Ill] AND HISTORIC TIMES 349 



the dun with a dorsal stripe being, as in Iceland, in Norway, and 

 in Katty war, the best of the duns ; and as in Java, in India, and 

 in Tibet, pied horses have arisen with the crossing of Upper 

 Asiatic with 'Arab' blood, so in Sweden pied horses made 

 their appearance along with the intermixing of the indigenous 

 northern horses with those of Africa. 



Stradanus does not show us a typical Swedish horse, but 

 Blundeville has left us an excellent description from personal 

 observation: "The Sweacian or Sweathland Horse, so farre as I 

 can conjecture, by those that the King his ambassadors have of 

 late daies brought with them into this realme, whereof I am 

 sure there be divers here yet remaining, is no great or strong 

 Horse, but of a meane stature and strength, and I fear me scant 

 well conditioned, and I am induced to think so the rather, for 

 that they be most commonlie pied, and of two sundrie colours : 

 or their legs at the least be all white, even up to the belly, their 

 bodies being of another colour, which as Grison saith, is a sign 

 of small force : albeit the gentlemen in that countrie delight 

 much to have their horses of divers colours, and to weare as it 

 were diverse liveries. Besides that, manie of them be wall 

 eied, which is also a token of a shrewd and stubborne dis- 

 position. Notwithstanding I have seene of them with good 

 handling to make an indifferent good manege, whereby I take 

 them to be docible." 



As the horses seen by Blundeville had been brought over by 

 Swedish ambassadors, we may safely assume that they were 

 good specimens of the typical horses of Sweden at that time. 



In Blundeville's description we at once recognise a type of 

 animal well known still in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, and 

 which are commonly piebald, skewbald, white, or dun with 

 stripes on the back, and not unfrequently with markings on 

 the face and legs. 



As piebalds and skewbalds commonly occur among the 

 ponies of Java and not unfrequently amongst the country- 

 breds of India, both of which are the result of crossing Upper 

 Asiatic and Arab (i.e. Libyan) blood, as also the dun-coloured 

 striped horses of Kattywar have a similar origin, and as it is 

 almost certain that the same holds true of the piebald tangums 



