thy fathers!' He then goes his way, and the farrier returns to his work. But if the horseman does not bring his shoes with him, he gives two boudjous to the farrier for the complete set, and his thanks are couched in the simplest formula of Arab courtesy. 'Allah give thee strength!' he says, as he takes his departure.
In the Sahara, in Syria, and throughout Arabia, the shoes are fitted in a cold state. In the foot of the horse, say the horsemen of these regions, there are hollow interstices, such as the frog, the heel, etc., which it is always dangerous to heat, if only by the approach of the hot iron. This aversion, founded on the destructive action of an extreme degree of heat on the delicate parts of the foot, is so strong among them, that in bivouacs, when the Arabs of the Sahara saw the French shoeing their horses, and fitting the red-hot shoes to the hoofs, they exclaimed, 'Look at those Christians pouring oil upon fire!' In a word, they cannot understand why—especially in long marches, when exercise makes the feet more vascular, any one should wish to increase this natural heat by the action of hot iron.
The shoes are very light, but made of well-hammered iron. In the fore-shoes, only three nails are driven in each side, through round holes which are close together. The toes remain free, as the Arabs say nails in that part of the foot would interfere with its elasticity, and would cause in the horse, when he sets the hoof on the ground, precisely the same sensation a man experiences from wearing a tight shoe. Many accidents, they assert, thence ensue. The hoofs are neither pared nor shortened, adds Daumas, and the horn is allowed to grow freely, the very stony ground
