THE PERSIAN. 235 



They wear nummuds, or clothes, for winter and 

 summer, which reach from head to tail, and are 

 secured by surcingles. 



In the day-time they are kept under the shade of 

 trees or awnings, and at night placed in court-yards, 

 with their heads secured to double ropes from the 

 halters, and the heels of the hind feet strapped to 

 cords of twisted hair, which are fastened to rings 

 and pegs driven in the ground behind them ; a cus- 

 tom likewise in vogue in India, and known in the 

 time of Xenophon. These precautions are necessary 

 to prevent their fighting ; for this purpose stable- 

 boys and grooms constantly sleep near them, and 

 notwithstanding all the care they can take, some 

 occasionally get loose, and then an uproar and 

 battle ensues before they can be separated, such as 

 is not to be remedied without damage to the horses 

 and danger to the men, The pugnacity of stallions, 

 indeed, extends to all occasions where opportunity 

 is given them, and in feuds of different tribes, no 

 skirmish takes place between the riders without 

 their horses taking part and endeavouring to paw 

 and bite each other with consummate fury. 



The Persian nobility have horse races, consti- 

 tuting more properly trials of bottom than speed ; 

 for the distance they are made to run is not less 

 than about twenty-four miles, and to effect this 

 with tolerable speed the animals are put in training, 

 particularly by sweating them down to mere skele- 

 tons, and making them go over the ground repeat- 

 edly before the day of trial. In breaking horses for 



