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 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 care.
In a private residence the stable master has these responsibilities and must also accommodate the riding schedules of the employer’s family and, if necessary arrange for lessons and training. The stable master must insure that a groom is ‘on call’ during specified hours in case any members of the employer’s family wish to ride. The stable master is also responsible for the special needs of aged and retired horses, and usually for the maintenance and overall appearance of the stables. The stable master may or may not report to a steward or estate manager.
Famous quotes containing the words stable and/or master:
“In short, no association or alliance can be happy or stable without me. People can’t long tolerate a ruler, nor can a master his servant, a maid her mistress, a teacher his pupil, a friend his friend nor a wife her husband, a landlord his tenant, a soldier his comrade nor a party-goer his companion, unless they sometimes have illusions about each other, make use of flattery, and have the sense to turn a blind eye and sweeten life for themselves with the honey of folly.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)
“Aesop, that great man, saw his master making water as he walked. “What!” he said, “Must we void ourselves as we run?” Use our time as best we may, yet a great part of it will still be idly and ill spent.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)