Part 29

A horseman should never urge his horse to full speed, while going up or down hill, unless he is forced to do so. He ought, on the contrary, to hold him in.

"Which dost thou prefer?" the horse was asked one day, "The getting on, or the getting off thy back?" And he made answer: "Allah curse the point where they meet!"

When you have a long journey to accomplish, relieve your horse by changing his pace, to enable him to recover his wind. Repeat this until he has sweated and dried three times, then shift his girth, and afterwards do what you will with him. He will never fail you in a difficulty.

If, on a march, you have a strong wind right in your teeth, contrive if possible to save your horse from facing it—you will spare him various diseases.

If at the bivouac your horse is so placed that he cannot move out of the wind that is blowing violently into his nostrils, do not hesitate to leave the nose-bag suspended from his nose—you will preserve him from serious mischief.

If you have put your horse to the gallop and other mounted men are following behind, soothe him, do not urge him on, for he will be sufficiently excited of himself.

If you are chasing an enemy and he commits the error of pushing his horse on, hold in your own—you are sure to overtake the fugitive.

Never strike a thoroughbred. It humiliates him, and his pride will revolt and urge him to resistance. It is quite sufficient to correct or animate him by word or gesture.

If, after having wandered a long time in the mountains and by narrow path-ways, the horseman descends into the plain, it is good to give the animal a gallop over a short distance.

At starting the rider should not scruple to play with his horse for a few minutes, as he will thereby relax his joints, and assure himself peace for the rest of the day. In like manner, after a painful and fatiguing excursion, at the moment he reaches his tent let him perform the fantasia for a while. The women of the douar will applaud, saying: "Look at so-and-so, son of so-and-so!" and he will find out, besides, what his horse is really worth.

The rider who does not teach his horse a good pace is no true horseman, but an object of pity.

If, in war time or in hunting, your horse is in a lather, and you happen to come across a stream, have no fear of allowing him to swallow half a dozen mouthfuls with the bridle on. So far from doing him any harm it will enable him to continue his course.

When you dismount think of your horse before thinking of yourself. It is he who has carried you, and is to carry you again.

After a long journey, either unsaddle your horse immediately and throw cold water over his back, at the same time leading him up and down; or else leave the saddle on until he is perfectly dry and has eaten his barley. There is no middle path between these two courses.

When after a long journey in winter, through rain and cold, you at length regain your tent, cover your horse well, and give him parched barley and warmed milk, but do not let him have any water that day.

Suffer not your horse to have anything to eat or drink directly after a journey of unusual length, or you will produce inflammation.

Put not your horses to speed, unless positively compelled to do so, during the great heats of summer. The animal himself says:

Put me not to speed in the summer, If thou would'st that I should one day save thee from the sabre.

In a case of life or death if you feel your horse's wind failing, take off the bridle if only for an instant, and strike him on the croup with a spur sharply enough to draw blood.

If after a rapid gallop you are able to give a little respite to your horse, you will know when to start again by the drying up of the mucus that issues from his nostrils.

If you would know, at the end of a day of excessive fatigue and hard riding, how far you can yet depend upon your horse, get off his back and pull him strongly towards you by the tail. If he remains unmoved as if rooted to the ground, you may still rely upon him.

On an expedition when, after great fatigue, you have only a moment for repose, take for your pillow some of the bridles of your brethren, and you will not be abandoned or forgotten, happen what may.

A horseman ought to study the habits of his horse and obtain a thorough knowledge of his character. He will then know whether, when he alights, he can have any confidence in him and can leave him in the midst of other animals, or whether he must keep an eye upon him and hobble him. Not one of these details is a matter of indifference in the presence of an enemy.

The proper season for calling on a horse to do great things, is the spring, before the great heats; or the autumn, before the intense cold.

The horse is what his work is.

Yes, give the heel to your steeds, Learn and teach them what will be of service to you. In this world it is certain that, one day or another, Every man has to face him who demands his life.

REMARKS BY THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.

The Arabs have preserved the practice of racing their horses against one another, in which they indulged so far back as in the times of idolatry, prior to Mohammed. The new law has in no way altered this usage. On the contrary it has consecrated its lawfulness, and, by impressing it with the seal of religion, has attached additional importance to it.