Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Horse and Stable Management

 Stabling and Feeding

Traditionally, and in particular at the country houses of the Georgian era, stables were in long brick or stone buildings, often within a courtyard. A narrow passage gave access from the stable yard to the horse accommodations and harness rooms, if the latter were not sited in a separate building. In the space above the stables, fodder was stored in a hayloft, or living quarters were provided for the grooms and other stable staff. Within the courtyard there was a coach-house as well as feed rooms and other storerooms. It was even known, in some larger establishments, for there to be a washing-down house.

The horses were generally housed in what we would now call stalls, tied with a stone or wooden weight on the end of the rope (‘log and rope’). A leather or rope halter was used to secure each animal, leather being preferable since it would break in an emergency. Loose boxes were far less common than they are today due to the space they occupied; those there were tended to be kept for stallions or a foaling mare. Young and breeding stock were usually kept at pasture, but most working horses spent their leisure hours stabled so that they were on hand when required. They were bedded on thick straw, since that was freely available, the choice of rye, wheat, barley or oat straw usually dictated by the crops grown on the estate. 

Feed usually consisted of hay and oats. A horse is designed to eat small quantities of food often. In the wild they will feed in a pattern of grazing and resting throughout a twenty-four hour period. They have also evolved to subsist on large amounts of forage. Stabled care must reflect this, the individual’s diet adjusted in order to provide sufficient forage to maintain the digestive system and the correct quantity of grain in relation to the level of work expected. A racehorse or hunter required several pounds of oats a day in order to gallop, whereas a coach horse, needing stamina, may well have had peas, beans or maize, feeds which are heating but less ‘enlivening’ in effect than oats. High spirits within the shafts can have dire consequences. Horses doing slow work such as ploughing were often fed barley, as it has a slower release of energy into the system and is good for maintaining condition (weight). Roots such as carrots, swedes and beets would have been given in season to add interest and wherever possible ‘green meat’ (fresh grass) was cut if time at pasture was not feasible. Hay was provided in either a metal hay rack or a wooden manger.

Basic horse management has changed little over the centuries. Writing in the early seventeenth century, Gervase Markham recommended that following a half-day’s hunting, the horse should be rubbed until dry, then unsaddled and his back rubbed. Having been rugged up with a rug secured by ‘a surcingle well padded with straw’, he should be given ‘a feed of oats and hemp-seed, the gentlest and easiest scouring for a horse’. Approaching two hundred years before the Regency, therefore, the importance of resting, after strenuous work and before a day off, the digestive system of a fit horse eating large quantities of grain, was recognized if perhaps not fully understood. Nowadays we would consider this a ‘sudden change of diet’ and something to be avoided, but for many years a bran mash has successfully been the traditional feed for horses following a hard day’s hunting, because it is easy to digest.

Herbs were used to remove internal parasites – what we would now term ‘worming’ – and for medicinal purposes, the same as for humans. Rugs, blankets and sheepskin pads were employed by Regency grooms just as they are by the horse owners of today.

The groom

The groom (or ostler in a coaching inn) was always male. In the stables of a gentleman, there would be a head groom, several under-grooms and also a stable boy or two. Often the head groom would be 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. These were walked to the blacksmith by an under-groom, sometimes as far as the next village.

Daily routine

The groom’s day was long. It would begin early, in order that the horses could be fed, mucked out and groomed before the household required their mounts or carriage horses. The stables and yard would thus be immaculate by the time the master ventured forth and the horses would have had opportunity to digest their food prior to work. After work the groom would rub the horse down to remove sweat and any mud or dirt and walk him around to cool off (no fancy sweat rugs to remove moisture then!) The horse was then groomed thoroughly. Unless allowed out to pasture, all the horses had to be fed and watered three or four times a day as well as having their hay replenished at regular intervals. Where there was a hayloft above, the forage was forked via trapdoors into the wooden or iron mangers below. Water buckets and troughs within the stable were scrubbed meticulously every day, as horses require fresh, clean water at all times. The stone trough in the yard received less frequent attention. Water becomes tainted by standing in the stable for too long; horses are finicky and may well refuse to drink, and while they can live without food for a month, they can only survive for forty-eight hours without water. In addition, rugs and harness needed mending and/or cleaning, the muck heap had to be ‘squared off’ to limit flies and smell, and all paths swept. It is little wonder that grooms were often small, wiry men, since their workload ensured there was always plenty to be done with little room for idleness! At the end of the day the head groom took a late check around, just before retiring, to ensure all was well.

