184 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



from that time forth by the prophet himself, and his 

 companions, Ali, Omar, Abubekr, and Hassan, and 

 from them are descended all the noble steeds of 

 Arabia. 



The great excellence of the Arab horse is owing 

 partly to the extreme and undeviating care of the 

 Bedouins to keep up the purity of the blood ; and 

 partly to the friendly and familiar treatment the ani- 

 mal receives in its master's tent, where it is the pet of 

 his children, and a watchful observer of all his domes- 

 tic concerns. The Bedouin's mare (they never ride 

 horses) displays all the sagacity and fidelity of the dog ; 

 she will never suffer her sleeping master to be sur- 

 prised by his foes without a warning. It is, therefore, 

 no wonder that to obtain Arab mares, by purchase, is 

 a matter of extreme difficulty. The people of the 

 desert themselves often give as much as 200 for a 

 celebrated mare, not to be sold to strangers. The 

 sum of .500 has even been given ; which, consider- 

 ing the value of money in Arabia and Syria, is enor- 

 mous. Burckhardt mentions a sheckh, who had a mare 

 of great celebrity, for the half-share in the ownership 

 of which he paid 400. This subdivision of owner- 

 ship is very curious. Sir John Malcolm was informed 

 that the property in a brood mare was sometimes di- 

 vided amongst ten or twelve Arabs. 



In the desert a mare of high breed is seldom sold 

 without the seller reserving the half, or two-thirds of 



