A Day in the Life of Dexter.....
Have you ever wondered about the daily routine horses from the past?
Of course we are all attentive to our horses needs....food ,water, clean stalls and exercise. We pamper our horses with treats, keep their coats shiny with routine grooming....but the definition of routine is not the same today as it was over 100 years ago......as you will see after reading notes from Mr. Bonner, Dexter’s owner.
The following is the “routine” pursued with Dexter....
“ At six every morning, Dexter has all the water he wants, and two quarts of oats. After eating, he is “ walked” for half an hour or more, cleaned off, and at nine has two quarts more of oats. If no drive is on the card for afternoon, he is given a half to three quarters of an hour of gentle exercise. At one o’clock, he has his oats again, as before, limited to two quarts.
from three to four he is driven from twelve to fifteen miles; after which he is cleaned off and rubbed thoroughly to dry.
He has a bare swallow of water, on returning from the drive, but is allowed free access to his only feed of hay, which he consumes from five to six pounds.
If the drive has been a particularly sharp one, he is treated as soon as he gets in, to a quart of oatmeal gruel; and when thoroughly cool, has half a pail of water and three quarts of oats, with two quarts of bran moistened with hot water.
Before any specially hard days work or trial of his speed, his allowance of water is still more reduced...........”
This story is taken from a book published in 1887....originally called “ The Standard Horse Book” written by Dennis Magner, a renowned horse trainer who was the “mechanic of horses”. He did not treat the horse as a machine, he believed in patience and kindness and trained his horses with true horse sense. He was keen, perceptive and was quite capable of imagining what the horse was feeling.
In the19th century, the training of horses was not a leisurely sport . Before the automobile, the horse was a working companion, who carried the family to church, plowed the fields, and transported goods, and carried men and equipment to war.
Primarily the American Standardbred was a road horse, until it's speed and agility were discovered.......it still remained a road horse, serving the family as a means of transportation, but also began racing the back roads to racing for Presidents and the elite of the gilded era. The standardbred who pulled the fish wagon, became famous for this new American pastime. This part of history has been forgotten, or was unknown to many horse owners of our century.