horsemaster

English

Etymology

From horse +‎ master.

Noun

horsemaster (plural horsemasters)

1. One who takes care of horses, which may include breeding or training.
   • 1938 June 29, Herbert Johnson, editor, “Camp Charlevoix Weekly News Column”, in Charlevoix Courier, volume 43, number 26, Charlevoix, Mich., page three, column 1:

     Ben had “Buck” Commings with him who also hails from the “Bad Lands”, but “Buck” will only lasso horses. He will be horsemaster at camp.

   • 1984, Elizabeth Hewitt (Mary Jeanne Abbott), Captain Black, New York, N.Y.: Signet, New American Library, →ISBN, page 128:

     My riding instructor was once horsemaster at Astley’s Circus.

   • 1986, Brian Carter, Jack: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Beaufort Books, published 1987, →ISBN, page 320:

     ‘I was assistant horsemaster at the stud back home.’

   • 1990, Susan Bowden, The Divided Heart, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 17:

     When King Richard had been killed at Bosworth, Tom Thomson had become horsemaster at Jervaulx and begun his own stud there.

   • 1993, Miriam Grace Monfredo, North Star Conspiracy, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 239:

     Both Masika and Chantal Dupont confirmed that Moses Rawlings, longtime horsemaster at Riverain, had known the Jolimont overseer of thirteen years before.

   • 1995, Crawford Kilian, Redmagic, New York, N.Y.: Del Rey Books, →ISBN, page 45:

     When you speak to the horsemaster at the station, tell him that the future of the Exteca hangs upon your news; he must give you fresh horses and a direct pass to Tola.

   • 2010, Elizabeth Moon, Oath of Fealty (Paladin’s Legacy; 1), London: Orbit, →ISBN, page 314:

     “Why not horse breeding or training?” Arcolin asked. / “I didn’t want to stay in one place,” Burek said. “And besides—I also like swords and fighting.” They were up at the road by then. “I had the chance, sir . . . to stay, to become a horsemaster . . . but it would be the same thing the rest of my life, year after year. […]”

2. (rare) An expert equestrian.
   • 1963 February 10, Fern Smith, “Teen of the Week: Horseback Riding Is First Love of Top Equestrienne”, in Sunday Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wis., page 2, column 3:

     The teen-age equestrienne has big dreams and big plans for “Mr. John.” He and Sudy will start out on the Wisconsin Circuit when the show opens in Madison. What are her chances? Modestly, Sudy replies, “Both of us will do our best—but let’s not be previous.” / And what does the future hold? Sudy wants more than anything to become a horsemaster. If all goes well she will learn the art at Porlock Vale Riding School, Porlock, Somerset, England.

   • 1968, 1968 Mirror, Waltham, Mass.: Waltham High School, page 81:

     A horsemaster at heart, she finds instant enjoyment atop a fast steed.

   • 1986, Martin H. Brice, The Witch in the Cave, London: Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, page 43:

     He was bouncing up and down and from side to side on the heaving back, sometimes being thrown right forward onto the pony’s neck. Yet he still managed to hold onto the reins. He knew now that he had at last become a horsemaster, just like Hpe-gnorr. There was nothing he could not do — even that trick he had once seen Hpe-gnorr perform.