# Odd markings and cool colours



## whiskeynoo

Evening horse forum, i stumbled apon some interestingly marked horses over facebook and wanted to share, the Facebook page is called Brooks-Paints-And-Quarter-Horses.

Here's a few i think look cool, if someone could explain it to me i'd be very greatfull  




























This one i looooove!


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## smrobs

The first picture, of the foal, is a result of the appaloosa gene. That pattern has a specific name...something like ghost horse or something similar.

The second one looks to me like a zebra with some gene that dilutes the colors. I would say that it is similar to an albino but I'm not sure if that exists in horses.

The third is called a badger face, not sure why.

The forth is just how that particular horse exhibits the splash paint pattern.

The last one appears to be some sort of brindle, though he is unlike any other brindle I've ever seen.


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## MisssMarie

Oh my god, I want that last one...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## whiskeynoo

smrobs said:


> The first picture, of the foal, is a result of the appaloosa gene. That pattern has a specific name...something like ghost horse or something similar.
> 
> The second one looks to me like a zebra with some gene that dilutes the colors. I would say that it is similar to an albino but I'm not sure if that exists in horses.
> 
> The third is called a badger face, not sure why.
> 
> The forth is just how that particular horse exhibits the splash paint pattern.
> 
> The last one appears to be some sort of brindle, though he is unlike any other brindle I've ever seen.


Thanks for your input, i can honestly say i have never heard a badger face before, looks really flashy though  Gonna go google some of the stuff you've shared hehe


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## NdAppy

Smrrobs is pretty much right on except the lasr one. He isnt brindle he is just a chimira.

The badger face thing... it is because the markings tend to resemble how badgers them selves are marked. Dark faces with white and then dark again.


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## Pyrros

The first one is just a baby few-spot appaloosa. I actually read about the thing that causes that zebra's stripes just a few weeks ago, but I do not remember what it was called. If I recall it is SIMILAR to albino, but not. Extremely rare, as animals with that gene/mutation/whatever rarely survive in the wild. They stand out too much. 

Third is called a Badger Face, some people also call it a 'reverse blaze.'

Fourth is just a splash horse, but going by those jagged edges on the white I wouldn't be surprised if he/she had sabino also.

And the third one is a chimera. Chimerism can be expressed in different ways. It is believed that if the two fetuses merged earlier that the resulting chimera would more likely be brindle. However, in the event that they merged later it is thought that it appears like this, with the two different colors more 'patchy', I suppose would be the word.


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## Bridgertrot

Is it possible to have a chimera and not know it? Like say, the foals in utero were both chestnut. The horse born would technically have chestnut sploches but you coulnt see them lol
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## Rascaholic

Isn't the chimera the result of 2 eggs fusing, or a split for twins that fuses? Or absorption of tiwn twin of another? (Off to google)


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## Cacowgirl

Love the pics-thanks for sharing.


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## Pyrros

That is correct, Rascaholic. And yep, absolutely possible Bridgertrot, I've always thought it would be pretty cool to have a chimera, even a 'normal' one color looking one. So it could be a bit more common than people think. :3


ALSO.


I remembered what that is called, on the zebra. 

Leucism.

And, from the wiki page on it:

Leucism /ˈljuːsɪzəm/[1] is a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in all types of skin pigment, not just melanin.

There's more information on it about the interwebs too, I thought it was pretty cool.


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## LoveTheSaddlebreds

The last one is similar to this filly:








found on here: KZN Breeders : Unusual Foal Born At Milkwood Stud


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## Nokotaheaven

I agree with NdAppy on the last pic. Usually what causes colours like that is that the horse has two different DNA types. In that perspective it's similar to a brindle, but is not at all a brindle.
And with your zebra pic, just by looking at the colours i don't think that it's completely a zebra. It could be a zebroid, a cross between a zebra and a horse/donkey. I think so because if it were a dilute, it would be more of a buckskin and have black points, like the muzzle would still be dark. And if it were a double dilute it might be lighter than it is, but the mouth would either be white or pink too... So I doubt it's 100% zebra


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## Nokotaheaven

Actually... I take back what I just said about the zebra... I just looked up some dilute zebra colours. I found one that is a dilute... It looks like it may be the exact same zebra... It says it's a dilute of a dun.
I still question that it's 100% zebra for a colour like that though


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## whiskeynoo

hah that zebra is just too awesome!


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## Nokotaheaven

Haha I know right! xD


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## QHDragon

The last one is not a brindle, he is a true tri-colored horse, meaning that he has three separate colors (not to be confused with the misuse of the term tri-colored when describing a bay paint/pinto). He's a stallion named Stetons Mr Blue. 