Grooming

Stabled horses – as in hunting yards today – were groomed probably three times every day. The first was to make the horse presentable for exercise; the second took place after work and was a thorough grooming (strapping) to keep the horse healthy and gleaming, while the final ‘set fair’ was designed to ensure he was comfortable for the night. The groom had to roll up his sleeves and work vigorously with brush, currycomb and stable rubber to ensure the horse had a glossy coat which was free of dust or grease. It was (and still is) considered a mark of shame for a horse to leave his stable with straw in his tail or a stable stain on his flank. A wisp – a plaited hank of straw or hay – was used to promote muscle tone and bring the natural oils to the surface to improve the coat’s shine. The horse’s hooves were picked out several times during the day, both before and after work and last thing at night. This was essential to keep the feet healthy by the removal of muck, mud and stones. Should one of the latter become lodged in a horse’s foot, it can cause bruising and even lameness. No nineteenth century groom worth his salt would have allowed one of his charges to become lame in such a manner through his negligence.

Mucking Out

The horse was ‘short racked’ (tied up short) with a small hay net to occupy him, then all manure and soiled straw removed with a pitchfork to a muck sack. The groom worked efficiently and methodically, tossing the clean straw to one side of the box so that the floor could be swept. When the floor was dry, a day bed was put down to encourage the horse to stale (urinate) and lie down. Droppings were skipped out at regular intervals throughout the day and then at evening stables, the bed was again mucked out, a deep bed with thick walls being laid for protection and warmth. Fresh straw was added at this time where required. A good bank of bedding around the walls of the box or stall offered protection from injury and draughts and also helped to prevent the horse becoming ‘cast’ (unable to rise) by lying too close to the wall or beneath the manger.

Exercise

Horses have evolved to wander the vast grassy plains of the world in large numbers, grazing sporadically. Man has appropriated them for his own use, enclosing them in small fields and paddocks and shutting them in stables. If stabled horses do not receive time at pasture, they must be exercised or worked instead, else bad behaviour and vices (pawing, stamping, kicking the door, weaving, crib-biting) will result. It was thus the job of the Regency groom to quietly exercise about the estate those horses not required by members of the household or their guests. This frequently involved the groom riding one horse whilst leading one, or even two, others. In a portrait of 1793, George Stubbs painted the Prince of Wales’ groom, William Anderson, employed in this manner with two saddle horses.




Writing Exercise

One of the most famous quotes in history is, ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.’ Use this as a first line and see where it takes you... 

Have fun, Heather.

Regency Regrets for 'Ridiculous'

Sorry folks, but A Sense of the Ridiculous has been delayed through forces beyond my control. The new release date from Musa is now November. In the meantime, enjoy the following snippet. Heather

 

As Richard closed the yard door, a tiny sound somewhere above his head made him stop and listen. There was a rustle and a miniscule snap, as manifest as a gunshot to his ears—which were straining for the least sound—though he doubted he would have noticed it ordinarily. Holding his breath, he waited again. The night was cloudy and there was no moonlight, but he could make out the shape of the garden door as it very slowly began to open. She certainly did not lack courage, this girl. He stood with legs apart and arms folded across his chest, right in front of the door. He surmised that, expecting him to have gone to bed, she had climbed down the creeper, which grew up the wall around her window.

Slipping through the garden door, she closed it behind her with a tiny click and turned straight into his chest. Her screech of alarm died in her throat, curtailed in an instant by his calloused hand over her mouth. As she pressed back against the rough wood of the door, her fear gave him a somewhat wicked relish. He stepped closer in as menacing a manner as he could summon. Her chest heaved, her heart thumping loud enough for him to hear, and she tried to edge along the wall towards the house. Grinning into the darkness, he barred her way with a brawny arm and leaned against the stone. Putting his hand in a similar position on her other side, he pinned her against the wall. He waited while several seconds elapsed before he spoke, a deliberate strategy to punish her a little. When he did speak, it was in a conversational tone.

“Do you ever do as you are bid, Duchess? What is to be gained by this? Setting aside the gross impropriety of your conduct, did you not think Ned and I would notice you asleep in the stable? Or were you planning to hide every time one of us came in?” He sighed, rubbing his face. “I sincerely pity the poor man you marry. I doubt he’ll have a moment’s peace. Now take yourself off to bed and stay there, or I shall remove from your room every stitch of clothing, saving your nightdress.” Her sharp intake of breath informed him that his words had at last gone home. He pressed his advantage. “And don’t you think I won’t, either. I shall have no compunction, I assure you.”

Standing back, he made way for her to return to the house. White-faced in the grey light, she glared at him.

