8 EARLY WORKS 



nothing to prevent that person from turning to 

 the index and reading the chapters which touch 

 on them. 



Supposing no allusions were made to writers 

 who lived before Christ, the assumption would 

 naturally be that the author did not consider 

 they were entitled to any notice. Yet, just in 

 the same way as Napoleon I. declared that 

 some of the greatest generals were undoubtedly 

 those who commanded armies in very ancient 

 times, so I declare that absolutely the cleverest 

 writers on horses, so far as I am aware, were 

 those who wrote for pleasure — and not for profit 

 — from 380 years B.C. up to a few centuries after 

 Christ. 



I have laid particular stress upon the way in 

 which you can find out all about these Greek and 

 Roman equine authors, i.e. from Huth's Index, 

 entitled "Works on Horses and Equitation," and 

 without lingering on the borderland of a second 

 introduction, I will proceed to trace from the 

 earliest MS. on horses, up to the researches of 

 professors at the Royal Veterinary College, 

 Camden Town, and other knowledge gleaned 

 from owners, trainers, horsemen, dealers, grooms, 

 and personal experience. 



Before we name with reverence the oldest 

 writer on horses, let me suggest that the reader 

 should take an early opportunity of visiting 

 Tattersall's or Aldridge's repositories, and after 

 watchinor the number of horses offered for sale 

 — noting the faces of bidders — let him sub- 

 sequently turn into the British Museum and 



