The Regency Groom, Ostler, Postilion and Stable Master

Here's another short excerpt from The Horse: An Historical Author's and Reader's Guide for your delectation. If you want the full section, I'm afraid you'll have to buy the book!!

Grooms, ostlers (or hostlers) and postilions were always male. In the stables of a gentleman, the head groom was in charge, served by several under-grooms and a stable-boy or two. Often, the head groom was responsible for teaching the daughters of the house to ride, and thereby frequently held a position of respect and licence. He was usually provided with a cottage on the estate, invariably sited near the stable yard and his charges. He was responsible for the smooth running of the stables, from hiring and firing staff to ordering feed and sending horses to the farrier.

• The groom wore shirt, waistcoat, riding breeches, stockings or gaiters and stout shoes, over which he wore a felt hat and a mid-length coat. As the eighteenth century passed into the nineteenth, the coat became shorter until jackets became the norm. When mucking out and grooming, he was expected to remove the coat and roll up his shirt sleeves.
• Ostler (hostler predates the more recognizable term) was the name given to the groom in coaching inns and livery stables. The latter could also be a stableman (early eighteenth century).
• Postilions (or post-boys) were the men hired to conduct a post-chaise to the desired destination. They rode the near-side horses to control the vehicle, which did not have a coachman.
• Stable Master is a term generally, although not exclusively, applied to the man in charge of a Royal Stables. It does not appear in either the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary or Historical Thesaurus.
• Tiger – a diminutive groom who hailed only from London and could range in age from fifteen to twenty-five. Most were ‘…perfect masters of their horses, were they ever so big.’

In shape and make he was a man in miniature, his proportions perfect, his figure erect and somewhat defiant: his coat fitted as if it had been moulded on him; his white buckskin breeches were spotless; his top boots perfection; his hat, with its’ narrow binding of gold or silver lace, and brims looped up with gold or silver cord, brilliant with brushing, was worn jauntily. As he stood at his horse’s head, ready to receive his noble master, you might expect him to say, “My master is a duke, and I am responsible for his safety.”—Hooper, quote from Sir W. Gilbey

Lord Grosvenor's Arabian Stallion with a Groom
George Stubbs, c 1765

(C) Heather King

Equine Conformation Descriptions

The following are a few useful conformation phrases with their meanings taken from The Horse: An Historical Author's and Reader's Guide. Not all are necessarily correct for the Regency era.

