16 THE AMERICAN HORSEWOMAN. 



In the legends of the Middle Ages the knight- 

 errant and his gallant steed were inseparable, 

 and together performed doughty deeds of valor 

 and chivalry. In our present more prosaic age, 

 the horse has been trained to such a degree of 

 perfection in speed and motion as was never 

 dreamed of by the ancients or by the knights of 

 the crusades ; and there has been given to the 

 world an animal that is a marvel of courage, 

 swiftness, and endurance, while, at the same 

 time, so docile, that the delicate hand of woman 

 can completely control him. 



The Arabian is the patrician among horses; 

 he is the most intelligent, the most beautifully 

 formed, and, when kindly treated, the gentlest 

 of his race. He is especially noted for his keen- 

 ness of perception, his retentive memory, his 

 powers of endurance, and, when harshly or cru- 

 elly treated, for his fierce resentment and fero- 

 ciousness, which nothing but death can conquer. 

 In his Arabian home he is guarded as a treas- 

 ure, is made one of the family and treated with 

 the most loving care. This close companion- 

 ship creates an affection and confidence between 

 the horse and his master which is almost un- 

 bounded ; while the kindness with which the 

 animal is treated seems to brighten his intelli- 

 gence as well as to render him gentle. 



