Scribner's magazine . ildform. It seems to me doubtful whetherany of the horses possessed by theGreeks or Romans attained a weightmuch exceeding a thousand pounds, orhad the peculiarities of our modernbreeds. The first considerable depart-ure from the original type appears tohave been brought about when it be-came necessary to provide a creaturewhich could serve as a mount for theheavy armored knights of the MiddleAges, where man and horse were weight-ed with from one to two hundred poundsof metal. To serve this need it wasnecessary to have a saddle animal of un-usual strength, weighing about
Scribner's magazine . ildform. It seems to me doubtful whetherany of the horses possessed by theGreeks or Romans attained a weightmuch exceeding a thousand pounds, orhad the peculiarities of our modernbreeds. The first considerable depart-ure from the original type appears tohave been brought about when it be-came necessary to provide a creaturewhich could serve as a mount for theheavy armored knights of the MiddleAges, where man and horse were weight-ed with from one to two hundred poundsof metal. To serve this need it wasnecessary to have a saddle animal of un-usual strength, weighing about three-quarters of a ton, easilj^ controllableand at once fairly speedy and meet this necessity the Normanhorse was gradually evolved, the formnaturally taking shape in that part ofEurope where the iron-clad warrior wasmost perfectly developed. In the tapes-tries and other illustrative work of thatday, when the knight won tournamentsand battle-fields, gaining victory by theweight and speed which he brought to. THE HORSE 581 bear upon his enemies we can see thissplendid animal, in physical form atleast, the finest product of mans careand skill in his development. With the advance in the use of fire-arms the value of the Norman horse inthe art of war rapidly diminished. Thisbreed, however, has, with slight modifi-cations, survived, and is extensively usedfor draught purposes where strength atthe sacrifice of speed is demanded. Itis a curious fact that the creatureswhich now draw the beer - wagons ofLondon often afford the nearest living-successors in form to the horses whichbore the medieval knights. It is anignoble change, but we must be grate-ful for any accident which has preservedto us, though in a somewhat degradedform, this noblest product of the breed-ers art, which, even as much as the valorof our ancestors, w^on success for ourTeutonic folk in their great strugglewith Islam. A tincture of this Normanblood, perhaps the firmest fixed in thespecies of any variety,
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