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Here's the tale that you were looking for on ridecamp, but I'll list more stuff about colors below that.

 

Ben-Dyab, a chieftain enowned throuhgout the desert, who lived about the year 905 (counting from the Hegira), found himself one day being pursued by Saad-el-Zanaty, sheik of the Oulad-Yagoub. He turned towards his son and asked: "Which of the enemies' horses are in the lead?"

"The whites," answered his son.

"That is well. We'll get on the sunny side and they will melt as if they are made of butter."

A little later, Ben-Dyab turned to his son and demanded:

Which are the horses now that are closest to us?"

"The blacks," his son shouted at him.

"Good. We'll take to rocky ground and will have nothing to fear: they are like the Negress of the Sudan who cannot walk barefooted over pebbles."

They changed their course and very soon the black horses were out-distanced. A third time Ben-Dyab asked:

"And now which horses are in the lead?"

"The liver chestnuts and the brown bays."

"In that case," yelled Ben-Dyab, "Sweat, my children, sweat and heels to our horses, for those (horses) could easily overtake us if during the entire summer we had not given barley to our own.

 

Always choose solid and dark coats and distrust those which are light and washy.

 

The white. "Take the white like a silk flag, without bare patches, and with a black ring around the eyes."

The black. "He should be black as a night without moon or stars."

The bay. He should be almost black or golden

 

"The mahogany bay says to an argument: "Come no closer"

The chestnut "Desire him to be toasted (liver). When he flies under the sun, he is the wind. The prophet was fond of chestnuts."

The dappled dark gray, which they (The Arabs) term the gray of the wild pigeon. "If he is like the stones in the river, he will refill the camp when it becomes empty, and he will save us in combat on the day when the firearms clash."

Grays are, in general, esteemed when their heads are less dark than the rest of their coats.

The wolf color, the green (a dun). One would desire him to be dark with a black mane and tail.

 

White, that is the color of princes, but cannot stand the heat.

The black brings good luck, but fears rocky ground.

The chestnut is the swiftest; if someone assures you that a horse flew, ask what color he was, and if you are told chestnut, believe it.

The bay, he is the hardiest and the most sober. If someone tells you that a horse leapt to the bottom of an abyss without injuring himself, ask what color he was, and if you are told bay, believe it.

 

The colors held in contempt are:

The Pied. "Fly from him like the plague, he is the brother of the cow" "The couscous comes when he has departed and quarrels begin the moment he appears".

 

The yellow dun with flaxen mane and tail. A chieftain would not ride such an animal and there are even tribes who would not permit him to spend the night in one of their camps. They call him "The yellow of the Jew" That color brings misfortune.

 

The iron gray and the yellow of the jew if his master returns (from combat) cut off my hand.

 

The gray roan. He is termed a sea of blood; his master will be taken prisoner and will never fight again.

 

From "the Horses of the Sahara" by General E. Daumas first published in 1850

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