they might have for sale as a “perfect” hunter, or “good” hunter.
Describing a horse as a good hunter is giving a very comprehensive
warranty of performance, and to a certain extent of soundness as
well. No horse can be called a hunter unless he can jump, and his
jumping powers may depend a great deal upon the man who rides
him. If he jumps at all, he may either take the bit in his teeth
and “commit” his rider to a fence 40 yd. off; or he may require a
resolute man and a cutting whip to get him over anything like a
ditch. No horse to whom either of these peculiarities attaches could
be called a “good,” much less a “perfect,” hunter. It has never been
expressly decided whether, under these assumed conditions, there
would be a breach of warranty if the horse were so described, but the
probabilities are against the seller. A horse that is in the very
slightest degree touched in the wind is unsound, yet for practical
purposes a whistler or a grunter is ten times more useful as a hunter
than a horse with bad navicular, or a sprained sinew. But, so far
as the law goes, the lame horse might be sold as a good hunter,
while the whistler could not. Upon this ground, if a court were to
decide that a horse described as a good or perfect hunter must be
sound in wind and eyes, there would be every reason to expect that
the same tribunal would hold that he must be sound on his feet and
legs, or at any rate fit for immediate use. In the case of harness
horses, however, it has been held that a warranty of soundness is not
involved in one of quietness. Warranties of soundness are going out
of fashion. But as the pedigree, or antecedents, of a horse often
have a material influence on the price paid for him, a statement
concerning one or both is often made by the seller as an integral
part of the contract. Such assertions are just as much a warranty as
if they referred to his quietness, age, or soundness, and, should
they prove false, render the seller liable to an action for breach
of warranty. It would be wise of the seller to say nothing, unless
he himself received a written description with the horse, which
statement he could show and explain to the person purchasing from
him, when, should the contents be untrue, he will not be liable. When
a horse is sent for sale to a commission stable, the commission agent
is justified in repeating to a buyer the description given to him
(the agent) by the owner of the horse, and the seller will be bound
by that description. Of course the agent has no right to exceed his
instructions and give a warranty on his own account. Should he do so,
the seller will not be bound. But a warranty by an ordinary servant,
or by a person directed by another to sell a horse, and put, for that
purpose, in a position which to a stranger might seem to imply an
authority to warrant, would bind the seller.
_Keeping._--Horse keeping must always be costly. Grooms’ wages,
rent of stabling, hay, oats, straw, beans, carrots, bran, linseed,
taxes, coals and candles, gas or oil, shoeing, stable implements,
and veterinary attendance cost money in every establishment. When
the whole cost is taken into account it will be found that in the
case of full-sized horses the expense of each varies, according to
circumstances, from about 30_s._ to 36_s._ or more a week, even when
there is no waste. The prime cost of horses, carriages, and harness
will depend to a great extent upon the purpose for which they are
required. It is well to be circumspect in buying a second-hand
vehicle, as getting up worthless carriages for sale is a regular
trade. With harness and saddlery the best goods are everywhere the
best economy.
The first item is the stable. If one is attached to the house, no
extra cost will be incurred. The average charge for renting will be
about 5_s._ per horse per week, inclusive of rates and taxes, but
exclusive of fire, lights, or straw. If stabling be rented by the
year, the weekly average will be less, as also in places where there
is not much demand, and where it is rather of makeshift.
The groom should be a thorough stableman, conversant with the proper
mode of dressing horses, methodical in habit, and honest. From 25_s._
to 30_s._ per week should secure the services of a good man, and
for this sum he would find himself in everything. If accommodation
allows, he might sleep on the premises, but should he sleep and live
in the house his wages will be much less. He should know how to clip,
singe, foment, put on a bandage properly, and give a horse a ball;
but it is well to allow no drugs or physic to be given without the
directions of a veterinary surgeon. If the man is a hard worker, he
will look after 3 saddle horses and clean his master’s breeches and
boots, single-handed; but this is rather trying him, and is more than
the majority of grooms would undertake; in most instances it would be
necessary to have a second hand--a lad at about 14_s._ a week would
do--to “muck out” the stables, help dress the horses, and do rough
work. Similarly, 2 hunters, a harness horse, and vehicle, will be
heavy work for one man.
