FEATS OF EQUINE ENDURANCE 137 



and had stolen the one to carry off the other. The chief 

 was quite gratified to think that he had not been beaten 

 by a mare of another breed ; he was easily reconciled to 

 the young man in order that he might recover the mare, 

 about which he was far more solicitous than the fate of his 

 daughter. 



There is a superstition among the Arabs that if the true 

 Arab horse ever treads over ploughed land he deteriorates, 

 and a story was told to a French traveller by the renowned 

 chief Abd-el-Kader to illustrate this belief. A man was 

 riding upon a horse of pure blood when he was met by his 

 enemy, also splendidly mounted. One pursued the other, 

 and he who gave chase was distanced by him who fled. 

 Despairing of reaching him, the pursuer shouted out, " I ask, 

 in the name of God, has your horse ever worked upon land?" 

 " He has, for four days," was the response. " By the beard 

 of the Prophet, I shall catch you ! " shouted the other. 

 " Mine never has." Towards the close of the day, sure 

 enough, the horse that had never worked was the victor, and 

 as the rider of the degraded horse sank under the blows of 

 his enemy the conquerer said : " There has been no blessing 

 on our country since we changed our coursers into beasts 

 of burden and of tillage. Has not God made the ox for 

 the plough, the camel to transport merchandise, and the 

 horse alone for the race? There is nothing gained by 

 changing the ways of God." 



But let us come down from these heights of Oriental 

 romance to our own prosaic England. 



An extraordinary match was run at Northampton Races 

 in 1791, between a bay mare and a black pony, in two 

 4-mile heats. The black was 13 hands 2| inches high, the 

 bay mare barely 13 hands. They ran the first 4 miles 

 carrying 14 st. each in 12 minutes, and the second in 

 13^. The odds were 6 to i on the black, who won by 

 about half a length. 



A curious match was made at Epsom in 1795 for 100 

 guineas, between Mr Grisewood's horse Crop and Mr 

 Harris's roan. Crop was to go 100 miles before the roan 

 went 80. Crop ran his first 20 miles in one hour and a 

 minute, but going round the eleventh time was nearly 



