EGYPTIAN AND ARABIAN HORSES. 459 



It looks as though the ancient P^gyptians early realized the bene- 

 ficial effects of crossbreeding, for among the conquered peoples who 

 paid tribute to Thoutmes III, of the XVIII dynasty, one thousand 

 eight hundred and twenty-two years before the Christian era, came 

 the envoys of an Adriatic race — probably ]Mcso[)otamia — who brought 

 '• horses,-' a chariot, etc. These imported animals were without doubt 

 intended for the improvement of the Kgyjitian race. 



Judging from the bas-reliefs and paintings, the Egyptian horses 

 were tall, like the Nicanm horses of the plains of Media described by 

 Herodotus. They had slender tapering necks, well-rounded chest 

 and shoulders, high Avithers, long clean-cut legs, and long and plenti- 

 ful tails. The colors in wdiich they are generally represented on the 

 monuments of the Nile Valley indicate that white, l)right bay, and 

 piebald were the common colorings. These are, in brief, the details 

 furnished us by the Elgyptian monuments of the time of the Pha- 

 raohs; the two accompanying figures give an exact idea of the curious 

 old representations. 



This vigorous species is still preserved in the upper valley of the 

 Nile and is sometimes even found in Egypt where it is known as tlie 

 Donkolawi; that is to say, a native of the province of Donkola in 

 Nubia." 



These Donkolain horses, which do not, we are told, thrive in cold 

 climates, are tall — 5^ or (> feet in height — black, bright bay, or pie- 

 bald ; the head is long and l)ushy, of the type connnon to the cows and 

 sheep of this country; the face is quite attractive and intelligent, the 

 shoulders well chiseled and round rather than square, the withers 

 higli, the flanks large, the chest, as a rule, full and muscular, the legs 

 long and inclined to slimness,. with white stockings on two or four 

 feet. 



The Donkolain is deliberate in starting and must be put into his 

 paces gradually; then he has a brillant action, with movements agile, 

 nervous, and elastic. He is very steady, can stand a great deal of 

 fatigue, and shows nmch docility and affection for man. 



However, the remarkable vigor which characterizes this horse in 

 his native country is lost if he remains for any length of time in 

 Lower Egypt. This degeneration, for Avhich none can account, is so 

 evident that the Egyptian (iovermnent, after the organization of its 

 cavalry corps, Avas obliged to throw out of service all the Nubian 

 horses in its ranks. 



The crossing of the Donkolawi with Nedjedian mares, as tried at 

 the Choubra stud near Cairo, produced very beautiful animals of very 

 little value. This experiment, nuide probably without forethought, 

 care, or sanitary precaution, could hai-dly be expected to give veiy 



a King Solomon supplied himself with horses from the rich studs of Egypt. 



