STUD BOOK. 45 



for his own use. Such foals, fillies, Or mares, as were not 

 considered able to bear foals of reasonable stature were, by 

 the same act, to be killed and buried. 



There is no doubt but that these statutes, harsh as they 

 were, laid the foundation of the excellent breeds now com- 

 mon . in England. Henry VHL was every inch a horseman, 

 and he delighted especially in everything regarding the 

 noble animaL He compelled the nobility, gentry, and 

 high^I- orders of the clergy, to keep a number of horses in 

 proportion to their rank. During the reign of Henry "VHI. 

 an annual race was run at Chester, but the year when it first 

 took place is not known. 



In the reign of Edward VI. horse statutes became actu- 

 ally ferocious. To steal a horse was visited with death with- 

 out privilege of clergy. 



To James I. the improvement of English horses owes 

 much, for it was he who first ventured upon that grand im- 

 provement in breeding, the introduction of horses from east- 

 ern countries, from which the fame of their horses had gone 

 forth from time immemorial He purchased an Arabian 

 horse from a merchant named Markham, and gave for it the 

 enormous price, according to the value of money at that 

 period, of 500. This horse, however, on trial, was found defi- 

 cient in speed, and the Duke of Newcastle, who then man- 

 aged the sporting affairs of the king, took a dislike to the 

 horse on this account; no one had sufficient courage to 

 demand that his breed should be put to the test; and for the 

 greater part of a century, the Arabian breed sank into dis- 

 use, and almost into contempt. 



The only annual race established prior to the reign of 

 James I. was that at Chester; meetings were now held in 

 Yorkshire, at Newmarket, at Croydon, and at Theobald's, 

 on Enfield Chase. Training the horses came into vogue, 

 a ceremony which no doubt created intense interest with 

 those who engaged in the pursuit. The practice of weigh- 

 ing the jockeys was also adopted, and the pedigrees of the 

 horses which acquired fame became a subject of attention, 

 an example in all probability borrowed from . the Arabs. 

 Those which gave proof of superior speed were selected to 

 breed from, and the produce was devoted principally to 

 racing. The genealogy of our present stock cannot be traced 

 to so early a date, yet it is probable some of that blood was 

 continued in strains which will be hereafter noticed. 



During the protectorate of Cromwell, a southeastern 

 horse, the beautiful WHITE TUKE, was introduced. The ad- 



