Read Ebook: Horses Past and Present by Gilbey Walter Sir

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Ebook has 143 lines and 22295 words, and 3 pages

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Introduction 1

Before the Conquest 2

William the Conqueror 5

William Rufus 7

John 10

Elizabeth 24

The Commonwealth 36

Queen Anne 43

Her Majesty Queen Victoria 62

Light Horses: Breed--Societies 88

Heavy Horses: Breed--Societies 89

On Saddle and Pillion " 28

The Darley Arabian " 46

Jacob Bates, The Trick Rider " 52

Grey Diomed " 55

Hunter Sire, Cognac " 64

The Hack Hunter " 70

The Norfolk Phenomenon " 80

HORSES PAST AND PRESENT.

First among animals which man has domesticated, or brought under control to do him service, stands the horse. The beauty of his form, his strength, speed and retentive memory, alike commend him to admiration; the place he holds, whether in relation to our military strength, our commercial and agricultural pursuits, or our pleasures, is unique. Whether as servant or companion of man the horse stands alone among animals.

There can be no doubt but that the horse was broken to man's service at an early period of the world's history. The art of taming him was first practised by the peoples of Asia and Africa, who earliest attained to a degree of civilisation; but whether he was first ridden or driven is a question which has often been debated with no definite result. The earliest references to the use of horses occur in the Old Testament, where numerous passages make mention of chariots and horsemen in connection 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.

The Saxon saddle was little more than a pad; this would give no very secure seat to the rider, and therefore we cannot marvel that the art of fighting on horseback remained unknown in Britain until it was introduced by our Norman conquerors. Even after that epoch only the heavily-mailed knights fought from the saddle; for some centuries subsequently the lightly armed horsemen dismounted to go into action, leaving their horses in charge of those who remained with the baggage of the army in the rear. It would be wrong to call these troops cavalry; they employed horses only for the sake of greater mobility, and were what in modern phrase are styled mounted infantry.

Saxons and Danes brought horses of various breeds into England, primarily to carry on their warfare against the British; the most useful of these were horses of Eastern blood, which doubtless performed valuable service in improving the English breeds. The Saxon and Danish kings of necessity maintained large studs of horses for military purposes, but whether they took measures to improve them by systematic breeding history does not record.

King Alfred had a Master of the Horse, named Ecquef, and the existence of such an office indicates that the Royal stables were ordered on a scale of considerable magnitude.

King Athelstan is entitled to special mention, for it was he who passed the first of a long series of laws by which the export of horses was forbidden. Athelstan's law assigns no reason for this step; but the only possible motive for such a law must have been to check the trade which the high qualities of English-bred horses had brought into existence. At no period of our history have we possessed more horses than would supply our requirements, and Athelstan's prohibition of the export of horses beyond sea, unless they were sent as gifts, was undoubtedly due to a growing demand which threatened to produce scarcity. This king saw no objection to the importation of horses: he accepted several as gifts from Continental Sovereigns, and evidently attached much value to them, for in his will he made certain bequests of white horses and others which had been given him by Saxon friends.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR .

William the Conqueror brought with him many horses from Normandy when he invaded England. Many of these were Spanish horses, if we may apply to the famous Bayeux tapestry the test of comparison. William himself, at Hastings, rode a Spanish horse, which had been presented to him by his friend, Alfonso of Spain, and the riders on horseback on the tapestry show that the Norman knights rode horses similar in all respects to that of their leader. They are small, probably not exceeding 14 hands, and of course all stallions. Berenger describes these horses as of a class adapted to the "purposes of war and the exhibition of public assemblies."

There is nothing to tell us when horses were first used in agriculture in England; the earliest mention of such, some considerable research has revealed, is the reference to "four draught horses" owned by the proprietor of an Essex manor in the reign of Edward the Confessor . Under the Norman and Plantagenet kings the plough appears to have been adapted for draught by either oxen or horses. The former undoubtedly were the more generally used, and continued in use until comparatively recent times in some parts of the country.

One of the pieces of tapestry worked in Bayonne in 1066 shows the figure of a man driving a horse harnessed to a harrow. This is the earliest pictorial evidence we possess of the employment of the horse in field labour.

The Conqueror and his followers came from a country in which agriculture was in a more advanced state than it was in England, and it cannot be doubted that the Normans did much to promote the interests of English husbandry.

WILLIAM RUFUS .

"Every Sunday in Lent after dinner young men ride out into the fields on horses which are fit for war and excellent for their speed. The citizens' sons issue out through the gates by troops, furnished with lances and shields, and make representation of battle and exercise and skirmish. To this performance many young courtiers yet uninitiated in arms resort, and great persons to train and practice. They begin by dividing into troops; some labour to outstrip their leaders without being able to reach them; others unhorse their antagonists without being able to get beyond them. At times two or three boys are set on horseback to ride a race and push their horses to their utmost speed, sparing neither whip nor spur."

