The Great Horse; or, The War Horse / from the time of the Roman Invasion till its development into the Shire Horse.

by Sir Walter Gilbey

SIR WALTER HUNGERFORD, KNIGHT, OF FARLEY CASTLE, HEYTESBURY.

horses. We may quote from Blundeville’s pages a few passages which throw light upon our subject:—

“Some men have a breed of Great Horses, meete for warre and to serve in the field. Others have ambling horses of a meane stature for to journey and travel by the waie. Some again have a race of swift runners to run for wagers or to gallop the bucke. But plane country men have a breed only for draftes or burden.”

From the foregoing it would appear that the lesser breed of agricultural horses (stots and affers) was still in existence, though the extract on page 34 appears to show that mares of the Great Horse breed were used for draught purposes. It will be remembered that at an earlier age churchmen were enjoined to use mares that the horses might be at the service of soldiers. 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:—

“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. Known from other horses by his no lesse cleane than stronge makinge.”

The high Almaine (modern Allemagne, German: King John’s importations from the banks of the Elbe at once recur to mind) is:

“commonlie a great horse, and though not finelie yet verie stronglie made and therefore more meete for the shocke [of battle] than to passe a cariere or to make a swift manege because they be verie grosse and heavie, yet by industrie they are made lighter behind than before, for their rider do use in their maneging to make them to turne alwaies with their hinder parts and not with their fore parts like jackanapes on a chaine, whereby they keep their horses heads alwaies upon the enimie.”