23 
so given show that the Royal advisers were 
conscious of English shortcomings. Horse- 
manship and the principles of stable manage- 
ment perhaps stood at a higher level in Italy 
than in any other European country at this 
period ; whence the choice of Italians as 
riding-masters. 
The crime of horse-theft was so rife at 
this period that one of the first Acts of 
Queen Mary (2 & 3 Phil. & Mary, 7), 
passed in 1555, aimed at its suppression. 
A place was to be appointed in every fair 
for the sale of horses, and there the market 
toll-gatherer was to call the seller and buyer 
before him and register their names and 
addresses, with a description of the horse 
changing hands. Under this law the pro- 
perty in a stolen horse was not diverted 
from the lawful owner unless the horse had 
been publicly shown in the market for one 
hour; if it had not been so exposed, the 
owner might seize and retain it if he dis- 
covered the horse in possession of another 
afterwards. 
Queen Mary, by the Statute known as 
4 Phil. & Mary, considerably extended the 
obligation to keep horses which Henry 
VIII. had laid upon persons of the upper 
and middle class; but the object of this 
