THE ARAB AND HIS STEED 5 



enemy ? ' c Dark chestnuts and dark bays.' ' In 

 that case,' said Ben Dyab, ' strike out, my children, 

 strike out, and give your horses the heel ; for these 

 might perchance overtake us had we not given 

 barley to ours all the summer through.' 



The dark dappled gray is also highly esteemed, 

 especially when the head is of a lighter colour than 

 the body. 



The coat most despised is the piebald : * Flee 

 him like the pestilence, for he is own brother to the 

 cow.' 



The roan is called meghedeur-el-deum, ( a pool of 

 blood.' The rider is sure to be overtaken, but will 

 never overtake. 1 



The Arab horse-dealer therefore sells his horses 

 which happen to be of the unlucky colours to the 

 infidels, i.e. Europeans, who are not quite so super- 

 stitious ; and the consequence is that many a good 

 Arab horse, bought in Algeria or Egypt for a mere 

 trifle, finds its way to England, France, or India. 



The training the Arab horse has to endure is 

 not only very severe, but it embraces a more varied 

 system of exercise than falls to the lot of the English 

 horse. The Arabs not only train their horses to 

 endure fatigue, hunger, and thirst, and the manoeuvres 

 so necessary in battle, but they also teach them to 

 shine at feasts by the following accomplishments : 



El Entrabe, 6 the caracol.' The horse walks, so 



1 Daumas, The Horses of the Sahara. 



