102 TELEGONY AND REVERSION. 



Some tliink tliey do. They certainly give evidence of 

 remarkable powers of observation ; tlie legs, e. g., are 

 ahnost as accurately placed as in a Muybridge photograph. 

 Yet, notwithstanding a number of suggestive lines, these 

 primeval sketches can hardly be said to help us in answer- 

 ing the question, Were the ancestors of our various breeds 

 of horses striped ? Though nothing definite can be learned 

 from either historic or prehistoric records, there may be 

 other a.vailable evidence. Every one knows that stripes 

 are not by any means uncommon, more especially in dun- 

 coloured Norwegian and Kattiawar ponies. Are these 

 markings vestiges of a striped coat, as complete, it may be, 

 as that of the quagga, or are they feeble attempts on the 

 part of some recent horses to mimic the richly decorated 

 zebra ? Before attempting to answer this important and, 

 it must be confessed, difiicult question, let us see to what 

 extent some of the horses of to-day are striped, and the 

 nature of the pattern. First-hand evidence in matters of 

 this kind is most valuable. I shall, therefore, in dealing 

 with the striping of the horse, refer almost exclusively to 

 stripes present on the horses I have specially examined 

 during the last three years. 



Head Stripes. — In a sand-coloured (yellow dun) Nor- 

 wegian pony, with black mane and tail, which has been 

 in my possession for over a year, there are stripes on the 

 face, neck, body, and legs.* On the forehead there are two 

 all but complete frontal arches and portions of five others 

 (Fig. 36) . Being of a reddish-brown colour these stripes are 

 easily seen when the forelock is thrown back. The upper- 

 most (orbital) arch ends in the frontal tuft, but instead of 

 forming an acutely pointed arch, as in Matopo, it forms a 

 somewhat rounded arch, as in the Amsterdam quagga and 

 in one of my zebra hybrids. The fragments of the other 

 arches are most distinct in the middle of the forehead, 

 lu having seven more or less complete frontal arches this 



* I may mention that this is a typical Norwegian pony, the dam of which 

 I have no hesitation in saying never had the opportunity of even seeing a 

 zebra. 



