20 The Book of the Horse. 



the imperial stud had received a bite close behind the shoulder from some sportive comrade, 

 and the wound, ill-dressed and ill-managed, had festered into a sore, puzzling the most practised 

 Nejdean farriers. One morning, while Barakat and myself were sitting in Abdallah's Ic-Iiawah, 

 a groom entered to give the prince the daily bulletin of his stables. Abdallah turned towards 

 me, and inquired whether I would undertake the cure. Gladly I accepted the proposal of 

 visiting the patient, though limiting my profter of services to a simple inspection, and declining 

 systematic interference with what properly belonged to a veterinary province. The prince gave 

 his orders accordingly, and in the afternoon a groom, good-natured as grooms generally are, 

 knocked at our door, and conducted me straight to the stables. These are situated some way 

 out of the town to the north-east, a little to the left of the road which we had followed at 

 our first arrival, and not far from the gardens of Abd-er-rahman the Wahabce. They cover 

 a large square space, about 150 yards each way, and are open in the centre, with a long shed 

 running round the inner walls ; under this covering the horses, about three hundred in number 

 when I saw them, are picketed during the night, in the day-time tliey may stretcli their legs 

 at pleasure within the central courtyard. The greater number were accordingly loose ; a few, 

 however, were tied up at their stall ; some, but not many, had horse-cloths over them. The 

 heavy dews which fall in Wad Ilaneefah do not permit their remaining with impunity in the 

 open air; I was told also that a northerly wind will occasionally injure the animals here, no 

 less then the land wind does now and then their brethren in India. About half the royal stud 

 were present before me, the rest were out at grass. Feysul's entire muster is reckoned at six 

 hundred, or rather more. No Arab dreams of tying up a horse by the neck ; a tether replaces 

 the halter, and one of the animal's hind-legs is encircled about the pastern by a light iron ring, 

 furnished with a padlock, and connected with an iron chain of two feet or thereabouts in 

 length, ending in a rope, which is fastened to the ground at some distance by an iron peg. 

 Such is the customary method, but should the animal be restless and troublesome, a fore-leg 

 is put under similar restraint. It is well known that in Arabia horses are much less frequently 

 vicious or refractory than in Europe, and this is the reason why geldings are here so rare, 

 though not unknown ; no particular prejudice that I could discover exists against the operation 

 itself, only it is seldom performed because not otherwise necessary, and tending of course to 

 diminish the value of the animal. But to return to the horses now before us. Never had I seen 

 or imagined so lovely a collection. Their stature was indeed somewhat low ; I do not think 

 that any came fully up to 15 hands, 14 hands seemed about their average, but they were so 

 exquisitely well shaped that want of greater size seemed hardly a defect. Remarkably full 

 in the haunches, with a shoulder of a slope so elegant as to make one, in the words of an 

 Arab poet, 'go raving mad about it;' a little, a very little, saddle-backed, just the curve which 

 indicates springiness, without any weakness ; a head broad above and tapering down to a nose 

 fine enough to verify the phrase of drinking from a pint pot, did pint pots exist in Nejed ; 

 a most intelligent, and yet a singularly gentle look; full eye; sharp, thorn-like, little ear; legs, 

 fore and hind, that seemed as if made of hammered iron, so clean and yet so well twisted with 

 sinew ; a neat, round hoof, just the requisite for hard ground ; the tail set on, or rather thrown 

 out, at a perfect arch ; coat smooth, .shining, and light ; the mane long, but not overgrown 

 or heavy ; and an air and step that .seems to .say, ' Look at me ; am I not pretty V Their 

 appearance justified all reputation, all value, all poetry. The prevailing colours were chest- 

 nut or grey, a light bay, an iron colour; white or black were less common; full bay, flea-bitten, 

 or piebald, none. But if asked what are, after all, the specially distinctive points of the 

 Nejdec horse, I should reply — the slope of the shoulder, the extreme cleanness of the shank, 



