ROYAL STUD OF ARABIA.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 290, 19 September 1874, Page 4

ROYAL STUD OF ARABIA.

In Palgrave's '.Arabia,' a work published with startling, novelty in. 1867, and hot nearly so well known as it ought to be, we find the best picture extant of Uie ; true Arabian horse in >his.. native country. Every one who. ' Understands iianything about horses knows something of the poor Quality of Arab that occasionally'finds its 'way to th'ie European ahd Colonial markets : •>- ,

" During thfa time I got" sight of the royal stables,; &n; event much.'desired and feagerly welcomed. "for.. the Nejdean horse is considered no less superior to all others of his kind in Arabia, than is the. Arabian breed Collectively, to the" Persian, Cape of Good ' Hope, or Indian. In Nejed is the true birthplace of the Arab, steed, the pritri&l type, the authentic' model. Thus at'any rate, I hefti-d, and Ihus, so far at Ifcast' as my ekpevicfo'ce jgoes, it appears ;to me ; 'although I' am aware that distinguished Authorities maintain another view.'' 1 But' at any rate, among all the stb'dd' o( Nejed,, jFeyaul's was indisputably ( 'th : o first; and'who' sees that Has sfcen tbe-, nitfst co'fisumate mdris of cqtllrie in Arabia, 1 per*haps in the Vorld. *'' J " ' 1 " Aibotit half was present " before ' tl% fest were out at grass /Fey-; ■ sul'ii etitiM .rfiuster'is reckotfed hundred head, or fcithdr moi'e " No' Arab dreams of tying'up'a horse by the neck a', tether replaces the halter;. and one of the anirhals is encir-' 'cled about the pastern by a light iron.ring, furnished with a padlock, and connected' with an iron chain of two feet or 'there-' 1 nbouts in length, ending in a r6pe, which is fastened to the ground at some 'distance by an iron peg ; such is ,th'e. biisto'mary method. But should th,e' attimal. be rest-' less and troublesome, a foreleg is put' under similar restraint. It is'well known 1 that in Arabia horses are much less fre- 1 quently vicious or refractory than in Europe, and this is the reason why geldings are so rare, though not unknown, i No particular prejudice that I could discover exists against the operation itself; only it is seldom performed, because not' 'Otherwise necessary, and tending of course, to diminish the value of the animal.

" But to 'return, to the horses now before usnever had I seen or imagined so lovely a coll tic tiofi. Their, stature was in--stimewhat low ; I do not think that tiny crime fully up to fifteen hands, four-? 'teert appeared to me about theiraverage •; but they were so-exquisitely.w£tt shaped .that want of greater -size 'seemed'fiaVdly, if'it all,, .a defect, u-; Remarkably'full in the haunches, withi'a ; shoulder of d slope ,so 'oleganfc'us to make: one;'hV "the words of an' Arab poet, " go raving mad about, it? V a little, a very little, ■ saddle-backed, just' 'the curve that indicates springiness with-' out weakness ;-a head broad abov-*, and 'tapemg down ,tn a nose', fine enough to verify the phrase of J;'drinking from a pint jjdt/'dld pint (pots fexiit in Nejed ; a nioat intelligent and. yet. a singularly gentle' look, full eye, .sharp thorn-like little e«r, ; legs ft>r.e and hirfdithat tseerned riiade 'of hammered iron,; so cletmy and yet so Well twisted: with' sirteW'; a-, neat round hoof, just the i'equisiteufor hard ground the tail set on,, or-rather thrown out, 'at a perfect arcH ; coats 'smooth, ■ shining, ■ arid light; the mane long, but not?overgrown■ nor heavy: and -art air iarid step;tlmt seemed to say, ■ " look at me, am f not Iprett y ? " their appearaftce justified all reputation, all value, all poetry.- The prevailing color was chestnut or grey ; alight bay, an iron color, white', or:bla'Ck, Averts •ess common; f'tll bay, flea-bitten; or none, fiat, if asked what'are, <ifto 1 r fill, the socially distinctive points'of \Jve Nejdefc h-6rsts, I fcholdd reply, the'sfojifc

of .the shoulder,, the extreme bleafrifegg of the shank, .and ; the full rounder] haunch, though every other part too lias a perfec • tion and?a|harmony unwitnessed (at jfeast by my eyes), anywhere else. " Tlie genuine Nejdean breed, so far as T have hitherto found, is to be met with only in the Nejed itself; nor are these animdls common even there; none but chiefs or individuals of considerable rank and wealth posses? them. Nor are they ever sold, at'least so all declare ; and,when I asked how.then one could be acquired, "by war, by legacy, or.by free gift," was the answer- In this last manner alone is ,tliere a possibility of an isolated" specimen leaving Nejed, but even that is seldom ; and when policy , requires a present to Egypt, Persia, or .Constantinople, (a circumstance of which I witnessed two instances and heard of others), mares are never, sent, and the poorest stallions, though deserving to pass elsewhere for real. beauties, ! are picked out 1 for the ' purpose.

r " 'Abd-Allah, Sa'ood, and.Mohammed keep their horses in separate stables. each one containing -a 'hundred or thereabouts. After < duch ■ enquiry and "remark, my companion and I cattle to the conclusion that'the total Nejde&n horse-census would not,sum up above five thousand, and probably falls short -even of - that number. The fact that here the number of horsemen in an jirmy is perfectly inconsiderable when compared to that of the camel riders, may be added in confirmation, especially since in -Nejed horses are never used except for war or parade, while all travel work and: drudgery falls on .camels, sometimes on asses.