THE THOROUGHBRED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20893, 8 June 1931, Page 7

THE THOROUGHBRED.

STUDY OF EVOLUTION.

HISTORY OF ARAB BREED.

WONDER HORSE OF THE WORLD.

IIY Hit. \V. J. STEWART MCKAY No. IL

Where did tho Arab come from? The answer is, "We don't know." Some think his origin is from sto<?k whoso fossil remains are found in India, and base their suggestion on the fact that in tho skull of tho Arab just in front and below hia eyesocket there is a well-marked pit. This pit appears in the three-toed anceiitral horse Hippariou, and in tho fossil horue of India the same thing occurs; while in Prevalsky's horso thero is no pit; bo ihe conclusion arrived at is that tho Arab did not descend from the Prevalsky horse tribe,, but from the Indian horso When" we come to examine the Arab horse's history, we find that thero lived in Arabia certain tribes who inhabited the mountains of Nejd, which lie in the of tho Arabian deserts. It is found in Arabian history that the Bedouin Arabs of Nejd emigrated in the <ecorid or third century A.D., and went to the lowlands about the Euphrates. They were probably driven out of Nejd by drought and famine. But it is also found that in the fifth century they returned to Nejd with camels and horses Thero is no mention of horsos on tliair journey out, but we can bo sure that 4he horses they brought back were Arab horses,and if we could ascertain where the Bedouins. lived during these three centuries we should know moro about the origin, of tho Arab horse than we do at present. . During tho centuries tfcat tho Bedouins were away they had learnt to ride, and, when they returned to Nejd they bred Arab horses then for over a thousand yi:ars. until drought and famine drove the Anazah and Shammar tribes, three centuries ago, to again seek the Euphrates, and it was from tho Anazah tribe that the Darley Arabian was obtained. ' It was from Nejd that many of the Arab horses were obtained, when, after the death of Muhammad Abu Bekr, the Caliph determined with a handful of Arabs who travelled on caaicls, accompanied by Arab horses, to conquer the world, and this was accomplished at short notice, due to the dash of the Bedouin on his wonderful horse, in many battles which ended so.' gloriously at Kadisfiia (A.D. 637). We can easily ecc him: The Arab hoise was kept pure in these isolated mountains, whers inbreeding was the rule, and no bad results followed; for to the Bedouin inbreeding is the highest tost of pure blood, eince by this means the characteristics of a particular strain are preserved and brought to the greatest perfection in the progeny. Perfect Bone of the Aiab Mare. » Let us deal with the Arab .mare first—what is she fed oil? Them is a myth that lucerne grew at Nejd, and that Alfalfa,, its common name, wjis originally al-facfacah, meaning the best sort of fodier. Even if lucerne did grow at Nejd, it would not be the kind of fodder that the Bedouin would select for his mare, because 6he had to do all the hard tasks. In the north of Africa, .the home of the Bt.rb, the stallions are asked to do the hf.rd work, but tho Arab would never dream of using anything but his mare. She is the wonder liorse of the world. She has perfect bone; where does she get it from? Certainly Nejd is. a limestone • plateau, but where does she get her vitamin D, which is to supply her with such good bone ? Her food is shocking, a few handfuls of dry dates 'and beans and a native grass that grows on the desert, antl this has to build a frame that can do colossal tasks. It is found that in the case of-human beings, that if the slyn is exposed to sunlight, tho latter will, activate a chemical substance, Ergoslerol, therei:a present, and produce vitamin D, hence the beautiful teeth of South Sea islanders and others/ It may be that the sun activates the dark skin of the Arab horse and produces enough vitamin D to ensure proper bone in their limestone country. The Arab marc is priceless in the eye* of the Bedouin, and while the Bedouin is not cruel, he is a bad horee-master, because ho bestows little attention on hid horses. Cheesman, who haii just returned from Central Arabia, 6ays that .Jbey never even take the trouble to pare their horses' hoofs, and yet what is an Arab mare called upon to do? In camp she wears a pair of hobbles, and Raswan qayg they oftenVhave to carry a heavy iron chain and fet-. ters round the front pasterrm. « Great Endurance Power. . When the master starts on a raid tlia little mare is tied to "tho cinch of the c.amel's saddle She may have to follow the racing camel for SO miles in a day, and this may go on for some days. When the enemy is sighted, the camel is left at a distance, the little mare is mounted and taken into the fray. If th« Bedouin gets the worst of tho deal, he gallops away, so that good steed is necessary, and when he, arrives at the camel he mounts and starts off with the mam tied agani to the saddle. It is because the Arab hor6e possesses this extraordinary enduranco power, largely ' due in our opinion to his wonderful heart, . that ho, in the first year of the evolution of tho thoroughbred, became such a. won-, dcrful sire. The Arab horse has never been a racehorse of any merit, but if he is asked to go to s, hard gallop for 20 or 30 miles ho can execute his task and never turn a hair. It might be thought that thei Arabs would know a great deal about breeding, but Lady Ann Blunt and h«r husband went and lived among the Bedouins at Nejd, and they declare that the Arabs know very little; their one idea is inbreeding. As regards the Arab i.tallion, there is but one breed of truo Arab, and that one ia called tho Kohl, the word that signified antimony, because the skin not only on tho face, but also nil over tho body ha 3 a blue black tint, similar to tho tint of tlie face of tho Eastern women, who U6» Kohl to "touch up" their skins. This dark skin ; . can be observed in the irrey as well as the bay , Arabs. From Kohl comes the derivative Kheilan, which is one of the best of tho strains of tho Kohl breed. The Question of Colour. All existing true-bred Arabs are said to be descended from five original mares, owned by Muhammad, and are said to be o! the A 1 Khamsah (the fivo) breed—the Arabs have kept no records cf the descent of their horses, all is handod down by word of mouth. If n Bedouin declares that bis mare isi Aeil, that meanii she is purebred. 'One of the five strains of the Kohl breed is of tho greatest interest to us, that is, the Kheilan strain, because the Darley Arabian was of that strain, and is said to be the only Kheila horso ever imported into Eng- ■ land. Horses belonging to this strain are generally bay, with black fronts, and constantly have a white star or white fclaza on the face, and may have one or more white feet. Horses of this strain are said to bo the fastest, but Blunt, who travelled much in Arabia to study the horses, does not consider that they are the handiest, nor are they by any means' the most beautiful in appearance. As regards the colour of the Arab, the popular idea ia that an Arab must be grey to be good. This is a mistake. According to Upton, 87 per cent of genuine Arabs are of a dark colour, but of the five divisions of the Koh) breed, one division, Harndani, i 3 characterised by grey colour —very rarely the Arab may be white. , Lady Wentworth, who ia the daughter ot Lady Ann Blunt, inherited her mother stud of Arabs in England, ond owns the most glorous white Arab,in the world, and eo famous is thiF horso.that Bedouins , a'pilgrimage from Arabia to come. agd kneel before this beautiful animal, will allow them, they k.ss Ins. Sometimes Arab are bka ana best