io8 Management and Feeding of Heavy Horses 



can be no doubt as to the wisdom of restricting the number within 

 reasonable compass both in the interest of the horse owner and 

 that of the members. A desire to gain in number of foals by 

 increasing the number of mares is apt to disappoint the greedy 

 members by overtaxing the capabilities of the horse. 



The matter could be more easily arranged if all the mares 

 would settle at once; but some of them are almost certain to 

 cause trouble by coming in season every few weeks during the 

 summer. Of course, if there are many such, the work of the horse 

 is greatly increased, and the result is unsatisfactory at last. Most 

 societies allow their members to withdraw a mare that has got 

 into this objectionable habit, and to substitute another instead, and 

 as a rule the horse owner concurs in the arrangement. 



If the owner of the horse does not travel with it himself, it is 

 of the greatest importance to get a steady, reliable man to go 

 with it. Generally the beginner who starts business with one 

 horse does all the work himself; but most owners have to engage 

 a travelling groom, a steady man who understands his business, 

 and can work up a trade if the horse is not secured by a society. 

 An experienced travelling groom who has been on the road for 

 a few years acquires the art of talking farmers into the belief that 

 his horse is by far the best to suit their mares, and by his per 

 suasive eloquence works up a trade more readily than an inex- 

 perienced hand would do even with a superior horse. His con- 

 vincing assertion that " He'll just suit your mare" decides many 

 a farmer who has not sufficient confidence in his own judgment, 

 and secures more business, A good man deserves good wages. 

 The rate of wages varies considerably in different parts of the 

 country; but it is an almost universal custom that the groom has 

 about 2s. 6d. of a fee for each mare, which fee is paid by the owner 

 of the mare. This custom no doubt was instituted to encourage 

 the groom in his endeavours to get a trade for the horse. The 

 hiring system tends to deprive the groom of his fee, the mares 

 all being booked by the society. Still, if the horse is hired it 

 requires a reliable man to go with him, and this man must be well 

 paid, having to be from home and lodging wherever the horse is 

 placed all through the season. The groom has to make arrange- 

 ments not only for his own accommodation but for the stabling 

 and food of the horse, which may probably be at five different 

 stopping places. These places should be arranged for previously, 

 and it should be entered on his card where he will stay each night 

 in the week. As a rule, societies arrange most of these details. 

 When, however, the horse is not hired but is being worked privately, 



