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The horses' coat and colour markings
developed over millions of years to give them the best possible camouflage
for the area in which they lived. The more closely they resembled their
background the less likely they were to be spotted by a predator.
One of the most primitive colours was Dun
with black points (those being mane, forelock, tail and the lower legs).
Dun horses or ponies would have been extremely well camouflaged in a
woodland background or out on the plains.
Other primative markings, which
show the relationship of today's breeds with their ancestors, are the eel
or dorsal stripe, which runs down the centre of the back from the withers
to the tail. Zebra or Tiger stripes, these are small dark stripes which
are often found at the top of the legs, but also on the neck, withers and
quarters. Also, but more commonly seen in donkeys, a dark stripe which
runs across the withers from side to side.
Colouring is controlled by a
number of genes acting together to produce the now many variations, which
are a result of domesticated breeding. These genes are inherited from the
Sire and Dam and can either be dominant or recessive. For example chestnut
is recessive to all other colours, grey is dominant to black and bay, bay
is dominant to black.
White markings are common on the face and legs of horses
these days and are generally frowned upon by many breeds. Markings of the
face, in order of size, include Star (around the forehead), Snip (around
the nose), Stripe (narrow white area down the length of the face), Blaze
(wider white area down the length of the face) and White Face.
Markings of the legs, in order of size, include sock and stocking.
Albino horses are those with a
deficiency of colouring pigment. They have white hair, pink skin and often
blue eyes. Note that in general horses skin is black although some have
pink skin around the muzzle and sometime eyes. Care should be taken with
any horse which has exposed pink areas as these will be very
sensitive to sunlight and appropriate sunblocking materials should be used
to cover and protect these areas. It is also a good idea to ensure there
is plenty of shelter in your horses' field to allow him to get out of the
sunlight if he wants to.
The images shown represent some of the colours and
markings seen today and will be added to as further images are available.
If you have a good quality image of a colour or marking not shown please
send to colours@horseconnections.co.uk
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