COLOURS 



bays and chestnuts vary considerably as regards the shade 

 of their respective colours, the coats of some bays being 

 very light, whereas others closely approach the brown ; 

 whilst a dark or liver chestnut might easily be mistaken for 

 a brown by some people. But it may be mentioned that 

 the tail and mane of a chestnut are never black, and those 

 of a brown are always ot that colour, so the difference can 

 be detected. Bay horses usually possess black " points," 

 i.e., legs, tail, and mane, but not invariably so, and all colours 

 are frequently associated with white markings, which usually 

 take the form of a white star on the forehead, and white 

 heels, which are tolerated but not liked. Chestnuts of late 

 years have come to be greatly disfigured by heavy white 

 markings, which detract considerably from their appearance 

 and consequently affect their value. 



In referring to chestnut the opinion may be expressed 

 that it is, comparatively speaking, a new colour so far as British 

 horses are concerned, for it is never to be found amongst 

 such old English breeds as the mountain or moorland 

 ponies of Wales and the West of England in their natural 

 state. Consequently, it may be taken for granted that any 

 chestnut ponies which are described as being Dartmoor, 

 Exmoor, or Welsh are not pure, but invariably cross-bred. 



In addition to the above colours, roan is, happily, still 

 met with, as horses of this shade are usually robust in con- 

 stitution and strong. A roan is a horse whose natural colour 

 is shot over with white hairs, which in the case of some 

 animals are nearly as numerous as those of the darker shade. 

 In other cases the light-coloured hairs are very few, appear- 

 ing only about the loins or at the root of the tail, but still 

 their presence constitutes the animal a roan. The most 

 frequent shade is the red roan, sometimes referred to as the 

 strawberry roan, the general colour of which is a sort of 

 pinkish chestnut, in fact something of the shade known as 

 crushed strawberry; then come blue roans, chestnut roans, 

 bay roans, and brown roans. Grey horses are almost 

 invariably foaled black, or very dark in colour, the white 



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