Sir Walter Gilbey

“ The steady increase in the weight of armour is a factor of the first importance in our present investigation; for therein we find the sufficient motive which impelled our ancestors to develop to the utmost the size and strength of the only breed of horse which could carry a man-at-arms. When we find that the weight a horse might be called upon to bear amounted to 4 cwt.—32 stone—at the period when plate armour reached its maximum strength, no further stress need be laid on the power of the animal required. We{15} may find opportunity later on to consider in minuter detail the weight of armour. ”

“ It must not be forgotten that the use of the horse in agriculture is comparatively modern. In England until the middle ages the work of the farm and almost all heavy draught work was performed by oxen. These animals were in common use for farm work until the latter half of the last century. Arthur Young in his General View of the Agriculture of Lincolnshire, written in 1799, mentions a farm he visited where he saw “two (oxen) and a horse draw home in a waggon as good loads of corn as are common in Suffolk with three horses.” ”

“ It is also certain that during this century the Shire Horse has played no mean part in building up size and massiveness in all the other Draught breeds in the Kingdom. That he has undergone great changes is certain; but the characteristics of the breed, size, strength, substance, courage and docility, have been perpetuated and developed by careful selection till we have now in our Shire horse the ideal beast of draught. ”

“ The Duke writes of the Northern Horses, using the term to distinguish the North German, Flanders and similar breeds from the lighter Oriental and Spanish horses:—“I have seen some, beautiful in their kind, genteel in all sorts of paces, and which have excelled all others in leaping. Moreover they have a peculiar excellence in the motion of their forelegs which is the principal grace in the action of a horse.” ”

“ Until they acquired the knowledge from their Norman conquerors, the inhabitants of this country knew nothing of the art of fighting on horseback, but at the same time the “theigns and hus-carles”—picked household troops, generally consisting of big men—employed horses to carry them from place to place,{12} and as these wore chain mail, and had to accomplish long arduous marches over roadless country, a big and powerful stamp of horse was just as necessary to them as it would have been had actual fighting in the saddle been the profession of the riders. ”

“ To maintain the standard of excellence which has been attained at the cost of so much care, it is essential that only the best types should be used for breeding: such horses as are truly framed, are free from imperfections, and above all are free from hereditary unsoundness. The numerous statutes mentioned in the foregoing pages assisted our ancestors in building up the breed which has long been established as permanent. ”

“ When they have got among the troops of [their enemies’] horse, they leap out of the chariots and fight on foot. Meantime the charioteers retire to a little distance from the field, and place themselves in such a manner that if the others be overpowered by the number of the enemy, they may be secure to make{6} good their retreat. Thus they act with the agility of cavalry; and the steadiness of infantry in battle. They become so expert by constant practice that in declivities and precipices they can stop their horses at full speed ”

“ Every Friday there is a brave sight of gallant horses to be sold. Many come out of the city to buy or look on—to wit, earls, barons, knights and citizens. There are to be found here maneged, or War Horses (Dextrarii) , of elegant shape, full of fire and giving every proof of a generous and noble temper; likewise Cart Horses, fit for the Dray, or the Plough or the Chariot.”
At this time, therefore, it appears that horses were beginning to replace oxen to some extent, and at all events for farm and draught work ”

“ Their object is to perpetuate the Shire breed pure, and also to improve the bone, size and substance of native breeds; and with this purpose in view they are invariably most exacting on the points of pedigree and soundness. They know that good pedigree and soundness are essential, and require that their purchases shall not only be registered in the Stud Book, but shall be able to show the clearest record of descent; such record shows that the qualities of the individual horse are hereditary, and may be relied on as transmissible to its progeny. ”

“ The owners of many of the best horses seem to{20} have sent them out of the country to be sold beyond seas lest they should be thus confiscated. The fame of the Equus Britannicus had ere this period spread to the continent, where a ready market awaited it; Sir John Hawkewood in his Travels states that in the States of Northern Italy English horses were cherished and sought for breeding purposes. For the twenty-one years during which England was the scene of civil war it was worth no man’s while to breed, much less attempt to improve, the Great Horse ”

“ It is noteworthy as proof of our dependence on this class of horse that, even when commerce and agriculture have been passing through a period of depression, at times when customers at any price even for the best classes of other live stock have been difficult to find, heavy draught horses suitable for town work have always remained in brisk demand at remunerative prices. ”

“ The roads in England had been vastly improved since Holinshed described the drawing powers of a team of horses in the latter half of the sixteenth century; but we cannot doubt that the horse itself had also improved, more especially during the eighteenth century when the Great Horse was gradually becoming the servant of the farmer rather than that of the soldier. The Statutes to which reference has been made unquestionably did much to promote the building up of the Great Horse breed and establish it as national ”

“ The sight of the magnificent teams which may be seen in the streets of our great cities, and under particularly favourable circumstances on Whit Mondays at the Cart Horse Parade in Regent’s Park, proves what careful and continued attention to the science of breeding can produce in the way of attaining desired results in size and form. For many years past there has been a regular and extensive demand for massive horses of{62} great muscular strength ”

“ Charles was fond of the manège and was a good{40} horseman; his care for the art of riding the Great Horse was shown by a proclamation issued in the third year of his reign. In this he commanded that, as he had found by experience, such horses as are employed in the service are “more apt and fit to be managed by such as shall ride them, being accustomed to the Bitt, than the Snaffle ... no person shall in riding use any snaffles but Bitts only.” ”

