2 
no definite result. The earliest references 
to the use of horses occur in the Old Testa- 
ment, where numerous passages make 
mention of chariots and horsemen in con- 
nection with all warlike operations. 
BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 
From very remote times England has 
possessed horses which her inhabitants 
turned to valuable account, as we find 
occasion to note elsewhere* ; and the farther 
she advanced on the path of civilisation the 
wider became the field for utility open to 
the horse. To the necessity for adapting 
him to various purposes, to the carrying of 
armour-clad soldiery, to draught, pack work, 
hawking, hunting, coaching, for use in mines 
where ponies are required, &c., we owe the 
several distinct breeds which we now possess 
in such perfection. 
In early times horses were held the most 
valuable of all property in Britain ; we see 
evidence of the importance attached to them 
in the figures on ancient coins. The Vener- 
able Bede states that the English first used 
saddle horses about the year 631, when 
* Ponies Past and Present. By Sir Walter Gilbey, 
Bart , published by Vinton & Co., Limited. 
