252 



WEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Feb. 26, 1830. 



LIBRARV OK rsKFlLi KXOWI-EDGE. 



ICanlitiud /rtmptgt fiH.] 

 CHAPTER 111. 



UlSTORV OF THE ENGLISH HORSE. 



Willi Williaiii llie Conqueror, came a murkcd 

 irnproveiiiuiit in tlie Hiitisli liorsc. Tii liis !<ii|ie- 

 riority in ctiviilry, tliis prince was cliicily iiiilcliieil 

 for the vii'tury of lliistinxs. Tliu I'livorile cliar- 

 qer of William was u S^(iani«ril. His followers, 

 both llie burons ami uoinnion soliiii'i.-^, raiiiu priri- 

 cipally from a country in which a;,'rii-ulliire had 

 made more rapid progres.s than in EM;;laiid. A very 

 considerable portion of the kin-idom was divided 

 niMong those rnen ; and it cannot lie donhled that, 

 however unjust was the UMJrpation of the Nor- 

 man, England benefited in its horbandry, aud 

 particularly in its horses, by the change of mas- 

 ters. Some of the Barons, nnil particnhirly Ro- 

 ger de Boulogne, eai 1 of Hlirewsbiiry, iiitrcKluced 

 the Spanish horse on their newly-acipiired estates. 

 The historians of these times, however, principally 

 inonk.s, knowing nothing about horses, give us 

 very little information on (he subject. 



In the reign of Henry I. (a. d. ir21) the first 

 Arabian horse, or, at least, the first on record, was 

 introduced. Alexander I. king of Scotland, pre- 

 sented to (he church of St Andrew's, an Arabian 

 liorse, with costly furniture, Tuikish armor, 

 many valuable triid<ets, and a considerable estate. 



Forty years afterwards, in the reign of Henry 

 II. Snnlblield was celebrated as a horse market. 

 Filz-Slephen, who lived at that time, gives the 

 following aninnted account of the manner in 

 which (he hnr/ciici/s and charging slccils were 

 tried there, l>y racing against one another — 

 " When a race is to he run by this sort of horses 

 nnd perhaps by others, which also in their kin<l 

 ore strong and fleet, a shout is iinm<Mliaiely raised, 

 and the <!ommon horses are ordered to withdraw 

 out of the way. Three jockeys, or someiimes 

 only two, as the match is maile, [irei)are them- 

 selves for the contest. The horses on their part 

 are not without eimdation; they trcndile and are 

 impatient, and are conlinuall/ in motion. At last 

 the signal once given, they start, devom' tin; 

 course, and hurry along with imremitling swift- 

 ness. The jockeys, inspired with the tlKuight of 

 applause, and the hope of victory, clap spurs to 

 their willing horses, brandisli their whips, and 

 cheer them with their cries." This description 

 remintls us of (he more lengthened races of ilie 

 present day, and proves the blood of the English 

 horse, even before the Eastern breeil was tried. 



Close on this followed the Crusades. The 

 champions of the (y'rciss certainly hail it in their 

 power to enrich their inilive enimtry with some 

 of the choicest specimens of Eastern horses, but 

 they were compli-lely uiidi^r the inniienrc of sn- 

 pcrstiliofi and liinaticism, and counnon sense nml 

 usefulness were forgoitc-n. 



An </ld metrical roimince, however, records the 

 excellence of two horsiis belonging To Richaid 

 Coetir de l.ion, which lii^ i)nrcliascd at Cyprus, and 

 were then^fure, pr-ibidily, of Eastern origin. 

 Yn tWn wnddo llicy Iinddi; no pcrc," 

 Dioniciliiry nor (lefilrcrc.t 

 Sicdc, Kaliytv.t ni- (■.minicie, 

 Cooili none «a !i\vif(c, wiihniil Tiyk- , 

 For n lhoii<»nd pownd of Koldo, 

 No slioald the one bo nolde. 



' I'ccr, rqiiiil. 

 t .\rablaa. 



I War Uoviu, 



The war steed was ilefeiided by nniil or plate, ' 

 much on the plan of ibi' hiirness of the knigbt ' 

 Iiimself. His head was ornamented with a cre~t. ' 

 The he;ul, chest, and Hanks, were wholly or par- i 

 tinlly jM'otccted ; and sometimes, ho was clad in ' 

 complete steel, with the arms of his master en- 

 graved or embossed on his bardiiips. The bridle 

 of the horse was always as spliMidid as the cir- ' 

 pumstancesof tin; knight allowed, and thus a horse 

 was ofteti called Brigliadore, from iriglta d'oro, a 

 bridle of gold. Bells were a very favorite addi- 

 tion to the eqnipinent of the horse. The old 

 Troubadour, Arnold of IMarson, says, that " no- 

 thing is so proper to inspire confidence in a 

 knight, and terror in an enemy." 



The price of li<ir.=cs at this periot! was singu- 

 larly micertain. Ill 1 IS."), fifteen breeding mares 

 S(dd for two pounds twelve shillings and six pence. 

 Tbcy were purchased by the monarch, and dis- 

 tributed among his tenants, and, in order to get 

 something by the bargain, be charged them the 

 great sum of four shillings each. Twenty years 

 afterwards, ten capital horses broiiglit no less than 

 twenty pounds each ; end, twelve years later, a 

 pair of horses were imported from Lombanly, for 

 wliicli the extravagant price of (birtyeigbt pounds 

 thirteen shillings and fourpcnce was given. The 

 usual jirice of good bandsoiiie horses was ten 

 pouiid.«, and the hire of a car or cart, with two 

 horse.s, was ten pence a day. 



