The Blind Spot

Did you ever wonder where names/sayings like "knucklehead," "thick-headed," "meathead," "low brow," "dumb ass," "can't see the forest for the trees", "hit you over the head with a 2 x 4", "explain it to me like you would to a 5-year old," or even, you wouldn't know it until it bites you on the ass" originated? Are all these barbs (and more) born out of frustration, when someone doesn't immediately understand something that is glaringly obvious? Whose problem is it anyway? The person who doesn't get it or the person who lost all patience?

In the first few chapters of Drinkers of the Wind, after vacationing  in Greece and discovering Lady Anne Blunt's book, A Pilgrimage to Nejd, a young Carl Raswan finds himself in Egypt, on the threshold of what was to be, the greatest adventure of his life. Out riding one day, he meets a Bedouin-bred chestnut stallion, Ghazal. It's interesting to observe  Raswan's curiosity for the horse, however, despite his fascination, Raswan does not have a favorable opinion of him, as he writes, 

"In Ghazal, the rough emaciated little desert stallion, I had not found the realization of my dreams, but he established for me a contact which I had eagerly looked for. He showed many points of conformation to Arabian characteristics which might be found in greater quality in animals of his breeding among the tribes. I admitted to myself that my quest was perhaps only kindled by a romantic impulse in my young soul, that possibly the horse of perfection might no longer exist."

Raswan's disappointment is strongly felt as you navigate through this part of the story. If you have ever been fortunate to know a chestnut Arabian, whether personally as an owner or as an enthusiast/observer in your life, this part of the story is made a little more personal, as you swap the place of Ghazal with the chestnut Arabian you know from your life. Having recently written a blog about NK Hamza (NK Kamar El Dine  x Andorra Bint Asfoura), I could not get his photographic image out of my mind, as I re-read this beloved story.

NK Hamza (NK Kamar El Dine  x Andorra Bint Asfoura), Sabine Klee photo

Towards the end of the book, we find a different voice, a Raswan whose eyes had been opened to discover the marvelous horse that had always been Ghazal. He enthusiastically writes,

"I had no doubt that I had found the horse of my quest. His head with its gazelle profile was fairly short. As he tossed it up and down and neighed in high spirits, playing with the bright colored tassels of his halter, his mouth, with its small, firm lower lip, revealed teeth of gleaming ivory. His large, thin wide-open nostrils were like petal tips of a rose or like delicate pink shells. Above the dark fire of his eyes, with their long, shining black lashes, rose high and shielding the bold, expressive forehead bearing the silvery-white star. His head was wide between the jaws and had the afnas, a concave indenture of the whole nasal bone, whereby distinguished ancestry is recognized. The curve of the windpipe culminated in a wonderfully arched throat. The contour of the neck resembled an elongated wave, from which floated in brilliant ripples the silken mane. His small, straight, inward-pointing ears quivered like 'lilies trembling in flowing water.' His whole body swayed, lithe and slender with supple strength. His breast was deep and majestic, and his sloping shoulders had the characteristic 'swimming  motion.' His back, short, wide and distinctly seamed, was ideal for the saddle. The muscles of the level croup were strong, the secret of his ability to 'soar' and 'poise,' as the Bedouin says. The tail of fine hair, carried in perfect arch, had grown again, tapering at the tip. His thighs, like those of an ostrich, were  muscular; his legs light, but cleanly modeled and firm, with elastic pasterns, long and strong, and hoofs hard as rock. His short, fine, silky coat shone like a mirror. He was of flawless proportions and balance."

Quite a difference from "the rough emaciated little desert stallion" that he described earlier in the story, right?  Raswan's metamorphis of appreciation for Ghazal is not only a story that powerfully explains the charm of an Arabian horse but also, it remains for me, the best description of an Arabian horse that I ever read. I hope that it will become yours too, all for the love an Arabian horse.