These markings are usually white and you will find them on the face and legs.
The word “markings” means all the stripes or patches on a horse.
They are very important and used to identify the animal and recorded in the horse passport.
Face markings- Horse pictures
Star marking on an Arab horse
This is a white mark that can be of any shape on the forehead.
Stripe and Snip
A narrow band of white hair down the face is called a stripe.
A snip is a patch of white on the nose between the nostrils,as seen in the photo above.
Blaze marking
Blaze horse marking will have a fairly wide white band down the face.
stripe marking
A black stripe running along their backs from the mane to the tail can often be seen on Highland ponies
This is usually seen with a dun-coloured coat.
White-face
A horse that has a very wide blaze marking going across to the eyes and down to the muzzle, is known as a “white face”.
Leg markings
Leg markings are called socks or stockings. They are mostly white, but there may also be dark marks, which must be recorded on the passport.
horses socks
The horse has four white socks that go above the fetlock but not as far as the knee or hock.
Four white stockings and a flesh mark
Stockings are white in colour and reach or cover the knee or hock.
What are Flesh marks?
These are white patches, which are usually seen on the underside of the horse’s belly or flanks,as seen in the picture above.
Horses can also have white marks in other places on their back. These marks are usually the result of a wound, for example a saddle rub. These marks are known as “acquired marks”.
Another form of identification for horses is whorl markings. This is a ring of hair that grows in different directions. Some horses have more whorls than others.
