Underground horse stable

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Reconstructed pit horse stable in the German Mining Museum
Underground horse stable in the United States

An underground horse stable , also known as an underground stable , is a pit that the miner counts as one of the large underground spaces. Horse stables were needed in pits with a greater depth in order to be able to safely accommodate the pit horses used in the route transport after their daily work.

Basics and history

In the mines, where the pits could only be reached via shafts , the daily exit of the pit horses was very cumbersome. Especially at mines with greater depths there was due to the climatic stress intensified mining law provisions on shift duration and restrictions on the length of the rope drive . This ultimately led to the mines concerned laying out the horse stables underground. This measure affected most of the mines in the Ruhr area . When setting up a horse stable underground, care had to be taken to ensure that the horses housed there were healthy and safe. As a rule, a separate horse stable was created for each sole . Depending on their size, between 20 and 60 horses could then be stored in the stables. Such stalls were called collective stalls. In addition, it was necessary to lay out the horse stable so that the disadvantages, such as. B. Worsening of the weather or the more difficult keeping of the stables clean were largely avoided.

Plant and structure

The ideal place for the horse stable was near a fresh-weather shaft , which was also used for shaft conveyance whenever possible . This location of the stable also made it easier to supervise the stable operations. The stable had to have a depth of four meters and a height of two to three meters. A stand area of ​​2.5–2.8 meters had to be planned for the individual horse stands. A width of at least 1.3–1.4 meters had to be taken into account for each horse housed. Other measurements were based on a width of 1.6 meters per horse. The individual stands were separated from each other either by lattier or flanking trees. The stalls could also be separated by plank walls, which had the advantage that the healthy horses could not be easily infected by sick animals. In addition, the plank walls prevented restless horses from injuring each other. A corridor had to be created across the individual horse stands so that the horses could be brought to and from the horse stands. Since due to the left in the stall hay and straw increased fire danger of the allowed expansion of the horse stable with no timber is carried out but it had detachable parts are used of iron, concrete or bricks. The lying had to be paved and be slightly inclined to one side. A drainage channel for the dirty water had to be created on the lower side. This paving could be done with bricks. Stable planks were attached in a frame over the paving in the individual horse stalls so that the horses could safely stand on them. As a result, the horses did not have to stand on the pavement and the excrement of the animals could easily be removed with water. Furthermore, wall niches that could be closed with sheet iron doors and served as a feed depot had to be created. These had to be erected in such a way that they were neither directly in the fresh weather train nor in the downweather stream. If the feed chambers were built in the direct stream of fresh weather, there was a risk that the horses would suffocate if a fire broke out in the feed chamber. If the feed chamber was located directly in the downpour, the feed could not be stored here for several days, as it was affected by the smell of the damp fumes from the barn and the hay very easily took on the odor of the barn and thus became unusable. Instead of the wall niches, containers made of sheet iron could also be installed. Electric light had to be installed to illuminate the stables. This made it possible to monitor stable operations well and the weather in the stable was not affected. In addition, all entrances and exits to the stables had to be equipped with a fireproof door. These doors also had to be quick and easy to lock.

Supply and disposal

Of particular importance was the supply of the stables with a sufficient amount of weather , which was branched off as a partial flow from the incoming weather flow. The ventilation of the stable with weathering was to be avoided at all costs, this was especially true for larger horse stables. Under no circumstances could the weather from the stable be passed on to pits where miners were employed. They had to be taken on the direct route to the weather shaft and weathered there. It was also important that the stable was supplied with sufficient good water. This was needed on the one hand to water the horses and on the other hand to clean the stables. In order to ensure that the horses always had sufficient water available in their stalls, self-waterers had to be installed in the stable . These were connected by means of a pipe to a main water tank, which had a filling quantity corresponding to requirements. The fill level in the main water tank had to be regulated by a float . In order to be able to carry out the cleaning of the stable, it should be equipped with a spray hose. This hose had to be connected to the fresh water pipe. The wastewater generated was drained off via a drainage channel created on the side of the floor . For the absorption of excreted by the horses urine was peat suitable. In order to be able to supply the horses with oats and hay separately , there had to be two cribs in each stand . These were to be installed on parallel rails so that they could be easily moved. The cribs were made of enamelled sheet iron. The animals were supplied with feed from the feed chamber. In order to be able to easily transport the feed from the feed chamber to the individual stands, a conveyor rod had to be installed in the longitudinal aisle in front of the stands. The used hay and straw could also be transported out of the stable using this linkage. The horses had to be looked after all day, including on days off.

Advantages and disadvantages

Underground horse stables had certain advantages and disadvantages compared to above- ground horse stables . It was an advantage that the horses got less colds in the cold season. Another advantage was the time saved by eliminating the daily horse transport through the shaft. The disadvantage was that the maintenance of the stable and the care of the horses was easily neglected. Furthermore, underground stables were more difficult to keep clean. It was also easier for diseases to break out in the underground stables. In addition, diseases that have broken out are more difficult to fight underground than in above-ground stables. In addition, the evaporation of the stable caused the mine weather to deteriorate. Another disadvantage was the risk of fire due to the flammability of the feed stocks. Ultimately, the food supplies in the underground stables could spoil more easily than in above-ground stables.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Fritz Heise, Fritz Herbst: Textbook of mining studies with a special focus on hard coal mining. Second volume, third and fourth improved and enlarged edition, Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH, Berlin Heidelberg 1923, p. 361.
  2. ^ A b Fritz Heise, Fritz Herbst: Textbook of mining science with special consideration of hard coal mining. First volume, published by Julius Springer, Berlin 1908, p. 430.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Carl Hellmut Fritzsche: Textbook of mining science. Second volume, seventh edition, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH, Berlin Heidelberg 1950, pp. 395–396.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hans Bansen: The route funding . Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH, Berlin Heidelberg 1908, pp. 9-12.
  5. ↑ a b c d Gustav Köhler: Textbook of mining science. Second improved edition, Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1887, pp. 335–336.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Fritz Heise, Fritz Herbst: Textbook of mining studies with a special focus on hard coal mining. Second volume, fifth improved and increased edition, Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH, Berlin Heidelberg 1932, p. 445.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Gustav Köhler: Textbook of mining science. Sixth improved edition, published by Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1903, pp. 374-375.
  8. ^ Rudolf Mirsch: Christmas in the shaft . In: Association of Mansfeld Miners and Huts People eV (Ed.): Communication 102, July 2009, pp. 2–5.