teristic fault of which is, to be somewhat flatsided, and not unfrequently too long; excellent loins; a round, fleshy croup; muscular thighs; and, above all, the soundest, most undeniable, flat-boned legs that are to be found in any race of horses not thorough-bred, and the toughest, hardest and most iron-like feet that are to be found in any race whatsoever. In fact, immunity from disease of the legs and feet, under the most unfavorable circumstances,—when ill-groomed, ill-shod, and subject to every trial and hardship,—appeals to be the distinguishing mark of the French Canadian horse. There is no horse, probably, in the known world, to which all ordinary diseases of the foot, and especially that which is known as foot-founders, are so nearly unknown; and it has been well stated by an intelligent writer, well versed in the peculiarities of this particular race, that "there are numbers of horses in Canada that, under a mass of shaggy hair, never trimmed, and rarely cleaned or dried, possess dry, sinewy legs, on which the severest service never raises a wind-gall."
In addition to these characteristics, the Canadians are generally distinguishable by their colors, of which the prevailing one is black; and, probably the second, rich dark brown, often dappled with lighter brown on the shoulders and quarters. After these colors come chestnuts of different shades, but generally running to the sorrels and duns, with manes, tails and legs of lighter color than the body; and lastly, dark iron-greys with black legs. The last, however, which in Normandy is at the present day, with the single exception of black, the commonest color, is, in Canada and the United States, the least common. The true Canadians are remarkable for the great volumes of their manes and tails, which are also distinguished by the peculiar wavy and almost curly texture of the hairs composing them, and for the shaggy coating of their back sinews
