THE ARABIAN HORSE. 



poor animals feem even afraid to move, left they mould injure them. 

 They never let them lie on ftraw, but make their litter of their own dung, 

 which they firft dry in the fun, to take off the ill fmell, then powder it, and 

 make a bed with it in the liable or tent, four or five inches thick. This 

 litter is very durable, for when it is foiled, it is again dried in the fun, and 

 thereby rendered as free from any unpleafant fmell as at firft. The Arabs 

 treat their Mares with great kindnefs ; they never beat or correct them, but 

 talk to them, and reafon with them ; they never prefs their pace beyond a 

 walk, nor do they ever apply the ipur, except in the greateft necefhty, which 

 the well-taught animals underftand fo well, that as foon as they feel the 

 imprefhon of the rider's heel, they inftantly fet off with incredible velocity, 

 leaping over hedges and ditches with as much agility as fo many Does (a), 

 and mould the rider chance by accident to fall, the Horfe immediately ftops, 

 to give his mafter time to remount. 



It has already been obferved, that the Arabians take the greateft care to 

 preferve the breed of their Horfes in the utmoft purity. Of this we have a 

 ftriking inftance in Pennant's Zoology, where we find the following attefted 

 paper : 



(Taken before Abdorraman, Kadi of Acca.) 

 " The occalion of this prefent writing or inftrument is, that at Acca, in 

 t the houfe of Badi, legal eftablifhed judge, appeared in court Thomas Ufguta, 

 the Englifh Conful, and with him Sheikh Morad Ebn al Hajj Abdollah, 

 Sheikh of the country of Safad; and the faid Conful defired, from the 

 aforefaid Sheikh, proof of the race of the grey Horfe which he bought of 

 him, and he affirmed to be Monaki Shaduhi(B) ; but he was not fatisfied 

 with this, but defired the teftimony of the Arabs, who bred the Horfe, and 

 knew how he came to Sheikh Morad ; whereupon there appeared certain 

 Arabs of repute, whofe names are undermentioned, who teftified and 

 declared, that the grey Horfe which the Conful formerly bought of Sheikh 

 Morad is Monaki Shaduhi, of the pure race of Horfes, purer than milk, and 

 that the beginning of the affair was, that the Sheikh of Saleh, Sheikh of 



(a) Buffon. (b) Their term for the noble race of Horfes. 



