Black Beauty: Chapter 30 Summary & Analysis

Mr. Barry is a businessman in Bath, whose doctor wants him to ride horses for exercise. He boards Black Beauty at a stable and hires a man named Filcher as a groom. Mr. Barry doesn’t know much about horses, but he’s kind and orders large amounts of the best horse food. Filcher knows his business; he used to be an ostler. But soon, Black Beauty finds he’s not getting enough oats. He has no way to tell Mr. Barry why he’s no longer energetic. This goes on for two months, until Mr. Barry rides Black Beauty to visit a friend who’s knowledgeable about horses. When he asks about Black Beauty’s poor condition, Mr. Barry says Filcher insists horses are just weak in the autumn. The friend says that’s nonsense and suggests that someone “wicked” is “rob[bing] a dumb beast” of his oats.

Black Beauty resents being called a “dumb beast,” but he knows where the oats are going: Filcher’s son always visits with his father in the morning, and he takes oats with him. A week after the visit to Mr. Barry’s friend, the police enter the stable with the boy and ask to see where Mr. Filcher keeps his rabbits’ food. The frightened boy shows them Black Beauty’s feed bin. Filcher is imprisoned, though the boy isn’t found guilty.