A narrow box or stall has the serious disadvantage that a horse is more apt to become "cast" in it than in a larger one. I may explain that a horse usually gets "cast " in the act of rolling, by being prevented from completing the turn over on to the other side by the interposition of some object, such as the wall of the compartment, and at the same time being unable to obtain from the said object a sufficiently effective fixed point (fulcrum), by utilising which he might be able to roll back again to the side from which he started. The fact of the bones (humerus and shoulder-blade) of a horse's fore legs above his elbow joints being closely tied down to his sides by muscular attachments, renders his fore legs almost useless for enabling him to recover his position when he is lying on his back. Owing to the presence of a ligament which connects the thigh-bone to the pelvis, the hind legs of a horse have very little lateral play. Also, that portion of a horse's spinal column which lies between the neck and tail is comparatively rigid. Hence, a horse is peculiarly liable to get "cast" in the stable; not only in the manner I have described, but also by the animal's head getting underneath some fixed object, such as the manger, for instance. We should bear in mind that a horse largely utilises his head and neck for enabling him to roll and to get up off the ground, as we may see from the fact that when a horse is on the ground, he cannot rise, if his head is held with the muzzle upwards. We may utilise this fact in keeping a fallen horse down.

An objection which I have heard made against the use of wide stalls, but which I do not consider valid, is that in such a stall a horse might place himself across it, and by looking into the next stall might annoy its occupant. As this could occur only when the sides of the stall permitted a horse to see his neighbour or neighbours, and as it could be easily remedied by blocking up the side divisions near the head of the stall, so as to shut out the view, I do not think that this preventable disadvantage should be held to outweigh the increased comfort in moving about and in lying down, which would be obtained by extra width.

Experience tells us that a loose box, even for a horse in training for the Derby, need not be larger than 12 ft. by 16 ft. A fair ordinary size is 10 ft. by 12 ft.; and one of 9 ft. by 10 ft. may be taken as a minimum. A good size for a stall is 6 ft. by 11 ft.; although an extra foot in length might be added with advantage. In Newmarket racing stables, the width for stalls is generally 6 1/2 ft. Ponies 14 hands and under can do with stalls 5 ft. by 10 ft.