Description of a Horse in Max Brand

From The Untamed by Max Brand: “It required some study to guess at these qualities of the rider, for they were such things as a child feels more readily than a grown man; but it needed no expert to admire the horse he bestrode. It was a statue in black marble, a steed fit for a Shah of Persia! The stallion stood barely fifteen hands, but to see him was to forget his size. His flanks shimmered like satin in the sun. What promise of power in the smooth, broad hips! Only an Arab poet could run his hand over that shoulder and then speak properly of the matchless curve. Only an Arab could appreciate legs like thin and carefully drawn steel below the knees; or that flow of tail and windy mane; that generous breast with promise of the mighty heart within; that arched neck; that proud head with the pricking ears, wide forehead, and muzzle, as the Sheik said, which might drink from a pint-pot.”

Love a good, appreciative, laudatory description of horses; could be better, though: would be nice if he described more directly the horse’s consciousness and goodness and will to live; would have made it stronger for me. But, being more materialistic is Max Brand for you.  Sounded better on audio than it did in writing. Maybe,  the surprise in hearing it the first time added value; when I went back and read the passage, I knew it was there, and what it was about, but the passage did not seem as powerful. Still, it is a good example of what one can do in writing in school or on the SAT.