The Portland daily press., 1879-03-29

Lady Anne Blunt and her husband have
done great work for the lovers of the horse,
in their recent journey to the Arabian desert
by thoroughly working up and describing
the pedigree of the Arabian thorough bred.
The breed is truly thoroughbred, for the
twenty-one strains with their sub.strains, all
come from common source, breed be-
longing to the children of Ishmael who dwelt,
as our readers will all recollect, ''from Hav-
ilah uLto Shur, that is before Egypt or in
that corner of Arabia that is adjacent to the
Isthmus of Suez. This breed came down
through the Kehilan, well known among the
followers of the Prophet, and divided into
five great strains and sixteen minor strains.
From the first and best Of the strains
the Kehilan, descended the DARLEY ARA.
BIAN, and from the tenth. the Jifan, came
the GoDoLPH1N ARABIAN, to which English
thorough bred stock and our own trotting
stock is so much indebted. To the Arabs
the English thoroughbred is an impure
breed and they would on no account cross
their own with it, but it is evident that the
English have improved it, while it is proba-
bic that the Arabs have deteriorated theirs by
in-breeding. The best Arabian horses, could
not, the author thinks, keep pace with the
English racers enormous stride in a three
mile race. Over five miles 1t might be differ
ent, he thinks, but over twenty, he is con-
vinced that none but very exceptional Eng
lish horses would be able to 60 with them.
They can make surprising distances under
heavy weights without firing, and we may
feel sure that the horses on which Saladin
and the Knight of the Leopard made their
winged march, were of the Kehilan breed.
Arabians reckon the pedigree Of the dam
more than that of the sire, which is the rea-
son that the mares bring the highest
prices with them. The finest mare
which the Blunts met with cost
tae chief who owned her twenty-seven cam.
els, or 1915, and was considered cheap at
that. We can imagine that our trotting
stock might be improved by obtaining Ara
bian mares and crossing with our best trot-
ting stations, since it is generally held that
the gait and stride come from the sire, and
the endurance of the Arabian is quality
which would not be amiss, but it is altogether
likely that American horsemen, with their
tendency to select speed rather than pure
blood in breeding, and their tendency to des-
plse blood when it does not show surprising
qualities, will not trouble themselves to breed
the Arabian as a thoroughbred for three rea-
sons which we gather from Mr.. Blunt: 1t is
too small; really fine animals are as infre-
quent as among us, and the inbreeding is
which the. Arabs looked upon with awe on
account of his illustrious lineage, and foun d
him to be homely, stubby pony. Although
they jump well, he thinks they would, as
hunters, be too small for any but children to
ride. The most characteristic Arabian color
is the bay. They are never vicious or timor-
ous. Their gentleness is inherited as we'll as
the effect of training. The Bedouins never
have set races, and seldom gallop more than
mile or two without stopping. Instead of
bit and bride they use halter with a fine
chain passed around the horses nose, and a
cotton pad fastened with surcingle in place
of saddle. The horses have severe treat
ment, being often starved and exposed to the
severe weather, but have few diseases.
We shall probably never have the satisfac-
ton, as they are not given to foreign travel,
but it would be pleasant to see an Arab at
tend one of our races, and take him round
with pair of trotters in two-twenty. 1t
would probably astonish him, but if his ia
natical regard for pedigree should lead him to
despise our horses, it is none the less true
that the American trotter is to take leading
place in the estimation of the world.