THE HORSE IN BRITAIN 549 



the Arabian courser are held by Maister Bluiideville and Maister Markham 

 to be the chief for racing and neat action, there is the bastard stallion be- 

 gotten by one of them on our English mares which doth exceed either of 

 them in swiftness and toughness ". 



Of course it is impossible at this distance of time to trace distinctly the 

 pedigree of the horses and mares imported during the Stuart epoch, although 

 it is certain that to these importations the superiorit}' in our breeds is 

 attributable. Some of the royal mares were purchased in Hungary, but 

 Admiral Rous thinks the majority came from Morocco, and that the Barbs 

 were brought during the sixth century from Arabia, when the Saracens 

 overran and conquered Northern Africa. That all these were highly bred 

 and were of Eastern origin cannot be doubted, and their introduction into 

 .this country resulted in the improv^ement of native breeds and in developing 

 the British thoroughbred. 



Writers in the past bear testimony to this fact, and cite instances and 

 describe the processes that have l)een adopted in their attempts to improve 

 present or establish new breeds. Clive, " On the good effects of crossing", 

 writes: "We are told that the great improvement in the Ijreed of horses in 

 England arose from the crossing with those diminutive stallions, Barbs and 

 Arabians, and the introduction of mares from Flanders into this country 

 was the source of improvement in the breed of cart-horses. 



" When the Asiatic horses were mated with native-bred Engli.sh mares, 

 there was size on one side and superior quality on the other, the mare 

 exhibiting size and greater development of bone and muscle, but lacking 

 that 'density of fibre' and vital energy which was possessed by the Barb 

 in an eminent degree. From such combination it might be anticipated that 

 the oftspring would grow to greater size than the sire, and would show as 

 it arrived at maturity a good proportion of the Eastern horse's quality. 

 And this is exactly what did take place. Animals of size and quality were 

 obtained from the first cro.sses, and from the Stuart epoch to the present 

 day our race-horses have, decade by decade, increased in height. In 1730 

 the Oriental horse was denounced, and it was the opinion of sportsmen at 

 this date that the immediate uuerossed descendants of Eastern horses had 

 of late years, almost without exception, proved so deficient that breeders 

 would no more have recourse to them than the farmer would to the natural 

 oat, which is little better than a weed, to produce a sample that should rival 

 that of his neighbours in the market. Were the finest Eastern horse that 

 could be procured brought to the starting-post at Newmarket, with the ad- 

 vantage of English training to boot, he would have no chance at any weight 

 or for any distance with even a second-rate English race-horse." From this 

 quotation we learn that the cross-bred English racer was a gustier racer on 



