The Green, or rather the yellow dun, which must be dark, with black tail and mane.
White is the colour for princes, but does not stand heat. The black brings good fortune, but fears rocky ground. The chestnut is the most active. "If one tells you that he has seen a horse fly in the air, ask of what colour he was; and if he replies: 'Chestnut,'—believe him." "In a combat against a chestnut, you must have a chestnut." The bay is the hardiest and most sober. "If one tells you that a horse has leaped to the bottom of a precipice without hurting himself, ask of what colour he was; and if he replies: 'Bay,'—believe him."
Ben Dyab, a renowned chief of the desert, who flourished in the year of the Hijra 955, happening one day to be pursued by Saad-el-Zenaty, sheikh of the Oulad-Yagoub, turned to his son and asked: "What horses are in the front of the enemy?" "White horses," replied his son. "It is well; let us make for the sunny side, and they will melt away like butter." Some time afterwards Ben Dyab again turned to his son and said: "What horses are in the front of the enemy?" "Black horses," cried his son. "It is well; let us make for stony ground, and we shall have nothing to fear—they are the negroes of the Soudan, who cannot walk with bare feet upon the flints." He changed his course, and the black horses were speedily distanced. A third time Ben Dyab asked: "And now, what horses are in the front of the enemy?" "Dark chestnuts and dark bays." "In that case," exclaimed Ben Dyab, "strike out, my children, strike out, and give your horses the heel, for these might perchance overtake us had we not given barley to ours all the summer through."
The coats despised are:
The Piebald: "Flee him like the pestilence, for he is own brother to the cow."
The kouskoussou arrives when he is gone,
And he finds the dispute as soon as he arrives.
The Isabel, with white mane and tail; no chief would condescend to mount such a horse. There are some tribes even that would not consent to allow him to remain a single night with them. They call such a one sefeur el ihoudy, "the Jew's yellow." It is a colour that brings ill luck.
The iron gray
And the Jew's yellow,