COLOUR OF HORSES. 325 



sires of the race ? I submit, with all humility, these 

 observations to men of science." 



" The Emir, moreover, assures us that it is ascer- 

 tained by the Arabs that horses change colour accord- 

 ing to the soil on which they are bred. Is it not pos- 

 sible that, under the influence of an atmosphere more or 

 less light, of water more or less fresh, of a nurture more 

 or less rich, according as the soil on which it is raised 

 is more or less impregnated with certain elements, the 

 skin of the horse may be sensibly affected ? There is, 

 perchance, in all this a lesson in natural history not to 

 be despised ; for if the circumstances in which a horse 

 lives act upon his skin, they must inevitably act also, 

 in the long-run, upon his form and qualities." 



To sum up Arab sense and nonsense as to colour : 

 the fleetest of horses is the chestnut ; the most endur- 

 ing, the bay; the most spirited, the black; the most 

 blessed, one with a white forehead. " Flee the piebald 

 like the pestilence, for he is own brother to the cow." 

 The Isabel, with white mane and tail, no chief would 

 condescend to mount such a horse. Some tribes would 

 not allow him to remain with them a single night. The 

 Prophet abhorred a horse that has white marks on all 

 its legs. 



" A horse with white feet, his off fore-leg being alone 

 of the colour of his coat, resembles a man who carries 

 him gracefully in walking, with the sleeves of his coat 

 floating in the air." But to this dictum of the Emir we 

 oppose that of the very clever author of l Adventures 

 of a Gentleman in Search of a Horse : ' 



" A dark hoof is preferable to a white one ; the latter 

 is more porous in its structure, and more liable to be- 

 come dry and brittle. This is easily demonstrated by 

 soaking two hoofs of opposite colour and equal weight 

 in water. The white hoof will become heavier than the 

 other when saturated, and will become dry again far 

 sooner. It is also quite notorious among farriers that 

 when a horse is lame, having one foot white and the 



