Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Pastimes/Horses

Horse Breeding in Stuart England

In Stuart England, horses played a key role in social and economic life. They were viewed as a status symbol for the gentry and nobility, and were increasingly becoming central to farming practices across the country. By the seventeenth century, horses were more prevalent than oxen on farms, because they allowed for more efficient farming (1). Horses were also being used in an industrial capacity (2). Larger wagons were also beginning to be used after their introduction by the Dutch in the mid-sixteenth century (3). (BN: Needs a clarification about what type of wagon. There were wagons in the Middle Ages.)

During the Stuart Era, significant developments occurred in the nature of horses and husbandry. Consumers began to demand an ever greater variety of horse breeds to perform different functions. As one contemporary observed, "...so many perchance would have a breede of great trotting horses meete for the warre, and to serue in the field. Some other againe would have a breede of ambling Horses of a meane stature for the journie and to travell by the waie. Some againe would haue perhaps a race of swift Runners to runne for wagers, or to gallop the Bucke, or to serue for such exercises of pleasure. But the plaine countrieman would perchance have a breede onelie for draught or burthern." (4)

In response to this demand, specialized breeding practices emerged that improved the quality and variety of horses (5). Horse breeding was "a profitable occupation" centered around the Midlands region. (5) The upper classes of society became heavily involved in horse breeding and in importing horses. Breeding foreign horses with English ones resulted in more expensive, supposedly superior horses. (6).

Horses and Social Status

A wealthy noble or gentleman would purchase an expensive horse as a means to display his wealth to those around him. In the rolls from the Rothwell Horse Fair, from 1684 to 1699, the average price for a horse of high breeding “individually priced was £12 4s [horse] and £8 17s 3d [gelding] respectively, but prices in excess of £20 were not uncommon” (7). For the lower classes, buying a horse would also be a status symbol even if it was not an expensive breed. For lower classes, a horse would allow the owner to travel as well as having other economic advantages (8).

Horse Racing

Horses were also important in the social activity of horse racing (9). James I introduced and popularized the sport in the beginning of his reign. The gentry and nobles enjoyed horse racing as it was a social event, in which one could meet people and be seen. Horse racing was also quite lucrative as a gambling activity (10).

Horse racing had befallen under the royal patronage of King James I who had a track built near his palace in Newmarket. Although horse racing was popular under Henry VIII it did not start to become institutionalized until later on. Racing became known as the English Turf and races were to be held in the spring and autumn. The horse racers became known as 'grooms' and 'riders' and usually only prominent gentlemen like the Earl of Suffolk, the Duke of Buckingham, and even King Charles II himself raced. Thus, horseracing would become "The Sport of Kings." The sport popularized because of the glamour and associaton of class structure but also brought many fans in through the excitement of gambling. There were immediate results that consisted of the betting on the race itself but there were also investments to be made in young horses.

Horse racing held royal patronage throughout James I's and Charles I's reign but was called to a halt during the commonwealth and under Cromwell. It was revived most austentaciously under Charles II who was the most enthusiastic towards the sport, competing in races and founding royal plates. The Sport drew in many gentlemen racers who had hoped to gain wealth and status through winning. An example of this is Lord Wharton, or rather "Honest Tom" who became very popular through his skills. Rewards and prizes offered for winners included gold cups, royal plates, silver bells, money, horses and fame.

According to the Uk racing website the breeding of racehorses developed very rapidly too, "This was mainly thanks to the import of Arabian stallions, with which British mares were bred to create the forefathers of the Thoroughbred racehorses we see racing today." Previously horse racing had consisted of only 2 horses racing and later developed under Queen Anne to a legitimized sport. "Around the middle of the 18th century, horse racing became the first regulated sport in Britain, thanks to the formation of the Jockey Club. Before this time, most horseraces took the format of match races (contested by just two horses), run over much longer distances then Flat racing today."

Horse Dealing

In Stuart England, horse dealing emerged as a profession. Horse dealers bought and sold different breeds of horses at fairs around the country, "often acting in the capacity of middlemen." (11) Horse dealers generally came from the lower classes; for example, several members of the Dabbs family of horse dealers were also butchers. (12) Though the gentry occasionally involved horse dealers in their transactions, they usually relied on their own servants instead. (13) (Edwards 98) The gentry's tendency to avoid dealers may have been due to the "popular reputation for untrustworthiness" that dealers soon developed. (14)

Although the Civil War disrupted ordinary trade patterns, it also created a great demand for horses. Indeed, the war was partially responsible for "the expansion and diversification of the horse trade," since many horses were required for many different purposes. (15)

Horse Theft

Horse theft was a capital offense. A conviction for horse theft "resulted in an order to hang for 95 per cent" of cases, a much higher ratio than the average. (16) For example, a conviction of highway robbery resulted in hanging in only 20% of cases, and grand larceny, only 8%. (17) Horse theft had been labelled as an especially harmful crime in the sixteenth century, meaning that convicted offenders were "ineligible for benefit of the clergy, the most common and most convenient mitigation of a capital conviction." (18) Judges tended to have little pity on horse thieves since such thieves could rarely claim that they acted out of hunger. (19) Horse theft also received severe punishment because it was a lucrative crime. Once a horse was stolen, it was almost impossible for the owner to get it back before the thief sold it again. (20)

(1) Kerridge, Eric, The Agricultural Revolution, (Taylor & Francis, 2006): 68. (2)Edwards, P. R. “The Horse Trade of the Midlands In the Seventeenth Century,” The Agricultural History Review 27, No. 2 (1979): 93 (3)ibid, 93 (4) Edwards, 91. (5) Edwards, Peter, The Horse Trade of Tudor and Stuart England, (Cambridge Univeristy Press, 2004): 21 (6)ibid, 21 (7) Edwards, 94 (8)Edwards (2004), 140 (9) Edwards, 93 (10)Heal, Felicity and Clive Holmes, The Gentry in England and Wales, 1500-1700 (Standford University Press, 1995): 139, 225. (11) Edwards, 96. (12) Edwards, 97. (13) Edwards, 98. (14) Edwards, 99. (15) Edwards, 100. (16) Cynthia B. Herrup, "Law and Morality in Seventeenth-Century England," Past & Present, 106 (Feb. 1985), 114. (17) Herrup, 114. (18) Herrup, 114. (19) Herrup, 114. (20) Herrup, 115.