ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN HORSES 57 



keep his carcase out of reach of my longest arm. Many 

 of the runs when the scent was good, would mean thirty 

 miles and more, as the crow flies, of continuous gallop- 

 ing. This was followed by a long weary trudge home, 

 and it was only these Russian Arabs, so carefully and 

 systematically trained, that could overtake the wary, 

 cunning, and tireless wolf, and give their riders the 

 chance for successful slaughter.' 



They appreciate the Arab in India also, I have 

 heard. 



' In Bombay there is a community of merchants called 

 "Battias," who deal mainly in shirtings. They have 

 accumulated much wealth, and it is their particular fad 

 to ride to and from their offices in buggies, with an 

 Arab in the shafts. These light-handed, mild Hindoos 

 are skilful drivers, and get far more trot out of their 

 horses than do the Europeans. The high-knee action,' 

 an inheritance from coarse breeds, is conspicuously absent 

 in these graceful Arabs, and a good many of them 

 pace.' 



I have heard it said that ' A Spanish gipsy girl, a pure 

 Arabian, and a game-cock are the accepted embodiments 

 of beauty, symmetry and graceful motion.' 



'Yes, that is an old saying. The pure-bred Arab of 

 the desert is trained to be graceful. His rider needs 

 not the bridle to guide him, but indicates his wishes 

 by the pressure of his knees and legs. His head is not 

 jerked, nor his mouth torn, by cruel bits, but a sign, a 

 pressure, a whistle or a word is only necessary to 



^ In order to produce the high-knee action artificially, the horse is 

 made to lift his feet over successive heaps of straw piled high, and 

 set apart at regular distances. 



