OUR PONY.
I have been told by several friends that, in order to render this
little book complete, I should add a chapter detailing the expenses we
incurred by keeping a pony and carriage. Some persons imagine that
this is an article of luxury which may well be dispensed with; but,
though it may not be and absolute necessary, the expense attending one
is so slight, in comparison with the comfort and pleasure derived from
its possession, that I believe such of my readers as may contemplate
residing in the country will readily agree with me, when I have told
them the amount it will cost them to keep it,--that if it is a luxury,
it is one of the very cheapest in which they can indulge.
Without such a convenience a carriage must be hired every time any
member of the family has occasion to go to the railway station; and
besides that, it is useful for bringing home a variety of articles
which in the country are frequently purchased at places five or six
miles from home. Then it is a great pleasure to be able to meet your
friends at the station, whenever they are kind enough to leave London
for the purpose of passing a few days with you in the country.
My sister and myself contrived to extract profit as well as pleasure
from our little equipage. During the summer months we frequently drove
up to London; the short journey was very pleasant, and this mode of
making it possessed the great advantage of costing nothing but 63
cents for the pony, and 12 cents for turnpikes. Not that we had the
temerity to drive through London. We always left the pony two miles
before we reached town, with strict orders to the civil ostler to
whose care we confided him to great care of him, and be sure and give
him a "good feed." We then proceeded on our way in a cab, which cost
us no more than we should have paid for one from the station.
Where there is a gentleman in the family, a dogcart is the most
convenient vehicle which can be kept; but as that would not be
suitable for a lady, we contrived to make the back seat of the
carriage do duty for the well of the dog-cart, and it was astonishing
how many light packages we managed to "stow away" in it. I will not
dilate on the pleasant drives through quiet lanes, of the delight
afforded to the children when allowed to have a ride on "Bobby," nor
of the great facility it gave us of being out of doors in winter,
when, as was very frequently the case, the state of the roads was such
as to render walking an impossibility; still, I hope I have stated
sufficient to give my readers a good idea of the great pleasure they
will derive from keeping a pony; and I will now, with the bills of the
miller and farrier before me, proceed to show the sum for which it may
be kept. Our pony cost for food, from the 4th of January to the 24th
of December in the same year, $46.66. He consumed during that period
five quarters of oats, at $8 the quarter, and five bushels of beans,
which cost $6.66. The farrier's bill for the same time amounted to
$5.91. Perhaps it will be as well to copy this account, as it will
clearly show how often it is requisite to change the shoes of a horse.
Of course a great deal must depend on the quantity of work he does;
ours was certainly not spared, though we do not deserve the character
so usually given to ladies, of being unmerciful to horses: "running
them off their legs," "thinking they can never get enough out of the
poor beasts," "driving them as if they thought they could go for
ever," are accusations brought against the ladies of a family where
horses are kept.
The following is a copy of the bill for our pony's shoes for twelve
months:--
Feb. 24. Four removes $0.33
March 22. Four shoes .75
April 20. Four removes .33
May 5. Two shoes .37 1/2
June 9. Four shoes .75
July 8. Four shoes .75
Aug. 9 Four shoes .75
Sept. 1. Four shoes .75
Oct. 11. Two shoes .37 1/2
Oct. 25. Two shoes .37 1/2
Dec. 24. Two shoes .37 1/2
$5.91
Add to this the miller's bill $46.66
$52.57
and we have the whole expense of keeping a pony for one year. "Oh!
but," some one may exclaim, "you have put down nothing for straw and
hay, and horses require a great deal of both." Quite true; but then in
the country, if you do not keep a horse, you must buy manure for your
garden, and that will cost you quite as much as if you purchased
straw; and as for the hay, did it not come off the "four-acre farm?"
It is one of the great advantages of the country that nothing is lost,
and thus the straw which figures so largely in the bill of a London
corn-chandler, and which, when converted into manure, is the
perquisite of your groom, becomes in the country the means of
rendering your garden productive.
Before I resided in the country the pony cost me more than four times
the sum I have mentioned; the stable was apart from the house, and I
knew nothing for months of the bills run up on his account. I had once
a bill sent in for sugar! "Why, George, what can the pony want with
sugar?"
"Why, ma'am, you said some time ago that the pony looked thin, so
lately I have always mixed sugar with his corn; nothing fattens a
horse like sugar."
Now what could I complain of? This man had been recommended to me as
a "treasure," and one who would do his duty by the pony, which, I may
mention, was a very beautiful one, and a great pet; so if George
considered sugar good for him, what could I do but pay the bill, and
say, "Let him have sugar, by all means?" Not that "Bobby" was a bit the
fatter or better for having his corn sweetened. An intimate friend of
mine, who always kept three or four horses, laughed outright when I
told him that the pony had consumed such a quantity of sugar, and
expressed his opinion that very little of that article had ever been
in his manger. Under the same superintendence "Bobby" wore out four
times the number of shoes; and as at that time I had to purchase hay
and straw as well as corn, all on the same scale of magnitude, the
expense of keeping the little carriage really did cost more than the
convenience attending it was worth; and had not the pony been the gift
of a beloved friend, we should have parted with it when we quitted
London, as at that time we were ignorant how cheaply it could be
maintained in the country. There we had a servant who was content with
his wages, and did not seek to make them greater by combining with
tradesmen to defraud his employers. If any of my readers commence
keeping a pony in the country, they may rely that it need not cost
them a penny more than I have put down. Of course they must have the
hay from their own grounds, and neither reckon the cost of the straw
nor the labor of the man who attends to the pony. Ours did all the
"jobs" about the place--cleaned the knives and shoes, milked the cows,
fed the pigs and poultry, helped in the gardens, and, in short, made
himself "generally useful." Now, a servant who is able and willing to
do all this, besides properly attending to a pony and carriage, is
very difficult to be met with, but he is absolutely necessary for a
place in the country where economy has to be studied.
Something must be allowed yearly for the wear and tear of carriage,
harness, etc., but it need not be much. Any gentleman can easily
calculate the sum which may fairly be allowed for these items; I only
think it my part to show the expense attending a pony in the country;
and though those who have been in the habit of keeping horses in
London, either in a livery or private stable, may think it impossible
to maintain one for $52.57 yearly, let them leave town for a four-acre
farm, and they will find that I have spoken the truth on this point,
as well as on all the other subjects of which I have given my
experience in this little volume.