MY QUEST OF THE ARAB HORSE 



al-Nowak and the Kehilan al-Muson, or the 

 Hstening horses. This latter family descends 

 from a mare that, so the story goes, once stood 

 motionless all day in the desert, listening. The 

 Bedouins came around and looked at her with 

 awe. There was no question that she heard 

 something in the distance. They finally took 

 off her hobbles, and she ran about in circles 

 and then stopped and snorted. Again she 

 stood still and hstened, first with one ear for- 

 ward and then with the other. They brought 

 a nosebag with barley and put it on her head. 

 From this she would take a mouthful and then 

 pause for a minute or two, still listening. The 

 Bedouins could not tell from what direction 

 the sound she evidently heard came from. 

 They thought it might be a message from 

 Allah. 



The same night one of the most awful 

 massacres recorded in desert history took place, 

 and more than half the men of the tribes were 

 slaughtered. From that time the descendants 

 of the listening mare have been venerated. 



While there are not two distinct breeds of 

 horses in the desert, there are, however, a first 

 and second class. A horse, or mare, about 

 whose breeding there is the slightest doubt, is 



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