104 Veterinary Elements. 



turity. The hair is a valuable aid to determine the 

 quality of an animal; coarse hair means a coarse skin; 

 waviness in the hair of the tail, a sign of want of breed- 

 ing. The long hair on the legs of heavy horses is dub- 

 bed ' ' the feather, ' ' and the term silky denotes the 

 quality desired. The claim of more endurance for some 

 colored horses than for others is stoutly upheld by many 

 horsemen — it is more probable that the conformation, 

 and not the color, was at fault. Capt. Hayes says that 

 dark-colored horses endure the heat better than light- 

 colored ones. Favorite colors in horses are determined 

 by Fashion, and that controls the market to some extent, 

 especially with regard to coachers, saddlers, roadsters, 

 etc. Every one possibly has heard it said ' ' that a good 

 horse cannot be a bad color, ' ' and also that if a horse 

 has one white foot buy him, two try him, etc., be that as 

 it may, great splashings of white are not desired on the 

 body, unless for the circus. Coal black horses fetch high 

 prices for funeral purposes. The location of the white 

 markings on horses, have been named, thus rendering 

 description of those animals more easy, e. g., a small 

 patch of white in. the center of the forehead is called a 

 star, if the patch is larger it is dubbed a blaze, and if 

 the white spreads over the face, the term bald is often 

 applied; "snip" refers to a little patch of white on 

 either lip; "white stocking" and "white sock" refer 

 to markings on the limbs, the former up to the knee or 

 hock, the latter to the fetlocks. Gray horses are very 

 liable to what is named — Melanosis — black tumors, we 

 may term them, and although removal is sometimes per- 

 formed, unless they interfere with the health of the ani- 

 mal they should be let alone. 