“You are no gentleman,” she said in a lofty tone, marching past him with head held high. As the yard door closed behind her, he shook his head, and chuckling deeply, he crossed the cobbles to the stables.

Tips For Writers

I am indebted to my friend and mentor Sue Johnson for the following guest post. She is an amazing teacher and a remarkably talented lady. For all you budding writers out there, who perhaps are afraid of being told off or shouted at, she is encouraging, positive and will boost your confidence without you even noticing! You can contact her via her website, which is at the bottom of the post.

TIPS FOR WRITERS

Poet, novelist and creative writing tutor Sue Johnson shares her tips for successful writing.

1.         Carry a notebook wherever you go. Use it to jot down brief descriptions of people and places and fragments of overheard conversation. You will find these useful for creating poems, stories and scenes from novels. You may think you’ll remember every detail until you get home – trust me, you won’t!

2.         Write every day even if you only manage ten minutes. It will help to keep the thread going with the story you are working on. Time spent visualising (otherwise known as staring out the window) is never wasted either. The more clearly you can ‘see’ a story before putting pen to paper, the better it will be for your reader.

3.         If you’re working on something historical, find out as much as you can about what life was like during the period you’re writing about. Read as much as you can, visit stately homes, find out about fashions, food and customs. Check any facts with at least three different sources.

4.         Get to know your characters as well as you can. (You need to know them better than some members of your own family!) Create biographies for each of them and find magazine pictures or photographs that look like them. As you go through your day, visualise them in a variety of situations – e.g. getting out of bed, getting dressed, eating something.

5.         Make sure there is enough action in your story. What does your main character most want? What is stopping them from getting it? Don’t allow problems to be solved too easily.

6.         Where is your story set? Don’t forget to allow the seasons to change. Use weather as a means of causing additional problems for your characters – e.g. a flooded river or a snowstorm.

7.         What do your characters sound like? If they speak with a particular dialect, give a flavour of this. It can be tedious to read if written too exactly!

8.         Use the senses as much as you can! Colours, sounds, smells and textures all help to bring a story to life – and to give your reader a full picture.

9.         Set a date for completion of your first draft. Keep going no matter how bad you feel the writing is. As Australian novelist Kate Grenville says: “It can all be fixed later.” You cannot edit a blank page!

10.       Reward yourself for the effort you put in.

Sue Johnson

www.writers-toolkit.co.uk

I hope you all find this useful, I know I do. Anybody got any questions/comments?

Keep Writing and Good Luck!

Heather

A Sense of the Ridiculous ~ Heather King

The positions we authors get into, trying to please our editors...!


For all of you waiting for A Sense of the Ridiculous...

Sorry, but there has been a hold-up on the editing front. In the meantime, here's another snippet to keep you going!

Richard Cowley was whistling a jaunty tune as he walked into the kitchen of his mother’s Holly Tree Inn. It was a bright, sunny morning, and he had been up since dawn mucking out and feeding the sixteen horses at present in the stables. The tantalizing aroma of frying bacon made his mouth water. His mother, Meg, flipped over the thick slices as he sat down at the scrubbed oak table, and the sound of sizzling fat filled the wide, low-beamed room.

“Have you washed your hands?” she asked without turning around.

“Yes. I am no longer five, Mother.”

She did turn then, brandishing the fish slice she had been using. “I am all too aware of that, having been present at your birth,” she said in an acerbic tone. “You are seven-and-twenty and still unwed.”

He groaned. “Not that again.”

“I thought you liked Miss Bowen?”

Richard rubbed his face with his hand, remembering the pale blonde daughter of one of his mother’s cronies. She had been so shy that she had conversed with him in monosyllables.

“I liked her well enough,” he said noncommittally.

“But?” prompted his mother, a resigned look on her face.

“She agreed with everything I said.”

“And that is a bad thing?”

“I should like my wife to know her own mind, to be able hold her own opinions.”

(C) Heather King

                                                                 

A Georgian Masterpiece - The Development of the Thoroughbred

Eclipse, by George Stubbs

There can be few of the world’s horse breeds that do not owe their existence to the desert-bred Oriental horses known today as the Arabian. Without the importation of Barb, Turk and Arab blood, the world’s ‘Super-horse’, the English thoroughbred, would not exist.

Racing had flourished in England in one form or another for centuries prior to the dawning of this ultimate equine athlete. The horses used were the native ‘running horses’, produced in the main from galloways and the Irish hobby, with the addition of Flemish, Spanish and Belgian blood. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, the so-called Oriental horses were imported in large numbers – although this influence may have already begun much earlier when efforts were made to improve native stock.

