Chap. II. 



THEIR COLOURS AND STRIPES. 



59 



noticed by some authors with surprise, is a modification or 

 vestige of a tendency to become striped. 



This tendency in the horse to become striped is in several respects 

 an interesting tact. Horses of all colours, of the most diverse breeds, 

 in various parts of the world, often have a dark stripe extending 

 along the spine, from the mane to the tail; but this is so common 

 that I need enter into no particulars. 33 Occasionally horses are 

 transversely barred on the legs, chiefly on the under side; and more 

 rarely they have a distinct stripe on the shoulder, like that on the 

 shoulder of the ass, or a broad dark patch representing a stripe. 

 Before entering on any details I must premise that the term dun- 

 coloured is vague, and includes three groups of colours, viz., that 



Fig. 1. — Dun Devonshire Pony, with shoulder, spinal, and leg stripes. 



between cream-colour and reddish-brown, which graduates into 

 light-bay or light-chestnut — this, I believe is often called fallow- 

 dun ; secondly, leaden or slate-colour or mouse-dun, which graduates 

 into an ash-colour; and, lastly, dark-dun, between brown and black. 

 In England I have examined a rather large, lightly-built, fallow- 

 dun Devonshire pony (fig. 1), with a conspicuous stripe along the 

 back, with light transverse stripes on the under sides of its front 

 legs, and with four parallel stripes on each shoulder. Of these four 

 stripes the posterior one was very minute and faint ; the anterior 

 •one, on the other hand, was long and broad, but interrupted in the 



33 Some details are given in 'The 

 Farrier,' 1828, pp. 452, 455. One of 

 the smallest ponies I ever saw, of the 

 colour of a mouse, had a conspicuous 

 spinal stripe. A small Indian chest- 



nut pony had the same stripe, as had 

 a remarkably heavy chestnut cart- 

 horse. Race-horses often have the 

 spinal stripe. 



