horse what the desert camel is to the camel o f bu rd en ; this animal does not, however, answer the purpose so well for crossing the barren desert, as he requires a feed o f camel’s milk once e v e ry day, which is has only sustenance, so that thene must necessarily be two she camels wherever he goes to afford this supply : for he w ill touch neither barley, wheat (oats are n ever g iv en to horses in Africa), hay, straw, nor indeed any other thing but camel's -milk : they are employed ch ie fly to hunt the ostrich, at which sport they are v e ry expert. When the desert horses are brought to Marocco, as they sometimes are, th e y fall away ; and i f obliged ultimately from hunger to eat barley and straw, the -Moorish provender, they recover, grad ually fill up, and become handsome to the sight, but lose entirely their usual speed. A lk a id Omar ben Daudy, an Arab o f Rahammenah, when Governor of Mogodor,had tw® Sahara wan horses in his stables ; finding it inconvenient to feed them constantly on camel’s milk, he resolved to t r y them on the usual food given to Bar- ba ry horses ; he accordingly had their food gradually dhanged, and in a short time fed them altogether with barley,* and occasionally w ith wheat and s traw : they grew fat, ;and looked better than before ( fo r those o f Sahara o f this particular breed :are by no m£ans handsome; they have a small slender body, formed lik e that o f the greyhound, a powerful broad chest, and small legs), but th e y lost their speed, and soon afterwards died, as i f nature had designed them to be appropriated solely -to that hanging out his tongue at one side of his mouth, when in speed, and as it were sucking in the air. * The straw being trodden out by cattle to separate it from the corn, is similar to chopped straw, and is the only substitute for hay. The Sh'rubah E r ’reeh. 9S district, whose arid and extensive plains render their use essent ia lly necessary. A person unaccustomed to ride the Sh’rubah Er reeh, finds its motion uneasy at fir s t; but the saddle forms a safe seat, and a man who n ever rode before, acquire sa facility in these saddles in a few days; the pomtnel rises perpendicularly in front, and the back part rises reclining a little from a perpendicular, and supports the back as high as the lo in s ; the stirrups are placed far hack, and give the rider a firm hol'd,* inducing him to grasp the horse’s sides with the knees, as, from the form and disposition o f the stirrups and the seat, the legs and knees naturally incline inwards, and press the horse, so that the rider can, by this means, turn the animal w hicheve r w ay be pleases, wit hoot using the re in s ; the stirrup is broad at the bottom, and receives the whole length o f the fo o t ; at the heel o f the stirrup is hung loosely a spike, six inches long, which is the Moorish spur, a barbarous looking weapon, which a person, unacquainted with the dexterous manner o f using it, would expect to rip open the horse's s id e s ; but a good horseman seldom uses it in a way to injure the horse ; it is sufficient that he shake it against the stirrups, to animate him. The whole art o f riding is confined to the dexterous management o f the spurs, and a good rider is distinguished from a novice b y their position, as the points should never be nearer to the flank than about four in ch e s ; sometimes the y are not within eight. I have seen one o f the Arabs o f the warlike and powerful province o f Shawiya, whilst mounted and the horse curvetting, mark his name in Arabic characters, * It is to the fashion of the saddle, stirrups, and bridle, that the Arabs are considerably indebted for their agility in horsemanship, and for their dexterous management of thfe horse.
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