Many persons have their horses foraged by contract, supplies being
sent in at fixed periods. In London some contractors do it for about
1_s._ or 1_s._ 2_d._ a hand, i.e. a horse not exceeding 16 hands will
be foraged for about 16_s._ per week, while a pony not exceeding 12
hands would only cost 12_s._ When living in the country, purchase
of neighbouring farmers. Let all forage be of the best quality--it
is cheapest in the end. Oats and hay must be old--that is to say,
oats and hay harvested in 1884 should not be used in the stables
till the July or August following at the earliest. Some people give
the last cut oats after Christmas; but it should never be done. A
horse requires feeding often; though 3 times a day is sufficient,
4 times is better. Horses should drink before they eat, because
water does not remain in the stomach, but passes through it into
a large intestine called the cæcum. If a horse be fed first, the
water passing through the stomach would be likely to carry with it
particles of food, and thus bring about colic. Whatever a groom may
say, let a horse drink just as much as he likes. If he be watered 4
times a day he will never take too much to be good for him. It will
be cheaper to buy enough forage to last the season or more, than
to be perpetually getting in small quantities. If a hunter--taking
him as the typical horse, because he requires the best keep--be fed
4 times a day, he will have a quartern of oats at each feed, or a
peck a day (4 quarterns = 1 peck), or 1 bush. of oats will last 4
days, and in 1 week he will eat 1¾ bush. With each feed a couple or
three double handfuls of chaff should be given, as this will cause
the food to be more thoroughly masticated. Hay is given in the rack
morning and evening, about 6-8 lb. each time; though where horses
are not limited as to oats they will not require so much. A truss of
hay weighs 56 lb., so the weekly allowance to each horse may be set
down at about 1½ truss. Some good judges recommend that hay should
be in the rack between feeding times. Beans are more nutritive than
oats, but are heating, and should not be given to a 4-year-old at
all. A 5-year-old should not have them unless he works hard, and then
not more than 1 lb. per diem; aged horses may have about 2 lb. per
day divided into 3 feeds; but during a frost, or when only used for
gentle work, such as hacking in the London season, beans should be
dispensed with. Bran is chiefly used for mashes, and it is advisable
to follow the time-honoured plan of giving one every Saturday night.
Linseed gruel is, by some horses, preferred to that made from
oatmeal; but the latter is refreshing and soothing if the horse will
take it. A few carrots given every now and then will tend to keep the
blood cool. Study the appetite of each horse.
For bedding there is nothing better than wheat straw. Oat straw is
permissible, and cheaper. Barley straw must on no account be used.
The quantity of straw required per week will vary with the care with
which the groom separates the clean from the soiled in the morning,
the wish of the owner as to the look of his stable, and the size of
the box or stall. Speaking roughly, a careful groom can manage in an
ordinary sized loose box with about 50-60 lb. per week, and with this
allowance a horse can be well bedded and kept clean; this, of course,
after the bed has been originally formed with about 2 trusses.
As to cost. Oats vary from 3_s._ to 4_s._ per bush.; best upland hay
may be set down at 5_l._ a ton (40 trusses of 56 lb. in a ton); straw
at 3_l._ 10_s._ a ton; and beans at a trifle more than 1_d._ a lb.
Thus the cost of keeping a horse for a week will be:--
_s. d._
2 bush. oats, at 3_s._ 6_d._ 7 0
1½ trusses hay, at 2_s._ 6_d._ 3 9
14 lb. beans 1 6
60 lb. straw (say) 2 0
-----
14 3
Something must be allowed for bran, linseed, and carrots; these may
be set down at about 2_s._ per week.
Groom’s wages must be added. Suppose he receives 25_s._ per week,
and only has one horse to look after, that one horse will cost the
owner 39_s._ 3_d._ at the lowest estimate; if there be 2 horses, they
will each stand at 26_s._ 9_d._, and so on. Shoeing may be set down
roughly at 3_l._ per annum; the tax for a groom is 15_s._ per year;
the veterinary surgeon may have to be called in occasionally; while
coals and lights must not be left out of sight. From a money point
of view, therefore, keeping horses in a private stable is, generally
speaking, no cheaper than sending them to livery at 30_s._ per week;
but the advantage is that they are generally better done at home.