I did a post about tri colored horses on my blog not too long ago: Maggie Bright: Tri-colored horses


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## QHDragon

Nokotaheaven said:


> Actually... I take back what I just said about the zebra... I just looked up some dilute zebra colours. I found one that is a dilute... It looks like it may be the exact same zebra... It says it's a dilute of a dun.
> I still question that it's 100% zebra for a colour like that though
> View attachment 95091


The one pictures in the OP I believe is this girl: Tanzania Wildlife | Is it an Albino Zebra? | Wildlife sightings in Klein's Camp who lives in the wild.


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## LoveTheSaddlebreds

I believe the name for 'tricolor' horses is chimeric. Here's another example:


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## Bridgertrot

You are partly correct. Yes the only true tri-colored horses are chimeric. Though...the horse you posted is not tri-colored. It would have to be two different body colors along with a white pattern. Such as that famous picture of the Icelandic I believe who is black/chestnut tobiano.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chiilaa

She is tricolour - she has a sock and a star lol.

You can also call horses that are chimeric "mosaic".


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## Bridgertrot

I don't really consider normal markings into it. Lol anything above the knee I probably would. 
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## Chiilaa

Given "normal" markings are caused by the same genes that cause pinto, I would. She clearly has three colours - bay, black and white.


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## ThirteenAcres

I came across this website one day and thought it was a really cool site. It explains a lot of the rare colors and explains why they occur.

Equine Color Genetics


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## whiskeynoo

oo theres a little palamino colt at the stables with those "bend or spots"
He's shed out nearly completely now and there still there.


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## ThirteenAcres

whiskeynoo said:


> oo theres a little palamino colt at the stables with those "bend or spots"
> He's shed out nearly completely now and there still there.


That's so cute! How unique. 

My mare has one black spot like that about the size of a silver dollar on her hip. It is the only one like it, and I always want to scrub it off because it looks like it was hit with a drip of oil. lol


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## Ripper

This is my tri colored dog.

He is a Treeing Walker **** Hound.


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## Bridgertrot

That's a weird looking horse.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## tiffrmcoy

There's a horse at my barn that looks just like the one in the third picture her name is Patches and I had no idea what her markings were called until now.


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## whiskeynoo

she's pretty =o


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## smrobs

Oh, wow, she's gorgeous. What unique and eyecatching coloring.


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## Rascaholic

I love the badger faces.


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## Arksly

Kind of off topic but have you seen the stallion named "Patched The Buck" on the Brooks Paints and Quarter Horses website? Holy muscles Batman!
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## Bridgertrot

Holy pretty horse. I want.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Kayella

Arksly said:


> Kind of off topic but have you seen the stallion named "Patched The Buck" on the Brooks Paints and Quarter Horses website? Holy muscles Batman!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


:shock: :shock: That looks unnatural. Double muscling?


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## possumhollow

Okay, this is probably a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyhow.

If you have a chimeric stud, will he throw those characteristics or not? The reason I'm asking is that we have the opportunity to breed our cremello QH mare to a chimeric stud. Not saying we will, but I'm just curious.


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## NdAppy

Will he throw the chimeric? Doubtful. I would look at his offspring though.


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## Nokotaheaven

I believe she is chimeric. you can have a solid brindle chimeric horse, so it makes sense that you can get a solid coloured tri-coloured horse. It also occurs in Icelandics. Chimerism is what causes the tri/bi colourings of both a brindle and a horse like that baby.
And about the Zebra pic I posted.. I took a closer look at it. It's not pure zebra. It's probably a zorse. The tail is not like that of any Zebra's I've ever seen


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## Chiilaa

Possumhollow - no, he won't possible throw the chimerism to his get. Ever.

Chimera is when twin foals merge in the womb. It's similar to conjoined twins, but somewhat less horrific. Usually you don't have two horses that are sharing gut or brain or anything like that. It's usually a very complete merge, resulting in one horse that has sections of it's body that contains DNA from one of the foals, and sections that contain DNA of the other, hence the different parts being different colours.

Interestingly, there has been a few human cases of chimerism. The one I remember most was a woman and her three grown sons. She was suffering kidney failure, and all three sons went and tested themselves to see if they were a match. In the course of the testing, it was discovered that one of the men was not even the woman's biological child. After they decided she hadn't snatched him, they did further testing on her (I can only assume she got a kidney lol) and it turns out that she had merged with a twin in her mother's womb. One of the parts that was of this "other" twin was one of her ovaries.


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## Lexiie

I think the second is photo shopped


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## MacabreMikolaj

Lexiie said:


> I think the second is photo shopped


I don't think so.

