THEIR HISTORY, RISE AND PROGRESS. 371 



scarce and expensive, and it was supposed to "be the con- 

 sequence of many Horses and Mares having been exported. 

 To remedy this evil an Act was passed, which prohibited 

 any Horse or Mare being carried out of the Eeahn without 

 the King's Licence. But any Denizen might carry a Horse 

 beyond the sea on making oath that it was for his own use ; 

 and any Mare of three years old or upwards, whose price 

 Avas not above six shillings and eight pence, might be 

 exported, the owner, however, being compelled to sell her 

 at the port to any person who shoulcl bid him seven 

 sliillings {p). 



In the Reign of Henry the Eighth, a.d. 1530, it was Reign of 

 fm'ther enacted, that any person conveying any Horses, 5-^;!|^T ^^^ 

 Geldings or Mares to any parts beyond the sea, without ° 

 the King's Licence, should forfeit forty shillings for every 

 Poll {q). It appears, however, that notwithstanding these 

 enactments, good Horses continued to be scarce, aud the 

 breed of "good, swift and strong Horses" was supposed 

 to have decayed on account of " little Horses and Nags 

 of small stature and value being suffered to depastui'e and 

 also to cover Mares and Felys of very small statm'e." 

 To remedy this, an Act was passed in a.u. 1535, com- 

 pelling the owners and occupiers of Deer-parks of a mile 

 or upwards in cu^cumference, to keep a certain number of 

 foal Mares, in proportion to the extent of their grounds, 

 such Mares to be at least thirteen hands in height, and to 

 be covered by Horses of fom-teen hands or upwards (r). 

 This Act did not extend to the counties of Westmore- 

 land, Cumberland, Northumberland and the Bishoprick of 

 Dm-ham («). 



The breed, however, still continued to decay and di- 

 minish ; and it was supposed to be in consequence of 

 " little stoned Horses and Nags, of small stature and of 

 little value," being suffered to depasture in "the Forests, 

 Chases, Moors, Marshes, Heaths, Commons and waste 

 Grounds in the Realm," and also to cover Mares feeding 

 there. The legislature, to remedy this evil, passed another 

 Act in A.D. 1540, which prohibited any stoned Horse, 

 under fifteen hands, being pastured on such lands through- 

 out the greater part of England and the whole of Wales, 

 or under fom^teen hands elsewhere {t). Any person, on 



{p) 11 Hen. 7, c. 13, repealed by pealed by 26 & 27 Vict. c. 125. 



25 Car. 2, c. 6. (*) 27 Hen. 8, c. 6, s. 5. 



(y) 22 Hen. 8, c. 7. (0 32 Hen. 8, c. 13, s. 2, re- 



(>•) 27 Hen. 8, c. G, ss. 2, 4, ro- pealed by 19 & 20 Vict. c. 64. 



15 H 2 



