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<\/a>Shoes, feed, saddles, bridles, curry combs: all of these things made at least a handful of appearances in Alexander Henderson\u2019s 1760-1761 account ledger, bought by 30 different individuals over some 161 pages of transactions.[3]<\/sup><\/a> Henderson himself was the caretaker of at least four different horses: a gray, a black, a roan, and a bay.[4]<\/sup><\/a> He\u00a0spent \u00a370 on the horses themselves\u00a0and an additional \u00a318 on feed for them from October 1760 to December 1761 alone.[5]<\/sup><\/a> He\u00a0paid for\u00a0shoeing the horses on a regular basis, usually every two to three months. The shoes protected the horses\u2019 hooves from painful stones. In addition, Henderson also paid for horse feed\u2014mostly hay and oats, but none of the other account holders seem to have paid for feed through the Colchester store.[6]<\/sup><\/a> Perhaps\u00a0this was because they all either worked on or owned land where their horses could freely graze.<\/p>\n Land was important, because land meant wealth, which meant you would be better able to care for at least one horse, sometimes more. Though the most common equine item bought from Henderson\u2019s store was the snaffle bridle<\/a>, the most expensive was the \u201cWomans Saddle with Slip Cover of Blue Cloth\u201d at \u00a38.[7]<\/sup><\/a> (Buying\u00a0a bridle at the same time added another 10 shillings to the cost.) When compared with the next most expensive item\u2014the men\u2019s saddles at about one to two pounds\u2014it becomes apparent that the women\u2019s saddles were one of two things: a luxury good, or simply more costly to make. Given the time period and the social views on horses at the time, the latter seems more likely. This becomes even more evident when reviewing James Hardage Lane\u2019s account as he purchased both a men\u2019s and a woman\u2019s saddle in the space of five months.[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n As mentioned above, snaffle bridles were the most common good purchased in regard to horses. Snaffle bridles differed from other bridles, such as the half-curb, because of the type of bit used.\u00a0Bits are metal pieces that go into a horse\u2019s mouth and rest between the front cropping teeth and the back grinding teeth.<\/p>\n Snaffle bits in particular are very easy on a horse\u2019s sensitive mouth, and even today are the most common bits used by equestrians.[9]<\/sup><\/a> Because\u00a0of their high occurrence in the pages, it is easier to detect a price pattern. Of the 16 snaffle bridles purchased, six of them sold for 3 shillings 9 pence, three of them for 4 shillings 6 pence, and the rest ranged from 4 shillings 3 pence to 1 shilling 10 pence in price.[10]<\/sup><\/a> The\u00a0frequency of these purchases further shows the widespread ownership of horses.<\/p>\n Another important factor in keeping horses is that they need to be groomed. Grooming is done using a certain kind of brush called a curry comb. Though there are only three incidences of curry combs being bought from Henderson\u2019s store, all for 3 shillings 6 pence, Henderson ordered \u201c1 doz. Curry Combs & brushes\u201d on three separate occasions from 1759-1760 from his employer.[11]<\/sup><\/a> This is another example of how many people must have owned horses, despite their cost, because Henderson likely would not have ordered more than he had thought he could sell.<\/p>\n Overall, horses were expensive to keep in the eighteenth century, much as they always have been. Though the account pages do not list many occurrences of horse feed, the other expenses add up. While horses were likely used for work, such as to plow fields and transport goods to market, most of the evidence shows that people rode their horses, whether for business, pleasure, or sport. Indeed, aside from one\u2019s own two feet, horses were the main form of transportation of the time. It makes sense that people would invest such a large amount of money in their transportation\u2014not unlike today with our cars.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/sup><\/a> Ross MacPhee and Sandra Olsen, \u201cWealth and Status\u201d and related subsections, AMNH, accessed April 19, 2017, http:\/\/www.amnh.org\/exhibitions\/horse\/how-we-shaped-horses-how-horses-shaped-us\/wealth-and-status.<\/p>\n [2]<\/sup><\/a> Mary R. M Goodwin, Wheeled Carriages in Eighteenth-Century Virginia<\/em> (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library, 1959), http:\/\/research.history.org\/DigitalLibrary\/View\/index.cfm?doc=ResearchReports%5CRR0181.xml#p1.<\/p>\n [3]<\/sup><\/a> Alexander Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761, Colchester, Virginia folio 4 Debit and Credit, 20, 22, 23, 25, 40, 41, 43, 44, 46, 48, 51, 61, 67, 88, 90, 111, 116, 129, 131, 136, 141, 147, 148, 156, 161 Debit from the John Glassford and Company Records,<\/em> Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Microfilm Reel 58 (owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies\u2019 Association).<\/p>\n [4]<\/sup><\/a> Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761<\/em> folio 4 Debit and Credit.<\/p>\n [5]<\/sup><\/a> Edith Moore Sprouse, \u201cCommercial Activities,\u201d in Colchester: Port on the Potomac,<\/em> (Fairfax, Va: Fairfax County Office of Comprehensive Planning, 1975), 45.<\/p>\n [6]<\/sup><\/a> Henderson, et. al. Ledger 1760-1761<\/em> folio 4 Debit and Credit.<\/p>\n [7]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid., folio 141 Debit.<\/p>\n [8]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid., folio 20 Debit.<\/p>\n [9]<\/sup><\/a> Katherine Blocksdorf, \u201cHow Snaffle Bits Work \u2013 Horse Equipment,\u201d The Spruce,<\/em> accessed March 23, 2017, https:\/\/www.thespruce.com\/how-snaffle-bits-work-1886099.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/03\/ONeil-Rhiannon_ledger-1024x347.jpg\")
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http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/2027\/spo.did2222.0001.564<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/projects.cah.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/09\/ONeil_Horses-1024x564.png\")
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