Horse Raising in Colonial New England 923 



of an admixture of Spanish blood, first, '' because there were no pacers 

 in Andalusia or any other part of Spain," and secondly, because " the 

 Narraoransetts were a leading article of export from Rhode Island in 

 1680, thirteen years before Governor Robinson was born." Both these 

 objections made by Wallace are of doubtful validity, however. There 

 is available no such complete information regarding the horses in Spain 

 during the period in question as to justify any such sweeping assertion 

 as' to the entire absence of pacers. And, although it is true that horses 

 were reported by Governor Sanford to the Lords of Trade in London in 

 1680 as an important article of export from Rhode Island, there is 

 nothing to indicate that these horses were of the Narragansett breed. The 

 presumption is that they were not, for the Narragansett district proper 

 was not really settled until about that date. Furthermore, Captain 

 John Hull in 1677 looked on his plan (noted on page 905 for breed- 

 ing a race of '' large and fair horses and mares " as a new venture for 

 the region. In short, the horses mentioned by Governor Sanford were 

 in all probability raised in the northern and eastern parts of Rhode 

 Island, where the country was already in farms before the Narragansett 

 district was settled. 



It would seem, therefore, that the tradition concerning the importa- 

 tion of Spanish stock by Deputy Governor Robinson deserves some 

 credence. Whether or not there were any pacers in Spain at the time 

 is immaterial, for it is shown by the correspondence of Governor Win- 

 throp and other writers that pacers were not uncommon in New Eng- 

 land as early, at least, as 1684 (164), and the pacing gait of the Nar- 

 ragansetts may very easily be accounted for on the basis of selection 

 and breeding of this native stock. Such selection may have gone on 

 for a greater or less period before the importation of a stallion from 

 Spain to still further improve the breed. Such importation, in fact, is 

 just what might have been expected to happen as attention was increas- 

 ingly directed to developing an improved strain. 



The pacing gait was one of the most characteristic points of the 

 Narragansetts. It is said that the pure-bloods could not trot at all. 

 The gait itself is described as being peculiar in that the backbone of 

 the horse moved through the air in a straight line, thus differing from 