Many of the English sovereigns were instrumental in improving the indigenous breeds. King John was a firm believer in the efficiency of Eastern blood and devoted a great deal of attention to his stud at Eltham. In the reign of Henry I, two horses were imported into England from Barbary, one being presented to the king and the other to the church of St. Andrews by Alexander I of Scotland. This is the first recorded instance of the importing of Oriental horses into Britain. Some authorities claimed that from these two stallions stemmed the English Thoroughbred. Youatt considered this to be ‘devoid of foundation’, but if they were Barbs or Arabians, they were of the appropriate breed from which racehorses could be produced.

Match racing began in the reign of Elizabeth I, but it took until the time of Henry VIII for breeding to improve. Blood of the high class English horses, which had fallen into foreign hands during the Wars of the Roses, was re-introduced and not only did Henry restore the Eltham stud to glory, he founded similar establishments at Windsor and Hampton Court. The master of the stud was titled the Keeper of the Barbary Horses, so clearly Henry also had a preference for such stock. The Barbs were crossed with horses he received from the Marquis of Mantua, a beneficiary of the Lancaster–York conflicts. He is reputed, for one fine English horse, to have declined an offer of its weight in silver.

Queen Elizabeth I had studs at Greenwich, Hampton Court, Windsor, St. Albans and Waltham, but only when James I came to the throne, did racing become recognized in England for the great sport it still is, centuries later. Its popularity was established earlier in Scotland and Queen Elizabeth it was who presented James with some racehorses long before he succeeded to the English throne.

Among his racehorses, James I included Arabians brought to England by Sir Thomas Esmond. One of these was the Markham Arabian, which he purchased for a price variously believed to be £200 or £500, but it seems that he was sold a dud, for the horse ran poorly and no records remain of his being the progenitor of any good stock.

During the reign of Charles I, the Duke of Buckingham acquired the Helmsley Turk, a much better proposition, for he sired a number of valuable offspring. According to some authorities, Charles II commanded Sir John Fenwick, his Master of Horse, to bring back the Royal Mares and some stallions from the Levant (Syria), thus increasing the influx of Oriental bloodlines. This is the explanation given in the General Stud Book for the Royal Mares mentioned in a considerable number of early Thoroughbred pedigrees. However, it seems far more likely that it was James D’Arcy, Master of the Royal Stud, who procured the mares from various sources. D’Arcy was contracted to supply King Charles with ‘twelve extraordinary good colts’ each year for the royal stud at Sedbury in Yorkshire. The Royal Mares, plus a few stallions, were dispersed through the country when the king died.

During the reign of William and Mary, many valuable Eastern horses were imported by the Crown. This was the time when the Byerley Turk arrived (see below).

Queen Anne was undeniably a racing monarch. She owned racehorses and ran them in her name; she also gave plates which were contested for in different parts of the kingdom. It was very soon after she came to the throne that the Darley Arabian (see below) came to these shores. Queen Anne instituted races at Ascot, in her park. The Darley Arabian’s fame at stud surpassed even that of the Leedes Arabian, sire of Betty Leedes, dam of Flying Childers, the fastest horse of his day over distance. No fewer than twenty-three stallions of Eastern blood came to England during Anne’s reign and it is from her period that breeding of the Thoroughbred appears to have been conducted upon more scientific principles than before.

Two hundred Oriental horses are listed in Volume II of the General Stud Book from 1721 - 59, one hundred and seventy-six being stallions. These included the three most influential in the subsequent development of the Thoroughbred – the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian. All modern Thoroughbreds are descended from these three through the male line. There were other important Oriental stallions, but the influence of these, while still seen, is not in the male top line. For example, every grey Thoroughbred can trace its origins back to Alcock’s Arabian, and the Leedes Arabian can be found in more pedigrees than any other horse. The Lister Turk was taken at the siege of Buda (as was the Byerley Turk) and brought to England by the Duke of Berwick. He appears in the pedigree of Eclipse as the sire of Coneyskins, being also responsible for the celebrated horses Snake and Brisk. Hutton’s Bay Barb, sire of Blacklegs, is another Eastern sire in Eclipse’s bloodline.

The most important female influence on the development of the Thoroughbred is the Arabian foundation mare, Old Bald Peg, sired by the Unknown Arabian. Thousands of repeat crosses of this mare appear in the pedigrees of many famous racehorses, according to Lady Wentworth’s The Authentic Arabian.

There were no further infusions of Arab blood after 1770 and in 1773, James Weatherby was made keeper of the match book for the Jockey Club. In 1791, Weatherby’s (still the official agents of the Jockey Club) published An Introduction to a General Stud Book and in 1808, issued the first volume of the General Stud Book. A pattern of recording Thoroughbred breeding had been established. The modern GSB, still published by Weatherby’s, includes all pure-bred mares and their progeny as well as the pedigrees of both mares and sires.

