View source for Groom (profession)

{{Short description|Horse and/or stable manager}}
{{About|horse care|other uses|Groom (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2016}}
[[File:Shetland ponies in harness.JPG|thumb|[[Shetland pony|Shetland ponies]] with their drivers and formally dressed grooms in attendance.]]
A '''groom''' or '''stable boy''' ('''stable hand''', '''stable lad''') is a person who is responsible for some or all aspects of the [[horse management|management]] of [[horse]]s and/or the care of the [[stable]]s 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.
==Etymology==
[[File:Assyrian grooms and horses, from Nimrud, Iraq. The British Museum.jpg|thumb|[[Assyria|Assyrian]] grooms and horses, from [[Nimrud]], Iraq. The British Museum]]
[[File:Tri-coloured pottery horse and groom. Tang dynasty.jpg|thumb|Tri-coloured pottery horse and groom. [[Tang dynasty]] 618-907 CE. Shaanxi History Museum. [[Xi'an]], China.]]
The word appeared in English as '''grome''' c.1225, meaning "boy child, [[boy]], [[youth]]". 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).
<ref name="etydict">{{cite web|title=groom (n.1)|url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=groom|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|publisher=Douglas Harper|access-date=11 July 2016}}</ref>
The word was originally rather grander in status, as in [[groom|bridegroom]] and the socially-elevated offices in the English [[Royal Household]] of:
* [[Groom of the Chamber]], or of the Privy Chamber,
* [[Groom of the Robes]],
* [[Groom of the Stool]]
The meaning "man servant who attends to horses" is from 1667<ref>{{cite web |title=Groom |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/groom |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Douglas Harper |access-date=8 December 2019}}</ref> 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; and the figurative sense of "to prepare a candidate" is from 1887, originally in U.S. politics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Groom |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/groom |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Douglas Harper |access-date=8 December 2019}}</ref>
==Job==
[[File:Tailbrush.jpg|thumb|A woman grooming a horse's tail.]]
Grooms may be employed in [[great house|private residence]]s or in professional horse training facilities such as [[stable]]s, [[agistment]] properties and [[riding academy|riding academies]].
The groom(s) usually clean stables (mucking-out), feed, exercise and [[horse grooming|groom]] horses.
A groom in private [[domestic service|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]], 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]] the groom is the passenger and at speed is required to shift his weight to balance the [[carriage]].
==Ranks, synonyms and terminology==
[[File:A Syce (Groom) Holding Two Carriage Horses MET DT3717.jpg|300px|thumb|A painting by [[Shaikh Muhammad Amir of Karraya]] displaying a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] syce holding two carriage horses.]]
'''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 [[Hostler|[h]ostler]] 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]]'''. 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 [[veterinarian|veterinary]] 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".<ref>
[[Oxford English Dictionary]]
</ref>
==See also==
*[[Farrier]]
*[[Hostler]]
*[[Strapper]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Horse-related professions and professionals]]
[[Category:Horse racing]]