Among the lower classes of the Hindus of Bombay, a notion is prevalent that spirits are frightened by the sound of a horse’s hoofs; and this superstition has been thought to explain the custom, in vogue among the Hindus generally, of having a bridegroom ride a horse when on his way to the bride’s residence.[146] In Bokhara, when a horse stumbles in fording a stream, and the rider thereby gets an involuntary wetting, it is considered a most fortunate occurrence instead of a mishap. In the same country it is also accounted lucky to meet an equestrian.[147] One reason in favor of the theory which ascribes the horse-shoe’s weird powers to its connection with a luck-bringing animal is the fact that various portions of the equine frame serve as amulets in different localities. Thus not only the horse-shoe but the hoof, or even a single bone of the foot, may be used for this object. In the island of Montserrat the two incisor teeth of a horse are carried about as charms.[148] The popular belief of many people credits equine hair with special virtues. “Honor abides in the manes of horses” is a saying of Mohammed, and in Turkey a horse’s tail as an emblem is significant of dignity and exalted position. In certain villages of Brandenburg every new-born boy, before his first bath, is placed upon a horse, the animal being brought into the chamber for the purpose. This is thought to impart to the child manly qualities for life. In other districts small children are allowed to ride a black foal to facilitate the cutting of their teeth; and the neighings of horses are believed to be of favorable import if listened to carefully. The popular belief on this subject is exemplified in the German saying, “He has horse-luck,” in reference to a piece of extraordinary good fortune.[149] The Irish think that the reason for the horse-shoe’s magical power is because the horse and the ass were in the stable where Christ was born, and hence are evermore blessed animals. The romantic literature of Ireland affords evidence of the existence of a species of horse-worship in that country in former ages, and tradition says that in the olden time there were horses endowed with human faculties.[150] We learn from Tacitus, moreover, that the Teutonic peoples used white horses, as the Romans used chickens, for purposes of augury, and divined future events from different intonations of neighings. Hence it probably is that the discovery of a horse-shoe is so universally thought lucky, some of the feelings that once attached to the animal itself still surviving around the iron of its hoof. For horses, like dogs and birds, were universally accredited with a greater insight into futurity than man himself.[151] The horse is seen among the insignia of Kent, the first of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and is displayed at the present time on the shields of the houses of Hanover and Brunswick.[152]