59 



treatise on horses, which endeavoured to prove 

 that this colour in horses was the efFect of 

 slavery, and that the original colour was either 

 black, bay, brown, or chesnut ; but this asser- 

 tion can never be maintained ; for if it were 

 true,. the whole race now in use throughout 

 the universe would have degenerated into that 

 colour i beside, the horse not being a rational 

 animal, what knowledge can he have of loss of 

 liberty, provided he be well fed and taken care 

 of? And it must be observed that the colour 

 nov/ in question prevails among the finest of 

 the breed, in Arabia, Persia, andTartary, where 

 they enjoy the greatest freedom. The dun 

 colour is very scarce \ but it Is of little conse- 

 quence, as a good horse of this colour is sel- 

 dom to be met with. 



The pyeballed horse, which is either white 

 and black, or white and bay or chesnut, in 

 large flakes or spots, is very scarce, and seems 

 not to belong to any particular colour, but is a 

 sort of lusus naturae, v/hich has no fixed colour, 

 but is merely the production of chance. 



To the colours already enumerated may be 

 added the cream coloured and the roan. Those 

 used in his Majesty's state carriage are of the- 

 s 6 



