THE SULTAN'S STABLES 



superintendent a "Nejd" breed. Now there is 

 no "Nejd" breed; the people of Nejd buy their 

 horses from the Anezeh, as Nejd is not a good 

 horse country. I asked if he had any Seglawi 

 Jedrans (the favorite breed of the desert) , and 

 he brought four stalhons, bays, which he said 

 were Seglawi Jedrans. But when I suggested 

 that a chestnut, a fine specimen, looked like my 

 own Mannakey, which is a Hamdani Simri, the 

 man in charge hearing the words "Hamdani 

 Simri," immediately nodded, and said the horse 

 was a Hamdani. This made me think that he 

 simply was trying to please me. The Sultan's 

 horses are of good blood, though perhaps they 

 are not all that would please the Bedouin. 

 They are kept badly and without exercise. If 

 they were other than the Arabs they would 

 have lost all semblance to horses, but the Arab 

 can cavort round even with his flanks full of 

 fat when another horse would completely col- 

 lapse. 



As the horses were brought out in front of 

 the main stables they were ridden by one of the 

 most expert men I have ever seen in the sad- 

 dle. From the point of style he was flawless. 

 His hands were almost under him in his seat, 

 any antics or play of the horses did not disturb 



[23] 



