dreaded, do not prevent a horse from changing masters. These are narrow
nostrils—they will leave you in trouble; long, soft, and pendant ears;
and a short, stiff neck. A horse is little worth that does not lie down,
nor one that switches his tail about while in quick motion; also horses
that scratch their neck with their feet, that rest on the toe of their
foot, that over-reach themselves in trotting or galloping, or that cut
themselves by knocking their feet together. To discover if a horse cuts
himself, pass the two wrists, joined together, between his two fore-arms
and place them below his breast. If they are touched by the inner part
of the fore-arms, be sure that the animal has too narrow a chest and
cannot help cutting himself.
Distrust a horse that wets his nose-bag in eating his barley, and that
seems to sip the water with the tips of his lips. An ambler is not fit
for a chief: it is the horse of such as "clash the spurs," (carry
messages). Beware of a horse that rears, refuses the spurs, bites, is
difficult to mount, and breaks away from his rider when the latter
dismounts: these are all grave faults in war time. Leave to the
pack-saddle a horse that is deaf. You will know him by his hanging ears,
void of expression, and thrown backwards, and also by his not answering
to any sound of the voice. By sight, by smell, by hearing, a horse will
warn his master of coming danger, if he does not save him from it. He
saith:
Preserve me from what is in front,
I will preserve thee from what is behind.
"The lion and the horse disputed one day as to whose eyesight was the
best. The lion saw, during a dark night, a white hair in milk, but the
horse saw a black hair in pitch. The bystanders pronounced in favour of
the latter."
The highest virtue in a horse is endurance, to which, in order to
constitute a perfect animal, must be joined strength. A horse is
considered strong if he clears fifteen to sixteen foot-lengths in his
first bound. If he covers a greater space he is deemed to be of superior
strength, but if he clears no more than eight to ten feet he is set down
as a heavy animal. A very fiery horse never exhibits patience of
fatigue; nor one whose legs are lanky, neck too long, and buttocks too
heavy to be in harmony with other parts of his body; nor one who lacks
vigour in his heels. Such a horse, after a long course, will be
exhausted in his legs, so that when he is pulled up by his rider he will
still take several steps contrary to the latter's wishes. A horse that
has neither patience nor mettle is easily recognised. The form of his
body is irregular, his chest narrow, and his breathing short. Strength
and wind are the two highest qualities of a horse. The absence of either
is likely to affect his endurance and lower his spirit.
"Look in a horse for speed and bottom. One that has speed alone, and no
bottom, must have a blemish in his descent; and one that has bottom
alone and no speed, must have some defect, open or concealed.
"Reject a horse high in the middle, with a narrow chest, flat ribs, and
lanky limbs and that is for ever fidgetting about and holding up his
head. If you give him his head, he says: 'Hold me in!' and if you hold
him in, he says: 'Let me go!'
"But if in the course of your life you alight upon a horse of noble
origin, with large, lively eyes, wide apart, and black, broad nostrils,
close together; whose neck, shoulders, haunches, and buttocks are long,
while his forehead, loins, flank, and limbs are broad; with the back,
the shin-bone, the pasterns, and the dock short; the whole accompanied
by a soft skin, fine, flexible hair, powerful respiratory organs, and
good feet with heels well off the ground—hasten to secure him if you can
induce the owner to sell him, and return thanks to Allah, morning and
night, for having sent thee a blessing."
Never burden yourself with an animal that is broken-kneed, diseased, or
wounded, though they assure you that it is only a temporary accident.
Recall to mind the saying of your ancestors;
Ruined, and son of a ruined one,
Is he who buys to cure.
It is no uncommon thing for an Arab to buy a horse in partnership with
another. The usual conditions of such a compact are after this fashion.
An Arab sells a mare to another for 100 _douros_, but receives only 50
_douros_ in payment, the balance representing his share in the animal.
The purchaser rides the mare about, and makes use of her for war, the
chace, and for his private journeys. If he make a razzia, three-fourths
of the plunder belong to himself, and one-fourth to his partner. Should
the mare be killed in war, in an expedition mutually agreed upon, the
loss falls upon them equally. But should death overtake her at a
fantasia, a wedding, or any other festival, the purchaser is alone
answerable—he has to make good 50 _douros_ to the vendor. If the animal,
however, is killed in front of the tent, suddenly, or under the
horseman, while the latter is defending his wife, his children, and his
flocks,—the circumstances were beyond his control, and he is not called
upon for any reimbursement.
