# Leg marking placement in foals?



## Snookeys (Sep 23, 2010)

A friend of mine wants a horse that looks like Trigger (deep palomino, wide blaze, four stockings). She has a palomino mare, mind you she is not quite "deep" palomino, but she's definitely palomino. A friend of mine has a deep gold palomino stud with 2 white stockings on his hind legs and a wide blaze. A recent foal of his (out of a palomino mare with no stockings and a thin blaze) has markings just like his. 2 white stockings on the hind legs, a wide blaze... Here's my question. Is the placement of the stockings/socks on the stud/dam hereditary? For example; a stud with one white stocking on his front left leg producing a foal with the same marking in the same place? What would be the chances of a stud with 2 stockings producing a foal with 4 when the mare has none?


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

No, white markings are not hereditary. One example is the clone of some famous jumper or something, that had white leg markings, and in the cloned foal, the leg markings were not the same. Obviously you have a better chance of getting white if you breed to a horse that has extensive white, high white stockings, big blaze ect., but even then, you can often get a foal with no white. Sometimes you will find a stallion or mare, and they will have an offspring that is almost an identical copy, but it is still a random occurance. I would highly recommend that you read "Horse Color Explained" by Jeanette Grower. Great book, good explanations on hereditary color.


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## speedy da fish (May 7, 2009)

^yes that was Gem Twist! But the only thing with him is that he is grey so the foal greyed out anyway so you cant see the markings!

Smart Little Lena was also cloned (him at the top, clones at the bottom)


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Really, the only way to get certain markings in a baby is to buy one that is already born with those markings.


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

Cool, couldn't remember the name, just know that they had cloned a couple of horses, and the leg markings and facial markings were different. So thanks for reminding me of the name.


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## Haley (Aug 18, 2009)

Alwaysbehind said:


> Really, the only way to get certain markings in a baby is to buy one that is already born with those markings.


Yes, this. If the only reason your friend wants to breed is to get a certain color with certian markings.. PLEASE don't let her. 

Not to mention, getting a palomino isn't even certain. You could end up with a cremello, sorrel/chestnut, or palomino. 

Just.. gah. Breeding for color only is a huge, huge pet peeve of mine. The goal of breeding should ALWAYS be to produce quality.


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## dressagebelle (May 13, 2009)

I honestly have to say that one of the things I like about the horse color book is that she does stress about breeding for quality first, color secondary. But it does give you a lot of cool information about colors and coat patterns.


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## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

Yes, tell her to buy a horse that matches her requirements. It's not guarenteed the foal will be born the way she wants it too look. Agreed with Haley, never breed for color.


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## CharliGirl (Nov 16, 2009)

White markings aren't hereditary? These are pictures of some of my gelding Scotch's ancestors:














































Scotch:



















Their markings are all so similar, I just assumed that markings could be passed down from parent to offspring. When I worked at the TB breeding farm, many of the foals had similar markings to the sire and dam. How could this be if it is not hereditary?


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## Deerly (Apr 18, 2010)

CharliGirl said:


> White markings aren't hereditary? These are pictures of some of my gelding Scotch's ancestors:


What everyone is saying is that you cannot breed for markings and attempting to do so (besides just being irresponsible) won't work outside of coincidence. 

I think it's very cool to learn about genetics and coat colors but actually doing it in the real world seems so silly to me to even consider.

If you want particular traits, buy a baby on the ground who is has not only already arrived healthy and safe but you can realistically be more "picky"


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## Quixotic (May 22, 2009)

Those horses' markings are very characteristic of the Sabino1 gene, which causes loud white facial & leg markings. That is why the markings seem to be genetic, because they are caused by that gene. In horses who don't carry the gene, you can increase the chance of producing a horse with more white by breeding to horses that have a lot of white, but there is no guarantee that the resulting foal will inherit the same "white factor".


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## CheyAut (Nov 26, 2008)

White markings ARE gebetic and passed on as such, but there is no way to gaurentee where they will go on the foal, if at all. Sounds like the stallion has sabino or splash, which both like leg and face white. But no gaurentees the foal would get sabino or splash, and if it did, could be as simple as a star. There's also the possibility the mare has a white supressor, which further decreases the chance the foal will have white. I agree, if someone wants a specific color/marking, it's best to go buy one.


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## Azaria (Nov 10, 2010)

Your friend has good taste in horses!  Unfortunately markings aren't predictable. (A few years ago a mare I bought was in foal. She was a dun with a swirly star and a partial white right fore coronet. Her baby was IDENTICAL! Same swirly star--not just a regular star--and the same partial coronet marking as her dam on the same foot. Total fluke. But it certainly was neat to have twins in the pasture!) And a Palomino isn't guaranteed when you breed two Palominos either, unfortunately. I'd start shopping--I love horse shopping!


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## ilovesonya (Oct 12, 2009)

Markings aren't predictable, so she is better off just buying a horse with the markings she wants.

My filly got a lot more white than both of her parents.

Sire, star, back socks(it was muddy when this pic was taken so u cant see them very well):










Dam, back socks, tiny star:



















Rumour, front socks, back stockings, blaze:


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