THE HORSE. 33 



quality the smaller horses possessed ; 

 consequently it was from other sources 

 that improvement in the smaller breeds 

 was commenced. 



The Crusades offered an opportunity The horses 



J of the 



to the warriors who left this country for 

 the Holy Land to note the excellence of 

 the horses ridden by the Saracens ; and 

 on their return to this country many 

 Asiatic horses found their way to Eng- 

 land, and became the progenitors of that 

 stock whose descendants, in the days of 

 the first Stuart, and later on, were able 

 to contend on the race-course. 



The advent of the Crusaders' foreign 

 horses to England was the first step 

 which led to the introduction of greater 

 quality to the English light-bred horses 



and to the improvement of heavy types ; 



3 



