18 THE HORSE. 
is found in Arabia Felix. They are rare at Damascus, but pretty common 
in the neighbourhood of Anaze. They are remarkable for speed and fire, 
yet mild as lambs ; they support hunger and thirst for a long time, are of 
lofty stature, narrow in the chest, but deep in the girth, and with long 
ears. <A colt of this breed at two years old will cost in his own country 
two thousand Turkish piastres. 
“The second breed, called ‘Seclaoni,’ comes from the eastern part of 
the Desert, resembles the ‘ Dgelfe’ of Anaze in appearance, but is not 
quite so highly valued. 
“Next comes the ‘ Mefki,’ handsome, though not so swift as the two 
former breeds, and more resembling the Andalusian in figure. They are 
very common about Damascus. 
“Then the Sabi resembles the Mefki; and the fifth breed, called 
Fridi, is very common, but it is necessary to try them well, for they are 
often vicious, and do not possess the excellent qualities of the other 
breeds. 
“Sixth, comes the Nejdi, from the neighbourhood of Bussorah, and if 
they do not surpass, they at least equal, the ‘Dgelfe of Anaze, and 
Seclaoni.’ Horses of this breed are little known at Damascus, and con- 
noisseurs assert that they are incomparable ; thus their value is arbitrary, 
and always exceeds two thousand piastres.” 
The first and last of these breeds are those which are most sought after 
by East Indian sportsmen; and Colonel Bower, who is one of their 
strongest admirers, tells us that he once possessed a three-year-old colt 
which stood fifteen hands and an inch at that age. He describes him as 
having “ the stereotyped assortment of Eastern beauties: could stick his 
nose in a tumbler, and looked the gentleman all over; remarkably mus- 
cular, and as stately in his bearing as an autocrat, but his clean flat wiry 
legs, measuring eight inches round the shank below the knee, had nothing 
English in their composition. This was a pure Anaze Arab, but his 
career in the field was cut short by his casting himself in his stall, and 
dislocating his hip.” It will be seen that no mention is here made of the 
breed which has been so long familiar to those who read our modern 
histories of the horse as that called “‘ Kochlani” or “ Kailhan,” descended 
from the stud of Mahomet, who is supposed by many historians to have 
laid the foundation of the Arabian pedigrees. There is a tradition that 
the Prophet, being desirous of selecting mares for his stud, had a number 
of them which had been used as chargers kept for two days without 
water. At the end of that time, when mad with thirst, they were set at 
liberty, and at the moment when they were close to the coveted water, 
his trumpets sounded a war charge, which had such an effect upon five of 
them that they abandoned the water, and gallopped to the spot where 
they expected to meet with the still greater excitement of war. These 
five were therefore selected to form the foundation of his stud, and from 
them it is supposed that the race called “Kochlani” are descended. 
There is a slight similarity between this name and that of the second in 
the list enumerated by Ali Bey, and perhaps his “Seclaoni” may be 
identical with the “Kochlani” of previous writers. It is asserted by 
Oriental travellers that pedigrees exist which can be traced five hundred 
years back, and in the highest breeds there is no doubt that at present 
great care is taken, and many ceremonies performed at the covering of the 
mare. After the birth of the foal, a certificate is always duly made out 
by the local authority, and this must be done within seven days of its 
being dropped. 
