II] 



HISTORY OF THE HORSE 



founded Newmarket, also encouraged horse- 

 racing and breeding. At the close of James's 

 reign horse-racing had become so generally 

 popular that it was denounced by public 

 speakers and clergymen as being the beginning 

 of the ruination of the country. It is strange 

 that a great many of the fast turf horses first 

 bred at Newmarket were bred from some of the 

 Spanish Armada horses. About 1640 horseman- 

 ship in England was greatly benefited by the 

 Duke of Newcastle, who was a high authority 

 on riding and horsemastership. Soon after this 

 date he published a valuable book on equitation. 

 (See P. 74c.) The Duke was called a fearless 

 and a finished horseman. 



21. It was not until the close of the reign of 

 James I. that horse-racing was run on definite 

 lines under fixed rules. Charles I. was an 

 ardent lover of turf sports ; Charles II. followed 

 no less keenly. Up till the end of Queen Anne 

 the Arabian had not received much notice, but 

 at this time Mr. Darley, fighting against much 

 prejudice, introduced the Arabian into England, 

 and gradually the unequalled beauty, speed and 

 strength of the Arabian (sometimes known in 

 those days as the Darley Arabian) became 

 recognised. 



During the reign of the two Charleses (Charles 

 I., 1625-1649, Charles II., 1660-1685) horses in- 

 creased in value. Charles II. was an exception- 

 ally good horseman, and is said to have been 

 most humane in the manner in which he treated 

 his horses. 



While writing I have before me some of Van 

 Dyck's and Landseer's paintings of the horses 

 of the period of the Charleses and Jameses, and 

 cannot but think, when I compare these superb- 

 looking creatures of Nature's handiwork with 

 some of the disfigured animals we see at times 

 on the road and in the show ring, that the 

 advancement of civilisation has caused a 

 deterioration in the methods in which our equine 

 friend is treated. 



About that period stage coaches were intro- 

 duced and became commonly used. This caused 

 an increase in the breeding of heavy coach 

 horses, as the coaches were very heavy and the 

 roads very bad. 



22. During the eleven years of the Common- 

 wealth of Oliver Cromwell (1649-1660) the turf 

 and hunting suffered a tremendous setback, 

 for although Cromwell, great cavalry leader as 

 he was, encouraged the breeding of the mag- 

 nificent chargers ridden in those days, he for- 

 bade the continuance of either horse-racing or 

 hunting. 



Following this came the accession of Charles 

 II., and horse-racing was resumed. Horseman- 

 ship in general was encouraged by the King, 

 who was an accomplished horseman. 



George III. (1760-1820) was a keen horseman, 

 and encouraged driving and other forms of 



equine sport. It was George III. who so openly 

 condemned the practice of cropping horses' ears 

 and of docking their tails, " unbecoming the 

 ignorance and cruelty of savages." The King 

 forbade all the horses in his army from being 

 thus disfigured and ill-treated, and various steps 

 were taken to abolish these practices by law ; 

 but the ultra-fashionable horse-dealer got his 

 way, and although, thank God, the former 

 practice has become extinct, the latter is quite 

 common still, as a peep into the modern Hackney 

 or Shire horse show will convince us. 



It is truly said that the introduction into 

 England of the Arabian horse has been respons- 

 ible not only for the beautiful English thorough- 

 bred, but also for the present strength, endur- 

 ance and activity of our roadster, coach horse 

 and hunter. 



The horse is not a native of prairie land or 

 plains, but comes from the forest. 



23. The American horses are mostly either 

 from the French or from the English. The 

 Canadian breed is found chiefly in Canada and 

 the Northern States, and is supposed to be 

 of French descent. Many of the celebrated 

 American trotters come from this breed. The 

 Conestoga breed, from Pennsylvania, is a long- 

 legged, light-bodied horse, used chiefly for light 

 carriage work. The Virginian and Kentucky 

 breeds originate from the English breed. The 

 Percheron is a most excellent breed of draught 

 horse, and, except for his small feet, is far 

 superior to many other breeds. 



English and Scotch breeds are very numerous 

 in number, such as the Suffolk, Cleveland Bay, 

 Shire, Clydesdale, Hunter, the old Northamp- 

 tonshire, Hackney, Dartmoor, Shetland, Exmoor 

 and the New Forest, and the Irish, Highland, 

 Galloway and Welsh pony breeds. 



24. Troops of wild horses were found on the 

 plains of Great Tartary and in several parts of 

 South America, but these were very unlikely of 

 an original race. They were probably descend- 

 ants of those who had escaped from the slavery 

 of men, who had brought them into those 

 countries. The Tartary horses were supposed 

 to be descended from those that were turned 

 loose at the siege of Azoph in 1657 for want of 

 forage. 



The manner in which these wild herds 

 protect themselves is interesting. They move 

 about and live in huge troops of as many as 

 10,000 horses. All the mares and foals are kept 

 in the centre. There is one leader, whom all the 

 others implicitly obey and trust. He is the first 

 to face all danger in case of attack. Travellers 

 found that it was dangerous to approach on 

 horseback, because some of the troop would 

 advance close to the saddle horse and try their 

 utmost to call him to join them. In many in- 

 stances the saddled horse would succeed in 

 ridding itself of its master and saddle, and with a 



