26 FOEEIGN BREEDS OF HORSES. 



tliey alone could bp, by the mingled influence of plentiful and healthy 

 food, and sufficient, but not, except in one day of trial, ciaiel exercise. 



The most extraordinary care is taken to preserve the purity of the 

 breed. Burckhardt states that the favourite mare of Savud the Wahabee, 

 which he constantly rode in all his expeditions, and was known in every 

 part of Arabia, produced a colt of very superior beauty and promise, audit 

 grew to be the finest stallion of his day. Savud, however, would never 

 permit him to be used for the purposes of breeding, because his mother was 

 not of pure blood ; and not kno'wing what to do "wath him, as the Bedouins 

 never ride stallions, he sent him as a present to the scheriff. 



The parentage and birth of the foal ai-e carefully recorded by competent 

 witnesses, whose certificate includes the marks of the colt, and the names 

 of the sire and dam. 



The colt is never allowed to fall on the ground at the period of birth, 

 but is caught in the arms of those who stand by, and washed and caressed 

 as though it was an infant. The mare and her foal inhabit the same tent 

 with the Bedouin and his children. The neck of the mare is often the 

 pillow of the rider, and more frequently, of the children, who are rolling 

 about upon her and the foal. No accident ever occurs, and the animal 

 acquires that friendship and love for man which occasional ill-treatment 

 will not cause her for a moment to forget. 



At the end of a month the foal is weaned, and is fed on camel's milk for 

 one hundred days. At the expiration of that period, a little wheat is 

 allowed ; and by degrees that quantity is increased, the milk continuing to 

 be the principal food. This mode of feeding continues another hundi^ed 

 days, when the foal is permitted to graze in the neighbourhood of the tent. 

 Barley is also given ; and to this some camel's milk is added in the evening, 

 if the Arab can afibrd it. By these means the Arab horse becomes as 

 decidedly characterised for his docility and good temper, as for his speed 

 and courage. The kindness with which he is treated from the time of his 

 being foaled, gives him an affection for his master, a wish to please, a 

 pride in exerting every energy in obedience to his commands, and, conse- 

 quently, an apparent sagacity which is seldom found in other breeds. In 

 that delightful book, Bishop Heber's ' Narrative of a Journey through the 

 Upper Provinces of India,' the follomng interesting character is given of 

 him : — ' My morning rides are very pleasant. My horse is a nice, quiet, 

 good-tempered little Arab, who is so feai-less, that he goes without starting 

 close to an elephant, and so gentle and docile that he eats bread out of my 

 hand, and has almost as much attachment and coaxing ways as a dog. 

 This seems the general character of the Arab horses, to judge from what I 

 have seen in this cou-ntry. It is not the fiery dashing animal I had sup- 

 posed, but A\dth more rationality about him, and more apparent confidence 

 in his rider than the majority of English horses.' 



When the Arab falls from his mare, and is unable to rise, she mil im- 

 mediately stand still, and neigh until assistance arrives. If he lies down 

 to sleep, as fatigue sometimes compels him in the midst of the desert, she 

 stands watchful over him, and neighs and arouses him if either man or 

 beast approaches. The Ai'ab horses are taught to rest occasionally in a 

 standing position ; and a great many of them never lie do-wn.. 



The Arab loves his horse as truly and as much as the horse loves him ; 

 and no little portion of his time is often spent in talking to him and 

 caressing him. 



An old Arab had a valuable mare that had carried him for fifteen years 

 in many a rapid Aveary march, and many a hard-fought battle ; at length, 

 eighty years old, and unable longer to ride her, he gave her, and a scimitar 

 that had been his father's, to his eldest son, and told him to appreciate their 



