206 MY HORSE ; MY LOVE 



The bay is the hardiest and most sober. 



' If one tells you that a horse has leaped to the bottom 

 of a precipice, ask his colour ; if he replies " bay," believe 

 him.' 



The coats despised are — 



'The piebald. Flee him like a pestilence, for he is own 

 brother to the cow.' 



' The horse with white mane and tail no chief would 

 condescend to mount, nor would some tribes allow him 

 to remain a single night with them. It is a colour that 

 brings ill-luck, and called "Jew's yellow." The iron grey 

 and the Jew's yellow ! If his rider returns from the flight, 

 cut off my hand. 



' The roan, called Meghedeur-el-deum, a pool of blood. 

 The rider is sure to be overtaken, but will never overtake. 



' The horse is to be valued that has no white spots, except 

 a star on the forehead, or a simple white stripe down the 

 face. If this descend to the lips, the owner will never be in 

 want of milk. It is the image of the dawn. 



' If the star is truncated or has jagged edges, it is univer- 

 sally disliked, and if, added to that, there is a white spot in 

 front of the saddle, no man in his senses would mount it ! ' 



Grooming is unknown in the Zahara. The horses are 

 merely wiped down with woollen rags, and covered with 

 rugs that envelop both croup and chest. Arabs contend 

 that continual rubbing of the epidermis, especially with the 

 curry-comb, injures their health and makes them delicate. 



But if possible their horses are washed morning and 

 evening, and sheltered inside the tents from the sun and 

 rain. 



Cleanliness is indispensable. One day a horse was led 

 up to the Prophet, who examined it, rose up, and without a 



