COL T — COMBING 



hairs commencing to make their appearance when the 

 young animals are a few weeks old, when they turn first into 

 roans and then into greys. The exception of the prevailing 

 rule occurs with the Royal white horses of the House of 

 Hanover, which were formerly used in the state coaches of 

 the kings of that country, as these are always foaled perfectly 

 white. The term flea-bitten grey is applied to a horse whose 

 grey colour is flecked all over with small dark specks ; as a 

 rule these appear on old animals. Piebalds are black and 

 white particoloured horses, and skew-balds may be either 

 bay, brown, chestnut, or grey and white, the markings in each 

 instance being pretty equally divided in the handsomest 

 specimens. The dun colour is difficult to describe, as it 

 varies from a yellowish shade of chestnut to a light reddish 

 shade of grey, the latter being frequently associated with a 

 dark stripe or eel mark down the back. The true cream 

 colour is usually accompanied by a reddish tinge of colour 

 in the tails, which are not of the silver or flaxen hue so 

 often met with in both chestnuts and creams. The sorrel 

 colour is a pale, yellowish chestnut, some hairs being of 

 darker shades than the others. 



The most common colours of a horse's skin under the 

 coat are black and pink, or a mixture of the two, but there 

 is no rule to go by, and hence occasionally owners are much 

 surprised at the colour of their horses after the animals have 

 been closely clipped. (See Markings^ 



Colt is the term expressed to describe a young stallion. 

 Opinions differ as to the age when the word ceases to apply, 

 but the general view places it at the time when the horse 

 enters upon his fourth year. 



Combing. — Too much combing of the mane and tail is 

 not good, as it removes the hair and makes them thin. 

 However, if a mane is too thick it should be well combed 

 from the under side in order to remove the superfluous 

 hair. (See Grooming^ 



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