Should the mare produce a colt, it is reared until it is a year old,
when it is sold, and the proceeds equally divided between the partners.
On the other hand, if the mare has produced a filly, the latter is
valued when a year old, and the vendor has the privilege of choosing the
filly or the dam, paying or receiving the difference of value. This sort
of compact is never made with respect to horses.
An Arab who wishes to sell a horse will never consent to be the first to
name a price. Some one comes up and says: "Sell; thou wilt gain." The
vendor replies: "Buy; thou wilt gain."
"Speak thou first."
"No, speak thou."
"Was he purchased, or reared?"
"Reared in my tent, like one of my own children."
"What hast thou been offered for him?"
"I have been offered 100 _douros_."
"Sell him to me at that price—thou wilt gain. Tell me, then, what thou
asketh."
"See what is written with Allah."
"Come, let us drive away the previous bidder, and do thou take 10
_douros_ over and above his offer."
"I accept. Take thy horse, and Allah grant thou mayst be successful upon
his back as many times as he has hairs upon it." And should he be
desirous to avoid all risk of future annoyance on the subject of
warranty, he adds in the presence of witnesses: "The separation between
us is from this very moment. Thou dost not know me, and I have never
seen thee."
It is not permitted to mount a horse for a trial until after the price
has been agreed upon. Nevertheless, before the bargain is completely
concluded the animal is tested against a horse that has a certain local
reputation. The mode of trial is somewhat singular. The riders are
barefooted, and are not allowed to touch their horse with the heel
during any part of the race.
Horses whose reputation is well established in the country are never
sold in the market-place. It is a positive insult to an Arab to ask him,
"wilt thou sell thy horse?" before he has made known his intentions.
"They must think me then in a miserable condition," he will say, "that
they should dare to make such a proposal to me."
Certain tribes are particularly addicted to traffic in horse-flesh. The
most noted of these Arab horse-dealers are the Beni-Addas. It is said of
them:
With others, horses are mere carrion,
With them, they are youthful brides:
With others, they are asleep,
With them, they dance.
For the rest, the Arab is no horse-dealer after the European fashion. He
never makes use of ginger, nor does he resort to any trickery to
disguise the bad points of his horse. He simply places him before the
purchaser. But for the fraud he disdains he substitutes a flow of
seductive eloquence. His inexhaustible oratory pours itself forth in
metaphors and hyperboles. Pointing to the animal, he will say: "Uncover
his back and satisfy thy gaze."
He will then go on:
"Say not it is my horse; say it is my son. He outstrips the flash in the
pan, or a glance of the eye. He is pure as gold. His eyesight is so good
that he can distinguish a hair in the night time. In the day of battle
he delights in the whistling of the balls. He overtakes the gazelle. He
says to the eagle: 'Come down, or I will ascend to thee!' When he hears
the voices of the maidens, he neighs for joy. When he gallops he plucks
out the tear from the eye. When he appears before the maidens he begs
with his hand. It is a steed for the dark days when the smoke of powder
obscures the sun. It is a thoroughbred, the very head of horses! No one
has ever possessed his equal. I depend on him as on my own heart. He has
no brother in the world: it is a swallow. He listens to his flanks, and
is ever watching the heels of his rider. He understands as well as any
son of Adam: speech alone is wanting to him. His pace is so easy that on
his back, you might carry a cup of coffee without upsetting it. A
nosebag satisfies him, a sack covers him. He is so light that he could
dance on the bosom of thy mistress without bruising it."
The owner of the truly beautiful offers him for sale;
The owner of the swift one makes protestations.
Ben-Youssouf, having one day given in exchange for a mare of the desert
twenty she-camels with their young replied to his father who had keenly
rebuked him: "And why are you angry, my lord? Has not this mare brought
me the agility and the softness of skin of the jerboa, the movement of
the neck of the hare, the fleetness and the vision of the ostrich, the
hollow belly and the limbs of the greyhound, and the courage and breadth
of head of the bull? She cannot fail to turn yellow the face of our
enemies. When I pursue them, she will plunder without ceasing the croups
of their horses; and if they pursue after me, the eye will not know
where I have passed!"
