Coats of a dark colour do not need so many precautions. When it is very hot or very cold, the horses are brought inside the tent. In the Sahara the nights are always cool; in summer, as in winter, the animals must be covered. Nothing is overlooked that may avert checked perspiration. After a long journey the saddle is not removed until the horse is dry. Nor do they give him any thing to eat until he has recovered the regularity of his breathing, and for the most part they give him water to drink with the bridle on. Lastly, the encamping grounds are studiously selected. What is preferred is a dry ground, cleared of the stones that might encumber it, on which the horse is placed so that the forequarters shall be a little higher than the hind quarters, and facing as much as possible the master of the tent, who watches him night and day like one of his own children. To place a horse with his forequarters lower than the hind quarters is to ruin his shoulders. Particular care should always be taken of the _djellale_. A horseman is little respected by the Arabs when it can be said of him: His horse drinks troubled water, And his covering is full of holes. COATS. The favourite coats are:— The White: "Take the horse white as a silken flag, without spot, with the circle of his eyes black." The Black: "He must be black as a night without moon and stars." The Bay: He must be nearly black, or streaked with gold. "The dark red one said to the dispute, 'Stop there.'" The Chestnut: "Desire a dark shade. When he flees beneath the sun, it is the wind. The Prophet was partial to chestnuts." The Dark Dappled-Gray, called "the grey of the wild pigeon," if resembling the stone of the river. He will fill the douar When it is empty, And will preserve us from the combat, On the day when the muzzles of the guns touch each other. The Grays are generally esteemed when the head is of a lighter colour than the body. The Green, or rather the yellow dun, which must be dark, with black tail and mane. White is the colour for princes, but does not stand heat. The black brings good fortune, but fears rocky ground. The chestnut is the most active. "If one tells you that he has seen a horse fly in the air, ask of what colour he was; and if he replies: 'Chestnut,'—believe him." "In a combat against a chestnut, you must have a chestnut." The bay is the hardiest and most sober. "If one tells you that a horse has leaped to the bottom of a precipice without hurting himself, ask of what colour he was; and if he replies: 'Bay,'—believe him."