| When you first see a horse in a field the most | | | | has ever looked at me weirdly because I called a |
| identifiable feature is the color of his coat. No doubt the | | | | dapple grey horse just plain old grey. |
| first thing you learn after the word horse is his color. | | | | Besides the general body color of the horse it is also |
| You certainly do not need to learn to identify every | | | | good to know the markings on a horse. That way |
| single horse breed, but knowing the colors and | | | | when you are around horses you can tell them apart. If |
| markings on a horse will help you distinguish between | | | | you are told that the brown horse in the field is for |
| horses. | | | | sale, and there happen to be 5 brown horses grouped |
| As a manager on a stud farm I was in charge of 150 | | | | together, it certainly would be helpful to know what |
| horses that grazed the land. During the breeding | | | | else sets him apart from the others. |
| season we would also have a number of other horses | | | | Markings are usually on the legs and face and mostly |
| come and stay for a while. More often than not the | | | | with white colored hairs. A horse with a white face or |
| visiting mares would be grouped together with our | | | | blaze has a large area of white, particularly on the |
| own. | | | | nose. These horses would greatly benefit from a daily |
| I would be able to identify every single animal without | | | | application of sunscreen when the temperatures are |
| needing a name tag, just by their color and markings. | | | | high. |
| You may not need to know a dozen horses, perhaps | | | | There are basic leg markings on a horse known as |
| only one, but knowing the color and markings gives | | | | socks or stockings which are general terms as to the |
| you helpful knowledge. | | | | length of white. More specifically for identification |
| When you are in a stable yard and a horse breaks | | | | purposes the markings are named to where the white |
| loose, you can call attention to the urgency of the | | | | hair begins and ends on the leg. Some horses may |
| situation. If you said there was a black horse running | | | | have white on all four legs, others may have only a |
| loose, the yard manager may well know that the black | | | | single sock on one leg and still others may have none |
| horse is a stallion and other horses would be in danger, | | | | at all. |
| not just the loose horse. | | | | A horse that is all one color, like chestnut, with no white |
| Coat color and markings of horses is determined | | | | distinctive markings on the face or legs can still be |
| genetically. There are about 20 different coat colors, | | | | identified from other horses by less noticeable |
| some are clearly defined like black and others are | | | | markings such as whorls. |
| part-colored or broken such as spotted. | | | | Whether you are a beginner rider, a horse admirer or |
| Unless there is a specific need for you to know all the | | | | someone that works with horses it pays to know the |
| colors and variations, knowing the basic usually | | | | color and markings of horses. It certainly makes |
| suffices. I can not say that anyone in 25 plus years | | | | identifying one horse from another a piece of cake. |