PREFACE 



In the present work Mr. Spencer Bor- 

 den brings together a most interesting 

 mass of information regarding the relation 

 of the Arab horse to the Hfe and history 

 of the Arabians, and he has kindly asked 

 me to preface the work by speaking more 

 particularly of the natural history and 

 of the antiquity of this breed. 



About two years ago I began especially 

 to study the Arabian after having de- 

 voted many years to the study of the 

 horse in general. The anatomy, the 

 origin, and the natural history of the Arab 

 has naturally attracted less attention 

 than the relation of the Arab to the origin 

 of the thoroughbred racing horse. So I 

 directed my attention especially to the 

 structure of the animal as a perfect living 

 machine, to the part it has played in the 

 history of the world and to the domesti- 

 cation of horses from the earliest times. 



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