34 A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH TURF. 



and persons feloniously taking or stealing any horse, gelding, or mare, shall not be 

 permitted to enjoy the benefit of clergy." This is quite in the good old York- 

 shire spirit which still believes that the miscreant who can shoot a fox would rob a 

 church next clay. This terrifying statute proved, as usual, more severe in appearance 

 than it was useful in results ; for Holinshed records that when a noted horsethief 

 named Ditch was apprehended in Elizabeth's reign, he confessed to eighteen 

 separate indictments, got ten of his confederates hanged, and "made fifteen pounds 

 of current money " before the Sessions were held, by helping various persons to 

 recover their stolen horses a wily knave indeed. 



Holinshed's testimony is valuable on this point, because he is led on from 

 melancholy recitals of Elizabethan horse-coping to speak of the various native breeds 

 with some minuteness, and the passage is worth quoting : " There are certain 

 notable markets," he writes, about 1575, " wherein great plentie of horses and colts 

 is bought and sold, and whereunto such as have need resort yearelie to buie and make 

 their necessary provisions of them, as Rippon, Newport Pond, Wolfpit, Harborow, 

 and diverse other. But as most drovers are very diligent to bring great store of 

 these into those places ; so manie of them are too lewd in abusing such as buy them. 

 For they have a custome to make them look faire to the eie, when they come within 

 two daies journey of the market, to drive them till they sweat, for the space of eight 

 or twelve houres, which being done they turn them all over the backes into some 

 water, where they stand for a season, and then go forward with them to the place 

 appointed, where they make sale of their infected ware, and such as by this means 

 do fall into manie diseases and maladies. Of such outlandish horses as are daily 

 brought over unto us, I speak not, as the genet of Spaine, the courser of Naples, 

 the Flemish roile, and the Scotish nag, because that further speech of them cometh 

 not within the compasse of this treatise, and for whose breed and maintenance 

 (especially of the greatest sort), King Henrie the Eight created a noble studderie, 

 and for a time had verie good successe with them, till the officers waring wearie, 

 procured a mixed brood of bastard races, whereby his good purpose came to little 

 effect. Sir Nicholas Arnold of late hath bred the best horses in England . . . ." 

 Of Irish horses he writes that they "are of pase easie, in running wonderful swift, in 

 gallop both false and full indifferent. The nag or the hackeneie is very good for 

 travelling, albeit others report the contrarie. And if he be broken accordinglie, you 

 shall have a little tit that will travell a whole daie without anie bait." 



It has been sometimes said that very little evidence exists for the patronage 



