24 



law was to provide for the defences of 

 the kingdom, and there is nothing in its 

 clauses that would indicate desire to promote 

 horse-breeding ; on the contrary, geldings 

 are frequently mentioned as alternative to 

 horses. 



ELIZABETH (1558-1603). 



Queen Elizabeth, herself an admirable 

 horsewoman, was as fully imbued with the 

 necessity for encouraging the breeding of 

 horses as her father, Henry VIII., and she 

 lost little time in dealing with the whole sub- 

 ject after her accession. Energetic measures 

 were evidently much needed, if we may 

 accept the statements made by Sir Thomas 

 Chaloner, in a Latin poem written when he 

 was ambassador at Madrid, in 1579. He 

 observes that if Englishmen chose to devote 

 attention to breeding, with all the advan- 

 tages their country offered, they could 

 rear better horses than they could im- 

 port. England, he averred, had none but 

 " vile and ordinary horses," which were 

 suffered to run at large with the mares. 



In the first year of her reign Elizabeth 

 renewed Henry VIII.'s Act forbidding the 

 export of horses to Scotland. Her next 

 important step was taken in the fourth year 



