistake, and save yourself untold troubles by realizing at the start that money alone does not make good servants in the stable or anywhere else. The sailors who fought with Paul Jones, and the cavalry-men who rode with Phil Sheridan, were not thinking much of their pay. The manikin moved by money will spoil your stable, your temper, and your horses. Study carefully the characters of those who are continually complaining of their servants!

The simpler the construction of the stable, the better. Have as few separate rooms and as few passageways as possible; this means light, air, cleanliness, and convenience. If you are about to build a stable, go about among your friends, view their stables, and hear what they have to say from their experience. Money spent in practical inspection before building will be saved many times over, in getting what you want, and, best of all, knowing why you want it.

A few inches above the ground is enough for drainage; if the stable is higher than this, you have a pent to go up and down at the stable door. In winter this is dangerous, and at all times it frets the horses to slide out of the stable at the start-off.

Your entrance door should be at least 10 feet 6 inches wide and at least 10 feet 6 inches high.