KING JOHN'S FOOLISH FAD in 



horses in England, and that they were for the 

 most part animals of great size and strength. 

 Consequently the cavalry of the period were 

 extremely unwieldy. On the other hand we 

 know that the rest of the horses distributed 

 throughout the country were but little bigger 

 than cobs, and we read that though attempts 

 were made to mount men-at-arms on some of 

 them all such attempts had soon to be abandoned, 

 the horses being " oppressed by the weight of the 

 armour and the heavy accoutrements." 



Probably this was the reason such strenuous 

 efforts were presently made by the various reign- 

 ing monarchs, and by the parliaments that were 

 in power between the reign of Henry II. and the 

 reign of Elizabeth, to breed bigger and heavier 

 horses, "great horses " as they came to be called, 

 and are often termed still. 



Some of the Latin records of the Mediaeval age 

 contain interesting allusions to these great horses, 

 dextrarii and magni equi they were called. The 

 horses of this stamp do not appear to have been 

 very intelligent animals, but their physical strength 

 was colossal, and in selecting them particular 

 attention was paid to their power of endurance, 

 or, as we call it to-day, their staying power. 



Apparently Henry II. and Richard I. were 

 partial to chestnut and dark brown stallions, but 

 King John, and later Queen Elizabeth, preferred 

 black. Indeed we are told that in the beginning 