It will be seen, as I had previously indicated in tracing the outline of
a thoroughbred horse as sketched by the Arabs, that they esteem it of
consequence that in his form he should borrow certain details from other
animals. He should unite in himself the qualities that are separately
remarked in the gazelle, the greyhound, the bull, the ostrich, the
camel, the hare, and the fox. It is agreed that he should have the long,
clean limbs of the gazelle, the fineness and strength of its haunches,
the convexity of its ribs, the shortening of its fore-legs, the
blackness of its eyes, and the straitness of its armpits, He should also
recall to mind the length of the lips and tongue of the dog, the
abundance of its saliva, and the length of the lower part of its
fore-paws. They go so far as to regard this resemblance of the horse to
the greyhound as a means of guiding inexperienced purchasers: at least,
such appears to be the moral of an anecdote widely circulated among
them.
"Meslem-ben-Abou-Omar, having learned that one of his relatives was
travelling near the banks of the Euphrates, desired to avail himself of
this opportunity to obtain one of the famous horses of that country. His
relative knew nothing about horses, but was very fond of the chace, and
had some very fine dogs. Despatching a servant with proper instructions,
Meslem informed his relative that the form of the horse he wished for
corresponded to that of the best of his greyhounds. An animal was thus
procured, the like of which the Arabs have never since met with."
Merou-ben-el-Keyss replied one day to some friends who accused him of
knowing nothing about either horses or women:
Yes, I have ridden horses
Sober, strong, and swift in the course,
Whose thighs were solid,
Their sinews lean and their rump rounded.
Forming as it were a channel towards the tail:
Their hoofs were hard: they could go without shoes.
By Allah! I used to fancy myself on an ostrich.
To find the tall grass
Which grows in solitudes dangerous to traverse,
In solitudes defended by the points of lances,
And by the descent of torrents,
I have many a time galloped,
When the birds were yet asleep in their nests.
To hunt the white-skinned zebra,
Whose legs are striped like Indian stuffs,
Or to overtake the antelope that lives in wild regions,
I have ridden horses with flesh hardened by exercise,
It was Allah who created them for the happiness of Believers.
Many a time, too, have I rested my heart
On that of a maid with budding bosoms,
And legs adorned with anklets of gold!
In our incursions of horsemen,
When eye must meet eye,
Many a time have I said:
Forward! forward! O my beloved courser!
Follow up the enemy routed and fleeing!
The value of a horse is in his stock.
REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.
To a King who asked a poet for his horse named _Sakab_, the latter
replied: "_Sakab_ is not for sale, nor is he to be exchanged. I would
ransom him at the price of my life. My family should die of hunger
rather than that he should suffer."
An Arab once said: "My countrymen blame me for being in debt, and yet I
contracted it for a horse of noble race and well rounded forms, who
confers honour upon them and serves as a talisman to my _goum_, and to
whom I have given a slave as his attendant."
An Arab one day sent his son to buy a horse in the market-place, and he,
before setting out, asked his father what qualities the animal should
have. The father made answer: "His ears should be ever in motion turning
sometimes forward, sometimes behind, as if he were listening to
something. His eyes ought to be keen and restless, as if his mind were
occupied with something. His limbs must be well set on and well
proportioned." "Such a horse," the son rejoined, "will never be sold by
his master."
Many of the Arabs of Upper Asia have genealogical trees, in which they
state and confirm by evidence that would be accepted in a court of
justice, the birth and parentage of the colt, so that when a proprietor
wishes to sell a horse he has only to produce his genealogical tree to
satisfy the purchaser that he is not deceiving him.
I have seen among the Annaza, a tribe extending from Bagdad to the
confines of Syria, horses so absolutely priceless that it was impossible
to buy them, or at least to pay in cash for them. These horses are
usually disposed of to great personages or wealthy merchants, who pay a
fabulous price for them in thirty to fifty bills, falling due at
intervals of twelve months, or else they bind themselves to pay an
annual sum for ever to the vendor and his descendants.
