PERSIAN HOBSE.] 



THE HOESE, AND 



[PERSIAN nORSE. 



or fourteen and a-half hands high, yet cer- 

 tainly, on the whole, are taller than the Arabs. 

 Those of the desert and country about Hillah 

 run very small, but are full of bone and of 

 good speed. The general custom is to feed 

 and water them at sunrise and sunset, when 

 they are cleaned. Their usual provender is 

 barley and chopped straw, which, if the animals 

 are piqueted, is put into a nose-bag, and hung 

 from their heads ; but, if stabled, it is thrown 

 into a small lozenge-shaped hole, left in the 

 thickness of the mud-wall for that purpose, 

 but much higher up than the line of our 

 mano-ers; and there the animal eats at his 

 leisure. Hay is a kind of food not known 

 here. The bedding of the horse consists of 

 his dung. After beiug exposed to the drying 

 influence of the sun during the day, it be- 

 comes pulverised, and, in that state, is nightly 

 spread under him. Little of it touches his 

 body, that being covered by his clothing— a 

 .arge nummud from the ears to the tail, and 

 bound firmly round his body by a very long 

 surcingle. But this apparel is only for cold 

 weather; in the warmer season the night- 

 clothes are of a lighter substance ; and during 

 the heat of the day, the animal is kept entirely 

 under the shade. 



"At night he is tied in the court-yard. 

 The horses' heads are attached to the place 

 of security by double ropes from their halters, 

 and the heels of their hinder legs are confined 

 by cords of twisted hair, fastened to iron rings 

 and pegs driven into the earth. The same 

 custom prevailed in the time of Xenophon, 

 and for the same reason — to secure them from 

 being able to attack and maim each other, the 

 whole stud, generally, consisting of stallions. 

 Their keepers, however, always sleep on their 

 rugs amongst them, to prevent accident : and 

 sometimes, notwithstanding all this care, they 

 manage to break loose, and then the combat 

 ensues. A general neighing, screaming, kick- 

 ing, and snorting, rouses the grooms, and the 

 scene for awhile is terrible. Indeed no one 

 can conceive the sudden uproar of such a 

 moment, who has not been in Eastern coun- 

 tries to hear it. They seize, bite, and kick each 

 other with the most determined fury, and 

 frequently cannot be separated before their 

 heads and haunches stream with blood. Even 

 in skirmishes with the natives, their horses 

 , 26 



take part in the fray, tearing each other with 

 their teeth, while their masters are in similar 

 close quarters on their backs." 



To see a specimen of the race-running Per- 

 sian horse, greatly excited the curiosity of Sir 

 E. K. Porter. Accordingly, he went to the 

 races ; and as the sovereign was to be present, 

 doubtless the best animals which the country 

 could produce, had entered the lists. The 

 contending horses were divided into three 

 sets, for the purpose of lengthening the sport ; 

 and they had been in training several weeks, 

 often going over the ground on which they 

 were to run in that time. The consequence 

 of this was, that when the day on which they 

 were to run came, they were so reduced iu 

 weight, that their bodies were nearly cutting 

 the skin. The distance marked for the race 

 was rather longer than the distances chalked 

 out by our sportsmen of Epsom, or New- 

 market, or Doncaster celebrity. It was twenty- 

 four miles ; and that his majesty might not 

 have to wait unamused when he arrived in the 

 field, the horses had set forward long before, 

 by three divisions, from the starting-point — 

 a short interval of time having been allowed 

 to pass between each set — so that they might 

 begin to come in a few minutes after the mon- 

 arcli had taken his seat. The different divi- 

 sions arrived at the goal in regular order, but 

 in such a state of fatigue and exhaustion, that 

 their former boasted fleetness hardly exceeded 

 a moderate canter when they passed before 

 the royal eyes. 



In almost every book of travels that we read, 

 connected with those countries where the Ara- 

 bian and his steed are found, anecdotes illus- 

 trative of that great admiration and ardour of 

 affection which the rider has for his animal, 

 are abundant. The following are given by Sir 

 John Maxwell: — "An envoy had returned 

 from his mission, and taken up his encamp- 

 ment near Bagdad, when an Arab, riding a 

 bright bay mare of extraordinary shape and 

 beauty before his tent, attracted his atten- 

 tion. The Arab, on being asked if he would 

 sell her, said — ' A¥hat will you give me?' 

 ' That depends upon her age ; I suppose she 

 is past five ? ' ' Guess again,' said he. ' Eour ? ' 

 ' Look at her mouth,' said the Arab with a 

 smile. On examination she was found to 

 be rising three. This, from her size and 



