588 HE VIEW — HORSES; THEIR VARIETIES, &c. 
folds of a tent, behold the interesting spectacle of a magnificent 
courser extended upon the ground, and some half dozen little dark- 
skinned, naked urchins, scrambling across her body, or reclining 
in sleep, some upon her neck, some on her carcass, and others pil- 
lowed upon her heels; nor do the children ever experience injury 
from their gentle playmate ; she recognises them as the family of 
her friend, her patron ; and towards them all the natural sweetness 
of her disposition leans, even to overflowing. The Arabs invaria- 
bly keep mares in preference to horses ; they find them endure 
fatigue, and the privations necessarily consequent upon a journey 
over the desert, better; a number of them can also be kept toge- 
ther without danger of their quarrelling or injuring each other : on 
this account it is very difficult, indeed, to induce an Arab to sell 
his mare. The Arab is particularly careful of his horse’s coat ; he 
washes the legs, tail, and nostrils, regularly, morning and evening, 
or again after a long ride ; the mane and tail are left in their natu- 
ral state, and very seldom even combed, lest they might be thinned. 
The animals are fed only during the night, and from morning to 
evening they get nothing but one or two drinks of water. From 
sunrise to sunset they are kept, ready saddled, standing at the door 
of the tent. 
“ The Arabs carefully preserve the pedigree of their horses, and 
divide them into classes, or castes. The most noble of these can, 
it is said, be traced back to the steeds on which Mahomet and his 
companions rode the night of the memorable “ Hegira.” The 
mare is, as we have stated, almost unpurchasable, there being, in- 
deed, a law prohibiting her exportation ; and the horse is only to 
be obtained at the most enormous prices — one thousand pounds not 
being extraordinary, and instances being on record of mares having 
gone to double that money. We conclude with a brief description 
of the appearance of the pure Arabian, as found in a domesticated 
state, and we conceive this the more necessary, as so many spu- 
rious Arabs are frequently endeavoured to be palmed upon the un- 
wary or inexperienced. 
“ The thoroughbred Arab never exceeds fifteen hands, and 
rarely fourteen hands and a half in height. The skin is pure black , 
or blue-black , a circumstance which gives to a white horse of this 
breed that beautiful silvery grey colour, so indicative of the purest 
blood ; brown, bay, and chestnut, are good colours, but it has long 
been remarked in India, that no dark-grey horse was ever a winner 
upon the turf.” 
Unbelievers, ourselves, in any “ short roads to knowledge,” it 
would be absurd for us, as veterinarians, to pretend to hold up 
works like the one we have been perusing in any scientific point 
