78 STABLE ECONOMY. 



walk a heated horse till cool, and he must ride the beast as if 

 he were riding for a wager. Send him to exercise the horse, 

 and he will gallop till he break its knees. Send by him a 

 message, and he will forget one half of it, and take at least 

 an hour more than he should to deliver the other half. The 

 master has more to do for the servant than the servant for the 

 master. The boy may not, perhaps, be so much to blame as 

 his parents. They have taught him nothing. He has sprung 

 up like the wild weeds of the earth. If he has learned any- 

 thing, good or bad, it is the result of chance, not of foresight 

 on the part of his parents, whom he has scarcely learned even 

 to obey. Instead of coming into the world with orderly and 

 decent behavior, and a knowledge of what is due to those he 

 serves, he has to learn those things from the master. It is 

 natural and right that he should be a stern teacher. He has 

 to deal with those who are little improved by gentleness. He 

 may be severe, and he must, if he would make a good servant, 

 and a useful member of society. Order in time and in place 

 ought to be learned at home ; but since it is not, that should 

 be taught in the first place, as forming a groundwork upon 

 which anything may be laid. " A place for everything, and 

 everything in its place," is a golden rule. After that, kind- 

 ness to the horse should be insisted on. Boys are cruel from 

 want of reflection. Until hardened by habit, remonstrance, if 

 properly managed, awakens their generous feelings, or ex- 

 cites that kind of consideration which saves the defenceless 

 from abuse. 



Livery and coaching stables about town are often infested 

 by idle boys who want to ride. They hang about the stables 

 from morning to night, and contrive to be of some little ser- 

 vice to the men, and their reward is a horse to water or to 

 exercise. These boys are always doing some mischief, either 

 in play or in abuse. It is not for their own good to hang 

 about stables in such a disorderly way, and their attendance 

 is certainly injurious to the horses. The work should all be 

 done by the men who are paid for it. Last year one propri- 

 etor lost two horses entirely, and had a third injured by boys, 

 whom the proper stablemen had employed. Such accidents 

 are very connnon. 



Strappers. — The men who look after horses at livery, 

 and those employed in public conveyances, are termed strap- 

 pers. They have nothing to do with the working of the 

 horses. Their business is to dress, harness, water, and bed 

 them. They also have to keep the harness in order. In 



