42 THE HORSE. 



man with a light breastplate and helmet no 

 longer needed a cart-horse to carry him. 

 As the weight of armour decreased, the 

 ponderous and inactive charger lost his- 

 occupation, and was superseded by a 

 more agile animal. 

 Theoccupa- During Elizabeth's reign the tourna- 



tion of the 



tournament me nt was on the wane, and the insti- 



horse on the 



tution of private race meetings, ultimately 

 to be followed by public ones, gave the 

 finishing stroke to the old pastime and 

 an extra impetus to the propagation of 

 horses adapted for racing purposes. 

 Horse-racing It was not, however, until James I. 



legally 



established, ascended the throne that horse-racing was 

 legally established, in which pursuit this 

 monarch took great interest, and was 

 the first 'to introduce into England a 

 horse known to be a pure Arabian stal- 



