Jobs: Ostler

artist unknown to me.

One of those occupations you hear tell of and always wonder, "What the hell is that?"  An ostler (or hostler) is a man employed to look after the horses of the people staying at an inn.  Of course, it derives from the French term for innkeeper (hostelier).  As a man who has stayed in a number of hostels, I can tell you that I shared a space with animals on numerous occasions (though I don't recall any being French), so I think we'll stay with the animal husbandry aspect on this occasion.
    A significant portion of the ostler's time was taken up, quite naturally, with the care of the horses in his stable (I'm no horseman, so be sure to do additional research before using this in your life/work).  Horses need plenty of clean water and tend to feed three or more times per day.  Stalls need to be mucked out (cleaned) of dirt and feces, daily.  Exercise is always important, though if your guests just stay overnight, this might not be a big deal.  Horses kept indoors (stable/barn) should be groomed daily, using a curry comb to break up the dirt and a stiff brush to remove it.  The mane and tail should also be carefully brushed every day (don't tear out the tangles), standing beside of the horse to avoid a kicking.  Hooves should also be cleaned (with a hoof pick) daily.  When the horse comes in sweaty, all of the tack should be removed and set out to dry.  It is also recommended to wash the sweaty horse after a good workout (today they use sponges), then follow the washing with a sweat scraper and flysheet to remove excess water and keep the bugs away.  Putting on shoes and cleaning the teeth is left to the farriers these days, but may have been handled at the time by the ostler (though blacksmiths did shoeing as well and often dealt in horses, depending on the size of the community).  
    You might be wondering what kind of inn would need a man full time to do this kind of work, to which there are a few answers.  Naturally, a large inn located in a metropolitan center might have enough business to employ a full time ostler.  Additionally, busy highways might have caravans or tradesmen frequently on the road.  However, probably most of the horses that the ostler cared for were the property of the inn itself.  Roadside inns often served as posts for carriage companies (yes, where the postal service originated) and rich men in a hurry, to change their horses along the routes.  Some ostlers could change teams in as little as three minutes (their descendants became members of pit crews).  Additionally, because of the great expense of owning and keeping a horse, inns would hire horses to individuals for private use (much like a modern car-share service) for work, travel, or for other events (like funerals).  It may not have been a glamorous job (what job really is when you get down to it?), but the ostler was an important cog in the transportation business.
     Wagons were first used along the stage routes in England the 1600s and dominated long distance travel up until the advent of the steam engine.  Early stages had eight to ten horses and a driver with a very long whip riding a pony beside it.  Travel was very slow in the early days, until the crown got involved (to make money) by formulating the turnpikes.  The people strenuously objected to their taxes being spent this way (they set fire to the toll houses and took hatchets to the gates), claiming that it was the narrow-wheeled coaches that were destroying the roads.  However, the popularity of this mode of travel steadily grew, with certain routes being booked weeks in advance.  With the coaches came information of all varieties: mail, newspapers, and gossip laden travelers.  Their arrival was a moment of excitement in any town (inspiring that song in "Oklahoma!"). 
    The ostler may not have been the most widely respected man in town, but he provided a significant service.  When horses were the best way to get from A to B, a good ostler was invaluable.  His caring hands ensured the health of his charges as well as speeding patrons and coaches on their way.  In smaller communities, this may have been one of many hats worn by the innkeeper or the blacksmith, but as the post roads evolved it became a full time job.  You run into an ostler in most every Fantasy story, even if only in passing. 
   



definition - http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/hostler
basic horse care - http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Care-of-a-Horse-or-Pony
sweat scraper - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweat_scraper
old coaching days - https://archive.org/details/oldcoachingdays00bradgoog
laws governing inns and posts - http://books.google.com/books?id=3LcDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR1&lpg=PR1&dq=The+Laws+relating+to+Inns,+Hotels,+Alehouses,+and+Places+of+Public+Entertainment:+to+which+is+added,+an+Abstract+of+the+Statute+for+the+Regulation+of+Post+Horses,+by+J.+W.+Willcock+%281829%29&source=bl&ots=jk4hRIYlQJ&sig=vvITSNsVtwManwYZz5FE9YEoOVg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Lxi8U7WpNsScyATkrYCIDg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=The%20Laws%20relating%20to%20Inns%2C%20Hotels%2C%20Alehouses%2C%20and%20Places%20of%20Public%20Entertainment%3A%20to%20which%20is%20added%2C%20an%20Abstract%20of%20the%20Statute%20for%20the%20Regulation%20of%20Post%20Horses%2C%20by%20J.%20W.%20Willcock%20%281829%29&f=false