# Another INTERESTING color pattern...? Anyone have any idea?



## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Very neat! 
*Bump *


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

She just looks like a faded black to me. Or she may very well just be brown. I'm not a color guru but that's what it appears to be.


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## TexasBlaze (Oct 4, 2010)

Sunbleached


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

SorrelHorse said:


> She just looks like a faded black to me. Or she may very well just be brown. I'm not a color guru but that's what it appears to be.


It could be sun fading, but I've had her for 8 years and have never seen these before now. That's why I mentioned different location and different feeds since I know EVERYTHING plays a role in a horse's appearance. lol

Oh, and she is black and throws black foals.


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

Oh, and my daughter mentioned that there is a really creepy face in the pic of her upper leg. lol


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Do you have any winter pictures of her?


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

I'm looking for winter pix, but I HATE winter pix, so I don't take them often. Plus, the power supply went bad in my desktop computer and I bought this computer to get me by until I had time to take care of the other. lol I'm looking though. Might have early spring pix. 

Her sire is homozygous black (heterozygous tobiano) and her dam is non-agouti sorrel QH, though.


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

Found one pic of her from February 2011. She's kinda far away, but if I find another, I'll post it.


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## Spotted (Sep 19, 2012)

Thats so weird, something like that happen to a horse I sold to my friend, she was all black and after about a year or so at her new place she got an orange patch on her belly. We have no idea what caused it. Im not even sure if it still there. It was a couple years ago, but I should ask her.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

If it has never happened before and you have changed all those things, I am going to assume it is environmental. It could be a fungal infection, which will require treatment now. It could be something in the food - you could try switching her back to her old feed.


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

lol Switching her back to her old feed would require me moving back up north...no thanks. Also, if it were a fungal infection, wouldn't she have some other sign besides a change in hair COLOR? lol She's exactly the same as she has always been except that color change on her left shoulder and elbow. I didn't notice it anywhere else and I haven't looked lately to see if it's still there.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Colour change is often the first symptom that is seen in fungal infections. The infection is on the skin, not inside her. If left untreated (if that is what it is) it causes permanent damage and can spread further.


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

Interesting. I've had horses for 40 years and never heard of that.


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## Adenfire (Dec 2, 2010)

friend of mine had a big black gelding who developed an orange patch on his neck like that, never went away. It was on one side of his neck, right around the area where he had his yearly shot. She worked him the day after and he sweated, washed the sweat out and next day he had orange hair...weird. Don't know if it was shot related or sweat related...but it was about the size of a man's hand...was even there during the winter, though more apparent in the summer. 

Could hers be sweat ''stains"?


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## Nokotaheaven (Apr 11, 2012)

The ONLY genetic thing that comes to my mind is gold spot. But I know I am almost guaranteed to be wrong lol


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

No, not likely to be sweat stains, as she is a broodmare and only gets ridden about once a year just to remind her. lol

I just thought the "new" pattern on her was cool looking and wanted to share. May be sun fading.....strange sun fading in an orange strip and a patch on the lower body...but still, could be. 

And with the hair smooth and shiny I'm not overly concerned about a fungal infection. I am sure I haven't seen ALL of the fungal infections possible, but none of them have given me the "Wow! That's cool" thought. lol


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

This guy got his "cool pattern" from fungal scarring. He went from this:










To this:


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## whispering willow (Nov 9, 2011)

Its the change in weather, my standard bred is a bay, he is more light bay in the summer and dark bay in the winter. Its just the sun that dyes their coats that way.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

whispering willow said:


> Its the change in weather, my standard bred is a bay, he is more light bay in the summer and dark bay in the winter. Its just the sun that dyes their coats that way.


I actually doubt that it is sunfading. There is no reason that a horse would possible sunfade in one small area more than the rest of their body.


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## whispering willow (Nov 9, 2011)

Chiilaa said:


> I actually doubt that it is sunfading. There is no reason that a horse would possible sunfade in one small area more than the rest of their body.


Actually Chiilaa, horse furs often get exposed to the sun 80 percent of the day, and the suns radiates that bounce off of any direction you can think hits the horse horses body. When their fur is being reflected off the sun the skin particles in build up and start to rise after the heat of the sun has had a chance of heating its body up. the colour of the horse that was originally made, then fades with all the other particles releasing from the body, thus creating shedding. Comes off as an under coat of a different colour that its suppose to be. Now the suns heat particles become more heated up in the summer time than winter. for many reasons putting aside. Did you know that?

