SPUR—is the well-known weapon with which the heel of the horseman is armed to enforce his authority; and which the well-broke horse will always instantly obey.
STABLE.—Stables are the receptacles for horses in general, and are of very different descriptions; not only in respect to the various sorts of horses for which they are intended, but the improved mode of construction, and the numerous conveniencies they are now made to contain. As horses were never in such high estimation, or of such intrinsic worth, as at the present moment, so never was so much money expended upon their preservation. There can be no doubt, but the health and condition of valuable horses, may depend much upon the situation and structure of the stable; and although every person will appropriate the size of the stable, and the number of stalls, to their own wants, yet there are certain judicious rules, and desirable conveniencies, which should admit of no deviation. Whether a stable consists of two stalls, four, or six, it may be rendered equally uniform, and confidently replete with every thing that can possibly be required.
It is an established opinion, that a building of BRICK (lined or not lined with deal) is preferable to STONE for the purpose; the former being _dry_, and always in the same state: the _latter_ is influenced, or acted upon, by the changes of weather; and in a hazy atmosphere, generally _damp_; and in constant (or continued) rains, the walls are frequently streaming with _water_. This, however, depends much upon the aspect to which they are erected; a circumstance not always sufficiently attended to, till it is found too late to repent. Stables are paved with _bricks_, _clinkers_, _flints_, _pebbles_, or _stone_, as may best correspond with the conveniences of the country in which they are erected, and where, perhaps, some of those articles are difficult to obtain. Stalls should never be less than _six_ feet wide; nor the stable less than _nine_ feet high: _eight_ feet in the clear should be allowed from the heels of the horse to the wall behind him; and iron hay-racks are preferable to wood, as the latter (wherever spirited horses stand) are always in want of repair. No stables can be called good, unless they have proper rooms annexed for the reception of SADDLES, BRIDLES, HORSE CLOTHS, and every article necessary to the proper support of such an establishment; each of those become more perishable amidst the nocturnal steam of the horses than by daily use.