A new method, and extraordinary invention, to dress horses, and work them according to nature as also, to perfect nature by the subtility of art, which was never found out, but by ... William Cavendishe ...

OF THE SPANISH HORSE.

YOu must Know, that of All Horses in the World, of what Nation, soever they be, Spanish Horses are the Wisest; far the Wisest, and strangely Wise, beyond any Mans Imagination; but I must Tell you, they are not the Easlier Drest for that: Because they Observe too much with their Eyes, and their Memories are too Good, and so Conclude with their Judgments too soon, without the Man, Reckoning without their Host; whereas they should Follow, and Obey, his Hand and Heel; and that not by Roat neither, but by

Art, which is an Habit got by many Lessons Me∣thodically Taught.

If he be Well Chosen, I assure you, He is the Noblest Horse in the World: First, There is no Horse so Curiously Shaped, all over from Head to Croup: He is the most Beautiful that can be; For he is not so Thin, and Lady-like, as the Barb; nor so Gross as the Neapolitan; but be∣tween Both. He is of great Spirit, and of great Courage, and Docil: Hath the Proudest Walk, the Proudest Trot, and Best Action in his Trot; the Loftiest Gallop, the Swiftest Careers; and is the Lovingest and Gentlest Horse, and Fittest for a KING in a Day of TRIUMPH to Shew himself to his People, or in the Head of an Army, of any Horse in the World.

Therefore no Horse so fit to Breed on, as a Spa∣nish Horse; either for the Mannage, the War, Am∣bling for the Pad; Hunting, or for Running-Horses: Conquerour was of a Spanish Horse, Shotten-Herring was of a Spanish Horse, Butler was of a Spanish Horse, and Peacock was of a Spanish Mare: And These Beatt all the Horses in

their Time, so much, as No Horse ever Ran near them.

I say, He is Absolutely the best Stallion in the World, for all those several things I have for∣merly Named, if you do Wisely appropriate such Mares to him, as shall be fit for such Uses as you would have your Breed; and so he is fit for all Breeds, but to Breed Cart-Horses.

The King of Spain hath many Races, but his Best is at Cordoua in Andalozia, where he hath above Three Hundred Mares and Colts, as my Lord Cottington told me; and, besides those of his Majesty, there are other most Excellent Races, not only of Noblemen, but also of Private Gentle∣men.

For the Prices, the Earl of Claringdon, now Lord Chancellor of England, told Me, That when he was Embassador in Spain, Sir Benjamin Wright, a Merchant there that Loves Horses, sold a Couple of Little Spanish Horses for a Great Price: And he sayes, (and many others Confirm it for a great Truth) That Three Hundred, and Four Hundred Pistols for a Horse, is a common

Price and Rate, at Madrid; And the Marquess of Seralvo told me, That a Spanish Horse, called Il Bravo, sent to the Arch-Duke Leopold, his Ma∣ster, was held Worth as much as a Manner of a Thousand Crowns a Year, and that he hath known Horses at Seven Hundred, Eight Hundred, and a Thousand Pistols.

A Gentleman told me, that he knew a Cavalier in Spain, who offered another Three Hundred Pi∣stols, but to let him Ride his Horse one After∣noon; and the Owner had Reason to Refuse it: for it was to go to the Juego de Toros, where he might have been Killed: many of the Finest Hor∣ses in the World being Killed at that Sport, which is the greatst Pity that can be.

You see that a Spanish Horse is Dear Ware; and then Reckon his Journey from Andalozia to Bilbo, or St. Sebastien, which is the next Port for England, and is Four Hundred Miles at least; and a Horse cannot Travel above Ten Miles a day with your Groom, and your Farrier at least, be∣sides the Casualty of Lameness, Sickness, and Death; so that if he come Safe to you, yet he will be a very

Dear Horse, I assure you: And These are great Truths of the Spanish Horse.