INTRODUCTION XI 



neck long up to 40. So says Nakul, but Hashimi gives the 

 following : ' The height (measured by a line) 100 fingers'-breadth ; 

 the length from the head to the tail 160 ; the girth round the 

 stomach 100. To measure the girth, the belly should be encircled 

 with a thread, both the ends meeting over the navel. To measure 

 the height, give a line to an assistant, and carry it from the 

 shoulder to the hoof and so measure. To measure the length, run 

 a line, with the aid of an assistant, from the corner of the eye to 

 the root of the tail.' " 



On Whipping. — "If a horse neigh much, the whip should be 

 applied to its head ; if it trip, to the flanks ; if it spin round like a 

 compass, to the belly ; and if it plant its fore-feet, and refuse to 

 move, the reins should be left slack and the horse should be 

 flogged on its quarters. Should it not go straight but shake its 

 head, it should be flogged on the neck ; and should it then show 

 no fear it should be struck between the ears.^ 



" The rider should sit firm and keep his eyes on the horse's ears ; 

 he should keep his waist firm and should stick to the horse's back, 

 and treat the horse with sympathy and not flog it unnecessarily. 

 A man who observes all these points is worthy of being called a 

 ahdh sawdr or horseman." 



Muslim Traditions. — As regards Muslim traditions, I cannot do 

 better than extract passages from the Fars-Ndma of Muhammad 

 *Ahdy- 'llah, an Urdu work lithographed in Lucknow : — 



"The horse is the noblest of beasts. God created it for man- 

 kind to ride on and made it well-formed and the most beautiful of 

 all riding animals. Allah has said : * And [he hath given you] 

 horses, mules, and asses that ye may ride them, and for your 

 ornaments.'"^ 



"In the Hadls, too, mention is made both of the nobility of 

 horses and of the merit that accrues to fighters for the Faith. 

 Allah has said : ' Make ready, then, against them, what force ye 

 can, and squadrons of horse.' "^ 



1 In Bajah Sir Sourindro Mohan Tagore's pamphlet we learn, 

 " The horse should be whipped on the chest when he is frightened, at 

 the mouth when he goes the wrong way, on the tail when he is furious, 

 and on the knees when he is wanted to move. Whipping at wrong 

 places produces many vices in the animal ; so great care should be taken 

 in whipping with reference to the temper of the animal." 



- Qur,an, xvi, 8. ^ Qur,an, viii, 62. 



