# Varnish Roan - Share Your Pics!



## BlueSpark

I know a lot of people confused about this particular color. A varnish roan is an appaloosa trait, and it roans out the WHOLE BODY, unlike standard roan, leaving color on just the hard points(shoulder, facial bones, etc.) and occasionally leaves underlying spots solid.

like a grey, the foal is born a solid color, then roans out. the time this takes to reach nearly white varies from a couple years to a lifetime.

I'm not sure of the genetics behind it(feel free to enlighten me, genetics experts) but I do know that unlike grey, you do not have to have one varnish parent to have a varnish foal. For example, a chestnut stallion with a blanket can sire a varnish foal out of a solid mare. A varnish mare might have a varnish foal, or a leopard, or a solid with a blanket. Crazy appy genetics....

its a fascinating and unpredictable color that I've grown to really like. Feel free to add pictures of your own.

anyhow, here are some of my pictures:
Pickles as a yearling:

Pickles, just before she turned 4:


Pickles currently, looking moldy.


a twelve year old brown paint/appy/arab. he is bay with paint patches(Tobiano I believe) and a small blanket, plus varnish roan. You can see the spots coming out as he varnishes. 



an 11 year old broodmare that was born chestnut with a star and her filly.


6 year old black based gelding


I'm stumped with this guy. Half Belgian, half appy, 12 years old. No evidence of dun. not sure if he's a weird bay varnish or maybe a buckskin varnish?


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## kassierae

^he very well may be the product of "bronzing" or "color shifting". Prime example of this is Ava Minted Design, she is Grulla but looks red/palomino ish. 

My gelding varnished and is like a new horse every spring. First pic is around age 2/3, second is this past spring/summer. Third is a comparison shot. He'll be 9 this spring. 



























_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## anndankev

Here are some pics over the years of Elwood. I got him in 2005 at age 11, he died in 2013 at age 19, I tried to select both winter and summer shots.

By looking at him you would say he was gray; however, the color and genetics people here on HF say that was impossible. It was agreed that he was a double pattern. Varnish Roan, and Blanket with Spots.

Faceman commented that it was strange how he did not gray out as he aged, and that he did not know what color he was but definitely was not gray. Wonder where Faceman is these days.

The woman I got him from said he turned blue when he got wet. Therefore my daughter instantly changed his name from Shazam to Elwood - after Jake and Elwood Blues in the Blues Brothers movie (my favorite movie). By the way, his previous owner, Kim, is pictured riding him below, where I am on Dewey.

I think his color stayed pretty constant, over the years, and through the seasons, and he always like to get dirty.

I call this one Meet Elwood, taken a few days after I got him July 2005








October 2006, visit from his previous owner








October 2008, taken by a prof photographer who was part leasing Dewey








March 2010








July 2011, just after his first Mohawk








February 2012








April 2012








October 2012, first day at a new barn








October 30 2013 near the end


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## InStable

Here's my big fellow. He is a strawberry roan. His body looks silvery. Have no idea as to the "genetics" of this coloring. I do know that he is Belgian, Standardbred and Quarter Horse.


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## SummerShy

Those are some seriously beautiful horses! You're all making me want an Appy.


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## SarahStorms

InStable... your horse is BEAUTIFUL!!! I'm in love


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## BlueSpark

InStable, Your horse provides the perfect example of a regular roan. You can see the classic roaned body with a solid head. With a varnish roan it roans most of the face and legs as well. He's gorgeous

thanks for all the beautiful pictures everyone


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## NdAppy

InStable - your guy is great looking. He's a "true" roan and not a varnish roan.


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## Drifting

I'm not really sure if my mare would classify as "Varnish Roan" or just has frosting. She's a 10 year old appaloosa. The white is really hard to see on her unless you're standing next to her.










She's definitely colored, just very minimally so. Lots of white in her flanks, on her shoulder and throughout her coat. I'll be interested to see if she roans more but at 10 I'd expect her to have roaned quite a bit already. So maybe just frosted. I'll be testing her to see if she's LP/LP or just Lp/LP this winter.


I expect Stryder to varnish out some, his mane and tail are turning white and sadly I think he'll suffer from the eh, sparse hair gene.










Right now I'd call him black with a blanket, but it's highly likely the dark color on his neck will roan out more, and you can see the roaning hair on his shoulders and rib cage.


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## deb9017

Instable, that is a gorgeous horse! I love all of these. I have always loved roans, and these are amazing


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## MiniMom24

Mine when she was a baby and than her in summer last year. Second pic was taken of her a couple weeks ago.


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## anndankev

MM, 
Do you know what her pattern(s) is/are?
I'm guessing she is a double pattern; snowcap and varnish. ???


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## MiniMom24

Am I MM? lol, My girl is a Snowcap Varnish. She's also LP/LP and has the CSNB.


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## anndankev

Thanks, yes. What is CSNB?


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## MiniMom24

It's Congenital Stationary Night Blindness. It something Lp/Lp Appy's have. 

Night Blindness in the Appaloosa (CSNB) - Appaloosa coat patterns, coat colour genetics and practical information for breeders of spotted horses - The Appaloosa Project


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## anndankev

Here is Travis, another Appaloosa I have owned, Papers were not with him by the time I got him at the age of 16 or so.

I believe he was a snowcap varnish, he also had very poor vision which declined over the time I had him.