"I take them by surprise in the morning, while the bird is yet in its
nest and the moisture from the dew is making its way to the river.
"I surprise them with my sleek-coated courser that by its swiftness
overtakes the wild beasts and never wearies of hunting the gazelle in
all seasons and far from our home.
"He has the flanks of the gazelle, the legs of the female ostrich, and
the straight back of the wild ass standing as a sentinel on a hillock.
"His croup, like to a heap of sand which moisture has rendered compact,
harmonizes with withers rising above the back, like the pack-saddle of
the camel kept in its place by the crupper.
"The swellings behind his ears are rounded like spheres: the headstall
and the headband seem as if they were fixed to the extremity of the
trunk of a palm-tree, stripped of its leaves.
"Fastened by the side of other horses, he bites and demeans himself in
his jealousy as if he were possessed by a demon."
SHOEING.
Contrary to the accepted opinion, the Arabs of the Sahara are in the
custom of shoeing their horses, whether on the two forefeet, or on all
four feet, according to the nature of the ground they occupy. Those who
shoe them on all four feet are the inhabitants of the stony districts,
and these constitute the majority. Among them are the Arbâa, Mekhadema,
Aghrazelia, Saâid-Mekhalif, Oulad-Yagoub, Oulad-Nayl, Oulad-Sidi-Shikh,
Hamyane, etc., etc. It is the universal practice to take the shoes off
in the spring, when the animals are turned out to grass; the Arabs
asserting that care must be taken not to check the renewal of the blood
which takes place at that season of the year.
In every desert tribe there is a _douar_ set apart by the name of
_douar-el-maâllemin_, "the master's douar." It is that of the farriers.
A profession entirely and especially devoted to that indispensable
complement of the Arab, his horse, might be expected to be made the
object of particular esteem. Accordingly, numerous and invaluable
privileges are accorded to them, but I am not certain if the concession
of these privileges is to be regarded as an homage rendered to an art
that refers exclusively to the horse, and not also, seeing that it is
the only art that survives in the desert, as a remembrance of the
encouragements formerly given to the able and learned men of Arabia,
Egypt, Africa, and Spain, by the Arabs of the olden times, the brilliant
conquerors of the Goths and contemporaries of Haroun-al-Raschid.
The Arabs of the Sahara say that their first farriers came to them from
the towns on the seaboard, such as Fez, Tunis, Mascara, Tlemcen, and
Constantine, since when their knowledge and their calling have been
perpetuated in their families from generation to generation. A farrier
must likewise be something of an armourer and iron-smith, to repair
their bits, spurs, knives, guns, sabres, and pistols, besides making
horse-shoes, sowing needles, sickles, small hatchets, and mattocks.
In return he enjoys the following immunities: He pays no
contributions—on the contrary, when his tribe proceeds to the Tell to
buy grain a collection is made for his benefit. This immunity, however,
he shares with the maker of sandals. "The worker in iron and the maker
of boots pay no imposts." Neither is he called upon to offer kouskoussou
or shelter to any one: in other words, he is exempted from the duty of
hospitality, which in certain cases is imposed upon all. The constant
toil demanded by his calling, the unavoidable accidents to which he is
liable through the urgent wants of his brethren night and day, the
sleepless nights he has to undergo, entitle him to certain dues, called
_aâdet-el-maâllem_, "the master's dues." On their return from the
purchase of grain in the Tell every tent makes over to him a _feutra_ of
wheat and barley, and a _feutra_ of butter. In the spring he receives in
addition the fleece of a ewe. If a camel is killed for eating, he claims
the part comprised between the withers and the tail, deducting the hump,
which, being covered with fat, is esteemed a delicacy. In razzias and
expeditions, whether or not he has taken part in the enterprise, he is
entitled to a share of the booty. Usually, it is a sheep, or a camel,
according to the value of the prize. This due is known as the horseman's
ewe. The most important privilege, however, accorded to farriers, the
indisputable token of the protection they formerly enjoyed and of the
esteem in which they are still held, is the gift of life on the field of
battle. If a farrier is on horseback, with arms in his hands, he is
liable to be killed like any other horseman of the _goum_; but if he
alights and kneels down and imitates with the two corners of his
burnous—raising and depressing them by turns—the movement of his
bellows, his life will be spared. Many a horseman has saved his life by
means of this stratagem. A farrier can only enjoy the benefit of this
privilege by leading an inoffensive life, absorbed in the duties of his
business; but if he distinguishes himself by his warlike prowess, he
forfeits the privileges of his calling, and is treated as an ordinary
horseman. These advantages, on the other hand, are compensated by a
serious drawback. Should he happen to grow rich, a quarrel is fastened
upon him and in one way or another a portion of his wealth is taken from
him to prevent him from quitting the district.
