THE ROYAL STUD 149 



Francesco Gonzaga, the Marquis of Mantua, sent 

 over in 1514, a gift to which he soon afterwards 

 added "a Barb worth its weight in silver" which 

 he declared he had taken great pains to secure. 



That Henry was deeply gratified is obvious 

 from his remark that he " had never ridden better 

 trained horses," and that "for years he had not 

 received such an agreeable present." 



As time went on, and the Royal Stud steadily 

 increased, the fame of Henry's horses spread not 

 only throughout the kingdom, but also across the 

 seas and into remote parts of the Continent, with 

 the natural result that presently attempts were 

 made to obtain surreptitiously foals known to have 

 been bred in the famous paddocks. 



Henry, upon hearing this, became extremely 

 angry, and this knowledge it probably was that 

 in a measure prompted him to render illegal the 

 exportation beyond the seas of mares or horses 

 bred in England, and, in addition, to threaten with 

 severe punishment anyone discovered making the 

 attempt. 



There cannot, indeed, be any doubt that before 

 the passing of this Act many horses had been 

 sent abroad from various parts of the country, 

 and that in consequence the British stock probably 

 would soon have depreciated in value had Henry 



