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THe English Horse is Less Wise than the Barb, Fearful and Skittish, for the most part; and Dogged and Rebellious to the Mannage, and not commonly so Apt to Learn: But those they call English Horses, are so Compounded of Horses of all Countries, that they always Participate some∣thing
of their Sires; and so, that may somewhat alter the Case.
Certainly English Horses are the Best Horses in the whole World for All Uses whatsoever, from the Cart to the Mannage; and some are as Beau∣tiful Horses as can be any where, for they are Bred out of all the Horses of all Nations: But if you would Buy for the Mannage at Fayrs, you must go to Rowel Fayr, Harborow Fayr, and Melton Fayr, to Northampton and Leicester-shire; but Nor∣thampton, they say, is the Best.
You must Buy such Horses as they Sell, for the Cart and Coach, which are the best for the Mannage: Do not think to Buy Delicate Shapt Horses, like the Spanish Horse, Barb, or Turk; but they are Handsomer Horses than commonly Dutch Horses are; Chuse a Short trust Horse, with Good Feet and Leggs, full of Spirit and Action, and Lively; and if he Leap of him∣self, so much the Better. If your Horse-man hath Skill to Buy you such, they cannot do Amiss for the Mannage, and will prove most Admirable Horses, both in all Ayres, and upon the Ground,
but I would not Breed of them by no Means.
At Molten Fayr, for the most part, they are young Stone-Horses, and some Geldings, but fitter for the Padd, and Hunting, than for the Mannage; Rippon Fayr is but the Remnant of Molten Fayr, and commonly but Geldings and Naggs; those Fayrs are in York-shire; Lenton Fayr is in Notting∣ham-shire, and is a great Fayr of all Sorts of Horses, but especially Geldings and Naggs, Fitter for the Padd, and Galloping, than for the Mannage; you may also find some Stone-Horses there.
In Stafford-shire there is a great Fayr at Pank∣ridge; but it is, for the most part, of Colts, and Young-Horses, though sometimes (by Chance) there are also Others. The other Fayrs in the Northern Parts, which are many, are not Worth naming.
I am very Ignorant of the West-Country, where my Lord Pauletts Ancestors had a good Breed of Horses; and by Chance, now and then my Lord of Pembroke did Breed, but I never heard of any Rare Horses of his Race.
In Worcester-shire, and in the Vale of Esam, there
is good Strong Cart-Horses; in Cornwall there is good Naggs, and in Wales excellent good Ones; but in Scotland the Gallawayes are the Best Naggs of them all.
There were, afore the Warrs, many good Races in England, but they are all now Ru〈◊◊〉〈◊◊〉, and the many New Breeders of Horses comn up pre∣sently after the Warrs, are (I doubt) none of the Best; for, I believe, their Stallions were not very Pure, because the Men that did Govern in Those Dayes, were not so Curious as the Great Lords, and Great Gentry were Heretofore, neither would they be at the Cost; and besides, they have not Knowledge of Horses as in other Coun∣tries: For, though Every man Pretends to it, yet, I assure you, there are very Few that Know Horses, as I have heard the KING say: Since whose RESTAURATION, the Probability of getting Good Breeds again, is very Great.
For English Mares, there are None like them in the World to Breed On; but then you must Chuse them fit for such Horses as you would Breed; As for Example, If you would Breed for
the Mannage, the Mares must have Fine Fore-hands, but not too Long Necks; Fine Heads, and well Hung On; and their Necks rightly Turn'd; Broad Brests, Good Eyes; and Great Bodies, that the Foles may have the more Room to Lay their 〈◊◊〉〈◊◊〉: They must have Good Hooffs, short and bending Pastorns, and are to be Short from the Head to the Croup, and Stuffy. This Shape fits the Mannage Best; and if your Mares be thus Chosen, it makes no matter what Colour they are of, nor what Marks they have, nor what Tayles and Manes, so they be full of Strength, and of a su∣perfluity of Spirit, and not above Six or Seven Years Old. But I must Tell you, That if you had Two or Three fine Dutch Mares, Shaped as I formerly told you, it Makes a fine Composition with a Spanish Horse, for the Mannage; and a Spanish Horse with such English Mares as I have Told you Now, are not only for the Mannage, but in a manner for all Uses.
If you would have Mares to Breed Running-Horses of, then they must be Shaped thus; As Leight as possible, Large and Long, but well Shaped;
a Short Back, but Long Sides, and a little Long-Legged; their Breast as Narrow as may be, for so they will Gallop the Leighter and Nimbler, and Run the Faster; for the Leighter and Thinner you Breed for Gallopping is the Better. Your Stallion, by any means, must be a Barb, and somewhat of the Shape that I have Described the Mares to be of: For a Barb that is a Jade, will Get a better Runing-Horse, than the Best Running-Horse in England: As Sir John Fennick told me, who had more Ex∣perience of Running-Horses than any Man in Eng∣land; for he had more Rare Running-Horses than all England besides; and the most part of all the Famous Running-Horses in England that Ran one Against another, were of his Race and Breed.
Some Commend the Turk very much for a Stallion to Breed Running-Horses; but they are so Scarce, and Rare, that I can give no Judgment of them: And therefore I Advise you to the Barb, which, I believe, is much the Better Horse to Breed Running Horses.