PEDIGREES TRACED THROUGH DAMS 101 



Arabs did so remains to this day a moot point, 

 though it would seem almost certain that in common 

 with the Veneti they believed the selection of the 

 dam to be of more vital importance than the selec- 

 tion of the stallion in order to secure good stock. 



Indeed even now there are races who hold this 

 view, and to confirm their opinion they quote 

 Aristotle, who also maintained that pedigrees 

 ought by rights to be traced through the female 

 line. Nor are they at all peculiar, for some of 

 the foremost among modern breeders of horses 

 hold that in almost every case the qualities of the 

 dam descend more directly than do those of the sire. 



We have now come to what may be termed 

 the second period of the horse in history — the 

 period that begins with William the Conqueror's 

 reign and ends with the Stuart Period. From 

 very early centuries down to the coming of Christ, 

 and from the coming of Christ down to the 

 Norman invasion, all the records bearing directly 

 upon the horse in its relation to the world's pro- 

 gress are necessarily open to criticism, for almost 

 all historical records of that period have to be 

 accepted with some reserve. 



It may be said, indeed, that no two historians 

 prior to the Conquest can be found who agree in 

 detail one with the other, while some there are 

 whose statements are almostdiametricallyopposed. 

 In compiling these pages, therefore, I have tried 

 to use discretion. 



