37& THE HORSE. 



ness ofthe chest would promise; but their principal defect is their feet, 

 which are liable to contraction, and yet that contraction not so often accom- 

 panied by lameness as in many other horses. 



The dappled grey is generally a handsomer and a better horse : all the 

 anovular points of the iron g^rey are filled up, and with that which not only 

 adds to symmetry, - but to use. Whether as a hackney, or, the larger 

 variety, a carriage-horse, there are few better, especially since his 

 form has been so materially improved, and so much of his heaviness got 

 rid of, by the free use of foreign blood. There are not, however, so many 

 dappled greys as there used to be, since the bays have been bred with so 

 much care. The dappled grey, if dark at first, generally retains his colour 

 to old age. 



Some ofthe greys approach to a nutmeg, or even bay colour. Many 

 of these are handsome, and most of them are hardy. 



The roans, of every variety of colour and form, are composed of white 

 mixed with bay or red, or black. In some it seems to be a natural mix- 

 ture of the colours ; in others it appears as if one colour was powdered 

 or sprinkled over another. They are pretty horses for ladies or light 

 carriages, and many of them easy in their paces, but they do not usually 

 display much blood, nor are they celebrated for endurance. If they should 

 have white fore legs, with white hoofs, they are too often tender-footed, 

 or become so with even a little hard work. 



The strawberry horse is a mixture of sorrel with white ; usually hand- 

 some and pleasant, but more celebrated for these qualities than for 

 strength and endurance. 



The pied horse is one that has distinct spots or patches of different co- 

 lours, but almost invariably of white with some other colour. They are 

 not liked as hackneys, on account of their peculiarity of colour, nor in 

 teams of horses ; but they look well when tolerably matched in a phaeton 

 or light carriage. Their value must depend on their breed ; but of them- 

 selves they have no peculiar character, except that a white leg and foot is 

 as suspicious in them as it is in the roan. 



The dun, of the Galloway size, and with considerable blood, is often 

 attached to the curricle or the phaeton ; but the larger is a true far- 

 mer's or miller's horse, with no great speed, and not always extraordi- 

 nary strength, and sometimes a little of a drone, yet a good-tempered, 

 good-feeding, good-constitutioned, useful horse enough. Varieties of the 

 dun, shaded with a darker colour, or dappled, and with some breeding, 

 and not standing too high, are very beautiful, and are sought after for 

 light carriages, and particularly for ladies to drive. 



The cream-colour, of Hanoverian extraction, with his white iris and red 

 pupil, is appropriated to royal use. Attached to the state-carriage of the 

 monarch, he is a superb animal. His bulky, yet perfectly-formed body, 

 his swelling crest, and his proud and lofty action, as if conscious of his 

 office, qualify him for the service which is exacted from him, but we have 

 no experience how far he would suit other purposes. 



Of the chesnuts there are three varieties — the lightest red or the 

 sorrel, usually with white about them, either on the face or the legs, — 

 generally lightly made, yet some of them bulky enough for the heaviest 

 loads. Their colour is generally considered objectionable. Many of them 

 have no breeding at all, and the best bred are supposed to be somewhat 

 deficient in endurance. 



The light chesruit, with less red and a little more bay or brown, is con- 

 sidered as a preferable horse, especially if he has no white about him, or 

 only a small portion of it ; yet even he, although pleasant to ride, is some- 



