# Ermine Marks - Recessive or Dominant?



## Horsebitsgalore (Feb 22, 2015)

Are ermine marks recessive or dominant? How can you get a horse with ermine marks?


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

My understanding is that ermine marks are colored marks on the coronet band and distals are those that do not. Both occur on a white background. Both my palis have them and so does one of my bays. It is a suppression gene that turns off white but not completely. I have seen it referred to as a suppression for tobianos that are minimal but how true that is I do not know. There are minimal tobis that some suspect with it that are known as erasers because when bred to loud colored horses they produce foals with very little to no color. The pali and bay both pass it when white is present. the bay has had a couple of solids but the pali always throws the same white marks with the ermines and distals.


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## Horsebitsgalore (Feb 22, 2015)

Wow, good to know. Thanks!


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## Nikkibella (Mar 10, 2012)

I know next to nothing about genetics, but my horse has ermine spots on his hind sock and it looks exactly like his sires. (Alotta **********) His dam was a bay with no markings FWIW


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I would like to know more about them too. My gelding has them. His sire was a chestnut QH with only a small star. No leg markings. His dam is a gray MFT. Because she's grayed out, I can't say for sure that she has absolutely no white markings, but from what I can tell, she doesn't.

But anyway, they are nifty little markings.


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