206 CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



contained in the food we give to a horse, so many indulgences do we daily gain by giving it." The 

 belief is widely spread that the best breeds are descended from five favourite mares of the prophet, 

 on which he and his friends fled from Mecca to Medina. 



Almost every man in Arabia has his horse, not for burden, but for his own pleasure and conve- 

 nience. His only dwelling is his tent, and there the animal resides like a member of the family. During 

 the day, it is generally kept saddled at the door, ready to start on any excursion which its master may 

 desire to take. It is provided with shoes of soft, flexible iron, hammered cold, and very small, that the 

 swiftness may not be impeded. The saddle is of wood, covered with Spanish leather, and the stirrups are 

 short, so as to admit of the rider occasionally standing, considerably removed above the horse's back. 

 The Arab uses no stimulant. A slight pressure will make the animal fly like the wind ; and if, in the 

 midst of his career, the rider should fall off, the horse will stop till he is re-mouiited. By night the 

 horse sleeps amidst the family, whom it takes care never to hurt, and who caress it as they would a 

 favourite among themselves. Kept from food by day, it is regaled at night with a nose-bag full of 

 barley, which is removed in the morning. 



All Arabian horses are not, however, of similar excellence. There are, at least, three breeds of 

 very different character namely, the Attechi, an inferior breed, on which little value is set; the 

 Kadischi, a mixed breed, answering to the half-bred horses of this country ; and the KocJdani, the 

 superior breed, whose genealogies are preserved. The last are principally reared by the Bedouins in 

 the remoter districts, and their exportation is a considerable branch of trade. 



When an animal of this race is born, the owner carefully receives it in his arms, and so cherishes 

 it for several hours, washing and stretching its tender limbs, and caressing it as he would a baby. In 

 time, he places it on its legs, and, from its first movements, prognosticates its future excellences or 

 defects. He ties the ears together over its head, that they may assume an upward-pointed direction, 

 and presses the tail outwards, that it may be carried high. At the end of a month, the colt is weaned 

 and for the space of a hundred days thereafter it is allowed no food but camel's milk. Gradually, and 

 with great care, it is accustomed to eat wheat and barley. Some, however, feed them on a paste composed 

 of dates ; others, for the sake of encouraging spirit, give raw flesh. 



The following is the translation of a certificate respecting the birth ot a horse : 



" GOD. 



ENOCH. 



In the name of the most merciful God, the Lord of all creatures, peace and prayers be with our Lord 

 Mahomet and his family, and his followers, until the day of judgment ; and peace be with all those 

 who read this writing and understand its meaning. 



" The present deed relates to the grayish-brown colt, with four white feet and a white mark on 

 the forehead, of the true breed of SaKlawye, called Obeyan, whose skin is as bright and unsullied as 

 milk, resembling those horses of which the prophet said, ' True riches are a noble and pure breed of 

 horses;' and of which God said, ' The war-horses, those which plunge into the battle early in the 

 morning.' And God spoke the truth in his incomparable Book. This Saklawye gray colt was bought 

 by Khosrun, the son of Emheyt, of the tribe of Zebaa, an Aeneze Arab. The sire of this colt is the 

 excellent bay horse called Merdjan, of the breed of tlie Koheylan ; its dam is the famous white 

 Saklawye mare, known by the name of Djeroua. According to what we have seen we attest here, upon 

 our hopes of felicity, and upon our girdles, O Sheiks of Wisdom and Possessors of Horses ! that this gray 

 colt, above-mentioned, is more noble even than his sire and his dam. And this we attest, according to 

 our best knowledge, by this valid and perfect deed. Thanks be to God, the Lord of all creatures ! 

 Written on the 16th of Saphar, in the year 1223 (A.D. 1808), Witness," c. 



Nothing can exceed the tenderness with which the Arab treats his horse in general ; yet, there is 

 one era in its life when he acts in a very opposite manner. When ho desires to try its powers, lie 

 brings it out, springs upon its back, and its first expedition is a hurried one of perhaps fifty miles, 

 without one moment's respite ; after which he plunges it into water just deep enough to receive the 

 whole of its jaded body. If, thereafter, his mare eats as if nothing had happened, he considers her as 

 having established her character as a genuine member of the Kochlani breed. 



The Arab, it should be remarked, rides mares alone, considering that, in his frequent nocturnal 

 attacks, honei would be sure to neigh, and thereby give the alarm on approaching the v quarters of the 



