The Horses of the Sahara 12

The Horses of the Sahara 12

"I was wandering one day in the desert mounted on _Aouadj_, when I was

seized with a violent thirst. By good fortune, I fell in with a flock of

ketâa[32] flying towards a spring. I followed them, and though holding

in my horse as much as possible, I reached the water as soon as they

did, without once pulling up to breath him. It is a most extraordinary

example of speed, for the flight of the _ketâa_, always rapid, is

greatly quickened when, driven by thirst, it makes for water.... Had I

not," continued the owner of _Aouadj_, "checked his speed by pulling at

the bridle with all my force, I should have outstripped the _ketâa_."

 

The origin of this stallion's name is this: He had not been long foaled,

when his master was attacked by enemies and forced to flee. The foal

being too weak to follow by itself, was put into a sack and placed upon

the back of a beast of burden. Thence were derived the roundness of his

back and his name _Aouadj_, which bears that signification.

 

Another celebrated stallion—here the Emir relates the origin of the race

of the Hâymour (see page 50) and adds: "Whoever has seen the horses of

that breed will not question for a moment the truth of the tale, for

their resemblance to the zebra strikes every eye."

 

 

 

 

THE SIRE AND THE DAM.

 

 

The Arabs affirm that the best age for reproduction is from four to

twelve years as regards the mare, and from six to fourteen as regards

the horse. Exacting as concerns the mare, which must be of good descent,

swift of foot, of good height, of sound constitution, and of a graceful

form, they are still more difficult to please as concerns the horse.

"Choose him" say they, "and choose him again, for the offspring always

resembles the sire rather than the dam." They do not object, however, to

the horse being of shorter stature than the mare, provided he be of pure

race and sound in wind and limb. They attach far more importance to

bottom, speed, and sobriety than to that conventional type of beauty

which is so seductive in our eyes. Thus a stallion, fat, sleek, rounded

in all parts, and who owes the brilliancy of his form to high feeding,

indolence of disposition, or inaction, excites their distrust in the

highest degree. They will say of such an animal: "Let us not be in a

hurry. Let us see him at work. There may possibly be nothing there but a

lion's hide upon the back of a cow." But, on the other hand they esteem

as a genuine sire a horse for long journeys, whose flesh is firm, whose

ribs are bare, his limbs clean and his respiration powerful. He must

also be endowed with a good temper, and have given proof of being able

to bear great fatigue, privations, and hardships.

 

As to the mare, the case has been pending for centuries. Now as formerly

the custom is to picture an Arab by the side of his mare. The gold of

the purchaser glitters at his feet, but whilst this gold is being

counted out the descendant of Ishmael casts a melancholy look on the

noble animal from whom he cannot bring himself to separate. He springs

upon her back and rushes far away into the desert: "The eye knoweth not

where he has passed." Such is the orthodox representation; let us now

see the truth as depicted by the Emir Abd-el-Kader:

 

The Arabs prefer mares to horses, it is true, but only for the three

following reasons. The first is because they consider the profit to be

derived from a mare as something very handsome, for it is well-known

that as much as fifteen to twenty thousand _douros_ (from £3,000 to

£4,000) have been received for the offspring of a single mare. Hence

they may be often heard to exclaim: "The head of riches is a mare that

produces a mare." And this idea gathers strength in their eyes from it

having been said by our lord Mohammed, the messenger of Allah: "Give the

preference to mares; their belly is a treasure, and their back a seat of

honour. The greatest of blessings is an intelligent woman, or a prolific

mare." These words are thus explained by commentators: "Their belly is a

treasure," because a mare by means of her offspring increases the wealth

of her master; and "their back is a seat of honour," because the pace of

a mare is more easy and agreeable; some even going so far as to say that

the easiness of her gait will after a time render her rider effeminate.

 

The second motive is that the mare does not neigh in time of war like

the horse, and is less sensitive as to hunger, thirst, and heat, and is

therefore of greater use to a people whose riches consist principally in

flocks of camels and sheep. It is known to all, that camels and sheep do

not really thrive except in the Sahara, where the ground is so arid that

many Arabs, being unable to procure water more than once in eight or ten

days, accustom themselves to drink nothing but milk. This is one of the

consequences of the great distance that frequently, on account of the

pasturage, divides the encampment from a spot where there are wells. The

mare is like the serpent: her strength increases in the hot season and

in torrid regions. A snake that lives in a cold country or in water has

very little life or venom, so that its bite is rarely mortal; whereas a

snake that lives in a hot country is full of life, and the virulence of

its poison is intensified. Contrary to the horse who is less capable of

supporting the heat of the sun, the mare, owing doubtless to her

temperament, finds her vigour doubled in the hottest season.

 

The third and last motive is, the little attention required by the mare.

