"Sidi-Aomar, the companion of the Prophet, hath said: 'Love horses, tend them well, for they are worthy of your tenderness. Treat them like your own children, nourish them like friends of the family, clothe them with care! For the love of Allah, do not neglect to do this, or you will repent of it in this house and in the next.'"
Finally, if you have the good fortune to encounter in your journey one of those wandering story-tellers (me-dahh, fessehh) who pass their lives in travelling about from tribe to tribe, to amuse the abundant leisure of these warrior-shepherds, supported by a player on the flute (kuesob), and accompanying himself on a tabour (bendaïr), he will chaunt to you with a hollow but not unmusical voice:
My horse is the lord of horses!
He is blue as the pigeon beneath the shade,
And his black hairs are like waves;
He bears hunger and thirst; he outstrips the eyesight;
And, true drinker of air,
He blackens the heart of our enemies
In the days when muzzles touch each other.
Mebrouk[[6]] is the pride of the country.