“ A “horse of service,” we are informed, should be able to
“trot cleane and loftilie, to stop lightlie, to turn on both hands readilie, to gallop stronglie, to manege with single turne surelie and last of all to passe a cariere [i.e., “do a smart spin”] swiftlie; and in all his doings from the beginning to the ending to reine well and to bear his head steddilie.”
The “cariere” was to be of specified length; for a “mightie puissant horse great of stature” a shorter one was recommended. ”

“ The early foundation stock from which investigation proves that our modern Shire horses are descended was brought to a high state of perfection for its special purpose, not only by the judicious introduction of foreign blood, but by wise enactments of the Legislature. We find in the old Statute Books numerous Acts of Parliament which supported private skill and enterprise in the endeavour to improve an animal on which, it may fairly be said, the safety of the nation in no small measure depended. ”

“ The Eastern counties breed was known and described as the Black Lincolnshire Horse. Black and grey, as Mr. Reynolds points out, were held to indicate purity of breeding.
We have now reached a period when painters of animal pictures were sometimes commissioned to execute portraits of fine examples of horses, cattle and sheep. The engraving which faces this page is from a picture by Mr. Woodward of a Norfolk Cart Horse called Dodman (East Anglian for “Snail”) , of whose pedigree unfortunately no particulars exist, but which was foaled in the year 1780. ”

“ In the earlier edition the writer speaks with admiration of the Great Horse,
“not finelie yet stronglie made he is of great stature. The mares also be of a great stature; strong, long, large, fayre and fruitful; and besides that, will endure great labour in their wagons, in which I have seene two or three mares to go lightly away with such a burthen as is almost uncredible.”
“But now to content the countryman his desire, which seeketh to breede horses for draught or burthen, where should I wysh him to provyde hymselfe of Mares and Stallions better than here in Englande.” ”

“ Our Frontispiece is reproduced from an engraving of a picture by Hans Burgkmair, a German artist, who lived 1473-1529. It not only affords an excellent idea of the stamp of horse ridden by armour-clad knights of the period, but also of the armour borne by the horse.
THE LAWS OF HENRY VIII.
In Henry VIII.’s reign (1509-1547) special attention was directed to the breeding of strong horses; new laws were made which sought to secure strength and stature by requiring sires and dams of a certain size and mould. ”

“ His offer of three times as much, £60, for “that Black you won” shows the superiority of the Great Horse.
Despite the prowess of Cromwell’s lighter cavalry, the day of the true Great Horse was not yet at an end. In the year 1658 the Duke of Newcastle published his classic volume—The Manner of Feeding, Dressing and Training of Horses for the Great Saddle and Fitting them for the Service of the Field in the Time of War. ”

“ The longer a type has been fixed the greater the certainty that the law “like produces like” will be justified; and to secure the best results it is of the first importance that we should study the pedigrees of the animals from which we propose to breed. ”

“ We have traced its progress down to a date when the Stud Books relieve us of the necessity of further pursuit, and can only hope that success has attended this endeavour to show that our modern Shire Horse is descended from the animal which has filled so important a part at all times in the history of our country. ”

“ Thomas Blundeville mentions as the “most worthy” breeds:—
“The Turke, the Barbarian, the Sardinian, Napolitan [commonly called the courser of Naples] , the Jennet of Spain, the Hungarian, the high Almaine, the Frizeland horse, the Flanders horse, and the Irish hobbie.”
He describes these in turn: those that come within our purview are the Napolitan, high Almaine and Flanders: the first of these is:{32}—
“a trim horse being both comelie and stronglie made and of so much goodness, of so gentle a nature and so high a courage as anie horse is. ”

“ Prelates and churchmen of rank were allowed by law to ride, but were counselled to use mares, in order to spare the horses for military purposes. It is to be observed that, although cavalry as a fighting arm was unknown in Britain for the first thousand years of the Christian era, horses of a sturdy and enduring stamp were as essential to the efficiency of troops, as they became at a later date when armoured horsemen formed perhaps the most formidable part of an army. ”

“ Henry VII. was fully alive to the desirability of fostering the breed, and during his reign (1485-1509) more Acts were passed to this end. At this time, says Polydore Virgil, the English were wont to keep large herds of horses in pastures and common fields; and when the harvest was gathered in the cattle of different owners fed promiscuously together; for which reason the practice of cutting horses was introduced. The preference accorded horses for military use was not due entirely to their superiority in{21} strength over mares; for centuries only entire horses were used by men-at-arms ”

“ They run along the pole, stand on the yoke, and then, as quickly, into their chariots again. They frequently retreat on purpose, and after they have drawn men from the main body, leap from their pole, and wage an unequal war on foot. ”

“ Our cart or plough horses (for we use them indifferently) , are commonlie so strong that five or six of them (at most) , will draw three thousand weight of the greatest tale with ease for a long journeie—although it be not a load of common usage—which consisted onlie of two thousand, or fiftie foot of timber, fortie bushels of white salt, or six and thirtie of baie, or five quarters of wheat—experience dailie teacheth, and [as] I have elsewhere remembered. Such as are kept for burden, will carie four hundred weight commonlie, without any hurt or hinderance. ”

“ It is impossible to close this slight review of the history of the breed without reference{66} to the very important services which have been rendered by the Shire Horse Society. This Society originated in the work of a few men who desired to make an organised endeavour to improve and promote the breeding of the English cart horse by distributing sound and healthy sires throughout the country. ”

“ The{5} artist perpetuates what the writer from sheer familiarity ignores; and for this reason the works of old painters have been laid under contribution in the present survey of the Great Horse breed. ”