HARNESS.
I have stated that the Arab saddle furnishes the rider with such a firm seat that he does not trouble himself at all about certain vices in a horse that are apt to cause us uneasiness. I will therefore say a few words on the subject, though it is one now familiar to every body.
The Arab saddle consists of a wooden saddle-tree, surmounted in front by a longkerboussor pommel, and by a broad troussequin behind, high enough to protect the loins. The whole is covered and held together, without nails or pegs, by a plain camel's skin which gives it great solidity. The bands rest on the animal's back, and are broad and flat, with a proper regard for the freedom of the withers and loins, and afford a roomy and commodious seat. This last is very hard, and it requires long practice to get used to it. The chiefs cover it with a woollen cushion; but the common horsemen make it a point of honour to ride on the bare wood, pretending that the use of cushions is excessive effeminacy, and by diminishing their points of contact cannot fail to invite them to sleep during a long course, and consequently expose them to injure their horses. Thisis all the more meritorious that for the most part, and especially in summer they ride without trousers or drawers.
The saddle-tree is concealed by astara, or covering of red morocco, without ornament, in the case of individuals who are poor or not very well-to do; and by aghrebaria, or covering of cloth or scarlet velvet, embroidered with gold or silver thread, and ornamented with fringes, in the case of rich people and chiefs. Thedeïr, or breast-piece, is very broad and is placed like that of our French saddle. Its extremities are provided with two strong buckles of iron or chased silver, and are fastened to the saddle-tree by small girth-leathers, so placed as to keep the saddle in its true position. The Arabs will have nothing to do with a crupper. They say it interferes with every forward movement by the restraint it imposes on the animal. They use it only with bat mules and donkeys, and even then they do not pass it under the tail.
The stirrups are broad and clumsy. Their lateral faces gradually diminish so as to unite with the upper bar which supports the ring for the stirrup-leathers. They are used very short, and the whole foot is thrust into them, and thus shielded from balls or falls. These stirrups are extremely painful for those who are not accustomed to them, because in raising oneself on them the eye strikes against the bone of the leg. After a time the skin hardens and an exostosis is formed that destroys all sensibility. It is by these exostoses that a horseman is distinguished from a foot-soldier, and so clearly, indeed, that in the province of Oran a certain Bey, having resolved to inflict an exemplary chastisement on a tribethat had revolted, put to death all who fell into his hands, bearing these marks. He well knew that his anger was vented only on the horsemen. The stirrups of wealthy individuals are either plated or gilt, and in former times the great Turkish officers had them made of solid silver or gold. The stirrups are suspended by leathers placed behind the girth, which are simply twisted straps of morocco or camel's skin—when doubled seven or eight times, they are of great strength. The noble make their stirrup-leathers of silken cord; but as these, let them be ever so solid, will not suffice when going at a rapid pace with the whole weight thrown upon the stirrups, they add what are calledmaoune, or stirrup-holders.
By way of horse-cloths the Arabs make use of pieces of felt fastened to the saddle, to allow of the operation of saddling being quickly performed. They are seven in number, and dyed blue, red, and yellow—the blue being uppermost. An eighth one is added, but white and unattached, so that it can be washed and dried in the sun if the horse has perspired much. When these pieces of felt are well shaped, the different colours lying one over the other and slightly projecting, form an ornament in very fair taste, while they preserve the horse from wounds and sores. Care is taken that they should partially cover the loins.
The saddle-girth is placed in front of the stirrups, and is narrower than ours. The Arabs as a rule girth their horses loosely; and they can do so without inconvenience, as their saddles never slip round.
The headstall of the bridle is very broad; blinkers are used, and occasionally, but not often, a throat-band, loose and fastened to the headband. The Arab of the Sahara,however, does not approve of it, because if his horse, as may often happen, should be seized by the bridle in a fight, it deprives him of his usual resource of slipping the bridle over the head, and so escaping from the enemy, whose prize is thus reduced to the bridle alone. The blinkers have the advantage of preventing a horse from being disquieted by external objects, and are perhaps partly the cause of his not fearing anything. The headstall and the headband of the bridle are embroidered in silk for the commonality, and in silver or gold for the rich. The bit is attached to the bridle, and is never cleaned. The bars are broad, short, straight, and fashionedà la Condé. The canons are flat, and the curb is a circular ring fixed to the upper part of the mouth piece. The Arab bit allows no liberty to the tongue, and its lever-arm is much shorter than in a French bit: consequently, it is much less severe than has been hitherto imagined. The advantage it offers in wartime of being free from those curbs and hooks which are often so difficult to replace, cannot be too highly appreciated.