(_Field._)
Horses need well-ventilated stables, free from draught and damp. The
floor should be smooth and nearly level. It should be well drained
and light, for sudden change from darkness to light is trying to the
eyes, and a damp, offensive odour is injurious. Then, again, the
bedding and litter should be carefully separated from that which is
foul. They should be well shaken up and dried, and the stall should
be thoroughly cleansed; and when the stable is empty, let in plenty
of fresh air. A horse’s stall should be large enough to allow him
to lie down comfortably in any position. A tired horse will be glad
to lie down with his legs stretched out if he has room; but if you
cannot give him a loose box, then a light halter block should be
used, and care taken to arrange the halter so that it may travel
freely to allow the head to come easily to the litter, for rest and
sleep are as necessary as food and water. If a horse comes to the
stable wet, he should be rubbed dry before the blanket is put on.
If he is standing about in the cold, it should be put on. The legs
should be rubbed, and the hoofs always examined for stones. When
dressed and made comfortable, leave a bucket of chilled water in the
box, which should be filled up with cold the last thing at night when
closing the stables.
_Cleaning._--One of the most important things in the management of
farm horses is their cleaning, and yet nothing is more neglected.
The horse should never be cleaned or harnessed while it is eating
breakfast. Let horses eat their food in peace, for many, from
sanguine temperament or greed, bolt their oats when handled during
the time of feeding. Harness can be quickly enough put on after the
feed is eaten, and time should then be taken to comb the mane and
tail, and use a wisp of straw on the body and legs. When the horses
come in at dinner-time, they should at once be _unharnessed_. The
feed is then to be given, and before the harness is again put on, the
horse should be thoroughly rubbed down with a wisp of straw or hay.
If the horses are very warm on coming in, they should be rubbed down
immediately after the removal of the harness.
The cleaning or grooming, which should be done at night, consists
first in currying the horse with a currycomb to free him of the dirt
adhering to the hair, and which being now dry, is easily removed. A
wisping of straw removes the roughest of the dirt loosened by the
currycomb. The legs ought to be thoroughly wisped, not only to make
them clean, but to dry up any moisture that may have been left in
the evening; and at this time the feet should be picked clean by
the foot-picker--i.e. an iron instrument made for the purpose--of
any dirt adhering between the shoe and the foot. The brush is then
to be used to remove the remaining and finer portions of dust from
the hair, which is cleared from the brush by a few rasps along the
currycomb. This wisping and brushing, if done with some force and
dexterity, with a combing of the tail and mane, should render the
horse pretty clean. The skin of the farm horse should at all times be
_clean_ if not _sleek_, and a slap of the hand upon the horse will
show if there is loose dust in the hair. The currycomb should not be
used below the knees, as it is apt to cause injury. For cleaning the
legs and feet, nothing is better than the water brush.
At morning stables, after the carriage horse is “mucked out,” the
next step is to quarter him over and pick and wash his feet out.
The first quartering may be done with an old water brush, and means
roughly removing from the horse with water alone anything imparted
to his side by manure. By the time the horse has done feeding the
quartering will have nearly dried. If the animal is for morning
exercise the above is sufficient. The dressing proper can be done
when he comes home. If he is for hunting or hacking that day a good
stableman will set to work at him as soon as the horse has finished
his feed. If he is a grey, and has become stained with manure in the
night, the groom should well rub in, with his hands only, plenty of
common brown soap (not soft soap), and use plenty of tepid water in
doing it. Then take a clean water brush, and let his shoulder go at
his work until the stain is out. This is easily seen, because if the
man finds no discoloration in the water in the bucket when he has
sponged (with a perfectly clean sponge) all the soap off, no particle
of stain will remain. If the water used in stable work is hard, a
little soda dissolved in it will cause the soap to lather well. The
horse should be tied up short while being washed, and after the
sponging the wet places should be thoroughly dried with a rubber,
which should be cleanliness itself. Worn-out table linen makes the
best stable rubbers, the older the better. When the washed parts are
quite dry, the horse should be well dressed with a clean horse-brush;
one with any old dirt or grease in it will make fresh stains. After
dressing with the horse brush, his coat should be again well rubbed
the right way with another dry rubber fresh from the towel-horse
and the saddle-room fire. Lazy stablemen are in the habit of using
powdered charcoal to remove stains from grey horses. The practice is
idle and dirty. In the case of clipped horses, stable stains can be
removed in a very short time, and not much more is requisite with
that of a well-done horse with his summer coat on. When the coat is
shifting, a little more labour is requisite.
