98 
ON THE HORSES OF ENGLAND. 
mention that, many years since, when the Hanoverian cream- 
coloured stud was sent to this country from Hanover, to prevent 
its falling into the possession of Napoleon, the stallions and mares 
were sent to Cumberland Lodge, in Windsor Park, where in a 
few years their progeny became so large in size that all those we 
bred here were no longer a match for the small ones in the royal 
stables, which had come from the same stock in Hanover. After 
the peace, the whole stud was sent back to Hanover ; and then 
our supply became so diminutive again, from the same mares in 
Hanover, that we were under the necessity of once more sending 
for mares, in order to commence afresh breeding the creams in 
England. In 1834, however, the Duke of Dorset, then Master of 
the Horse, unfortunately, I may say, determined upon sending 
back our stud establishment from Hampton Court to Hanover. On 
the accession of His present Majesty to the throne of Hanover, 
our supply of creams being no longer furnished from the Hano- 
verian stud, I was sent to the Continent, in 1839, to endeavour to 
purchase some creams to recruit our stud at the Royal Mews. 
After making every inquiry that I possibly could, as to the locality 
most likely to furnish what might be considered requisite, I pro- 
ceeded to Saxe Weimar, where was a stud of considerable num- 
bers belonging to the Grand Duke, both of creams and blacks. 
The stallions I found all too small to be available : none of 
them exceeded fifteen hands, and most of them were below that 
size ; consequently, I was unable to procure horses, and my pur- 
chases were necessarily confined to four cream and two black 
mares. These mares, still at Hampton Court, are of small size ; 
but the fillies they produced by being covered, by one of our better 
sized stallions, have now furnished us with colts, rising three 
year old, standing sixteen hands high, and which will turn out 
much larger and better horses than we have had in the royal 
stables for a long period. Thus has an opportunity been afforded 
of testing both the improvement and degeneration of the same breed 
of animals under the influence of English soil and climate, as com- 
pared with those of a foreign country. 
Notwithstanding our peculiar capabilities, as thus demonstrably 
proved, nothing has ever been done or attempted, upon a large 
scale, towards the formation of a breeding establishment in the 
British dominions; and, although it is argued by some that our 
resources for breeding are greater and more likely to prove flourish- 
ing left to individual efforts, I do not agree in such a position : on 
the contrary, I believe, if our opportunities for experience had been 
the same as are afforded in many foreign states where governments 
and individuals possess large studs, that we should have arrived 
at a knowledge of facts of which we now are lamentably ignorant. 