To King Jcdin, hatef.il as he was in all other 

 respects, we arc yet much indebted for the atten- 

 tion which he iiaid to agriculture generally, and 

 particularly to improving the breed of horses. He 

 imported one hundred chosen stallionsof the Flan- 

 ders kind, and thus mainly contributed to prepare 

 our noble species of draught horses, as unrivalled 

 as the horses of the turf 



John acciiiiiiilated a very nutncroiis and rahin- 

 ble stud. He was eager to iiossess himself of 

 every hor.sc of more than usual |)ower;and, at all 

 time.-, gladly received from the tenants of the 

 crown, horses of a superior (|iialily, instead of 

 money, for the renewal of grants, or the payment 

 of fiirfeilures belonging to the crown. It was bis 

 pride to render his cavahy, and the horses for 

 the tournament and fiir pleasure, as perfect as pos- 

 sible. It could not be expected that so ham^hty 

 a tyrant would concern himself much with the 

 inferior kinds ; yet wbih; the superior was becom- 

 ing rapidly more valuable, the others would, in an 

 iniliiect manner, partake of the iniprovemcnl. 



One hundred years afterw.irds, Edward II. 

 purcha;ed thirty Lomlmrdy i(inr-/ior.<if5. and twelve 

 heavy draughl-hoises. Lombardy, Italy, and 

 Spain were the i-onntrics whence the greater part 

 of iMirope w;.s then supplied with (he mos( valu- 

 able cavalry or parade horses. Horses fiir a;;ri- 

 cnltiiriil purposes were chiefly procured from 

 Flanders. 



IMw;ird III. devoted one thnusnnd marks to 

 the purchase <ir fifiy Spanish hi>rses; and cd'sucli 

 Iniporlance did he conceive this addition to the 

 English, or rather mingled blood, then existing, 

 lliat formal n|i(>lication was made to the kings of 

 France ami Spain to grant safe conduct to the 

 Iroop. When they had sately arrived at the 

 royal stud, it was computed that they had cost 

 ibe monarch no le.ss (liiiii ihirlccn pounds six sbil- 

 lings anil eight pence per hor.se, equal in value 

 to one hundred and sixty pounds of our present 

 money. 



Tills monarcb had many running-horses. The 



precise meaning of the tcriii is not, however, cl 

 It might be light and speedy horses, in uppo>iii e 

 to the war-horse, or those (hat were literally u 

 fur (he pur|H).se of racing. The average pri 

 of these running-horses was twenty marks, 

 three pounds six shillings and eight pence. I' 

 ward was devoted (o the sports of the turf or t 

 field, or he began to see the propriety of crossi 

 our stately and heavy breed with those of u ligli 

 structure and greater speed. 



There was, however, one impediment to il 

 woich was not fiir a very long period remov. 

 The soldier was cased in heavy armor. The knij 

 with all his accoutrements, often rode more th 

 twentyfive stone. No little bulk and gtreii{ 

 were required in the animal destined to cui 

 this back-breaking weight. When the musi 

 was substituted fiir the cross-bow and batde-^ 

 and (his iron defence, cumbrous (o the we.n 

 and des(ruc(ive (o (he horse, was useless, and 1 

 aside, the iniprovemeiit of the British horse in 

 ality commenced. 



While Edward was thus eager to avail hims 

 of fiireign blood, wi(h (he too frequent selfishn 

 of the sportsman, he would let no neighl 

 share in the advantage. The exportation 

 horses was forbidden under very heavy penall 

 One case in which he relaxed from bis sever 

 is mentioned, when he permitted a German m 

 chant to re-export some Flanders horses wlii 

 he bad bought on speculation ; but he was siric 

 forbidden to send them to Scotland. Nay, 

 jealous were these Sister kingdoms of each otli« 

 prosperity, that so la»c as the time of Eli/.abe 

 it was fi lony to export horses from England 

 Scotland. 



The English horse was advancing, alihod 

 slowly, to an equality with, or even su|)erior 

 over (hose of neighboring countries. His va 

 began (o be more generally and highly estimat 

 and his price rapidly increased — so much so, (I 

 breeders and the dealers, (hen, as now, skil 

 in imposing on the inexperienced, obtained fr 

 many of our young grandees enormous prices 

 them. This evil ma-.'iiified to such an extc 

 that Richard II. (13SG) interfered to regulate a 

 detcrniinc the inice. The procliiniation which 

 issued is interesting, not only as proving the 

 creased value of the horse, but shewing wl 

 were, four hundred and fifiy years ago, ainl wl 

 are, still, the chief breeding districts. It w.is i 

 dered (o be published in the counties of Liner 

 and Cambridge, and the East and North Ridin 

 of Vorkshire ; and the price of the horse » 

 restricted <o that which had l>ccii determined 

 fiirmer sovereigns. A more enlightened poli 

 has a( length banished all such ab-iird in(erfere 

 CCS widi agricuhurc and rnmmeree. 



We can now collec( but little of the history 

 the horse until the reign of Henry VII., at I) 

 close of the fifteenth centuiy. He co.itinncd 

 prohibit the export;i(ion of sdillions, liu( al!owi 

 that of mares when more than two years ol 

 and under thu value of six shillings and eig 

 pence. This regulation was, however, easi 

 evaded, for if a mare could he found wor 

 inoni than six shillings and eight pence, si 

 might be freely exported on (ho payment of (h 

 sum. 



{To ht amtmutd nfxt toetl ] 



Il appears that in Pciiiisylvanln (he estim.ilc 

 price of pHs.sngo in a car on a Railway is ahoi 

 13 cents for forty miles, exclusive of (oil. 



