FOREIGN HORSES 11 



district around them.* We know, again, that numerous 

 horses were brought back from Palestine in the train of 

 the Crusaders, which would of a surety be Arabian in 

 character ; so the improvement of our horses through the 

 admixture of Eastern blood must have commenced at a 

 very early period in our national story. Whether the 

 Arabian horse of that epoch was identical with the 

 animal of to-day, it is impossible to know for certain ; 

 but in all probability it was similar in all important 

 respects, for the Eastern world changes very slowly, and 

 the habits of the desert are now akin to the customs 

 described in the Old Testament. The well-known 

 description of a war-horse in the 39th chapter of the 

 Book of Job is that of a spirited, courageous charger, 

 befitting the present denizen of the desert. 



The characteristic qualities of the high-caste Arabian, 

 his endurance, hardihood, generous temper, and sound- 

 ness, enable him to impart lasting benefit to any breed 

 with which he is crossed. Like a foxhound he is a 

 model of symmetry and power, and though his stature 

 may be small the strength in that compact form is 

 simply marvellous. As a war-horse his strong constitu- 

 tion, enabling him to withstand heat and cold, hunger 

 and thirst, and the fatigues of the long, and often forced, 

 marches day after day, renders him invaluable ; for he 



■■'■ Lady Anne Blunt in a letter dated 25th of September, 1910, perti- 

 nently remarks : " As to the Crusader's importations, what are the 

 records ? Query — May not Eastern horses, other than Arabian, have 

 been the majority of these, for the fighting was against Turks, and the 

 like, who had probably Turcoman and other Asiatic horses ; and not 

 against Beduin Nomads of Central Arabia, unless in very limited numbers. 

 At that date the actual Nomads must have ceased pouring out of Arabia 

 in a torrent, as they did at the beginning, being no longer driven out in 

 haste by the hard conditions of life. The surplus, for whom there was 

 not enough pasture, must have already cleared off for the time being. In 

 the true Nomad tribes of Arabia the horse held the same position 

 as now — witness the pre-Islamic poetry, in which are many descrip- 

 tions of it in hunting and in war. The supply was always limited, as 

 now. It is historical that in the early raids extra plunder was allotted to 

 owners of pure-bred mares and stallions. So I wonder whether the 

 Crusaders met with any considerable numbers of Arabian horses ? " 



