Very faint Bend Or Spots ©Equine Color

Dark Bend Or Spots ©Equine Color

Bend Or spots (also called Ben d'Or, Smuts or Grease Spots). are small to large spots of color that range from a couple of shades darker than the base coat to very dark, almost black. They're most commonly seen on Chestnuts and Palominos but also occur on darker colors, they're just harder to see. These are randomly distributed on a horse. These may not be present at birth, some horses may not get them until they are a few years old and some horses may not get them for several years. The genetic control of Bend Or spots isn't known, more than likely they're a dominant trait.

The photo on the above right is a Bend Or spot that developed on a five year old Palomino. This horse previously did not have any such spots on his body, but upon shedding his winter coat at age five it could be seen that several were starting to develop all over his body. These spots were very dark, as you can see in the photo they are almost dark enough to be black, they have now faded to become the more normally seen reddish color.

Bend Or - TB Photo ©Names In Pedigrees by Joe H. Palmer

Bend Or spots are named after a Thoroughbred (photo left) that was a described as a golden chestnut with peculiar dark spots on his body.

There is some history about Bend Or in a book called Names in Pedigrees, written by Joe H. Palmer. There is also a photo, (left) which unfortunately doesn't show his dark spots. The information isn't really about color or genetics but it does tell a bit about the horse after which this peculiar characteristic was named. The first printing of Names in Pedigrees was in 1936 and second printing in 1974. Published by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Copyright remains with them.

Arabian Park Vonetta Arabian Courtesy Shalzara Park Arabians

Birdcatcher spots are small spots of white on the body of the horse, generally the size of an eraser head to the size of a quarter and can be larger. The genetic control of Birdcatcher Spots is unknown but they probably have something to do with Sabino.

Arabian Park Vonetta Arabian Courtesy Shalzara Park Arabians

Sharp One - AQHA Courtesy Denise Charpilloz

Brindle is a pattern that is very common in cattle and dogs but is very rare in horses. Brindle varies in physical appearance from a lesser to greater degree. It usually doesn't effect the head and legs as much as the body with the heaviest concentrations of brindling being on the neck, shoulders and hindquarters.

Some colors and patterns may cause effects that look similar to this Brindle pattern, such as Dun factor. Wrinkles in the skin or the hair being different textures can also cause physical effects that may look like striping or Brindling.

Some Grey horses may display a striping pattern that may look very much like Brindling but is probably due to the odd patterns that some Grey horses will have during the different stages of the greying process.

As of this date, there is no evidence that there is an actual gene in the Equine species that causes the Brindle pattern. Striping effects are found to occur with many expressions of other genes including Dun, Rabicano and Classic Roan.

HR Charmer - Paso Fino x Pinto Courtesy of Hot Rose Ranch

Lacing has been called many different things including Giraffe Markings, Marble and Cobweb. Lace or Lacing is the term preferred by most.

It has been thought that Lacing is due to a fungal infection called Rain Rot or even a blood disorder. Others think it may be associated with Appaloosa or Pinto patterns. Sufficient evidence hasn't been collected to establish exactly what causes this unusual pattern.

We are starting a research program by gathering information about horses who have this pattern. If you have a horse with Lacing and would like to help out with our research please send us an email and we will send you a questionnaire.

From the information we received from the owners of Charmer, he is a Paso Fino, Pinto cross, and was born without the Lacing pattern. His Lacing didn't show up until he was four years old. His sire is a solid Black Paso Fino and his dam is a "solid Chestnut Pinto", so is probably minimally marked. Neither parent, siblings or any horse in his family group has the Lacing pattern, that the owners have seen. The lacing started out the light brown color seen in the photos and as of last contact with the owners it was turning white.

HR Charmer - Paso Fino x Pinto Courtesy of Hot Rose Ranch	HR Charmer - Paso Fino x Pinto Courtesy of Hot Rose Ranch
Flying Dust Hope - Miniature Horse Courtesy of Silver Arrow Miniatures	Flying Dust Hope - Miniature Horse Courtesy of Silver Arrow Miniatures

Aachen - Standardbred ©Jeanette Gower Horse Color Explained

One famous horse with the Lacing pattern is Aachen, the Standardbred from Australia. In this country the pattern is commonly called "Catbacked" after the pattern seen on the marsupial cat.

The photo of Aachen was when he was 29 years old, about six months before he died. During his early racing career he showed no evidence of the pattern. Toward the end of his racing days the pattern started to show as small white specks on the withers and hips. It was thought they were the result of the harness rubbing. Since the markings progressed after he was retired and no longer wore a harness it was obvious the white markings were not caused by the harness rubbing.

Many of Aachen's foals inherited the Lacing pattern to a lesser or greater degree, which suggests if it is caused by a color gene, it is probably dominant. Though, this does not fully explain how it is inherited in horses whose parents do not have the pattern.