Ill] AND HISTORIC TIMES 185 



the Bagdad — horses of the same pretensions bred to the east 

 of the Euphrates — have not the perfect head and ears of the 

 Anazah. " In neither kind are the jaws so fine, so deep, nor 

 set so wide apart as in the desert Arabian, but the Syrian 

 appears to have cleaner jaws than the Bagdad. Again, the 

 Syrian has a better nostril, though inferior to that of the 

 desert horse. The Bagdad horse frequently, and the Syrian 

 sometimes, has the nostril too small and set too low down. 

 The neck of the Syrian is generally lighter and more muscular 

 than that of the Bagdad horse. The Syrian appears to have 

 better shoulders, the croup of the Bagdad horse is often hand- 

 somer and the quarters better turned than those of the Syrian. 

 Both kinds have good legs and feet, but the Syrian seems 

 preferable in these respects, though inferior to the Anazah 

 horses. The barrel of the Bagdad horse is as a rule longer 

 than that of the Syrian, which latter is more like the desert 

 horse in this respect. On the whole, the Syrian looks a hardier, 

 more active, and more muscular horse ; the Bagdad rather 

 more bulky, and of a more imposing apj)earance. But these 

 are only general indications, as in many instances these dis- 

 tinctions are not so decided or marked \" This general state- 

 ment is in complete accord with the more detailed evidence 

 of Mr Blunt and Major-General Tweedie. We may therefore 

 feel sure that the facts relating to the colours of Keheilan 

 horses and those of inferior strains are accurately known. 



The evidence here presented makes it clear that the horses 

 of the tribes of Central Arabia are admitted to be the best by 

 all the other tribes ; that the horses bred by the tribes who 

 have the advantage of being able to procure Anazah stallions 

 for their mares come next in quality ; and that the best Arab 

 horses of Syria, though inferior to the Anazah, are yet as a 

 rule superior to those bred to the east of the Euphrates ; while 

 the horses of the Shammar tribes in Mesopotamia show still 

 less of the pure Arab strain. The same evidence demonstrates 

 that amongst the pure-bred Arabs bay and chestnut vastly 

 predominate, grey being seldom, and black and brown never 



1 Op. cit. pp. 375-7. 



