than 14 hands high, but the importation of stallions from Spain, Italy, and France improved the breed from time to time. During the Crusades and the consequent general use of heavy armor, which continued up to about the year 1600, large horses came into vogue. A knight in armor, together with his horse-accoutrements, weighed from 350 to 425 pounds, so that during the age of chivalry all breeding was directed toward improvements in the size of the horse. Stallions under a certain size were condemned by law, and in 1217 one hundred stallions were imported from Normandy, and for nearly five hundred years subsequently size was sought for rather than speed; thus laying the foundation of the different modern breeds of British draught horses. What was the case in England was equally so with the nations of Western Europe and their horses; so that the horse of this period is particularly remarkable for its broad chest, heavy neck, and round buttocks. With the appearance of gunpowder and firearms, and the disappearance of armor, these breeds became useless for the purpose of warfare, which now demanded fleetness as a first essential. They passed, however, to a greater sphere of usefulness, and to-day constitute the heavy draught breeds known as the Dutch and Flemish, the Percherons (q.v.) of France, the Clydesdale of Scotland, and the cart and shire horse of England (see Shire Horse).
Before the days of the tournaments in England large horses were scarcely known, but the needs of the knights compelled the keeping of a sufficient number, so that by intermixture with smaller native animals the size of the British horse gradually increased; but the result proved that, although they were bigger, they did not nearly possess the qualities of the smaller horse. During the Crusades the excellence of the Saracen horses deeply impressed the British Crusaders, who brought many Asiatic horses with them on their return to England. The Eastern horses were Barbs, Turks, Arabs, and Persians, not more than 14½ hands high, and it is to them that the English horse owes in part its present conspicuous qualities. Laws were passed to promote the breeding of large horses by improving the type of British ponies. During the reign of Henry VIII. it was ordained by law that no stallion less than 15 hands and no mare less than 13 hands should run wild in the country. Colts two years of age and under 11½ hands high were not permitted to run on any moors, forests, or commons where mares were pastured, and to guard against any mishaps it was further ordered that at Michaelmastide the magistrates of the neighborhood were to search the countryside, the forests, and the commons, for the purpose of destroying all stallions under the required height, as well as “all unlikely tits, whether mares or foals.” Prelates and nobles, and every one whose wife wore a velvet bonnet, were compelled to do their “leaping and riding upon stallions not less than 15 hands high.” There were two classes of horses throughout the country: the first a “very indifferent, strong, slow, heavy draught-horse,” and the second “light and weak.” Private matches were often arranged, showing that speed was becoming a greater factor than size and weight.
Although there had been public horse-racing in Elizabeth's time, it was not until James I. ascended the throne that horse-racing was legally established. He introduced into England the Markham Arab, which was known to be a purebred animal, and in many other ways did much to improve the breed of horses. A distinction was drawn between racehorses and common horses; the racehorses were trained for their competitions, and 140 pounds was the average weight of a professional jockey. During the reign of Charles I. a memorial was presented to the King bewailing the gradual disappearance of stout horses fit for the defense of the country, by stating that the breed of strong horses was likely to disappear unless measures were taken for their propagation. The tournament was no more, the pack-horse had practically disappeared, the introduction of the coach had removed a large part of the pack from the horse's back, and everything was done to encourage crossbreeding with foreign importations. From such ancestors the modern thoroughbred has descended. After the civil wars and during the reign of Charles II. the race-courses at Newmarket and at Datchet Mead, near Windsor, were laid out, and the King himself became the first great supporter of the turf. The most conspicuous English horseman of this time was the Duke of Newcastle, who in 1667 published his celebrated work on horsemanship, the reading of which is said to have so interested Charles that he became the largest individual importer of foreign blood in the country. The Stuart kings maintained magnificent studs and constantly employed purchasing agents to secure the best Oriental blood; but, unfortunately, the pedigree of many of these animals is largely a matter of tradition, owing to the fact that the Stud Book had not been issued. In spite of the infusion of foreign blood, however, the English race-horse in the time of the Stuarts was a clumsy-looking animal in comparison with the pure Oriental type, or with the race-horse of to-day. He was strong and of large build, but neither as elegant nor as swift on the race-course as was the Barb. The combination of native English stock and such horses as the Helmsley Turk, Byerly Turk, Pace's White Turk, D'Arcy's White Turk, Selaby Turk, and by such Barbary stallions as Dodsworth, Carwen, Bay Barb, Greyhound, Compton Barb, and Toulouse Barb, produced a horse remarkable for its well-proportioned locomotive parts, legs, shoulders, etc., strong carcass and deep chest, the typical animal of speed and endurance.
Since the middle of the eighteenth century the practice of interbreeding with Oriental blood has been discontinued, and although half-bred horses were raced until the first part of the nineteenth century, the thoroughbred has ever since the foundation of the ‘racing calendar’ been the recognized race-horse, and his pedigree has been strictly and authentically kept. During the seventeenth century speed was not the sole qualification of a race-horse; it was required to have strength and endurance. From racing matured horses at long distances, it was an easy transition to shorten the length of the course and increase the speed of the horse, besides which, the element of gambling entered into the sport, and it soon happened that three-year-old horses were used in the races. It was found, however, that they could not ‘stay’ the old four-mile course, so that of necessity the distances had to be reduced to accommodate the horses. The result of this policy is seen in modern horse-racing (q.v.). in which two-year-old horses developed for speed
