national scandal at this time : Holinshecl's 

 account, published eleven years before this 

 Act was passed, shows us that no horse in 

 pasture or stable was safe. 



Queen Elizabeth's reign saw important 

 changes. The application of gunpowder to 

 hand-firearms destroyed the protective value 

 of heavy armour, and with heavy armour 

 gradually went the horse required to carry 

 it. The disappearance of the Great Horse 

 as a charger was very slow, however. In 

 1685 the Duke of Newcastle published his 

 famous work, The Manner of Feeding, Dress- 

 ing and Training of Horses for the Great 

 Saddle, and fitting them for the Service of 

 the Field in time of War. The book was 

 probably of little use to posterity, for by 

 that time the day of the Great Horse as a 

 charger was very near its close, if not quite 

 at an end. The introduction of coaches was 

 another mark of social progress ; and light 

 horses, Arab, Barb and Spanish, were in 

 demand to improve our native breeds. 



Until 1580, when carriages came into use 

 in England, saddle horses were used by all 

 of whatever degree. Though the side saddle 

 had been introduced in Richard II.'s time, 

 ladies still rode frequently on a pillion behind 

 a gentleman or man-servant. Queen Eliza- 



