20 



THE HORSE 



Hobgoblin, he was merely put to Roxana on the refusal of that horse to 

 cover her, the produce being Lath, one of the best horses of the day. The 

 Godolphin Arabian was of a brown bay colour, and is said to have been about 

 15 hands in height. He is supposed to have been foaled about the year 

 1724, and died in 1753. A remarkable feature in this horse is the height 

 of his crest, and he is also invariably represented with round and drooping 





quarters. Several portraits of him are in existence, but all render these 

 points in the same manner. I am not aware that there are any reliable 

 grounds for considering this celebrated horse as a Barb rather than an 

 Arab, and according to the usual description of the former, his size is against 

 the hypothesis. Still, as he is generally so considered, I have added his 

 description to that of the Barb, leaving my readers to draw their own 

 conclusions. 



THE EGYPTIAN HORSE 



IN THE FIRST CHAPTER I have shown that there is a strong reason for 

 believing that the horse was introduced to Arabia through Egypt, and that 

 the latter country again derived its supply from the central regions of 

 Africa, which probably also furnished the Barbary States. The modern 

 Egyptian horse is a very second-rate animal, and, according to Burckhardt, l 

 " is ugly, of coarse shape, and looking more like a cart-horse than a racer." 

 He says, "Their legs and knees, and short and thick necks, are frequent 



1 Since Burckhardt wrote tlie above description, the British occupation has had the 

 effect of greatly improving the native horses, and no doubt can be entertained that lasting 

 benefit will accrue from the importation of English blood-horses and Australian " Walers. 



