White Facial Markings Can be Used for Equine Identification

White markings that appear on the head and legs of the horse are often described, drawn, or photographed to identify a horse beyond the basic hair coat color. True white markings are white patches of hair that have white or pink skin underneath. Injuries to the skin can cause scars that may result in the regrowth of white hairs from damaged hair follicles, and these can be described as scars, but they will not be over white or pink skin but can still be used in identification. When in doubt, true white markings can be clearly identified by clipping or wetting down the hair and skin to determine the outline of the marking. This article will describe and picture the basic white markings that can be used for equine identification.

   A star is any white marking on the forehead of the horse. A star can be small, large, regular or irregular in shape, in the center of the forehead or off to the left or right side of the forehead. Some horses have only a few discernable white hairs on the forehead that do not have white or pink skin underneath and these can be described as a few white hairs on the forehead.

  A snip is any white mark that is located between the nostrils of the horse. A snip may be small, large, centered or extend into one or both nostrils. A snip is often connected to a stripe, and many times with a star and stripe.

    A stripe or strip is a white marking on the bridge of the horse's nose, below the level of the eyes and above the level of the nostrils. A stripe or strip can be long, short, wide, narrow, centered on the face of the horse or off to the left or right side.

   A blaze is a wider white marking that usually covers the region of a star, stripe and snip, but extends to the width of the bridge of the horse's nose.

   A star is often connected to a stripe and can be described as a connected star and strip.

   A bald face is a very wide blaze that extends to and may cover the eyes, nostrils, and upper lip. Horses with bald faces often have white that extends to the lower lip as well, and this should be listed in a description of the face markings.

The white markings on the head of the horse fall into several categories and they can then be further described by size, exact shape and location. Some horses will also have combination facial markings as described in the connected star and strip from above. Again, there are some variations in the terminology used, so it is best to be familiar with these basic terms and the accepted terminology in your region, breed, or field.

 

Reference: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine