May Allah preserve this well-maned horse,
Whose eyes flash fire!
Love horses, take care of them,
In them alone lie honour and beauty.
In the Sahara, then, the horse is the noblest creature after man. The most honourable occupation is to rear him, the most delightful pastime is to mount him, the best of all actions is to tend him well.
The Arabs assert that they can tell beforehand, by certain methods, what will be a colt's stature and character when he becomes a horse. These methods vary in different localities, but those most generally adopted are the following:—For the height, they take a cord, and passing it behind the ears and the nape of the neck, they bring the two ends together on the upper lip just below the nostrils. Having established this measure, they apply it to the distance from the foot to the withers. It is an article of belief that the colt will grow as high as this last measurement out-tops the withers.
When it is desired to ascertain the value of a horse by his proportions, they measure with the hand from the extremity of the dock to the middle of the withers, and take note of the number of palms. They then begin again from the middle of the withers to the extremity of the upper lip, passing between the ears. If in the two cases the number of palms is equal, the horse will be good, but of ordinary speed. If the number of palms behind is greater than in front, the horse will have no "go" in him. But if the number of palms between the withers and the extremity of the upper lip is more considerable than in measuring from the tail to the withers, rest assured the animal will have great qualities. The more the number differs to the advantage of the forepart, the greater will be the value of the horse. With such an animal, say the Arabs, they can "strike afar"—go a long distance—thus expressing the pace and bottom promised by such proportions. With a little practice they easily come to judge by the eye so as to have no occasion to measure. While a horse is passing they compare rapidly, starting from the withers, the hindpart with the forepart, and without going into details the animal is judged.
REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.
Passing before a horse the Prophet began to rub his face with his sleeve, saying: "Allah has been wrathful with me because of horses." "Felicity is attached to the forelocks of horses." And it is on their account that their owners can reckon on the aid of Allah. Therefore it is your duty to wipe their forelocks with your hands. A wise man has said:—"The noble labours with his hands without a blush, in three cases; for his horse, for his father, and for his guest."
One mode of judging of a horse is to measure him from the root of the mane close to the withers and descend to the end of the upper lip between the nostrils. They then measure from the root of the mane to the end of the tail-bone, and if the forepart is longer than the hindpart there is no doubt the horse will have excellent qualities. To ascertain if a young horse will grow any more or not, the Arabs measure first from the knee to the highest point situated in the prolongation of the limb above the withers, then from the knee downwards to the beginning of the hair above the coronet (to the crust of the hoof): if these two measures are to one another as two-thirds to one-third, the horse will grow no more. If this proportion does not exist, the animal has not done growing, for it is absolutely necessary that the height from the knee to the withers should represent in a full grown horse exactly double the length of the leg from the knee to the hoof.