![Shetland ponies in harness](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Shetland_ponies_in_harness.JPG)
A groom or stable boy (stable hand, stable lad) is a person who is responsible for some or all aspects of the
management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includ ...
of
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s and/or the care of the
stables themselves. The term most often refers to a person who is the employee of a stable owner, but an owner of a horse may perform the duties of a groom, particularly if the owner only possesses a few horses.
Word history
The word appeared in English as grome c.1225, meaning "boy child,
boy
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is ...
,
youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...
"; its origin is unknown. It has no known cognates in other Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch and German use compound terms, such as ''Stal(l)knecht'' 'stable servant', or equivalents of synonyms mentioned below). Perhaps it stems from an Old English root ''groma'', related to ''growan'' "grow" or from Old French ''grommet'' "servant" (compare Medieval English
gromet for "ship's boy", recorded since 1229).
The word was originally rather grander in status, as in
bridegroom
A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed.
When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man ...
and the socially elevated offices in the English
Royal Household of:
*
Groom of the Chamber
Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien RĂ©gime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...
, or of the Privy Chamber,
*
Groom of the Robes Groom of the Robes is an office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England (later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom). In 1953, the Groom of the Robes to Elizabeth II had the task of bringing forward the robes and other items of ...
,
*
Groom of the Stool
The meaning "man servant who attends to horses" is from 1667, although women and girls are often grooms. The verb is first attested in 1809; the transferred sense of "to tidy (oneself) up" is from 1843; the figurative sense of "to prepare a candidate" is from 1887, originally in U.S. politics.
Job
![Tailbrush](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Tailbrush.jpg)
Grooms may be employed in
private residence
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
s or in professional horse training facilities such as
stables,
agistment
Agistment originally referred specifically to the proceeds of pasturage in the king's forests. To agist is, in English law, to take cattle to graze, in exchange for payment (derived from the Old English ''giste'', ''gite'', a "lying place").
H ...
properties and
riding academies.
The groom(s) usually clean stables (mucking-out), feed, exercise and
groom horses.
A groom in private
service is expected to be 'on call' during specified hours in case any member of the employer's family wishes to ride.
Grooms whose employers are involved in horse sports or horse racing are often required to travel with their employers to provide support services during competitions. The services required vary with the type of competition and range from simply ensuring that the horse is ready for the start of the competition to warming the horse up beforehand.
In competition, the term may have a distinct meaning. At a
horse show
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer ...
, grooms outside of the ring perform standard grooming tasks, but if utilized inside the show ring are generally defined as an individual called in to assist an exhibitor with a horse while in competition. In
combined driving
Combined may refer to:
* Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event
** Super combined (skiing)
* Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event
* T ...
the groom is the passenger and at speed is required to shift his weight to balance the
carriage.
Ranks, synonyms and terminology
![A Syce (Groom) Holding Two Carriage Horses MET DT3717](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/A_Syce_%28Groom%29_Holding_Two_Carriage_Horses_MET_DT3717.jpg)
Stablehand is a more old-fashioned term; the variation stableman usually applies to an experienced adult, the lowest rank stableboy (corresponding to the first origin of groom) rather to a minor and/or trainee.
The historical synonym
stler">stler has meanwhile developed (in the United States) a new meaning of "rail employee".
Large establishments may employ several grooms under the management of the head groom or
stablemaster A stable master or head groom is the manager in charge of a stable.
At large horse establishments there may be several grooms under the management of the stable master. In a professional establishment the head groom usually has complete responsibil ...
. In many cases the head groom has complete responsibility for the horses including devising training schedules, choosing feeds for optimum nutrition and ensuring the horses are shod, wormed, inoculated and provided with timely
veterinary
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
care.
Several other words originally denoting other (often much higher) titles, notably
Constable,
Equerry and
Marshal, have developed into terms for those working with horses.
In African or Asian contexts, English-speakers sometimes use the Arabic/Hindustani word ''sais'' or ''syce'' instead of "groom".
[
]Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
See also
*
Farrier
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adj ...
*
Hostler
*
Strapper
References
{{Authority control
Horse-related professions and professionals
Horse racing