A farrier whose tribe has been plundered seeks out the victors, and on
the simple proof of his trade, recovers his tent, tools, utensils, and
horse-shoes. His implements consist of a pair of bellows, which are
nothing more than a goat-skin bag with three openings, of which two are
on the upper part in the same line, and the third at the opposite end.
Through this last protrudes the barrel of a gun, or pistol, that conveys
the blast to the fire. It is the wife's department to work the bellows.
She kneels down before the charcoal which is placed in a hole, and takes
in each hand one of the upper orifices, which she closes by clutching
the skin around them. Then by alternately opening and closing her hands,
she produces a movement that causes a current of air sufficient for the
purpose, though not very powerful. The Arabs of the Sahara give the
preference over a more perfect one to these bellows with their feeble
blast, but which are easily transported in their nomadic expeditions. To
the bellows the farrier joins an anvil, a hammer, files, pincers, and a
vice. These instruments they obtain chiefly from the seabord, though
some of them they make for themselves. Formerly they used to procure the
iron in the great markets of the central desert, at Tougourt, among the
Beni-Mezabe, or at Timimoun, according to the greater or less distance
of those points from their own neighbourhood; but now they begin to
purchase them from us. The charcoal they prepare themselves with the
_arar_, the _remt_, the _senoubeur_, and the _djedary_, the last being
the most esteemed.
The horse-shoes are kept ready made, and always command a sure sale, the
Arabs being in the habit of laying in their supply for the whole year,
consisting of four sets for the fore-feet and four for the hind-feet.
The nails are likewise made by the farriers. When a horseman goes to a
farrier, taking his shoes with him, the latter is paid by his
privileges, and when the horse is shod, its master gets on its back,
merely saying: "Allah have mercy on thy fathers!" He then goes his way
and the farrier returns to his work. But if the horseman does not bring
his shoes with him, he gives two _boudjous_ to the farrier for the
complete set, and his thanks are couched in the simplest formula of Arab
courtesy. "Allah give thee strength!" he says, as he takes his
departure.
In the Sahara, they put the shoes on cold. In the foot of the horse, say
the Arabs, there are hollow interstices, such as the frog, the heel,
etc., which it is always dangerous to heat, if only by the approach of
the hot iron. This aversion for the hot iron, founded on the destructive
action of heat on the delicate parts of the foot, is so strong among
them that in bivouacs, when they see us shoeing our horses, they
exclaim: "Look at those Christians pouring oil upon fire!" In a word,
they cannot understand why—especially in long marches, when the exercise
draws the blood down to the foot of the horse—any one should wish to
increase this natural heat by the action of heated iron.
The shoes are very light, of a soft, pliant metal. In the fore-shoes
only three nails are driven in on each side. The toes are free, and
never fastened. According to the Arabs, nails in the toe would interfere
with the elasticity of the foot, and would cause the horse at the moment
he sets his foot on the ground precisely the same sensation that a man
experiences from wearing a tight shoe. Many accidents thence ensue.
The feet are neither pared nor shortened. The hoof is allowed to grow
freely, the very stony ground and incessant work sufficing to wear it
off naturally as it tries to get beyond the iron. The necessity of
paring the feet is only felt when horses have been for a long time
fastened in front of the tent without doing any work, or have remained
long in the Tell. In such a case the Arabs simply make use of the
sharp-pointed knives which they are never without. This method has this
further advantage that if a horse casts a shoe, he can still proceed on
his journey, as the sole remains firm and hard. "With you," say they,
"and with your practise of paring the foot, if the horse casts a shoe
you must pull up, or see him bleeding, halting and suffering."