It would appear, therefore, that Henry’s laws had become a dead letter, or something very like it, within twenty-five years of its finding place on the Statute Book. It was afterwards repealed in respect of certain counties by Queen Elizabeth and James I. (for particulars see p. 26 and p. 33, “Horses Past and Present.”) These various early edicts no doubt produced some result in the more central parts of England, though, as we gather from Blundeville’s “Epistle,” those charged with their administration failed to enforce them in areas more remote. A certain amount of driving and killing no doubt was done, but probably no more than enough to make the herds wilder than before and send them in search of safety to the most inaccessible districts. The natural result of this would be to preserve the breeds in greater purity than would have been the case had they been allowed to intermingle with horses which, after the harvest was carried, were turned out to graze at will over the unfenced fields and commons. It is worth glancing at these items of horse legislation to discover that the half-wild ponies have survived, not by grace of man’s aid or protection, but in defiance of his endeavours to stamp them out. Nearly a century later (1658) the Duke of Newcastle published his work on the _Feeding, Dressing and Training of Horses for the Great Saddle_ and therein, urged strongly the desirability of discouraging the breeding of ponies. The records of subsequent reigns show occasional endeavour to improve by legislation the breeds of horses needed for military purposes, tournaments, racing and sport, but until we come to the time of George II. we find no _positive_ attempt to discourage the breeding of ponies. An Act passed in 1740 was definite enough in the purpose it sought to attain. This was the suppression of races by “poneys” and other small or weak horses. Under this law matches for prizes under £50 were forbidden, save at Newmarket and Black Hambleton, and the weights to be carried by horses were fixed at 10 st. for a five-year-old, 11 st. for a six-year-old and 12 st. for a seven-year-old horse. This statute had two-fold intention: it was framed “not only to prevent the encouragement of a vile and paltry breed of horses, but likewise to remove all temptation from the lower class of people who constantly attend these races, to the great loss of time and hindrance of labour, and whose behaviour still calls for stricter regulations to curb their licentiousness and correct their manners.”