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Black horses, of a deep shade, generally possess 

 g-ood constitutions and calm temperaments, and, as 

 a rule, are excellent workers. Those of a dingy hue, 

 merging into a sort of blue-dun, are generally less reli- 

 able ; many of the former are dappled, but very few 

 of the latter, so that here, as in other colours, dappling 

 may be considered as an indication of hardiness. 



Of all colours chesnut is perhaps the most widely 

 varied, because any colour between very light dun 

 and dingy black may pass for chesnut. It is believed 

 that chesnut is a cornposite colour produced by black 

 and grey. A typical chesnut should be whole-col- 

 oured to the feet, with the mane and tail a shade 

 darker than the body and legs. Horses with light- 

 coloured manes and tails, and tapering lighter to the 

 feet, are often soft constitutionally and bad tempered. 

 Chesnuts, more frequently than any other colour, 

 possess extravagant blazes of white on the faces and 

 legs, which are very conspicuous. White fore legs 

 to the knee are supposed to be weak, owing to the 

 absence of melanin. Occasionally they have white 

 blotches on the belly and sides, and nearly all ches- 

 nuts have a few dark chocolate spots, varying in size 

 from one to three or four inches in diameter, about 

 the quarters. These spots are easily distinguished 

 from dappling, and are doubtless caused by clustered 

 or unequal distribution of pigmental matter ; they 

 appear very prominently just after horses are newly 

 clipped. Shadowy dappling appears on chesnuts also, 

 but it is not so marked as on browns and blacks. 



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