332 THE AEAB HORSE OF AFRICA. 



ground, put a stone upon it, and then proceed for a 

 couple of hours to transact his business ? And yet this 

 sight, the result of the simple process we have described, 

 may be constantly seen among the Arabs. Kneeling 

 is the perfection of the Arab horse's education. The 

 colt is trained to it by tickling him on the coronet, 

 pinching him on the legs, and forcing him to bend the 

 knee. After such a training for which, however, all 

 horses are not fit his rider has only to clear his feet 

 of the stirrups, stretch his legs forward, turn out the 

 points of his toes, touch with his long spurs the animal's 

 fore arm, and then, as his piece is fired at the marriage- 

 feasts and other rejoicings, his horse will kneel down 

 amid the applause of the young maidens, piercing the 

 air with joyful acclamations. 



Apropos to kneeling to young maidens, a very learned 

 man once confidentially asked us if, when making love, 

 he must kneel to his fair one ? As we said No, it can- 

 not be expected that we should advise that our horses 

 shall be trained to treat the ladies as if they were 

 queens. But in the hunting-field, the habit of standing 

 still when desired would be a truly useful habit of the 

 horse, for which farmers, country doctors, and clergy- 

 men would be thankful, when moving about the fields, 

 dismounting at ill-made gates opening with difficulty, 

 and requiring a two-handed tug, or tarrying at cottage 

 doors where nobody can be got to hold the horse, the 

 goodman being absent, the wife sick, and the children 

 all literally weans (wee anes). 



The power of intelligence and gentleness in develop- 

 ing the usefulness of the horse to man is strikingly seen 

 when in the bivouac. The Arab horseman sleeps with 

 his head resting on his horse's shoulder ; an arrange- 

 ment furnishing an easy pillow, and rendering the theft 

 of the horse a difficult achievement. 



But it must not be supposed that the Arabs are all 

 gentleness. A horse needing chastisement gets it by 

 means of tremendous spurs, with which the rider draws 



