7 3 TRAVELS TO THE EAST. 
tent. For this reafon they keep a number of dogs. 
At this time the Arabs had all their cattle at home, 
and fed them with cuttings of ftraw and dried tre- 
foil, but the horfes with barley. At the time of the 
year when Egypt is verdant, they fearch for fuch 
places as will afford food for their cattle. The 
greateft property of the Arabians confifls in horfes. 
They have reafon to fet a great value on them, as 
they are certainly the fined; and heft in their kind 
that can be feen. An Arabian horfe is {lender, has 
a long neck, clean legs, fine fkin, is full of fire, and 
runs very faft. They are moftly forrel or brown 
bay, but fome are white and iron grey mixt. A 
black horfe is very rare to be feen. If they get one 
of this colour, without fpots, they reckon him un- 
lucky, and part with him. The Arabs are excel- 
lent horfemen ; they fit faft and well on a horfe, being 
ufed from their youth to it. Their faddles are almoil 
made in the fame manner as ours; but the hindmoft 
tree is fo high, that it covers more than half-way up 
the rider’s back. The ftirrups are flat in the 
Turkiflt manner, and hide the whole foot, They 
never ufe a girt, which makes it fo much the more 
difficult to ride and mount. The Arabian youths 
often ftand ftraight in the faddle, whilft the horfe 
runs in full career, and keep themfelves in a juft 
ballance, throw their lanees, and turn backwards 
and forwards ; fome of them whilft the horfe runs 
in full fpeed, throw themfelves over and fland on 
their heads in the faddle. Their cloaths are not 
very elegant. Over the body they have a piece of 
white woollen cloth, which they call feveral times, 
up and down from the feet over the fhoulders, fo 
that they always have their arms at liberty : they 
likewife ufe linnen. Thofe with whom I was, had 
red gampaches round their legs, and a turban 
round 
