58 Stable Servants and 



two horses with a chaise and harness will be as much as 

 he can properly attend to ; and should he be expected 

 occasionally to drive or ride, he will need a helper : nothing 

 tends so much to spoil a servant and make him idle and 

 careless in his work as giving him more than he can fairly 

 and properly do. When a groom is required to help in 

 the stable, and ride behind his master and family, I know 

 of no one so useful and fitted for the purpose as a good 

 steady lad out of a racing stable, and who has grown 

 too heavy for that work, as he is sure to be a good stable- 

 man, and to ride well and smartly. 



After these come the nondescript class, part groom, part 

 cowman and gardener, who are more useful than smart or 

 ornamental. They cannot be called grooms; they simply 

 just feed and "look after" the horse, or pony and carriage, 

 and are for the most part young fellows who are either too 

 lazy or too loutish to try to improve or take any pride or 

 interest in their work. 



Stable Management of the Horse. 



In the morning the first thing the groom does on enter- 

 ing the stable, which must not be later than six o'clock, if 

 the weather be warm and fine, will be to open the door 

 and admit some fresh air ; he will then give each horse a 

 little water and a piece of hay ; having eaten which, he 

 will put on the hood and the watering-bridle, and take him 

 out for exercise. While out, the helpers will separate the 

 dry clean straw from the damp and soiled, removing the 

 latter to the manure-heap. Thoroughly sweep and cleanse 

 the floor of each stall and box, allowing the straw to remain 

 turned up until the return of the horses, when it may be 

 partly littered down again. Each horse will then have a 

 feed of corn, and having eaten it, be well dressed and his 

 stall or box set fair. When one v groom only is kept, or 

 where the horses do a fair amount of work during the 

 day, early exercise is impossible and unnecessary. 



In dressing the horse the first thing the groom does is 

 to turn him round in his stall, fold the rug back from his 

 neck and shoulders, then well and carefully brush his head, 

 neck, and shoulders with the body-brush, cleaning it with 



