26 THE HORSE 



remitting trouble and vast expense of Lady Anne Blunt 

 and Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, may be seen magnificent specimens 

 of the bluest blood of the desert ; and the judicious care 

 and rearing of these Eastern treasures has built up a 

 reputation renowned throughout the world. From all 

 quarters of the globe eager purchasers make long journeys 

 to acquire some of the invaluable blood, to enrich that of 

 their own home-bred stock, while the only nation apathetic 

 in this respect, it must be allowed, is our own. England, 

 it must be confessed, has not learned to appreciate the 

 Arabian as he deserves. With the rapid growth of 

 mechanical transport, and the consequent serious dimi- 

 nution in horse-breeding by the nation, it seems scarcely 

 probable she will ever wake up to the opportunity she now 

 possesses, that will only too surely slip away from her grasp 

 altogether. 



Barbs. 



We are accustomed to look upon the Barb horse as the 

 first cousin of the Arabian, though some persons claim 

 that he is the elder brother. The Libyan horses were 

 famous from very early times, and King Solomon showed 

 his appreciation of them by sending into Egypt to buy 

 horses, for which he paid an hundred and fifty shekels of 

 silver (1 Kings x.), though the value is somewhat discounted 

 when we are told in verse 21 that silver "was nothing 

 accounted for in the days of King Solomon." He could 

 only have sent so far to purchase horses for either, or both, 

 of two reasons : that he could not buy sufficient horses at 

 home, or that Libyan horses were the best that could be 

 procured. 



The Barb and the Arabian differ so much in appearance 

 that the cleavage between them must have taken place many 

 ages ago, presuming both are descended from the slender 

 Hipparion, the one with the hollow depression in front 

 of the orbit. 



In evolving the thoroughbred horse the Barb has taken 

 as large a share as the Arabian, and certainly resembles 

 it more in general appearance. Many Barbs are perfect 



