THE HORSE. 439 



meritorious of domestic actions is that of feeding it. They 

 were taught by their Prophet to believe that it was ori- 

 ginally predestined for their special service. "When 

 God/' said he, " wished to create it, he called the south 

 wind, and said ' I desire to draw from out of thee a new 

 being ; condense thyself by parting with fluidity,' and 

 he was obeyed. He then took a handful of this element, 

 now become tangible, and blew upon it, and the horse 

 was produced. ( Thou shalt be for man/ said the Lord, 

 ( a source of happiness and wealth ; he will render him- 

 self illustrious by ascending thee.' " The " brood mares" 

 were particularly recommended by Mohammed to his 

 disciples, ' f because their back is the seat of honour, and 

 their belly an inexhaustible treasure. As many grains of 

 barley as are contained in the food we give to a horse, so 

 many indulgences do we daily gain by giving it." 



The care which the Arabs take in classifying and preserv- 

 ing the pedigrees of their horses, to a European must appear 

 almost incredible. The collective term whereby they de- 

 signate them in general is Kohayl or Kochlani ; but they 

 commonly distribute them into five great races, all original- 

 ly from Nejed. Some authors trace them back to the most 

 remote times of Paganism, assigning as their sire the fa- 

 mous stallion Mashour, the property of Okrar, chief of the 

 Beni Obeida. Others assert that they are merely the issue 

 of the five favourite mares of the Prophet, named Rhab- 

 da, Nooma, Waja, Sabha, and Hezma. Whatever be the 

 fact as to these genealogies, history has certainly comme- 

 morated from a very ancient period the names and noble 

 qualities of some of the Arabian horses. With the beautiful 

 description of the war-steed in Job (chap, xxxix. 19 26) 

 every reader is familiar : ' ' His neck is clothed with thun- 

 der ; and the glory of his nostrils is terrible : He paweth 

 in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength : He mocketh 

 at fear; neither turneth he back from the sword : He swal- 

 loweth the ground with fierceness and rage, and smelleth 

 the battle afar oft'." The famous racers Danes and Gha- 

 bra have been already noticed (vol. i. p. 186), from which it 

 would appear that the amusements of the turf were among 

 the national festivals of the ancient Bedouins. D'Herbe- 

 lot speaks of the Kamel el Sanateyn, an old work which 

 treats of the keeping and physicking of horses. Another 

 on the same subject, still more curious, bears the title of 

 fl Summary of all that can be desired to be learned re- 



