Sentence:  I was, however, but a very brief period employed as a <WSD>strapper</WSD>, as from the care and pains which I took in cleaning and watering the horses they soon mended in their jaded, worn-out appearance, for they were regularly fed, because I was regularly sober, a state, I have been informed, in which my predecessor was never in after mid-day. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  One who (straps) (horses).