126 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



were spent upon the purchase of horses from 

 the King of Gascony and from several large 

 owners. 



This seems stranger still when we remember 

 that the English army at Crecy was limited to 

 some 36,000 men only, whereas King Philip's 

 forces numbered over 130,000. 



Crecy, indeed, is one of the few historical battles 

 in which the army that was the best mounted did 

 not win the day ; but then all historians admit 

 that the bowmen the English brought into the 

 field upon that occasion were probably among 

 the best disciplined and the most expert that had 

 ever before been seen in action. 



On the other hand the horses of the opposing 

 forces were not of the best. Many had hardly 

 been trained at all to arms, and many more had 

 been commandeered and hurried into the field 

 almost at the eleventh hour. Some historians 

 hold that Philip's army would have fared better 

 had there been fewer men-at-arms in the fight- 

 ing line, and it is possible that upon this single 

 occasion if the army had had fewer horses it 

 might have achieved success. 



