540 THE HISTORY OF THE HORSE 



a fine of ten horses, each worth thirty marks, about £300 of our present 

 currency. These were the days when hirge horses were in request, and 

 when kings and nobles vied with each other in attempting to procure by 

 importation and by breeding magnificent specimens of the " great " horse, 

 and also lighter bred animals for the chase. Soon after Edward II ascended 

 the throne we find a commission is given to one Bynde Bouaventure for 

 twenty war-horses and twelve draught horses to be purchased in Lombardy. 

 John dc Trokelow, in 1307, bears testimony to the care this prince bestowed 

 on horses and the zeal with which he attempted their improvement. 

 Edward III was an ardent supporter of the tournament and the chase, and 

 warmly encouraged the importance and breeding of light and heavy horses. 

 It is recorded that this monarch purchased fifty Spanish stallions for 

 1000 marks, and imported from France four great horses, for whicli he 

 paid Count Hainault 25,000 florins. This prince also introduced horse- 

 racing, in which sport Spanish horses seem to have been engaged, and those 

 animals which performed on the turf were named running-horses. During 

 this reign the various breeds of horses were separated into classes, each 

 breed being distinguished by a name indicating the use in which each 

 respective class was employed. Laws also were enacted to prevent dis- 

 honest dealing and to control prices; and as the laws were principally 

 directed against owners residing in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and York- 

 shire, we can perceive that even then these counties were considered 

 favoured localities for breeding and rearing horses. The ecjuine importa- 

 tions mentioned above consisted of large horses from Flanders and from 

 Lombardy, and of light ones whose ancestors had been bred in Africa or 

 in Arabia; and it is from these two breeds that our race-horses, hunters, 

 and heavy wagoners have by gradual and progressive development derived 

 their origin. 



The Crusades offered an opportunity to the warriors who left this 

 country for the Holy Land, to note the excellence of the horses ridden by 

 the Saracens, and on their return to this country they brought with them 

 many Asiatic horses, which became the progenitors of that stock whose 

 descendants in the days of the first Stuart and later were conspicuous on the 

 race-course. These horses most likely had descended from the stock with 

 which Mohammed and his followers had waged war, and were represented by 

 Barbs, by Arabs, by Persians, and by Turks. They were small, as they are 

 to this day, i.e. not more than 14^ hands high, but from these animals the 

 English pony gained size and the charger Cjuality. For the tournament the 

 light Arab-looking horses imported by the Crusaders would have been use- 

 less. For this pastime heavy horses were obtained, and it was from inter- 

 mixture between these two types that equality was acquii-ed and greater size 



