490 HISTORY OF 



Be this as it will, as we have been at such expense and trouole 

 to procure an excellent breed of horses, it is not now to be ex- 

 pected that we should decline the advantages arising from it, just 

 when in our possession. It may be therefore the most prudent 



the natives. The Roman horses would breed with those of the country, and, 

 to a greater or less extent, change their character ; and from this time, 

 the English horse would consist of a compound of the native and those from 

 Gaul, Italy, Spain, and every province from which tlie Roman cavalry was 

 supplied. Many centuries afterwards passed by, and we have no record of 

 the character or value, improvement or deterioration, of the animal. 



It would appear probable, however, that Athelstan, the natural son of 

 Alfred the Great, and the second in succession to him, paid some attention to 

 the improvement of the horse ; for having subdued all the rebellious por- 

 tions of the heptarchy, he was congratulated on his success by some of the 

 continental princes, and received from Hugh Capet of France, who solicited 

 his sister in marriage, various presents doubtless of a nature that would ho 

 thought most acceptable to him, and among them several German nmning 

 horses. Hence our breed received another cross, and probably an improve- 

 merit. 



Athelstan seems to have seriously devoted himself to this important ob- 

 ject, for he soon afterwards decreed (a. d. 930) that no horses should be sent 

 abroad for sale, or on any account, except as royal presents. This proves his 

 anxiety to preserve the breed, and likewise renders it probable that that 

 breed was beginning to be esteemed by our neighbours. In a document 

 bearing date a.d. 1000, we have an interesting account of the relative value 

 of the horse. If a horse was destroyed, or negligently lost, the compensation 

 to be demanded was thirty shillings ; a mare or colt twenty shillings ; a 

 mule or young ass, twelve shilUngs ; an ox thirty pence ; a cow, twenty- 

 four pence ; a pig eightpence ; and, it strangely follows, a man one pound.* 



In the laws of Howell the Good, Prince of Wales, and passed a little before 

 this time, there are some curious particulars respecting the value and sale 

 of horses. The value of a foal not fourteen days old is fixed at fourpence ; 

 at one year and a day it is estimated at forty-eight pence ; and at three years 

 sixty pence. It was then to be tamed with the bridle, and brought up either 

 as a palfrey or & serving horse; when its value became one hundred and 

 twenty pence ; and that of a wild or unbroken mare, sixty pence. 



Even in those early days, the frauds of dealers were too notorious, and the 

 following singul.ir regulations were established. The buyer was allowed 

 time to ascertain whether the horse were free from three diseases. He had 

 three nights to prove him for the staggers ; three months to prove the sound- 

 ness of his lungs; and one year to ascertain whether he was infected with 

 glanders. For every blemish discovered after the purchase.one third of the 

 money wa» to be returned, except it should be a blemish of the ears or tail. 



The practise of letting horses for hire was then known, and then, as now, 



* According to the Anglo-Saxon computation, fnrty-eight shillings made 

 a pound, equal in silver to about three pounds of our present money, in 

 value to tittten or sixteen pounds, and five pence made one slUUing. 