It was not until 1821 that the word thoroughbred was first used in connection with the racehorse. The term appeared in the second volume of the General Stud Book, although as a distinct breed the English Thoroughbred did not establish itself until long afterwards, when crosses to the Arabian had ceased. Indeed, the increase in numbers and incredible worldwide spread of the Thoroughbred has really only come about in the last hundred years.

Thoroughbreds of the early nineteenth century were smaller than those of a century later. Doubt was expressed in the 1920s as to whether the then modern racehorse was as sound as his predecessor and in the opinion of some experienced trainers, when it came to stamina and constitution, the old horses were superior. It certainly would appear that horses running even in the late nineteenth century were expected to achieve more in public than they were a generation later.

When heat-running was in vogue, while the number of races a horse actually ran were not so many, the miles he was called upon to gallop were often a good deal more. For example: Eclipse, who won thirteen King’s plates, in eleven of which he carried twelve stone and in two, ten stone.

The Byerley Turk

A dark brown horse according to the painting by John Wootton and perhaps of bigger build than the Oriental horses being introduced to England in the seventeenth century, the Byerley Turk nevertheless had certain characteristics associated with the Arabian. He was the first of the three founding sires of the Thoroughbred to arrive.

According to legend, it was at the Battle of Buda in Hungary that Captain Robert Byerley acquired the believed eight-year-old from a captured Turkish officer. A serving officer in William of Orange's 6th Dragoon Guards, Captain Byerley was born in 1660, son of Colonel Anthony Byerley of Middridge Grange, Co. Durham, and had risen to the rank of colonel by the time he was twenty-eight. During King William’s War in Ireland in 1689, Robert Byerley used the stallion as his charger and also the following year at the Battle of the Boyne. There was time for leisure though. In the spring of 1690, at Down Royal in Northern Ireland, a race meeting was held and Captain Byerley’s steed won the top prize of a silver bell.

Captain Byerley was married in 1696 to the great-niece of prominent horse-breeder Lord Wharton, of Goldsborough Hall near Knaresborough, a property Mary later inherited. They moved to the estate and when he died in May 1714, Robert was buried there.

On Robert Byerley’s retirement, the Byerley Turk stood at stud, firstly at the family seat at Middridge Grange and after 1697, at Goldsborough Hall. He remained at stud into his twenties, his son Basto, the best-known racehorse and a good stallion in his own right, being foaled in1702. Bred by Sir William Ramsden, Basto was sold to the Duke of Devonshire. He stood at Chatsworth, the Duke’s seat, where he died in 1723. As with many of the Byerley Turk’s progeny, Basto was dark bay, almost black, and with no white markings, bore a marked resemblance to his sire.

The most influence in breeding terms was exerted by Jigg, another of the Byerley Turk's sons. Although considered of little importance until his son Partner began to achieve great success on the racecourse, it was Partner’s son Tartar who immortalized the line, as the sire of the renowned stallion and racehorse, Herod (1738). Jigg was also the sire of Robinson Crusoe, who sired Bucephalus, the winner of many plates and proclaimed the first horse of his time, as well as the dam of influential stallion Coneyskins.

The foundation mares of several Thoroughbred families owe their sire line to the Byerley Turk and his sons, in addition to a number of good racing mares which were greatly prized. However, that sire line continues down to comparatively few Thoroughbreds of today.

The Byerley Turk died in 1706 at Goldsborough hall. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Captain Byerley buried his old charger on the estate, as is widely believed.

The Darley Arabian

The second of the three dominant sires which founded the Thoroughbred breed. He was, from the painting by John Wootton, a fine bay stallion with a narrow blaze, two white hind socks and a white fetlock on the near fore.

Born in the Syrian desert outside Aleppo, the property of Sheikh Mirza II, the elegant bay yearling colt was bought by merchant and Her Majesty’s Consul to the Levant (Syria), Thomas Darley. That Darley bought the horse and he arrived in England in 1704 is historical fact; how he arrived and how much was paid for him is clouded in mystery.

According to one version of events, the price was three hundred gold sovereigns; in another it was a flintlock rifle. The story goes that, having paid for the colt, Darley was met by the sheikh’s reluctance to part with the best of his youngstock. Treating this with a typical Yorkshire ‘no-nonsense’ attitude, it is said that British sailors were commandeered by Darley to acquire the colt and smuggle him out by way of Smyrna.

