THE HORSE IN BRITAIN 545 



as professional race-horses, and public race-meetings were formally gazetted 

 as at this day. 



In the time of Charles I the importation and breeding of swift horses 

 continued, for supplying both the turf and the hunting-field with good 

 performers. The order of the day was for fast gallopers, who were rapidly 

 supplanting the tournament horse, and to so great an extent as to have 

 caused the presentation of a memorial to the king complaining of the great 

 diminution of stout and powerful horses " fit for the defence of the coun- 

 try", and urging that measures should be adopted in order to encourage 

 the propagation " of this useful and important type of horse ". To promote 

 the object sought, a law was enacted but never was 2)ut into execution, and 

 consequently became a dead letter. It was impossible, tlierefore, to keep 

 up a large supply, as the demand for this class of horse had considei-ably 

 diminished. The turf had usurped the occupation of the tilting-yard, and 

 the great horse had been supplanted by the racer. At the same time a 

 necessity still remained for the production of weight-carriers to draw vehicles 

 laden with heavy goods, and to carry men in armour — for even at this date 

 armour formed no inconsiderable portion of the trooper's uniform, — and con- 

 sequently a demand for " stout and powerful horses " still existed, but not 

 to so great an extent as during the Tudor era. During the civil wars racing 

 was neglected, but the importance of cavalry horses exercised a powerful 

 influence in causing the production of horses possessing both strength and 

 activity, and to the development of this type Cromwell gave his attention. 

 He raised a cavalry regiment, the best in existence at that date, composed 

 of powerful yeomen and stout horses. He on two occasions (February 24, 

 1654, and April 8, 1658) prohibited horse-racing, declaring all persons of 

 what " estate, quality, or degree soever, who should appoint or assist at 

 race-meetings, breakers of the public peace, and further requiring all civil 

 and military authorities to seize all the race-horses and spectators " ; but he 

 generally encoui-aged the breeding of stout, active horses, with a view to 

 procuring animals with speed and endurance, which he recognized wex'e 

 more useful on the march and on the battle-field than those chargers which 

 possessed " mere bone and l)ulk ". It can, therefore, be seen that during 

 the Commonwealth the demand for cavalry horses was the incentive which 

 led to the production of animals possessing bulk combined with activity, 

 and this result was obtained from crosses between the weight-carrier and 

 racer of this era. Thus a new type of horse was created, namely the active 

 cavalry horse, whose descendants at a later date drew the heavy springless 

 vehicles of our forefathers over rotten and almost imjiassable roads. 



Although during the stormy days of civil war, horse-racing had been 

 neglected, after the third Stuart was crowned king this sport became a 



