64 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE. 



Rome ; and they were, for a considerable period afterwards, in great request 

 in various parts of the Roman empire. 



Horses must at that time have been exceedingly numerous in Britain, for we 

 are told that when the British king, Cassivellaunus, dismissed the main body of 

 his army, he retained four thousand of his war-chariots for the purpose of 

 harassing the Romans, when they attempted to forage. 



The British horse now received its first cross ; but whether the breed was 

 thereby improved cannot be ascertained. The Romans having established 

 themselves in Britain, found it necessary to send over a numerous body of 

 cavalry, in order effectually to check the frequent insurrections of 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 animal and those from Gaul, Italy, Spain, 

 and every province from which the Roman cavalry was supplied. 



Many centuries afterwards passed by without leaving any record of the cha- 

 racter or value, improvement or deterioration, of the horse. About the year 

 630, however, according to Bede, the English were accustomed to use the saddle. 

 He says, that " the bishops and others rode on horseback, who until then were 

 wont to go on foot; and that even then it was only on urgent occasions that they 

 thus rode. They used mares only, as a mark of humility, the mare generally 

 not being so handsome or so much valued as the horse." 



About 920 years after the first landing of Cffisar, we find the various British 

 kingdoms united, and Alfred on the throne. Nothing that concerned the wel- 

 fare of his kingdom was neglected by this patriotic monarch, and some of the 

 chronicles relate the attention which he paid to the breeding and improvement 

 of the horse. An officer was appointed for this especial purpose, who was 

 entitled the Hors-Than or Horse-Thane, or, as the historian renders it, 

 Equorum Magister, Master of the Horse. In every succeeding reign, this 

 officer was always near the royal person, especially on every state occasion *. 



Athelstan, the natural son of Alfred, having subdued the rebellious portions of 

 the Heptarchy, was congratulated on his success by some of the Continental 

 princes, and received from Hugh Capet of France, who solicited his sister in 

 marriage, several German running horses. Hence our breed received another 

 cross, and probably an improvement. We are not, however, certain of the 

 precise breed of these horses, or how far they resembled the beautiful state 

 horses, whether black or cream-coloured, which we obtain from Germany at 

 the present day. Athelstan seems to have placed peculiar value on these horses 

 or their descendants, or the result of their intercourse with the native breed ; 

 for he soon afterwards (a.d. 930) decreed, 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. 



It is not unlikely that, even at this early period, the beautiful effect of the 

 English soil and climate, and care in the improvement of the horse, began to 

 be evident. This will be a subject for pleasing inquiry by and bye : but the 

 experience of every age has proved that there are few countries in which the 

 native breed has been rendered so much more valuable by the importation of a 

 foreign stock, and every good quality of a foreign race so certainly retained, as 

 in England. 



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 ; for a mare or colt, twenty 



* Bcrcnger's History of Horscmonsihip, vol. i. p. 308. 