The Darley Arabian’s original name was ‘Ras el Fedavi’ which translates as ‘The Headstrong One’ and he was, according to Darley, “immediately striking owing to his handsome appearance and exceedingly elegant carriage.” He was put to stud at Aldby Park in Yorkshire, seat of the Darley family, covering mares from probably 1705 until 1719. He remained there, it seems, until his death in 1730, at the ripe old age of thirty.

As the foundation stallion with the greatest influence on modern Thoroughbred bloodlines, he was responsible for the renowned Eclipse, who was never beaten on the racecourse, through his unraced son Bartlett’s or Bleeding Childers. The latter stood at his owner’s stud at Nutwith Coate near Masham in Yorkshire.

A previous mating of the Darley Arabian to Betty Leedes, orchestrated by Leonard Childers of Cantley Hall, Doncaster had produced the also unbeaten Flying Childers. Bought by the Duke of Devonshire, Flying Childers was supposed in the General Stud Book to have been ‘the fleetest horse that was ever trained in this or any other country’. He was also prolific and successful at stud. One son, Blaze, bred the influential trotting sire Old Shales, which went on to found the Hackney. Blaze’s great-grandson Messenger became a foundation sire for the American Standardbred and his successful racing daughter Miller’s Damsel later produced the supreme racehorse American Eclipse.

Another son of the Darley Arabian, Manica, is revered as a foundation sire of the modern Cleveland Bay, although it must be remembered that Clevelands have existed in the Cleveland Hills of Yorkshire since medieval times.

Flying Childers, after Sartorius

 

The Godolphin Arabian

Sometimes called the Godolphin Barb because he was believed to have come from Tunisia, on the Barbary Coast, portraits of him yet show the characteristic dished face and high tail carriage associated with the Arab. According to the Viscount de Manty, he had beautifully proportioned conformation, well let-down hocks and “unequalled lightness of forehand.” A ‘brown bay’ with a ‘reddish mottle’, he stood in the region of fifteen hands with white on his off-hind heel. He was powerful and short backed, and inclined to be headstrong.

Many are the legends surrounding this celebrated stallion, although the facts of his origins are few. He was brought to England by Edward Coke in 1728, that gentleman having connections with France and in particular with the Duke of Lorraine. It is therefore quite conceivable that Coke came by the stallion through the French court.

A highly coloured and detailed account of the stallion’s ‘adventures’ was written by M. Eugene Sue in his History of the Godolphin Arabian, and condensed in The Sporting Magazine of 1839. It seems doubtful, however, that Edward Coke discovered the horse being beaten whilst within the shafts of an overloaded wood or water cart at the foot of the Pont Neuf. Nevertheless it is possible he was in poor condition, since it is likely that he did indeed arrive in France as one of a contingent from the stud of the Bey of Tunis, and a ‘half-starved’ description might well have been applied after such a voyage. If he also had a questionable temperament, he could have been kept lean to aid his control.

The accounts of the Flying Childers mare, Roxana, rejecting the advances of her intended mate Hobgoblin, in favour of the teaser ‘Scham’, otherwise known as the Godolphin Arabian, are also included in M. Sue’s fables. One therefore cannot help wondering if these legends are true either, although mares have been known to be awkward at such times. George Stubbs painted the stallion with a cat. Was this the constant companion Grimalkin, or did it merely lead to the story? What is indisputable fact, is that Coke’s ‘ye Arabian’ stood at his owner’s Longford Hall in Derbyshire and covered the chestnut filly Roxana in 1731. The resulting bay colt, Lath, ‘a very elegant and beautiful horse’ by all accounts, was sold in due course to the Duke of Devonshire, to become the best racehorse of the day.

When Edward Coke died in 1733, his stallions were inherited by his friend Roger Williams and his mares and foals (including Lath) by the 2nd Earl of Godolphin. Lord Francis purchased the Arabian stallion and moved him to his stud in Cambridgeshire, in the Gogmagog Hills near Babraham. At this time the horse

gained the name by which he would be referred to throughout history.

After Lath’s success on the racecourse, the Godolphin Arabian became the earl’s prize stallion and to this day is represented in the pedigrees of many a great racehorse, including the mighty Eclipse, although not through the direct sire line. Lath’s dam, Roxana, also produced Cade (bay colt, 1734) who although not as prolific a racehorse, was the sire of Match’em, responsible for the male line continuing to today.

