Horse Markings and Identification

Horse Markings

• Interrupted Marking: A strip or blaze marking that isn't connected all the way through, with breaks in the line.
• Star Marking: A white marking on the forehead of a horse, typically located between or above the eyes, resembling a star.
• Snip Marking: A white marking on the lower part of the horse's nose, covering a relatively large area.
• Bald Face Marking: A white marking that covers most or all of the horse's face, appearing as if stretching from eye to eye.
• Blaze Marking: A white marking between the eyes of a horse, thicker than other face markings.
• Stripe Marking: A narrow white marking on the front side of the horse's face, running from the forehead down to the muzzle.
• Ermine Marking: A small colored spot found within white markings on a horse's face or leg.
• Coronet Marking: White hair above the hoof on a horse's leg.
• Pasture Marking: Any marking on the pastern, the part of the leg between the hoof and fetlock.
• Sock Marking: A white marking extending to the middle of the lower leg of a horse, below the knee level.
• Combinations Marking: Various markings on a horse's body that can be combined in unique patterns, often changing throughout the horse's life.
• Boot Marking: Similar to a sock marking but extends up to the middle of the cannon bone.
• Stocking Marking: A white marking that extends above the knee or hock.
• Half Stocking Marking: Similar to a stocking marking but only extends halfway up the leg from the hoof's edge.
• Bend or Spots Marking: Dark spots on the horse's coat that can appear anywhere on the body.
• Dorsal Stripe Marking: A darker strip of hair running along the horse's back, often found in mustangs.
• Shield Marking: A large dark patch found on the chest of pinto horses.
• Primitive Markings: Zebra-like stripe patterns on the legs, classified as dun markings.
• Medicine Hat Marking: A rare marking found on pinto horses, covering most of the head and ears.
• Irregular or Crooked Marking: A marking that starts straight but becomes bent or crooked.
• Lip Marking: Any marking around the horse's lips, indicating the Sabino color pattern.
• Faint Marking: A small but permanent marking found anywhere on the horse's body.
• High White Marking: Similar to sock, boot, or stocking markings but extends past the stifle onto the belly.
• Connected Marking: Multiple markings on the horse's face that connect and intertwine.

Horse Gaits

• Walk: A slow, symmetrical four-beat gait, where each hoof hits the ground at a separate interval, and at any moment, there are always 2 or 3 feet on the ground. FootFall sequence: (LH, LF, RH, RF)
• Trot: A fast, symmetrical two-beat diagonal gait, where each diagonal pair hits the ground at a separate interval, intercalated with a period of suspension, and at any moment, there are either 2 or 0 feet on the ground. FootFall sequence: (LH+RF, Suspension, RH+LF, Suspension)
• Canter: A fast, asymmetrical, three-beat gait.