In the desert the curry-comb is never used, the horses are cleaned with the nose-bag, which is made of horse hair, and are frequently washed if the weather is favourable. Milk is their ordinary drink. Should it happen to run short, the Arabs do not hesitate to go a considerable distance to find clear and pure water for them. The barley ought to be heavy, very clean, without any bad smell, and completely clear of the impurities which are unavoidably mixed with it in the "silos." The horses are covered with good djellale, which fully protect the loins, the belly, and the chest. They are manufactured in the tribe. Those that are made with care are water proof.
There are some coats which must be preserved with equal attention from cold and from heat. Experience has demonstrated that this is necessary for all horses of a light colour, beginning with the white, the fineness of whose skin makes him very susceptible.
In the sun he melts like butter:
In the rain he melts like salt.
Coats of a dark colour do not need so many precautions. When it is very hot or very cold, the horses are brought inside the tent. In the Sahara the nights are always cool; in summer, as in winter, the animals must be covered. Nothing is overlooked that may avert checked perspiration. After a long journey the saddle is not removed until the horse is dry. Nor do they give him any thing to eat until he has recovered the regularity of his breathing, and for the most part they give him water to drink with the bridle on. Lastly, the encamping grounds are studiously selected. What is preferred is a dry ground, cleared of the stones that might encumber it, on which the horse is placed so that the forequarters shall be a little higher than the hind quarters, and facing as much as possible the master of the tent, who watches him night and day like one of his own children. To place a horse with his forequarters lower than the hind quarters is to ruin his shoulders. Particular care should always be taken of the djellale. A horseman is little respected by the Arabs when it can be said of him:
His horse drinks troubled water,
And his covering is full of holes.
COATS.
The favourite coats are:—