286 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



parently towards the middle of the eighteenth 

 century, or a little later, and by the middle of 

 the nineteenth it was steadily dying out. 



A horseshoe nailed to a house door was in the 

 first instance supposed to keep away witches, a 

 belief which gradually developed into the sup- 

 position that the possession of the shoe would 

 in some way bring good fortune to the owner. 

 According to several writers, most of the houses 

 in the west end of London at one time had a horse- 

 shoe on the threshold, and it is said that in the 

 year 1813 no less than seventeen shoes nailed 

 to doors were to be seen in Monmouth Street 

 alone. 



Also it is asserted that as late as the year 1855 

 seven horseshoes remained nailed to different 

 doors in that street alone. 



In his interesting book, " Bedouin Tribes of 

 the Euphrates," Mr Blunt has something to say 

 upon the subject of the treatment of horses by the 

 Bedouins. 



The Bedouin, it seems, as a rule does not use 

 either bit or bridle, but controls his horse by 

 means of a halter to which a thin chain is attached 

 that passes round the nose. 



Apparently stirrups are unknown to the Bedouin, 

 while in place of a saddle he uses a stout pad 



