166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



distinctly ; while cream, mouse, and other muddy-colored ones 

 rarely have a glossy coat which will pay for cleaning. The 

 piebald or skewbald horse is found wild upon the nortliern 

 slopes of the Himalaya mountains, and is believed by some to 

 be a distinct species. They are called the Tangum breed, and 

 are domesticated in Thibet and in India. Fine horses of this 

 breed were abundant among the ancient Parthians, Persians 

 and Huns, and in modern times they are raised in considerable 

 numbers in Italy, Austria and Prussia, chiefly for military use. 

 Bucephalus, the famous charger of Alexander, was of this 

 breed, and, in the frescoes of the Vatican, Raphael has repre- 

 sented Attila mounted upon one of this color. Piebald liorses 

 are occasionally seen in this country, but they are usually of 

 inferior quality, and employed mostly in circuses. The beau- 

 tifully spotted horses sometimes exhibited are, not iinfre- 

 quently, white horses artificially spotted with hair dye. The 

 Arabs often stain the manes and tails of their horses, and in 

 Egypt asses are colored, striped and spotted in the most fanciful 

 manner. 



The most universally admired color, the one which wears 

 the best through the entire year, is bright, blood bay with black 

 points, and to this there can be no objection made except by 

 those contrary persons who dislike ajiy thing that every body 

 else likes. 



It is generally believed that white legs and feet are more 

 liable to injury and disease than those which are darker. There 

 is, doubtless, much groundless prejudice upon this subject, and 

 many persons of extensive observation deny the principle alto- 

 gether, asserting that they can discover no difference founded 

 upon color. However this may be, there certainly is no objec- 

 tion to black hoofs and legs of a darker shade than the body. 



The quality and quantity of a horse's hair are quite as worthy 

 of consideration as its color, particularly by those who groom 

 their own animals. A fine, short, thin coat is very desirable, 

 as a heavy-haired horse can never be thoroughly cleaned with- 

 out the greatest dilficulty, and when wet with sweat can hardly 

 be rubbed dry. 



As many of the best trotting horses, especially those from the 

 North, have a thick, shaggy coat, the custom has been adopted 

 quite extensively in Boston and elsewhere, of clipping, or singe- 



