THE HORSE IN BRITAIN 537 



breeding, and assisted him in making selections from among those foreign 

 horses which he had admired on the Continent, with a view to mate 

 them with the indigenous breeds of Britain. Alfred was not only a 

 large importer of horses, but also imposed laws calculated to operate in 

 improving indigenous breeds; and in order to ensure that his mandates 

 should be thoroughly carried into effect he appointed a stud - groom 

 or master of the horse, who received the title of Horse Thane. The 

 duty of this officer was to superintend the breeding, training, and 

 management in health and in disease of the royal horses. During this 

 reign horses both foreign and native were bought and sold, but it was. 

 not until Athelstane ascended the throne, 925 a.d., that horse-dealing 

 became a vast commercial pursuit. Laws were enacted designed to 

 regulate the price and otherwise to protect purchasers against fraud. If 

 a horse were destroyed or lost through negligence, the owner was entitled 

 to "thirty shillings compensation, for a mare or colt, twenty shillings, for 

 an untrained mare, sixty pence, for a mule or an ass, twelve shillings". 

 Athelstane was a large importer of foreign horses, but he would not allow 

 English horses to leave the country, proving that at this early date the 

 value of British breeds was recognized, and therefore their exportation was 

 prohibited by law. The importation of Continental hor,ses was encouraged, 

 and nothing gave Athelstane so much pleasure as the receipt of presents 

 in the shape of horses. We read : " Sundry princes sought his alliance 

 and friendship, and sent him rich pi-esents, the finest horses, with golden 

 furniture," &c. These are said to have been "running horses", probably 

 nags of moderate size, adapted for purposes of display, of hunting, and 

 of chariot-racing, wdiich sports represented the pastimes of this period. 

 Athelstane evidently highly valued these presents, for in his will he 

 enumerates and makes a disjDosition of them : "Those given me l)y Thur- 

 brand, together with those given me by Liefbrand," &c. During this 

 reign it is evident that numerous horses existed in Great Britain, and 

 that intelligent measures had been adopted to cause their propagation 

 and their improvement, and to prevent any decrease in their number; 

 moreover, the law prohibiting their exportation was rigorously enforced. 

 During the following reigns it was the function of the horse thane to 

 superintend the cultivation and the propagation of horses. When William 

 the Conqueror landed on British territory he brought with him from 

 Normandy a large army, consisting of archers, light and heavy armed 

 infantry and cavaby, and the superiority of the Norman horse no doidjt 

 largely contributed to William's victory at the battle of Hastings. The 

 history of this memorable event shows us that the Norman horses landed 

 on these shores remained jaermanently in this country, and contributed 



