Reading the Regency

Transport - The Horse part 1

Any horse descended from one of those hunters or racehorses could be called a Blood Horse. It might also be referred to more specifically as a blood gelding or a blood mare. Some thoroughbred offspring that were not suitable for racing or hunting could still be used as a carriage horse or as a saddle horse, particularly by the wealthier gentleman who could afford to pay the higher prices they commanded.

"Soon after six his Royal Highness took leave, the happy pair set off immediately after in a beautiful chariot and four spirited blood horses for Oakley, in Bedfordshire; where they intend to reside nearly two months."
[Monthly Pantheon, Vol 1, pub 1808]

Horses are measured in Hands. A Hand was the measurement across the human palm from above the thumb to just beneath the little finger. It was standardised to four inches = one hand in the 16th century.

A horse's height would be measured from the ground up to the withers, or the ridge between the shoulder blades at the base of the neck. If you can visualise a horse standing in a field eating grass, the withers are the tallest part of the horse when its head is bent to the ground. Therefore, where a horse is described as "15 hands and a half", that means the horse is sixty two inches from the ground to the top of the shoulder. (15 x 4 inches + 2 inches)

When a horse is described as being "master of twenty stone", that means he could carry twenty stone on his back. That would be the weight of the rider combined with the weight of the saddle.

During the Regency period, a stone weight meant something different in various parts of the country, but in horse riding, a stone always equalled fourteen pounds, so twenty stone was 280lb. (127kg)

As a guideline, the maximum weight a horse could carry without affecting its health was 20% or one-fifth of its own bodyweight.

A rider would mount a horse on the left side, which was called the near-side. The other side was known as the off-side:

"The right side or the left side is never so termed, when speaking of a horse. It is the invariable custom to say that horse is lame of the "near-leg before;" the other is evidently defective in the "off-leg behind"."
[The Sporting Dictionary and Rural Repository of General Information Upon Every Subject Appertaining to the Sports of the Field, Volume 2, by William Taplin, pub. 1803]

Horses by use

"...in every part of London, are livery stables, places kept by persons whose business it is to have horses and carriages ready for hire, by the day, week, or mile. ... A saddle horse for the day is charged from ten shillings and sixpence to eighteen shillings."
[London; Being a Complete Guide to the British Capital, by Thomas Pennant, pub. 1814]

Because they were used for widely different tasks, various types of horses were bred, trained, or naturally suited to different work. Some horses were trained for multiple uses, so you might have a road horse that could also pull a carriage in harness.

The less money you had the more important it was to have a horse that could be used for more than one purpose. Keeping a horse for one use was a luxury that even some of the gentry could not afford. This is why Mr Bennet in Pride and Prejudice had a pair of horses that were used both in the fields for pulling the plough and with the family's carriage. Keeping one pair for the farm and another pair for the road was beyond his budget.

Carriage Horse

Carriage horses, or coach horses, were trained to wear a harness, and either pull a carriage alone or as part of a pair or a team. Based on the kind of carriage they were most used to pulling they could also be described as curricle horses, chaise horses, gig horses or barouche horses, but they could be used for any type of carriage, or even as a road horse.