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## MiniMom24

They are born with CSNB, it's not something that comes over time. Some owners never know their horses has it until they need to do something at night, trailering at night, even leading the horse at night. That's how I knew my mare had it was leading her at night. Than I found her first owner who told me that she in fact has it and was apart of the study for it. 

Travis is cute. I would also say Snowcap varnish.


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## anndankev

Must not have been the same thing then, Travis just kept getting more and more nearsighted. Day or night, until he would run into things like gates and trees. He stayed with a mare that sort of looked out for him the last 2-3 years I had him.

Then the woman I got Elwood from moved back in the area and was looking for a grandkid horse she could lead around. So Travis went to her and had a good home.


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## MiniMom24

Did he get uveitis or perhaps he was just going blind. Poor guy. I He's a looker. I would of loved him. 

My mare can see just fine in the day, but once it gets dark out, she's blind as a bat and will run into anything. She has a buddy in the pasture that she sticks with and follows around until the sun comes out.


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## anndankev

I really don't know. 

His vision was already poor when I got him. He was a great horse, they did trail riding, and said he had a good show career with the boy who had him before them. 

My vet offered to buy him once saying he needed a horse for when relatives and company came to visit his farm.


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## Zexious

anndankev--Wow, what a gorgeous pair! <3


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## Lonestar22

This is my varnish Appy, Daisy. She's 17, I've had her since she was 12. She hasn't changed in color much, maybe a bit more white. 

This was right after I bought her.









This was in 2012









This was about a month ago...











and this was just a few weeks ago.


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## karliejaye

I don't have many good shots of Chief, but I do have one on this computer that shows how the hard spots on the head stay dark:










Also, I am not sure how typical this is of varnish roans, but his ears remained chestnut, but with tiny white spots on the backs of them at the tips, almost like little eyes. Anyone else seen this?


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## anndankev

KJ, Chief is cute, and no don't think I've seen ears polka-dotted on the back LOL.

Lonestar, I had to do a quote to see your pics, but they worked there 

PS my computer stinks


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## stevenson

Strryker is looking good .  I dont see any boo boos on him !


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## stevenson

these were my appys. they were both sold. Misty (too much tumalo) had eye issues
and Pete (peter pumkin eater) was flat out mean.


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## InStable

SarahStorms said:


> InStable... your horse is BEAUTIFUL!!! I'm in love


Thank you. So am I!


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## InStable

BlueSpark said:


> InStable, Your horse provides the perfect example of a regular roan. You can see the classic roaned body with a solid head. With a varnish roan it roans most of the face and legs as well. He's gorgeous
> 
> thanks for all the beautiful pictures everyone


Why thank you. 

Forgive my ignorance. The only thing I know about "varnish" is the stinky beewax stuff my momma used to use on the baseboards when I was little. :lol:


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## InStable

NdAppy said:


> InStable - your guy is great looking. He's a "true" roan and not a varnish roan.


Thank you. I am enjoying watching the coat change through the seasons. He's getting darker on his face / legs as the winter approaches.


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## kiltsrhott

Here's an appaloosa filly that I used in 4H production when I was a kid.

3 months









Yearling









And the varnish began at two...


















Then became extensive at three


















She continued to lighten after I sold her. Her butt is entirely white now.


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## cebee

My avitar is my boy Sam. He is about 14 and varnish roan. I had never heard of it till I got him and someone told me. He has 'racing stripes' on his cheeks, dark lower legs, but is pretty much white otherwise...


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## Customcanines

Our blue varnish appy, Chief


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## NdAppy

Customcanines - BAB (bad *** brown) varnish :wink: not blue.


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## Customcanines

Lol, yep, he's brown. I was thinking brown and must have typed blue. What can I say.


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## xxdanioo

late to the party- mm whats her breeding?


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## MiniMom24

Here is her Pedigree xxdanioo . She came from Wilki, SK.


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## ctec377

This is my varnish appy - didn't know what that meant either till I got Cooper.

First picture is from his papers, the second is from the breeders website, and the third was taken last week. 

He's Eight - foaled 9/24/2006. 




























pedigree:

http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/chocolate+dream+bar2


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## 4HGirl

There are a couple Appys at my barn. I think only one of them is really a Varnish Roan, but I'm going to share pictures of all because I love them and they're super pretty. Their coats all change a bit from season to season.

This is Duke. I don't have a full body shot of him, so these will have to do. He has the stereotypical Appaloosa "rat tail." I wish I had better pictures, because I'm pretty sure he's a varnish roan. I'll try to get some more in a few weeks when I go up there.
































This is Fleet. I'm not really sure he's Varnish Roan, but he's something.















This is Pilot. She may just be a plain gray, but she does turn all sorts of strange colors every year. She's in her late twenties, so you would also think that she would've gone white by now or something if she's a true grey. She's also got a bit of a dorsal stripe going on.







You can kind of see Duke in the background here.


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## dkb811

This is Lightning, my granddaughter's Appy.


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## feistymomma

This is my varnish roan ApHC mare, Playing Card, aka Belle. We just recently got her in February. She had a colt on April 11th, and we are hoping he will shed out to be a varnish bay roan. Fingers crossed!


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## KsKatt

Dani, aka Sundancer Maiden.
Baby pic;


2 years old;


5 years old;


16 years old;


22 years old;


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