BEiTisn HORSE.] MODEEN VETERINAET PRACTICE. [bthtish nonsK. 



to tlie no small astonishment of his owner. 

 This unexpected visit evidently made a favour- 

 able impression upon his master, for he was 

 beard to vow, that if old Grizzle performed 

 the same feat a second time, for the future be 

 should remain on bis own side of the river, 

 and never be sent to the mill again. Grizzle 

 was sent back to work the boat on the follow- 

 ing day ; but be embraced the very first oppor- 

 tunity that occurred of escaping, swam back 

 in the way he had done before ; and his owner 

 not being a person to break the promise he 

 had once made, never afterwards dispossessed 

 him of the stable he had long been accustomed 

 to, and treated him with marked kindness and 

 attention." 



THE BRITISH HORSE. 



Having detailed, with as much fulness as we 

 deem necessary, the principal features and 

 characteristics of the horses of those nations 

 which have, more or less, held his qualities in 

 high estimation, we now proceed to give a 

 concise history of the English animal, and to 

 trace the improvement of the indigenous breed 

 of this country to its present exalted state. 

 "We may felicitate ourselves upon the fact, that 

 the efforts of our breeders and trainers to im- 

 prove the horse, have been crowned with the 

 most decided success ; for our animals are 

 vastly superior even to the parent stock, to 

 which we were first indebted for that new 

 infusion of blood which has given them greater 

 size, strength, and speed than are found in the 

 horses of any other country. 



The early history of the English horse is 

 involved in too much uncertainty to allow us 

 to speak with decision upon even the proba- 

 bilities of his nature. It is said, however, that 

 be was comparatively small ia size, and of a 

 wild and uncultivated form. "When the island 

 was invaded by Csesar, be found the British 

 horses regularly harnessed to war-chariots ; 

 but it is supposed probable, that after the 

 people had advanced from barbarism into a 

 tolerable degree of civilisation, the use of the 

 animal was principally diverted to domestic 

 purposes. This supposition rises out of the 

 consideration of our insular position, which 

 naturally made the ocean the element upon 

 which we were best able to cope with our foes, 

 and superseded the necessity of establishing 



an armed cavalry, until contention broke out 

 among ourselves. ]iy the Romans, liowevor, 

 the character of the horse of tliis country must 

 have been changed. In their cavalry were 

 horses from Italy, Gaul, and Spain ; and these 

 crossing with the indigenous breed of Britain, 

 would produce another race different from that 

 which had hitherto occupied the island. In 

 the seventh century, it is on record, that the 

 English then made use of the saddle, and that 

 bishops and others rode on horseback. Before 

 this period these dignitaries of the church 

 pursued their journeys mostly on foot, and 

 only made use of a horse when the circum- 

 stances were of such a character as to demand 

 it. To mark tlieir humility, they rode mares 

 only — the female animal being, at that time, 

 deemed neither so handsome nor so valuable as 

 the male. 



At a subsequent period, during the Saxon 

 sway, it would appear that an excellent breed 

 had risen up ; and that in the time of Alfred, 

 a master of the horse was appointed to look 

 after the breeding and the training of that 

 animal. This is an important fact, inasmuch 

 as it forcibly indicates the height to which the 

 horse had now attained in the royal estima- 

 tion. This ofiicer, in every subsequent reign, 

 was attached to the sovereign, more particu- 

 larly on state occasions. 



On the death of Alfred, Athelstan succeeded 

 to the throne, and this prince received from 

 Hugh Gapet, of France, a present of several 

 German running-horses. This, then, was the 

 cause of another cross in the English breed ; 

 and, as the horses presented were likely to be 

 of the very best kind, we may conclude that they 

 had an improving influence. The animal had 

 now attained a high reputation ; for we find 

 that Athelstan, a.d. 930, forbade the exporta- 

 tion of horses, except as presents to monarchs. 

 He also laboured to improve the breed, which 

 had already began to be considered valuable 

 on the continent. 



About a century and a quarter later, "Wil- 

 liam the Conqueror invaded England, and the 

 success of his expedition soon produced a 

 corresponding effect upon the breed of English 

 horses. In his army were several Spanish 

 animals, ridden by Norman knights ; and the 

 war-horse upon which he himself rode, was a 

 native of Spain. The cross which took placa- 



51 



