478 THE HORSE. 



to their condition. They are gentle, patient, and attached 

 to their rude and simple protectors. This, indeed, is to be 

 regarded as the effect of training as much as of tempera- 

 ment ; for these horses, under the charge of Europeans, fre- 

 quently manifest a vicious and indomitable temper. But the 

 Arab treats his horse as a companion, never beats him, but 

 cheers him with his voice, and only uses him with seeming 

 cruelty in those demands on the physical powers of the ani- 

 mal which necessity requires. In the desert, the mare of the 

 Bedouin and her foal inhabit the same tent as himself and 

 his children. She is the friend and playmate of the little 

 household ; her neck is often their pillow, and the children 

 roll upon and caress her and her foal, and no accident ever 

 happens. The mare of the Arab thus acquires a docility and 

 attachment to man which nothing afterwards destroys. She 

 is obedient to her master's voice, and will neigh when she 

 hears his footsteps. Without a bit she will obey the slight- 

 est motion of the rider, stand at a word, or put herself at 

 speed in an instant. Such is the creature so happily formed 

 for the scanty herbs, the thirst and toils of the desert, These 

 fine little horses have extended over all the East, and their 

 descendants retain for a long time the characters which had 

 been imprinted upon them in their native wilderness. 



The horses of Arabia are produced in the greatest num- 

 bers in the countries bordering on Syria and the Euphrates, 

 and there likewise the finest races are reared ; nay, a great 

 part of the horses called Arabian are in reality produced 

 beyond the true geographical bounds of Arabia. The 

 larger part of Arabia, consisting of sands and rocky deserts, 

 has never in any age been fitted for the rearing of many 

 horses ; and it is altogether an error to suppose that these 

 steril regions are countries abounding in horses. Not only 

 are the countries too barren for the rearing of horses, but 

 the burning climate of the greater part of the country ap- 

 pears to be eminently unfriendly to the health and growth of 

 the animal. Those that are reared to the south of the 



