ARABIAN HORSES. 273 



than is usually the case with our horses, and conse- 

 quently he swells out behind the shoulders in a grace- 

 ful curve, whereas both the running horse and the 

 trotter are very apt to be what is called slab-sided. 



Another peculiarity of the Arabian is the great 

 length of his pastern joints, to which is chiefly due 

 the remarkable springiness and elasticity of his gait. 

 " He is so light that he could dance upon the bosom 

 of a woman without bruising it." And a quaint 

 writer thus describes a mare of the desert : " All 

 shining, beautiful, and gentle of herself, she seemed 

 a darling life upon that savage soil, not worthy of 

 her gracious pasterns." Nor, despite its length, 

 does this joint ever break down with the Arabian 

 horse, as happens so frequently with the English 

 racer. Grogginess and knuckling over are unknown 

 in the desert. 



As to the legs of the Arabian, they are as hard as 

 flint ; spavin, curb, and ringbone are very infrequent. 

 In speaking of a certain Anazeh mare, a bay with 

 black points, Major Upton declares that her legs ap- 

 peared to have been cut out of black marble, and 

 then highly polished. The knees and hocks of the 

 Arabian are large, as they are in all good horses. 

 " A Bedawee, whose mare had a foal running by her 

 side, being pursued, feared that his steed would not 

 do her best, out of consideration for the foal ; there- 

 fore he struck at the foal with his lance, and it fell 

 back disabled. But when the Arab stopped his mare, 

 the foal shortly made its appearance ; and although 

 it had been wounded in the hocks, it had made such 

 good play that it was called the father or possessor 

 of good hocks. It is a strain most highly esteemed." 



18 