Several of the Godolphin Arabian’s sons were undefeated on the track and many went on to be influential sires, including Jalap, another considered to be a foundation sire of the modern Cleveland Bay. One of these sires was Cripple, sire of Gimcrack, who was the Red Rum of his day. Among his daughters was the dam of another great racehorse and sire, Highflyer. Many famous American racehorses, including Seabiscuit and Man o’ War, trace back to the Godolphin Arabian through their sire line.

Wandlebury House, the Earl of Godolphin’s seat, stood within Wandlebury Ring (Iron Age site) until demolished in the 1950s. Stables and other buildings still remain and the Godolphin Arabian is commemorated with an inscribed stone slab over his grave just inside the archway of the stable block. Approximately twenty-nine, he died in 1753, and universally lamented, was laid to rest with due ceremony. The story goes that Grimalkin followed him to his grave, sat disconsolately on the body as it waited to be lowered into it, before disappearing, never to be seen again.

(C) Heather King

The Horse In Regency Novels

I love reading historical novels, but many a good one is spoilt for me by inaccurate descriptions of horses and their housing, care etcetera. Here are a few helpful pointers from my Regency author’s guide to the horse.
　
Description

This can be divided into size, sex, breed, type, colour and age. A full description of a horse for sale would include all of these, whereas an author may only wish to mention colour and sex or type. An understanding of some of the correct terms will facilitate an author’s ability to portray a scene as accurately for the reader as she sees it in her mind’s eye.

* For example: The groom was leading a sixteen hands dapple-grey gelding.


Size

A horse is measured in hands, as originally the height was determined by the number of hand widths from the ground to the withers (the top of the shoulder, where the neck meets the back). A hand equals four inches (ten centimetres), roughly the width of a man’s hand. If the animal being measured stands above a level number of hands without reaching a further span of four inches, then the height is completed in inches, thus:

The bay mare stood at fifteen hands and three inches, or fifteen-three.
The squire’s black stallion is sixteen-one hands.

If the animal stands at more than fourteen hands, two inches (14.2 hands high), then he is a horse. Below and including this measurement, he is a pony.


Gender

Stallion ~ entire male horse /pony aged three years or over
Mare ~ female horse/pony aged three years or over
Colt ~ entire male horse/pony under three years
Filly ~ female horse/pony under three years
Gelding ~ castrated male horse/pony any age

Horses can be aged by changes in their teeth, but it is not an exact science, particularly as they grow older.


Breed/Type

There are dozens of horse and pony breeds throughout the world, but as far as the Regency (1811 - 1820) and its extended genre period from the late 1700s to 1830 are concerned, only those of the British Isles or imported at the time are relevant. Some of these are:

Thoroughbred ~ The modern racehorse, developed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The General Stud Book was first published in 1808.

Arab ~ Fast, fleet, nimble and hardy. Imported to improve many breeds, including the thoroughbred.

Heavy Horses ~ Such as the Shire, descended from the medieval warhorse known as the Great Horse; the Irish Draught, developed from indigenous stock through imported French and Flemish horses around 1172, when the Normans landed in the Emerald Isle; the Suffolk Punch, descended from a single stallion, Horse of Ufford, foaled 1768; and the Percheron, from Le Perche in Normandy, a versatile breed used as a warhorse as well as for farm work, for driving and heavy artillery. No doubt similar horses came to this country with the Normans under William the Conqueror.

Carriage Horses ~ For example the Yorkshire Coach Horse, the Cleveland Bay and the Hackney, the latter developed from trotting breeds such as the Norfolk Roadster and Yorkshire Roadster. Prior to 1833, when the Hackney Horse Society was formed, the Hackney was a type (see below).

Types

Hunter ~ Any horse or pony used to ride to hounds. Build can vary depending on country over which the owner hunts. A quality hunter was a top class riding horse as he is today. He must be balanced, sound and well proportioned, have easy paces and be both mannerly and comfortable to ride.

Cob ~ The Welsh Cob is a breed, section D of the modern Stud Book, which dates from 1830. Generally, a cob is a type – any small horse, stocky in build with a sensible, honest head and ‘the bottom of a cook’. He should be steady, unflappable and mannerly, the gentleman’s gentleman of the equine world. Prior to 1848, when it became illegal, cobs were traditionally docked.

Hack ~ Covert Hack, a showy thoroughbred which carried its owner to the meet, where the groom would have already taken the hunter at a gentle pace. For the lady or gentleman riding in the refined atmosphere of London’s parks, however, the Park Hack was required, a beautifully schooled and elegant mount with great presence, lightness and freedom in movement.

Carriage Horse ~ Fairly light-built and elegant horse for private carriages.

Coach Horse ~ Strong and powerfully built to pull heavy stage or mail coaches.

