252 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



the possession of this animal ; and yet I would not 

 give, in India, 400 rupees for him. He has a great 

 deal of Arab blood, yet his head and neck run out 

 exactly on a prolongation of his backbone, and with 

 his nose stuck out he shuffles along more like a cow 

 than a horse. His mouth is dreadful I would not 

 undertake to turn him round in much less than an 

 acre of ground ; and he is of so sluggish a disposition 

 that I was obliged to keep the whip constantly play- 

 ing against his side. As for leaping, he has not the 

 most remote idea of it, and I don't think it possible 

 he could get over a four-foot ditch without having a 

 tumble : so much for his faults. Now for his virtues : 

 he keeps his flesh well under long marches, eats any- 

 thing that comes in his way, is as quiet as a lamb, 

 walks fast, and ambles nearly eight miles an hour. 

 I timed this horse at a race, over very bad ground 

 indeed, and when he was not in the least pressed by 

 other horses ; the distance was one mile, five furlongs, 

 and 170 yards, measured by a perambulator, and this 

 distance was done in three minutes and forty -five 

 seconds. I am no judge of such matters, but whether 

 this was a good or bad time, it must be borne in mind 

 that the ground was covered by small ravines and 

 loose stones. He is a perfect horse in the eyes of the 

 Turkomans, and whenever he is taken to water the 

 people collect to look at him. He is a dark bay, 

 strongly formed about the hind-quarters, with a long 

 high-ridged backbone, rather heavy shoulders, and 