Horses coat come in all different shapes, colours and different DNA is involved. Become that the mare theat the horse was born with has a coat that is almost like her foals. 

Now Chiilaa, this is not facts this is science mixed with a girl who is right for what she knows.  I just find it so cool how their coats have stories to them  lol:lol:


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## whispering willow (Nov 9, 2011)

Or on a short note, he could have lost fur there and is just growing it back in a different colour


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

The pix were taken June 9th. So far there have been no other oddness' noticed and her coat is still shiny and smooth. I don't know why she would sun fade strangely this year, other than the difference in feed, grass, hay, and even soil. I know that during my recent brindle studies, I have read that increased mineral content in feed can magnify the brindle pattern. Perhaps the change in environment has caused my black mare's pattern (whatever the heck it is) to be magnified. lol 

I'll have to look closer at her today and see if her reddish stripe is showing in her new incoming winter coat. Gotta get ready to go pick up a couple of Arabian mares this morning...I'm told they are getting in rough condition, but I'm hoping it's exaggerated.


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

And though the saddlebred's new pattern is cool, it's scarring, which is an after affect of the fungal infection that he had. Hair was lost and grew back white. You also see that in smaller amounts when a horse has had a saddle sore. Scarring changes hair color. Mustangs (and other horses) are freeze branded... freezing the hair follicles and the hair grows back white.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

whispering willow said:


> Actually Chiilaa, horse furs often get exposed to the sun 80 percent of the day, and the suns radiates that bounce off of any direction you can think hits the horse horses body. When their fur is being reflected off the sun the skin particles in build up and start to rise after the heat of the sun has had a chance of heating its body up. the colour of the horse that was originally made, then fades with all the other particles releasing from the body, thus creating shedding. Comes off as an under coat of a different colour that its suppose to be. Now the suns heat particles become more heated up in the summer time than winter. for many reasons putting aside. Did you know that?
> 
> Horses coat come in all different shapes, colours and different DNA is involved. Become that the mare theat the horse was born with has a coat that is almost like her foals.
> 
> Now Chiilaa, this is not facts this is science mixed with a girl who is right for what she knows.  I just find it so cool how their coats have stories to them  lol:lol:


I don't think you read my post before "refuting" what I said. I didn't say that horses can't sunfade at all. I said that I didn't think it was the case in this circumstance, as I would expect the sunfading to show more on the areas of the horse that is exposed to the most sunlight, not ONLY in the one place. Sunfading is a whole horse experience.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Wiyanna said:


> And though the saddlebred's new pattern is cool, it's scarring, which is an after affect of the fungal infection that he had. Hair was lost and grew back white. You also see that in smaller amounts when a horse has had a saddle sore. Scarring changes hair color. Mustangs (and other horses) are freeze branded... freezing the hair follicles and the hair grows back white.


I get that. Like I said, it is one possibility that I would not rule out completely, but it's probably not the only possibility either.


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## Horselover3418 (Oct 30, 2012)

Looks like the sun got to her black. The sun probably just faded it. by the winter she'll probably look all black


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

Yeah, I'm figuring it's a combination of sun fading and new environment & feed (different pasture/hay/grain)


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## Nokotaheaven (Apr 11, 2012)

Nobody thinks possibly gold spot?


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

I had never even heard of "Gold Spot" before I came in here. lol Still trying to find info about it and what causes it. Seen some pix and it sure could be. And one article I saw said that "Gold Spot" can come and go....? I don't know if that is true. lol Can't believe everything you read on the internet.


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## Nokotaheaven (Apr 11, 2012)

Wiyanna said:


> I had never even heard of "Gold Spot" before I came in here. lol Still trying to find info about it and what causes it. Seen some pix and it sure could be. And one article I saw said that "Gold Spot" can come and go....? I don't know if that is true. lol Can't believe everything you read on the internet.


Lol yeah. We had a horse with one, we got her at about 1yr old, and she had it then. But It would be hidden by her winter coat and come out in the summer. And yeah, as far as I know nobody really knows what causes it lol


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## Wiyanna (Nov 2, 2012)

Oh, and another thing about my black mare... She has the most pathetically thin, sparse mane and forelock. She has never had a pretty mane and forelock since I have owned her (over 8 years). lol Registered Breeding Stock Paint.


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