556 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



leave his family, with his stock oi'the common 

 breed of horses and mares, for a single niglit. 

 On his rcUira to tlio place in the morning, he 

 found that his family and his whole property 

 had been carried off in the night. He was 

 mounted on a horse of the noble breed, and 

 of the highest quahties, and having a rifle 

 with him, he set out alone in pursuit of the 

 robbers. On coming up with them he found 

 that their numbers were considerable, but he 

 had reason to believe that they were not pos- 

 sessed of fire-arms, wliich proved to be the 

 fact. 



Approaching near enough to bring them 

 within range of his gun, he fired and wound- 

 ed one or more of them, and waving his hand 

 he dared them to follow him. This they at- 

 tempted, but found it fruitless. He then re- 

 turned to the attack, and again succeeded in 

 singling out one or two of them with his rifle. 

 Once more they pursued him witli the fleet- 

 est of their horses, but to overtake him was 

 impossible. Thus he hung upon their rear, 

 wounding and killing several of tliem, until 

 he at length compelled them to restore the 

 booty. 



The accoutrements of the Arab horsemen 

 are simple in their construction, and well 

 suited to his wants. The saddle is generally 

 large, and always easy to ride on. The straps 

 are made of untanned leather, and are fasten- 

 ed without buckles. A ring is attached to 

 the end of the girth, and another to a corres- 

 ponding part of tlie saddle. Through these 

 rings a strap is repeatedly passed, and drawn 

 together with such force as to bring them 

 near to each other, after which, the strap is 

 iiistened by twisting the ends round the part 

 thus tightened. The saddle thus fixed is nev- 

 er displaced, and, indeed, seldom taken off, 

 except for the temporary purpose of groom- 

 ing, when it is again immediately replaced, 

 although there be no intention of riding. 

 Cruppers are seldom used, because they are 

 not necessary to keep the saddle in its place, 

 and because they never carry anything be- 

 hind it. The shoes are a thin flat piece of 

 iron, with a hole in the middle to keep the foot 

 cool, someiliing in tlie fonn of our common 

 bar shoe, but extremely light, and even flex- 

 ible, so as to yield willi the foot when jjressed 

 upon a stone. Tht; nntntn-ous diseases to 

 ■which our horses are liable are scarcely 

 known in these countries. 



Sometimes, indeed, I have seen a lame 

 horse, but u[)on inquiry, the cau.se was gen- 

 erally to be traced to some accident, either 

 in a skinnisli. or from riding violently, which 

 they do without hesitation over the roughest 

 ground. Although nincr a very timorons ri- 

 acr, I have frequently felt somewhat uneasy 

 at tlio style in which they carried me over a 

 country which the boldest rider in Enghnid 

 ■would hesitate to f()ll()W. In going down a 

 declivity not less, perhaps, than forty-five de- 

 grees, wliere stones as large as a table were 

 scattered about iu all directions, I was pro- 

 ceeding with some caution to guide my horse 

 (1126; 



over the difFicultics of the ground, when an 

 Aral) called out to me, and I was induced 

 ever afterward to follow the advice, " Give 

 him his head, he sees the stones as well as 

 you do." 



Everybody has seen the Turkish bridle ; 

 they never use a curb, but the ring which is 

 put into the mouth serves the same purjwse ; 

 tlie bit, which is very light, acting so power- 

 fully, by means of the lever attached to it, as 

 to force the mouth open and keep it so ; nei- 

 ther do they ever use the snaffe, or bridoon ; I 

 tried it in the hope of its easing the mouth, but 

 to horse and rider it proved equally inconve- 

 nient. Although they u.se such powerful bri- 

 dles, the Arabs ride with a heavy hand, so as 

 to sustain the horse iu advancing, and to curb 

 him in action. This they are able to do very 

 effectually, and in throwing the jereed it is 

 absolutely necessary. Perliaps the most re- 

 markable point about the Arabian horse is 

 the extraordinary smallness of the head and 

 mouth — so small, indeed is the latter that you 

 would think they might use a common tum- 

 bler for a water-bucket. 



The stirrup used by the Arab is singularly 

 short, but the seat of the rider is not on that 

 account the less secure, and it enables him, in 

 I'ising on his stin-up to throw the jereed, or to 

 strike a blow, to do it v^'ith an infinitely in- 

 creased effect. The sudden jerk which is 

 often given iu these exercises to the stirrup- 

 leather, makes it necessary to secure it much 

 more finnly than we do. This is done by 

 ten or twelve straps or thongs, and the stir- 

 rup, in place of being a narrow bar, is so 

 constnicted as to allow the whole foot to rest 

 on a plate of iron reaching from the toe to 

 some distance behind the heel, where it is 

 sharpened so as to serve the purposes of a 

 spur. 



The Arab feels that his safety depends on 

 the quality of his accoutrements, and this is a 

 point to which his attention is constantly di- 

 rected. In action they never dismount, so 

 that when you see a horse during an engage- 

 ment without a rider, you may conclude that 

 he is killed or badly wounded. In the hands 

 of a European unaccustomed to the habits of 

 the Arab horse, unacciuainted with the man- 

 her of treating him, the animal appears to be 

 extremely vicious, but let the same horse be 

 mounted by a native horseman, and he will 

 be finiiid to be gentle, docile, and obedient. 



I need say nothing of the sabre, vvliich is 

 their favorite weapon, and is always light 

 and handy, of a curved f()nn, and of consider- 

 able strength, the best being made at Damas- 

 cus. But tlie use of the jereed is not so much 

 known : its length is about tiiur fi'et, with a 

 steel head, well-Iempeied and well sharpen- 

 ed. It is used as a missile, and four oftliem 

 are generally carried in a small case under 

 the thigh of the horseman, so as to enable 

 him to seize one t)f them very quickly, and 

 the case is fiistened to the saddle by loops be- 

 hind and before. 



