76 STABLE ECONOMY. 



nothing complete ; the whole very much resembling that com 

 pilation entitled " The Field-Book." 



Slovenly servants always have very particular masters. 

 There is almost no curing of them. Habits of order and 

 despatch must commence in boyhood, or not at all. 



The work of a coachman usually consists in taking care 

 of the horses, harness, and carriage, and in driving. Some- 

 times he has also a saddle or gig horse to look after. Where 

 three or more horses are necessary to do the work, he must 

 have a boy or man under him. 



The Groom. — A good groom should have been among 

 horses from his boyhood. He should have learned his busi- 

 ness under a senior. He should have all the regularity, so- 

 briety, activity, and cleanliness of the thorough-bred coach- 

 man. In general, he is not such a solid character. He is 

 somewhat flippant, talkative, fond of company, and much dis- 

 posed to make medicinal experiments upon the horses. 



Grooms are of two or three kinds. The word groom, 

 though often applied to any man who looks after a horse, is 

 most usually confined to a man who has been trained to groom 

 and manage horses in the best style. Hence it does not be- 

 long to those who work in livery or coaching-stables. In a 

 gentleman's stud the groom looks after the saddle-horses em- 

 ployed on the road or in the field. Where one is kept for 

 the road and another for the field horses, the former is usually 

 only the groom, the latter the hunting-groom. Those who 

 superintend the management of racehorses, are termed train 

 ers or training grooms. 



The work of a groom is very variable. In some places 

 he has the charge of only two horses, one for himself and 

 one for his master, whom he accompanies on his rides. In 

 others he has two horses and a gig ; in some he has three 

 horses, or two and a breeding mare with her foal. Two are 

 considered full work, but three can be managed very well, 

 two being out every day. 



Untrained Grooms are those who diet, dress, and exer- 

 cise the horses employed at ordinary work. They can not 

 put horses into hunting condition, nor do they know how to 

 maintain them in that condition. The thorough-bred groom 

 is, or ought to be, able to do both. But it is not everybody 

 who requires, or who can afford to keep, a thorough-bred 

 groom. His wages are high, and he can always find employ- 

 ment from those who need his services. People who keep 

 only two or three inferior horses, or perhaps only one, fox 