Zebras with a Difference.


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## Saddlebag

A few weeks ago I was admiring a chestnut mare with a sock or two and blaze yet had a much darker hand sized marking on her neck and a few smaller ones on her ribs. I know they aren't Ben d'Or spots as I am familiar with them. The marks have me puzzled.


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## Chiilaa

Saddlebag - what makes you sure they weren't bend or spots?


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## JadenAndGagesMom

Fascinating!!!


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## trailhorserider

LoveTheSaddlebreds said:


> The last one is similar to this filly:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> found on here: KZN Breeders : Unusual Foal Born At Milkwood Stud


Did anyone else notice this baby is probably going to gray out? Since both sets of legs are dark, I'm betting she's going to go gray (on both halves). What would be REALLY interesting is a chimeric foal that would only gray out on part of the body and stay solid on another part. 

Like if this baby were to gray out only on her black half or his bay half. Wouldn't that look bizarre? But my guess is due to the dark legs on both halves of her color she will gray out, eventually loosing her two-toned effect. Does anyone else think that?

I wonder if it even works that way. I would assume it could- like if one set of DNA inherited the graying gene and the other set didn't? Could that happen? That's all assuming she's chimeric of course!


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## trailhorserider

possumhollow said:


> Okay, this is probably a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyhow.
> 
> If you have a chimeric stud, will he throw those characteristics or not? The reason I'm asking is that we have the opportunity to breed our cremello QH mare to a chimeric stud. Not saying we will, but I'm just curious.


While chimeric may not be hereditary in itself, I wonder if the tendency for twins is? If it were, then the tendency for chimeric may also be slightly higher, right? I know statistically that would probably never happen. And there are a lot of complications with regular twins that horse breeders would rather avoid due to the danger to mare and foal(s). But I'm just talking in theory. Are the chances of twins totally random, or are certain family lines (human or animal) more likely to have a higher instance of twinning?

In other words, can the tendency to produce twins be passed on genetically, or is it totally random?


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## Chiilaa

I know how it works in humans ;-)

In humans, the inclination to release more than one egg at ovulation and thus the chance of fraternal twins can run in families. It can also be caused by diet, by being heavier, and by being older. It can also happen "just cos" lol. Fraternal twins occur most in a village in Africa, and least in Asian countries (although this is changing due to fertility treatments).

Identical twins are random. Some seem to run in families, but most don't. ID twins also occur evenly over the world's population at about 1 in 250 pregnancies. At this point in time, no one is really sure why the egg decides to split (although my husband is pretty sure it was his swimmers being so strong ****).


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## trailhorserider

Chiilaa said:


> I know how it works in humans ;-)
> 
> In humans, the inclination to release more than one egg at ovulation and thus the chance of fraternal twins can run in families. It can also be caused by diet, by being heavier, and by being older. It can also happen "just cos" lol. Fraternal twins occur most in a village in Africa, and least in Asian countries (although this is changing due to fertility treatments).
> 
> Identical twins are random. Some seem to run in families, but most don't. ID twins also occur evenly over the world's population at about 1 in 250 pregnancies. At this point in time, no one is really sure why the egg decides to split (although my husband is pretty sure it was his swimmers being so strong ****).


Chiilaa, that last part is funny! :lol:

Very interesting information, thank you! I wasn't even thinking about fraternal vs. identical. Obviously chimeric horses must be fraternal to have two different sets of DNA. That didn't even occur to me last night when I was posting!


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## Nokotaheaven

Oh my that's very interesting!


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## Saddlebag

The spots were too big and there were only 4 or 5. The ben d'or spots I've seen were fairly well distributed about the body and about the size of finger and thumb prints. At first we'd wondered if the hair was discolored from rain rot but again, wrong locations. I saw a little red gelding that appeared to have ben d'or spots on his back but I know for a fact they were discolorations from rain rot.


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## Nokotaheaven

I'm sorry but where are your horse's spots? I'm just wondering maybe if they're not saddle rubs. I hade a quarter horse with one on his withers


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## Kayella

A horse isn't set with a certain amount of Ben D'or spots. My mare has never had them in the 8 years we've had her, and this years she has two fairly large bend d'or spots on her bum. They can change from season to season, and do not have a set size they will be.

EDIT: Also, saddle sores are usually small patches of white hair.


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## Nokotaheaven

Yeah.. I mean maybe the saddle sores could be confused with something else?


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## Chiilaa

Bend or spots can be quite large, like the size of a fist. They can also appear and disappear.


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## smrobs

And, Nokota, Bend Or spots are dark. That's why they are also called grease spots. I've never seen a horse with a saddle gall that grew in dark hair, only white.

