342 THE HORSES OF PREHISTORIC [CH. 



war-horses developed, are still the principal centre in Germany 

 for the breeding of heavy horses, but the number bred even 

 there is but scanty, for as late as 1897 only 9 per cent, of the 

 cart-horses in that area were home-bred 1 . 



The lighter breeds developed out of the old great horses 

 to meet the needs of altered conditions of warfare, and the 

 requirements of coaches and carriages (termed intermediary 

 breeds by some foreign writers) are held by Sanson to be 

 simply varieties of his E. c. germanicus. They inhabit all 

 North Germany, the chief centre of production being Schleswig- 

 Holstein, but they are diffused through Mecklenburg, Olden- 

 burg, Hanover, Jutland 2 and other areas. Though they have 

 all a family likeness, they can be divided into three principal 

 groups Hanoverian, Mecklenburg, and Danish. 



When armour was discarded completely in the latter half of 

 the 17th century, the great horses that carried the men-at-arms 

 of older days were no longer fitted for the new cavalry. Hence 

 attempts were soon made to modify the old breed by an ad- 

 mixture of southern blood and thus to obtain strong but lighter 

 horses capable of carrying a soldier not encumbered with 

 armour. 



The Hanoverian breed owes its origin to our Hanoverian 

 kings, by whose influence many English thoroughbreds were 

 sent from England from the time of George I down to 1837. 

 The Hanoverian horses are bred on the fertile pasture of the 

 Elbe, the Weser, the Ems, and their affluents, the chief horse- 

 breeding centres being the districts of Stade and Celle 3 . The 

 object of the breeders has been to produce strong half-breds of 

 high quality, the lighter specimens of which are adapted for 

 saddle-horses, the heavy to serve as coach-horses. Although 

 well-bred, they are big and heavy and are used more for 

 draught than for saddle. The old Hanoverian horse may be 

 said to have disappeared since 1746. 



Near Osnabruck is the stud of Drenthe horses, which 

 originally came from Drenthe in Holland. They are black 

 and they supply London with funeral horses 4 . 



1 Hayes, op. cit. p. 517. 2 Cuyer and Alix, op. cit. p. 624. 



3 Hayes, op. cit. p. 513. 4 Hayes, op. cit. pp. 514-5. 