_Driving._--Strict adherence to the rule of the road will not
necessarily protect a driver from being liable for the result of
a collision between another vehicle and his own. Sometimes he may
be held to be negligent because he remained on the near side, and
did not pull out of the way, even into the opposite gutter, if
necessary. It is not possible to say what acts constitute negligent
driving; the nearest rule that can be given is that drivers should
act as reasonable men in the management of their vehicles. If
they do anything that a reasonable man would not do, or omit to
do anything that he would, then they are guilty of negligence;
but acts that would amount to negligence in one case would not
necessarily be so in another. Negligence on the part of a driver
is not excused merely because the victim was also guilty of some
degree of negligence, provided of course that it did not contribute
to the _immediate_ cause of the accident. If, however, the proximate
cause of an accident be a driver’s unskilfulness, the injured driver
may not recover, although the _primary_ cause of the accident was
the wrong-doing of some one else. If a man leave a horse and cart
standing in the street without any one to look after them, and the
horse, either by itself, or on being struck by a passer-by, backs
into the window of a shop, and damages goods, the owner of the cart,
having chosen to leave it in the street, must take the risk of any
mischief. In cases where there is negligence on both sides, the rule
to be deduced is, that a person injured by the negligent driving
of another, cannot recover damages if but for own negligence, the
accident would not have happened at all. Sometimes it may happen that
a person who is driven into, or over, must bring his action, not
against the driver of the vehicle inflicting the injury, but against
a third party; as, for instance, if one carriage be so improperly
driven as to compel a second carriage to take such a line as to make
it collide with a third, the driver of the first carriage would be
liable to the owner of the third. Lastly, in a pure accident, in
which no one has been guilty of negligence, the injured party has no
right of action at all. It is not because a man’s horse runs away,
or becomes unmanageable, that the owner is to be responsible for any
harm that may be sustained by a member of the public; a mutilated
person is always entitled to sympathy, but not invariably to damages.
(_Field._)
_Hiring._--Horses, carriages, or both, may be hired under 3
conditions: (_a_) Where the hired property remains on the owner’s
premises; (_b_) Where, during the period of hire, it is transferred
to the premises of the hirer; (_c_) Where it is hired from the owner
for a particular journey, and returned to him as soon as this is
performed. Under either of the 2 first conditions, the hiring may be
for a period exceeding a year, or for any shorter time. All contracts
not to be performed within one year from the time of making must be
in writing and signed. An agreement made on the 1st of May, 1887, to
hire horses for one year from that day, will terminate on 1st of May,
1888, and therefore be completed within the year, and so not require
writing; but if the agreement (made on the 1st) be for a year’s hire,
to commence on the 20th of May, the contract will not be completely
performed until the 20th of May, or 20 days after the expiration of
the year, consequently writing will be needed.
The chief inducement to hire instead of buying carriages and horses
is, that by payment of an inclusive charge, the trouble and annoyance
inseparable from keeping a private stable are avoided. The owner of a
carriage let out to hire undertakes, in return for the sum paid, to
do certain repairs, varying according to circumstances.
Most coachmakers now bind themselves to execute only such repairs as
may be rendered necessary by fair wear and tear; accidents, however
arising, being expressly exempted. The result is that, in the event
of a “smash,” the hirer has to pay the owner for the damage; and,
if the former or his servant is in fault, the loss falls on him;
while, if the other vehicle be in the wrong, the hirer has to get his
damages from its proprietor--the owner of the hired carriage being
indemnified either way. If the carriage is bought out-and-out during
the period for which it was originally hired, the seller is not bound
to repair gratis after he has sold it.
Under ordinary circumstances the hirer of a horse is not responsible
for any damage that may happen to it, so long as he has not been
guilty either of negligence or of using the horse for a purpose
other than that for which it was hired. But if he has broken the
agreement made at the time of hiring, then he is liable for the loss
resulting from his conduct. Where a horse is hired to take the hirer
to a certain place, the usual and customary route should be taken,
for should the hirer deviate unnecessarily from the most convenient
road, he will be liable. In hiring horses for a special journey, care
should be taken by the hirer to point out when he does and when he
does not mean to go from place to place by the most direct or usual
route. So long as he provides for a deviation he is answerable only
for negligence or improper driving; but if he deviate materially,
such deviation will amount to improper driving, although his
coachmanship may be without reproach.
