Offices Belonging to Horsemanship – Blundeville – 1597 | First Edition, Curing & Dieting Horses

The Foure Chiefest Offices Belonging to Horsemanship by Thomas Blundeville was the first printed English treatise to address breeding, training, and veterinary care of horses intended for gentry use in war and sport. This particular example includes the final two divisions of the original four-part work: The Dieting of Horses and The Order of Curing Horses Diseases. Its sections outline daily feeding regimens, practical farriery, and remedies for diseases affecting cavalry mounts. First published in 1597, this first edition was published in English black letter and was known as the basis for numerous later treatises on horse care.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Foure Chiefest Offices Belonging to Horsemanship: That is to Saie, the Office of the Breeder, of the Rider, of the Keeper, and of the Ferrer
• Author(s): Thomas Blundeville
• Publisher: London, Imprinted by Peter Short
• Edition: First Edition, 1597.
• Format: (12mo), two sections bound separately
• Binding: Modern hardcover sleeves, disbound
• Size:  7.25 in x 5 in (18.4 x 12.7 cm)
• Collation:
  • “The dieting of horses” – [2], 22; wanting first two leaves
  • “The order of curing horses diseases” – [9], 82; wanting last 4 leaves
• Contents Include:
  • On how to feed horses, daily feeding regimens
  • Practical farriery
  • Direction on treating horse diseases, particularly those affecting mounts
  • English black letter text

Condition:

Fair. Pages worn and age-toned with occasional staining. Corners show losses but no loss to text. Held in two separate protective hardcovers. Title page present for the final portion; first two and last four leaves lacking. Text block stable with moderate edge wear typical of 16th-century paper.

Why Collect This?

• First English book on horsemanship and horse care from 1597
• survival of a significant Elizabethan equestrian manual
• Blackletter typeface appealing to collectors of early English texts
• Important reference in English veterinary and cavalry history

Item Number: # 29481