Yes, Bend Or spots can be large. I rode a chestnut gelding that had a rather large one on his face. Let me see if I can find a decent picture of it.

Because he was such a dark chestnut, it could only be seen in his winter hair and only barely even then.


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## Spirit Lifter

Love the pics!!! So unusual! I like unique!


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## Nokotaheaven

Oh okay. I mixed up the spots with something else then. I thought they were white
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## whiskeynoo

Nokotaheaven said:


> Oh okay. I mixed up the spots with something else then. I thought they were white
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


tetriarch, dunno if that's how it's spelled are white


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## NdAppy

Bird catcher spots are also white.


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## Nokotaheaven

oh okay. n yea i recognize the name birdcatcher sopts, but not the other


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## equinelvr

*Chimerism??*

I have not had him tested yet to see if he is a chimer horse, but am thinking about doing it. I e-mailed a breeder of brindle horses and found that UC Davis in Cali offers this kind of testing, but not sure of the cost. Take a look at this guy's coat, I bought him roughly three months ago and now that he is shedding, I can see his beautiful brindle coat!


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## Piaffe

Ooh...I thought about buying that colt. He paint/tb right? I had my brindle guy tested with UC Davis and Animal Genetics. I don't remember how much it cost, but I'm pretty sure everything was under $75-$100. So pretty reasonable! Congrats on getting him..he is a cutie!


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## equinelvr

Yah, he is TB/paint cross. He has the best personality, just willing to do whatever he is asked to do. Really a laid back stud colt and so manageable around other horses. I want to start jumping and figured with how tall and lean he is gonna be he would be good for that. He just turned 2 and is 15.2 hands.


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## Piaffe

Are you keeping him a stud?


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## HarleyWood

this is my 5 year old paint horse, it looks like a tiger on his right hip going to his tail. rawring.


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## caseymyhorserocks

Casey.. Dog/cat on her left side on tummy and a cat/camel on her right tummy. Heart on left side of her neck and lightning bolt under her mane.


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## equinelvr

I haven`t decided yet. He has the right temperment, but not sure if the conformation will be stud quality, or if he will even pass on the gene or if he is a chimer horse.
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## smrobs

I have a rather unique and rare horse myself. He was born a buckskin but has grayed out. Now, at 10 years old, he has developed a load of buckskin colored fleabites. That alone is relatively rare as I've only ever heard of 1 other horse with fleabites that color; most are either red, brown, or black.



















But, that is not the rarest of his coloring. He has a bloodmark that is buckskin colored on the side of his face and it goes up around the back side of his ear.


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## Piaffe

^^ cool! Do you think he will keep his face marking or is it greying too?


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## smrobs

Nope, he'll likely keep it for the remainder of his life. It has not changed color at all in the 7 years I've had him except to get more obvious as the rest of his body sheds out lighter. Just for an example of how much it has changed in appearance, here he is at 5 years old. You could see it then, but it wasn't very obvious at all. The year before, at 4 years old, I had no idea that he had one there because he was still too dark to see it.









Here he was at 4. Terrible pictures, but they are the best I have of him at that age. Couldn't see the blood mark at all then.


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## Bridgertrot

I think if it hasn't greyed by now it'll stay.
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## Cruiser

Spice my mare, has a bunch of bend or spots and bird catcher but she also has two large "spots" that are different they are mostly white, and another on her face, it is hard to see the defined edges on her face in the picture. But you can see the one on her side easily. Sorry about the pictures they are when I just got her and she was really under weight. The spots are just interesting, I forget what someone on here called them.


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## Nokotaheaven

Oh my your horse is really gorgeous smrobs!!! I love him!


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## Suz

Google Image Result for http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/45314/2097250850105967226S600x600Q85.jpg


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## SomthingofaWhim

I found this picture a while ago and I absolutely fell in love with the odd markings horses can get. I have seen the ones mentioned here, but I had to post a picture of these bird catcher spots, I think they are just gorgeous. 









* Homozygous-Horses**|**Internet Directory**|**WEIRD! Unusual genes in Horses 


I also saw a horse competing at Spruce Meadows on TV and he was the most amazing colour. I researched him for ages, and now I can not for the life of me remember his name. He was a black with a white stripe right down his tail! Does anyone know what I am talking about?


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## Suz

I just found an awesome page for colours Horse Colors

And look up gulastra plume into google images. Its pretty much a bay horse with just a flaxen tail. haha


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## Suz

But that colour chart doesn't have my horses colour on it


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## SomthingofaWhim

He was kind of a gulastra plume, but most of his tail was black there was just a long chunk right down the middle that was grey...


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