100 SHAPE OF ARAB HORSES 



out of an Arab mare should possess. If the Arab is 

 h'ght in body or narrow-chested, we can correct these 

 faults by judicious mating. The Arab which I owned 

 was, though perfect in the points which I have described 

 above, somewhat light-ribbed and narrow-chested, but 

 behind the forearm the barrel swelled out in the most 

 extraordinary manner, thereby affording the fullest 

 play for the lungs, and indicating great staying-power. 

 The shoulder was perfect, and, contrary to most Arabs, 

 the withers were not too high. The shoulder-blades 

 sloped well back, and were so well adjusted that in 

 descending a hill the point of the ham never ruffled 

 the skin. Although his legs appeared small, they were 

 flat and wiry. The pasterns were very oblique, so 

 much so that I imagined they must be weak ; such, 

 however, was not the case, for they were as strong 

 as iron. In height, this horse was about 14 hands 

 2 inches. 



The feats which Arab horses are able to perform 

 are due, so anatomists have informed me, to the 

 wonderful density of their bones, and their muscular 

 forearms and thighs. 



I once when in Paris had an Arab given me, as no 

 one there could ride it. Knowing that I should be 

 likely to have a long and difficult task to conquer it, 

 and being unwilling to make an exhibition of myself, I 

 started to ride it at six o'clock one morning near the 

 Arc de Triomphe, intending to ride it to the Bois de 

 Boulogne if I could. Such an acrobatic performance 

 I never experienced either before or since. It would 

 take too much space to attempt to describe all that 

 horse did and tried to do — however, I may truth- 

 fully state that it did everything a horse could do, 



