Bedding. — To  a  hard-working  horse,  a  good  bed  is  almost
as  essential  as  food.  Many  stablemen  can  not  make  it.  It
should  be  as  level  and  equal  as  a  mattress.  There  should
be  no  lumps  in  the  litter  ;  it  should  come  well  back,  and
slope  from  each  side,  and  from  the  head  toward  the  centre.
Farm-servants  and  carters  never  give  the  horse  a  good  bed,
although  their  horses  need  it  fully  as  much  as  any  other.
They  generally  have  the  litter  all  in  a  heap,  or  in  a  number
of  heaps,  upon  which  the  horse  can  not  lie  comfortable  for
more  than  half  an  hour.  The  effort  such  a  bulky  animal
must  make  to  rise  and  change  his  position,  completely  awa-
kens him.  His  rest  is  broken,  and  his  vigor  never  fairly  re-
cruited. Now,  it  is  not  difficult  to  make  a  good  bed  ;  any
body  with  hands  may  learn  it  in  a  few  days.  But  no  one
thinks  of  learning  such  a  thing.  Those  who  become  expert
at  it  can  not  help  their  expertness.  They  never  tried  to  ob-
tain it ;  practice  gave  it  them  before  they  knew  it  was  of  any
use.  But  for  all  this  it  may  be  learned.  Show  the  man  how
to  use  the  fork,  and  how  to  spread  the  litter ;  give  him  a  pat-
tern-oed  in  one  stall,  and  make  him  work  in  the  next,  two
hours  every  day  /or  a  week.  If  he  can  not  learn  it  in  this
time— the  operation  is  really  worth  such  trouble-  -the  man
will  never  learn  anything.
