20 



have sent them out of the country to be sold 

 beyond seas lest they should be thus confis- 

 cated. The fame of the Eqims Britmmictis 

 had ere this period spread to the continent, 

 where a ready market awaited it ; Sir John 

 Hawkewood in his Travels states that in 

 the States of Northern Italy English horses 

 were cherished and souo^ht for breedino- 

 purposes. For the twenty-one years during 

 which England was the scene of civil war 

 it was worth no man's while to breed, 

 much less attempt to improve, the Great 

 Horse ; thus much of the good which had 

 been done was nullified. 



THE LAWS OF HENRY VH. 



Henry VH. was fully alive to the desir- 

 ability of fostering the breed, and during his 

 reign (1485- 1509) more Acts were passed to 

 this end. At this time, says Polydore Virgil, 

 the English were wont to keep large herds 

 of horses in pastures and common fields ; 

 and when the harvest was gathered in the 

 cattle of different owners fed promiscuously 

 together ; for which reason the practice of 

 cutting horses was introduced. The prefer- 

 ence accorded horses for military use was 

 not due entirely to their superiority in 



