What hounds may do for a horse? (3)
I believe the answer is:
bay
'horse?' is the definition.
(I know that bay is a type of horse)
'what hounds may do for a' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'by' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bay that I've seen before include "Howl" , "Tree; horse; bark loudly" , "Indentation of a shoreline" , "Sea inlet" , "Inlet, cove" .)