Chicks.
The plague of flies in the East, particularly during the rains, cannot be realized in England, and if not protected against them, they will almost worry horses to death. For this reason the doors and windows of the stable should be fitted with “chicks,” or mats, made out of split bamboos or reeds, with interspaces between them, which allow of light and air passing through, but which will keep the flies out. They are not very costly articles, and add most materially to the comfort of the horse. If carefully looked after, and not let flap about in the wind, they will last for years with a very small annual expenditure for repairs.
Stable Floors.
The stable floor should be made of wet clay beaten down, and left to thoroughly dry. This can be carried out by the “syces,” and if thoroughly done, they will last a good many months. I always make it a practice to dig up the floors of stables in a new house, before they are occupied, a foot and a half deep, and thoroughly renew it, and usually it is astounding the amount of foul earth that has to be removed. I also have the whole of the floor picked up and renewed once a year—for choice, at the end of September or beginning of October, after the rains have stopped. Any moisture should be at once removed, before it has time to soak into the floor; or, if it has, the moist earth should be swept away with a broom (jaru), made out of a number of pliable twigs tied together, and fresh dry earth sprinkled over the top of it. A supply of dry powdered earth should be kept outside each stable door in a box ready for use when required. The ordinary earth that is in the compound will not do to make floors out of, although “syces” will use it if allowed, as it is less trouble to get than clay (kicher ke muttee), but it will not bind, and when trodden on breaks up and wears into dust.
Charcoal (khoalie).
Although it looks dirty, powdered charcoal sprinkled over the floor has a powerful effect as a deodorizer. The ashes of a wood fire do nearly as well as charcoal for this purpose, and can be obtained anywhere, as wood is universally used for fuel all over India. In some stables earthenware vessels (chatties) are buried under the floor to catch the urine. This is an abominable, filthy custom, and should never be permitted, as there is no more certain cause of disease. Diseases of the feet, such as foul smelling, suppurating frogs, thrush, and canker, are in the majority of cases caused by horses standing on wet, filthy floors.
Picketing.
In the hot season horses should, if possible, be picketed out at night as soon as it gets cool in the evening. It is the greatest relief to an animal to be brought out of a hot stable into the open air, even if the actual temperature is no less than indoors. If the flies or mosquitos are troublesome, the nets sold for the purpose will keep them off. If the net is not sufficient, a fire made out of the stable litter on the windward side will drive them away, and horses do not mind smoke. It is as well to have a regular standing made with mud, in the same way as the stable flooring, as otherwise the ground soon gets broken up and foul. The standing should be swept clean every morning, and mended in the same way as the stable floors are.