GROOMS AND COACHMEN. 409 



made to carriage grooms and pad grooms, and might be ex- 

 tended even to coachmen. Some masters supply collars and 

 white ties and pay for their washing. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF GROOMS AND COACHMEN. 



The average efficiency of men who take charge of horses, 

 is greatly lowered by the fact that no special qualifications 

 are demanded before a man or boy can call himself a groom 

 or coachman. In fact anyone who chooses, can assume either 

 or both of these titles, no matter how ignorant of horses he 

 may be. Instead of stable duties being within the compass 

 of any yokel, their intelligent execution demands quite as 

 much experience, natural aptitude and special knowledge, as 

 are required in navigating a ship for instance. I may briefly 

 state that a capable groom should be acquainted with 

 all the practical details of feeding, watering, grooming, 

 housing, bedding and exercising horses, and of cleaning 

 gear ; should be a good sick nurse ; should be well up 

 in all the ordinary symptoms of equine disease ; should 

 understand the general principles of shoeing ; and should 

 be a good horseman and skilful breaker. If he has 

 a fair knowledge of training and schooling, understands the 

 care of brood mares and stallions, knows how to run a 

 hackney, and clean hunting things so much the better. A 

 coachman should be able to drive single or a pair in town 

 (London) in a smart and capable manner, and not with " a 

 rein in each hand and a whip in the other," according to the 

 usual country practice. Besides his own particular business, 

 he should be competent to fulfil all the duties of a stud groom 

 which are unconnected with riding, supposing that he has 

 to take charge of a stable. We must not, however, expect 

 work worth two hundred a year from a man on a guinea 

 a week. 



Above all things, a groom or coachman should be good- 



