126 VARIETIES OF THE HORSE 



country, and which is fully referred to in the description of the Shire 

 horse. 



The War-horse, however, though small in stature, eventually in- 

 creased in bulk by a judicious system of crossing with imj^orted stallions, 

 and no doubt became in due course of time too heavy an animal for light 

 draught purposes, and hence it is but reasonable to infer the inhabitants 

 of some districts were glad to do their best to produce an animal more 

 suited to their requirements. This horse, it appears most probable, was the 

 original tap-root from which the modern Cleveland Bay is descended; but 

 owing to the fact that the majority of English horse-breeders were devot- 

 ing their resources to the production of a powerful class of animal which 

 would be serviceable in times of war to carry soldiers clad in armour — it 

 being the command of successive kings that they should do so under heavy 

 penalties — it is but natural that the advent of the lighter variety should 

 have been delayed. Indeed, his services were scarcely required until a 

 comparatively recent period in the history of the country, as it was not 

 until almost the conclusion of the reign of Queen Elizabeth that Fitzalan, 

 Earl of Arundel, first introduced light coaches into England, the aristocracy 

 of which country had ujd to that period been in the habit of indulging 

 in their carriage exercise in carts. No douljt, however, the coaches 

 designed by the Earl of Arundel were cumbersome aftairs, as the roads 

 in his days were not exactly adapted for light vehicular traffic; but on 

 the other hand, it is reasonable to infer that a less powerful horse than 

 those which had been bred up to that time would be equal to drawing 

 them, and hence it may be assumed that the attention of certain breeders 

 was directed to the production of a lighter class of animal somewhere 

 about the reign of good Queen Bess. 



From that period until the present time there has, of course, been a 

 steady improvement in our highways and a corresponding diminution in 

 the size and weight of conveyances, with, of course, an increasing demand 

 for the more lightly built yet powerful harness horses; and no doubt as 

 highways have improved anrl the vehicles become more shapely and less 

 cumbersome, horses have been bred to meet the requirements of the times. 

 Consequently animals of the Cleveland type, either as he now exists or in 

 his less finished form, have more and more been sought for by a certain 

 class of horse owners, who have been anxious to procure an upstanding, 

 imposing-looking animal, possessed of plenty of substance, and sufficient 

 strength to draw heavy loads, but yet showing some quality and an 

 ability to get over ground more actively than the breeds which were 

 solely adapted for agricultural purposes. 



As observed above, there can be very little doubt regarding the antiquity 