We find traces of the old "Justs of Peace," as tournaments were officially called, in the names of streets in London. Knightrider and Giltspur Streets, for example: the former owed its name to the circumstance that through it lay the route taken by knights on their way from the Tower to the lists at Smithfield; the latter to the fact that the makers of the gilt spurs worn by knights carried on their business there. Cheapside was the scene of some historical tournaments, as were the Barbican and Roderwell. The Tiltyard near St. James's was the exercise ground of knights and gentlemen at a later date.

JOHN .

The distinction between some of these classes was probably somewhat slight. The palfrey was the animal used for daily riding for pleasure or travel by persons of the upper ranks of life, and was essentially the lady's mount, though knights habitually rode palfreys or hackneys on the march, while circumstances allowed them to put off for the time their armour. The weight of this, with the discomfort of wearing it in the cold of winter and heat of summer, furnished sufficient reason for the knights to don their mail only when actually going into action, or on occasions of ceremony.

The earliest account of a race that we can trace refers to the year 1377, the first of Richard's reign. In that year the King and the Earl of Arundel rode a race , which it would seem was won by the Earl, since the King purchased his horse afterwards for a sum equal to ?20,000 in modern money.

"First, gentell horsys, to stand in my lordis stable, six. Item, palfreys of my ladis, to wit, oone for my lady and two for her gentell-women, and oone for her chamberer. Four hobys and nags for my lordis oone saddill, viz., oone for my lord, and oone to stay at home for my lord.

"Item, chariot hors to stand in my lordis stable yerely.

"Seven great trottynge horsys to draw in the chariot and a nag for the chariott man to ride--eight. Again, hors for Lord Lerey, his lordship's son and heir. A gret doble trottynge hors called a curtal, for his lordship to ride out on out of towns. Another trottynge gambaldyn hors for his lordship to ride on when he comes into towns. An amblynge hors for his lordship to journeye on daily. A proper amblynge little nag for his lordship when he goeth on hunting and hawking. A gret amblynge gelding, or trottynge gelding, to carry his male."

In regard to these various horses, it may be added that the "gentell hors" was one of superior breeding; the chariott horse and "gret trotting horsys" were powerful cart horses; the "curtal" was a docked great horse; the "trottynge gambaldyn" horse one with high and showy action, and the "cloth sek" and "male hors" carried respectively personal luggage and armour.

If nothing was done to promote the breeding industry during this reign, the King's advisers took measures to raise the English standard of horsemanship. The Duke of Newcastle informs us that he "engaged Regnatelle to teach, and invited two Italians who had been his scholars, into England. The King had an Italian farrier named Hemnibale, who taught more than had been known before." The farrier of old times was the veterinary surgeon--as the barber was the surgeon--and the invitations so given show that the Royal advisers were conscious of English shortcomings. Horsemanship and the principles of stable management 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 , 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 property 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 discovered the horse in possession of another afterwards.

ELIZABETH .

The Queen evidently considered the laws she found on the statute book all that were necessary to ensure attention to the interests of horse-breeding; for she refrained for many years from fresh legislation, contenting herself with Royal Proclamations in which she prescribed limits of time for her subjects to supply themselves with horses according to their legal obligation, and appointed suitable persons to see that her commands were carried out. One of these documents, issued in 1580, announces that the number of horsemen in the country shown by the returns is "much less than she looked for."

She also passed another "Acte to avoyde horse stealinge," the chief feature of which was to forbid anyone unknown to the toll-taker to sell a horse in the market unless the would-be seller could produce "one sufficient and credible" witness to vouch for his respectability. The evil had grown to the proportions of a national scandal at this time: Holinshed's account, published eleven years before this Act was passed, shows us that no horse in pasture or stable was safe.

Queen Elizabeth retained her love of sport and the physical ability to indulge it to an advanced age. It is said that in April, 1602, being then in her sixty-ninth year, she rode ten miles on horseback and hunted the same day.

Under royal encouragement and patronage the Turf soon took its place as a national institution. Races were held at Croydon, Theobalds on Enfield Chase, and Garterly in Yorkshire, among other places, and of each of the meetings named the King was the President. James's most important studs were stabled at Newmarket, Middle Park, Eltham, Malmesbury, Nutbury and Tetbury. During this reign a silver bell and bowl were among the prizes offered at the Chester Races; the races for these were now run on St. George's Day, and the trophies then came to be known by the name of England's patron saint. Horses were regularly trained and prepared for these "bell courses;" the usual weight carried was 10 stone, and riders went to scale before starting.

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