18 
J. C. MEYER, SR. 
C., had a palace and attendants for its own use, wore a purple 
mantle, received taxes and fed on raisins, nuts and barley. Cali¬ 
gula generally took his meals in the stable, his favorite horse had 
a stall of marble and a manger of ivory. Caligula appointed his 
consort priestess of the horse and intended to raise him to con¬ 
sulship. (Voltaire once remarked sarcastically that “the Homan 
emperor who appointed a horse as consul was not so great a fool 
as he who places blind confidence in unworthy men.”) 
Nero, 54 A. D., was the most expert horseman and charioteer 
of all the Homan emperors, and in his time the horse was more 
highly valued than other property and slaves. The Celts of Gal¬ 
lia and Helvetia gave great attention to the race of their domes¬ 
tic animals and paid high prices for beautiful horses brought in¬ 
to the country by merchants. When conquered by Caesar, 55 B. 
C., the only request made by their conqueror was, that they be 
allowed to continue their horse-races. The following may illus¬ 
trate the value of a reliable horse at the time of Clovic: When 
Clovic conquered the West Goths he made a pilgrimage to the 
grave of his holiness Martin, to thank God for the victory. Clo¬ 
vic presented the monks with the horse he had ridden on the day 
of his victory. There being a scarcity of good horses, Clovic 
soon regretted his generosity and demanded that the animal be 
returned to him for fifty silver marks, but the monks answered that 
his holiness prized his gift highly, consequently Clovic was com¬ 
pelled to double the sum to gain his end. Hereupon the barbaric 
Cymbrian muttered, “ his holiness is very generous, that is true, 
but he is sure to be well paid for his kindness.” 
Perhaps the most brilliant period for the horse in France was 
at the beginning of the reign of King Louis XIII. Every castle, 
country place and villa had a fine pasture and stable attached, which 
was sometimes more comfortable than the castle itself. At that 
time, the highest dignitaries in the kingdom considered it an 
honor to have a position, if ever so insignificant, in the royal 
stud, and that of equerry was the most enviable in the land. 
With the abolition of the feudal system through Kichelieu, the 
studs of the country noblemen were neglected and horse-breeding 
retrograded. 
