Ratcatcher Garment in the Horse World

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, my name is Robin. I’m calling from Jacksonville, Florida.

What would you like to talk with us about?

Well, I’ve ridden horses my entire life, and there’s a particular caller, and it’s called a rat catcher.

And I always thought maybe it came from, like, hunters, like fox hunters.

So it was like a rat catcher with the jack ruffles and whatnot.

But I’ve just never really understood it.

I’ve worn one my entire life, but I didn’t know where it came from.

So by a collar, you mean it goes around your neck, not the horse’s neck?

That’s correct.

And what does it look like?

Are we talking about stiff fabric?

You could picture that you button your shirt up and it already has a straight collar on it.

It goes back to the middle of the neck.

And then there’s a separate button.

And you put an extra collar around it.

And it’s called a rat catcher.

Yeah, there’s a long history in the horse world of calling clothes rat catchers.

And not specifically that kind of collar.

But a long time ago, about 100 years ago, it referred to informal clothes.

So you have this formal fox hunting outfit, as you thought, which is exactly on the money.

Which has a stock tie.

Yeah, but also it refers to the entire mode of dress,

This very specific costume that you wear to go fox hunting.

And then you had the kind of clothes you would wear, I think they called it cubbing.

On practice days, maybe?

Practice days, and they called it cubbing as well, when you would go after something, the young.

It is literally because when you wear them, you look like you’re wearing the kind of clothes that rat catchers would wear.

And so it was early as 1910 of two writers.

So it seems informal.

Yeah, because it seems informal.

And I’ve grown up knowing it was formal.

But words change, and it’s been a long time, you know.

I’m so interested in that.

Right?

I really appreciate this.

Rudyard Kipling and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, two writers, both used it separately in 1910 in their writing.

Yeah.

Oh, my goodness.

But you’ll find things like ratting jacket or rat catcher to refer to a blouse

Or rat catcher to refer to a tie.

Sometimes ratting suit, which refers to tweedy civilian clothes.

So it’s kind of all over the place.

Tweedy, like tweed.

Yeah, made with tweed, that’s right.

Tweedy civilian clothes.

Yeah.

And so all of this is just really about being in opposition

To the very formal traditional fox hunting clothes that you would wear.

Oh my goodness.

I am so glad to hear this information.

It’s just been a question on my mind since I was a little girl.

Well, thank you so much for spending some time with us today.

We really appreciate it, Robin.

Oh, I appreciate you as well.

Thank you very, very much.

All right.

Take care now.

Take care, Robin.

Thank you as well.

Bye-bye.

Goodbye.

Well, Robin had been wondering about that term since childhood, and I’m betting you have

A term like that as well.

You can give us a call to talk about it, 877-929-9673.