She feeds on anything. Her owner leads or sends her to graze on the same

herbage as the sheep and camels. There is no occasion to place a

watchman in regular attendance. The horse, however, cannot dispense with

being well kept, nor can his owner send him to the pasture without a

_saïs_, or groom, to look after him.

 

Such are the true reasons for the preference which Arabs show for mares.

This preference is not caused by an idea that the foal inherits from its

dam more than from its sire, or that it is better on all occasions to

ride a mare than a horse. But it rests partly on substantial benefits

received, and partly on the necessities of the life which the Arabs

habitually lead. It may be laid down, then, as a fact that the horse is

more noble than the mare, and that the sire bequeaths to the foal more

than the mare does, which the Arabs express by the saying: _El mohor

itebaâ el Faâl_, "the foal follows the stallion." I admit, however, that

the best produce is that which proceeds from a sire and a dam both of

pure race. In this case, it is gold allying itself with gold. I will add

that the horse is stronger, of a higher courage and greater speed than

the mare, and is free from the grave drawback attendant on the latter of

stopping short under her rider, even in battle and at a time perhaps

when everything depends on rapid movement.

 

There can be no doubt that the foal proceeds from the stallion and the

mare. But the experience of ages demonstrates that the essential parts

of the body, such as the bones, tendons, nerves, and veins follow after

the sire. The mare may impart to her young the colour of her coat, a

general resemblance, and something of her frame, but it is the stallion

that transmits the strength of the bones, the vigour of the nerves, the

solidity of the tendons, speed and all the other most important

characteristics. He also communicates to his offspring his moral

qualities, and if he is really noble, preserves him from all vice, for

the Arabs of old have said: "The noble horse has no malice."

 

* * * * *

 

No sooner has the foal seen the light than one of the bystanders takes

it in his arms, and walks up and down with it for some time in the midst

of almost inconceivable noise and uproar. It is supposed that a useful

lesson is thus taught for the future—the animal, accustomed from its

birth to horrible sounds, will never afterwards be frightened at

anything. This lesson finished, the master of the tent places the right

dug of the mare in the foal's mouth, and exclaims: "In the name of

Allah! Allah grant that the new-born (_mezyoud_) may bring us good

fortune, health, and abundance!" The friends who are present answer all

together: "Amen! May Allah bless thee! He has sent thee another

child."[33]

 

To teach the foal to suck, a fig or a date soaked in milk slightly

salted is put into his mouth. As soon as he has taken a liking to it and

begins to suck it, he is placed under his dam. After two or three

attempts he soon mistakes the dug for the fig or date he has just left,

and the thing is done. After that he is carefully preserved from the

night-cold. But it is also necessary to accustom him to drink camel's

and ewe's milk. It is done in this manner. They take a goat's skin used

several years for holding milk, and fill it with air. Then squeezing it

gently, they blow up his nostrils a few times. By way of complement to

this operation they crush dates in milk, which impart to it a sweetish

flavour and then place the mixture close to the foal's mouth, forcing

him every now and then to dip his lips into it. He begins by tasting and

licking it and after a while drinks it, whether the dam gives him suck

or not. Great importance is attached to teaching the foal to drink milk;

first, because he can thus be left in the tent while the mare is again

put to work; and secondly, because in after years, in default of water,

he will be satisfied with milk instead, and also as food if barley runs

short. Should the mare take an aversion to her young, she must be

separated from him, and the latter must be brought up on camel's milk,

as this is deemed preferable to the milk of the cow or the she-goat,

which produces laziness and heaviness.

 

A few days or a few months after the birth of a foal, some Arabs slit

one or both of the ears. This fancy is accounted for in various ways.

According to one party this operation is performed on animals born in

the night time, because they ought to have a better sight than those

that come into the world during the day. According to others, it is done

to foals born on Friday, the day of the gathering together of Mussulmans

at the mosque, because it is a lucky sign. The truth is simply this: The

master of a tent has a child of tender years, whom he loves very dearly.

In slitting the ear of his foal he declares that he reserves him for his

son so-and-so. Should the father afterwards die, no one would dispute

the possession of the animal with the child thus named. Others, however,

slit the ear of a foal that has the colic; the bleeding saves him.

 

Soon after the birth of a foal they hang round his neck amulets, and

talismans (richly ornamented in the case of wealthy people) and little

shells called _oudaâ_. They are suspended by neckbands of wool or of

camel's skin (_goulada_) which the women delight to make with their own

hands, especially applying themselves to harmonise the colours

tastefully. To bay or black horses they attach a white _goulada_, to

those of a light colour red _gouladas_. These neckbands are useful as

well as ornamental, for they serve to hold the animal by if need be,

thus replacing our halters in a manner more agreeable to the eye and

less irksome to the horse. As for the talismans (_heurouze-aâdjab_) they

are simply little bags made of Morocco leather, more or less ornamented,

and containing words extracted from the sacred writings, by means of

which they hope to preserve the animal from wounds, from sickness, and from the evil eye.