472 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



as a horse-market and race-course. Let us keep in mind that 

 Henry I was the son of William I, surnamed Conqueror, and 

 Matilda of Flanders, and that these kings held power in England 

 and on the continent. It is plain that under such intimate rela- 

 tions of Flanders and England the blood of their horses was 

 freely mingled, and the value of the Flanders horse became ap- 

 preciated in England for war and agriculture. We have said 

 the Spanish horse was esteemed by William at Hastings. Her- 

 bert doubts if the English then were aware that the value of 

 their horses came from the large per cent of Oriental blood in 

 their veins. 



The Flanders Element. King John, who gained pos- 

 session of England and Normandy in 1199, " paid great atten- 

 tion to the improvement of horses for agricultural purposes, and 

 he has the credit of originating the draught-horses of England. 

 He imported at one time one hundred chosen stallions from 

 Flanders. He was so anxious to possess the finest stock from 

 them, that he accepted strong horses for rent of crown lands. 

 One hundred years later, Edward II purchased thirty war- 

 horses and twelve draught-horses from Flanders and Germany. 

 Edward III had many running horses, and purchased fifty 

 Spanish horses, at a cost of 160 each. Coming down to 

 Henry VII, we find that he caused under-sized horses to be de- 

 stroyed, and had great numbers of full-sized mares and stallions 

 kept in the deer-parks and rural parishes. His reign was marked 

 by an increase of powerful, well-formed animals, adding greatly 

 to the wealth of his people. One authority states that at the 

 close of a May party the king and his brother-in-law, the Duke of 

 Suffolk, rode races on great coursers, like the Flemish breed of 

 Arab horse. During the reign of Henry VII (1509-1547), an 

 "annual race was run at Chester, the prize being a wooden ball, 

 handsomely embellished, for which, in 1540, a silver bell, called 

 St. George's Bell, was substituted. Hence the phrase, "Bear the 

 Bell." " In the reign of James I races were merely matches 

 against time, trials of speed and bottom, for long and ' cruel 

 distances.' " From this time, the history of English racing may 

 be said to fairly begin. 



