62 The Arab Horse 



The exclamation was spontaneous, 

 "For heaven's sake how long has that 

 mare been in that condition?" ''Oh, 

 for eight years," answered Lady Blunt. 

 Then she told the story. Bint Helwa 

 had come from the Egyptian stud with 

 two other mares, and the three turned to 

 pasture together on arrival in England. 

 In the evening the other two came up to 

 the stables. Bint Helwa was missing. On 

 searching, she was found in a ditch. 

 She had jumped the enclosing fence of the 

 pasture, landed in the ditch so that her 

 leg and shoulder were terribly broken, 

 and the other mares following had jumped 

 on top of her, breaking two of her ribs. 

 As she was within six weeks of foaling it 

 was decided not to destroy her, but take 

 her to the stable and try to save the foal. 

 The mare was gotten out on to a drag, 

 pulled as gently as possibly to her box 

 stall, suspended in slings, and cooling 

 applications made to the injured parts. 

 The breaks were too extensive to knit, 

 but such was the soundness of her health 



