Serviced mares, the bay before the chestnut? (7)
I believe the answer is:
covered
'serviced mares' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'bay before the chestnut?' is the wordplay.
'bay' becomes 'cove' (I've seen this in another clue).
'before' says to put letters next to each other.
'the chestnut?' becomes 'red' (chestnut is a shade of red).
'cove'+'red'='COVERED'
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for covered that I've seen before include "given protection" , "Travelled (a distance); protected" , "Concealed; dealt with" , "Insured; enveloped" , "Reported" .)