In the year 1514, the Marquis of Mantua sent Henry VIII., from Italy,
a present of some thoroughbred horses; these in all probability formed
the foundation stock of our sixteenth-century racehorses. The _Privy
Purse Expenses_ quoted above refer to "the Barbaranto hors" and "the
Barbary hors," which are doubtless the same animal. A hint that it
was raced occurs in the mention of a payment to Polle (Paul, who as
previous entries show, was the keeper of this horse), "by way of
rewarde," 18s. 4d., and on the same day (March 17, 1532), "paid in
rewarde to the boy that ran the horse, 18s. 4d."
That curious record, _The Regulations of the Establishment of Algernon
Percy, Fifth Earl of Northumberland_, which was commenced in the year
1512, gives us a very valuable glimpse of the private stud maintained
by a great noble in Henry VIII.'s time. The list of the Earl's horses
"that are appointed to be in the charge of the house yearly, as to say,
gentell horseys, palfreys, hobys, naggis, cloth-sek hors, male hors,"
is as follows:--
"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 ('own' in this connection) 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.
EDWARD VI. (1547-1553) AND QUEEN MARY (1553-1558).
The brief reign of Edward VI. was productive of little legislation
that had reference to horse-breeding. An Act was passed to sanction
the export of mares worth not more than ten shillings, and another
to remove some ambiguity in Henry VIII.'s law concerning the death
penalty, without benefit of clergy, for horse-stealers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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