Warhorse ~ Swift, thoroughbred type for the Intelligence and Dispatch riders; quality matched with substance, courage and endurance for the light cavalry – the dragoons who were mounted foot soldiers; larger, heavier and therefore slower animals for the heavy cavalry who were required to carry heavy weapons and fascines, bundles of sticks used for various purposes and essential to eighteenth and nineteenth century warfare.　


Colours and Markings

Horses come in various colours, not just brown, black and white. In fact horses are never termed white. They can be any of several types of grey. They can be light or dark coated in bay or chestnut shades, as well as other variations, for example liver chestnut. If writing an English historical novel, be aware of subtle differences in description between the United Kingdom and America. For example, in Britain a black and white patched horse is a piebald. In the United States, the same horse would be a pinto. Traditionally, any other colour patches with white is termed skewbald. Roan horses have chestnut, bay or black hairs intermingled with white and are referred to as strawberry, bay or blue roan respectively.

Markings are usually composed of white areas on either the head or legs. A horse might have a blaze, a stripe, a star or a snip on his face; stockings (to the knee) or socks (a little above fetlock) on his legs, and white heels.
　
　
Two examples of how to describe a horse in a Regency novel:　


* 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.
　

** Here is an excerpt from A Sense of the Ridiculous, describing Grey Friar:

Her groom was holding her horse ready while a stable boy held another. She handed her dapple-grey gelding a carrot, and while he crunched, his bit jingling, she pulled on her gloves and looked him over with a knowledgeable and critical eye. Standing sixteen hands high, his two-tone coat was accentuated by a striking snow-white mane and tail, while the proud bearing of his arched neck and his powerful hindquarters displayed the rippling muscles of an athlete. Quality and presence oozed from every pore; a commoner he was not, and he knew it.　

Regency Romance: Excerpt from A Sense of the Ridiculous

     High on the moor, a sleepy stream meandered, gurgling and chuckling in places, deep and mysterious in others. Little could be heard besides the whistle of the breeze stirring crisp fallen leaves, the rough fronds of tussocky grass or springy heather, and the occasional call of a bird flying overhead. Jocasta loved the place; its wild, serene beauty had always held the power to calm her more tempestuous moods, and even though these days she had greater control of her temper than she had before her come-out, it was still a pleasant spot for her horse to crop the grass while she indulged in quiet reflection.

     Invigorated from her bold ride, Jocasta removed her cockaded hat and the remaining pins from her hair. Careless of her cherry-hued habit, she sat on a fallen log, wishing she could stretch out on the springy turf, kept close-cropped by moorland sheep. With difficulty, she curbed the unladylike desire.

     “What took you so long, John?” She cast her henchman an innocent smile when he eventually rode up to her.

     Her sorely tried manservant was not deceived. “Now, Miss Jo, you really shouldn’ ’ave done that. What if’n you’d taken a toss or Grey Friar had bolted? Sir Thomas would be in a rare tweak—I’m too old to start looking for another post.”

     “Sir Thomas would be more likely to tear me off a strip for cramming my horse or being ham-fisted,” she retorted. A wistful note entered her voice. “Sometimes I wish I were a man and could leap astride my horse and go wherever the fancy took me. Be free of my petticoats and all that they stand for.”



So You Want to be Published?  Writing The Book is the Easy Bit!

Heather's Hotchpotch Of Writing Hints

1.     Never assume it will be straight forward, even when you have been accepted. The publishing world has a way of throwing googlies!

2.     Don't get disheartened. No matter how good you are, there are hundreds of other voices out there, just as good and maybe better. It often comes down to the tone of voice the publisher is looking for.

3.     Be prepared to rewrite, rewrite and rewrite. And rewrite again.

4.     Equally, beware of over-editing or you can lose the freshness and soul of your writing.

5.     It really does help to write every day, even iif just for a few minutes composing an email.

6.     Have pictures, postcards or a selection of words/phrases to use as 'triggers' if you are struggling with an existing piece, or to create a new one.

7.     If it works for you, have more than one project on the go, then you can pick the one which suits your mood.

8.     Explore different lengths of work and different genres to help develop your 'style'.

9.     Beware overuse of 'qualifiers', i.e. adverbs. If it is your style to employ them, it can be a challenge to find alternatives. There are only so many ways you can say ' in such and such a fashion'!

10.   Create a list of exciting and imaginative metaphors.

11.   Collect pictures of people and places to use for descriptions of characters and settings.

12.   Don't rely on internet information for research. Always aim to confirm facts through three different sources. If you are struggling in your garret while writing your masterpiece and are on a budget, try scouring the charity shops for books. It is astounding what you can find!