84 WAR-HORSES 



exactly like a piece of boiler-plating, and fastened by 

 rivets. The rider sat in a saddle the front of which 

 was a steel shield ten inches high, covering the stomach 

 and thighs as the ' breast-work ' on an ironclad's deck 

 covers the base of the turret. The total weight is 

 80 Ib. 15 oz. To this add the weight of the rider's 

 armour, 99 Ib. 9 oz., and of the rider himself, say, 

 1 6 st. 224 Ib. and the total is 28 st. 12 Ib. 8 oz., or 

 404 Ib. 8 oz. This bears out Holinshed's statement 

 that in the days of Henry VIII. , ' who erected a noble 

 studderie for breeding horses, especially the greatest 

 sort,' such as were kept for burden, would bear 4 cwt. 

 commonly. As the gun prevailed, personal armour, 

 just as in the modern ships, was concentrated over the 

 vital parts. Breastplates remained bullet-proof, thigh- 

 pieces were only sword-proof. But till the days of 

 James II. complete armour seems to have been commonly 

 worn by commanding officers in battle. The statue of 

 Admiral Lord Holmes in Yarmouth Church shows him 

 in full armour. Charles I., Cromwell, Maurice of 

 Nassau, and William III. at the Boyne, are painted in 

 the same equipment, except that leather boots have 

 superseded greaves. The horse becomes lighter, but is 

 in most respects the same animal. His points are well 

 shown in the fine equestrian statue of Charles II. at the 

 top of Whitehall Place. But before the date of the 

 battle of Blenheim a change had begun. The * great 