If a person hire a horse or carriage for a stated period, but return
it before the expiration of the time, the owner must keep it on his
premises till the time for hire has determined, if he wishes to
recover the charge from the hirer. He cannot earn his money twice
over; so, if he sells in the meantime, the hirer will not be liable
for the price of the hiring.
The liability of a person sitting in a carriage to make good
any damage occasioned to the property of others by the driver’s
negligence, depends upon the relationship subsisting between the
driver and the person driven. This relationship differs according to
the ownership of the equipage, or its component parts. The owner of
horses and a carriage, driven by a servant in his exclusive employ,
has cast upon him the most extended liability for his servant’s
negligence; while, on the other hand, the occupant of a hack fly is
discharged from any thought of the horses or the driver. If horses
and a carriage are jobbed in the manner already described, they are
the hirer’s own, so far as the general public are concerned; and if
driven by his own coachman, he will be as liable for the latter’s
negligence as though he purchased them outright. Provided the hirer
of horses use ordinary care in the selection of his coachman--not a
job one--he will not be answerable to the owner of the horses for
the casual negligence of the servant so engaged. If the driver be a
servant of the jobmaster, he does not cease to be so by reason of
the owner of the carriage preferring to be driven by that particular
servant where there is a choice amongst more, any more than a hack
postboy ceases to be the servant of an innkeeper, where a traveller
has a particular preference for one over the rest, on account of his
sobriety and carefulness. Even wearing the hirer’s livery does not
affect the question.
No satisfactory line can be drawn, at which, as a matter of law, the
general owner of a carriage, or rather the general employer of the
driver, ceased to be responsible, and the temporary hirer became
so. Each case of this class must depend upon its own circumstances;
and the jury taking these circumstances into consideration, must
decide whether, at the time of an accident, the driver is acting as
the servant of the hirer, or as the servant of the owner. Generally
it may be taken that when the hirer of horses also has the owner’s
servant to drive, the servant still continues in the jobmaster’s
employ, the ownership of the carriage being immaterial. The horses
and man may be reckoned as one, as constituting the motive and
guiding power.
A hirer of horses may by his own conduct render himself a
co-trespasser with the driver, or even constitute the driver his
own servant for the purpose of becoming liable for the result of
an accident. If the hirer of a whole equipage direct the owner’s
servant to drive at an increased pace in a crowded thoroughfare, or
in some other way assume the control of the horses, he will draw on
to his own shoulders that responsibility which would under ordinary
circumstances rest with the jobmaster. Still more will this be the
case if he drives himself. (_Field._)
_Care of Carriages._--(_a_) The coach-room should be large, dry, and
well ventilated; the walls and ceiling lined and finished in oil or
varnish; the windows large, but curtained with blue curtains, so as
to admit a moderate amount of light; the floors and ceilings should
be kept free from dust or dirt; if the floor is wet when sweeping,
the carriage should not be put in until it is dry.
(_b_) If the stable is of brick or stone, the walls should be lined
with a close board partition at least 3 in. from the wall, with
openings at the top and bottom to allow a circulation of air between
the wall and partition. Never allow a carriage to stand near a brick
or stone wall, or any other that is damp, as the dampness affects the
paint and trimmings.
(_c_) Ammonia destroys varnish and affects colours. Care should be
taken, therefore, to locate the carriage-room in such a manner that
it will not be exposed to the fumes of the stable or manure heap.
(_d_) A carriage should never be allowed to stand in the
carriage-room without being protected from dust by a cotton or linen
cover; but this cover should not be put on when the carriage is wet
or dusty. Dust if allowed to remain on eats into varnish: the cover
should be so arranged as not to touch the carriage.
(_e_) Carriages should be washed frequently, even when not in use.
They should also be dusted every 2 or 3 days, and be exposed to
the air in a shady place. In washing, use cold water and a sponge.
Soften the mud by squeezing the water from the sponge on the panel
or other part, and do not pass the sponge over the paint until the
mud is soaked off. After sponging, dry with a “shammy,” but do not
use the sponge and “shammy” in the same pail of water. Be careful to
dry thoroughly, and protect the trimming from injury by water. Do not
allow any part of the carriage that is washed to dry before wiping
with the “shammy,” as it will stain the paint. Hot or even warm water
or soap should not be used. Never allow mud to dry on a carriage, as
it will produce spots or stains. Always wash in a shady place.