• The bay gelding was standing four-square with his hocks well underneath him. This means the horse was standing squarely with all four feet lined up with each other and the joints midway down his back legs (the hocks) correctly supporting his hindquarters.
• Back at the knee – indicates a concave line of the joint when horse viewed from the side. Also called calf-knee. Along with Over at the knee, is a weakness and therefore to be avoided.
• Bone – a horse is said to have ‘good bone’ when it has a circumference around the cannon bone, directly below the knee, of eight inches or more depending on type.
• Bowed tendons – this means that the horse has sustained injury to the ‘pulley system’ of (usually) the front leg/legs, leaving him with a convex swelling which may be either soft or hard, depending on the severity and age of the injury. As with humans, the tendons are responsible for the movement of the legs.
• Boxy feet – small, upright feet.
• Bull-neck – short, thick neck.
• Carty – a cold-blooded, common draught-type horse, 1863.
• Clean-legged – a horse with no blemishes, or a well-bred one with no ‘feather’ in its’ heel.
• Close-coupled – a short, deep bodied and compact horse with well-sprung ribs.
• Cock-tailed – the tail is docked, 18^th century.
• Cock-throttled – similar shape to that of a cock; poorly set on with convex gullet. High head carriage.
• Coffin head – coarse and ugly head where the jowl is not sufficiently pronounced.
• Cow-hocks – the horse’s hock joints point towards each other in the manner of a cow’s.
• Cresty – a thick, rounded neck usual in stallions. 20^th century colloq.
• Croup-high – the hind quarters are higher than the withers. Young horses will sometimes be this after a growth spurt.
• Deep through the girth – this means the horse has good depth of body allowing plenty of room for heart and lungs.
• Dipped back – although a weakness, a concave-backed horse often gives a comfortable ride. Age produces a similar if lesser shape in many equines.
• Dished face – a concave profile which indicates Arab blood. The English Thoroughbred evolved from three such horses: The Byerley Turk, The Darley Arabian and The Godolphin Barb (Arabian). 
• Ewe-neck – looks set on the wrong way up, with hollow crest and thick underside.
• Fiddle-headed – a large, coarse, plain head.
• Flat-catcher – a showy mover with (usually) flashy looks and fine coat which belie conformation faults. Often sold by unscrupulous dealers to the inexperienced ‘flats’.
• Flat-footed – the horse goes on heels more than on toes due to low hoof wall.
• Flat-sided/slab-sided – the ribs lack roundness, making the horse narrow and often uncomfortable to ride.
• Good front/rein – a term for the good sloping shoulders, length of neck and saddle position on a horse which provide an excellent ride.
• Goose rump – the hindquarters slope steeply from highest point to top of tail. Good jumpers often have goose rumps. From behind, a horse’s rump should be rounded at hip, the muscle swelling gradually on each side. The hips should be level and not stick out unduly. 
• Herring gutted – underside of horse’s body traces high into hindquarters like that of a greyhound.
• Knees and hocks to the ground – describing [desirable] short cannon bones and shanks. Also ‘well to the ground’.
• Knock-kneed – the horse’s knees turn towards each other.
• ‘Leery’ – a horse without much heart or appetite for work; hesitant rather than nappy or vicious.
• ‘Legs out of one hole’ – narrow-chested horse where front legs are very close together.
• ‘Let down’ – normal, well-conditioned body.
• Loaded shoulder – one covered with thick, heavy muscle.
• ‘Long in the tooth’ – literal description of an old horse.
• Lop ears – floppy ears which are wide apart and droop downwards. Often indicates a placid, genuine horse.
• Mealy nose – oatmeal coloured muzzle, characteristic of the Exmoor.
• Narrow behind – the croup and thighs lack muscle and so appear narrow when viewed from behind.
• Narrow in front – front legs set close together.
• Near side – the left-hand side of the horse.
• Off side – the right-hand side of the horse.
• Over at the knee – the knee appears permanently bent. If exaggerated, the horse may be prone to stumbling. Along with Back at the knee is a weakness and therefore to be avoided.
• Overshot – the front teeth in the upper jaw protrude over those in the lower. Also Parrot mouth.
• Parrot mouth – when the upper jaw is malformed, causing the incisors to overhang the lower jaw. This prevents proper mastication and often causes digestive disorders.
• ‘Peacocky’ – a very high neck carriage where the head is strongly bent at the poll, coupled with a flashy appearance attractive to the uninitiated. ‘Proud’ 1860s.
• Pigeon-toed – as with people, the horse’s front feet point inwards instead of straight forward.
• Pig-eye – a small eye, often appearing mean, disinterested or lacking intelligence.
• Proppy – the movement is stilted and ‘choppy’, caused by lack of flexion in knees or pasterns. Often the horse also has straight shoulders. (Mid 20^th century)
• Ram-headed – the profile is convex, the term sometimes employed by aficionados of the Arab with respect to the Barb.
• Rangy – a big horse with lots of scope. (Late 19^th century)
• Rat tail – a tail with little or no hair at the dock.
• Razor-backed – refers to a sharp and prominent spine.
• Roach back – arched back caused by a malformation of the spine. Difficult to fit a saddle to.
• Roman nose – a convex profile, sometimes found in horses with ‘heavy horse’ blood, such as the breeds associated with ploughing and pulling beer drays, Shire, Suffolk Punch, Irish Draught and Percheron. Roman-nosed horses often have kind and genuine temperaments.
• ‘Running up light’ – poorly conditioned, showing under-muscled quarters and hollow flanks.
• Short-coupled – short, deep body with well-sprung ribs.
• Short of bone – lacking circumference of bone below the knee.
• Sloping shoulder – The length of the shoulder should match the length of the head for the horse to be in proportion, and should be gently sloping to provide a good stride length and a smooth ride. An upright shoulder makes for a short, choppy step. This would be extremely uncomfortable for the rider if travelling more than a short distance. It would also be undesirable in a hunter as such a fault would make it difficult for the horse to recover after a jump should there be a problem.
• Star gazer – the horse’s head is held too high, making it dangerous to ride over fences.
• Straight pasterns – this means the horse has upright legs between the ‘ankle’ joint (the fetlock) and the hoof. This area (the pastern) should be gently sloping on the same angle as the hoof. Straight, upright pasterns lead to a choppy, uncomfortable ride.
• Swan neck – obvious shape of neck which also tends to be ewe-necked at lower end.
• Sway-backed – back with sharp dip behind the withers.
• Tail carriage – should be high and expressive, which shows quality and breeding, most characteristically so in the Arabian.
• Tied-in below the knee – cannon bone measurement is less below the knee than further down the leg. Bad fault.
• Top line – the line of the back from neck to croup.
• Undershot – the lower jaw protrudes out past the upper.
• Upright shoulder – provide faulty action and uncomfortable ride, often jarring when accompanied by upright pasterns. Not so detrimental in harness horses.
• ‘Up to weight’ – a horse capable of carrying a heavy rider; has a lot of bone.
• Well ribbed-up – deep, short body with well-sprung ribs which is also well rounded.
• Wide behind – the hind legs are farther apart than the norm from quarters to hoofs. Can also describe splayed movement of the hind limbs.
• Windgall – soft, round swelling filled with fluid, sited above or behind the fetlock joint on either side. Rarely cause lameness, yet being a sign of wear and tear, their presence should be viewed with caution by prospective purchasers.

*Lady Henrietta Childs was riding a spirited chestnut mare, rising sixteen hands and one inch, with neat ears and a dainty head. She carried herself with a lively presence and possessed a good depth of girth, well-sprung ribs and a fine sloping shoulder.

© Heather King

Additional phrases, and much more besides, can be found in The

Horse: An Historical Author's and Reader's Guide.

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