334 THE ARAB HORSE OF AFRICA. 



Feeding is very carefully attended to, each horse re- 

 ceiving a ration proportioned to age, temperament, and 

 work to be gone through. Being convinced that milk 

 maintains health and strengthens fibre without increas- 

 ing the fat, which they dislike, the Arabs give their 

 horses ewe's or camel's milk as abundantly as they can. 

 The great article of horse food is barley eaten out of a 

 nose-bag, and barley-straw. At night, during winter, 

 the horses get quantities of alfa grass (Lygeum Spar- 

 tium), which furnishes the material of so much of the 

 paper manufactured in this country. Our learned Emir 

 informs us that the Saharene gives his horse camel's 

 milk to drink, "which has the property of imparting 

 speed, so that a man, if he takes nothing else for a 

 sufficient time, will attain to such a degree of swiftness 

 that he may vie with the camels themselves ! " As we 

 have no such milk we cannot try the experiment on 

 man or beast ; but there is a point in which we may 

 imitate the usage of the Arabs, and not of them only, 

 but of most Eastern nations we mean the giving of 

 barley to horses. " When thou hast purchased a horse, 

 study him carefully, and give him barley more and 

 more every day, until thou hast ascertained the quan- 

 tity demanded by his appetite. A good horseman ought 

 to know the measure of barley suited to his horse as 

 exactly as the measure of powder suited to Ins gun. 

 The Prophet has said ' Every grain of barley given to 

 your horses shall secure you an indulgence in the 

 other world/ " 



" Give barley to your horses ; deprive yourselves to 

 give them still more, for Sidi-Hammed-ben-Youssouf 

 has remarked, * Had I not seen the mare produce the 

 foal, I should have said it was the barley.' He has also 

 said, ' Superior to spurs there is nothing but barley/ " 



Here are some maxims of the Emir showing sense 

 and humanity : 



" Never water your horse after having given him 

 barley ; it would be the death of the animal. 



