'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎185] (194/568)

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AGRICULTURE AND LAND TENURE 185
lamed by pebbles which become wedged in the hoof through the
hole in the shoe.
The Kurdish breed of horses is raised in the hill country of Kur
distan, and in the districts round Diarbekr and Mosul. Arab blood,
in some cases mixed with Turkoman, Persian, and other strains,
forms the basis of the horse stock seen among the Kurds. These
horses, together with others of inferior Arab strains, are mostly used
for transport purposes and for working water-lifts.
Mules. The mules used in Mesopotamia are bred chiefly in south
western or western Persia, and to some extent also by Kurdish
tribes on Turkish territory. They are employed as pack-animals
(mostly in the hills) and to draw vehicles. In the Diarbekr vilayet
and the neighbourhood of Kirkuk they are used in agricultural work.
(On the mule as a transport animal see p. 279.) There are important
mule-markets at Dizful and Shushtar. The mules there procurable
are on the whole good, though they are commonly underfed and
overworked. Mules in Mesopotamia are worked from the age of 3 or
even 2^- years, and do not live long; it is rare to see a mule over
14 years old. They should therefore be bought at ages of from 3 to
8 years; those of three years are the best. They may be roughly
divided into four classes:
[а] The Arab mule, bred from Arab mares and donkeys in the
deserts south of the Persian mountains. This is a useful pack-
animal, with good girth and bone and short back ; there are prac
tically no draught animals in this class.
(б) The Persian mule, bred from Persian mares and donkeys
north of the mountains, and usually known as the Isfahan mule.
Ihis class is the best to be procured in large numbers ; it includes
draught and pack-animals in about equal proportions. The mules
are brought across the passes as soon as the routes are clear of snow,
and can be purchased in normal years at Dizful and Shushtar from
about the middle of March onwards; Shushtar would probably yield
three times as many of this class as Dizful. If carrying rates from
Ahwaz and Shushtar to Isfahan are high, owing to the late opening
of routes and the accumulation of goods for transit, muleteers will
not sell their animals readily. Ahwaz is useless as a purchasing
centre, as muleteers arriving there can always arrange contracts for
return journeys. Isfahan is the best purchasing centre for mules,
and animals should be obtainable there at all times, except during
the ploughing and reaping seasons, December and Januarv, April
and May. ^
(c) The Bakhtiyari mule is bred from cross-bred mares of poor
type, usually half Arab, and inferior donkeys. This mule is a small