220 HORSE-SHOES AND HORSE-SHOEING. 



early training, has probably given rise to the Arab hyper- 

 bole : ' So wonderful is the instinct of the thoroughbred 

 horse that, if he casts a shoe, he draws attention to it 

 himself by showing his foot.' This exaggeration at least 

 proves how docile these horses are to be shod, and further 

 explains how every horseman in the desert ought to have 

 the knowledge and the means of shoeing his own horse 

 while on a journey. With them it is a point of the 

 highest importance. It is not enough to be very skilful 

 in horsemanship, or to train a horse in the most perfect 

 manner, to acquire the reputation of a thorough horse- 

 man ; in addition to all this, he must likewise be able to 

 put on a shoe if necessary. Thus, on setting out for a 

 distant expedition, every horseman carries with him in his 

 djebira shoes, nails, a hammer, pincers, some strips of 

 leather to repair his harness, and a needle. Should his 

 horse cast a shoe, he alights, unfastens his camel-rope, 

 passes one end round the kerbouss of the saddle, and the 

 other round the pastern, and ties the two ends together 

 at such a length as will make the horse present his foot. 

 The animal stirs not an inch, and his rider shoes him 

 without assistance. If it be a hind-shoe that has been 

 thrown, he rests the foot upon his knee, and dispenses 

 with aid from his neighbours. To avoid making a mis- 

 take, he passes his awl into the nail-holes, in order to 

 assure himself beforehand of the exact direction the nails 

 should take. If, by chance, the horse is restive, he ob- 

 tains for the hind-feet the help of a comrade, who pinches 

 the nose or ears of the animal. For the fore-feet, he 

 merely turns his hind-quarters towards a thick prickly 

 shrub, or extemporizes another mode of punishment with 

 a nose-bag filled with earth. Such cases, however, are rare. 



