Ill] AND HISTORIC TIMES 187 



see any of this colour among the Anazah tribes, and also by 

 his observation that the fine black horses which he saw were 

 generally of the Jelfon strain, which is not one of the genuine 

 Al Khamseh. This is completely corroborated by the fact 

 that the fine black horses with a star on the forehead and 

 white feet, which are owned by some modern Turcoman tribes, 

 are known to be the outcome of crossing Turcoman mares with 

 Arab sires. 



Finally, Upton's testimony confirms the fact already well 

 attested, that the tendency to stripes is especially dominant 

 in pure-bred Arabs and Barbary horses. 



It is not impossible that the chestnut colour of some 

 Anazah horses, which we have seen to be a colour of the 

 best horses of the Shammar, whose breeds are known to have 

 more Upper Asiatic blood than any other class of ' Arabs,' may 

 result from a slight admixture of a Turcoman strain. 



The Arab horses used by the Turks are principally imported 

 from Turkish Arabia, where common Turcoman and Kurdish 

 horses have been much crossed with Arab blood. Passing 

 across the desert into Syria we find that the common horses 

 there are either Turcoman, or half-breds out of Turcoman 

 mares by Arab sires, whilst Arab horses are in general use, 

 being either bred in the country or imported from the Bedouin 

 of the desert, the latter being much the best. 



Thus it is clear that at the present hour all over western 

 Asia the main stock is the Turcoman, or horse of Upper Asia, 

 which is continually being improved and modified by Arab 

 blood. We shall presently show that from very early times 

 the same two stocks were similarly meeting and acting on 

 each other. It is most important to note, that as the Arabs 

 from religious motives, like the ancient Germans and Illyrians, 

 the medieval Tartars and modern Sumatrans, have a predi- 

 lection for white and grey horses, but pay little regard to other 

 colours, bay, which has been for ages the colour of the best 

 Keheilan horses, is not the result of artificial breeding, and 

 must therefore be inherent in the race. 



The Arabs trace the pedigree of their horses through the 

 dams and not through the stallions as with us, just as they 