The reins are long. Two knots are made in them, one at the length whence a horse can be kept at a foot pace without impeding the freedom of his movements, and the other at the point where experience has shown that the horse, after shortening the muscles of the neck for a gallop, begins to bear on the hand. They are held very full, and at times used as a whip to quicken the animal. The Arabs reject the snaffle as calculated to confuse a horse. Rarely combatting with the sabre, they have never experienced the necessity of it.
As with them the horse is constantly fastened by hobbles, the Arabs do not understand the value of thehalter which we employ. They replace it by agoulada, a thick cord of silk or camel's hair, of a more or less lively colour according to the coat of the animal. It is passed round the neck, and from it are suspended small morocco sachets, inclosing talismans that have the virtue of preserving from the evil eye, of averting sickness, and of bringing success in war. Thisgouladais, in the first place, an ornament, and, besides, it serves to hold the horse by, when required. To take him by the forelock to hold or lead him, as we do, is to dishonour him; for the Prophet has said: "The good things of this world to the day of the last judgment shall be suspended from the hairs that are between the eyes of your horses."
The Arabs of the Sahara make use of a whip to correct a horse when they are breaking him in, or to excite him in war or at the chace. It is composed of five or six twisted leather thongs, attached to a ring fixed to a bar of iron six or seven inches long, terminating in another ring. To the latter is fastened the small leather thong that is slipped over the wrist. Round the iron rod, but shorter by an inch, is a hollow cylinder, also of iron, of a diameter that allows the rod to play easily within it. The whip is used with all their might. It punishes so severely that after a time it suffices to shake it in order to make the animal dash forward at full speed—the noise made by the cylinder coming in contact either with the rings or with the bar that connects them, recalling to his memory the nearly similar sound of thetekerbeâa.
In the desert the Arabs carry from thekerboussof the saddle a club a cubit in length, and terminating in a large knob garnished with spikes. It is hung from the wrist by a leather thong. Some replace this by a longerclub terminating in a hook, for the purpose of picking up booty from off the ground, without alighting from the saddle. The latter is calledel aâraya, or the despoiler. Neither the Arbâ nor the Harrars would ever mount on horseback without one of these clubs.
The spurs have only one spike, and are clumsy, solid, and long. They are kept in their place by a simple leather strap crossed, and are attached very loosely.
Every Arab carries as a complement of his equipment, suspended from thekerboussof his saddle, a kind of sabretache calleddjebiraorguerab. It contains several compartments, for the purpose of carrying bread, biscuit, a mirror, soap, cartridges, shoes, a flint, writing materials, etc., etc., according to the calling of the owner. Somedjebirasare extraordinary rich. I am convinced that the sabretaches of our Hussars must have come to us from the East. The common people on an expedition carry also suspended from the troussequin of their saddle a kind of wallet, which they callsemmâte. They are shorter than ours, so as not to irritate the animal's flanks.
With the exception of the great chiefs, the Arabs have no holsters to their saddles. They carry their pistols in their girdles, or in a heart-shaped case that rests on the left side, and is held in its place by a leather strap over the shoulder and another round the body. They prefer this latter mode, because they are sure of having them on their person if they chance to be separated from their horse.
Those who do not put a throat-band to their bridle generally adorn their horses with boar's tusks or lion's teeth, or with talismans which they attach to their necks by means of silk or woollen cords.
To our taste, the less covered a thoroughbred horse may be, the better are the beauty and elegance of his form displayed. The Arabs think differently. They say:
Kohol[51]embellishes the bearer of babes,A tribe embellishes a defile,And the saddle embellishes horses.
Kohol[51]embellishes the bearer of babes,A tribe embellishes a defile,And the saddle embellishes horses.
Kohol[51]embellishes the bearer of babes,A tribe embellishes a defile,And the saddle embellishes horses.
Kohol[51]embellishes the bearer of babes,
A tribe embellishes a defile,
And the saddle embellishes horses.
During my residence in Africa, I have seen so many horses that it was impossible to dispose of when girt with an English saddle, bought up with avidity when caparisoned with an Arab one, that I am much inclined to adopt the native prejudice. Many a time also I have observed that when an Arab, who had purchased a horse from an European, had covered its back with his own saddle, the vendor was seized with regret, being struck with a beauty he had never before noticed. It is true, the only extravagance indulged in by the Arabs is in their harness; for the Prophet, while proscribing the use of gold in their garments, authorised and even enjoined it, in respect of arms and horses. He said: "Whoso fears not to spend money on the maintenance of horses for the holy war, shall be considered, after his death, as the equal of him who has always been open-handed." It is therefore no uncommon sight to see, even in these times of trouble and misery, an Arab chief treat himself to a saddle worth from £80 to £120, and on days of feasting or on solemn occasions, cover the croup of his horse withshelil, a silken stuff of brilliant hues.