274 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 
Another family is descended from “the Mare of 
the Old Woman,” whose story is as follows. <A 
Bedawee had been pursued for some days through a 
long and devious course. On the way his mare gave 
birth to a foal, but her master soon mounted again 
and continued his flight, leaving the little creature to 
its fate. However, when he stopped at night to rest, 
the infant appeared, having followed all the way, not- 
withstanding its extreme youth, and thereupon he 
gave it to an old woman, who brought it up by hand; 
and this foal, “the Mare of the Old Woman,” became 
the mother of a noted family.? 
As to the manner in which the Arabs treat their 
horses, it is pleasant to be assured that neither ro- 
mance nor tradition has exaggerated its kindness and 
familiarity. “Their great merit as horse-breakers is 
unwearied patience. Loss of temper with a beast is 
not in their nature, and I have never seen them strike 
or ill use their mares in any way.” If Providence 
provided Central Arabia as a region peculiarly fit for 
breeding sound horses, it would seem also that the 
ancient Arabian race was specially designed to have 
the nurture and training of these high-bred animals. 
The Arabs have a saying which is indicative of their 
character. “A noble may labor with his own hands, 
without disgrace, in three vases, —for his horse, for 
his father, and for his guest.” 
It is clear that rough treatment would soon convert 
Arabian horses into demons. Mr. William Day, the 
well known English trainer, conjectures that the ill 
1 The endurance of young foals is surprising. I know of a case 
in which a foal only ten days old travelled by the side of its dam, 
a Morgan, over fifty miles in about twelve hours, without injury. 
