20 
J. C. MEYER, SR. 
in every province, to determine which were the best horses ; these 
were then sacrificed to the gods; the second best the king kept 
for military services. To the time of Karl the Great the original 
German horse remained'unnoticed. As the wealth of the monks 
increased and the best breeds of horses in Germany were to be 
found in cloisters, more elegant and gentle horses were raised. 
Henry the Fowler, in the ninth century, instituted fencing on 
horseback and founded the tournaments. In the sixteenth century 
the carousal took the place of tournaments. Augustus the Strong 
held carousals on a grand scale. 
During the eighteenth century, in consequence of the wars, 
horse breeding degenerated. 
William Frederick II., being well aware of the necessity of 
becoming independent of foreign countries in regard to horses for 
the military, transferred the control of the whole stud to Count 
Lindenau in 1786, who began with the reorganization of Trakeleneu 
and the establishing of the Litthaneu stud, which gradually at¬ 
tained such fame. Of the breeds of Prussia, those of Litthau 
undoubtedly occupy the foremost rank ; they have taken the place 
of the old and miserable race, and the horses now used are mostly 
from stallions bred in Trakehneu. This fine and noble breed, 
which is admirably adapted for light and heavy cavalry, as also 
for light harness, has given evidence of its serviceability in three 
wars. 
The earliest records concerning the English horse date from 
the invasion of Julius Caesar, at the time which British horses were 
crossed with the Roman. 
Athelstan, son of Alfred the Great, is the first on record who, 
in 930 received German running horses as a present from abroad, 
and therefore had more particular opportunity of improving the 
English stock by the infusion of select foreign blood ; he seems to 
have bestowed some attention on the subject, since he issued a 
decree prohibiting the Exportation of horses without his license. 
In a document of the year 1000, we find the relative value of 
horses in this kingdom, directing—if a horse was destroyed or 
negligently lost, the compensation to be demanded was thirty 
shillings; a mare or colt, twenty shillings; a mule or young ass, 
